Chapter 343 Unfilial Son, Get Off Your Horse!
Li Rui felt like he had been paralyzed by the needles; his muscles were stiff, and he felt uncomfortable even with the slightest movement.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch, it hurts so much! No wonder they say the more beautiful a woman is, the more ruthless she is. I finally found one I liked, and I almost lost my life at her hands. If she's so heartless, then don't blame me for being ruthless..."
He was so angry that he pounded the bed, his muscles trembling, and his teeth clenched so tightly they clicked.
The doctor was massaging him to soothe his skin and muscles, and quickly pressed down on his restless body, advising, "Young Master Li, you must not move around right now. You need to lie flat and calm down so you won't get angry and your skin and muscles can relax."
"Young Master, are you still going to the banquet at the Lu family's residence?"
"I'm already like this, how can I go? If I go, people will laugh at me. I'm not going. Damn it, it's all those two brick-brick swindlers' fault. They must have bewitched my mother. She doesn't even care about me anymore."
The doctor was quite helpless in the face of such a disobedient and wealthy patient. "Young Master Li, please don't get angry, otherwise you will be in pain for a while longer."
"I just can't swallow this insult. I've been forced to practice martial arts and swordsmanship since I was a child, and yet I can't even beat a woman. No, it's not that I can't beat her, it's just that I was careless for a moment. They ganged up on me. Next time, I will definitely beat her down."
The servant Ronghua said, "Young master, please calm down. I've already sent Fugui to follow them and find out where they live. Once you've recovered, we'll go and settle accounts with them."
As soon as he finished speaking, a servant entered with his head down and called out weakly, "Young Master..."
Ronghua asked anxiously, "Fugui, didn't I tell you to keep an eye on things the whole time? Why did you come back?"
"I lost them, they spotted me, and suddenly two people flew up behind me, dragged me into an alley and beat me up."
Fugui looked up, his eyes were bruised and purple, one side of his face was swollen like a pig's head, and blood was flowing from the corner of his other lip. His mouth was crooked, and he probably wouldn't even recognize his own mother.
"That's ruthless?"
After seeing his injuries, Li Rui felt that his own injuries were relatively minor.
"Young master, maybe we should just give up. They are highly skilled in martial arts and can disappear in the blink of an eye. We are no match for them."
Upon hearing this, Li Rui slammed his teacup to the ground, shattering it into pieces. His brows furrowed, and his icy gaze swept over Fugui. "Shut up! You useless piece of trash, you boost their morale while diminishing your own. You were intimidated by a few simple moves. If word gets out, you'll embarrass me. Send a few more men out to find out where they are."
He grabbed the person kneeling on the ground by the collar, pulled them over, and his voice snarled through clenched teeth: "You better watch out this time. If you get caught again, you'll be skinned alive!"
"Yes, I'll go and find out right away."
In the evening, the servant found out where Hua Murong lived.
Li Rui summoned the servants in his mansion, mounted his horse, and prepared to go and settle accounts with the person in charge.
Just as they were about to leave, a loud, angry roar suddenly came from the doorway, "Stop! What are you doing now, you unfilial son?"
Li Rui straightened up in fright, his neck stiff, and turned to see the person standing in the doorway. "Dad? You... are you a human or a ghost?"
"You bastard, are you just hoping for your father to die so that no one will care about you anymore?"
"Father, you've misunderstood. How could I dare? During the days you were sick, I burned incense and prayed to Buddha day and night, hoping for your recovery. It was only because the doctor said you didn't have much time left that we gave up..."
"Get off your horse and don't go anywhere."
"Father, I'll be right back. You're not feeling well, you should go back and rest first."
"Guards, stop the young master, or you will all be expelled from the manor."
"Master, please don't..."
The servants knelt before the horse, blocking Li Rui's path, pleading, "Please, young master, go back."
"Get out of my way, all of you."
Li Guangyuan quickly descended the steps, pulled Li Rui off the horse, and threw him to the ground.
"You bastard! I've only been sick for a few days, and you've done so many bad things behind my back. Guards, take him back and punish him according to family rules."
"Master, you mustn't! Rui'er was injured during the day and hasn't fully recovered. If he gets another beating, he might die. It's the mother's fault if the child isn't taught properly. It's my fault for not teaching Rui'er well. If you must punish someone, punish me."
“Madam, if you continue to indulge this rebellious son, he will be killed. Don’t worry about it, I must discipline him properly today.”
Li Family Ancestral Hall.
Li Rui's hands were tied and he was forced to kneel on the prayer mat.
"You unfilial son, kneel down!"
Li Guangyuan offered incense to his ancestors and murmured, "Ancestors above, our family is unfortunate to have such a rebellious son who has disgraced our family and failed to live up to the family's high expectations. If this continues, not only will our family business be in danger, but we also fear that the good reputation of our ancestors will be ruined by this son."
Now, in accordance with family rules, I hereby list their crimes in this ancestral hall and discipline them strictly. This is not out of cruelty, but rather to prune the bad branches to protect the roots and rectify the family tradition. I humbly beseech our ancestors to take heed, bless our family with order, and guide our descendants to return to the right path.
"Father, you know everything? Who told you?"
Li Rui looked at the butler.
The butler shook his head; it wasn't him who said it.
He then looked at his mother, Madam Li, who was still begging Li Guangyuan not to punish him with family law.
His mother loved him the most and understood his father's personality best. If his father found out, he would definitely beat him to death, not his mother.
The servants dared not say anything more; those two outsiders from today, those two damned guys, they really do have some skills.
He underestimated the lowly people of Lijia Village and found a charlatan to cure his father.
The steward brought the whip.
“Master, Rui’er already knows he was wrong and he will change. Rui’er, you should quickly apologize to your father.”
"I did nothing wrong."
“You unfilial son, you think you can do whatever you want just because I don’t have many days left to live. Let me tell you, if you don’t repent, I would rather donate all my assets than leave them to you.”
Li Guangyuan raised his whip to strike him.
"Wait a minute! I have something else to say. If our ancestors knew the purpose of my actions, they would not blame me. Instead, they would blame you for obstructing the careers of your descendants."
"Then tell me, what is your purpose in doing this?"
This son is stubborn and looks down on the poor. He keeps calling the villagers of Lijia Village lowly. He has raised such a son and is ashamed of his ancestors.
"You may all leave now," Li Rui said, dismissing the servants.
Only three people remained in the ancestral hall.
"Can you say it now?"
"Do you remember the banquet the Chamber of Commerce held a month ago, inviting wealthy merchants from all over the country? You were sick, so I went to the banquet in your place. Chairman Feng secretly told us that the imperial court needed a large amount of grain to be transported to the front line to fight the war, and our Lingnan region has produced a high-yield crop of 10 shi per mu."
He said he had established connections in the court, and that as long as we contributed a large amount of grain to the court, we could become officials.
"It's not cost-effective to buy grain from the people. We can keep the land, hire them to farm for us, earning ten shi per mu (a unit of land area), which is much more profitable than buying it."
“We have rendered meritorious service to the imperial court, and in one fell swoop we went from being merchants who could not take the imperial examinations to officials. Others have already started, and we cannot be outdone. Li Family Village was the first place to grow high-yield grains. I quickly took over the land, grew high-yield grains, and presented them to the imperial court. Starting from my generation, my sons and grandsons can all become officials.”
“Lingnan is thousands of miles away from the capital. If the court wants grain, it must first come from Jiangnan, Shu, Jinghu, and then Lingnan.”
“Father, you’re not delirious from illness. I’ve already said it’s because the people have already grown 10 shi of grain per mu, which is ten times more than the 1 shi per mu in other places. So we have to seize this opportunity and make a name for ourselves first.”
Li Rui spoke with great passion, as if his becoming an official was a foregone conclusion. He felt proud and honored that his family had gone from poor farmers to merchants and then to officials, and that his official career had started with him.
He stood tall and looked directly at his ancestors; they would surely be grateful to him for bringing the Li family to new heights.
Li Guangyuan lashed out with his whip, "Crack!"
"You scoundrel! Is it acceptable to force the people to take away their land just for the sake of your career advancement? You're trying to drive them to their deaths."
“I didn’t force them. I just took back the land and let them farm it for me. I’ll give them food so they won’t starve. I’m doing this for the good of our family. If my descendants can’t pass the imperial examinations, I will not marry or have children for a day, so that our Li family line will end.”
“Our Li family has no descendants like you. I will beat you to death today. I will start with you and end the family line. I will go down to apologize to our ancestors after I die.”
"Crack! Crack! Crack!!!" Li Guangyuan swung the whip with all his might, tearing Li Rui's clothes behind him and leaving several whip marks.
"Sir, please stop hitting him."
“I did nothing wrong! I just didn’t want to be a merchant for the rest of my life. What did I do wrong? It was Father who was foolish and sentimental, using our family’s money to subsidize those lowly people… They are a bottomless pit. Even if we owe them a favor, you’ve already paid it back, haven’t you…”
Madam Li urged him to admit his mistake, saying, "Rui'er, quickly apologize to your father."
"I did nothing wrong, let him beat me to death." Li Rui's back was covered with crisscrossing whip marks. You just stand up straight and take the beating, but you refuse to admit your mistake.
Madam Li knelt behind her son and was whipped.
Li Guangyuan's hand holding the whip stiffened. He threw it down and helped Madam Li up. "Madam, why did you do this?"
“Mother…” Li Rui saw his mother was injured and pointed at his father’s nose, scolding, “You hit me if you want, but why did you hit my mother? You stubborn old fool.”
Madam Li raised her hand and slapped him across the face. "Smack!"
"Shut up! He's your father. How dare you disobey your elders in front of our ancestors? Are you trying to drive us crazy?"
Li Rui covered his slapped face, his anger instantly dissipating. His eyes reddened, and tears streamed down his face like a broken dam. "Mother, you hit me. In the past twenty years, you've never hit me before..."
“Your mother is hitting you for your own good. You are not allowed to go anywhere during this period. Just stay at home and recover.”
"Guards, keep a close eye on the young master. If he runs off and causes trouble, you will be held accountable."
Li Guangyuan helped his wife out, saying, "Madam is injured, quickly go and fetch a doctor."
"Yes, sir."
Li Rui, "..."
Is he really their biological son?
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