After hearing what the prince said, a few common people who were close to the prince squatted down and looked carefully at the injuries on Wei Mingyuan's face.
"Ah! The head of the Wei family actually injured Wei Mingyuan!" One of the clever young men shouted angrily.
"Oh, this kid's face is covered with wounds!" another person echoed.
"Look everyone, such a good child, a child praised by the emperor, but his family head beat him like this!" A nosy aunt shouted in tears.
"It's outrageous that they could do such a thing to a child this young."
In an instant, the crowd was in an uproar, and countless people were blaming Wei Duan.
There were also a few people with bad tempers who picked up a few vegetables from the vegetable stall, pulled off the leaves and threw them at Wei Duan and his wife.
There was also a child who took two eggs from the basket in his mother's hand, walked up to Wei Duan and his wife, and smashed them hard on their heads.
In a moment, the bodies and faces of Wei Duan and his wife were covered with rotten vegetable leaves and egg liquid.
"It's not me, it's not me. It was a fight between kids in the private school!" Wei Duan wiped the dirt off his face and explained vaguely.
"It wasn't you who hit him, it was your children who hit him. You are the clan leader, so it's your fault!" The aunt who had shouted before pointed her finger and said angrily.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince must seek justice for Wei Mingyuan!" someone in the crowd shouted.
"Yes, yes, such a good child was beaten so badly, the prince must seek justice!" someone in the crowd echoed.
"Justice! Justice! Justice!" Many people shouted in unison.
Seeing this scene, Wei Duan and his wife trembled even more violently.
The prince smiled and waved to the common people, saying loudly, "Everyone, please rest assured."
Everyone quieted down after hearing the prince's statement.
The prince smiled brightly at Wei Duan and his wife, "I have always been kind to others, and I didn't want to argue with you."
After hearing this, the Wei Duan couple's tense heartstrings immediately relaxed: "Thank you, Your Highness!"
"But now the people are outraged, and they are collectively denouncing you and asking me to punish you." The prince said in an embarrassed tone.
"If I just brush it off, how will I explain this to the people of Daxia?"
The prince raised his eyebrows slyly and continued, "And you said at the time that letting Wei Mingyuan stay in the Wei family private school would be a disgrace to our ancestors!"
"Now that Wei Mingyuan has been commended by the emperor, it proves that you were deceiving your ancestors before."
"If I were to let this go today, I wouldn't be able to explain myself to your ancestors."
"So, in order to calm the anger of the people and your ancestors, anyone in the Wei family who has opposed Wei Mingyuan studying in our private school, anyone who has assaulted him, please go to the Wei family ancestral hall and kneel down to beg for forgiveness."
"Everyone must kneel in the ancestral hall and confess to their ancestors ten thousand times. Only after they have received their forgiveness can they leave."
The faces of Wei Duan's relatives suddenly turned dark.
The Wei family’s private school was located in Wei Duan’s mansion, and the children from both families usually studied in this private school.
Wei Duan's five sons all lived in the capital, and except for the eldest son, the other four sons of Wei Han worked in other places, so most of the dozen or so children in the private school were from Wei Duan's family.
The kids who bullied Wei Mingyuan a while ago were all Wei Duan’s grandchildren.
The prince glanced at the expressions of the Wei family and curled the corners of his mouth in satisfaction.
He paused and continued, "As for the matter of the spoiled slave, the one you offended was, after all, the Crown Prince of Daxia, the eldest son of the Emperor and Empress. I may not pursue the matter, but for the sake of the Emperor and Empress, if I do not punish you, it will be a disgrace to Daxia!"
"Come here, drag that evil slave away and give him 50 lashes of the cane." The prince ordered coldly.
"As for the masters of the evil slaves, the clan leader and the clan leader's wife, I will not fight you because of your advanced age."
"Copy the section of the Bactrian law concerning the management of household slaves a hundred times."
"To save time, just copy it while you're kneeling in the ancestral hall and begging for forgiveness from your ancestors!"
After hearing the punishment announced by the prince, the crowd immediately burst into cheers of "The prince is wise and mighty!"
The prince left behind a few followers to supervise the Wei family in completing the punishment.
Wei Duan's family of more than thirty people, including men, women, old and young, all looked ashamed and returned home in disgrace, like dogs that had lost their home.
Wei Han and his two grandchildren bowed to the prince again and stared at his carriage as it drove away to express their gratitude.
The excited common people trotted after the prince's carriage and applauded enthusiastically.
That night, the Wei family ancestral hall was filled with wailing.
The ancestral hall was filled with people kneeling.
Wei Duan and his wife knelt at the front with a low desk in front of them. They copied with difficulty despite the wounds on their foreheads.
The children knelt behind, crying and muttering their confession.
In the early autumn evening, the hot air finally disappeared with the sunset, and a few cool breezes blew in the air.
Inside Kunning Palace, the palace servants spread a large rattan mat on the open space in the front yard. Xia Miaoyuan, wearing a light pink satin shirt and trousers, lay on the rattan mat, occasionally lying down, stretching his little arms and trying to crawl forward.
[Ah, being a baby is really hard. ]
She couldn't help but complain.
[He has to learn to roll over, sit up, crawl, and everything. I don’t know when he’ll be able to walk!]
[Oh, this is so annoying.]
"Lord Yama, why couldn't you assign me an adult role? Why did you have to dress me up as a baby?"
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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