A Pawn's Passage

Shen Mingshu glared at his son. “How could you not ask for collateral when you lend money to others? Isn’t this exploitation and usury?!”

Shen Yugui prostrated himself on the floor. “Father…I’m sorry! I was wrong! Please forgive me!”

However, Shen Mingshu did not seem to care, continuing to reprimand him. “Have I ever mistreated you? Am I not giving you enough money to spend? How could you use such underhanded means to make money without caring about the Shen family’s reputation? You’re a disgrace to our ancestors!”

Terrified of his father, Shen Yugui even went as far as to slap himself hard twice. While slapping himself, he said, “It’s all my fault. I’ve embarrassed the Shen family. I was wrong! I’m a disgrace to mankind!”

Shen Mingshu ignored his son and turned to Zhao Ying. “Miss, please voice out all your grievances. These two officers will seek justice for you, and I will not defend my son.”

“Father! Please spare me, for Mother’s sake! I promise not to do this again!” Shen Yugui hugged his father’s legs and burst into tears.

Shen Mingshu was repulsed by his son’s humiliating behavior. He wanted to curse at his son, but in the end, he only sighed and kicked Shen Yugui to the side. He then turned to Qi Xuansu and Xu Kou. “I feel so ashamed for disturbing you and for not teaching my son properly. I won’t show favoritism and will send this animal to the county magistrate tomorrow! I hope you two can bear witness to this.”

Qi Xuansu and Xu Kou looked at each other, knowing what was about to happen.

Xu Kou smirked. “I admire you for publicly lecturing your son, Master Shen.”

Shen Mingshu looked guilty. He cupped his hands and apologized. “This brat has been spoiled by his mother, and I have failed in my duties to discipline my son. I would like to apologize to all of you on behalf of this animal.”

Zhao Ying lowered her head. Her shoulders trembled slightly, but she said nothing.

Qi Xuansu did not intend to pursue this to the end. “Master Shen, you are a member of the gentry. We don’t care whether you will send your son to the county magistrate because we are not the Censor. I just hope that this matter will end here and that your son will stop making life difficult for this girl and her family after we leave. What do you think of this arrangement?”

Shen Mingshu looked solemn as he promised. “This is my son’s fault, so I will not defend him. Please rest assured that I will discipline my son properly from now on. I will not allow him to make another mistake.”

Xu Kou suddenly reached out to pull Shen Yugui off the floor. The servants standing at the doorway became restless, but when they saw how indifferent Shen Mingshu looked, they dared not make a move.

Surprisingly, the usually violent Xu Kou did not hit Shen Yugui this time. Instead, he dusted off some non-existent dirt off of Shen Yugui’s chest and said, “Master Shen, my name is Xu Kou. I’m from Beihai Prefecture, Qizhou, but I’m currently living in Haichan Place, Jade Capital. If you want to avenge your son, you can come to me anytime. I won’t blame you if you hire an assassin at The Inn or report me to Fengxian Hall.”

“I dare not, sir.” Shen Yugui forced a smile.

Xu Kou pushed Shen Yugui, who staggered a few steps before falling into his father’s arms.

With a casual wave from Shen Mingshu, an old servant with a hunchback quickly walked in to take Shen Yugui out of the room.

Qi Xuansu clasped his fists. “Master Shen, if fate allows it, may our friendship remain when we meet again in the future.”

Shen Mingshu finally flashed a friendly smile again. “If you ever come by Wannian County in the future, I’ll be sure to host a banquet for you.”

Everyone outside the door made way for Shen Mingshu, who strode out and left with his entourage in tow.

Qi Xuansu looked at Shen Mingshu’s back and suddenly laughed. “Those wearing shoes are still afraid of those with bare feet after all.”

Liu Hu was a little confused. She asked, “Uncle Wei, wasn’t that old man just now a good person?”

Before Qi Xuansu could speak, Xu Kou chuckled and explained, “Little girl, that’s all an act. People like me, who risk their lives to kill people, can only be a rag for others. People like him, who come from a big family, call the shots and influence everything within their county. That’s the difference between earthenware and jade.”

Liu Hu was young and inexperienced, so she could only understand half of what he said.

Qi Xuansu broke it down for her. “What Brother Xu means is that there is a big difference between those with a family background and those without. People with a family background will have more worries, so they will be less impulsive.

“Unfortunately for them, neither of us has family or a family business, and we are skilled in fighting. To Shen Mingshu, we are no different from thugs, so there’s no benefit in him fighting with us. If he kills us, he doesn’t gain anything. Instead, it will likely cause him a lot of trouble. If he fails to kill us, we will surely retaliate. By then, he will have no choice but to swallow his broken teeth once we knock them out.

“When weighing the pros and cons, Shen Mingshu knows that it’s better to give in and take the initiative to concede so that the problem will go away.”

Liu Hu asked softly, “How did he know that you two are single?”

Qi Xuansu coughed lightly to cover up his embarrassment. “For people like Shen Mingshu, judging people is the most basic skill. He has also heard of Brother Xu’s name. Brother Xu has parents, but they are under the Qizhou Daoist Mansion’s protection, so no one will dare cause trouble with the Daoist Order.”

Xu Kou added, “One more thing: Shen Mingshu only showed up because of our official status. Without our status, he would have asked another officer to come forward, and if we dared resist, they would have charged us with rebelling against the Imperial Court. Unfortunately, we’re also officials, so he can’t use this method or accuse us of crimes we didn’t do.”

Qi Xuansu continued, “He rushed over as soon as he heard of the commotion, which shows how well informed he is. I’m sure this isn’t the first time his son has done something like this. If he truly was a good person, he wouldn’t only mention the debt. He purposely avoided talking about rape.

“Also, there were a few Green Phoenix Guards in his entourage. So even if he were to send his son to the county magistrate, his son wouldn’t even get a slap on the wrist. But from an outsider’s perspective, Shen Mingshu was an unbiased and dutiful father. Those flowery words are just for appearances. He won’t actually act on them. One can only imagine what such a shrewd person is capable of.”

Liu Hu looked pensive as she tried to digest this information.

Xu Kou explained, “Since Shen Mingshu conceded, we had to let go. Otherwise, if we persist, who knows what he’s capable of? After all, we are alone in this foreign place, and there’s only so much we can do.”

Just then, Xu Kou took the bottle of wine off the table and read the label. “Whoa, this is a bottle of vintage red wine from the 23rd year of the Jiushi Era. It's imported from the West and costs at least 20 Taiping coins. That’s worth almost half of my monthly salary!”

Qi Xuansu turned to look at Zhao Ying and sighed softly. “We’re not so powerful as to defeat the Shen family, so this is the most we can do to help you. Shen Mingshu will probably not make things difficult for you anymore, but it’s hard to say how his subordinates will act. Miss Zhao, I suggest you leave this place as soon as possible.”

Zhao Ying bit her lip, kneeled in front of the three of them, and kowtowed three times.

Xu Kou had already uncorked the red wine and chugged half the bottle in one go. “It’ll be interesting if Deputy Hall Master Zhang was the one who encountered this. If so, Shen Mingshu won’t be able to get away with it even if he acts servile to her.”

Qi Xuansu did not say a word. He had a vague hunch that his fate with the Shen family would not end here, and more was yet to come.

Liu Hu took the initiative to help Zhao Ying up. She walked Zhao Ying out and sent her off.

Qi Xuansu did not stop Liu Hu. After all, Liu Hu was at the Kunlun stage of cultivation. When Qi Xuansu was at the Kunlun stage, he had already experienced a few life-and-death situations.

Xu Kou wiped the wine stains from the corner of his mouth. “Brother Wei, although we have analyzed the situation in detail, I still don’t think Shen Mingshu will admit defeat so easily.”

Qi Xuansu mused. “Don’t you think their father-son relationship is a little strange? Shen Mingshu is such a scheming man, so how could he raise a useless son like Shen Yugui?”