Farm Tough Girl
Chapter 380 - 380 381 Explosive News_1

Chapter 380: Chapter 381 Explosive News_1 Chapter 380: Chapter 381 Explosive News_1 Mrs. Luo saw that Muniang had only taken the deeds of Mei Garden, and her heart, which had been in her throat, suddenly dropped by half. After all, a theater was but a trifle, not a loss to be too heartbroken over if gone, and having the rest still in her possession was quite fortunate.

But Mrs. Luo had obviously thought too highly of Muniang’s mercy. Muniang hooked her lips in a smirk, and with a light flick of her hand, all of the deeds scattered to the floor.

“Whoever wants these things, just take them. They are, after all, things I have no use for; it makes no difference to me if they are lost.”

No sooner had Muniang’s voice fallen than the eyes of the burly men kneeling on the ground shone with avarice, lunging for the papers like madmen.

Mrs. Luo’s heart ached terribly. She, too, wanted to grab for them, straining to rise from the bed, but her heavily injured body naturally failed her, and with a thud, she collapsed back onto the floor, cursing as she fell: “You beasts! I’ve raised you all these years for nothing, and now you dare openly rob me of my property? Have you grown tired of living?!”

In her lifetime, Mrs. Luo had always been the boss, and none of her underlings had ever dared to cross her. Seeing them now like a pack of wolves, she wished she could flay and debone each one of them. Enraged, she coughed up another mouthful of blood.

But no one paid her any attention, only scrambling to grab what they could. It was clear to any fool that Mrs. Luo had lost her power, and they would be fools themselves not to seize this opportunity while it was available.

With hatred in her eyes, Mrs. Luo glared at Qiao Muniang: “You bandit! I will certainly go and accuse you, accuse you of breaking into a residence, accuse you of your bandit-like acts. In broad daylight, is there no law left?!”

Muniang replied with a laugh, “Mrs. Luo, to hear you speak of the law is surprising, indeed. Have I heard wrongly? Is this not your usual style? Having stained your hands with untold amounts of blood over the years, do you really not remember how many lives you’ve taken? Surely you don’t need me to remind you how Mei Garden came into your possession. Yet, after all these despicable acts, has the government ever apprehended you? Don’t tell me you’ve got someone in the background shielding you. Let me tell you, in all of Qinghua City, no one dares to oppose me—do you believe me?”

Mrs. Luo’s face utterly fell, the light in her eyes extinguished in an instant.

Muniang snorted, “Your biggest mistake was to mess with me. Why else would I bother with someone irrelevant? But you just couldn’t see what was good for you. However, I must thank your darling Qiao Yuanzhen. To think you dared to meddle with such a scourge; you only have yourself to blame for your current miserable fate!”

Mrs. Luo was filled with regret. Bullying others had been second nature, never once feeling remorse until she was blinded by Qiao Yuanzhen and carelessly kicked an iron plate, leading to her downfall. She had been so ostentatious all her life, yet now to be defeated by a mere male companion!

Thinking of this, Mrs. Luo was consumed with rage, her gaze towards Qiao Yuanzhen sharp as knives.

Qiao Yuanzhen shrank back, clearly terrified.

Muniang didn’t even spare him another glance and turned to leave. She had already sent someone to report to Lord Lu. Yuanzhen, who had regained the title of Scholar despite accusations of “conspiring with the enemy,” would find himself in hot water at the government office—it was inevitable he’d face a flogging and three years of prison.

As for Mrs. Luo, Muniang actually had no intention to report her; the networks behind Mrs. Luo were complicated, and even if Lord Lu himself investigated, the outcome was uncertain and might only lead to grudges against him. It wasn’t worth getting him entangled, and Muniang didn’t want to expose her identity for this cause. That’s why she had taken drastic measures—far more reliable than involving officials.

For Yuanzhen, once at the government office, things would be simple. Without Mrs. Luo’s protection, the others from his faction would immediately abandon him. Yuanzhen would be left as nothing but a thrown-away pawn, easily manipulated by others. Forget flogging or imprisonment; not a soul would protest even if his head were to be put on display.

After Muniang and Yu Ze left, Mrs. Luo’s followers took all of her wealth and ran away, spreading the news of Qiao Yuanzhen being kept as a male concubine for Mrs. Luo, as per Muniang’s instructions.

The next morning, Chatu Town was shaken to its core by the explosive rumor that a scholar who had studied diligently for ten years was actually serving as someone’s male concubine!

What was even more damning was that the government officers began searching for him all over Chatu Town that very day, claiming that this Mr. Scholar had committed a heinous crime.

The entrance to the government office was near bursting with onlookers pointing and whispering about Qiao Yuanzhen, who knelt in the hall.

“Have you heard? Mr. Scholar here was actually prostituting himself out, previously engaged in treason, stripped of his scholarly status. In order to reclaim it, he actually slept with a high-ranking official! Now that the official has fallen from grace, his restored status is clearly questionable. Look, he’s been arrested!”

“Good heavens, what has the world come to when he spent so many years reading the sages’ teachings, yet doesn’t know that a gentleman would rather die than be humiliated? How could he stoop to doing something like this?”

“Just look at that pretty-boy face, no wonder he did such a thing. A grown man, yet he has no shame at all!”

Every murmur at the entrance of the government office reached Qiao Yuanzhen’s ears. His face flushed red with embarrassment, and he wished he could hide away. The hands hidden in his sleeves were nearly bloodied from how tightly he clenched them. Never in his life had he imagined he would face such humiliation, it was worse than death itself.

Lord Lu slapped the shocking hall wood, “Silence!”

The buzzing crowd fell quiet.

“Qiao Yuanzhen, your scholarly title has clearly been revoked. Furthermore, colluding with the enemy is an unforgivable offense. You relied on improper means to have it restored, showing no respect for me or for the laws of the Daqian Dynasty. Do you understand your crimes?” Lord Lu demanded harshly.

Qiao Yuanzhen knew there was no chance of turning things around, the evidence was all there, and Mrs. Luo would no longer protect him. Resigned to his fate, he gritted his teeth, “I understand my crimes.”

Lord Lu declared coldly, “According to the law, you shall receive fifty strokes of the heavy rod and be imprisoned for three years. Your scholarly status is revoked, never to be restored. Your descendants shall be barred from the imperial examinations forever!”

For someone who had only ever known a life of studying, such a sentence meant he might as well not live at all. Qiao Yuanzhen immediately began pleading, “Lord, my lord, I admit my wrongdoing. Please spare me this time. Don’t strip me of my right to the imperial examination. I aspire to become a high-ranking official, I will make something of myself!”

The people sneered at his plea, mocking his aspirations of becoming an important official after having been a mere plaything beneath another man—and still, he had the audacity to make such claims.

Lord Lu paid him no mind and slapped the shocking hall wood, “The decision is made. Carry it out, Shi Xing!”

Immediately, Qiao Yuanzhen began screaming frantically, “By what right do you strip me of my right to the imperial examination, take away my scholarly status? Are you afraid that one day my official rank will surpass yours and I’ll seek revenge? You self-righteous cur, I curse you to a wretched death!”