Chapter 231 My Beloved Son Suffers Injustice
Seeing her precious son being wronged, Madam Lu's expression immediately changed. She hurriedly stepped forward to stop him, hugged Lu Jinzhi, and frowned at Xie Qingran: "Madam Duchess, even if my Jinzhi accidentally offended you before, you don't need to be so aggressive. Since it was said in a private room in the teahouse, how could you have heard it so clearly?"
“Heaven has eyes. We were in the next room and heard it clearly, not a single word was missed.”
Xie Qingran stared coldly at Madam Lu, her face expressionless.
She finally understood why Lu Jinzhi was the way he was now. It was all because he had such a good mother. Even though the matter had escalated to such a serious point, her first reaction was still to defend her son.
Is this true?
The Empress clenched her fists tightly and looked at Lu Jinzhi with disappointment and frustration.
The Prime Minister and Madam Gu stared at Lu Jinzhi with grim expressions.
At this moment, Lu Jinzhi also realized the seriousness of the matter. He stared intently at Xie Qingran and said fiercely, "I already said that I was just talking nonsense because I was drunk. Why is the Duchess holding onto me and not letting go? What's going on?"
"I have no objection, you can say whatever you want, but the things you say could ruin the reputation of a woman and a prince."
"This concerns the reputation of both the Prime Minister's Mansion and the Prince Jin's Mansion. It should be Her Majesty the Empress who decides what to do."
Xie Qingran smiled indifferently. She did not continue to target Lu Jinzhi, but simply handed over all the decision-making power to the Empress.
The Empress truly hadn't expected Lu Jinzhi to be so disappointing. Now, seeing the two families about to fight each other in her Changchun Palace, she was having a real headache.
"First of all, this matter must end here. These kinds of nonsense should not be said again or spread."
"Lu Jinzhi, you're talking nonsense while drunk, you're being reckless! Apologize to the Third Miss right now!"
The Empress glared fiercely at Lu Jinzhi.
Lu Jinzhi realized what had happened and immediately kowtowed to the Prime Minister's family to admit his mistake: "It's all my fault, I spoke recklessly and uttered nonsense. I will definitely reflect on my actions when I get home and never dare to do it again!"
"Your Majesty!"
Gu Xiangyuan looked at the Empress in disbelief, never expecting that such a serious matter would be let go so easily.
Her eyebrows furrowed tightly as she glared at the Empress, then knelt on the ground and kowtowed again, saying, "Is my innocence so worthless?"
"I beg Your Majesty to severely punish this arrogant brat and give my daughter justice!" Madam Gu also felt that the Empress's punishment was too lenient, so she knelt on the ground and kowtowed heavily, pleading bitterly.
Seeing this, Madam Lu became somewhat anxious: "My Jinzhi has already said that it was just an unintentional mistake, and no one will spread it. It's just a word. What does your Prime Minister's residence want?"
"Shut up!"
Lord Lu realized that something was wrong. He looked around, grabbed a soft whip from the side, and lashed it at Lu Jinzhi.
Lu Jinzhi has always been a favored child, pampered and cherished since childhood. When has he ever suffered such hardship?
He knelt on the ground, holding his head, hunched over, looking utterly disheveled. No matter how he twisted his body, he would always be accurately struck and suffer cuts to the flesh.
Upon seeing this, Madam Lu cried out in despair, "Master, please have mercy! This is our only son!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Lord Lu shoved aside Madam Lu, who was trying to stop him, and said fiercely, "It's because you spoiled the child that he didn't know his place and did such a thing. If I don't teach him a lesson today, who knows what kind of trouble he'll cause in the future. If you dare to say another word, I'll divorce you!"
This time, Madam Lu remained silent. She could see clearly that Lord Lu was furious and was definitely not joking.
Madam Gu pulled Gu Xiangyuan away from Lord Lu's attack range, fearing that her precious daughter might be accidentally hurt.
Xie Qingran stood aside, expressionless, watching Lu Jinzhi roll and dodge on the ground, her eyes filled with hatred that was almost overflowing.
Not enough, not enough!
Compared to her previous life, this is not enough; it's far too lenient. She should have been beaten to death!
Unfortunately, Lord Lu was not young and only had this one son, so he was certainly reluctant to beat him to death. Seeing that Lu Jinzhi had been beaten to a bloody pulp, he immediately pretended to be furious and the soft whip in his hand flew out. He was panting heavily.
He forced himself to remain composed and bowed deeply to the Prime Minister and his wife: "Prime Minister, Madam, it is the father's fault that the son is not properly taught. It is all my fault as the father for failing to educate my son well. I will definitely discipline him strictly when I return. I beg the Prime Minister to be lenient and let this child off this time!"
The Prime Minister also knew that although the nature of this matter was serious, if it really caused a big fuss, it would be resolved with just a few words. The most important thing was that his daughter's reputation was important.
He waved his hand and said indifferently, "Since he is Lord Lu's son, then Lord Lu can take him home and educate him properly. Why make him look like a bloody mess in front of us, as if we are the ones who are bullying him?"
"Why didn't you say that just now? You were clearly doing it on purpose!"
"They all wish my son were dead!"
Madam Lu held Lu Jinzhi, who had fainted from the pain, and wailed loudly.
After seeing blood, she kept rushing forward, wishing she could take the child's place and suffer instead, but she was held back tightly by the nanny beside the Empress.
Now that they've finally gained their freedom, they're so heartbroken that they're speaking without thinking.
Madam Gu snorted coldly: "With a mother like you, he'll cause big trouble sooner or later. Even if we don't want him to die, he'll have no choice but to die!"
After saying this, Madam Gu hastily bowed to the Empress, then turned and left with her daughter.
Madam Lu cried and begged the Empress, and finally left with the imperial physician and the unconscious Lu Jinzhi.
For a moment, only the Empress and Xie Qingran remained in Changchun Palace.
The Empress rubbed her temples wearily, then said, "You child, it's just a matter of a few words, why make such a fuss? Do you really look down on Lu Jinzhi that much?"
"Your Majesty really thinks it's just a matter of a few words? Your Majesty, Lu Jinzhi is your nephew. If His Majesty finds out that he's spreading rumors about Prince Jin outside, what will His Majesty think?" Xie Qingran said helplessly, looking at the Empress.
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