Jiapingguan Chronicle

"Handbook?" Shen Haolin looked at Shen Cha, then at Jin Miaomiao, and finally at Shen Jiu and Xia Jiu, who were nodding repeatedly, and asked, "They're just two kids, what handbook could they possibly have? They're not from a prestigious family, what could be so important about them?"

"It's naturally a matter of academics. They were caught cheating on a quiz, but it wasn't them cheating themselves; they were helping others."

Shen Cha yawned, squinted, and leaned on Shen Haolin's shoulder as if she were half asleep.

The group of them pestered the old man next door to tell stories for three whole hours, and they were still a little reluctant to leave. But in the end, it was Old Madam Ning who took the initiative and sent them all back.

"Why can't you say it during the day? Why do you have to ask it at night?"

That's what Madam Ning said.

Seeing the old lady standing with her hands on her hips, glaring at them angrily, the children were indeed a little guilty. They had no choice but to bow to the old lady and take their leave, running away in a sorry state, unrighteously leaving Qi Zhifeng and Xiao Fengqi to bear the old lady's wrath.

As for Chu Han, who originally wanted to take the opportunity to slip away, he was caught by the Third Grandfather, who refused to let go. The old man wanted to know about his master's past and wanted to have a long talk with Chu Han by candlelight.

Chu Han had no choice but to obediently follow his third grandfather, as the third grandfather held him tightly and wouldn't let go.

Shen Cha and the others went straight back to the Duke's Mansion. Only Shen Haolin and Song Yaojia were there. Xue Ruitian took Bai Meng, Xia Chen, and Jin Jing to the camp.

Although patrol duty was an excuse, it wasn't entirely an excuse. At least Xue Ruitian and Bai Meng were really going to take over.

Previously, Shen Haolin thought that Chu Han was hesitant about the Shi family's affairs because he was afraid to say certain things with the boys present, so he made an excuse to leave.

Shen Cha understood this, which is why she told them the whole story after she returned. There were indeed some things that were not easy to say in front of them.

“Madam Shi!” Song Yaojia sneered. “You know what, I’ve actually heard my father and uncle say what they thought of her.” He said with a look of disgust, “She’s not a good person.”

“How could someone who does such a thing be a good person?” Jin Miaomiao rolled her eyes dramatically. “As a woman, she should understand how difficult it is for women to live in this world. Many things are beyond their control. She is lucky to have a voice, but instead of speaking up for women, she persecutes them even more, treating them like commodities to be bought and sold. Even being slowly sliced ​​to death would not be an exaggeration.”

“Although we have many grievances against the Empress Dowager, they are all based on our different positions. But in this matter, the Empress Dowager,” Song Yaojia sighed, “has done something much harsher than us.”

"My great-uncle also said that the reason why Master Falian did not choose Madam Shi was because he looked down on her behavior."

“Yes, even the Empress Dowager looked down on her. After the Shi family's plan failed, the Empress Dowager wanted to severely punish Madam Shi.” Song Yaojia looked at Jin Miaomiao and said, “She said the same thing you said, that she wanted to execute her by slow slicing, but she was stopped. Because Madam Shi was a woman, it would be too indecent to execute her by slow slicing in public. So, she chose a more appropriate method: applying paper to her face.” “That is, using paper dipped in water and sticking it to her face one by one, right?”

“Yes!” Song Yaojia nodded. “In the Shi family’s interrogation records, the Empress Dowager saw that they had used this method to treat disobedient men and women and children. So, since they couldn’t be executed by slow slicing, let her, the instigator of so many tragedies, also experience her own punishment.” He sighed softly. “Not only her, but the main culprits in the Shi family basically all died this way.”

“But my great-uncle didn’t mention that.”

“He doesn’t know.” Song Yaojia glanced at Shen Haolin. “Right?”

"Hmm!" Shen Haolin responded, "My master mentioned before that they used facial slapping as punishment on a group of heinous criminals in Jiangnan. I was wondering what kind of heinous criminals would be subjected to such a cruel punishment. Today I finally understand. For the Shi family, this punishment is still a bit lacking."

“Agreed!” Song Yaojia and Shen Haolin gave each other a high five. “Although I didn’t know why the Empress Dowager used this punishment at the time, I could feel that her anger was different from usual; it was erupting from within her body. At that time, I was still very young, and our relationship with the Empress Dowager wasn’t so bad yet. We would occasionally visit her palace. I vaguely remember that during that period, my father would take me there and have me keep her company, saying that she wasn’t in a good mood.”

"I'm in a bad mood because of the Shi family case."

“Yes.” Song Yaojia nodded. “She was indeed a bit depressed during that time, and she would mutter to me. Now that I think about it, she probably knew I might not understand, so she was talking to me.”

"What did you say?"

“That’s basically what you said.” Song Yaojia looked at Jin Miaomiao and said, “I think it’s outrageous and inhumane for Madam Shi to do such a thing.”

"On matters of principle, the Empress Dowager has never disappointed anyone."

“Yes.” Song Yaojia paused for a moment, then continued, “Before this case was completely closed, the Empress Dowager gave my uncle a large sum of money, probably several hundred thousand taels.”

"Compensate according to the list of victims?" Seeing Song Yaojia nod, Shen Cha didn't know what to feel, but not towards the Empress Dowager, but towards the victims. "Some people escaped and received compensation, allowing them to start over. Some victims have families, and the money can somewhat soothe their pain. But some victims are already buried in the ground, and they have no families. This compensation..."

“Yes, so the remaining silver was used to open charitable halls, in the name of the royal family.” Song Yaojia smiled. “It’s the Wanshan Hall, which you’ve been supporting all along. It was originally set up at the behest of the Empress Dowager. Originally, the Empress Dowager’s family wanted to get involved, as did the aristocratic families and noble clans in Xijing and Jiangnan. But the Empress Dowager resolutely opposed it, against everything, and offended many people because of it. When she finally fell from power, these dozen or so families also contributed a lot. They thought they were allies, but they never expected to be betrayed in the end.”

"I see." Shen Cha and Shen Haolin exchanged a glance. "However, it's not like the Empress Dowager has only been bad at judging people for a day or two. It's happened so many times already, one more time won't make a difference, right?"

"That's true. However, while the struggle for power is one thing, the Empress Dowager has never disappointed in such matters." (End of Chapter)