The playboy county magistrate

"Father only talks about giving birth and raising children; has he ever mentioned even a little bit about nurturing them?"

"When my mother was still in the Earl's mansion, she suffered all kinds of mistreatment and abuse. My father turned a blind eye and ignored it, letting outsiders and your concubines point fingers and gossip."

"When I was young, all the good things in the mansion were given to my eldest brother. Although I was the legitimate son, I could only pick up the old clothes that my eldest brother didn't want. I lived worse than even the concubine's daughters in the mansion. The servants were negligent, and my father never asked a word about it."

No one expected that such a disgraceful thing was hidden in the Chengen Earl's Mansion!

Let alone noble families, even the residences of ordinary officials would never treat their eldest sons so harshly.

So what if she's a second wife? Even if she is a second wife, she's still a proper legal wife, not some lowly concubine!

The second son is also a legitimate son; no one stipulates that only the eldest son is a legitimate son.

It's no wonder that such a good child as Li Xuanzhi was so resolute in leaving the Chengen Earl's mansion with his birth mother, given how muddled the situation was with the Earl of Chengen.

If they were as capable and decisive as Li Xuanzhi, they wouldn't continue associating with those scoundrels from the Chengen Earl's Mansion.

Li Dehai's face flushed red, filled with both anger and panic.

"You...you're talking nonsense! This is pure fabrication, a smear campaign against the clan!"

Li Xuanzhi gave him a cold look and turned to look at Li Xuanjing, who was pretending to be aggrieved, his tone even colder.

"My brother says I bully you and unjustly suspect family members?"

"Then I must ask you, brother, at yesterday's family banquet in the Earl's mansion garden, did you have someone light a specially made incense to plot against my wife, intending to ruin her reputation? Was this also just my unfounded suspicion?"

boom!

These words resounded like a thunderclap within the Imperial Study!

Everyone's eyes changed.

The eldest son of the esteemed Marquis of Chengen, a refined and cultured young master from a prominent family, actually resorted to underhanded and despicable means to scheme against his brother's wife within his own household?

This is no longer just a matter of improper family values; it's moral depravity and utter depravity!

Li Xuanjing's face turned deathly pale instantly, his body stiffened, and he hurriedly kowtowed to defend himself, his voice trembling.

"Your Majesty! I am innocent! Li Xuanzhi's accusations are pure slander! This is a fabricated charge! Li Xuanzhi, in a fit of rage, deliberately fabricated lies to frame me!"

"As the elder brother, I have always valued brotherly affection. How could I have committed such a despicable and vile act! I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly!"

He desperately protested his innocence, insisting that Li Xuanzhi had framed him in retaliation.

Li Dehai finally came to his senses and immediately spoke up, sternly defending Li Xuanjing.

"Your Majesty! This is utter nonsense from your rebellious son! He's fabricating baseless accusations to smear his elder brother and ruin the reputation of the Earl's Mansion! He's resorting to any means necessary to escape punishment!"

The father and son both cried out that they were innocent, and the situation became deadlocked for a time.

But the more frantically they tried to explain themselves, the clearer everyone present understood—

If one is truly innocent, why would they panic and lose their composure, vehemently defend themselves?

Li Xuanzhi looked at their dying struggles expressionlessly and turned back to face the emperor.

"Your Majesty, I have not uttered a single falsehood."

"Not only is there irrefutable evidence of Li Xuanjing's scheming against my wife yesterday, but he also embezzled funds and accepted bribes during his tenure in the Ministry of Works. Later, he used his status as the eldest son of the Marquis of Cheng'en to forcibly seize farmland, claiming to be the undisputed heir to the Marquis's estate, and thus oppressed the people. Every single act is supported by witnesses, physical evidence, and detailed accounting records! Your Majesty, please summon Tang Zheng to deliver the evidence!"

"Approved, proclaimed."

As soon as the emperor finished speaking, Tang Zheng solemnly took a thick stack of documents, strode into the imperial study, and presented them to the emperor with both hands raised above his head.

"The evidence is complete; Your Majesty, please review it!"

At this moment, Li Dehai froze completely, his whole body turning ice cold.

Li Xuanjing's vision went black, his legs went weak, and he almost collapsed to the ground.

Li Xuanzhi's gaze was cold and clear, and his voice resonated throughout the hall.

"Your Majesty, it is not that I am heartless in severing ties with my relatives; it is that the Earl's Mansion has been relentlessly pressuring and repeatedly harming us!"

"My repeated concessions have resulted in my family being betrayed, my wife being unjustly humiliated, and my reputation almost being ruined!"

"Such familial affection harms both oneself and others; what use is it to me?!"

The courtiers who could hold discussions in the Imperial Study were not fools; all the onlookers were perfectly aware of the situation.

The fact that the accounts, witnesses, and physical evidence were compiled so completely suggests that it was not fabricated out of thin air to frame someone.

The emperor on the dragon throne raised his hand, picked up the scroll, and casually flipped through a few pages.

The more you look at him, the colder his expression becomes, and the low pressure around him is frightening.

Just now, Li Dehai tearfully accused Li Xuanzhi of being unfilial and heartless, but the reversal came quickly and ruthlessly. It turns out that the one who has committed many evils and is morally corrupt is his eldest son, Li Xuanjing, whom he cherishes!

The emperor rubbed his temples, his fingertips landing heavily on the dossier, making a crisp sound.

"Li Xuanjing, take a look for yourself."

"During his three years in the Ministry of Works, he was absent from work without cause for a total of eighty-seven days. He accepted bribes of several thousand taels of silver from merchants, forcibly seized thousands of acres of fertile land on the outskirts of Beijing, and drove twelve farming families to their deaths! Every single one of these incidents is crystal clear!"

The emperor slammed the scroll in his hand straight at Li Xuanjing's forehead. With a loud bang, Li Xuanjing's forehead swelled up at a visible speed.

With each additional word the emperor uttered, Li Xuanjing's body trembled even more violently.

His legs gave way, and all his strength left him, causing him to collapse to his knees. His face was ashen, and he didn't even have the courage to lift his head.

Inside the Imperial Study, the ministers were whispering amongst themselves.

"My God, so many bad deeds? This isn't a young master from a noble family, he's a tyrant, a bandit!"

"Not only did they neglect their duties and embezzle funds, but they also oppressed the people to the point of driving them to their deaths. They've got some nerve!"

"He actually dared to scheme against his own sister-in-law; his character is utterly despicable!"

"On the other hand, Li Tongzhengshi rose to prominence entirely through his own hard work. To be framed and suppressed like this by his own father and elder brother is truly unfair!"

We're all seasoned veterans of the court; who can't see through this little trick?

It was clearly the elder brother who was jealous of his younger brother's success and the emperor's favor, and harbored malicious intentions to repeatedly harm him.

The father was biased and protective of his own son, unable to distinguish right from wrong. Enraged when exposed, he went to the imperial court to twist the truth, staging a classic case of the villain accusing the victim first!

If Li Xuanzhi hadn't been careful and hadn't prepared so much evidence, he might have been overwhelmed by the so-called filial piety.

Listening to the whispers around him, Li Dehai's face turned pale and then red, feeling incredibly embarrassed and ashamed, his heart filled with both panic and anger.

He still tried to make a last-ditch effort, stubbornly kowtowing and pleading for forgiveness.

"Your Majesty! Even if my son has made a mistake, this is a family matter! Li Xuanzhi publicly denounced his own family, turning against his own flesh and blood; this is still unfilial!"

"He has severed ties with his clan and disobeyed his own father; these are undeniable facts, and the law cannot tolerate this!"

Even in this predicament, he still clung to the principles of filial piety and etiquette, attempting to use a powerful label to protect the Earl's Mansion and safeguard Li Xuanjing.

But he didn't even consider whether the emperor could tolerate or condone the things Li Xuanjing had done.

Upon hearing this, Li Xuanzhi raised his eyes indifferently.