Chapter 723 - 723 The Dispute of the People of the Shen Family
Old Madame Shen coldly watched Shen Wu and said in a deep voice, "Do you know why I called for you?"
Shen Wu shivered as he looked at Old Madame Shen, wanting to shake his head, but in the end, he nodded slightly.
"You know?" Old Madame Shen said coldly, "Then tell me, why is that?"
Shen Wu opened his mouth but in the end, he shook his head. To be honest, he really didn't know what was wrong.
"You don't know, so why nod your head?" Old Madame Shen angrily said, "I've said it before, we, the people of the Shen Family, must seek truth from facts in everything we do. If you know, you say you know; if you don't know, you say you don't know. Your nodding and then shaking your head, are you trying to deceive me?"
"I... I wouldn't dare..." Shen Wu's face fell as he said, "Old Madame, I... I really don't know where I went wrong..."
"You don't know?" Old Madame Shen glared at him, indignantly asking, "Wasn't it your idea yesterday to have Third Brother hang that Ye Qing in the Eight Trigrams Array?"
Shen Wu finally understood why Old Madame Shen was looking for him and couldn't help trembling more violently as he nodded awkwardly, saying, "It was... my idea..."
"Then do you know why I called for you now?" Old Madame Shen asked angrily.
Shen Wu's face was mournful as he slowly nodded and said in a low voice, "I shouldn't have let Third Brother hang Ye Qing in the Eight Trigrams Array."
"Why shouldn't you have?" Old Madame Shen asked in a deep voice.
Shen Wu, looking mournful, bowed his head without speaking. Seeing him like this, Old Madame Shen felt even more annoyed as she indignantly said, "How many times have I said it? We, the people of the Shen Family, must be upright and transparent in our conduct. Even if we disregard whether Old Eight and Old Jiu were killed by Ye Qing, your method of using Ye Qing to deal with Cui Yulong was already despicable and contemptible. Is this something our Shen Family should be doing?"
As Old Madame Shen spoke, she slammed her dragon head cane down forcefully, causing the floor to thud loudly.
Ye Qing under the quilt heard these words and couldn't help but be shocked. The Old Madame Shen of rumors and the real Old Madame Shen were completely different. Far from being the unreasonable tyrant of the rumors, she was upright and transparent in her dealings—far stronger than the rest of the Shen Family!
Shen Wu was so frightened he trembled all over, bowing his head without daring to speak. Seeing this, Shen San hastily said, "Old Madame, my brother acts for the good of the Shen Family. Cui Yulong is really too powerful, with the Ink Pattern Black Gold Blade in hand, he is difficult to deal with. Therefore, my brother thought of this plan, mainly for the preservation of the Shen Family..."
"So what if he's powerful?" Old Madame Shen roared, "Is our Shen Family afraid of those with power? Back in the day, the Northern Fist King Li Changqing, unmatched everywhere he went, made his overwhelming presence felt in Jiangnan, directly challenging our Shen Family. Were the people of the Shen Family ever afraid? You are all scared by Cui Yulong and resort to these tactics against him; don't you feel ashamed? Since when did our Shen Family fall so low as to need these despicable methods, to do such vile deeds?"
Shen San, Shen Wu, and the others all lowered their heads, not daring to speak, while the rest of the Shen Family also looked embarrassed. Some among them had used similar schemes, so Old Madame Shen's words were effectively a rebuke to them all.
However, Ye Qing hidden under the quilt was secretly astonished. Old Madame Shen's upright character deeply impressed him. Moreover, the fact that she pursued the matter made him view her with newfound respect. To be honest, Ye Qing had originally held some dissatisfaction with the Shen Family, but hearing Old Madame Shen's words, his feelings gradually began to change.
"Listen clearly, everyone!" Old Madame Shen spoke in a grave tone, "No matter what, as members of the Shen Family, we must act with integrity and transparency. From now on, I do not want to hear from outsiders that people of our Shen Family take advantage of others due to their position. Otherwise, I will punish them severely without mercy!"
The crowd unanimously voiced their agreement. In front of Old Madame Shen, no one dared to voice any objections.
Just at this moment, an elder suddenly rushed in and said to Old Madame Shen, "Old Madam, we've just received news. That girl from the Huangfu Household has also entered Xi Hang!"
The people of the Shen Family instantly became somewhat noisy, and Old Madame Shen also frowned, speaking somberly, "This young lady has also gotten involved now. Alas, this matter is really becoming more and more troublesome!"
"How can Huangfu Ziyu be so unaware of what's good for her?" a man in his thirties spoke out. This person was Tenth Brother Shen, who indignantly said, "Back when the Shen Family suffered a catastrophic annihilation, it was our father who, risking the danger of implicating the entire Shen Family, stepped in to save her. He even took her in at the Shen Family Manor. During that time, because of her presence, our family was not spared from attacks from those people. Back then, she killed her senior brother and several people from our Shen Family, but we did not hold her accountable. To this day, far from showing any gratitude or guilt, she's taking advantage of our troubles instead. Had we known this would happen, we should not have kept her in the first place. We've left ourselves a source of disaster!"
"Tenth Brother, don't be agitated," Shen Qi waved his hands and said, "When those events took place, she was but a child. How much could she really understand? And why did she kill her senior brother if not because he harbored ulterior motives toward her? The others she killed were close to her senior brother and wanted to seek revenge by killing her. In the end, she was just a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old girl faced with such circumstances. She had no choice but to submit or fight desperately to escape, she had no other options!"
"Shen Qi, I really don't understand what you're saying. What do you mean she had no other options?" Tenth Brother Shen said angrily, "She was in our Shen Family Manor. If anything happened to her, wouldn't it be our responsibility as the Shen Family to handle it? If she had told us about those things, would we have ignored her? She didn't speak to us at all, and after killing people, she fled in the night. This is clearly a guilty conscience!"
Shen Qi said, "Given the situation at the time, I'm afraid she didn't even have the chance to come to us with these matters. Tenth Brother, I understand your feelings since you were the one who personally taught her senior brother martial arts, so his death has always been on your mind. But I still have to tell you, her senior brother dared to do such things, and Zi Yu was not wrong to kill him!"
"Shen Qi, are you saying that I'm biased towards her senior brother?" Tenth Brother Shen couldn't help but become angry and said resentfully, "Hmph, if that's what you're saying, then I also have something to ask. Huangfu Ziyu was personally taught by you. By this logic, are you not biased towards Huangfu Ziyu? Her senior brother did wrong, indeed, but as a Shen Family, we have rules. Her reckless killing is a serious violation of our family's rules. Even if her senior brother was wrong and deserved to die, what about those from our family who went to confront her, did they also deserve death?"
"To my knowledge, those who went to confront her weren't planning to reason with her at all but went with the intention to kill her," Shen Qi also heated up and said, "Huangfu Ziyu was personally taught by me, and I am very clear about her character. She would definitely not kill innocents without cause!"
"Absolutely not kill innocents without cause?" Tenth Brother Shen laughed and said, "Shen Qi, do you know what Huangfu Ziyu's nickname is in the Eastern Province?"
Tenth Brother Shen paused, looked around at everyone, and spoke somberly, "Her nickname in the Eastern Province is 'Poisonous Mantis'! 'Poisonous Mantis'! What is a poisonous mantis? It's a venomous creature that kills people without batting an eyelid. Almost everyone in the Eastern Province knows; she's a Female Demon there, quick to kill at the slightest disagreement. Even someone who dares to look her way one extra time, she might just kill them. Such a person, Shen Qi, you know her true nature? Explain to me, what is her character? What is it like?"
Shen Qi was also furious but was stopped by a gesture from Elder Shen.
"Old Seven, Old Ten, people from Sha Men haven't even arrived yet, and you two have already started quarreling. If word of this gets out, won't it be a joke for others? We, the people of the Shen Family, cannot stand united among ourselves; how can we expect others to respect us?" Elder Shen glanced at the two of them and said, "Let's not bring up past events anymore. No matter what, Huangfu Ziyu received both kindness and unkindness while she was with our family, and I am aware of all of it. So, let's not argue about who was right or wrong regarding the past. Right now, what's most important is that Huangfu Ziyu has returned, and there's an eight or nine out of ten chance she will come to our Shen Family seeking vengeance tonight."
At this point, Elder Shen paused for a moment and glanced at the Old Madam. The Old Madam nodded at him, and then Elder Shen continued, "No matter what, Huangfu Ziyu is not our enemy. Since she was saved by our father and brought back when she was seven years old, she has been a part of the Shen Family. I do not wish for our people to see her as the enemy, nor do I want any members of our family to become enemies with her. Therefore, I hope for a perfect resolution to this matter."
Elder Shen turned towards Shen Qi and said, "Old Seven, after Father left home, you were the one who taught Huangfu Ziyu. Between all the members in the Shen Family, aside from Hua Yu's mother, you were the kindest to her. Tonight, let go of all other concerns; just wait for Huangfu Ziyu to arrive. I hope you can resolve the hatred in her heart and settle this matter thoroughly, understand?"
"Yes!" Shen Qi nodded, without any hesitation. He had always harbored a knot in his heart concerning Huangfu Ziyu's matter, and if it could be resolved on this occasion, that would indeed be best.
"Old Ten, I know you've harbored deep feelings over her senior brother's death all these years. But I want you to listen carefully," Elder Shen paused for a moment, emphasizing his tone as he spoke in a heavy voice, "Since Father triumphed over Northern Fist King Li Changqing twenty years ago, our Shen Family has always been the martial arts holy land of the Southern Six Provinces. You must understand that to be a martial arts holy land, it's not enough just to have superior skills. One must also have a generous heart in order to truly win people's heartfelt admiration. When Father was still with us, he often said that without a heart to accommodate others, one can never truly achieve greatness. Although our family is large, we must never produce petty people!"