♂?，，

  Ming Xuan's heart still had lingering fear as she turned around, and what she saw was a sturdy and broad back.

  Pei Jingchen stood before her like a giant Buddha, his right hand in a protective gesture, while his left hand grasped the soft whip that Lu Huifei had flung out. The palm of his hand was red and swollen from the force he used, with tiny beads of blood welling up along the inside of his wrist. He had intercepted the whip with brute force, not letting Ming Xuan suffer even a scratch.

  Ming Xuan stood behind him, unable to see the expression on his face, but his voice was low and solemn, with a sharp edge like a knife. "Lu Wu Ye, my wife is the imperial gift of the first rank princess, recorded in the Zhou Dynasty's royal family tree, and represents the dignity of the heavenly house outside. Even if it were Father Cheng En Hou who saw her, he would have to bow and ask for her well-being. A man with no title, no position, and no job dares to wield a whip and be cruel to my wife in front of the palace gates, under the watchful eyes of everyone. If my wife is frightened by this and something happens to the child in her womb, I will take Lu Wu's life as compensation."

  He loudly said to the attending guards, "This person has committed a crime of disrespecting his superiors and not showing respect to the imperial family. Take my golden token and quickly take him away to the Ministry of Punishment's great prison. If Cheng En Hou has any objections, let him come see me in person."

  These guards were all brave warriors transferred from the northern border military camp, each one was well-trained and extremely loyal to Pei Jingchen. As soon as his voice fell, they quickly and decisively subdued Lu Hu, not giving any face to Lu Wuya of Cheng'en Hou Mansion. They directly gagged him with a cloth handkerchief and took him away in the direction of the Ministry of Punishment. The servants of Cheng'en Hou Mansion were unwilling to follow, but after coming up several times to fight back, they were no match for those powerful guards, so they had to run to ask for help from the Imperial Guards guarding the palace gate.

  But those Imperial Guards were all elite, and it was not easy to offend the Duke of Cheng'en Mansion. Could it be that the Anping Wang Mansion was one they could afford to provoke? They all pretended to be unaware, hiding far away, the palace gates towering motionless, not giving those insignificant servants a single opportunity.

  Ming Xuan furrowed her brow, took Pei Jingchen's hand and carefully pulled out a silk handkerchief from his bosom, gently bandaging the wound before saying, "What's the point of this?"

  It was easy for Pei Jingzhen and his bodyguards to hurt Lu Huan's hand with their divine hands, causing the soft whip in his hand to fly out. However, Pei Jingzhen did not do so, he forcibly took this whip, Lu Huan was not injured at all, but his palm was bloody and bruised.

  Ming Xuan naturally knew that this was a plan to retreat in order to advance, in order to prevent the Cheng En Hou Fu from relying on the emperor's favor and biting back. Now everyone on the street has seen it, he, the Anping King, was injured by Lu Wuya, so even if he sees the emperor, he will have something to say. With this injury, he can gain the right to speak and stand in the future, which is worth it. This is also why he can be ruthless and not give Lu Wuya any face, directly ordering him to be taken away to the Ministry of Punishment.

  But she still felt heartache.

  Pei Jingchen remained silent, holding Ming Xuan in his arms, and said to the yellow-clad person on the carriage, "I'll take Sister Xuan to my place for a seat."

  Huang Yi couldn't help but admire the manly bearing of Pei Jingchen after witnessing what had just happened. Knowing that there must be something they wanted to discuss after this incident, he hastily smiled and said, "Go on, go on, I'm fine sitting here by myself anyway!"

  In the carriage, Pei Jingchen's face was as calm as still water, with no ripples. He remained silent, his expression slightly tense, looking somewhat angry.

  Ming Xuan stroked her abdomen with one hand and wrapped the other around his neck, smiling as she said, "I know it was a bit dangerous just now, but fortunately you appeared in time. My child and I are both fine. Alright, let's take this as a lesson and be more careful next time. If we encounter another mad dog like that again, I'll just ignore him and avoid him, okay?"

  She was actually very clear in her heart that if she encountered the same thing again, she would react in the same way. Reputation and prestige are a great mountain that presses on everyone's head in this era. If it were just herself, it wouldn't matter, but she has a husband and is about to welcome their first child. She doesn't want to hear people pointing fingers at her child in the future, using today's accusations against her as a topic of idle chatter.

  However, she will no longer easily give her opponent a chance to hurt her directly, but first pay attention to and protect her own safety.

  Pei Jingchen tightly wrapped Ming Xuan in his arms, and after a long time, he finally sighed, "I know it's good, don't do this again in the future."

  Only heaven knows the emotions he felt when Lu Jing drew out his whip from his waist, as if millions of ants were biting at his heart. He was afraid, he was terrified, and he feared that if he slowed down by even a fraction of a second, he wouldn't be able to block the whip and Ming Xuan and the child would get hurt. The whip's lash cut through his palm, bringing with it a thread of pain, but only then did he truly breathe a sigh of relief in his heart, knowing that his wife and child were safe. But that fear and apprehension, he refused to go through again, because next time, he didn't know if he could still protect her with certainty.

  A warmth rose in Ming Xuan's heart as she realized that Pei Jing Chen's silence and coldness were only because he was worried about her. He cared so much for her, and for their child, that when danger came, he would rather sacrifice himself than let them get hurt. This deep affection now lingered in her heart, making her feel both apologetic and fulfilled.

  She gently leaned against his broad chest, feeling the strong and powerful rhythm of his heartbeat, and suddenly felt extremely at ease. She didn't say a word, but the happy smile on her face never fell.

  Ming Xuan and Pei Jingchen had just stepped into the Anping Wangfu when Cheng En Hou Lu Shimeng brought his son, Lu Xun, to the door. Ming Xuan, due to her weak body, did not want to deal with this father-son pair, so she did not sit in the main hall. However, she was also somewhat curious about their behavior, so she had someone move a beautiful daybed into the adjacent room, where she quietly observed them through the gap between the doors.

  Cheng Enhou's demeanor was sufficient, and as soon as he entered the door, he bowed deeply to Pei Jingchen, his face filled with shame and pain. With great emotion, he said, "The unfilial son disrespected the Princess of Anping in front of the palace gate, and recklessly injured the hand of the Prince of Anping. It's all because I failed to teach my son properly. You did the right thing, Your Highness. That unfilial son has always been unreasonable, and it's fitting that he should be sent to the Ministry of Punishment to suffer for a few days, so that he can understand the severity of his actions!"

  When committing murder on the street, disobeying and offending superiors, disrespecting ancestors, these crimes are all true, according to the laws of the Zhou Dynasty, if they really want to make a judgment, how can it be just sitting in prison for a few days, suffering for a few points, and being punished for a few days?

  The crown prince Lu Xun also echoed, saying: "My father is old and my fifth brother has grown up since childhood. As the saying goes, an elder brother is like a father, and the mistakes of my fifth brother today are also my fault. He was young and reckless, and offended the queen, I apologize for my fifth brother's mistake, please accept this courtesy from Lu Xun, so that my father and I can be slightly relieved."

  "My intention is the same as my father's, to let him suffer a bit in the Ministry of Punishment for his own good. However, my mother has not been feeling well lately, and if she doesn't see my fifth brother at dinner time, she will be worried and anxious. If her condition worsens because of this, it would be unfilial of me as a son. Lu Xun is incompetent, I can only bow deeply and hope that Your Excellency will take into consideration the kindness of our mother's heart and spare my fifth brother this once, withdraw his lawsuit. When he returns home, my father and I will definitely discipline him strictly and not let him go out to show off his bravery again."

  Having said that, he really did another big favor.

  The people of the Lu family are indeed one by one not good to get along with, as was the case with Princess Hui'an, Lu Xun and also Crown Prince Lu Xun.

  His father and son's words were full of emotion, both pleading and intimidating, appearing to be sincere but actually forcing Pei Jingxuan to withdraw the lawsuit and spare Lu Zhuo. In just a few words, they turned a violent crime into a heroic act, truly formidable. What's even more formidable is that these two men only used their tone and language to show humility, yet they were able to instantly turn around public opinion that was unfavorable to the Lu family, which is probably the cleverness of the Lu family.

  No mistake, Pei Jingchen has the title of King's relative, but Lu Shixun is the Emperor's uncle. In terms of generation, Cheng Enhou is two generations higher than Pei Jingchen. He condescended to come to the younger generation's door hall to apologize and made such a big gesture. If Pei Jingchen still doesn't want to give in, it would be unreasonable. Today's incident at the palace gate was indeed Lu Huo's fault, but he has been taken away by the Ministry of Punishment. Given Lu Shixun and Lu Xun's sincerity, if Pei Jingchen is sensible, he should take the initiative to speak up and have Lu Huo brought back from the Ministry of Punishment.

  Ke Pei Jingxun had been deprived of family love since childhood, and now that he finally has a loving wife and is about to welcome his own flesh and blood, his concern for his family is unprecedented. At this time, if someone dared to say a word against Ming Xuan, he would be displeased, let alone Lu Hu not only pouring those unpleasant words on Ming Xuan's head but also taking action to harm her. This made him unable to remain calm. Even if Lu Hu was a royal relative deeply favored by the emperor, Ke Pei Jingxun wanted to teach him a lesson, making him retreat three steps and tuck his tail whenever he encountered the Anping Wangfu carriage from then on.

  It was precisely because of this determination that he would disregard the face of the Lu family and resolutely send Lu Tong to the Ministry of Punishment's great prison.

  Anyway, now that the emperor wants to use him, he will naturally be lenient and tolerant towards him in every way. He will not make things difficult for him over such trivial matters. Once the matter of Lin Nan is settled, regardless of whether he has offended the Lu family or not, the emperor will still have to settle accounts with him. Whether there are more or fewer of Lu Huan's affairs, it has no substantial impact on future events. Taking advantage of his current status as the King of Anping, bestowed by the emperor, this prestige is not to be wasted.

  So Lu's family miscalculated.

  Launching an attack without fully understanding the situation and the other party's bottom line is also a short-sightedness of the Lu family.

  Pei Jingxuan gazed at the father and son duo, who were putting on a show of courtesy, but he burst out laughing coldly. "The Duke of Cheng'en and his son are showing such great respect, but I'm afraid I don't deserve it. Your son blocked my wife's carriage in the middle of the street and insulted her with filthy language, trying to tarnish her reputation. When she refused to back down, he drew out a whip from his waist and attacked her. If I hadn't arrived just in time, my wife and child would be in grave danger."

  He stretched out his hand, palm up, and showed the bloody and fleshy palm. "I, a rough-skinned and thick-fleshed man, am already like this. My wife is delicate and noble, and she's also pregnant. If she had received that one lash, the consequences would be unthinkable. Even so, my wife has still suffered a great shock. The imperial physician just came to take her pulse and said that the fetus is unstable and needs good care. I'm still in shock and was thinking about how to pray for blessings for my wife and child to be safe when you, Cheng En Hou and Shizi, came to the palace to pay your respects with such great fanfare, trying to kill me with kindness."

  "Chen En Hou is a father, and I am also a father. Chen En Hou's children are precious, but my wife and children are they not like weeds?"

  "Alright, both of you can leave now!" Pei Jingchen said coldly. If you like this work, please come to the starting point to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. With plain and simple language, I write a light and interesting family history of rise and fall, a different Red Chamber that makes up for all our regrets in our hearts. Great! Strongly recommended!!! Brief introduction: One day, I accidentally crossed over into a fantasy realm - the Grand View Garden had not been built yet, Cao Xueqin's book was still unfinished, and the Red Chamber had not taken shape yet. As someone destined to be "Hua Yu", should I walk out of Ning Rong and live my own life, or stay in this large mansion and wait for the fate that is about to arrive? Knowing that the great house will collapse, am I struggling to find a way to survive in adversity, or waiting for death to come in luxury?

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