Slapping His Ex-Wife's Face, Forcing an Apology!

At this moment, Shen Lang had not yet come out.

But the Xu Family's newly dyed Golden Yellow and Purple Silk had already been placed on the table.

The entire great hall was lit by dozens of candles, bright as day.

The Golden Yellow Silk Shen Lang had dyed earlier was also laid beside them.

It was difficult to tell which was superior when viewed separately.

But when the two pieces of Silk were carefully compared beneath the bright light, it was still possible to see that the Xu Family's Golden Yellow Silk was more splendid and purer than Shen Lang's.

This was perfectly normal. The Xu Family was more professional, had greater resources, and possessed more seasoned experience. After obtaining Shen Lang's formula, they could naturally produce an even better yellow Dye.

Yet everyone's attention was focused on the Xu Family's Purple Silk. Against the glow of countless candles, it appeared especially striking.

The Xu Family's finest dyeing artisan bowed and said, "Master, Miss, this is our new Purple Dye. It is no longer made by mixing blue and red, but extracted from a kind of Purple Gromwell. We pursued perfection and therefore did not release it to the market, but its dyeing effect is far, far better than before."

The Xu Family Head, Lin Mo, and the others all examined the purple Silk beneath the candlelight.

Sure enough, it was far more vivid, a complete qualitative leap from the previous Purple Dye.

Not only was its color purity much higher, but it was also more than a level brighter. It truly was an exceptionally fine new Purple Dye. The Xu Family was about to make another enormous fortune.

This was Xu Qianqian's confidence, her confidence in defeating Shen Lang without fail.

The young Chief Registrar held the Silk in his hands and examined it closely. Even he had to admit that this brand-new purple was indeed outstanding. Though he was not a noble, he came from a distinguished family and especially favored purple brocade, so he possessed considerable discernment in such matters.

Xu Qianqian said, "Artisan Xu, explain the matter of the New Golden Yellow Dye to these honored officials."

The Xu Family's finest dyeing artisan said, "Reporting to the honored officials, my family has worked in the Dye trade for generations, and I myself have loved studying it since childhood. Yellow is especially reserved for the Monarch, so I devoted most of my efforts to yellow and purple. I tested more than a hundred kinds of materials, and Pagoda Tree Buds were one of them. I have my original record book here as proof."

With that, he presented a booklet.

The Chief Registrar responsible for criminal cases in Xuanwu City accepted it and flipped through it. Sure enough, it was densely filled with records of various experimental formulas, including Pagoda Tree Buds. The handwriting also appeared to be from some time ago, not forged.

The dyeing artisan said, "Shen Lang used to be the Xu Family's Live-in Son-in-Law. But because of his low intelligence, people looked down on him. For some unknown reason, he came wandering around my dye workshop. When I was experimenting with Pagoda Tree Buds to make a new Dye, he happened to see it."

He was not entirely lying. He had indeed experimented with Pagoda Tree Buds for yellow Dye, but he did not know to add alum to brighten it. That was the most crucial step, and without it, the formula naturally failed. Moreover, due to problems with the process, the color extracted from his Pagoda Tree Buds was not particularly outstanding, so his formula had been a failure.

The former Shen Lang often wandered around the dye workshop and enjoyed looking at all those colorful things. That was true as well.

It was precisely for these reasons that the Xu Family Head and Xu Qianqian possessed absolute confidence that the Golden Yellow Dye formula had not been developed by Shen Lang himself.

The two of them knew Shen Lang's capabilities all too well. He was a dim-witted fool, a worthless piece of trash who truly knew nothing.

The Xu Family Head said, "Honored officials, now that both witnesses and physical evidence are present, we can arrest him, can we not?"

Though he addressed several honored officials, his eyes were fixed directly on the young Chief Registrar. If this stubborn fool had not meddled, Shen Lang would have been arrested long ago.

The young Chief Registrar looked at the booklet, then at the Silk dyed with the new Purple Dye in his hand, and could not help nodding.

"It seems that is indeed the case," he said coolly.

"Men, bring Shen Lang out from inside," the Xu Family Head shouted.

But before the constables could act, the Xu Family's warriors overstepped their bounds and rushed inside themselves.

At that moment, the back courtyard door was pushed open, and Shen Lang walked out.

The Xu Family Head said coldly, "Shen Lang, now that the witnesses and evidence are all here, prepare to go to prison!"

Shen Lang immediately looked toward the young official.

The Chief Registrar said flatly, "All the evidence points to you having stolen it."

Shen Lang first looked toward the Golden Yellow Silk supplied by the Xu Family. It truly was bright and exceptional.

This did not surprise him in the slightest. Having obtained Shen Lang's formula, the Xu Family should naturally have done a better job than him.

Shen Lang said, "This is the Golden Yellow Dye your Xu Family produced after exhausting all your efforts?"

The Xu Family Head said, "That is right. Is it not more outstanding and splendid than yours?"

Shen Lang said, "It is better than the piece I dyed before. But I already said that I held something back in the formula. How about comparing it with this Silk I just dyed?"

Shen Lang took out the Golden Yellow Silk he had just dyed, using an improved twenty-first-century formula.

Everyone leaned in to look.

Xu Qianqian's eyes narrowed. At a glance, she determined that Shen Lang's freshly dyed Golden Yellow Silk had won. It was about fifteen percent better than the Xu Family's.

How was that possible?! Shen Lang had truly created an even better Golden Yellow Dye? The improvement was not great, and several officials present could barely distinguish it. But Xu Qianqian and the Xu Family's artisans saw it at once. The yellow Silk Shen Lang had just dyed resembled gold more closely and appeared even more luxurious.

The Xu Family Head was shocked and jealous.

He had not expected Shen Lang to have kept something up his sleeve. He actually possessed an even more advanced Golden Yellow formula.

However, he did not believe the officials present could tell the difference.

Thus, the Xu Family Head said coldly, "I think they look about the same. It clearly cannot surpass my family's Golden Yellow Silk. Therefore, you cannot prove that the formula was not stolen from my family."

Shen Lang had long expected the Xu Family Head's shamelessness.

Therefore, the battlefield was not Golden Yellow, but purple.

Shen Lang's gaze fell upon the Purple Silk on the table. This was the Xu Family's new Purple Dye? It truly was excellent, far better than every Purple Silk on the market.

Its color purity was very high, and it was extremely vivid!

No wonder Xu Qianqian was certain of victory.

But...

Compared with the Purple Dye Shen Lang had extracted from Litmus Lichen, it still fell short by quite a margin.

The Purple Dye extracted from Purple Gromwell was still too monotonous and somewhat pale, lacking spirit.

Shen Lang immediately smiled. "Xu Qianqian, the purple of this Silk before us is indeed the highest standard of your Xu Family, correct? You have not held anything back, have you?"

"No," Xu Qianqian said. "Shen Lang, unless the Purple Dye you create is superior to my family's, you are still a shameless thief. You not only stole the Golden Yellow Dye formula, but also stole the new Purple Dye formula. A thief in the house is the hardest to guard against!"

Without another word, Shen Lang took out the Purple Silk he had dyed and placed it before everyone! In an instant, the Xu Family Head's and Lin Mo's eyes widened sharply. At first, disbelief appeared on their faces, followed by incomparably greedy gazes.

Nothing feared comparison more than anything else.

When they had looked at the Xu Family's Purple Silk alone, it had seemed fairly good. But compared with Shen Lang's Purple Silk now, the gap became crystal clear.

Though the Silk dyed by the Xu Family was already an extremely pure purple, it was too thin in character, looking cheap and gaudy.

Yet the purple dyed onto Shen Lang's Silk was deep and lively, on an entirely different level.

There was no need for anyone to judge the winner. One glance was enough to determine superiority and inferiority.

Shen Lang sneered. "Xu Family Head, Xu Qianqian, could it be that my new Purple Dye was stolen from your family as well?"

The Xu Family Head and Xu Qianqian could not help looking at each other, inwardly shocked beyond measure.

What was going on?

Shen Lang had lived in her family as a Live-in Son-in-Law for several months. She knew him better than anyone: low intelligence, ignorant and unlearned, completely useless, knowing nothing at all.

So how had he developed two such remarkable Dyes? Golden Yellow and purple—these two pinnacle colors were enough to overturn the entire market and spark a revolution in dyeing techniques.

This truly made no sense. How could someone as stupid as a pig like Shen Lang understand such things?

Xu Qianqian's reasoning had originally been correct, but she had never imagined that the foolish Shen Lang from before had already died. The Shen Lang before her now possessed the soul of an Earthling who had transmigrated through time.

Shen Lang sneered. "Could it be that the victory of this Purple Silk is not obvious enough? Then what about this one?"

Immediately afterward, he brought out his trump card: Rainbow Silk! Beneath the countless candles bright as day, this Rainbow Silk was exquisitely beautiful, breathtakingly stunning.

Everyone sharply sucked in a breath of cold air!

How could this be possible?

It was too magnificent, too full of spirit.

It was resplendent with color, yet without the slightest hint of gaudiness. Most importantly, the transitions between colors were so natural.

If the Purple Silk Shen Lang had brought out earlier was a crushing victory, then this entirely new Rainbow Silk was complete annihilation. It made the Xu Family's Purple Silk appear unbearably vulgar and unfit to behold.

Shen Lang smiled and asked, "Xu Family Head, Xu Qianqian, could the formula for my Rainbow Silk's new Dye also have been stolen from the Xu Family? I already told you that in dyeing techniques, I alone am enough to crush your entire Xu Family. And you still claimed I stole your formula? How laughable and shameful!"

The air seemed to echo with the sound of slap, slap, slap across their faces.

The Xu Family Head and Xu Qianqian stared at Shen Lang in astonishment.

Had they missed something about this Live-in Son-in-Law?

Since he was so proficient in Dye craftsmanship, why had Xu Qianqian known nothing about it? Such dyeing techniques might not have been particularly useful to other families, but for the Xu Family, they were immensely valuable. They could completely elevate the Xu Family's business to another level.

In ancient times, Silk itself was actually much the same. The key lay in dyeing.

Once one's color techniques far surpassed those of competitors, one could make a Silk and cloth business stand undefeated.

Shen Lang bowed to the young official with clasped hands. "Chief Registrar, please uphold justice."

The young Chief Registrar glanced at the Xu Family Head and said, "Please confirm whether this Purple Dye and Rainbow Silk Dye were stolen by Shen Lang from the Xu Family."

The Xu Family Head's face immediately twitched.

This young Chief Registrar truly was a stubborn fool. When he left the City Lord's Manor, had his superior's hint not been obvious enough?

Xu Qianqian's fiancé was the Prefect's son. If you offended the Zhang Family, did you not care about your future? The Xu Family Head shot the young Chief Registrar a venomous look, genuinely entertaining the thought of having him driven out and stripped of office.

But that would require maneuvering behind the scenes. At the very least, the Prefect would need to act, and publicly, he was merely a merchant who could not disrespect a Chief Registrar.

"No!" the Xu Family Head said coldly.

The young Chief Registrar looked at Xu Qianqian. "Miss Xu, what do you say? Were these Purple Dye and Rainbow Color Dye formulas stolen by Shen Lang from your family?"

Xu Qianqian's beautiful eyes narrowed. She saw it now—this young Chief Registrar was not merely a stubborn fool. Deep down, he was hostile toward the Xu Family.

Did the Xu Family have some grievance with him? Or perhaps did Zhang Jin have a grievance with him?

What courage did this young Chief Registrar possess to oppose the Prefect's in-laws?

"No," Xu Qianqian said calmly.

"Since they were not, Shen Lang was falsely accused," the young Chief Registrar said. "Xu Family Head, Miss Xu, the two of you should offer Shen Lang an apology and compensation."

The Xu Family Head nearly exploded with rage. He snorted coldly, flicked his sleeve fiercely, and left at once.

After Xu Qianqian's expression changed several times, she gave Shen Lang a slight curtsey. "My apologies. Because of some earlier misunderstandings, you were falsely accused. Farewell."

Then her graceful, lovely figure also departed at an unhurried pace.

She had already decided that after returning, she would immediately have Zhang Jin retaliate against this young Chief Registrar. Xuanwu City absolutely could not permit an official hostile to the Xu Family to remain.

After Xu Qianqian left.

Shen Lang clasped his hands and bowed to the young Chief Registrar. "Many thanks, Chief Registrar. Long time no see—have you been well? How have you been these past years, brother? Is Miss Jin of Xuanwu Earl's Manor well?"