The general was angry, but he didn't dare to confront Yu Zizhen head-on.
He said, "Your Highness, you don't know that this humble servant and I don't treat all the relatives of criminal officials this way. The reason why I lost control and impulsively beat and scolded the Lu family is because these people in the Lu family have often bullied this humble servant and me in the past by relying on Lu Huaiyi's power."
Wiping away non-existent tears, he pretended to be choked up and said loudly: "This humble official used to be one of Lu Huaiyi's subordinates. Not only did I have to send generous gifts to the Lu family during the four seasons and eight festivals, but even on the birthdays of one of their children, my family would rush to their house with generous gifts to congratulate them. Even so, they would often insult and beat my children. This humble official..."
"You're bullshitting!" Lu Mingxuan, who had always been self-disciplined and polite, with the temperament of a Confucian general, couldn't help but curse. He pointed at the general's nose and cursed, "You're a despicable villain who's trying to curry favor with the powerful and then kick them when they're down! I've seen people like you many times!"
"I swear to heaven, my uncle has repeatedly warned your family not to send expensive gifts, and every time, no matter what your family sent, my uncle and aunt always gave you a gift of equal value!"
"I swear, if I tell a lie, I'll be torn into pieces and die a miserable death! What about you? Do you dare to swear this?"
Wu Shun, who was originally the Lu family's attendant and knew the family's character very well, spat bitterly. "When the Lu family was prosperous, you flattered them on the surface but were jealous in your heart. You clung to the Lu family to get benefits, but at the same time you wished that the Lu family would immediately fall into misfortune so that you could replace them. When the Lu family really fell into misfortune, you turned your face faster than turning the pages of a book. The more benefits you received from the Lu family, the more you wanted to trample on the Lu family to show how much better you were now. Pah! How despicable and disgusting!"
Being insulted by a boy who was born in a wealthy family and who, even though he had become successful now, was still just a guard in the palace, the general was so angry that he wanted to draw his sword and kill him.
However, Wu Shun's attack on him was not over yet. He shouted to the officials who were testifying but were actually just watching the fun, "Those of you who are watching, those with higher positions than him should be careful. If this family tries their best to curry favor with you, don't think that they are willing to serve you like dogs. The Lu family is a lesson for you!"
The Lu family met a bad end. Many people felt that Wu Shun's words were very unlucky. Some superstitious people couldn't help but spit in anger even in the court.
However, because of this, they instantly labeled the general's family as "unlucky".
The general was so angry that he was furious. He didn't care about the occasion and drew the sword from his waist.
Yu Zizhen immediately stepped forward and blocked Wu Shun's way. "Are you going to commit murder in front of the Jingzhao government office?"
The general regained his composure after being asked this question. He pointed at Wu Shun and angrily said to Yu Zizhen, "Sir, he has humiliated my family like this, and yet you still want to protect him without knowing right from wrong?"
Yu Zizhen glanced at him sideways, "Everything has a cause and an effect. If you hadn't been the first to slander the Lu family, how could he have been so rebellious after becoming a guard at the Zhenbei Palace?"
"Besides, everyone in the capital knows that they are now my guards, Yu Zizhen, and the retainers of the Zhenbei Palace whose indentures are in my hands. Your son is humiliating them, which is a slap in my face. He is deliberately trying to bring shame to the Zhenbei Palace!"
"Why, you allow your son to rely on his status as an official son to slap me in the face, but you don't allow me to file a complaint with the Jingzhao Prefecture to seek justice for the palace guards, and you don't allow them to retaliate against you?"
"Since your family is so powerful, why don't I ask His Majesty for permission to send you to guard the northern border, western border, or southern border?"
As soon as Yu Zizhen said this, the family suddenly became as quiet as a chicken.
The women who had been crying before stopped crying, the people who had been staring at Yu Zizhen indignantly stopped staring at her, and the general who had been defending his family also shut his mouth tightly.
The prefect of Jingzhao observed Yu Zizhen's words and expressions and saw that he did not really want to go to the palace to ask for permission, so he immediately gave Yu Zizhen a way out.
He slammed the gavel and sentenced the general's sons to be beaten with twenty sticks each according to the law, and ordered them to pay the Lu family two hundred taels of silver as compensation.
Two hundred taels was nothing compared to the amount of money Yu Zizhen had extorted from others in the past, ahem, the amount of money she had claimed. However, the laws of the Great Qi Dynasty did not support her asking for more gold and silver from that family. Fortunately, those guys who insulted and beat the Lu family were beaten with sticks in public, which somewhat offset Yu Zizhen's dissatisfaction with the small amount of compensation.
After the Lu family members, who had received two hundred taels of compensation and watched those guys being beaten, returned to the Zhenbei Palace, Yu Zizhen asked Doctor Feng to clean their wounds, apply medicine and bandage them.
"Go back and take good care of yourself for a few days. If someone hits you or even wants to kill you in the future, remember to fight back appropriately. Don't be like today, being a coward and just taking the blame."
Although she spoke in a lecturing tone, the Lu family members were deeply moved.
Just as they were about to express their gratitude, they heard Yu Zizhen say, "Wait until the Emperor's birthday, and I'll try to get you out of the capital so you can start anew somewhere else."
The Lu family was shocked when they heard this. Lu Mingxuan and Lu Mingyuan said in unison, "Sir, we do not want to leave. Your kindness to the Lu family is as great as a mountain. We are willing to die for you and serve you wholeheartedly."
Yu Zizhen smiled and said, "I didn't say that I won't let you work for me. Don't worry, even if you are not in the capital, I will still use you well."
After a pause, she continued, "I'm sending you away because there's no such thing as a thief who steals all day long. I can't keep you under my watchful eye 24 hours a day, but I don't want you to encounter something like today, or even worse, somewhere I can't see."
The money she brought out from the Zhenbei Palace, plus the money she earned during this period, was enough for her to set up a small base.
It just so happened that the Lu family had already received the letter from Lu Huaiyi and his son that was sent back by someone else to report their safety. Their worries about Lu Huaiyi and his son no longer kept them awake at night, and Yu Zizhen had originally planned to find time to send them to live somewhere else.
As written in the original book, the yamen runners responsible for escorting Lu Huaiyi and his son did attack them on the way, but because of Yu Zizhen's secret advice and material support, they were not killed on the way as written in the original book.
With the help of Lu Ping and Lu An, they managed to kill the yamen runners without any danger, and according to Yu Zizhen's suggestion, they changed their appearance and joined the army under the Duke of Weiguo in Western Xinjiang.
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