Chapter 280: Must Definitely Divorce

The fat old man did not move. He only slowly brushed his sleeves, then raised his head.

The fake, fearful, and subservient smile on his face disappeared completely.

"Hey." The fat old man said: "I have traded fabric on the East street for twenty-two years. I paid enough taxes to the City Lord’s mansion every year, even paying extra. I bought people with papers, with witnesses, with money handed directly. That is legal according to the law of the Church of Light. This law has been practiced in this city for three hundred years. As for what you just read, that Constitution whatever, I honestly ask, who promulgated it?"

"The Lyra City Hall promulgated it."

"The City Hall." The fat old man smirked. "The City Hall stationed inside the branch headquarters? The place that hung two White-Robed Cardinals in the middle of the square last month? I only see a bunch of people popping out from nowhere, occupying someone else’s house, then writing laws for themselves. That bunch is..."

The fat old man’s eyes stopped on the wolf tail.

"... entirely a pack of animals."

Everyone around gasped. They stared intently at the fat old man as if looking at a suicidal hero.

The Beastman staff member’s complexion was completely unperturbed. He only smirked, sneered, then turned to the person holding the ledger:

"Record this. The subject insulted public officials performing their duties."

"Yes."

"Add this: the subject has two armed people accompanying him, refusing to comply."

The fat old man burst out laughing: "Do you know who these two people are?"

The two sword-wearing men stepped forward one step. At that moment, the four gray-coated people clearly saw the small badge pinned on the two men’s collars: a sword crossing a laurel branch.

Registered swordsmen of the Merchant Guild. The lowest level was already professional. A single professional person possessed enough strength to wipe out an entire patrol squad.

"The official registered swordsmen of the Merchant Guild are not some small fry that you can touch." The fat old man spoke leisurely. "I advise you to know when to stop. Do not wait until losing your lives while still not knowing why."

Cadfael took off the gray wool coat. He folded it, handing it to the person holding the ledger. Cadfael cracked his neck. He smiled brightly, saying:

"Your news seems to be too slow, doesn’t it? From the promulgation of the Lyra Constitution until now, the number of times the Church and the Merchant Guild dispatched people to suppress Lyra was eight hundred if not a thousand. You tell me why Lyra can still stand firm until now?" Cadfael turned his head. He spoke slowly to the staff holding the ledger: "Add this: Captain of Squad Seven decided to use coercion."

The fat old man’s complexion changed several times. He was seemingly intimidated by Cadfael’s imposing aura. The fat old man backed away one step. He waved his hand. The two swordsmen immediately drew their swords, rushing forward.

Their sword blades swept a horizontal line, slashing straight toward Cadfael.

Cadfael leaned his body exactly one inch when the sword blade approached, letting the sword blade graze past his chest. His left hand then grabbed one swordsman’s wrist, twisting it one round.

A "crack" sound was heard.

The swordsman was lifted off the ground before having time to scream. He was thrown straight into the side of the carriage, hitting so hard that the entire carriage tilted completely to one side. The horse panicked, rearing up on its two front hooves.

The second swordsman lunged from the right, thrusting straight.

Cadfael caught the sword blade barehanded. He clamped it between his two palms. That sword blade stopped dead in mid-air as if clamped by iron pliers. It trembled violently, unable to inch forward a single millimeter.

The sharp sword blade not only failed to tear a single piece of Cadfael’s skin, it was also snapped into three pieces by his hand strength.

This swordsman immediately threw the broken sword hilt away. He pulled a dagger from his boot.

Cadfael punched the swordsman right in the middle of his chest, sending the swordsman flying backward. The swordsman slammed his back heavily into the mud-brick wall. A large piece was knocked out of the wall. The swordsman crashed through two more walls of commoner houses before stopping. His body was buried under the rubble, his life or death unknown.

The fat old man fell sitting on the ground. Cadfael walked step by step to the front of him leisurely. The fat old man crawled backward with every step Cadfael advanced. The fat old man begged constantly:

"Do not... do not kill me... My cousin is Lord Gault. He will not let you off if you kill me!"

Cadfael lifted the fat old man’s round, plump body off the ground.

"Tsk, you are truly pitiful. Do you not know the Cromwell territory now belongs to the jurisdiction of City Lord Elric? They also established a City Hall over there. The mayor is a slave who was beaten half to death by Lord Gault previously."

Cadfael carried the fat old man by the collar, throwing the fat old man onto the prison cart. Cadfael smiled, saying: "The era of you human traffickers ends here. Go to prison to live with your grand dream now."

The fat old man still screamed, cursing obscenely. A Public Security staff member immediately took off his shoe, pulled out his two socks, rolled them up, then stuffed them into the fat old man’s mouth. The stinking sock smell wafted up, making the fat old man gag continuously. His mouth was gagged tightly by the socks naturally. Therefore, he swallowed back down himself however much he threw up.

Everyone around covered their mouths, staying far away. Their sour gastric juices churned continuously. Some clean-freak people had already run to a corner, bending over to vomit.

Cadfael took the gray wool coat back from his teammate’s hand. He put it back on. He buttoned every single button. He then adjusted the jade badge on his chest properly.

Cadfael finished dressing neatly. He continued reaching out to pick Nell’s father up, throwing the father to his teammates:

"Put him in shackles."

"I... I am her father!" Nell’s father stammered. "Besides, I truly thought the deadline had expired. I did not do it on purpose. I heard wrong..."

"I am not a Judge. Explaining to me is useless." Cadfael answered succinctly. "However, we have recorded the words you said. The neighbors present here can also step forward to testify in Court. You cannot deny it."

The father’s face turned ashen.

Cadfael turned his head toward the mother and children still hugging each other over there. He called out: "Nell’s mother, please come with us to the Department of Public Security. We need to take statements from you and the children."

The woman jolted. She hesitated for a long time before managing to drag herself to the middle of the yard. Her two hands kept wringing each other. Her left eye was bruised with a dark circle. The circle had turned yellowish, meaning she was hit about five or six days ago. Even older welt marks were exposed on her wrists. They overlapped in so many layers they could not be counted.

She trembled. She stammered forever before uttering a sentence: "I... will I also be arrested?"

Cadfael shook his head: "No. We are only following the procedure properly. You and the children can go home after giving the statements."

The woman nodded. She led her children to climb onto a carriage of a person in the alley. This carriage was temporarily requisitioned using money by the Squad Seven staff. They saw the injuries on the mother and children’s bodies were quite severe. Walking would affect the prisoner escort journey.

Nell’s mother sat nervously before the steel table in the interrogation room. Opposite her were two Department of Public Security staff members possessing quite stern facial features. A female staff member placed the notebook on the table. She tried to use the gentlest voice to talk to Nell’s mother:

"Madam, please relax. We are only asking according to the procedure. Just say whatever you know. Allow me to know your full name first."

"Yes... Merrin Baker."

The Public Security staff member tapped her pen on the table: "I am asking for your real full name before marriage, not your name after marriage, Madam."

The woman was astonished for a moment. She then said the surname she had lost the ownership right to hoarsely: "Harris... My name is Merrin Harris..."

"Yes, Madam Harris. Did you know about Mr. Baker wanting to sell your child?"

"I know."

"Then did you support it?"

Merrin shook her head immediately: "No. How could I support him selling my child!"

The Public Security staff member looked down, taking notes. She then continued asking: "Madam, then do you know since when Mr. Baker intended to sell the child?"

Merrin wiped her tears: "He already intended to sell her away since the girl was eight years old. I secretly borrowed one silver coin from my maternal family behind his back to secure a job slot in the textile workshop for the girl later. Only then did he spare the girl..."

The Public Security staff member recorded into the ledger with every answer Merrin gave. Merrin’s initial fear gradually disappeared after every encouraging glance of the Public Security staff member. She told them all the things she and her children had experienced herself without needing them to ask. The Public Security staff gained a lot more information about the slave trading cases and the fat old man’s crimes from her statement in addition.

Merrin stayed in the interview room for an entire evening. She said all that needed to be said. The female Public Security staff member closed the notebook. She stood up, extending her hand before Merrin.

"Madam Harris, thank you very much for your useful information. The Department of Public Security definitely will help you and the children reclaim justice."

Merrin looked at the hand extending before her. She grabbed it, feeling a bit joyful mixed with panic. The three children were sitting outside waiting for her when she stepped out of the closed room. Two meat sandwiches and a cup of milk still radiating warmth were placed before the three kids.

Nell saw her mother step out. Nell waved at her: "Mother, we are over here."

The girl ran to grab her mother’s hand. She pulled her mother to sit at the table:

"Mother, this is the food portion the officers saved for you. Hurry and eat."

Merrin’s eye sockets turned wet looking at the plump meat sandwich before her, then looking at the three clean children before her. The children were carefully looked after by the Department of Public Security’s people. They looked even more vibrant than when staying with her.

The female Public Security staff member from earlier had finished submitting the report. She carried her food portion, coming to sit with the mother and children. She said:

"Sister Merrin, do not just keep looking. Hurry and eat. I will take you all home after eating."

She did not call her "Madam Harris" filled with distance like inside the interview room anymore. She switched to calling her "Sister Merrin" intimately. Merrin’s face flashed a bit of confusion. Merrin somewhat did not know what to do. The female staff member smiled, saying:

"Do not be so nervous. I have finished my shift already. I am also just a normal woman like you now."

She steered the topic toward the children after finishing speaking. She praised Nell and the twin girls. Merrin’s mood gradually relaxed when mentioning the children. She then conversed more naturally.

The female staff member said: "This crime of your husband will result in being exiled for reform for at least eight years. Do you want to try thinking about getting a divorce?"

Merrin almost choked on the bread: "Di... divorce? I... I would not dare! A woman abandoned by her husband lives a life worse than death. I feel things are fine just like now."

The female staff member looked at Merrin helplessly: "Sister, it is getting a divorce, not being abandoned by the husband. Look at me. I also just divorced my husband last month. I still live well now. I even became a Department of Public Security staff member here."

The female staff member then pulled her chair closer to Merrin. She analyzed for Merrin the benefits that Merrin and the children could receive after divorcing that terrible husband. Merrin listened, her eyes widening in astonishment. She did not know women actually possessed so many rights.

Because her husband was a criminal, the Court would rule the child custody rights belonged to her, just as the female staff member stated. She was allowed to establish her own household registration after divorcing. She possessed the right to change her children’s surname to their mother’s surname. She also received a portion of compensation properties after divorcing. She was allowed to work. She received the full right to decide all big and small matters in the house.

No one possessed the right to beat or scold her from now on. No one possessed the right to sell her children away anymore. She could even take another step later if meeting a suitable person.

All these things were too overly wonderful. Merrin felt a bit unreal. The female staff member knew Merrin’s heart had wavered a bit. She immediately used the children’s clean appearance now to reinforce Merrin’s determination:

"You see how beautiful your children are. Yet, they are covered up from their inherent appearance by ragged clothes and muddy stains on their bodies. You can use the money you earn to buy food for them after divorcing. You can sew the most beautiful clothes for them. Do you not want their lives to become better?"

Merrin looked at the three children sitting opposite her. The twin children were tired. They leaned against their older sister’s chest, falling asleep. Nell used her skinny arm full of rough scars to pat her younger siblings. The girl looked up upon sensing her mother’s gaze. She gave her mother a very bright smile.

Merrin’s heart was lightly touched by her daughter’s smile. She clenched her fists tightly. Her eyes flashed with determination.

Divorce! This marriage must definitely be divorced at all costs!