Whoever can strike me hard will be rewarded handsomely.

If this really escalates to the imperial court and makes their father lose face, breaking their legs when they get home would be the least of their worries.

The spoiled brats' eyes instantly cleared up, and they all tucked their tails between their legs.

"We were confused for a moment and said the wrong thing. Please be magnanimous and don't hold it against us."

"Are you confused?"

"I don't think so?"

Shen Jiangliu raised an eyelid and said, "I've seen you guys being quite clever when you try to shift the blame and distort the truth."

The group was sweating profusely with anxiety. One of them slapped his mouth a few times, saying, "Foolish, truly foolish! We actually believed those rumors from the streets; we had no sense of propriety when it came to what we said."

"Please, have mercy and give us a chance to reform!"

Shen Jiangliu raised an eyebrow: "Me, showing leniency? When you were maliciously speculating about Miss Liu and going to great lengths to slander her reputation, why didn't you show leniency and save your spittle to wash your shit-covered brains?"

The group of spoiled brats: "..." There's no need to use such harsh language, is there?

Seeing the arrogant group of people being scolded until they looked pale and didn't dare to utter a word, only able to listen obediently, Bian Yushu was amazed.

With an expression of adoration, he transformed into a devoted follower, offering to massage Shen Jiangliu's shoulders: "Exactly!"

Shen Jiangliu glanced at the sycophantic imperial eunuch and continued, "If you're jealous that a young girl has gained His Majesty's favor, received His Majesty's cultivation, and can even freely enter and leave the palace and the Imperial Observatory, you can just say so. Why bother with the pretense of men and women, and throw dirty water on her?"

"It's as if you can replace her by ruining her reputation."

"Why don't you go back and ask your parents? If they had a choice, would they choose a capable daughter like Miss Liu who brings them honor, or you useless, trouble-making, unfilial brats?"

The group of spoiled brats: "..." Stop cursing. Stop cursing.

Bian Yushu: "That's right!"

Shen Jiangliu's gaze swept over the faces of the several spoiled brats from aristocratic families. "Miss Liu, despite her physical disability, was able to win His Majesty's favor through her talent. You, on the other hand, are physically capable and from wealthy families, yet all you do is engage in cockfighting, dog racing, and slander and defamation. Tsk, we're all born of the same parents, so why is there such a vast difference between us?"

Bian Yushu felt a pain in her knees for a second when she heard about cockfighting and dog racing, but she was quickly drawn in by Shen Jiangliu's next words and cooperated by spreading her arms wide, making a very long gesture.

After the competition, he remembered that His Majesty had once taught him to pretend to be taciturn and sparing with words in front of outsiders.

He lowered his arm somewhat guiltily, put his hands behind his back, and nodded expressionlessly. "That's right!"

The group of spoiled brats: "..."

While reading aloud, you...

Forget it, Lord Shen is here, I'll just keep it to myself.

Shen Jiangliu naturally noticed the subtle movements of the imperial eunuch, and his lips twitched almost imperceptibly. Just as he was about to continue his attack, the playboys stopped in their tracks.

With such a huge handle in Shen Jiangliu's hands, they dared not speak out against it.

Moreover, even if one dares to speak out, one cannot win an argument.

Shen Jiangliu's words are certified by Wang Jing and Shang Yu; they are a golden reputation, and he never deceives anyone, young or old.

If they listened any longer, they might suffer internal injuries.

"Lord Shen, Lord Shen, we were blinded by greed and listened to slander, discussing unverified information. We are truly sorry."

"We all realize our mistake, so we'll go back and reflect on it behind closed doors."

Shen Jiangliu raised an eyebrow and sneered, "Are you apologizing to me? Do you even need to apologize to me?"

One of the playboys immediately turned to Bian Yushu: "Bian, we are truly sorry. Please be magnanimous. We playboys only said filthy and vulgar things. Please just ignore us."

Bian Yushu withdrew her adoring gaze from Shen Jiangliu and cleared her throat: "Are you sorry to me? Do you need to apologize to me?"

The group of spoiled brats: "..."

One of them said unwillingly, "We weren't the first to spread these rumors..."

Shen Jiangliu glanced at them.

The group quickly made their escape: "We'll go to the Liu residence right away to apologize."

After the spoiled brats tumbled and disappeared from his sight, Shen Jiangliu looked at his second nephew, who was standing beside him, and was about to say, "Useless, can't even win an argument," when he met a pair of pure, starry eyes.

"Lord Shen, you are amazing!"

"Thank you for your help!"

"You're such a kind person!"

His tone was sincere and earnest, full of admiration, as if every sentence ended with an exclamation mark.

Shen Jiang moved his lips, swallowing back the words that were already on the tip of his tongue, "It was just a few truths, nothing to mention."

The two traveled together for a while. Shen Jiangliu had to return to his residence, and Bian Yushu had to enter the palace. Just as they were about to part ways, a cart sped past.

A person was lying on the cart. Although he was covered with an outer garment, dark red bloodstains could be vaguely seen on the exposed corner of the garment.

Before you could even see who was on top, the cart had already been pulled quite a distance.

Shen Jiangliu frowned slightly as he watched the departing cart and the soldiers from the Five Cities Garrison following behind it, wondering who the people on the cart were.

Bian Yushu was just about to ask around when he saw several pedestrians craning their necks to look out from the roadside.

They were talking about it.

"What happened? Who was that person up there just now?"

"Judging from the uniforms of those soldiers, they seem to be from the Five Cities Garrison."

"One of those soldiers is someone I know. I just stopped him to ask him about him. I heard that he is Commander Shang of the Five Cities Garrison, who was appointed two months ago. He was punished with forty strokes for his poor performance."

"Goodness, when the wind blew up the coat covering him just now, I glanced at it and saw a bloody mess below his waist and abdomen. It was really scary."

"Sigh, I heard they were quite prestigious before, and apparently even received some reward from His Majesty before the New Year. Serving a ruler is truly like walking on thin ice..."

"Not at all. I heard from an acquaintance that forty strokes of the cane would be considered a mercy from His Majesty. According to the law, it's not impossible for him to be demoted or even beheaded."

"It seems His Majesty still treats this Commander Shang with some favor."

Bian Yushu's face was a little tense.

He wasn't concerned about his mortal enemy; he was just worried about being implicated!

He didn't intend to visit them, he just wanted to find out what was going on.

Besides, as the senior disciple, it's only right that he should visit his junior disciple when he makes a mistake and is punished.

He looked at Shen Jiangliu beside him: "Lord Shen..."

Shen Jiangliu looked at the slightly pale face of the person in the royal vest and said, "I saw that the cart left in the direction of your villa."

Shen Jiangliu took a step forward, "Let's go, neighbor, we're going the same way anyway."

That's right! He's going home, not to see his mortal enemy!

"Mmm." Bian Yushu nodded and immediately followed.

...

Second update delivered. 1501 posts generated with love today, haha, goal achieved! Double update tomorrow.