Chapter 344: A Sour Smile

Chapter 344: A Sour Smile

The neighbors, of course, wouldn’t stand for it, and the two sides started arguing.

Li Shanglian, emboldened by the confidence Li Zong had given him, began to bully others.

The two families took their dispute to the authorities, and Li Shanglian opened with, "My child is connected to the Zhang Family, the maternal family of the Third Prince."

In the Capital City, where the powerful roam, to keep one's position as the Capital Governor, one must either come from a high background and dare to confront all the nobility, or be slippery and offend no one.

The current Capital Governor is a woman and happens to be the latter.

The name of the Third Prince's maternal family still commands some respect, and she was immediately intimidated.

Li Shanglian, already arrogant, became even more so when he saw her slightly retreat.

He laughed at the neighbors, "I told you commoners not to mess with our family."

"Now that you've offended us, it’s no longer just about the three feet of land. You'll have to compensate us, or else when my son becomes even more successful, I won't forget today's humiliation!"

The Capital Governor: "..." Buddy, what humiliation? You’re the one doing all the insulting.

The Capital Governor realized her thoughts had wandered off, shook her head to get them back on track, and faced the current situation.

She tried to mediate, "Mr. Li, this alley is meant for pedestrians."

"You seized it without a word, which is already too much. There’s no need to intimidate them."

She still maintained a bit of kindness, wanting to speak up for the victims.

But Li Shanglian directly attacked her as well, "What are you implying?"

"Are you looking to make an enemy of us? Believe it or not, I'll write to my son and have the Zhang Family have you removed from your position!"

The Capital Governor: "..."

Honestly, sometimes when dealing with cases involving the children of the powerful, their elders do come and threaten.

But everyone is civilized, issuing veiled, sarcastic threats.

This was the first time she faced such a blunt idiot, but she really didn't want to confront the Zhang Family.

The Capital Governor felt completely frustrated. Even as a County Clerk in other prefectures, no one dared to yell at her during hearings.

Being transferred back to the Capital City was supposed to be a step closer to the Emperor’s court, a promotion, but who knew she’d endure so much!

Damn it, I don't want to do this anymore! Might as well quit and get married.

The moment this thought crossed her mind, the Capital Governor knew she was driven to the brink by her duties.

She collected her sporadic resentment, wiped her face, and continued to maintain a sour smile.

Li Shanglian became even more arrogant, and the neighbors, seeing that even the Capital Governor feared the Zhang Family he mentioned, began to be afraid.

They initially thought Li Shanglian was bluffing, after all, with such a powerful backer, how could he end up living among common folks like them.

But it turned out to be true...

The neighbors were not to be trifled with either; otherwise, they wouldn't have taken the dispute to the authorities over a piece of land.

They never backed down in conflicts with Li Shanglian and others, effectively making enemies of them.

The neighbors had already anticipated the retaliation they would face. At that moment, the family exchanged worried glances.

An older woman murmured, "It’s fine, I’ll just move away."

She made it sound simple, but leaving one’s homeland is no small matter. If it weren’t for dire circumstances, who would willingly leave their hometown?

A heavy cloud of sorrow loomed over them. Just then, a bailiff entered and whispered something, prompting a strange look from the Capital Governor.

The promising son Li Shanglian had been bragging about had arrived.

Hearing this, Li Shanglian and his wife were ecstatic, as if they had tails, they’d be wagging them sky-high.

"My son must’ve known we were being wronged and came back to stand up for us."

Wife Li nodded, sighing, "We didn’t raise this son for nothing! Such a dutiful child."

The onlookers fell silent. Are you sure it’s others who wronged you?

But Li Zong was carried in.

Drooling, his head lolled to the side, babbling nonsense with a grin, laughing as he spoke.

He tried to clap, but his arms were held back.

Clearly, he’d lost his mind.

Initially, Bei Jingchu aimed to cripple him. But after breaking his arm, Li Zong couldn’t handle it.

He claimed that as a scholar, he could die but not be humiliated. Losing his arm would ruin his life.

He smashed his head against a pillar, but his resolve wasn’t strong enough. He didn’t die but was left barely alive.

After being revived, he ended up in this state.

His mental resilience was pitifully weak.

As a bully, he relished others’ suffering, devising cruel tricks. But when the tables turned, he couldn’t endure a fraction of the pain.

She had Li Zong returned to Li Shanglian and his wife, then washed her hands of the matter.

The assigned subordinate was sharp. Hearing he was to return Li Zong to Li Shanglian and his wife, he ensured he delivered him directly.

When he brought Li Zong to the Li residence, they weren’t home. After learning they were at the government office, he went straight there.

Li Shanglian and his wife were stunned when they saw Li Zong returned in that state.

The Capital Governor showed kindness. Despite being slighted earlier, she refrained from mocking them upon seeing their child’s condition.

But the neighbors who had just been oppressed didn’t hold back.

They immediately went all out.

"So this is the unparalleled genius you two were talking about, truly extraordinary."