RWNEFE -Chapter 17 It Was Uncle Who Harmed the Wei Army, Not Us!

“More relatives of the Wei Army are coming behind. Just hand over the Shen family, and we promise not to cause trouble!” shouted one of the men, and the rest lifted their farming tools again.

“Yes, they weren’t our own family who died! My little brother is only fifteen. If I weren’t born with a limp, how could my poor brother have gone to the battlefield for me? When he left, he wasn’t even as tall as my shoulder…”

“My father’s service term ended this year, and he was going to return home to be with us. I’ve never seen him since I was born. I repaired the house, and my mother made him new clothes. He can’t come back… I wanted to tell him I’m married, he should have a little grandson now…” The man sank to his knees, crying uncontrollably.

“It’s all because of the Shen family! If they hadn’t embezzled the Wei Army’s provisions, our loved ones wouldn’t have starved to death!”

“They didn’t die at the hands of the enemy, yet they died at the hands of our own people. What’s the point of defending the country?”

“Hand over the Shen family!”

“Hand over the Shen family!”

In an instant, the Wei Army relatives formed a united front. The exiled prisoners were terrified.

“Sir, this has nothing to do with us! It’s the Shen family who killed the Wei Army. If you just hand them over, it will calm everything down.”

“Sir, hand over the Shen family. They caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Wei Army soldiers—they deserve to die! With so many relatives of the Wei Army here, even if the Shen family is killed, the court won’t blame us!”

The exiled prisoners already hated the Shen family. Now, with the Shen family bringing them trouble, they wished the Wei Army relatives would just finish them off.

Killing so many people while living in comfort… disgusting!

Liu the officer gripped his saber tightly, eyes scanning the crowd. These people weren’t too dangerous. What worried him was what they said—that more were coming behind!

The Wei Army had been stationed in the northwest for years, and because of them, the northern barbarians didn’t dare invade the Great Zhou. Liu respected them for that.

The Shen family deserved death, but the court had only sentenced them to exile. The officers were just following orders. If they handed the Shen family over and the court blamed them, they would be doomed.

“Sir, why not hand over just a few of the Shen family? After all, a few always die during exile anyway,” one subordinate suggested quietly.

Liu’s expression darkened as he looked toward the Shen family, weighing the pros and cons.

The Shen family cowered together, women covering their mouths and crying, men trembling and shaking.

“Quick! Tell them we’re not the Shen family—they don’t know us!” the matriarch pushed her fourth son.

“Mother, if we say that now, isn’t it like admitting guilt?”

“Then what should we do? They won’t just kill all of us, will they? Fourth brother, think fast!” Shen Conglian urged.

Shen Congyi’s eyes flickered: “This mess was caused by eldest brother. It has nothing to do with us. If we push him forward, they’ll let us go!”

Grandfather Shen immediately scolded: “Shut up! That’s your eldest brother!”

Shen Congyi pouted: “Father, if it weren’t for eldest brother, our whole family wouldn’t be exiled. Who knows if the money he hid was embezzled?”

Grandmother Shen smacked Shen Congyi twice, scolding: “How can you speak like that about your eldest brother? If it weren’t for him, we’d still be farming at home, barely getting enough to eat!”

Shen Congyi frowned: “You told me to think of a solution. What else can I do? Save the majority, sacrifice the few. We can’t all die!”

Grandmother Shen buried her face in grief, unable to hit him further.

“What sins has the Shen family committed…”

The Wei Army relatives were growing impatient.

“Have you decided? Will you hand them over?”

The exiled prisoners, who already disliked the Shen family, immediately pointed to them.

“They’re the Shen family—the killers of the Wei Army!”

Liu glared at the ones shouting, silent but threatening.

“I told you! They’re the Shen family! We’ll fight to the death, kill the Shen family to avenge our unjustly dead loved ones!”

“We can’t let our family die in vain! Killing one will satisfy our grudge. If all are killed, at least our family can rest in peace…”

Suddenly, the illegitimate son of Shen Congli spoke out loudly: “It was eldest uncle who harmed the Wei Army! It has nothing to do with us! We were only caught up in this. If you want someone, go find eldest uncle!”

Shen Congwen, hearing this, went pale, staggering back two steps.

“Father…” Shen Yuanjing and his siblings hurried to support him.

Yuanjing shouted angrily: “When you enjoyed our family’s privileges, why didn’t you say you had nothing to do with us? Now that we’re in trouble, you blame us! Do you even know what honor and shame mean?”

Zhou Xinrou and her daughter quickly helped Shen Congwen sit and rest.

Chunxue and Qiushuang had quietly infiltrated the Wei Army relatives. While they demanded the Shen family from Liu, they slowly moved toward the troublemakers.

When the moment was right, they grabbed the troublemakers and quickly silenced them.

Shen Lanxi, with Nanny Li and her son, approached.

“Officer Liu!” she greeted formally.

Liu already hated the Shen family, and he didn’t look kindly on Shen Lanxi either.

Shen Lanxi turned: “Bring them over!”

Chunxue and Qiushuang dragged the tied-up troublemaker from the crowd, kicking him to his knees.

“Sir, the instigator has been caught!”

Shen Lanxi: “Nanny Li!”

Nanny Li unfolded the cloth in her hands.

The Wei Army relatives were about to shout when Shen Lanxi said: “Do you know what this pattern is?”

They looked at the design and then at her.

“Who are you? What are you doing? Are you stopping us from killing the Shen family?”

Shen Lanxi smiled calmly: “I have no relation to the Shen family and don’t know them. But I know the Wei Army, and I know your loved ones!”

The Wei Army relatives fell silent.

“This is the Wei Army’s flag! You don’t even recognize your own army’s flag?”

Chunxue and Qiushuang held down the struggling troublemaker, pressing him to the ground with one foot each.

“I recognize it! My brother told me about it!”

“I know it too! My younger brother told me as well!”

Affirmations spread quickly.

Nanny Li tilted her head: “Oh! Sir, I accidentally grabbed the wrong cloth—I took the embroidered diaper meant for the child!”

Instantly, there was complete silence.

Her son unfolded the cloth: “Mother, you’re wrong. The Wei Army flag is the one with the flame pattern.”

Nanny Li looked again: “The patterns are similar—I made a mistake!”

A Wei Army relative shouted: “Yes! Yes! The patterns are very similar. We misidentified it!”

One shouted, the rest followed.

Shen Lanxi asked loudly: “Are you sure?”

“Y-yes… this is the one!”