A Splendid Performance, Leaving Father-in-Law and Mother-in-Law Stunned

After entering the room, Earl lifted the covers to welcome his wife in. "Shen Lang is still reading? Tell him to rest early. He'll hurt his eyes."

Earl's Wife said sulkily, "He went to sleep before the Hour of the Pig."

Going to bed before nine o'clock was indeed a little excessive.

Earl flew into a rage. "An ignorant, good-for-nothing wastrel who loves food and hates work! If he still cannot finish memorizing it after two months, I'll go teach him a lesson tomorrow."

Yet Earl thought to himself, Wife, you are going to lose.

The balance of power between husband and wife could not be reversed.

Not long after dawn, Shen Lang opened his eyes and saw Earl standing before him with a face like frost.

"Shen Lang, are you dissatisfied with me?" Earl asked.

Shen Lang got up and bowed to Earl with meticulous formality. "Of course not. This son-in-law's admiration for Father-in-Law is like the surging river, endless and boundless."

Earl said, "I told you to memorize the Jin Family Instructions because I regarded you as one of us. Not only did you refuse to memorize it, you even lay down to sleep early. If that is not dissatisfaction with me, then what is it?"

"Father-in-Law misunderstands," Shen Lang said. "This son-in-law had already finished memorizing it."

At once, Earl trembled with rage. "Nonsense! Have you lost your mind? It took me an entire month to memorize it. Even MuLan, with her exceptional natural talent, took a full twenty-three days. How long have you been at it? One night, that is all! Yet you claim you have finished? Are you talking in your sleep, or do you take me for a three-year-old child?"

"Father-in-Law, this son-in-law truly has finished memorizing it," Shen Lang said. "If you do not believe me, test me."

Earl took up the fifty-thousand-word family instructions and glanced at the whip hanging from his waist.

Shen Lang was his son-in-law. As a father-in-law, it was not proper for him to beat him, unlike a biological son whom he could beat whenever he pleased.

But if Shen Lang truly was so insensible as to spout nonsense before his father-in-law, then he could not blame Earl for disciplining him with the whip.

Failing to finish memorizing it was no great matter. Even slacking off and not reading was not too serious, since a Live-in Son-in-Law did not need to shoulder much responsibility.

But lying was a serious problem.

"Shen Lang, you married into my household, which makes you half my son. I can beat my biological son, and I can beat you too." Earl said coldly, "I will spot-check several chapters. If you cannot recite them, do not blame me for invoking the family rules."

At that moment, Earl's Wife hurried in. "Husband, if he cannot recite it, then he cannot recite it. Do not invoke the family rules. Shen Lang has delicate skin and tender flesh; he is not like Cong'er, who has been beaten since childhood and is thick-skinned and tough. If you truly hurt him, how will you answer to his parents?"

"It does not matter if he cannot recite it, but spouting nonsense before his elders deserves a beating," Earl said. "Both our in-laws are sensible people. I believe they will understand."

Earl untied the whip from his waist. The moment Shen Lang failed to recite it, he would invoke the family rules.

Earl's Wife said, "Lang'er, apologize to your Father-in-Law at once."

"Mother-in-Law, rest assured," Shen Lang said. "This son-in-law will not disappoint you."

"Look at him, look at him, still spouting nonsense even now." Earl casually opened a page. "What is the content of Chapter Five of the Jin Family Instructions? Recite it. If you cannot, your flesh will suffer today."

The whip in Earl's hand was itching to strike.

At that moment, MuLan rushed in. "Father, do not be angry. Shen Lang is your daughter's husband. Whatever he has done wrong, your daughter apologizes to you on his behalf."

Shen Lang recited word by word, "Chapter Five of the Jin Family Instructions, 'Conduct.' The Book of Rites says: 'At the sight of one who resembles them, the eyes grow wide; upon hearing their name, the heart trembles.' When one is moved, sorrow pierces the heart and eyes. If it happens in a calm and ordinary place, one may thankfully express one's feelings. If it cannot be avoided, one should still endure it. Even if they are like uncles, brothers, or strikingly resemble one's forebears, can one spend a lifetime heartbroken and cut ties with them? Also: 'Do not avoid words in writing, do not avoid words in the ancestral temple, and do not avoid the personal taboos of one's ruler.' This is because hearing a name..."

(Note: This passage came from the Yan Family Instructions. A few historically appropriate passages were borrowed.) Word by word, Shen Lang recited the entire fifth chapter of the family instructions, more than two thousand words in all, without a single mistake.

Moreover, his enunciation was clear, his cadence rising and falling with perfect rhythm.

Earl, Earl's Wife, and MuLan were all stunned, scarcely daring to believe their ears.

How could this be possible?

Earl refused to believe it. He thought Shen Lang had merely been lucky, that he had happened to turn to a chapter Shen Lang had memorized.

So he casually opened another page. "Chapter Sixteen of the family instructions. Recite it in full."

Without the slightest pause, Shen Lang began reciting. "The inner and outer teachings are originally one body, gradually accumulating differences, varying in depth and shallowness. At the first gate of the inner canon are five prohibitions. In the outer canon, benevolence, righteousness, rites, wisdom, and trustworthiness all correspond to them. Benevolence is the prohibition against killing; righteousness is the prohibition against theft; rites are the prohibition against licentiousness; wisdom is the prohibition against drink; trustworthiness is the prohibition against falsehood..."

Only three minutes later, Shen Lang had finished again.

Still not a single word wrong! Earl refused to give up and spot-checked several more chapters in succession. Shen Lang's recitation flowed like drifting clouds and running water.

Later, Earl simply stopped asking him to recite specific chapters. Instead, he suddenly read out a passage and had Shen Lang continue it.

This was a killer move.

Earl's father and grandfather had used this trick before, and it had worked time and again. When Earl was young, he had fallen for it countless times.

Yet Shen Lang did not pause at all. The instant Earl's voice fell silent, Shen Lang continued almost without needing to recall or think.

It did not feel like recitation at all. It was as though Shen Lang himself had written the entire book.

By the end, he even interpreted its meaning on a whim and gave his own reflections after reading it.

Not one word was wrong. Even the rhythm was flawless, without the slightest delay or hesitation.

A perfect performance! The three masters of Earl's Manor were so shocked that they could not even close their eyes.

This... this was utterly inconceivable! But... it defied all reason.

Back when Earl had still been the Young Lord of Earl's Manor, though he had to practice Martial Arts and study every day, he had still spent at least two or three hours daily memorizing this family instruction. It had taken him more than a month to finish.

MuLan, blessed with extraordinary intelligence, had still needed a full twenty-three days.

Fifty thousand words in all, yet Shen Lang had memorized them in a single night.

This... this was simply too shocking.

MuLan stared with her beautiful eyes wide open, studying Shen Lang's face with utmost care.

Is this truly my husband? Where is the legendary idiot with low intelligence and no ability? Earl's Wife was a woman, so she recovered quickly.

Because this was tremendous good news.

"Lang'er is truly remarkable. You performed so well and did not disgrace your mother." Earl's Wife looked at Shen Lang with eyes full of tender affection.

Then she said to Earl with complete seriousness, "Husband, I won. Twenty-nine items!"

What twenty-nine items? Shen Lang and MuLan were both puzzled.

Could Father-in-Law and Mother-in-Law have some unspeakable transaction between them?

Earl's face reddened slightly. He waved his hand. "All right, Wife, take MuLan outside. I have something to say to Shen Lang."

Earl's Wife looked pleased and somewhat annoyed at the same time as she headed straight outside.

Earl asked, "Wife, where are you going?"

"To beat our son. Stupid as a pig," Earl's Wife said.

A certain fat man felt his ears burn and involuntarily hunched his body.

I have not done anything wrong today. Surely I will not suffer such an undeserved calamity?

Earl had once considered whether Shen Lang might have memorized the Jin Family Instructions before.

But he quickly dismissed the thought. Only members of the Jin Family had the right to memorize these instructions; they had never circulated outside.

Besides, this was not some Martial Arts manual. Other than the Jin Family itself, no outsider would treat it as treasure.

"Lang'er, how did you do it?" Earl asked.

Shen Lang said, "One day in late summer this year, when the heat had not yet fully faded, the sophora flower buds had already been harvested, and the second crop of seedlings had only just been planted into the fields..."

"Speak like a human," Earl said.

"Four days ago, I was gravely ill at the Xu Family and nearly died," Shen Lang said. "Or rather, I had already died. When I came back to life, I found that my mind had become very sharp. My memory is excellent; I never forget anything I have seen."

"Surviving after being driven to death?" Earl asked.

"You could put it that way," Shen Lang said.

Earl pondered for a while. "This is the enlightenment spoken of in legends. Though exceedingly rare, it is not unheard of. One of my Jin Family ancestors, one hundred and eighty years ago, came back to life while on the brink of death and attained enlightenment. He changed from a useless fool into a Martial Arts genius, rendering immense service to the family. The Monarch wanted to grant him rank and office, but he refused and instead requested new territory. It was under his hand that the Jin Family's fief reached its peak, covering a full five thousand square kilometers. Now, not even a third of that remains."

Then Earl said solemnly, "This is your good fortune, but you must understand reverence all the more because of it. Do not become so proud that you lose yourself. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Shen Lang said.

Earl said, "You studied for ten years before this and did not even graduate from the Academy in town. Clearly, you were utterly dreadful. Now that your mind has become sharper, you absolutely must not neglect your studies. Pick up all these lessons again."

"Yes," Shen Lang said.

Study?

Shen Lang had studied for more than a decade in his previous life. He had long since grown sick of it.

Still, whatever Father-in-Law said, he only needed to obediently agree.

At long last, Earl finished lecturing him.

"Father-in-Law, you previously promised that as long as I memorized the Jin Family Instructions, you would lift the House Arrest Order and restore my freedom. So, you see..." Shen Lang said.

So this was what you had been waiting for? Earl drew a deep breath.

He had finally realized that this son-in-law was no trouble-free fellow.

On the surface, he agreed sweetly to everything and could not appear more obedient, but the moment he turned around, he threw it all behind him.

Mischievous to the bone.

Earl truly wanted to refuse, but once he spoke his word, he had to honor it.

Since he had promised to lift Shen Lang's House Arrest Order, he absolutely could not break his word.

"Fine. Your House Arrest Order is lifted," Earl said, deeply unwilling.

This was the shortest House Arrest Order in his history. It had lasted only a single night, during which Shen Lang had merely slept in the study.

Earl said, "You still intend to fight Tian Heng?"

"Yes, this son-in-law is going now." Shen Lang nodded. "Yesterday, I said that I would make Tian Heng personally break both legs of his Adopted Son, Tian Shisan, before the crowd, forcing him to cut off his own arm and lose all authority. When a man gives his word, he must keep it. Otherwise, what prestige would he have left? How could he ever hold his head high again?"