Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2826 Master Qingsong 44.0
"What exactly happened in the rebels' stronghold back then that made She Nanqi go on a killing spree?" Jin Miaomiao looked at Shen Cha. "Although I don't know this person, a veteran general who has been through many battles doesn't just go crazy from a little provocation." She paused for a moment and said, "He shouldn't have been like this before, right? And before this, his opponents were all soldiers and generals from the previous dynasty, and he didn't go all out, right?"

“That’s right!” Shen Cha smiled at her. “You’ve hit the nail on the head.”

"As for that bandit leader's wife," Jin Miaomiao sneered, "she's probably not as innocent as you think. She's been able to live with the bandit leader in the mountain stronghold for so long, so she's probably involved too, right?"

“Truly innocent people will only express their deepest gratitude to those who saved them after escaping death, not turn around and accuse them years later.” Shen Haolin sneered, looking at Shen Cha and then at Song Yaojia. “Besides, what she did was worse than turning around and accusing someone; it was a betrayal of her savior, isn’t that right?”

"Brother is right!"

“Haolin is right!” Song Yaojia nodded. “Although this happened a long time ago, just listening to my uncle’s story is enough to roughly picture what happened back then, and I can imagine what kind of face that lady had.”

“That’s true.” Shen Cha nodded. “That’s what my father and Master Huilan said when they told us.”

"My master knows too?"

“Of course, no older generation is unaware of this case. In fact, there are only three generations between Emperor Taizong and Brother Xiaojue.” Shen Cha spread his hands. “It’s just that Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong reigned for a longer period of time, so it feels a bit distant.”

“That’s true,” Jin Miaomiao nodded, “but we feel like it’s been a little too long.”

“Yes, this case was a major one in the early years of Emperor Taizong's reign, and the She family gradually declined because of it.” Shen Cha took a sip of tea, feeling it was getting cold, and handed it directly to Mei Lin. “Although we all think She Nanqi killed too many people, after hearing this story, we actually feel that it was indeed a bit much for She Nanqi to spare the women of his stronghold back then.”

“That’s just womanly sentimentality,” Jin Miaomiao quickly interjected, then sighed softly. “It shouldn’t just be womanly sentimentality, right?”

"Yes, he's a bit arrogant."

“That’s what I think too.” Jin Miaomiao nodded. “I can imagine that he let the women leave and didn’t investigate them further because he felt they were insignificant. Whether they had problems or not, they were insignificant and not worth worrying about. After all, these people depended on the rebels for their livelihood. Once the rebels were gone, they would no longer pose any threat.”

“That’s right.” Shen Cha spread his hands helplessly. “So, when that bandit’s wife went to the capital to file a complaint against him, it was completely unexpected. No one had thought of it.”

"What exactly is being sued for?"

"What else could it be?" Song Yaojia waved her hand at Shen Cha, signaling for her to speak. "That lady described the Liuzhou garrison soldiers as even more ruthless and brutal than rebels. She said that as soon as they entered the village, they didn't ask any questions, but went straight to burning, killing, and looting. Not only did they kill everyone, but they also broke into the women's quarters and tried to assault them. Anyone who resisted was brutally beaten. Not only that, they didn't even spare the children. Several boys died at their hands for resisting." "Tsk tsk tsk, that sounds so tragic." Jin Miaomiao rolled her eyes with disgust. "But so many years have passed, why didn't she come to appeal to the emperor? And why did she suddenly appear after the late emperor's death?" She spread her hands. "If you say she had no ulterior motives and just wanted to seek justice, I don't believe it."

“I don’t believe it either. Only a fool would believe it.” Shen Cha sneered. “Although she described it very tragically, and the whole picture was very vivid, and the whole story was described in great detail, I still don’t believe it. She’s shouting so desperately to seek justice for herself, but she can’t produce any evidence to support her claims. There’s no certification or physical evidence. She’s just talking nonsense about her injustice.”

"You're just talking without any evidence?" Jin Miaomiao frowned. "Isn't that a bit much?"

"So even though she cried and wailed, even though she reorganized the entire Liuzhou garrison, no one really took her words seriously."

"Did His Majesty the Emperor not receive the letter?"

"Of course, the She family has been in Liuzhou for over a hundred years and has produced several famous generals and marshals. Moreover, the She family motto is to manage the family like an army. If any member of the family misbehaves, they will be punished with family law at the very least, and expelled from the family at the very worst."

"Is it that strict?"

“Most military families are like this, especially those of us who lead troops year-round. Strictness is inevitable; otherwise, if we really become known as bandits, it will be very difficult to salvage our reputation.” Song Yaojia sneered. “Therefore, no one in the court with a brain would believe that lady would use such slander to frame She Nanqi, let alone His Majesty the Emperor. However, this matter of filing a complaint with the Emperor cannot be left unresolved. The lady’s strength lies in the fact that her people have already spread this matter to the common people. The entire population of Xijing knows about these things, so an explanation is necessary.”

"She Nanqi has gone to the capital?"

“Yes!” Shen Cha nodded. “The founding emperor gave him three months to go to the capital and confront that lady in court.”

"Three months?" Jin Miaomiao laughed and said, "Is this giving him three months to find witnesses and evidence?"

"Don't expose me!" Song Yaojia smiled. "Anyway, that incident hasn't been that long ago, so finding a witness is still easy."

"That's true. When those women were released, they should have been registered so that they could be followed up and monitored later."

“That’s right, everyone did it that way.” Shen Cha nodded. “When She Nanqi came to the capital, it had been less than three months, only a month and a half. He not only came by himself, but he was also accompanied by seven carriages. Nobody knew who was in the carriages. After these carriages entered the city, they went straight into the palace and never came out again.” Shen Cha sighed softly. “That lady was placed in a post station by the Ministry of Justice, where she was watched at all times. Her every move was being observed, so she had no idea that She Nanqi had returned to the capital, nor did she know who he had brought back. She only found out when the Ministry of Justice notified her to go to the palace to confront She Nanqi. However, this was not what panicked her the most. What panicked her the most was when she went up to the main hall and saw She Nanqi and the people standing next to him.”