Chapter Sixty
"Madam Luo, why have you come in person?" Teacher Feng immediately changed his demeanor upon seeing the visitor.
"My son was beaten—how could I not come? Where is he? How badly is he hurt?" Madam Luo anxiously peered into the classroom.
"Mother, you’re finally here! If you hadn’t come, your son would have been beaten to death!" As soon as these words were spoken, a chubby little boy emerged from inside.
Looking at the boy, he only had a few minor scratches on his face.
Moreover, the child was a full head taller than even the largest of the three—Jiang Yu.
Beaten to death?
Li Zhiwei couldn’t help but think that today was truly an eye-opener for her.
"Who? Who dares to lay a hand on my son?" Madam Luo was furious upon hearing this. Seeing the injuries on her son’s face only fueled her anger.
"Teacher Feng, I entrusted my son to your academy, and this is how you supervise the children? My son is injured like this—today, you must give me an explanation!" Madam Luo pointed accusingly at Teacher Feng.
"You’re absolutely right, Madam. It was my negligence. I promise it won’t happen again." Teacher Feng adopted a completely different attitude from the one he had shown Li Zhiwei earlier, bowing and scraping in apology.
Li Zhiwei watched in astonishment. So, people could treat others so differently?
But she wasn’t foolish—she knew Teacher Feng was trying to intimidate her.
Could it be that this Madam Luo had an extraordinary background?
More powerful than Prince An?
"What’s her background?" Li Zhiwei asked the three children in confusion.
"Don’t know," Xu Qingshi replied without hesitation.
"Haven’t seen her before. Probably not someone important," Xie Yanzhi said confidently. He was well-acquainted with the noblewomen of the capital, and since he didn’t recognize her, she likely wasn’t one of them.
"I don’t recognize her either, but I think I’ve seen that fat kid somewhere before." Jiang Yu couldn’t quite recall where he had met Luo Jing'an before.
"If she’s using her status to bully us, can we push back?" Li Zhiwei asked uncertainly.
If this woman’s background was even greater than Prince An’s, acting rashly might backfire.
"Stepmother, just push back. I refuse to believe that the combined influence of our three families can’t overpower this ugly woman," Xu Qingshi said arrogantly, crossing his arms.
"What about your families?" Li Zhiwei nodded, then turned to Jiang Yu and Xie Yanzhi, puzzled. If she had been summoned, why hadn’t their families come?
"My father took my mother to the estate today. They won’t be back until tomorrow," Jiang Yu grumbled.
He suspected his father had sent him to this lousy academy just to get him out of the way.
"They probably couldn’t find my house," Xie Yanzhi mused.
"Fine. Since I’m here today, I’ll make sure justice is served for you," Li Zhiwei assured them, patting the children’s shoulders.
"Thank you, Stepmother!"
"Thank you, Pretty Aunt!"
"Thank you, Pretty Aunt!"
Three voices chimed in unison, and the children visibly relaxed. They had been worried their fathers might show up instead—after all, their fathers’ beatings were truly painful.
Their voices quickly drew Madam Luo’s attention. Proud of her status as the mother of the wife of the Prince of Zhennan’s heir, she was accustomed to being addressed with reverence.
But she took an instant dislike to these children—they carried a noble air that her own son lacked, stirring jealousy in her heart.
As for Li Zhiwei...
When Madam Luo got a clear look at Li Zhiwei’s stunningly beautiful face, she gasped, her eyes burning with envy. Where did this little hussy come from?
"Madam Luo, these are the children who attacked your son. That woman is the mother of one of them," Teacher Feng quickly explained, gesturing toward Li Zhiwei and the others.
A cold smirk played on his lips. Today, these people would either be ruined or suffer dearly—let them learn the hard way that some people were not to be trifled with.
"So it’s you brats who dared to lay a hand on my son?" Madam Luo stormed forward, pointing accusingly.
Li Zhiwei frowned. This woman was utterly unreasonable—she only saw the minor scratches on her son’s face, ignoring the far more numerous injuries on the three boys.
"Madam, take a look at these children. Their injuries are no lighter than your son’s. Besides, your son is much bigger than them—why would he bully those smaller than him?" Li Zhiwei shielded the children behind her, her tone disapproving.
"You wretch! Did you put them up to attacking my son?" Madam Luo was already irked by Li Zhiwei’s beauty, and now that she dared to blame her son, her rage flared even hotter.
"Madam, evidence is required in such matters. Moreover, your son’s injuries are far less severe than these three children’s." Li Zhiwei rolled up the boys’ sleeves to show their bruises.
"Son, show them your injuries!" Madam Luo refused to believe her son would harm others without cause. Today, she would demand justice.
Luo Jing'an, remembering the bruises on his backside, shook his head frantically—he wasn’t about to expose himself in public.
The three boys exchanged smug glances. They had deliberately targeted places the bully couldn’t show off.
"Useless fool!" Madam Luo fumed at her son’s reluctance.
"Madam, since your son only has these minor facial injuries, shouldn’t we also discuss how your son hurt my children?" Li Zhiwei assumed Luo Jing'an’s injuries were limited to his face.
"Those brats must have attacked my son first! Today, unless you compensate me with five hundred taels of silver, I won’t let this go!" Madam Luo declared, already envisioning the pile of pig trotters she could buy with the money.
"Five hundred taels?" Li Zhiwei nearly laughed in disbelief. For such trivial injuries, this woman had the audacity to demand such an exorbitant sum—did she take her for a fool?
Now she understood why the servant had advised her to bring extra money. Was this the trap?
"Either pay five hundred taels for my son’s suffering, or I’ll have these brats’ legs broken!" Madam Luo glared viciously at Xu Qingshi and the others.
Though mischievous, the boys were still children. They shrank back in fear.
"Stepmother, maybe we should just give her the money. I have enough!" Xu Qingshi whispered.
"Don’t be afraid. We won’t pay a single coin." Li Zhiwei reassured him before turning to the haughty Madam Luo, her lips curling in disdain.
"I’ve seen greedy people before, but never one who outright robs in broad daylight!" Li Zhiwei sneered.
