Xiong Dianshi was afraid that the old master would change his mind, so he immediately took Xu Bangning to say goodbye.

Xu Bangning naturally refused to comply. He was held by two large men and struggled desperately, kicking and stomping them.

In desperation, Xu Pengju had to have his hands and feet tied up and carried out of the house like a salted fish.

Who would have thought that just after leaving the Yuanyang Hall and before passing the Moon Gate, I heard a woman's stern shouting behind me.

"Stop! Let my son go!"

It turned out to be the wife of the Duke, who had caught up with a group of servants.

Xiong Dianshi felt a headache and looked to Xu Bangrui for help.

Unexpectedly, Xu Bangrui was also in a dilemma. The other party was nominally his biological mother, so how could he win against her?

"Run." He whispered to Xiong Dianshi, and then he gritted his teeth and led his men to stand in front of the aggressive Zheng.

Over there, Xu Bangning heard his mother's voice and began to wriggle like a bean worm. He raised his head and looked towards Zheng, whimpering and crying.

"Ning'er..." Zheng's heart broke when she saw her son's miserable state. She pointed at Xu Bangrui's nose and said as if she was going to eat him:

"Xu Bangrui, you colluded with outsiders and killed your brothers! Let your brother go immediately. If you hurt Ning'er even a hair, I will tear your face apart!"

"Mother, calm down. I am following your father's orders to protect my little brother and go to Kunshan." Xu Bangrui wiped the spit off his face. "I won't let anyone hurt Bangning."

"Don't try to play tricks on me. Don't I know you? You'll be revenged as soon as you leave Nanjing!" Zheng jumped up and down like a shrew, cursing, "Whoever dares to take Ning'er out of the inner house, I'll kill him!"

The servants who were about to rush out of the Moon Gate stopped abruptly upon hearing this. What should they do?

I dare not disobey the Duke's orders, but I also cannot afford to offend the Duke's wife.

"What are you standing there for? Put Ning'er down quickly!" Zheng gave an order, and the servants she brought with her rushed forward to snatch the person away.

"Stop them quickly." Xu Bangrui shouted quickly and asked someone to block their way.

But he was caught off guard and was slapped hard in the face by Zheng.

With a crisp sound, a red palm print appeared on Xu Bangrui's face, and he was completely stunned.

"You dare to stop me?!" Zheng was like an angry lioness. She moved her swollen and painful right hand and raised her left hand, ready to attack him with both hands and pierce his ears with two winds.

Unexpectedly, someone grabbed her wrist. She turned around in shock, and before she could see who was so bold, she was slapped hard on the face.

There was another snap, even crisper and louder than before!

Zheng was beaten so hard that she spun around like a top for several rounds before she finally sat down on the ground.

None of her maids and servants dared to step forward to help her.

Because the person who beat her was Xu Pengju, Duke of Wei!

"Master, you..." Zheng was beaten to a pulp, covering her face and looking at Xu Pengju aggrievedly. "Did you hit the wrong person?"

"I'm going to hit you! You're a stupid woman who only knows how to spoil her children. It's all your fault that Bangning is in this situation today!" Xu Pengju's eyes flashed with ferocity, and he glared at Zheng hatefully and said, "Get out of here, or I'll settle the score with you later!"

"Master, this is Ning'er's most beloved son. Can you bear to watch him being taken away and bullied?" When Zheng saw that Xu Peng was really angry, she immediately lost her arrogance and automatically switched to crying, making a fuss, and threatening to commit suicide mode.

"If a prince breaks the law, he will be punished just like a commoner, not to mention that he is only the son of a duke." The old master said to the crowd righteously:

"All of you should take this as a warning. Anyone who dares to commit crimes and bring ruin to the Xu family will not be protected by me!"

"Yes, sir..." All the servants trembled in fear. Killing the monkey to scare the chickens naturally had a great effect.

If Xiong Dianshi had not heard about the Xu family's past evil deeds from his fellow villagers, he would have almost believed the old master's lies.

After Xu Pengju made his declaration of justice, he waved his hand to signal his servants to take Zheng away quickly.

The old women helped the crying Duchess's wife up and carried her away.

Zheng struggled desperately, stretched out her hands and shouted: "Ning'er, my son..."

That miserable look made Xu Pengju feel very uncomfortable. In fact, he had deep feelings for Zheng, otherwise he would not have lied and made her his legal wife.

But now, the eldest son's feelings are more important.

Xu Pengju hardened his heart and stamped his feet, saying, "Keep a close eye on her. If she gets out and causes trouble, you will be held accountable!"

After saying this, he turned to look at Xu Bangrui and asked softly, "Bangrui, does it hurt?"

Xu Bangrui almost vomited and quickly shook his head and said, "The skin is not even broken. Father, please don't embarrass mother."

"As a father, I know my limits. Don't worry, I won't let you suffer any injustice." Xu Pengju said meaningfully, and smiled at his son and Xiong Dianshi, "You can go."

"Yes." The two men bowed again and took Xianyu, who had completely stopped struggling, out.

Xu Pengju looked at their receding figures with complicated eyes and punched the Moon Gate.

"My lord, it's really not easy for you." Once Censor Ma's worries were gone, he felt relaxed all over and naturally wanted to comfort his old master.

"Hey, what the hell is going on?" Xu Pengju rubbed the red marks on his palms, looking like he had eaten a fly.

"It's so shameful! It's so shameful!"

If anyone is unhappy, he is the most unhappy.

The Duke who had guarded Nanjing for more than 40 years was so frightened by a letter from a young boy that he obediently handed over his most beloved son. All his years of painstaking arrangements went down the drain.

It's so cowardly! It's so cowardly!

Did he have no more cards to play? Wrong, in fact, Xu Pengju had plenty of cards.

Even if Zhao Hao has a trump card in his hand, he can still put pressure on Kunshan through Zhao Shouzheng's boss, and make rich exchanges of interests. He can even take action against Xiaocangshan and arrest a group of people to force Zhao Hao to make concessions... He has a lot of tricks that he can use, both civil and military, black and white.

But after weighing the pros and cons, Xu Pengju chose to give up and admit defeat. He would rather hand over his son and lose face than take any risk of escalating the conflict.

Because for these noble families who are as old as the country, nothing is more important than the safe inheritance of the title.

Haven’t you seen how many of the dukes, marquises and earls conferred by Taizu are still around today?

All the nobles who have been passed down through the generations have had the flexible awareness of security engraved in their bones.

Compared with generations of wealth and glory, what does the temporary gain or loss of face matter?

If you can't understand this, you won't be able to protect your family's foundation, and can only follow the footsteps of those who lost their titles and fall into the mortal world forever...

"If you are still angry, we can save our dignity when we get the chance."

"No need. What's the point of saving face? Can you eat or drink? When the Zhenwu Camp mutinied, it was fortunate that I joined Rufeng, and was able to enjoy another ten years of wealth and honor."

But the old master had adjusted his mentality, and a smile reappeared on his face. He said, "Now that Bangrui has gone to Kunshan, it is time for us to get along well with the boy surnamed Zhao. As the saying goes, it is never too late to mend the fold after the sheep have been lost. How can we do stupid things again?"

As he said this, he smiled and invited Censor Ma to have lunch with him.

Censor Ma admired the old master so much that he thought to himself that it was true that 'a turtle that lives for a thousand years lives for ten thousand years'. A man must be able to endure in order to live long.

ps. The first of three consecutive updates.