Thrown out of the house, the wet nurse enters the noble household and becomes a person of high statu

"Young Master Pei, tell me what happened back then."

Pei Yaojun appeared languid, showing no sign of the restraint one might expect during interrogation.

"Chen insulted my servant girl and even insulted me, her mistress, with filthy language. I was already showing mercy by kicking her."

Lord Wu then questioned everyone except Chen Yindi, and the answers he received were all that Chen Yindi had insulted him first, and that her words were unbearable to hear.

Seeing this, Chen Yindi was so anxious that she wanted to argue, but Lord Wu had already grown impatient with her wailing and slammed his hand on the table: "Silence!"

The sequence of events is clear: Chen started the harassment and insults.

The third young master was hot-tempered and kicked people. Although he was wrong, there was a reason for it.

Those ordinary men, unaware of the situation, acted impulsively and ganged up on the attackers, which was also inappropriate.

After listening to everyone's accounts, the Prefect of the Capital had already made his decision.

"It is now clear that Chen Yindi, out of jealousy of Liu Wenying's current livelihood, you fabricated rumors and slandered her in public."

He also wantonly insulted the third young master of the Pei family and provoked trouble, making him the mastermind behind this incident.

He waved to the men involved in the fight: "You lot, although it was a misunderstanding, it was still wrong to resort to violence. You should be punished, but considering that you were misled and your initial intentions were good, I will not pursue the matter. Leave quickly."

The men were intimidated by Pei Yaojun's identity and the scene before them. After shouting that "Your Excellency has seen the truth," they helped each other away.

They ran away faster than rabbits, not even daring to ask for money for medical treatment.

"As for Ms. Chen, your relationship with Ms. Liu has ended, yet you still insulted her in the street and caused trouble, which is the source of this incident."

According to the law, the punishment is twenty slaps to the face, a fine of ten taels of silver, and three days of detention. Considering your injuries, this official will grant you leniency; the fine of ten taels of silver is to be paid immediately.

Chen Yindi couldn't believe her ears. She had been beaten so badly, and in the end, she was being fined?

"Your Honor, you can't judge like this!" she cried hoarsely. "He hit me first, and he's Liu Wenying's lover. You can't side with them just because they're rich and powerful."

She kept referring to him as a lover, which made Lord Wu's face turn dark.

"Foolish woman! This is the third young master of the Duke of Yu's mansion, a man of noble status. How could he possibly be interested in your former sister-in-law?"

"What do you mean, 'noble family' or 'matriarchal family'! Their relationship is all murky! You're just biased towards them!"

Lord Wu was so angry at her unreasonable and unyielding attitude that his beard stood on end, and he was too lazy to waste any more words on this ignorant and illiterate village woman.

"Take her out and hand her over to the local headman for strict discipline. If she dares to cause trouble again, she will be severely punished!"

Two constables stepped forward and lifted Chen Yindi up.

Chen Yindi kicked and stomped, cursing loudly in Liu Wenying's direction.

"You despicable woman, you stood by and watched someone die, you'll get what's coming to you..."

The bailiff pulled out a handkerchief and stuffed it into her mouth, turning her curses into muffled whimpers.

Chen Yindi was forcibly dragged out, and the private room returned to its original tranquility.

Only the Prefect of the Capital, the Pei brothers, and Liu Wenying remained.

Even though the Prefect of the Capital had not given any orders, Liu Wenying remained kneeling in place, maintaining her posture.

A glimpse of the hem of a crimson brocade robe suddenly caught the eye of her lowered gaze.

Pei Yaojun's injured hand hung limply at his side, the blood already congealed, a dark red that was glaringly obvious.

"You really enjoy kneeling that much? Get up."

She straightened up, her legs and feet were numb from kneeling for too long, especially her old ankle injury, which was so weak that she couldn't exert any strength.

The person closest to her reached out to steady her before making a quick, almost imperceptible gesture.

"I am grateful for Lord Wu's trouble in handling today's matter. My third brother and I have some things to discuss, so please excuse us for now."

The Prefect of the Capital bowed and told them to make their way.

"Third brother, come with me." Pei Zeyu nodded, stood up, and didn't even glance at Pei Yaojun.

He walked to the door without turning around, and his clear, calm voice came from behind him.

"Liu, you come here too."

Liu Wenying breathed a sigh of relief, but then her heart tightened again.

The three moved to a more secluded private room next door.

Pei Zeyu went in first and sat down in the main seat by the window.

Pei Yaojun then came in, pulled up a chair, and sat down opposite him with an air of authority.

The last one to enter was Liu Wenying. She closed the door gently, trying to minimize her presence.

"During the Ministry of Works' inspection of government affairs, you ran into a fight in the bustling city and kicked and punched women in the street. What explanation do you have?"

His voice was warm yet cold.

Pei Yaojun raised an eyebrow, completely unconcerned. "What did I do wrong? She's my servant. How is it any different from someone slapping the face of the Pei family when she's being insulted like this?"

He wanted to say something like, "You have to consider the owner before you beat a dog," but he swallowed the words back down.

"I didn't do anything to that crazy woman; that's already giving her plenty of face."

He wasn't exaggerating. As the eldest brother, Pei Zeyu was well aware of his younger brother's impulsive nature.

He once got into a fight with a young master from a prominent family at a banquet, breaking his ribs so badly that the young master was bedridden for six months.

However, Pei Zeyu did not think it was a good thing that he restrained his strength. He could hear the protective intent that Pei Yaojun could not hide in his domineering words.

"Ha, just now you told Lord Wu that the lady insulted you, and that's why you took action. Now you're defending a servant?"

Pei Yaojun was taken aback by his question, but then hardened his tone, "Can't we have both?"

During their argument, Pei Zeyu's gaze shifted slightly and landed on Liu Wenying, who remained silent.

Liu Wenying naturally felt the gaze descending upon her. What was bound to happen was bound to happen. The Second Master had summoned her here not merely to eavesdrop.

Stepping out from the corner and into the center of the room, Liu Wenying knelt deeply before Pei Zeyu.

"Second Master, today's events all started because of me. It has caused Third Master to be injured, brought shame to the manor, and caused trouble for Second Master and Third Master."

"This servant...is willing to accept any punishment."

Pei Yaojun stared at her profile as she accepted the beatings and punishments, his brows furrowing and a strange sense of irritation rising in his chest.

He stepped forward, forcefully inserting himself between Liu Wenying and Pei Zeyu.

"Why punish her? She was scolded even more harshly than I was!"

"Pei Yaojun!"

His full name and surname were used, a rare display of severity.

From childhood to adulthood, his second brother was not particularly close to him, but he had never shown such a stern side before.

Even when he caused bigger trouble in the past, such as injuring some ignorant playboy, his second brother would usually smooth things over for him.

My second brother is indifferent; at worst, he'll just say a few words of nonsense to me.

I was just standing up for someone in the manor today, how did that provoke him to get so angry?

Unable to fathom his second brother's thoughts, Pei Yaojun stubbornly insisted, refusing to believe he had done anything wrong, "Second brother, you tell me, I'm listening."

He was unyielding and single-mindedly protected.

Pei Zeyu's temples throbbed as he listened, and he decided to ignore it.

Seeing that he was really about to leave, Pei Yaojun called out to him, "Second Brother, where are you going?"

Pei Zeyu didn't stop walking; when his hand touched the door, he slightly turned his face to the side.

Light and shadow defined the boundaries between light and dark on his gentle profile, and his voice was calm and even.

"I have important matters to attend to."

He did not specify that his presence here today with the Prefect of Jingzhao was due to routine business between the Ministry of Personnel and the Jingzhao Prefecture.

It was never mentioned that he happened to catch a glimpse of the commotion downstairs in the teahouse, recognized his younger brother, and that's when he suddenly decided to do it.

The Prefect of the Capital was tasked with quietly handling a brawl that could have caused a city-wide uproar and tarnished the reputation of the Duke's mansion, all within the confines of a private teahouse.

Looking at his retreating figure, Pei Yaojun couldn't help but ask, "Will you tell our parents what happened today?"

…………