RWNEFE -Chapter 175 Madam Lin and Her Husband Killed in Prison

Madam Lin’s face went pale—no, that wasn’t what he had told her.

“What if you drank at home?” Madam Lin tried to think quickly.

Old Madam Shen, Madam Liu, and the others could no longer hold back—they rushed forward, pinned Madam Lin down, and started beating her.

“You heartless, ungrateful wretch! I took care of you because we’re from the same hometown, and this is how you repay me! My son… Mother has failed you!”

Madam Liu angrily clawed at Madam Lin’s face.

“Stop spouting nonsense! Where is the wine in my house? If you can show it, I’ll disown myself!”

Seeing the situation hopeless, Madam Lin still tried to struggle.

“What if your family really did hide some wine? Who would know? Even if there was, you would deny it. You all must be in collusion!”

The accuser realized things were going badly and tried to slip away quietly. Just two steps out, a guard pressed a sword to his back.

Wang Songbai shouted: “Where are you running? Guilty conscience?”

The accuser trembled like a leaf in the wind.

“Master, it wasn’t me! It was her—Madam Lin made me do it! I am innocent!”

The surrounding villagers all understood—this was truly a false accusation.

The matter was now clear; Shen Lanxi staying any longer was meaningless.

“After this, hand it over to them. When the execution happens, inform me—I want to bring my family to watch.”

The Shen family shivered violently—absolutely unnecessary!

Shen Lanxi had thought that completing the official documents and having the false accuser sign the confession would settle the matter.

Unexpectedly, the next day, Wang Songbai sent an urgent report:

“Madam Lin and her husband died last night in the county jail!”

Shen Lanxi’s gaze hardened. “Cause of death?”

Wang Songbai: “Hanged themselves. Four characters were written on the floor of Madam Lin’s cell: ‘Afraid of torture.’”

“Do you think that’s possible?” Shen Lanxi sneered.

Wang Songbai scratched his head, thought carefully, and said: “If it were me, I’d have written a bunch of curses, then left a note for my family.”

Shen Lanxi: “Who would be so thoughtful to leave an explanation for us before hanging themselves?”

Wang Songbai also sensed something was wrong. And he wondered: if they were already hanged, would there even be an execution? Let the family watch?

He thought of yesterday when the Master said she would bring the family to witness the execution, and the Shen family nearly fainted one by one—he couldn’t help but smile.

“The Master really uses family as leverage!”

“Master, I’ve interrogated the prisoners in the jail twice—they all claim ignorance, and they all have witnesses. Even the prisoners in custody said they didn’t hear anything at night—they all slept soundly!”

Sleep soundly in that place overnight? Impossible—they must have been drugged.

“This matter is definitely not simple. Someone manipulated Madam Lin and her husband to falsely accuse Shen Conglian!”

Wang Songbai thought: why would anyone target Shen Conglian? Even if it involved other Shen family members, it’s not enough!

“Could it be aimed at the Master?”

Shen Lanxi pondered for a moment: “I’ll give you ten days for investigation. If there’s no progress after ten days, stop searching.”

“Yes!”

“Also, investigate outsiders who have come to Suiyuan in the past year, or anyone with a capital city accent. Start with people entering and leaving the county office.”

“Yes!”

Shen Lanxi: “After ten days, dust returns to dust. Even if the perpetrators die, their crimes will not disappear. The victims must get justice!”

Wang Songbai thought: what if the victims don’t want justice?

“Yes!”

After leaving, he immediately went to tell Shen Conglian the good news—heh heh!

Spring planting, summer cultivation, autumn harvest, winter storage—what once needed careful tending now quickly reached the season of harvest.

That day, Shen Lanxi received a grain requisition order from her superiors. While speaking grandly, she casually crumpled the order and scattered it into a flower pot.

“Complete the autumn harvest within a month!”

“Finish winter storage within two months!”

“Within three months, I want our righteous army at the foot of Qizhou Mountain!”

The generals erupted in excitement—after months of waiting, they could finally show their prowess.

Half a year had passed since arriving in Dongchuan. They now understood the climate and what Shen Lanxi was implying behind the orders.

They had to capture Yonglin Prefecture at the foot of Qizhou Mountain before the first snow fell.

Finally, they could truly go head-to-head with the Eastern Liao King!

All the generals were fired up, accelerating autumn harvest and winter storage several times over.

During the period of recuperation, Shen Lanxi’s soldiers were never idle—they were split into small guerrilla units.

All of Dongchuan’s elite troops had been conscripted by the Eastern Liao King. The remaining soldiers were negligible, most having surrendered without much fighting.

To boost overall combat power, as soon as one guerrilla team returned, the next team was sent out.

Everyone had a chance to make merit, to gain battlefield experience!

Unlike during exile, when numbers were small for easy management, now with many troops, there was a new system for managing larger numbers.

All spoils were collected centrally—each soldier received according to contribution, merit-based rewards!

Every returning team came back with pockets full, bundles heavy. Soldiers could hardly wait to be sent out again, and morale was unprecedented!

Before troops arrived, supplies were sent first—a month before the campaign, Shen Lanxi sent the provisions ahead.

After autumn harvest and winter storage, twenty thousand soldiers, bearing the banner of justice, marched toward Qizhou Mountain.

Qianzhou marked the boundary: south of Qianzhou was Qizhou Mountain; north had already been secured by Shen Lanxi.

They reached Qianzhou without obstruction, rested five days, and set out again.

At this time, the garrison at Yonglin Prefecture was commanded by Ma Feng.

Since Yongzhou’s last defeat and his stolen credit, he had been sidelined—not allowed to follow the Eastern Liao King south, and sent to Yonglin Prefecture instead.

If he couldn’t achieve merit here, he’d remain a mere garrison general in Yonglin Prefecture for life.

“Hurry up and push the grain shipments! Orders have been out so long and not a single supply team has arrived. If it delays the Eastern Liao King’s campaign, a hundred heads won’t be enough!”

“Yes!”

Fifteen minutes later, a messenger pigeon was dispatched.

Council Hall

“The Northern Army is trapped in the northwest. The court must dispatch four separate forces to fight the Northwest King, Prince Cheng, the Eastern Liao King, and also contain the southwestern tribes that just declared themselves King of the South—they will be in total chaos,” Shen Lanxi analyzed objectively.

The two rows sitting there, waiting for Liu Yanhui’s long-delayed return, sensed something amiss.

Shen Lanxi: “Taking Yonglin Prefecture makes me the fifth force.”

The hall fell silent. Though she didn’t finish her words, everyone present was not foolish—they understood her meaning!

A woman sitting in such a commanding position—wise, cunning, brave, and skilled in battle—none could read her mind.

Even if the next moment she declared herself queen, their tempered hearts could accept it calmly.

And what’s harder to accept than being commanded by a woman?

They had accepted it—and pledged undying loyalty.

So really… what could they not accept now?