Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress novel Chapter 368

Chapter 368: Chapter 365: Sympathy for the Suffering_1

Thus, the Princess of Zhen broke the legs of the Left Prime Minister’s son and threw him in front of the Prime Minister’s carriage.

The common people praised this act, remembering how the Princess of Zhen once beat up a Bai family member who bullied them on the main street, and punished the Fourth Young Lady of the Bai family, Bai Jinzhi, for whipping a rogue who caused trouble at the Bai Mansion.

They could not help but sigh at the Bai family’s genuine love for the people of Dadu City, treating them as their own flesh and blood.

The Left Prime Minister allowed his son to bully the civilians, and the Official Government did not dare to interfere, but the Princess of Zhen did.

Li Mao, the Left Prime Minister, wept bitterly before the Emperor, admitting that after covering up his son’s crime, he was tormented by his conscience daily and felt deeply ashamed of betraying the Emperor’s trust. Now that the Princess of Zhen had uncovered the truth, he felt relieved yet utterly ashamed and came to ask the Emperor to punish him.

The Emperor trusted Li Mao and was angry but somehow also felt a sense of empathy for him.

When Li Mao’s son was targeted by Bai Qingyan, Bai broke his legs.

When the Emperor’s own son was targeted by Bai Qingyan, she forced the Emperor to demote his legitimate son, King Xin, to a commoner and exile him to Yongzhou.

But, even in an ordinary family, if there are many children, there will be one or two unworthy descendants. Which father does not clean up his son’s mess?

Should everyone be like the Duke of Zhen’s family, punishing their children righteously when they make mistakes?

In Dadu City, how many noble officials clean up the messes for their children? Isn’t Prime Minister Lu always cleaning up after his mischievous grandson?

It could only be said that Li Mao was unlucky to be targeted by Bai Qingyan. It was also his own fault for not cleaning up his son’s mess, leaving room for Bai Qingyan to catch him.

But as the Emperor, he could not say this to Li Mao.

"Forget it..." The Emperor looked at the weeping Li Mao kneeling on the ground and said, "You were just too protective of your son. Let him heal first. Though he did not personally kill anyone, he forcibly defiled someone’s wife. According to the law, he should either be exiled to the frontier for 20 years of hard labor or have his legs broken. Since the Princess of Zhen has already done so, let it be. You failed to discipline your son, so I will deduct six months of your salary. After returning, you should send someone to compensate the victim’s family. This matter is settled."

The Emperor thought of Bai Qingyan, who gave him a headache, and closed his eyes, saying, "As for the Princess of Zhen, you don’t need to worry. Go..."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Li Mao looked up in tears, gratefully at the Emperor, and kowtowed heavily. "This humble servant cannot ease Your Majesty’s worries and instead troubles you. I deserve to die! Your Majesty’s kindness towards this sinner, even if I were to be ground to dust, would be hard to repay. This humble servant will surely repay Your Majesty with my life."

"Enough! Stop with the flattery, go!" The Emperor, leaning on the golden dragon pillow, waved his hand at Li Mao.

Li Mao respectfully stood up and retreated from the hall, only standing straight when he saw the flagstone floor outside covered in sunlight.

He let out a long breath. Though he was penalized six months’ salary, as long as the Emperor still trusted him, it was enough.

Li Mao clenched his fists and walked towards the palace gates. To him, nothing mattered more than the Emperor’s trust and the future Emperor’s trust.

The biggest difference between him and Bai Weiting was that Bai Weiting had high morals and was highly regarded among the people, seeking to live with a clear conscience.