Chapter Eighteen: The Exchange of Attack and Defense

  Inside the room was a solemn silence, with only the sound of a woman's mournful sobbing.

  Just now still complacent and arrogant, Shi Lu was struck by lightning, his eyes wide open in a daze, with a vacant and empty look in his eyes...

  Du Hong obviously didn't expect such an unexpected event, and he stared at Shi Lu with a shocked face, then looked at the mother and son, his eyes darting back and forth between them, his expression uncertain and suspicious.

  The woman knelt on the ground, one hand holding the child and the other tightly grasping Shi Lu's thigh, as if afraid he would run away. She was crying loudly and accusing Shi Lu of his numerous misdeeds.

  "You scoundrel, three years ago you were just a minor official in the Nanjing Ministry of Justice, with no power and no money, yet you came to woo my family's innocent daughter. At that time, you made vows to heaven and earth, promising to divorce your first wife and marry me as your legitimate wife. You deceived me into giving you my body, and I even bore you a son. But now you've turned against me, saying goodbye without any regard for me or our child. What have I done wrong? What has the child done wrong?! Shi Lu, today you must give me an explanation, otherwise I'll dash my head to death in front of you..."

  Shi Lu's body shook violently like a leaf for a few times, and his face had turned deathly pale.

  "You... let go! Who are you, anyway? I don't know you, and you dare to falsely accuse a government official. Aren't you afraid of the law?" Shi Lu shouted angrily, completely losing his composure as an official.

  The woman clutched Shi Lu's thigh tightly and cried out: "Don't let go, if you let go, you'll run away again. Where can I and this poor child go to cry for justice?"

  "You wretched woman, take a closer look, I have never met you before, you must be mistaken..."

  "You've never admitted your mistake, Shi Lu, and even if you were reduced to ashes, the Gu family could still put you back together!"

  At the time of entanglement, Shi Lu inadvertently saw that Du Hong, who was standing aside in silence, had a change in his expression, from surprise to contemplation, and contemplation gradually turned into excitement...

  Shi Lu's whole body trembled, and his heart suddenly sank to the bottom of the valley.

  Gotcha!

  This is a trap!

  The plan has been decided!

  Outside the room door, Du Yan clung to the door frame, staring blankly at the good show in the house, her beautiful apricot eyes wide open, her small mouth shocked and agape, unable to close.

  It wasn't until now that she finally understood the essence of this play.

  Diabolical, ruthless, outrageous...

  In the Ming Dynasty, which governed with benevolence and morality, officials abandoning their wives and children was already a huge scandal. What's more, this official, Shi Lu, was known for his integrity and upright character, a true model of a gentleman-official. If this matter were to spread, it would likely shake the entire imperial court. By then, Shi Lu would be infamous throughout the land, with everyone condemning him. Forget about keeping his position, he might not even have the courage to live on. Even if it was clear that he had been framed and slandered, Shi Lu would have no way to defend himself. Once rumors spread, they cannot be controlled by anyone, and Shi Lu would be left defenseless.

  Even if you use a crude proverb: If mud falls into your crotch, it's all shit anyway.

  The most wonderful thing about this plan is that there are only two people in the house, Du Hong and Shi Lu. Although something has happened, there is still room for maneuvering. Whether to make it public or keep it a secret depends on Du Hong's thoughts, without forcing Shi Lu into a desperate situation.

  In the blink of an eye, Shi Lu and Du Hong's offensive and defensive positions had completely reversed.

  As long as Du Hong is not a fool, he will necessarily know how to grasp this rare opportunity. Similarly, as long as Shi Lu is not a fool, whether he is arrogant or humble, he will also necessarily know how to choose his attitude.

  Du Yan suddenly felt a heartbeat racing, like a bird in a cage wanting to fly out. The worries and sorrows of the past few days were instantly cleared, replaced by an overwhelming sense of relief and liberation.

  She couldn't help but turn her head and take a glance at Qin Kan, with a complex and inexplicable look in her beautiful eyes.

  This guy... is simply a freak, a scourge, a scoundrel who deserves to be killed by everyone.

  I really want to bite him...

  How on earth did he come up with such a brilliant and sinister idea?

  Qin Kan's current appearance made Du Yan somewhat puzzled. He was squatting on the ground, his fingers drawing circles on the ground in boredom, his expression a bit despondent, not seeing any joy of success, but instead looking heavy-hearted.

  She kicked him gently and lowered her voice: "Hey, what's wrong with you?"

  "Lost..." Qin Kan muttered.

  "What's wrong?"

  "I suffered a loss at your hands that time, I've been thinking about it, when you were beating me up in the inn, actually if I had picked up a stick, I could have withstood dozens of rounds..."

  "Do you feel embarrassed?" Du Yan said with a smile.

  "No, I just think your medical expenses are too low..."

  Du Yan didn't bother to comfort the big man's grievances, squatting beside him and pointing inside with a face full of admiration.

  "Hey, you're really something, how did you come up with this bad idea?"

  Qin Kan raised his head, slanting his eyes to stare at her, and hummed straight at her: "I have a lot of ideas, if you dare to hit me again in the future, be careful that I will sell you to a remote mountainous area as a daughter-in-law for an idiot, and you will still be happy to help me count silver coins... are you afraid?"

  Du Yan smiled lightly, her smile as beautiful as a plum blossom after snow, and playfully patted him.

  "Haha, scared to laughter..."

  Compared with the warm and sunny weather outside, the outhouse was as cold as a snowy winter day.

  Du Hong is certainly not foolish, but rather very clever.

  Although he didn't understand how this sudden change had occurred, he was very clear about what it meant for him, so he began to counterattack.

  Taking a step forward, Du Hong took the child from the woman's arms and said with a loving expression: "What a handsome child, really resembling Stone gentleman in some ways, it's truly a joyous occasion..."

  "Du Hong, you..." Shi Lu felt a surge of blood rushing up his chest: "It's you, it's you..."

  Before he could finish speaking, Shi Lu suddenly saw a flash of icy cold light in Du Hong's eyes. Shi Lu was an intelligent person and immediately shut his mouth.

  Du Hong held the child, seemingly carefree and playful, but his tone was extremely heavy, with a kind of angry yet resigned sorrow: "Shi Lang, how can you teach me to speak well when you have committed such an evil act of abandoning your wife and child? If this gets out, where will the dignity of our great Ming dynasty be? Where will the glory of our great Ming emperor be?"

  "Master Du, don't falsely accuse me! This is not my child! I'll drip... drip blood to recognize the kinship!"

  Du Hong's eyebrows did not move, and he said sternly: "Very well, this is a serious matter, concerning the imperial court and the emperor's face. One must know that a gentleman is cautious in his actions, and cannot deceive others in secret. This official will now order someone to inform the county of Kuaiji, the prefecture of Shaoxing, as well as the touring inspector, the salt transportation commissioner, and the Imperial Guard's Shaoxing battalion commander, to ask Lord Shi to formally acknowledge his son in front of everyone, with a blood oath. If it is found that this child is not your offspring, this official will severely punish the woman, and clear Lord Shi's name."

  Du Honggang had just stepped towards the door when he was intercepted by a flustered Shi Lu.

  It was a miscarriage of justice, but once it was made public, regardless of whether Shi Lu was wrongly accused or not, the rumors would spread and the story would change as it passed from person to person, taking on a life of its own. Shi Lu couldn't be unaware of this; after years of navigating the complexities of officialdom, he knew all too well the power of rumor.

  This is a conspiracy, but it's an irreconcilable one!

  "Yuan Zhi (Du Hong's courtesy name) brother... why must you pursue and kill them all?" Stone Lu, his face deathly pale, pulled on Du Hong's sleeve, finally lowering his head.