Chapter 7 Exogenous Branches

  As soon as this was said, everyone was shocked. Gong Sunfan was the first to disagree. "Uncle, this little thief bit off my finger, and cutting off one of his arms is not too much for him!"

  "Let it go, let it go, you spare people where you can spare them. You trade one finger for an arm, and that's already a great bargain. If the punishment is too severe, won't it make people laugh at the Gong Sun family for bullying others with their power?"

  "But..."

  Gongsun Zhan waved his hand and said sternly, "Fan'er, don't say any more. This matter also requires you to reflect on yourself. Wasn't the origin of this incident caused by you?"

  Gongsun Fan had no choice but to retreat.

  Liu Bei was in a great hurry, his brother who had just been recognized, would soon become disabled. In this world, even able-bodied people are not necessarily better off, and if he really loses an arm, his future life will only be more difficult. The only one he can turn to is Gongsun Zan.

  Gongsun Zan nodded silently and said to Gongsun Gong: "Uncle, Liu Ze is still a minor. If we cut off one of his arms, it's likely that he will have difficulty surviving in the future. Isn't this punishment too severe?"

  "Xiao'er, you should understand that normally if someone dares to offend our Gong Sun family, they will suffer the consequences. There's no need for me to spell it out for you. To be honest, today I'm only being lenient because of your plea."

  The aristocratic families and powerful clans deal with offenders, fundamentally without the need to follow the laws of the great Han. In short, it is private punishment. Even if it's just verbal offense, the punishments are all gouging out eyes and cutting off tongues. Not to mention biting off the young master's fingers, that would at least be a beheading. Gong Sun Zan was quite clear about this, but usually he only dealt with lowly commoners, so he didn't need to pay much attention. Today, however, the offender happened to be his classmate Liu Bei's younger brother, which is why he argued with Gong Sun Fan. Now that Gong Sun Xian has spoken, Gong Sun Zan can't say anything more. After all, being able to save Liu Ze's life is already the best outcome.

  "Gongsun Zhen said solemnly: 'Cuan, our Gongsun family is a prominent clan in western Liaoning and Youzhou. A big clan must have the dignity of a big clan, no one can be insulted, and anyone who breaks the rules must be severely punished, otherwise the clan will not be able to stand up for itself. Today, sparing his life is already an act of mercy, you as the eldest son of the family should set an example, considering the interests of the family rather than just thinking about friendship.'"

  Gongsun Zan was silent for a moment before saying, "Thank you, Uncle. I will remember this."

  It seems that this has already become an unchangeable decision. Liu Ze had long since cursed the Gongsun family thousands and tens of thousands of times in his heart. Damn it, isn't your Gongsun family just a local tyrant in Liaoxi? You're acting like a local emperor, having the power to kill or spare people's lives. The life of your family's young master is valuable, but other people's lives are worthless. Killing five people is like killing five chickens, and it's not even as valuable as that. It's just like pinching five ants to death. This is the way of the world now - the strong prey on the weak. It seems that this arm can't be saved. Just after crossing over, he became the one-armed hero Yang Guo. But Yang Guo has a body of unparalleled martial arts and Xiaolongnu, what does he have? Besides his not-so-reliable big brother Liu Bei, he really is penniless.

  If he hadn't bitten off Gong Sunfan's finger just now, maybe things wouldn't have gotten so bad. Does he regret it? No! Liu Ze only regrets that his mouth was too short at the time, and he only bit off one of his fingers. If he had to do it again, he would choose to bite through his throat. Someone who tramples on a person's dignity and dreams will never be forgiven by Liu Ze, even if it costs him his life.

  Liu Bei cried again in despair and squatted beside Liu Ze, crying very sadly.

  "Big brother, don't cry. The humiliation the Gong Sun family gave me today, I will return it to them doubled tomorrow!" Liu Ze gritted his teeth, lowering his voice so that only his two brothers could hear.

  "Brother, it's because of my incompetence that I couldn't save you......" Liu Bei wept uncontrollably.

  Gongsun Zan also sighed, at this point, he was powerless too.

  "Wait for me to come and cut off his arm myself!" Gong Sunfan's face was filled with excitement, he picked up the knife and prepared to chop.

  Gongsun Zan glared at him and shouted, "Fan Er, pay attention to your identity. Do you need to personally take care of such a coarse matter? Are you not afraid of staining your clothes with blood?"

  Gongsun Fan had no choice but to stop with a sullen expression and wait for Gongsun Gong to send someone to carry out the execution.

  Just then, someone outside shouted: "Gongsun Duiwei is here!" As soon as the words were spoken, under the escort of a group of soldiers, an armored military officer walked in. The servants all bowed and said: "Greetings to the two young masters!" Gong Sun also went forward to greet him and asked with concern: "Why did you come to Liu City, Qiong'er?"

  The person who came was Gong Sun's second son, Gong Sun Yang, who is currently serving as the chief of Liaoxi County. He is usually busy with official duties and rarely has time to come this way, which is why Gong Sun Wen asked this question. Gong Sun Yang smiled and said: "I am here on the orders of Governor Zhao to welcome the governor's family to Liu Cheng, and I will take a look at everyone along the way."

  Liu Ze gave a cold glance, looking at the attitudes of the crowd. This Second Master Gongsun was probably the real master of the Gongsun family. Don't mention that this second master looked quite similar to Gongsun Zan, but he seemed even more handsome and had more charm. Damn it, the young masters of the Gongsun family were all tall, rich, and handsome, while I was a useless waste in my previous life, and now I've transmigrated to an even more miserable state, can't let people live?

  Gongsun Yang also seemed to have noticed Gongsun Fan's injured right hand and asked with concern, "What's wrong with Third Brother's hand? How did he get hurt?"

  As soon as he heard this, Gong Sunfan spat out a mouthful of bitter water. "Just now someone bit off a piece, please ask Brother Ah to take charge for me!"

  "Who is so bold as to hurt the fingers of my third brother? Don't worry, with big brother here, I won't rest until I've twisted off his head to compensate for your injured finger!"

  Gongsun Fan was overjoyed, earlier Third Uncle had decided to cut off one of Liu Ze's arms as compensation for his finger, although he was resentful but could do nothing about it. Just then Gongsun Qian arrived and immediately spoke up for him, you should know that although Third Uncle is the head of the household, the one who truly has a say in the Gongsun family is Gongsun Qian. Gongsun Fan's face was filled with excitement and joy, as if Liu Ze's head was already off his shoulders.

  Gongsun Zan was secretly spitting out bitter water at this time. Originally, the decision of his third uncle Gongsun Gong was a bit severe, but it was also the best result that could be obtained. At this time, his second brother came over and inserted a stick, and Gongsun Fan's words took precedence. Whether Liu Ze's life could be preserved or not was now uncertain. However, Gongsun Zan was very clear about his younger brother's character - mature, stable, and reasonable, so he could only try to persuade him.

  "Second brother..."

  "Big brother, it's rare for you to come back this time, why didn't you go to Yang Le City to find me? How many years has it been since we brothers met, is it almost a year?" Gong Sun Zan had just opened his mouth when Gong Sun Qiong hastily interrupted him with several questions, his concern overflowing from his words. Although Gong Sun Qiong was only a few months younger than Gong Sun Zan and they were not biological brothers, Gong Sun Qiong never had any idea of seniority or inferiority towards this big brother, treating him with utmost respect.

  Gongsun Zan smiled. "I just arrived in Liu City from Lingzhi, my friend has never been to Saiwai, so I stayed for two days, and was about to set off to Yang Le to see my second brother, didn't expect you also came to Liu City."

  "Oh, who's this?"

  "This is my friend Liu Bei from Zhuo County, a descendant of Zhongshan Jing Wang, who studied with me under Lu Gong."

  Gongsun Zan looked at Liu Bei and, cupping his hands together in a gesture of respect, smiled and said: "It's rare for Brother Liu to come to Liaoxi as a guest. Another day I'll set up a banquet in Yang Le to welcome you and your brothers, and roughly fulfill the host's obligations."

  Liu Bei immediately knelt down in front of Gongsun Zan and begged: "I beg the two gentlemen to show great mercy, spare my brother's life."

  Gongsun Zan's face was shocked, Liu Bei's sudden kneel was too sudden, he hurriedly stretched out his hand to support him and said: "Liu brother, why are you making such a big ceremony, it's killing me."

  Gongsun Zan then told how Gongsun Fan was captured by Liu Ze, subjected to severe torture and forced to confess, how he had been bitten on the hand by Liu Ze, including the quarrel between the brothers over this matter and Gongsun Gong's final verdict. He spoke very objectively and in detail, without any exaggeration or embellishment, after all, the parties involved were present, and lies would be exposed quickly.

  Gongsun Jing quietly listened to Gongsun Zan's narrative, his face as calm as an ancient well without a ripple. He didn't interrupt or say a word. Gongsun Fan wanted to step forward and interject, but was pulled back by Gongsun Xun, and didn't dare approach again.

  At this time, the dusk had already fallen, and some soldiers had lit torches, shining like daylight. Gong Sun looked at Liu Ze and asked Liu Bei: "Just now, I heard that your younger brother has just come out of the mountain, but I don't know why he was beheaded?"

  Everyone saw it, but isn't that so? Liu Ze's head only had a short tuft of hair on top, and just now he was in a state of confusion, so no one carefully looked at Liu Ze's hair. It was Gong Sun Jue whose eyes were sharp and noticed the difference in Liu Ze's hair at once.