Chapter 164 Just a few beatings
Shang Hongmian was so heartbroken that she couldn't control herself and ran over to hug Ye Chengyun.
"Husband, this is our son. He just made a mistake and didn't mean to kill his cousin. Do you think that if you let him die, Yu Qi will be able to live again?"
At this moment, Ye Chi had only one thought in his mind: What are you telling me? Shouldn't you tell Zhou Zhili?
Seeing that Shang Hongmian hadn't reacted at all, he said to her, "If you can't give your brother-in-law an explanation for this matter, how will you let me live in the Zhou family in the future?"
While they were making a fuss, a servant came to report that the Minister of Works and Princess Jincheng had arrived.
"Mother……"
The moment he saw Princess Jincheng, Shang Hongmian rushed over to her with a wronged look on his face.
Ye Chengyun also opened his mouth and shouted loudly: "Grandfather, Grandma, my father wants me to pay for my cousin's life, please save me!"
When Princess Jincheng heard this, of course she would not agree.
She scolded him directly: "Ye Chi, what do you mean, how dare you touch my grandson?"
Lord Shang first looked at Zhou Zhili's face. As expected, the man who had lost his son had an extremely gloomy face.
But he couldn't allow himself to show too much sympathy, nor could he be filled with righteous indignation all the time, after all, the murderer was his grandson.
"My Lord, I'm so sorry... The dead can't be resurrected, but the living must continue to live, right? You still have two sons. You can't afford to sacrifice them for a son who has no hope of life."
Lord Shang's words made Zhou Zhili feel angry, but he also understood that what the other party said was correct.
Behind the Ye family, there is the Minister of Works and the Princess of Jincheng, so even he, the Marquis, has to think carefully.
"According to the Minister's wishes, what should be done about this matter?"
Zhou Zhili asked, hiding his dissatisfaction.
Lord Shang quickly said, "Now that things have come to this, let's first let Yu Qi rest in peace. We can then discuss the aftermath. We won't shirk responsibility. We admit that this was Cheng Yun's fault, but we're all family after all. He definitely didn't intend to kill Yu Qi; it was just a momentary mistake that led to this disaster. We'll lock him up for a few days to reflect on his actions. We want Yu Qi to go with a clean slate."
Zhou Zhili felt sad when he saw his third son covered in blood.
Zhou Yuxiu and Zhou Yuzhi listened to the other party's words and suppressed the matter, but they were helpless. The other party's identity and seniority were enough to suppress them.
After comforting her daughter, Princess Jincheng quickly said to Zhou Zhili, "My Lord, we will never pretend this never happened. A good child like Yuqi died in this way. We will bear the consequences, but there's no need to pay with our lives, right?"
Zhou Zhili didn't respond to her question, but instead asked in a different way: "According to the princess's wishes, what should we do?"
Princess Jincheng said, "Of course, we should give him dozens of lashes, until his skin is torn and his flesh is exposed, so that he will learn his lesson. However, considering his young age, we should spare his life. As for the outside world, we are still a family after all. We have been tied together for all these years and have never had any grudges... Therefore, we must have an explanation for this matter to the outside world. We can only say that Yu Qi accidentally fell down, so as to preserve our reputation."
Princess Jincheng knew that such a statement was a bit cruel to the Zhou family, but it was the only way to save Ye Chengyun and guarantee the interests of each family to the greatest extent.
"My brother is dead, and now you want our Zhou family to make concessions and provide everyone with stability, Princess, is this what you mean?"
Zhou Yuzhi finally couldn't help it and asked directly.
"Second brother, don't say anything..."
Zhou Yuxiu felt something was wrong and quickly spoke out to stop it.
Zhou Yuzhi looked at his elder brother with confusion, feeling that he was very unfamiliar.
"My third brother is dead, big brother, don't you know? Don't you understand what they are saying?"
How could Zhou Yuxiu not know this? However, he had become the prince very early, and was taught to put the overall situation first and the family first.
He knew that his third brother was dead, and that he was pushed down the stairs and killed by the prodigal son Ye Chengyun, but what could he do?
As they just said, the dead cannot be resurrected, and no one can bring him back to life. These families must continue to move on.
With the Zhou family's current reputation, it is absolutely impossible.
Princess Jincheng patiently asked Zhou Yuzhi, "Yuzhi, if you have any ideas, why not tell us directly so we can discuss it..."
When Zhou Yuzhi faced her, he lost his confidence.
He really wanted to say that this matter had nothing to do with Princess Jincheng, but when he thought about it, how could it be unrelated? After all, it was related to her precious grandson.
"Is my third brother's life only worth a beating?" he questioned.
He was not only questioning Princess Jincheng, but also questioning Zhou Zhili.
Zhou Zhili pretended not to hear and turned his head to the other side.
Princess Jincheng didn't say anything, but Shang Hongmian couldn't help but ask, "So what do you want?"
Zhou Yuzhi said indifferently: "Killing someone means paying with your life."
This sentence made the Ye family members' faces change drastically.
"What's this kid talking about? Didn't Chengyun have a bad relationship with you before? He's helped you so much over the years, and everyone says he didn't do it on purpose, it was just an accident. It was an accident, so why are you still holding on to it?"
Shang Hongmian really couldn't accept having her son buried with him.
If they weren't really wrong, she wouldn't be speaking in that tone now.
"Yuzhi, let's take a long-term view on this matter. Right now, it's more important to clean up his tone. You don't want him to leave in a dirty state, do you?"
Ye Keguan finally spoke. Both sides were his children, but he was obviously closer to the Ye family.
After all, the three Zhou brothers are all sons of Ye Hesheng.
As soon as he finished speaking, the servant rushed in again.
"Master, Madam, something bad has happened. The government officials are here..."
"What are they here for? Who reported to the police?" Zhou Zhili was stunned.
Zhou Yuxiu and Zhou Yuzhi looked at each other in bewilderment. They hadn't even thought of reporting the matter to the police.
"I heard that there was an eyewitness at the scene who saw Third Young Master Ye pushing our Third Young Master down. This matter has alarmed the Ministry of Justice. Now that the people are spreading the news, the government can no longer do anything about it."
The servant's words made Zhou Zhili's scalp tingle.
He wanted an explanation from the Ye family, but he didn't want to do it this way.
The Ye family was even more confused. Once this matter went to court, it would be difficult to change it.
As they were talking, the officials came in.
"Which one is Ye Chengyun? Take him away."
The officers didn't even greet them, everything was just a formality.
Ye Chengyun became even more frightened: "Grandma, save the child!"
Princess Jincheng was anxious and stopped them immediately.
"Stop, this is just a misunderstanding between two people. The Zhou family didn't pursue it. What right do you have to arrest people?"
The official said helplessly, "My Lady, this matter has nothing to do with us. The restaurant where the incident occurred is owned by the Princess of Chaoyang County. She is currently sitting in the government office. She said this matter has affected her reputation, and we must investigate it thoroughly."
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