Early the next morning, Shen Changze and Jiang Shu set off from Sangyan Village to Cenhe Village.
The distance between the two villages is only thirty miles, and they arrived before noon.
Unlike Sangyan Village, the village manager of Cenhe Village is Shen's mother's distant nephew.
"Mrs. Marquis, you have worked hard all the way. Come to the village to rest and have a meal." Zhao Dezhu, the head of the village, welcomed the two people into the village with a smile on his face.
Xu Shi received the news and Zhao Dezhu was prepared.
A hearty meal, a clean house, and flawless account books.
Jiang Shu understood that Shen's mother must have sent someone to tip off Zhao Dezhu, but nothing could be found.
But she had long heard that Zhao Dezhu was a lecherous person who used his status as Zhuangtou and the name of the Marquis Mansion to seduce his wife and daughter and committed countless evil deeds.
Therefore, before entering the village, Jiang Shu ordered Huo Chong and Tan Yu to leave the team and secretly visit the banker.
"The weather is too hot and I'm tired. Let's go here first." Jiang Shu put down the account book and stood up.
Across the gauze screen, Zhao Dezhu stared at the beautiful figure behind the screen, daydreaming in his mind.
This screen was specially prepared by Zhao Dezhu. It is so thin that people can be seen, which arouses people's imagination.
Jiang Shu, who stood up to leave, noticed a scorching gaze. She turned back to look at the screen and saw Zhao Dezhu peeking out.
It's so daring!
Jiang Shu frowned fiercely.
"What's wrong?" Shen Changze followed Jiang Shu's gaze and frowned.
Jiang Shu told Zhao Dezhu about his lust. But he didn't expect that Zhao Dezhu would be so bold that he would even dare to covet his wife.
Shen Changze was angry and was about to have an attack.
Jiang Shu stopped him.
After returning to the house, Shen Changze asked angrily: "Why did you stop me?"
Jiang Shu pursed her lips and said, "If I don't stop you, what will Lord Marquis do?"
"Of course we should call upon him to punish him and teach him a lesson."
No matter how distant a relative is, he will not be tolerated if he dares to be disrespectful to his wife.
"What crime should be punished?"
"It's disrespectful to covet the Marquis's wife."
"Is there any evidence? How to convince people?"
Shen Changze was silent.
Just a glance through the screen is not a voucher.
"Moreover, how will the Marquis teach him a lesson?" Jiang Shu asked aggressively.
To deal with an old pervert like Zhao Dezhu, reprimands and scoldings are insignificant, and small punishments are insignificant and cannot curb his evil deeds at all.
If you want to deal with it, you must deal with it thoroughly so that there is no possibility for him to do evil again.
In the evening, Huo Chong and Tan Yu came back.
"Master Hou, madam. This is Zhao Dezhu's crime described by the tenants on the village." Huo Chong presented a stack of paper.
Shen Changze took it and looked through it carefully.
Five years ago, on the eighth day of June, Zhao Dezhu injured Father Wang, took away Father Wang's fourteen-year-old daughter, and took her as his concubine.
Four years ago, on the third day of February, Zhao Dezhu insulted Li Meiniang. Li Meiniang refused and was forced to commit suicide by jumping into the river.
Four years ago, on the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhao Dezhu forcibly took Chen Xiu'e as his concubine but was rejected. He had a conflict with Chen Xiu'e's fiancé Lin Lei. He then used private revenge to make Lin Lei patrol the village in the rain at night. As a result, Lin Lei was hit by a rolling stone on the mountain and broke his leg, leaving him with a lifelong disability...
On April 16 last year, Zhao Dezhu took advantage of Zhang Da's busy farming days and sneaked into Zhang's home to rape his pregnant wife, causing her to miscarry her fetus.
Shen Changze looked at them one by one, his face was as cold as ice, and veins popped out on his forehead.
Huo Chong and Tan Yu stood quietly, with anger and hatred on their faces.
These crimes were recorded by Huo Chong, who went door to door with Shen Changze's token, and Tan Yu wrote them down word by word.
At first, the villagers were very resistant, fearing that the Hou Mansion would protect Zhao Dezhu, which would embarrass them and dare not tell the truth.
Huo Chong and Tan Yu tried their best to persuade the villagers to speak with hesitation.
"Does he still have the laws of nature in his eyes?" Shen Changze was furious.
Jiang Shu took it from his hand and read it carefully.
As he watched, Jiang Shu's brows furrowed little by little, and in the end, his face was as full of anger as Shen Changze's.
"Why didn't they report it to the official or the prince's government?" Shen Changze was puzzled.
Huo Chong said: "Report it. But Zhao Dezhu bribed the government official, and there is insufficient evidence to bring him to justice."
"As for the Hou Mansion, the banker said there was no response after reporting the matter."
"Later, Zhao Dezhu ordered his thugs to keep strict watch, not letting the farmers leave the village if anything happened, and threatening their families."
"A mere village leader is trying to cover the sky with just one hand." Shen Changze paced back and forth angrily.
"They reported it to the Hou Mansion, do you know?" Shen Changze asked Jiang Shu.
For the past six years, Jiang Shu has been in charge of the Hou Mansion.
Facing Shen Changze's suspicious eyes, Jiang Shu said coldly: "I have heard about this, but that person was summoned by my mother at that time, and I have never seen him."
She vaguely remembered that it was the second year after she married into the Hou Mansion. Although she was in charge of the general affairs of the Hou Mansion, some matters were still handled by Shen's mother and not by her.
Shen Changze's question was really ridiculous.
"You mean, mother is protecting him." Shen Changze was shocked and couldn't believe it.
"What do you think, Lord Marquis?" Jiang Shu looked at him with cool eyes.
Shen Changze opened his mouth but was speechless.
He suddenly remembered that when he left the mansion, Shen's mother had told him to treat his relatives more leniently, and even if he made mistakes, he should deal with them appropriately.
What a generous person, what a discretionary approach. Only then did Shen Changze understand what he meant.
Seeing that Shen Changze was silent for a long time, Jiang Shuhan asked with a face: "How does the Marquis plan to deal with it?"
Zhao Dezhu violated all family rules and national laws, and he violated them very seriously.
No matter what the reason for the punishment, it is an unforgivable crime.
But Zhao Dezhu is Shen’s mother’s distant nephew. Will Shen Changze deal with it impartially?
Or will he continue to cover up like Shen's mother?
Shen Changze felt a war between heaven and man in his heart, and finally gritted his teeth and said harshly: "Severe punishment will not be tolerated."
If someone in the military commits such a serious crime, he will be punished by military law and beheaded in public.
Shen Changze deeply hated Zhao Dezhu's behavior.
"Huo Chong, Tan Yu, you guys make another trip." Jiang Shu ordered.
"Yes." After hearing the order, the two of them left.
"Come on, Lord Marquis, let me see how you severely punish Zhao Dezhu." Jiang Shu got up and walked to the hall.
Shen Changze frowned and followed.
It was approaching dinner time. Zhao Dezhu had prepared some wine and was waiting for dinner in the room. He was a little confused when he was suddenly summoned.
"Master Marquis, Madam, what are your instructions for summoning this young man?" Zhao Dezhu asked, bowing and standing in front of the screen.
Not knowing that a disaster was imminent, he was still peeping at Jiang Shu with a sly look.
Seeing his actions, Shen Changze stood up angrily and kicked over the gauze screen.
"You are so brave that you dare to covet the wife of the Marquis. Do you think I am dead?"
Shen Changze suddenly shouted angrily. Zhao Dezhu was so frightened that his legs went weak and he knelt on the ground. His head was lowered and he did not dare to look at Jiang Shu who was sitting in the seat.
"Master Hou, calm down, I don't dare." Zhao Dezhu begged for mercy in fear.
Zhao Dezhu was Shen Muyuan's nephew who could barely hit the eight poles. He was not related to the Hou family, so he did not dare to be presumptuous in front of Shen Changze.
Jiang Shu looked at it coldly.
Zhao Dezhu, who was kneeling on the ground, was about thirty years old. He had a fat head, big ears and a shiny face. It was obvious at a glance that he had been robbing and exploiting farmers.
"You don't dare, why don't you dare? I think you are very brave!" Shen Changze angrily threw Zhao Dezhu's guilt in front of him.
Zhao Dezhu's heart skipped a beat, and he secretly thought something was wrong. He tremblingly picked up the paper on the ground and checked it.
After seeing clearly what was written on the paper, he kowtowed in panic and cried out: "Master Hou clearly investigated, and the villain was wronged."
