Union

Chapter 158 Beaten
Upon seeing this, Chen Yanqing's pupils contracted, and he lunged forward.

"Father, you can't fight anymore. We have to go to the palace to see the emperor later. You injured Yanzhou, and His Majesty noticed..."

"So I can tell, this is my son. If my unfilial son does something wrong, am I, as his father, not allowed to beat him?"

The Duke of Rongguo was furious. Holding his belt, he pointed at Chen Yanqing and said, "Get out of my way! If you dare to stop me again, I'll beat you up too."

Chen Yanzhou kept shaking his head, but he didn't move away.

His father was a soldier and still commands 200,000 imperial guards in the outskirts of Beijing.

With great power in his hands and the emperor's favor, his father possessed more than just cunning; his martial arts skills were so formidable that few could rival him.

Especially since his father was in his prime, his physical strength and energy were still at their peak. His belt was made of top-quality cowhide, forged through countless hammerings, making it a veritable weapon. One lash from his father had already torn Yan Zhou's skin and flesh; if he were to be struck a few more times, it could have taken half of Yan Zhou's life.

Chen Yanqing refused to move, and the Duke of Rong sneered, looking at his two eldest sons, "I've never seen you brothers get along well before, but now you're all acting all brotherly. Fine, you're the eldest brother, so it's understandable that you share the blame for your brother's mistakes."

The words had barely left his mouth when the belt, which had been raised high, was suddenly lashed down.

The sound of it cutting through the air was deafening; the belt whistled through the air as if tearing it apart.

Zhang Luxi was so frightened that she tightly closed her eyes, but her hands, which were holding her mother-in-law's, were still trembling uncontrollably.

If it weren't for the inconvenient timing, she would have screamed out loud.

But her father-in-law was furious and even tried to beat his two sons. How could she, as a daughter-in-law, have any say in this?

But if this blow landed on someone, the wound would definitely be deep enough to expose the bone.

Zhang Luxi was filled with fear and terror. She suddenly opened her eyes, and at that moment, she saw her husband, who was lying on top of Yan Zhou, being pushed aside by Yan Zhou. Yan Zhou knelt straight on the ground, his already bloodied back receiving another severe punishment from his father-in-law.

"Snapped!"

"boom!"

"Father, stop! If you keep hitting him, someone will die!"

The scene was in complete chaos.

Chen Yanqing stood up from the chair in a disheveled state and threw herself at her second brother again, while holding up her father's hands. "Father, please have mercy and forgive Yanzhou this time. No matter how big a mistake he has made, please forgive him for Mother's sake. Yanzhou has already been hit twice. If you keep hitting him, he will break his bones."

Duke Rongguo looked at Lady Feng, but Lady Feng simply turned her head away and looked at the window beside her, not glancing at the father and son at all.

But tears silently streamed down her face, forming two puddles that eventually met at her chin, dripping onto Xiao Feng's clothes.

Looking at Chen Yanzhou again, he had been struck twice, and two large holes were torn in his clothes on his back. The blood from the holes quickly soaked his clothes, turning his dark brocade robes with red trim into a dull, somber state. The snow-white undergarment peeking out from the holes had already turned a dark red…

The Duke of Rongguo stood there panting, watching for a moment, before finally losing his belt and heading to the other side of Madam Feng.

He grabbed Xiao Feng's hand and said, "Don't be angry, I'll teach that brat a lesson for you."

Little Feng didn't look at him, but continued to shed tears calmly.

Seeing this, the Duke of Rong felt an even greater pain in his heart and head. "Stop crying, I beg you. If you're still not satisfied, I'll beat this kid up again. If, if you think I hit him too hard, I'll go easy on him later..."

Speaking softly and slowly, even the Duke of Rong himself didn't know what he was saying.

Fortunately, Madam Feng was not angry with him after all. Seeing his dejected look, she finally looked up at him and pulled him to sit down next to her.

"Take a break, you're a grown man, be careful not to get yourself into any more trouble."

"I'm fine, it's you who's the problem..."

As the couple were talking, Chen Yanqing noticed that no one cared about his brother, and he didn't dare to call the imperial physician for Yanzhou at this time. Fortunately, he had some hemostatic powder in his purse. Chen Yanqing quickly took it out, pulled open Chen Yanzhou's clothes at the back, and poured the powder directly onto the wound on Chen Yanzhou's back.

The powder burned as it touched the wound, causing Chen Yanzhou to arch his back slightly in pain. Seeing this, Chen Yanqing cursed under his breath, "Serves you right! Weren't you just being stubborn?"

They even pushed him away. If he had taken that hit, wouldn't he have suffered less?

He muttered to himself, knowing in his heart that this brother was still loyal. He stopped his father for him, and he didn't let him actually get beaten.

However, when asked about the reason for the beating, Chen Yanqing couldn't help but rub his teeth, feeling a toothache.

Just now, I was so panicked that Yanzhou got beaten that I didn't have time to process the information my father blurted out. Now, thinking back, what did my father just say?

Father said, "I don't have time to deal with things in your courtyard," "If anything goes wrong," "I'll only get bits and pieces of information from the Emperor"...

Each sentence, taken alone, seems unremarkable, but when put together, their meaning becomes quite intriguing.

Seeing Father's current rage, something must have happened in Yanzhou's courtyard. But since it wasn't him, it must be Lin Shi. Considering Lin Shi entered the palace with them but didn't leave together, and that on their way back to Wenhua Garden, they passed Wanxiang Hall, which was quiet except for a few maids guarding the gate, it was clear at a glance that Lin Shi hadn't returned.

So, something happened to the Lin family?

What could have happened to her, a woman, that caused the people in the manor to abandon her and even implicate Yan Zhou?

Chen Yanqing dared not think about it; just thinking about it gave him a headache and made him extremely anxious.

If the Lin family truly made a mistake right under their noses without them noticing, and Yan Zhou impulsively orchestrated the exposure of this matter at the palace banquet...

This is the most reasonable explanation Chen Yanqing could think of for the current situation.

But how could the Lin family dare to do that?

How could she be so audacious?

Chen Yanqing looked at Zhang Luxi; the couple seemed to be on the same wavelength, having thought of the same thing at this moment.

Therefore, they exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with shared fear, bewilderment, and confusion. Of course, they were mostly just clueless.

Leaving aside the matter between the two, and Chen Yanzhou's silent acceptance of the beating and punishment, let's just say that after recovering from her shock, Madam Feng even went so far as to comfort the Duke of Rong.

Seeing this, the Duke of Rongguo softened even more. Of course, he was also increasingly angry that his son had acted on his own initiative, causing his mother to be heartbroken.

Duke Rong kicked the small stool beside his leg away, and the stool rolled directly onto Chen Yanzhou, making a painful impact.

In contrast, Chen Yanzhou only twitched his muscles reflexively twice, and then remained kneeling on the spot, accepting the beating and punishment. Seeing this, the Duke of Rong felt deeply that his son was difficult to teach.

Previously, this rebellious son refused to listen to advice and insisted on petitioning Grand Secretary Tong, determined to go down a dark path. He realized then that this son was stubborn and probably difficult to manage. Unexpectedly, he turned out to be even more difficult to manage than he thought.

The Duke of Rong was furious. "You unfilial son, tell me properly, did you contact someone from the Crown Prince's palace?"

The fact that things are progressing so smoothly speaks volumes.

If it weren't for the intervention of the Crown Prince's people, things wouldn't have gone so smoothly tonight.

The Crown Prince is the eldest son born to the Empress, and is the legitimate heir. His Majesty has indeed long ago decided on the position of Crown Prince and has given him all the important responsibilities and privileges.

But as His Majesty grows old, while the Crown Prince is young, vigorous, and increasingly prestigious, His Majesty has also fallen into some of the early habits of a monarch.

On the one hand, he entrusted the Crown Prince with important responsibilities, clearing obstacles for his ascension to the throne and paving the way for his succession; on the other hand, he guarded against the Crown Prince becoming too powerful and squeezing him, the emperor, out of power. Therefore, he also brought in the Second Prince to compete with the Crown Prince, thereby diverting the Crown Prince's glory and energy…

The father and son were arm wrestling in the palace. As a subject and a son, the crown prince could not go against the emperor, both morally and logically. In this suppressive confrontation, the crown prince was at a disadvantage.

However, after what happened today, the Second Prince will become a pawn to be discarded!

And what can Chen Yanzhou gain from this farce?

He could ensure that Lin Shuqing and the Second Prince, this adulterous couple, received their due punishment, and that his marriage to Lin Shuqing could be dissolved legitimately. He could also gain the Emperor's mercy, his parents' remorse, and further, the autonomy to decide his next marriage...

Oh, so that's where he was waiting!

The Duke of Rong glared with his tiger-like eyes and slammed the teacup in his hand hard at Chen Yanzhou again.

The teacup contained tea, but fortunately the water wasn't hot; it had cooled down.

With just that one throw, tea and tea leaves scattered everywhere, covering Chen Yanzhou completely, making him look quite disheveled.

Lady Feng pulled the Duke of Rong back, urging him not to go too far.

Duke Rongguo was furious. "You have no idea what this little beast is plotting."

Ms. Feng said, "I know."

Duke Rongguo: "You don't know. When your son came to the capital, he brought Yunying with him. Now he has settled her in Linghui Temple on the outskirts of the capital. Your son has long been planning to divorce Lin Shuqing and marry a new woman."

Upon hearing Rongguo Gong's words, Xiao Fengshi showed a hint of surprise.

All she could think of was that her son had brought this matter to the palace because he wanted to severely damage the Second Prince and prevent His Majesty from continuing to protect him.

Even if this matter doesn't reach the palace, do you think that if the parents knew about it, they wouldn't stand up for Yan Zhou and seek justice?
Therefore, Madam Feng still couldn't understand what her son was trying to achieve by making such a big fuss and complicating things so much.

After hearing her husband's words, she understood. It all came down to the fact that their son wanted to fight for the right to marry someone new.

While feeling relieved—at least her son hadn't become despondent from the blow—she also thought about how he had known about the incident beforehand but had kept it a secret, without giving them any warning or even considering discussing a solution with them. She felt that her son had grown up, but he had become even more distant from his parents.

She was happy one moment and sad the next, her expression shifting between sorrow and joy, her grief difficult to decipher.

Looking at her son, Madam Feng said, "It was wrong of me to force you to marry Lin Shuqing. The fault lies with me. If I hadn't forced this marriage, you wouldn't have become such a bitter couple. Now that things have come to this, you should divorce Lin Shuqing. As for remarrying later, that's up to you."

"What nonsense! That Yunying is nothing but a maidservant; how could she possibly be worthy of such a refined setting?"

Madam Feng said, "The Lin family's background is certainly respectable, but what if their upbringing doesn't match their social standing?"

Duke Rongguo was speechless. But he still awkwardly expressed his opinion, "In any case, I can't possibly agree to this."

"Your son might want to marry her, but the girl might not want to..."

"Please, don't stab me in the heart."

With Madam Feng diverting his attention, the Duke of Rongguo finally stopped pursuing Chen Yanzhou.

Besides, it was indeed too late today, and he hadn't even had an hour to rest before he had to get up and go to the palace to offer congratulations. So the Duke of Rong waved his hand, dismissing his unfilial sons from his sight.

Upon seeing this, Chen Yanqing quickly helped her younger brother up.

Chen Yanzhou had been beaten quite hard, and in addition, the small stool that Rongguo Gong had kicked earlier was aimed directly at his abdomen in his rage. He had no way to avoid it and took the blow squarely. Now his abdomen was in pain, and his back was even more seriously injured. Just getting up made him drenched in sweat, and his face turned deathly pale.

After finally managing to stand up, the two brothers bowed to their parents and walked out the door with Zhang Luxi.

After struggling to leave Wenhua Garden, Chen Yanqing finally couldn't hold back any longer and slapped his younger brother on the shoulder. "What's going on here? Ah, so Lin really did cheat on you. Here, here..."

Saying "I've cheated on you" is something no older brother should say.

Even though the two brothers had fought quite a bit since childhood because they weren't born to the same mother and because of gossip from outsiders, they never had any major conflicts and were always very amicable in public.

If it were a trivial matter, Chen Yanqing wouldn't mind teasing his brother and enjoying watching him get angry. But when it came to a man's dignity and face... Chen Yanqing couldn't bring himself to say it.

If Chen Yanqing doesn't say anything, Chen Yanzhou won't know what he's thinking.

Since the matter had already caused a stir on a small scale, it was too late to cover it up. Besides, Chen Yanzhou hadn't intended to cover it up in the first place, so he just grunted in response.

Chen Yanqing was stunned when he received confirmation from his brother.

After a long silence, he lowered his voice and asked, "Has the matter been exposed in the palace?"

"Ah."

Chen Yanqing patted his shoulder, "You should tell your father about this. He will stand up for you."

Chen Yanzhou finally turned to look at his elder brother, and after a long while said, "I am not young anymore, and I am well past the age of coming of age. There is no need to ask Father for help in everything... Besides, if things get out of hand, I will offend the Emperor. Rather than involve Father, I would rather take the blame myself."

The Second Prince is, after all, His Majesty's own son. Even if he does something wrong, he is still of royal blood. How could a lowly subject be allowed to scheme against him?

However, the Second Prince has flawed morals, so if he schemes against His Majesty, His Majesty can only grit his teeth and accept it.

If the emperor wanted to blame someone, he could only blame him. Even if the matter was thoroughly investigated afterward, it wouldn't lead back to his father, and the family wouldn't be implicated. This was probably one of his objectives.