Lady Nian glared fiercely at Hongli, only to find that he was in no better shape. A large bump had swelled up on his forehead, and his cheeks had been scratched.
"Why did you throw Hongsheng's ink stick?" Madam Nian roared at Hongli fiercely. She already resented Lanqin, and even more so Hongli, who had always stolen the limelight from Hongsheng. Now that she saw her son being bullied, she wished she could slap Hongli.
"Consort, this is the school. I have been ordered by the Prince..." The teacher finally couldn't hold back any longer and stood on the platform to address Lady Nian.
"How dare you glare at me, Consort Nian! You have no manners at all! Who gave you the right to throw our Hongsheng ink sticks!" Lady Nian completely disregarded her husband and interrupted him.
The gentleman was helpless, but as an externally hired tutor, he naturally could not reprimand or argue with a concubine, so he had no choice but to remain silent.
“I didn’t throw his ink stick, he threw it himself,” Hongli said stubbornly, glaring back at Lady Nian.
"At such a young age, he speaks so rudely to his elders. Truly, like father, like son. Our Hongsheng has always been very obedient. How could he throw his own ink stick? It's an absolute joke. You threw Hongsheng's ink stick, and not only did you not admit your mistake, you even hit our Hongsheng. Do you have no regard for the law?" Madam Nian said vehemently, wishing she could nail Hongli to the words "disrespectful to elders" and "barbaric and unruly."
"He's fat, and when he stood up, he overturned his table and spilled ink. How is that my fault?" Hongli glared at Nian Shi and said, "Hongsheng is always showing off what he has. Is that what you call being well-mannered?"
Madam Nian was furious. She never expected to be talked back to by a child like that. She immediately shouted, "You little brat, Fourth Prince, is this how you behave? Cuiling, go and slap him so he knows how to speak to his elders in the future."
Hongli did not expect that Lady Nian would actually hit him. Although he had not yet given in, he was still afraid when he saw that Lady Nian was going to hit him.
Seeing that Madam Nian was about to hit someone, Mr. Zhu quickly stepped down from the podium and said to her, "Consort, you absolutely mustn't hit the child here. Besides, I've already asked them..."
“Sir, I’m disciplining the princes here, so please don’t interfere. As their teacher, how can you let the two princes fight like this? Look at Hongsheng, his hair is all messed up, and his face is scratched.” Madam Nian wouldn’t listen to her teacher’s advice and immediately interrupted him.
"What are you all standing there for? Beat him! Let him know how he should speak to me, his concubine, in the future!" Lady Nian roared. In her heart, she was also testing the Fourth Prince's bottom line. She had beaten Niohuru's son today to see if he could tolerate it.
Cuiling walked up to Hongli and said to him, "Fourth Prince, the concubine ordered me to come and beat you. I'm so sorry!"
Having said that, she actually raised her hand. Hongli took a step back, leaning against the desk, still afraid inside, but unwilling to admit defeat on the surface.
"Don't hit my fourth brother!" Hongzhou suddenly walked to Hongli's side, grabbed his arm and pulled him behind him.
"Hongzhou, don't be afraid, I'm not afraid of them at all!" Hongli quickly reassured Hongzhou, then turned to Cuiling and said, "You dare! You're just a servant, how dare you lay a finger on me!"
Don't underestimate him just because he's a kid; his aura is in no way inferior to that of an adult, and he really intimidated Cui Ling. She hesitated to hit him and just held her hand up without moving.
"Useless thing! I, your concubine, ordered you to hit me, how come you couldn't do it!" Lady Nian said sternly.
“My lady, I’m a little… a little unable to continue. He’s the Fourth Prince. I’m useless!” Cui Ling put down her hand and turned to Nian Shi.
Lady Nian glared at her fiercely, walked towards Hongli, and said angrily, "She is a servant, so this concubine can teach you a lesson, right?"
Hongli glared stubbornly at Nian Shi, refusing to back down, and said, "You're an adult, how dare you bully a child? I believe Father won't side with you if word gets out. Even servants will gossip about you in private for bullying a child."
Upon hearing this, Madam Nian hesitated, but she couldn't show weakness in front of a child, so she still forced herself to be assertive and said, "You're just a child, yet you speak rudely to your elders. I'm here to teach you a lesson, and you dare to talk back to me!"
Hongli had only acted on impulse, but now that he saw that Lady Nian was not afraid, he had no choice but to retreat, trying to avoid her and prevent her from getting close to him.
"What are you all standing there for? Grab him!" Nian shouted at Cuiling and Birou.
Cui Ling and Bi Rou exchanged a glance, both seeing helplessness in each other's eyes. However, they dared not resist Nian Shi and could only approach Hong Li.
Ouch!
Hongzhou suddenly grabbed Cuiling's leg and held on tightly, refusing to let go. He even bit Cuiling's thigh.
"This is outrageous! They have no manners at all. The Fifth Prince even bit someone! Let him go!" Lady Nian shouted at Hongzhou.
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