Chapter 230 Calm Down, Master

Lu Jinzhi really didn't expect Xie Qingran to be next door and to rush over!

He was completely dumbfounded. The moment his gaze fell on Gu Xiangyuan behind Xie Qingran, he felt as if the sky was about to fall.

"Shut up, Xie Qingran, you're insane!"

Lu Jinzhi glared at Xie Qingran through gritted teeth.

However, Xie Qingran was like a tiger descending the mountain. She rushed up, grabbed Lu Jinzhi by the collar, and slapped him hard across the face with both hands. Then she kicked him to the ground!

During this time, Xie Qingran also practiced with the children to spend time with them. Although her martial arts skills didn't improve much, her agility and strength did improve considerably.

After this series of moves, the other young noblemen were all dumbfounded and stood up to retreat.

They were all defenseless people, not to mention Xie Qingran's extraordinary status, including being the daughter of a high-ranking official. Even if they had a hundred times the courage, they wouldn't dare to step forward to help.

Xie Qingran's face was gloomy. She gripped Lu Jinzhi's hair tightly, her eyes sweeping over everyone as she said viciously, "I've memorized every single one of your faces today. If there's even a whisper of gossip outside, I'll go knocking on your doors one by one!"

"sister in law."

Gu Xiangyuan burst into tears. She truly hadn't expected Xie Qingran to stand up for her like this.

Seeing Gu Xiangyuan crying, Xie Qingran felt a pang of heartache and immediately grabbed Lu Jinzhi and walked out.

At this moment, Lu Jinzhi finally realized the seriousness of the matter and grabbed Xie Qingran's wrist tightly: "Let go of me, are you crazy? What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to take you to reason with them!"

"Lu Jinzhi, you gossipy woman, I'm going to make you pay for this today!"

Xie Qingran held him tightly, refusing to let go no matter how much he struggled.

Xie Qingran hadn't shown any weakness when facing four strong men before, let alone Lu Jinzhi, who was originally a scholar who couldn't even kill a chicken.

Gu Xiangyuan was slow to realize what was happening. She wiped away her tears and got into the carriage.

After getting into the carriage, Xie Qingran let go of Lu Jinzhi and took out a handkerchief to carefully wipe her hands, as if she had just touched something very dirty.

Seeing this, Lu Jinzhi's face became even more gloomy and ugly. He gritted his teeth and said, "I was just drunk and said a few words casually. What are you doing? Xie Qingran, let me tell you, don't try to make a big deal out of this!"

"You should say the same thing when you meet your parents later." Xie Qingran looked at Lu Jinzhi coldly.

I've had too much to drink, so I'm just saying a few words?

A few casual words can ruin a good girl's life in an instant!

In his previous life, he did the same thing, saying it was just a whim, but it caused her to never come back and to die in that way.

This person is cold and twisted to the core. He doesn't care about other people's thoughts at all and always acts superior without regard for other people's feelings.

In that case, this person should be pulled down from the high platform.

"Is this... the road to the palace?"

"Xie Qingran, you're a madwoman! You actually went to the Empress's place over such a few idle words! Do you really think the Empress would have time to bother with such a trivial matter?"

Snap!

Gu Xiangyuan finally couldn't take it anymore and slapped Lu Jinzhi hard across the face.

"You tried to ruin my life with nothing but empty words and slander, and now you dare to say this is a small matter!"

"Lu Jinzhi, you bastard!"

Gu Xiangyuan was so angry that her hands were trembling as she stared intently at Lu Jinzhi.

"Little sister Yuan'er, I really didn't mean it. I just said it casually because I had too much to drink. Besides, everyone here is a good friend of mine. We can just talk about it privately. How could it really get out?"

"On the contrary, Xie Qingran's actions will likely ruin your reputation. You think she's doing this for your own good? Actually, she's harming you!"

Lu Jinzhi knew how to speak politely to Gu Xiangyuan.

Seeing him so distorting the truth, Gu Xiangyuan felt disgusted. She snorted disdainfully and then said fiercely, "I have the ability to distinguish right from wrong. I know perfectly well who is good to me and who is harming me. Lu Jinzhi, let me tell you the truth, I will absolutely not let this matter go today."

As early as when they discovered this, Xie Qingran had already sent Baozhu out to deliver a message, so when they arrived at the palace, the Prime Minister and his wife were already there, and even Lu's parents were in the Empress's Changchun Palace.

The moment Gu Xiangyuan saw the Prime Minister's wife, she rushed over and hugged her tightly, tears streaming down her face: "Mother and the others bullied me!"

"Good child, don't cry. What happened?" Madam Gu only knew that something had happened, but Baozhu did not say what it was.

Madam Lu's expression changed when she saw the bruise on Lu Jinzhi's forehead. She looked at Xie Qingran with hostility and asked, "What exactly happened?"

Xie Qingran glanced at Gu Xiangyuan, who immediately understood and quickly knelt on the ground, kowtowing three times respectfully: "Your Majesty, please do justice for me! Today, my sister-in-law and I were having tea at a teahouse when we overheard Lu Jinzhi and several other young masters gossiping about me, saying that I..."

Gu Xiangyuan was sobbing uncontrollably that she couldn't make sense of it.

Upon seeing this, the Empress's expression changed, and she asked with some displeasure, "Lu Jinzhi, what did you say?"

Lu Jinzhi had spoken loudly in the teahouse, but now he was silent, kneeling on the ground and saying, "It's all my fault. I was drunk and talked nonsense. Please forgive me, Your Majesty, and please forgive Miss Gu."

"Your Majesty, this is not drunken nonsense. He fabricated stories about the Third Miss's impurity before marriage and slandered her for having an affair with Prince Jin!"

Xie Qingran quickly knelt before the Empress and repeated Lu Jinzhi's words.

These are words that Gu Xiangyuan, as an unmarried young girl, would certainly not dare to say, but Xie Qingran is now the Duchess of the State, so it is just right for her to say them.

What?

Upon hearing this, not only the Empress but even Lord Lu was stunned. Without the slightest hesitation, he strode forward and slapped Lu Jinzhi hard across the face, then kicked him to the ground, gritting his teeth and saying, "What nonsense are you spouting? Are you crazy?!"

"Master, please calm down! This is our son! Do you intend to kill him?"