Chapter 74

Old Master Su’s slap resounded loudly on the Cheng family’s face, shattering their dignity and pride like chrysanthemums scattered on the ground.

The Cheng family was naturally furious!

In the main hall, the opulently adorned Lady Song smashed all the objects around her. As a noblewoman who had been pampered since childhood, she had never experienced such an insult.

Below the hall stood the Cheng family steward, Old Lady Lai, and several female attendants. Her eldest son, younger brother, and cousins, though seated, dared not speak, fearing they would become her scapegoats.

Lady Song was a graceful and beautiful woman, and it was no wonder she had given birth to a handsome man like Cheng Zhicai. However, her beauty was marred by slightly protruding front teeth, which made her lips bulge outward, especially when she was angry, making her look like someone blowing out a flame.

In the art of physiognomy, this was called a "blowtorch mouth," indicating dullness or cunning, frivolous and vulgar behavior, and a tendency to confuse right and wrong.

At that moment, her face was ashen, and she gritted her teeth, saying, "When we first considered this marriage, I was a hundred times against it! How could a family of officials marry into a commoner’s family? Now you see, not only is the daughter a hen that doesn’t lay eggs, but the father is a mad dog that bites people!"

"Now it’s clear that Grandmother was wise."

"That Su family, with sores on their heads and pus on their feet, is truly despicable." Old Lady Lai and the other female attendants quickly chimed in, agreeing.

The men, hearing their endless, repetitive complaints, finally couldn’t bear it anymore. They exchanged glances, and it was Lady Song’s younger brother, the former magistrate of Qingshen, Song Anzhi, who spoke up, "Sister, calm down. We should discuss how to respond."

"Yes, that stele has tarnished our family’s reputation." The steward agreed, "Lord Cheng will be furious when he finds out. We need to find a way to calm the public opinion."

"Hmm..." Lady Song finally nodded, closing her mouth, "What should we do? You all need to come up with a plan."

"First, we should hide that stele tonight. In the past two days, people have been coming to see it one after another. We can’t let it stand there anymore." Mr. Bi Mingjun suggested.

"No," Song Anzhi shook his head, "If the stele disappears, no matter who does it, people will assume the Cheng family is responsible. Then, we will not only offend all the Sus in Meishan, but if they accuse us of ‘digging up their ancestors’ graves,’ we will be in big trouble." As a former magistrate, his analysis was sound.

"Are you saying we should let that stele stand there and let people mock us every day?!" Lady Song glared at her brother.

"Of course not." Song Anzhi smiled bitterly, "My point is that no one else should touch the stele; only the Sus themselves should do it."

"Good idea. If the Sus themselves can’t stand it, it shows that Old Master Su is a mad dog barking at the sun, and his accusations against us will be discredited." The steward clapped his hands, "With a generous reward, there must be someone among the many Sus in Meishan who will take the money."

Thus, they decided that Mr. Bi Mingjun, Song Anzhi, and the steward would each go to find familiar Sus and ask them to remove the stele.

However, no matter which family they approached, they all shook their heads vigorously, "That’s our family’s genealogy stele. No amount of money can make us do it!"

There were also those who were tempted by money, whispering, "I can do it, but it must be at night when no one can see. You also need to write a contract guaranteeing that you won’t expose me afterward." The steward and others were both amused and frustrated, "Do we need you to do it?!"

By the end of the day, not only did no one agree to the task, but some, with fiery tempers, directly turned them away, cursing, "If you give me money, go dig up your own grandfather’s grave! Name your price!" Naturally, they wouldn’t keep it a secret for the Cheng family and warned their clansmen not to be tempted by money and do something that would make their ancestors cry and their descendants curse.

As a result, the Cheng family’s plan to destroy the Su family’s genealogy stele became widely known. This made the Cheng family even more passive, and they had to send people to guard the stele pavilion to prevent being framed.

Old Master Su’s strategy was precisely this: he first instilled a sense of shared honor and disgrace among the clan members and then integrated the accusations into the genealogy stele, making each clan member unwilling to be an accomplice to the Cheng family.

The Cheng family could, of course, use their power to pressure the Su clan into changing their minds, but that would take time. The longer it took, the more widely the stele’s content would spread, and the stele would have fulfilled its mission. Even if it were destroyed, it would be meaningless.

The Cheng family knew that the best solution would be to gain Su Xun’s forgiveness, but their pride as an official family made even the thought of it unbearable.

They had their own principles.

The next day, the steward, carrying a large sum of money, visited the prefectural office. Prefect He Xinyuan had been a colleague of Lord Cheng, Cheng Jun, and had always been helpful to the Cheng family. The Cheng family hoped to use him to force Su Xun to comply.

With the Cheng family’s influence, the steward had no trouble entering the second hall. A subordinate told him that the prefect was in the signing room with County Magistrate Zhou, and asked him to wait in the side hall.

"Of course, of course..." The steward waited for a moment, and a subordinate led him to the signing room. He quickly tidied his clothes and entered to pay his respects to the prefect. He then noticed that Magistrate Zhou was still there, which surprised him.

After inviting him to sit, Prefect He said, "Mr. Cheng, you came at the right time. There’s a complaint here. Magistrate Zhou was about to deliver it to your house, but now he can save the trouble."

"Complaint..." The steward’s eyes twitched.

"Hehe, it’s like this," Magistrate Zhou pushed a summons in front of him, "A woman named Su Bani has filed a complaint, and the defendant is your eldest son."

"..." Hearing Bani’s name, the steward’s face lost its smile. Without looking at the summons, he asked, "Magistrate, what is she accusing my eldest son of?"

"Marital discord, requesting a divorce."

"..." The steward pushed the summons back, speaking in a deep voice, "How can you accept such a complaint, Magistrate? And you even signed the summons!"

"Your humble official, a small county magistrate, would like to ask Mr. Cheng, what kind of complaints can be accepted and what kind cannot..." Magistrate Zhou was clearly displeased.

"!" Seeing Magistrate Zhou, who usually called him brother, turn on him, the steward was at a loss, "By custom, the divorce cases of official families are not handled by the government."

"Find the specific clause in the Song Dynasty laws and show it to me, and I will immediately return the complaint." Magistrate Zhou said coldly.

"..." The steward was taken aback and had to lower his stance, "I beg you, Magistrate, to consider my lord’s face and save the Cheng family some dignity."

"If I save your family’s face, I won’t be able to keep my position tomorrow!" Magistrate Zhou sneered.

"..." The steward looked pitifully at Prefect He. Prefect He, who had been watching the show, finally spoke to Magistrate Zhou, "Jianren, you’re too hot-headed. Calm down first..."

"Alright." Magistrate Zhou stood up and bowed, "I will take my leave." He then grabbed his hat and left, not even looking at the steward.

"Old Cheng, don’t be upset," Prefect He finally had someone serve tea to the steward and sat next to him, "He’s just that kind of person."

"I dare not be upset." The steward calmed himself, took out a thick envelope from his sleeve, and placed it on the table without a word, "I just ask for your help to save our family’s face."

"Of course." Prefect He smiled, "I have been a colleague of your lord for many years."

"Then, can the summons be withdrawn?"

"I’m afraid that’s not possible. The feud between your families has already caused a stir, and if the government doesn’t handle it, we will be criticized." Prefect He looked helpless, "The only solution now is to have the Su family withdraw the complaint."

"How can they withdraw it?"

"Have your eldest son write a ‘divorce letter.’" Prefect He said, "If it goes to court, it won’t be good for the Su family either. She will surely withdraw the complaint."

"..." The steward was silent. He was over fifty and had seen it all. Prefect He and Magistrate Zhou, one playing the good cop and the other the bad cop, were clearly trying to force them to settle the matter quietly. Thinking of this, he said with difficulty, "This is not something I can decide. I need to consult Lady Song."

"Of course, of course." Prefect He smiled, "I will have Magistrate Zhou delay the court date for a few days, giving you enough time to consult Lord Cheng."

"Thank you, Prefect..." The steward responded heavily.

"Divorce? Dream on!" Lady Song, hearing the steward’s report, firmly rejected it, "Su Bani is my Cheng family’s person, alive or dead! Want my son to write a divorce letter? In your dreams!"

"If he doesn’t write it," the steward said cautiously, "we will have to go to court, and the government will still grant the divorce..."

"My family won’t go to court!" Lady Song’s temper flared, "What will they do to me?"

"If we don’t show up, the government will consider it a default and grant the Su family’s request." Song Anzhi helplessly explained the law to his sister.

"I don’t care. You must come up with a solution!" Lady Song was furious, "As a noble family, we can’t let commoners bully us like this!"

Everyone looked at each other, at a loss. Finally, Song Anzhi slowly said, "Then we should file a counter-complaint."

"Counter-complaint?" Lady Song’s eyes widened, "What do you mean?"

"For example, accuse her of not adhering to proper conduct or being childless." Song Anzhi explained, "This is called ‘counter-control’ in the legal system. If the government rules in our favor, Su Bani will be punished, and the Su family will no longer be sympathized with. People will realize they were deceived and will no longer believe Old Master Su’s words."

"Good idea!" Lady Song became excited, "Write the complaint quickly!"

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Much better, it won’t affect the next update...

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