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

At this moment, Shen Lang had yet to come out.

However, the Xu Family's newly dyed golden yellow and purple silk had already been placed on the table.

Dozens of candles had been lit throughout the Great Hall, making it as bright as day.

The golden yellow silk Shen Lang had dyed earlier was also displayed beside them.

Viewed separately, it was difficult to tell which was superior.

But under the bright light, upon careful comparison, one could still see that the Xu Family's golden yellow silk was more magnificent and purer than Shen Lang's piece.

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

Yet everyone's attention was fixed 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 herb. We sought perfection, so we did not release it to the market. But its dyeing effect is vastly superior to the old one."

The Xu Family Head, Lin Mo, and the others all held the purple silk up to the candlelight for examination.

Sure enough, it was far more vivid. It was a qualitative leap beyond the previous purple dye.

Not only was the color far purer, 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 windfall.

This was Xu Qianqian's confidence—her confidence that she would certainly defeat Shen Lang.

The young Chief Registrar took the silk into 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. He especially favored purple brocade and possessed a keen eye in such matters.

Xu Qianqian said, "Artisan Xu, tell these gentlemen about the new golden yellow dye."

The Xu Family's finest dyeing artisan said, "Reporting to all my lords, my family has worked in the dye trade for generations, and I have loved studying it since childhood. Yellow in particular is reserved exclusively for the Monarch, so I devoted most of my efforts to yellow and purple. I tested more than a hundred materials, and sophora buds were one of them. Here are my original records as proof."

As he spoke, he presented a booklet.

The Chief Registrar responsible for criminal matters in Xuanwu City accepted it and flipped through it. Sure enough, it was densely filled with records of various experimental formulas, including sophora buds. The handwriting also clearly dated back some time; it was 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, everyone looked down on him. For some reason, he wandered into my dye workshop. When I was experimenting with sophora buds to make a new dye, he saw it."

He was not entirely lying. He had indeed experimented with sophora buds to make yellow dye, but he did not know to add alum to brighten it. That was the most crucial step; without it, the formula naturally could not succeed. Moreover, because of the process, the color he extracted from sophora buds was not particularly outstanding. Thus, his sophora-bud formula had been a failure.

The old Shen Lang had indeed often wandered around the dye workshop, and it was true that he liked looking at all those colorful things.

Based on these reasons, the Xu Family Head and Xu Qianqian had absolute confidence that Shen Lang had not developed the golden yellow dye formula himself.

The two of them knew Shen Lang's capabilities all too well. He was a dimwit, a useless piece of trash who truly knew nothing.

The Xu Family Head said, "My lords, now that both witnesses and physical evidence are present, we may arrest him, yes?"

Though he addressed "my lords," his eyes were fixed directly on the young Chief Registrar. If this blockhead 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 blandly.

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

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

At that moment, the back courtyard door opened, and Shen Lang walked out.

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

Shen Lang immediately looked toward the young official.

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

Shen Lang first looked at the golden yellow silk provided by the Xu Family. It was indeed bright and splendid.

He was not surprised in the slightest. Having obtained Shen Lang's formula, the Xu Family should naturally have done better than he had.

Shen Lang said, "Is this the golden yellow dye your Xu Family produced with all your strength?"

The Xu Family Head said, "Yes. Is it not more outstanding and magnificent 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. What if you compare it with the piece of silk I just dyed?"

Shen Lang brought out the golden yellow silk he had just dyed—the improved formula from the twenty-first century.

Everyone leaned in to look.

Xu Qianqian's eyes narrowed. With a single glance, she judged that Shen Lang's newly 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 made an even better golden yellow dye? The improvement was not large, and several officials present could not even distinguish it clearly. Yet Xu Qianqian and the Xu Family artisans saw it at once. Shen Lang's newly dyed yellow silk looked more like gold itself, appearing more noble and luxurious.

The Xu Family Head felt both shock and jealousy.

He had not expected Shen Lang to have held back after all, or that he 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, "They look about the same to me. Yours cannot possibly surpass my family's golden yellow silk. Therefore, you cannot prove that you did not steal the formula from my family."

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

Therefore, the battleground was not golden yellow, but purple.

Shen Lang's gaze fell upon the purple silk on the table. So this was the Xu Family's new purple dye? It was indeed extremely fine, far better than any purple silk on the market.

The color was highly pure and exceptionally 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 considerably short.

The purple dye extracted from purple herb was still too monotonous and slightly pale, lacking any spirit.

Shen Lang immediately smiled. "Xu Qianqian, the purple of this silk truly represents the highest standard of your Xu Family, does it not? You have absolutely held nothing back, have you?"

"No," Xu Qianqian said. "Shen Lang, unless the purple dye you produce is superior to my family's, you remain a shameless thief. Not only did you steal the golden yellow dye formula, you also stole the new purple dye formula. Truly, it is hard to guard against a thief within the household!"

Without another word, Shen Lang took out the purple silk he had dyed and laid it before everyone! Instantly, the Xu Family Head and Lin Mo's eyes lit up sharply. First came disbelief, then incomparably greedy looks.

Nothing feared comparison more than anything else.

Before, the Xu Family's purple silk had looked quite good on its own. But compared with Shen Lang's purple silk now, the gap became completely obvious.

Though the silk dyed by the Xu Family was already a very pure purple, it was too thin, looking cheap and gaudy.

The purple dye on Shen Lang's silk, however, was deep and lively, on an entirely different level.

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

Shen Lang sneered. "Xu Family Head, Xu Qianqian, surely this new purple dye of mine was not stolen from your family as well?"

The Xu Family Head and Xu Qianqian could not help looking at one another, their hearts filled with astonishment.

What was going on?

Shen Lang had lived as a son-in-law in her home for months. She knew him better than anyone—of low intelligence, ignorant and incompetent, utterly useless, knowing nothing at all.

How had he now developed two such outstanding 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 was already dead. The Shen Lang before her now possessed the soul of an Earthling who had crossed over.

Shen Lang sneered. "Could it be that the victory of this purple silk is not obvious enough? Then how about this piece?"

Immediately afterward, he brought out his trump card—Rainbow Silk! Under the countless candles that made the hall bright as day, the Rainbow Silk was dazzlingly beautiful, breathtaking beyond compare.

Everyone drew in a sharp breath!

How could this be possible?

It was too magnificent, too full of spirit.

It was rich with colors without the slightest hint of gaudiness. Most crucially, the transitions between colors were astonishingly natural.

If the purple silk Shen Lang had produced earlier was a great victory, then this brand-new rainbow-dyed silk was a complete crushing defeat. It made the Xu Family's purple silk appear unbearably vulgar and too ugly to behold.

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

It was as though the air rang with the sharp slaps of faces being struck.

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

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

Since he was so proficient in dyeing techniques, why had Xu Qianqian known nothing of it? Such skills might not have been particularly useful to other families, but to the Xu Family, they were invaluable. They could completely elevate the Xu Family's business to a new level.

In ancient times, silk was actually much the same everywhere. The key lay in the dyeing.

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

Shen Lang cupped his hands toward the young official. "Chief Registrar, please uphold justice."

The young Chief Registrar glanced at the Xu Family Head and said, "Please confirm whether these purple dye and Rainbow Silk dye formulas were stolen by Shen Lang from the Xu Family."

The Xu Family Head's face immediately twitched.

This young Chief Registrar was truly a blockhead. When he had 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 he offended the Zhang Family, did he not care about his future? The Xu Family Head shot the young Chief Registrar a venomous look. He truly began considering having him driven out and stripped of his post.

Of course, that would require manipulation behind the scenes. At the very least, the Prefect would need to act. And openly, as a merchant, he could not be disrespectful toward a Chief Registrar.

"No!" the Xu Family Head said coldly.

The young Chief Registrar looked toward 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 could see that this young Chief Registrar was not merely a blockhead—he harbored hostility toward the Xu Family.

Did the Xu Family have some grudge against him? Or did Zhang Jin have a grudge against him?

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

"No," Xu Qianqian said calmly.

"Since they were not, Shen Lang has been wronged," 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 was nearly furious enough to explode. He snorted coldly, flung his sleeve, and strode away.

After her expression changed several times, Xu Qianqian gave Shen Lang a slight curtsy. "My apologies. Because of some previous misunderstandings, I wronged you. Farewell!"

Then her graceful, lovely figure also departed with measured steps.

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

After Xu Qianqian left.

Shen Lang cupped his hands toward the young Chief Registrar. "Many thanks, Chief Registrar. Long time no see—have you been well? Brother, how have you been these past years? Is Miss Jin of Xuanwu Earl's Manor well?"