Chapter 32  : Eh! Pretend to be Pro Again

“Whip…”

The whip whipped Jin Cheng and tore his armor apart, leaving a bloody scar on his body.

Jin Cheng’s expression froze, and he could not believe what he was seeing.

Miss Mulan had always been extremely friendly to the soldiers and was especially helpful to him. He did not expect her to whip him because of Shen Lang.

Shen Lang was merely a temporary relief used as a live-in son-in-law. Jin Cheng felt that Shen Lang was definitely worse than himself since he had grown up in the Palace of the Earl.

Mulan said coldly, “There are two reasons why I am hitting you. Firstly, you are leaving someone in the lurch! That goes against the justice of the Palace of the Earl of Xuanwu.”

“Secondly, Shen Lang is my husband. So, you should listen to him, but you are being disrespectful instead!”

“In the future, you have to adjust your attitude,” said Mulan.

Jin Cheng froze for a moment before bowing down. “Yes, miss.”

Then, Mulan and Shen Lang continued to carry Dumb, who was on the stretcher and entered the courtyard in the Palace of the Earl, specially meant for treating injuries.

At this moment, the physician of the Palace of the Earl, An Zaishi, had come out to greet them.

He checked Dumb’s condition quickly and said, “The most severe thing is that his ribs are broken, and his internal organs are injured. There is internal bleeding in his lungs and stomach. There is some blood in his liver too.” 1

Shen Lang was surprised by how amazing Physician An’s skills were. He did not have an x-ray vision but could make the diagnosis based on experience and external injuries.

Shen Lang was a good doctor and wanted to treat Dumb along with Physician An.

He was most afraid that Physician An would not be able to confirm the area where the internal bleeding resided. Thus, he could help with his x-ray vision.

Physician An carefully examined Dumb’s injuries and made markings on his body using a writing brush.

“This injury is caused by a tiger, not a person with good martial arts skills. Therefore, the visible injuries correspond to the internal injuries, and it is not difficult to make out the internal bleeding points,” said An Zaishi, “the next thing to do is to release some of the blood and put a wrap around his broken ribs.”

Shen Lang realized that the location of internal bleeding and internal bruises that An Zaishi had marked out on Dumb was almost accurate.

What a talented physician!

Of course, Shen Lang was more skilled than Physician An, especially since he was better at treating minor conditions and had an x-ray vision. Almost nobody in this world could surpass Shen Lang in terms of his medical expertise.

Nevertheless, Physician An was extremely professional regarding the treatment of Dumb.

Even in his current condition, Shen Lang could barely surpass Physician An.

Mulan asked, “Physician An, can he be treated?”

Physician An said, “Yes, definitely, but we need to spend some time and some expensive medicine. This person has a strong body. Anyone else would have already died.”

Then, he began to treat Dumb meticulously.

His helper fed Dumb a top-quality ginseng soup.

Dumb was indeed exceptionally strong. After drinking a little of the ginseng soup, his face reddened, and his breathing intensified.

Physician An was surprised. He exclaimed, “His fitness is really exceptional.”

He professionally and accurately let out the internal blood clot in Dumb’s body. Dumb’s condition became much more stable, and his breathing resumed normally.

“Hubby, your brother is in stable condition now,” said Mulan.

Shen Lang said, “He is Dumb, not my brother. Do you think it’s amusing to make this joke?”

At this moment, the Earl walked in and said, “Shen Lang, come to the study room with me.”

Shen Lang looked at Dumb and was unwilling to leave.

Mulan said, “Don’t worry, hubby. Everything will be alright. My dad is just looking for you for something important.”

…

The Earl looked extremely serious in the study room.

“Shen Lang, are you aware of your mistake?”

Shen Lang shook his head and said, “Father-in-law, I am not.”

When he said so, the Earl looked shocked.

After all, usually, when he showed that expression, everyone in the Palace of the Earl would not dare to breathe.

Whenever he asked someone else if they knew their mistake, the other party would immediately fall to his knees.

However, Shen Lang looked so daring and said he did not know what he did wrongly.

The Earl said strictly, “Then I shall listen to your explanation.”

Shen Lang said, “Dumb is my one and only good friend. He had been protecting me since I was young. How can I leave him in the lurch when I see him severely injured? Although it is against the rules to bring him into the palace, the physicians in the palace are exceptional, and there is a lot of medicine here. He would have a higher chance of recovery if he came to the Palace of the Earl. Of course, I will apologize for breaking the rules.”

“No, I am not talking about that!” said the Earl, “did you do any other ridiculous things?”

“Regarding Tian Heng and the Black Clothes Gang?” asked Shen Lang.

Wow, his father-in-law was indeed impressive. He managed to hear about the matter so quickly?

“You know that too?” said the Earl, “once you left the Black Clothes Gang, they lodged a complaint, claiming that you tricked Tian Heng into giving you a thousand gold coins and wanted to break his foster son’s legs. How charismatic! Do you know that Tian Thirteen is the leader of the civilian army of the Palace of the City Lord?”

Tian Heng lodged a complaint?

The Earl said, “City Lord Liu Wuyan came personally and asked me to discipline you for being so lawless.”

Shen Lang was stunned. He could not believe that the City Lord came personally. That meant their tension was extremely high.

Shen Lang said, “Father-in-law, when the Xu Family chased me out, they spent 100 gold coins to ask Tian Heng to kill me. I wrote a loan for Tian Heng and owed him 1000 gold coins. If I was unable to pay 1000 gold coins within three days, he would kill my entire family, including me.”

The Earl was taken aback. He said, “Continue.”

Shen Lang said, “I invented a new gold dye formula and was planning to sell it to the Silk Pavilion’s boss, Lin Mo, for 2000 gold coins. When I was about to make the deal, the Xu Family said that I had stolen the formula from them…”

Shen Lang told the entire story to the Earl.

“The Xu Family, Tian Heng, and the Lin Family collaborated and wanted to kill me,” said Shen Lang, “especially Tian Heng, to force me to hand over the formula for purple and rainbow dye, he sent Tian Thirteen to capture my family. Because of this, I took revenge. Is there anything wrong with that?”

The Earl kept silent for a moment before replying, “No.” The Earl continued, “Tian Heng sent people to capture your parents, but it is actually legal. Your parents had indeed created land and did not pay taxes. The notice of arrest was sent by the City Lord. There is nothing wrong with it.”

Of course, Shen Lang knew about that.

The Earl said, “Shen Lang, I did not like you from the start, but since Mulan chose you, you are my son-in-law and hence, half a son. I will fight for you for the suffering you endured. Nobody can bully my son-in-law and escape the blame.”

When Shen Lang heard that, he was stunned.

He was touched again.

“However, the rules in the Palace of the Earl must be followed. Since the new governance is proceeding forthwith, Tian Heng belongs to the Palace of the City Lord. I am an aristocrat, and the Monarch is most against people interfering in regional affairs,” said the Earl, “now, many pairs of eyes are staring at us. Zhang Chong, the governor of Nujiang County, and Zhu Rong, the head of the Tian Nan Province, are all waiting for us to make a mistake. Once we do, they will catch it and tear us apart.”

He was not exaggerating at all. The situation was actually worse. However, the Earl was really conservative.

“Shen Lang, I said I will fight for your justice, and I mean it,” said the Earl, “however, I have to wait for some time and cannot go against the law. I cannot let anyone find any fault to bring us down, do you get it?”

“Yes,” said Shen Lang.

The Earl said, “Do you know who else lodged complaints today?”

Shen Lang said, “No.”

The Earl said, “Not only did the City Lord make a trip personally, but Zhang Pu, the leader of the Xuanwu City soldiers, also came. For this small matter, the two big shots of Xuanwu City came over to my palace to lodge complaints. They made the complaint sound like they were targeting you, but it was actually directed at me.”

The secret battle in the Xuanwu City was actually much more complicated than what Shen Lang had imagined.

The Earl said, “In front of others, you told Tian Heng that you will make him break Tian Thirteen’s legs tomorrow, right?”

“Yes,” said Shen Lang.

“You are impulsive, I don’t blame you,” said the Earl, “but forget it, don’t leave the house for a few days.”

Shen Lang said, “Whatever I said can’t be taken back! If I don’t do it tomorrow and decide to remain hidden in the Palace of the Earl, won’t I lose my face?”

The Earl said, “Which young man did not say things out of impulse? There is nothing wrong with that! I promise I will fight for your justice, and I mean it. Do you not believe me?”

“I believe you, Father-in-law,” Shen Lang said as he bowed, “but I still have to go tomorrow. I have to do whatever I said. Since I said I will make Tian Heng break his son’s legs, I will do it. Moreover, this is my revenge, only I can incur it.”

“Seriously…” The Earl was starting to look really furious. 1

Shen Lang sounded sincere, “Father-in-law, please believe me. I will do it legally, and nothing will go wrong. If I don’t go tomorrow, the entire Palace of the Earl will lose face, not me.” Then, Shen Lang’s voice became even more sincere, and he said, “Father-in-law, they can bully me, but if they gave the Palace of the Earl and you a slap on the face, then I cannot allow that. Tomorrow, I will definitely make Tian Heng break Tian Thirteen’s legs in front of me!”

When the Earl heard this, he felt touched too.

He felt that, although Shen Lang was impulsive, he was very thoughtful.

However, he continued in a stern tone, “No, I mean it. From now on, you are grounded. Stay in the Palace of the Earl and don’t go anywhere.”

When a young man was impulsive, the parent would have to teach him a lesson. Since Shen Lang’s parents handed their son to him, he had the responsibility to make sure he behaved properly.

“Jin Zhong, get four men to guard outside the door. Master will stay in the study room and is not allowed to leave,” commanded the Earl.

How could this be?

Whatever was spoken could not be taken back. Shen Lang said that he would make Tian Heng break Tian Thirteen’s legs personally. If he did not do it and stayed in the Palace of the Earl, he would become a laughing stock and would be labeled as a coward.

Then, wouldn’t Tian Heng become even more arrogant?

However, his father-in-law meant well. Shen Lang knew it and would not be ignorant.

Moreover, when facing the Earl, a stubborn parent, he definitely had to talk to him nicely instead of insisting.

Instantly, Shen Lang replied obediently, “Yes, father-in-law, I will listen to you.”

“It’s great that you listen.” The Earl nodded and was satisfied.

Shen Lang said, “Then, can I ask, when can I leave the palace freely?”

The Earl thought about it for a while; he could not possibly keep Shen Lang in the study room for no reason for a prolonged period, right?

That would make him look unreasonable as a parent.

The Earl thought about a plan quickly. He took a book from the shelf and said, “This is ‘The Family Instructions of Master Jin,’ it has been passed down from our ancestors. Our family is going strong for a few hundred years, mainly because of this book.

“When you can memorize this thick book, you can regain your freedom. Just to let you know, I spent an entire month memorizing it!”