Later, after Zhao Jianzhi finished his work, he left the yamen.
He met two colleagues, and Zhao Jianzhi proactively greeted them.
His colleagues responded simply to Zhao Jianzhi, a strange smile on their faces.
Hmm?
Zhao Jianzhi frowned.
What does this mean?
Are they mocking me?
Heh!
Ever since he suffered a loss at the hands of Princess Qinghe, his position in the Huai Prefecture officialdom had become increasingly awkward.
Feng Min distanced himself from him, and even those officials who had once flattered him excessively now treated him much more coldly.
Some even avoided him like the plague.
There was no doubt that many officials were secretly making fun of him.
Thinking of his current predicament, Zhao Jianzhi wished he could dismember Shen Jing and the Su Family members.
After suppressing the anger in his heart, Zhao Jianzhi continued to walk out.
As he reached the room around the corner, Zhao Jianzhi suddenly heard a discussion.
"Is it true or false?"
"I also heard it accidentally when I was out doing errands. This matter is almost going crazy in Luochuan Prefecture. I estimate it will be known to everyone in two or three days at most. I heard someone even composed a poem for it…"
"What poem?"
"Nineteen-year-old bride, fifty-year-old groom, grizzled hair facing the bridal makeup…"
"Haha, I didn't expect Lord Zhao to be old in body but not in heart…"
The two men's voices grew softer and softer.
By the end, Zhao Jianzhi could no longer hear what they were talking about, only the bursts of laughter that all men understood.
Zhao Jianzhi frowned deeply.
He felt they were talking about him?
After all, the officials named Zhao in this yamen could be counted on one hand.
Zhao Jianzhi stopped there and listened for a while longer, but still couldn't hear the content of their conversation.
"Cough, cough…"
Zhao Jianzhi lightly coughed twice and slowly walked to the doorway.
"Lord… Lord Zhao!"
Seeing Zhao Jianzhi, the two immediately panicked.
Seeing this, Zhao Jianzhi was even more certain that they were talking about him.
"What were you two just talking about?"
Zhao Jianzhi looked at the two with a stern gaze.
"Nothing, nothing…"
"We were just chatting nonsense…"
The two smiled awkwardly, their eyes darting away.
"Do you take this official for a fool?"
Zhao Jianzhi's face fell, "Speak, what exactly is going on?"
Under Zhao Jianzhi's interrogation, the two eventually recounted what they had heard.
"Bastard!"
Zhao Jianzhi was furious, angrily kicking the two to the ground, and left with a frosty expression.
Leaving the yamen, Zhao Jianzhi did not rush back to his mansion, but specifically went to the bustling market where there were many people.
He wanted to hear what other rumors there were!
Seeing a large group of people gathered together, laughing and chatting, Zhao Jianzhi immediately got out of his carriage, lowered his head, and approached them.
"This matter is absolutely true! Because of this, Princess Qinghe, who was on a private inspection, found out. In a fit of rage, Princess Qinghe ordered one of Song Lianxin's fingers to be cut off as a punishment!"
"I heard that Zhao Ying discovered the affair between Song Lianxin and his father and confronted his father about it. As a result, Zhao Jianzhi not only didn't explain but also gave him a severe beating…"
"Zhao Jianzhi did such a shameless thing, why didn't the imperial court punish him?"
"You don't understand, do you? As the saying goes, 'family shame should not be publicized.' The imperial court probably wanted to keep this matter under wraps, but they didn't expect it to eventually leak out…"
Listening to these outrageous rumors, Zhao Jianzhi couldn't help but tremble with anger.
He now realized that the two officials in the yamen were already very conservative!
The rumors in the market were truly outrageous!
They were clearly fabricated, yet they spoke as if they had concrete evidence!
If he weren't the person involved, even he would probably believe these absurd rumors.
The enraged Zhao Jianzhi originally wanted to rush out and severely punish these commoners, but after a moment's hesitation, he dismissed the idea.
Punishing these commoners would be easy!
But after punishing them, more commoners would only think he was angry out of shame.
By then, these chaotic rumors would only spread even more ridiculously.
Filled with anger, Zhao Jianzhi quickly got into his carriage and rushed home.
In the Zhao Mansion, Song Lianxin and Zhao Ying were discussing how to tell Zhao Jianzhi about the poetry society matter.
This matter certainly couldn't be kept secret.
But Zhao Ying was worried that telling his father about it would result in a severe beating.
Just as Zhao Ying was feeling uneasy, Zhao Jianzhi, on the verge of a rampage, stormed in with a frosty expression.
Seeing Zhao Jianzhi's face, a bad premonition immediately arose in Zhao Ying's heart.
"Father…"
Zhao Ying looked at his father cautiously.
Zhao Jianzhi did not respond, but quickly stepped forward.
Bang!
The furious Zhao Jianzhi kicked Zhao Ying hard in the chest.
Zhao Ying grunted and fell to the ground.
"Ah…"
The moment his butt hit the ground, the pained Zhao Ying let out another piercing scream, "Father, my injury isn't healed yet…"
Zhao Ying knew that the matter must have reached his father's ears.
He screamed while mentioning his injury, trying to awaken Zhao Jianzhi's paternal love.
"You can still run around, which means your injury is fine!"
Zhao Jianzhi was furious, "I'll beat you to death, you beast!"
Bang, bang, bang…
Zhao Jianzhi was extremely angry, kicking Zhao Ying several times in a row.
"Ah…"
Zhao Ying let out heart-wrenching screams, begging for mercy: "Father, I was wrong, I won't dare again, Father…"
Watching Zhao Jianzhi vent his anger on his son, Song Lianxin couldn't help but curse him inwardly.
Useless good-for-nothing!
If he has the guts, go find Shen Jing!
What kind of ability is it to vent anger on his own son?
With him like this, he still wants to achieve great things?
Does he even deserve it?
It wasn't until a trace of blood oozed from Zhao Ying's mouth that Zhao Jianzhi finally stopped, full of hatred.
"Speak, what exactly are those chaotic rumors about?"
Zhao Jianzhi roared in anger, his gaze sweeping towards Song Lianxin.
Useless good-for-nothing!
Song Lianxin cursed Zhao Jianzhi again in her heart, and said indignantly: "It's Shen Jing, acting like a bully with his connections, repeatedly humiliating Zhao Ying and your daughter-in-law. Zhao Ying couldn't stand it, which is why he used poetry to satirize Shen Jing…"
With that, Song Lianxin exaggeratedly recounted the events to Zhao Jianzhi.
After understanding the whole story, Zhao Jianzhi immediately gasped for breath, huffing and puffing with anger.
"Are you two just full of yourselves? Huh?"
Zhao Jianzhi glared at Zhao Ying and Song Lianxin, "When you encounter that little beast Shen Jing, don't you know to avoid his sharp edge for now? With the Su Family backing him, do you dare to openly move against him now?"
Zhao Jianzhi was so angry!
This beast, his butt injury had just barely healed, and he ran off to the poetry society.
If they hadn't run off to the poetry society, none of this trouble would have happened.
"Zhao Ying has also been home for too long and wanted to go out for some fresh air…"
Song Lianxin defended Zhao Ying, and then said: "Now that things have escalated to this point, even if you beat Zhao Ying to death, it won't help! Instead of that, why don't we think about how to get rid of Shen Jing! Shen Jing is now our sworn enemy. As long as he lives, we will never have peace!"
Zhao Jianzhi lowered his brows in thought for a moment, then shook his head and said: "We are currently having a fierce conflict with Shen Jing, it's not the time to move against him!"
"No, now is the time!"
Song Lianxin gritted her teeth, her face full of hatred, and said: "The matter of Su Yourong being a husband-killer will soon spread throughout Luochuan Prefecture! As long as we do it cleanly enough, if Shen Jing dies, it will be because Su Yourong killed him!"