CHAPTER 778: CHAPTER 778: THREE CHOICES

With that, two more slaps resounded, almost knocking Shang Xiu Yue unconscious.

"Stop!" Village Chief Shang was so furious that he almost came over with his cane to hit Shang Shisan’s mother, Mrs. Wu, "If you dare to hit Miss Yue again, I will immediately expel your family from the clan."

Village Chief Shang had been the head of the Shang Family and the village chief for a lifetime, and his authority was deeply respected; the entire clan was somewhat fearful of him.

Seeing that Village Chief Shang was truly angry, Mrs. Wu didn’t dare to hit Shang Xiu Yue anymore and stopped, apologizing to Village Chief Shang: "Clan Leader, considering Miss Yue is young and ignorant, let’s just forget about today’s incident. This old woman guarantees, once we get home, I will teach her properly, and prevent her from speaking recklessly again."

She then turned to Yuanyuan, pleading, "Yuanyuan, your Sister Yue didn’t mean it, for the sake of your great-grandmother, could you forgive your Sister Yue just this once?"

Yuanyuan pretended not to hear, completely ignoring Mrs. Wu.

Mrs. Wu was inwardly furious: Damn this cheeky girl, daring to show such an attitude to this old lady, just wait, when your father dies, let’s see who protects you then!

Being ruthless, Mrs. Wu continued, "Yuanyuan, please forgive your Sister Yue, your great-grandmother is kneeling for you."

As she spoke, she was about to kneel to Yuanyuan.

Gu Jin’an acted swiftly, rushing over and grabbing Mrs. Wu’s arm with great strength, pulling her up before she could kneel.

Mrs. Jiang was so angry she nearly fainted, pointing at Mrs. Wu she exclaimed, "Such wicked intentions, using these means to force my Yuanyuan. By doing this, do you want to ruin Yuanyuan’s reputation and have her be scorned for life?"

Where in the world is it reasonable for an elder to kneel to a younger generation? If she really knelt, the knelt-to younger generation would indeed be scorned for life. Mrs. Wu, having lived for many years, surely knew the dangers of this, yet she knowingly still tried to kneel to Yuanyuan, clearly intending to push Yuanyuan to desperation.

Village Chief Shang was also fuming, Mrs. Wu this unrepentant thing, since it was so, he couldn’t be blamed then.

"Why are you still standing here? Go catch Shang Shisan for me!"

"Yes." The servant Da He responded, about to run off to fetch the person, but Mrs. Wu seized him, refusing to let go: "You can’t go!"

Mrs. Wu held onto Da He, not letting him go, and looked at Village Chief Shang saying, "Clan Leader, today’s issue was just two children quarreling, if you’re angry, this old woman will take Miss Yue and leave right now."

As she spoke, she let go of Da He, grabbing Shang Xiu Yue and attempted to leave, but Jiang Jiao stopped her: "Heh, thinking of leaving after committing such an evil deed, where is the justice in that? There must be an explanation for today’s incident, our Jiang Family will not accept any cover-ups."

Mrs. Jiang looked at Mrs. Wu and said, "You say it’s just two children quarreling, but could Shang Xiu Yue dare to specifically say such things to Yuanyuan today without the adults’ instigation?"

Mrs. Wu was startled by this; the Jiang family was indeed sharp, managing to guess her family’s strategy today. This matter was also strange because of Gu Jin’an; ever since the news that Shang Wen Yuan wanted to take him as a disciple spread, people in the village hinted that Gu Jin’an taking Scholar Shang as a master was to obtain a share of the Shang Family’s property in the future.

After all, the master-disciple relationship was akin to father and son, a master could decide on the disciple’s marital affairs, and the disciple could also inherit the personal property of the master.

Her family, due to Shang Shisan marrying the Cen Widow, had already lost half of their land, and their life at home was becoming strained, just waiting for Shang Wen Yuan to pass away to divide his property.

Who knew that Gu Jin’an would suddenly appear halfway through the dispute? If Shang Wen Yuan’s family’s wealth really goes to his apprentice, Gu Jin’an, what share could her family possibly receive?

Mrs. Wu was very angry, feeling that the Gu Family truly had no shame. Knowing that Gu Family People were going to come today, she taught Shang Xiu Yue those words, so she could find an opportunity to convey them to Yuanyuan and the Gu Family People.

First, it was to test Shang Wen Yuan’s family’s attitude with Yuanyuan’s involvement. If Shang Wen Yuan’s family didn’t get angry but endured, her family would continue to take advantage.

Second, it was to tell the Gu Family to not be shameless, emphasizing that just because they bore the Gu surname did not give them any entitlement to the Shang Family People’s private assets!

But with precise planning, who knew such a twist would occur? The people from the Jiang family were too bullish. This place belonged to the Shang Family, the Jiang family was just Shang Wen Yuan’s wife’s family. Even if they were furious, they shouldn’t be making such a scene within the Shang Family’s territory, should they?

"Ah Jiu, take some servants from the house and go capture Shang Shisan!" Scholar Shang had been deeply irritated for a while. Seeing Da He being stopped by Mrs. Wu meant he could wait no longer, and simply ordered Ah Jiu to capture the man.

"Yes." Ah Jiu immediately took the household servants, along with those servants that came from the Jiang family, and rushed to Shang Shisan’s home.

Mrs. Wu couldn’t stop them and simply sat on the ground, making a scene with wailing: "Oh, the ancestors of the Shang family, open your eyes and see! Outsiders are causing trouble in our Shang territory. If our ancestors have spirits in heaven..."

"Da He, tie up Mrs. Wu and gag her!" The Village Chief Shang hated those who made a scene. Seeing this, he didn’t show Mrs. Wu any courtesy and directly instructed Da He to tie her up.

After hearing that, Mrs. Wu was stunned and struggled violently. It took a lot of effort for Da He and a couple of young folks from the Shang Family Clan to get her tied up.

Today, while Scholar Shang was accepting an apprentice, all clan elders of the Shang Family were present. Seeing the situation getting out of hand, one elder said to Village Chief Shang, "Clan Leader, Mrs. Wu is still an elder lady; tying her up like this doesn’t look good."

Village Chief Shang cut him off: "Since you know it doesn’t look decent, Mrs. Wu shouldn’t have caused such a scene."

He finished speaking and said no more, his face stern as he waited for Shang Shisan.

About fifteen minutes later, Shang Shisan was brought over, reeking of alcohol and squinting his eyes, obviously hungover from the previous night.

Seeing him like this, Village Chief Shang grew even angrier and threw a cup of hot water from the table onto Shang Shisan’s face.

"Ah, which bastard dared to splash your Third Grandpa Shang? You want to die!" Shang Shisan cursed angrily, but upon seeing the stern old face of Village Chief Shang, he shivered, finally sobering up, "Clan... Clan Leader, it’s you."

With a cold snort, Village Chief Shang asked, "Sober now? If not, this old man can splash another bucket of boiling water on you."

Shang Shisan dared not say he wasn’t awake, hastily replying, "Awake, awake. May I know what you need from me, sir?"

Shang Shisan’s head was throbbing painfully, and he hadn’t even noticed his own mother and daughter.

Village Chief Shang didn’t waste words but directly explained the events of the day, eventually saying, "Your mother instructed Miss Yue to speak in the garden to Yuanyuan about splitting Wen Yuan’s family wealth and then denied doing so. Not only that, she dared to cause a scene. I said it before; whoever dares to eye the Wen Yuan’s family assets again, their family will be expelled from the clan!"

Village Chief Shang looked at Shang Shisan and continued, "Now I give you three options. First, you receive fifty heavy strikes and all your family lands are requisitioned by the clan. Second, we open the ancestral hall and the clan will officially cut ties with Mrs. Wu, this poisonous woman. Third, your entire family is expelled from the clan, the clan will buy all your family’s lands and houses, and from then on, you are no longer Shang family people."