Rebirth: So what if my husband is a little crazy? He loves me.

Chapter 280 The Temperamental Shen Li

After the court session began, Shen Li, being an official, sat down, while the others from Daliang knelt.

“Sir, the shopkeeper and the waiter witnessed the entire fight, so let them give their account for the most impartial reason,” Shen Li said.

Cheng Sheng agreed, and before the court session began, he had already sent someone back to the mansion to invite the young lady.

The shopkeeper and waiter, no longer daring to side with the Liang people, recounted everything that had happened in the shop, adding that many diners had witnessed the events and could be invited to testify.

"How dare you! You dare to spout nonsense within the territory of my Great Zhao, insult my people, and even dare to openly attack me!"

Cheng Sheng slammed his gavel, startling the group before shouting, "Who are you all, and what brings you to our Great Zhao?"

He had already decided to judge these people as spies, and spies were all to be beheaded, which should relieve Shen Li's hatred.

"We...we are the guards of the Great Liang delegation. The Great Liang envoy has come to pay tribute to the Great Zhao and present our Great Liang princess," said the leader.

Upon hearing this, not only was Cheng Sheng somewhat surprised, but even Shen Li turned to look at him. She had not heard that the Liang envoy had already entered the capital.

But that makes sense. They were defeated and surrendered last winter, so they're not coming to pay tribute this winter.

But what does it mean to send a princess here? She must not have had this princess in the previous life. In the previous life, at this time, the Great Zhao had already ceded land to the Great Liang, so the only thing left was to give a princess to them.

Cheng Sheng was somewhat troubled. Since they were the envoy's guards, it was not easy to handle. The friendship between Daliang and Zhao had only lasted for a year, and if it was not handled properly, it could lead to another war.

Because they were an envoy group, they couldn't be let off lightly if they made a mistake. This would only make the Great Liang think that the Great Zhao was easy to bully, which would damage the country's reputation.

This has created a situation where it's unacceptable to punish too severely, but it's also unacceptable not to punish at all.

This is already awkward enough, but what's even more awkward is that the victim is Shen Li. Regardless of whether Shen Li will make a big fuss about this, it's just that she herself will spread the word widely.

This matter was bound to reach the emperor's ears, which would put the official in charge to a very high level of competence.

Cheng Sheng had taken on many difficult cases, most of which involved balancing the power between officials and commoners, but this was the first time he had handled a case involving balancing relations between two countries.

His face was solemn and angry, but his mind had already gone through eight hundred thoughts.

The soldiers from Daliang were initially a little afraid, but seeing Cheng Sheng hesitate, they knew his identity was a problem for them, so they raised their heads and said:

“We are people of Liang. Even if we make mistakes, we should be held accountable by Liang. If you dare to act recklessly, you will be damaging the diplomatic relations between our two countries. Can you bear the consequences?”

The people in the hall were angry, and Shen Li gave Shaoyao, who was standing to the side, a wink.

Upon receiving the order, Peony immediately stepped forward, snatched the water and fire stick from the constable, and smashed it down on the man's back.

"Pfft." The man who had just been spouting nonsense could only cough up blood now.

Cheng Sheng's pupils contracted, thinking to himself, "How could this young lady be so ruthless? If someone dies, I won't be able to explain myself."

The other four people felt even more pain from their wounds when they saw Peony make another move, so they immediately shrank back and dared not say anything more.

Those watching the interrogation from outside felt a sense of relief; after being bullied by the Liang dynasty for so many years, they had finally gotten their revenge.

Shen Li looked at the man who had been beaten to the ground and was spitting blood, and slowly said, "I was also on the front line at the time. I saw the soldiers of Daliang flee like stray dogs. I don't believe that Daliang dares to start a war, and I don't believe that killing a few of you will start a war."

"You...I..." The man opened his mouth, and blood gushed out intermittently.

“I’ve killed plenty of people from Daliang, one more won’t make a difference. Attack!” Shen Li gave the order.

Peony was even hesitant to strike. She had been careful with her actions just now, enough to make the other person suffer but not kill them. But if she struck again, she wouldn't be so careful. Whether she killed them or not would depend on how tough they were.

"No, no, no, young lady, calm down." The clerk quickly spoke up, speaking to Shaoyao, and even winked at her repeatedly.

We really can't fight anymore; if we keep going, it'll be the end.

Cheng Sheng slammed his gavel and said, "You have caused trouble, and I will not let you off lightly. Guards, take you away and imprison you."

The constables, quick to react, stepped forward and pulled up the few people who had almost collapsed to the ground from fear of Shen Li, then carried them away.

"You may all go back." Cheng Sheng waved his hand at the shopkeeper and waiter: "You are not allowed to leave the shop until this case is closed. You may be summoned at any time."

"Yes...yes..." The two wiped the sweat from their foreheads.

They knew Shen Li was a regular customer, so her status must be extraordinary, but they didn't expect her background to be so powerful. Wasn't this offending a true god?

Moreover, they then told the truth, which probably offended the Liang delegation again. They were caught in the middle and were bound to be in big trouble.

Shen Li was kept behind, and after the court session ended, she was invited to the back hall.

“Niece, your uncle knows you’ve been wronged. I didn’t spare a single one of those scoundrels; I beat them all up and sent them home. Calm down.” Cheng Sheng looked at Shen Li, who was sitting below him, and comforted her with a smile.

“Uncle, it’s not that I’m picking on you, but it’s time to clean up these officials. If this happened to you or any other censor, they would probably have filed a complaint with His Majesty.” Shen Li’s tone was still unpleasant.

It wasn't that she was really angry, but these corrupt officials who harmed the people couldn't be allowed to stay; they were causing too much trouble for the people.

“Niece, please don’t mention those old fogies. Just thinking about them gives me a headache.” Cheng Sheng sighed and said, “Uncle is grateful for your help, but I will definitely take care of this for you. Don’t worry.”

Shen Li then stopped mentioning it.

"It's easy to deal with the people under our command, but this soldier is a bit more difficult to handle." Cheng Sheng was somewhat troubled again.

"Uncle, what do you think we should do?" Shen Li asked.

“Punishment is necessary. Notify them to send an envoy to apologize, retrieve the person, and compensate for the losses,” Cheng Sheng said. “That’s how it should be done in principle.”

"How should they be punished?"

Cheng Sheng hesitated for a moment: "That's the difficulty. If we beat them up... given their injuries, it's not worth it. But if we don't beat them up, we can't just lock them up for a while; that would have a bad influence."

Shen Li knew perfectly well that Cheng Sheng's words made sense, so she thought for a moment and asked, "According to the laws of this dynasty, how should he be punished?"

“Thirty lashes, a fine of ten taels of silver, or two months’ imprisonment.”

"Why don't you do as I say, Uncle? Following the law is always the right thing to do. After all, once you enter our Great Zhao, you must abide by the rules of Great Zhao."

Cheng Sheng smiled wryly upon hearing this and said, "My dear niece, how could your uncle not know that this is possible? But look at them, can they really take thirty blows?"

Shen Li blinked. These people were too weak; she hadn't even made a move yet.