Chuanwen, who had grasped the essence of Madam Zhang's practice of keeping a lover, was secretly laughing to himself. But Zhang Chengjue, who was being ridiculed, turned ashen-faced. He gritted his teeth, stepped forward, and knelt down with a thud to stop his foolish son from continuing to spew spittle. He quickly kowtowed and admitted his mistake on behalf of his son.
All he wanted now was to shut his son up as soon as possible, get the emperor to punish his son, and then disappear from Chuanwen's sight so that Chuanwen's attention would be diverted from them.
Zhang Guanjing was speaking enthusiastically, and it seemed the emperor didn't intend to interrupt him, so he must agree with what he was saying. Suddenly being interrupted by his father was completely baffling, and he was quite unhappy. "Dad, what are you admitting to wrong? I didn't do anything wrong!"
Zhang Chengjue really wanted to slap his stupid son to death. Thinking this, he did just that. With a big slap, Zhang Guanjing was knocked to the ground, covering his face and looking at his father in disbelief.
Zhang Chengjue's sudden outburst caught the onlookers off guard. The Minister of Works and others gasped when they saw the clear five-finger slap mark on Zhang Guanjing's face, feeling sorry for him.
Wow! Lord Zhang is really ruthless!
"My son has been disobedient; I beg Your Majesty to punish him!"
Zhang Chengjue trembled as he kowtowed to beg for forgiveness, which angered him.
Since Zhang Chengjue had acted so ruthlessly, the emperor couldn't punish him severely.
Moreover, he couldn't easily punish someone for this. If he punished them too severely, it would seem as if he were afraid of the Western Regions; if he punished them too lightly, it would seem as if he looked down on the Western Regions. Besides, he couldn't explain this to the Vice Minister of Revenue. So, after some deliberation, he sent Zhang Guanjing to receive fifteen strokes of the cane.
Finally, the punishment was over. Zhang Chengjue breathed a long sigh of relief, stood up, and pulled his foolish son to receive the beating.
The emperor, empress, and others knew why Zhang Chengjue was in such a hurry to leave, but watching his back as he hurriedly left with Zhang Guanjing, the group of young people were puzzled. Why did it feel like something was chasing after that Lord Zhang?
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