The Yang family.
"What did you say?"
Hearing Yang Ran's words, Yang Zhongheng almost choked.
"Father, I really didn't do it on purpose!"
Yang Ran wailed, "I just threw a punch randomly, who knew..."
Bang!
Before Yang Ran could finish his sentence, Yang Zhongheng kicked him to the ground.
Yang Zhongheng seemed still not appeased, he lunged forward, straddled Yang Ran, and started raining punches on Yang Ran.
"Is this a matter of whether you did it on purpose?"
"Is your damn brain full of shit?"
"Emperor Zhou decreed for them to return to the capital to receive rewards, and Emperor Zhou hasn't even met Shen Jing yet, and you've already beaten him to the point of spitting blood!"
"How am I supposed to explain this to Emperor Zhou?"
Yang Zhongheng was furious!
This scoundrel!
Did he not know about Su Yourong's ominous fate of bringing death to her husband?
If anything were to happen to Shen Jing, the Su Family would definitely blame him, saying he beat Shen Jing to death!
When that time came, how could he explain himself to Emperor Zhou and the Su Family?
The more Yang Zhongheng thought about it, the angrier he became, and his fists rained down like raindrops, making Yang Ran howl and beg for mercy.
Facing Yang Zhongheng's fury, everyone in the room dared not step forward to stop him, only fretting in their hearts.
Yang Zhongheng's punches were heavy, and after several consecutive blows, Yang Ran finally couldn't bear it anymore and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood with a "puff."
"Master, you can't hit him anymore..."
Seeing Yang Ran spit blood, Madam Yang could no longer hold back. She quickly stepped forward to pull Yang Zhongheng, crying with tears streaming down her face: "If you hit him again, you'll kill our Ran'er. It's all my fault for not teaching him well. If you want to hit someone, hit me instead..."
"Get out of the way!"
Yang Zhongheng flung Madam Yang away, his fist about to fall again, but seeing the blood at Yang Ran's mouth, he ultimately couldn't bring himself to strike.
"This rebellious son will be the death of me sooner or later!"
Yang Zhongheng roared furiously, and as he got up, he gave Yang Ran another hateful kick.
Seeing this, Madam Yang quickly told people to help Yang Ran up and make him kneel properly, then stepped forward and hugged Yang Zhongheng's arm, "Master, now is not the time to be angry, we must quickly think of a way to resolve this matter."
"Resolve it, how to resolve it?"
Yang Zhongheng angrily looked at his wife, "You'd better hope Shen Jing is alright, otherwise, we can start preparing for this rebellious son's funeral!"
Vaguely, Yang Zhongheng seemed to see a scene.
It was the scene of the Su Family mother and daughter bringing Shen Jing's corpse into the palace to meet Emperor Zhou.
Just thinking about this scene gave him a chilling sensation.
If Shen Jing died, Yang Ran would definitely not survive, and even the entire Yang family would be implicated.
"But we can't just stand by and watch!"
Madam Yang's eyes were red with anxiety, "We have to think of something!"
Yang Zhongheng's heart was filled with irritation. After a moment of silent thought, he replied: "You immediately take that hundred-year-old ginseng from the manor and bring this rebellious son to the Su Manor to apologize! I will go to the palace now, voluntarily confess my sin to Emperor Zhou, and ask Emperor Zhou to send an imperial physician to treat Shen Jing!"
As long as Shen Jing wasn't dead, there was room for discussion on anything.
But if Shen Jing died, it was estimated that no matter how much effort they put in, they wouldn't be able to save this rebellious son!
Without waiting for Madam Yang's reply, Yang Zhongheng quickly returned to his room.
After changing into his official robes, Yang Zhongheng rushed to the palace without stopping.
At this moment, Emperor Zhou had also received the news that Shen Jing had been beaten to the point of spitting blood by Yang Ran.
After the initial anger, Emperor Zhou quickly calmed down.
This matter had a few strange points!
Although he hadn't met Shen Jing, he had heard a lot about Shen Jing from Ye Li.
Would such a cunning person do such a foolish thing?
He had heard Ye Li say that Shen Jing had even pretended to have leprosy when he was in Luochuan Prefecture!
Moreover, it was said that Shen Jing had actively challenged Yang Ran to a fight?
If that was truly the case, then this matter was worth a thorough examination.
This scoundrel, he really knows how to cause trouble!
He just arrived in the capital, hadn't even gone to the Su Manor yet, and already caused all these problems for himself!
Just as Emperor Zhou was pondering in secret, the eunuch outside reported: "Reporting to Emperor Zhou, the Marquis of Pingnan requests an audience."
Yang Zhongheng came quite quickly!
Heh heh!
He just didn't know if Yang Zhongheng suspected that his son had been set up by Shen Jing.
"Bring him in!"
Emperor Zhou responded, collecting his thoughts, and casually picked up a memorial to examine.
Soon, Yang Zhongheng was led into Emperor Zhou's sleeping quarters.
"Your humble subject greets Emperor Zhou."
Yang Zhongheng saluted with a heart full of trepidation.
"Rise."
Emperor Zhou slowly raised his head and ordered someone to grant Yang Zhongheng a seat.
Yang Zhongheng lowered his head uneasily: "Your humble subject is guilty and has no face to sit down!"
"Guilty? What are you guilty of?"
Emperor Zhou looked at Yang Zhongheng in confusion.
Yang Zhongheng did not get up, his head bowed even lower: "Your humble subject failed in teaching his son, causing the rebellious son Yang Ran to beat Grand Tutor Su's son-in-law to the point of spitting blood in the street..."
Yang Zhongheng did not look for reasons, nor did he discuss who was right or wrong in the cause of the incident.
He knew Emperor Zhou's temper; at this time, the more he explained, the more he shirked responsibility, the fiercer Emperor Zhou's anger would burn.
Hearing Yang Zhongheng's words, Emperor Zhou's face immediately fell, and he immediately ordered Yu Rang: "Immediately order the imperial physician to go to the Su Family to treat Shen Jing!"
"Yes!"
Yu Rang took the order and left.
"Thank you, Emperor Zhou!"
Yang Zhongheng kowtowed in gratitude.
"Alright, alright! Rise!"
Emperor Zhou somewhat roughly threw down the memorial in his hand, suddenly stood up, and stared with a dark face at Yang Zhongheng, who had just risen, "What can I say about you?"
"I decreed for Shen Jing and the Su Family mother and daughter to return to the capital to receive rewards, and as a result, before I even summoned them, Yang Ran beat Shen Jing to the point of spitting blood?"
"Don't you know the situation of the Su Family?"
"If anything were to happen to Shen Jing, how would I explain myself to the deceased Grand Tutor Su?"
Facing Emperor Zhou's fury, Yang Zhongheng's head bowed even lower, "Your humble subject failed in teaching his son, please punish me, Emperor Zhou!"
"Stop talking to me about failing to teach your son!"
Emperor Zhou glared at Yang Zhongheng in annoyance, "Yang Tai is also your son, why didn't he become a dissolute young master? Do you think I don't know your little schemes?"
It was nothing more than deliberately raising a dissolute son, so that in future wars, such a dissolute son would not need to go to the battlefield, leaving a seed for the Yang family!
Having a dissolute son in the family would always cause some trouble, and it could also leave some leverage for him, the Emperor, so that he wouldn't suspect them.
Yang Zhongheng was doing this, and some important ministers in the court were also doing it.
Although he knew it clearly in his heart, he didn't say much.
This could also be considered a kind of tacit understanding between the monarch and his subjects!
Yang Zhongheng buried his head, "Your humble subject is ashamed."
"Alright!"
Emperor Zhou slowly sat down, "Let's see if Shen Jing is alright first! He's so young, he shouldn't be unable to withstand a single punch! You go and take Yang Ran to the Su Family to apologize first!"
Yang Zhongheng looked up at Emperor Zhou's expression, then said with trepidation: "Your humble subject has already sent his wife, with that rebellious son and the hundred-year-old ginseng bestowed by Emperor Zhou, to the Su Manor to apologize..."
"That's more like it!"
Emperor Zhou nodded slightly, then said meaningfully: "It's normal for young people to fight and make a fuss, we all went through that! But everything needs to have a sense of proportion, some things, too much is as bad as not enough!"
Yang Zhongheng's heart trembled, and he quickly bowed: "Your humble subject will remember Emperor Zhou's golden words! Your humble subject will definitely discipline Yang Ran well in the future!"