The concubine, a former cannon fodder, becomes pregnant, and the childless prince spoils her rotten.

He whispered to her, "Thank you for your help, young lady."

Lin Zhizhi did not wear a married woman's hairstyle. She looked quite young, and Fang Bin did not expect her to be married.

"I'm helping you because I need something from you. For now, let's send these villains to jail. They dared to slander the Prince; I won't feel at ease if I don't keep them in prison."

"Are you from the Prince's mansion?" Fang Bin guessed, but then heard his daughter say, "Sister is good, the Prince is bad."

She mistook the prince the adults were talking about for the person who was going to take her away.

Fang Bin was unaware of what had happened and did not fully believe his daughter's account.

However, seeing Lin Zhizhi's nervous expression, it seems that the prince is very important to her.

Having already made up my mind, I said no more.

When Lin Zhizhi stepped into the government office, she found that the prince was also present, with Liu Gulan standing next to him with an unpleasant expression.

The prefect, seated in the main seat, had a solemn expression and exuded an imposing aura without being angry.

Lin Zhizhi only knew that Fang Bin would become the top scholar in the imperial examination a few years later, but he was marginalized because he offended someone and was unable to get promoted.

Liu Gulan learned from the book that he was exceptionally intelligent and far-sighted, and had great potential, so she used some means to bring him under her wing.

Most of the ideas she came up with for befriending powerful and influential people originated from Fang Bin.

Liu Gulan was unwilling to understand the complex interpersonal relationships in this world, and she completely concealed Fang Bin's abilities, taking all the credit for herself.

She initially thought she had bribed Fang Bin with money to get him to obey her.

Now, considering the current situation and what just happened, my thoughts suddenly became clear.

The young master that Ge Zhengjia mentioned was none other than Liu Gulan.

They probably want to kidnap someone's daughter and use the prince's name to coerce her into serving them.

Fang Bin would likely assume that his daughter was in the prince's hands, and that the prince would be the one he ultimately sought revenge against.

She knew that Liu Gulan was ruthless, but she never imagined she would be this vicious.

No wonder someone like that would willingly do things for her.

If she hadn't run into him today, Fang Bin would have listened to Liu Gulan's orders again for the sake of his daughter.

Lin Zhizhi pondered, her expression unchanged, but when she looked at the prince, a look of surprise appeared in her eyes. "Your Highness."

She called out softly before slowly kneeling down, "This servant greets Your Highness and all the esteemed officials."

Fang Bin was not surprised that Fang Bin revealed his identity so directly, as if he had expected it.

Fang Qiao was huddled in her father's arms, her face pale from the fright she had just experienced.

He hugged his daughter tightly, saying, "This humble subject, Fang Bin, pays his respects to Your Highness and Your Excellency."

Ge Zheng's wife had no desire to see the officials. Seeing that she was not behaving herself, the constables behind her forcefully pressed her to the ground, and only then did she reluctantly bow.

Those thugs had already considered giving up when the constables arrived, feeling that the job was too troublesome and that it would be better to return the money and make a living.

Seeing Liu Gulan standing there, he felt a little relieved.

This matter is not complicated; several thugs abducted a child in broad daylight, which is truly heinous.

The more troublesome thing is the power behind Fang Bin and Lin Zhizhi, and the fact that the villain publicly said that this matter was related to the prince, but the maid who saved the person was clearly from the prince's mansion.

He couldn't afford to offend the prince, so he had no choice but to severely punish these villains.

Lin Zhizhi glanced at the prince and, seeing that he looked normal, mustered her courage and said, "When I was passing by, I saw that Ge Zheng's wife and these thugs were trying to kidnap the child while the child's father was not at home."

In a moment of desperation, he and his kind aunt rescued the child.

"Even when the child's father arrived, these people still refused to give up. Fortunately, the constables arrived in time to detain them."

"Drag these thieves away and give them each twenty strokes of the cane. How could they commit such a horrifying act in broad daylight?" The prefect immediately gave the order, and the constables followed suit.

Ge Zheng's wife felt extremely aggrieved and immediately cried out, "Your Highness, save me! I am only acting on your orders!"

She felt that Liu Gulan, who was standing next to the prince, had no influence, so she directly asked the prince for help.

Cen Jingyi didn't even glance at her, and said, "I have never seen you before."

The prefect waved his hand and said, "This woman has ill intentions; give her another twenty strokes of the cane."

After forty strokes of the cane, a person will be crippled even if they don't die.

Ge Zheng's family is a tyrant on that street; they've never suffered such humiliation.

He immediately shouted, "Young master, you gave me silver saying the prince would protect me, so how did you end up in court?"

She thought she had been tricked by Liu Gulan, but she couldn't understand why he wanted her dead when she had never offended him.

Sensing Cen Jingyi's gaze, Liu Gulan hurriedly said, "I have never seen this person before. I suppose she is trying to avoid punishment by making up an identity."

Seeing that Liu Gulan refused to admit it, Ge Zheng's wife said, "He gave me silver at the time, and it's still in my house."

"Did anyone see it? Is my name written on that silver?" Liu Gulan asked rhetorically, his words carrying a hint of shamelessness. After all, given his current status, how could he possibly have the right to have his personal seal stamped on a silver ingot?

This was the first time Ge Zhengjia had met someone even more shameless than herself. Although she was shrewish, she never lied.

This young master lied without batting an eye, and even with everyone watching, no one could see anything wrong with him.

It really seemed like she had been so angry at being able to smear people in order to survive that she couldn't catch her breath and immediately fainted.

Despite this, the punishment was not reduced. She woke up again from the pain of the blows, cursing Liu Gulan, before fainting again.

The prefect looked at Liu Gulan with a doubtful expression, then saw the prince standing beside her, but ultimately remained silent.

It was Cen Jingyi who brought it up first: "If this matter has nothing to do with you, why is that woman only targeting you? Have you truly not had any dealings with her privately, yet you are recklessly using my name to abuse your power and act arbitrarily?"

Liu Gulan had long anticipated that this matter wouldn't be so easily resolved. She bowed slightly and said, "I truly don't know, but I also have my doubts. Why did Lin Zhizhi suddenly go to that remote area? Even if she needed to buy things, staying within the city would have been sufficient."

"Could it be that you anticipated someone would snatch the child today and wanted to do them a favor?"

"I don't know where I've offended you. If we had merely exchanged a few words due to a disagreement, would it have caused you to hold a grudge and harm me like this?"

What a big thing happened last night, with all of Lin Zhizhi's relatives being kicked out of the palace. Why is she running off to such a far place instead of resting and recovering in the palace?

Liu Gulan secretly resented Lin Zhizhi for disrupting her plans; otherwise, she would have befriended Fang Bin instead.

Lin Zhizhi had been through a lot and looked somewhat haggard. At this moment, she gritted her teeth, her eyes reddened, and she looked at Cen Jingyi with a sorrowful expression.

Liu Gulan was taken aback when she realized that the prince would show weakness and ask for help. She immediately panicked.

If Cen Jingyi is inclined to favor Lin Zhizhi, her situation may be in danger.

He immediately asked, "But what did I say wrong? Why are you looking at me like that? This is a courtroom, not a place for you to compete for favor in the backyard."