Chapter 63
"Zhiwei? Zhiwei?" Xu Heming reacted swiftly, catching her in his arms as his heart nearly leaped out of his throat.
"Waa... waa..." Xu Qingshi, upon seeing Xu Heming arrive, finally burst into loud sobs. Heaven knew how terrified he had been earlier, even though his stepmother had protected him.
But he had also been worried about her.
Now that she had fainted, Xu Qingshi was even more frightened—was his stepmother going to die?
At this thought, his cries grew even louder.
Xu Heming frowned, his icy gaze sweeping over Madam Luo standing nearby. For a moment, he didn’t recognize who she was.
All he knew was that this woman had dared to bully his wife and child.
Xie Yanzhi and Jiang Yu, who had been standing nearby, also breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Xu Heming arrive. Seeing Xu Qingshi cry, the two boys also began wailing loudly.
"Enough, stop crying for now. Tell me what happened." Though Xu Heming’s heart ached at the sight of his son’s tears, he needed to understand the situation first.
The accompanying physician hurried forward to examine Li Zhiwei.
"Your Highness, the princess merely fainted from shock. She will be fine," the physician quickly reassured.
"Check on the children first," Xu Heming ordered coldly.
His frigid gaze then swept over the plump Madam Luo and the chubby Luo Jing'an beside her.
"Was it you who ordered my wife and child to be beaten?" Xu Heming’s voice was like that of a demon from the underworld, sending a shiver down Madam Luo’s spine.
She had not only heard the rumors about Prince An’s merciless nature but also recognized him on sight.
Madam Luo was so terrified she lost all composure, not even daring to breathe too loudly.
"Father, why did you take so long? If you hadn’t come, this vile woman would have beaten me and Stepmother to death!" Xu Qingshi knew when to seize an opportunity.
After a few more sobs, he tearfully complained to Xu Heming.
"What exactly happened?" Though furious, Xu Heming still wanted the truth before acting. He wouldn’t blindly side with his son.
However, the debt for laying hands on Li Zhiwei and Xu Qingshi—he would settle that properly with these people.
"This fat kid suddenly came over and demanded we wipe his shoes, sweep the floor for him, and bow to him. When we refused, he hit us! And this madwoman even wanted us to pay him money! Father, it hurts so much, wuuu..." Xu Qingshi had never suffered such humiliation before. As he spoke, he broke into fresh sobs.
Xu Heming’s glare turned even colder as it landed on Madam Luo and Luo Jing'an.
"I made you wipe my shoes because I was doing you a favor!" Luo Jing'an, completely oblivious to the gravity of the situation, sneered at them.
After all, he had always relied on the influence of the Prince of Zhennan’s household to bully others. Once people heard of his connections, they never dared to retaliate.
Luo Jing'an was just a child, after all. He assumed Xu Heming and the others were merely wealthy commoners—nothing compared to the mighty Prince of Zhennan, the most powerful figure he knew.
"Besides, it was these little bastards who hit me first! They deserved what they got for daring to lay a hand on me! They owe me compensation!" Luo Jing'an jeered, glaring at Xu Qingshi and the others with undisguised arrogance.
"If you’re his father, hurry up and pay up! Otherwise, when my brother-in-law gets here, this won’t end well for you! Do you even know who he is?" Luo Jing'an smirked triumphantly at Xu Heming, oozing superiority.
"Oh? I’d love to hear who your brother-in-law is." Xu Heming was almost amused by Luo Jing'an’s audacity. In the capital, even the princes treated him with respect—after all, he was the emperor’s trusted blade, carrying out executions without hesitation.
No one had ever dared to challenge him like this. Today, however, a mere brat had the gall to look down on him.
It was truly an eye-opener.
But today, he wanted to see just who in the capital had the nerve to disregard his family.
"My brother-in-law is the heir of the Prince of Zhennan! Once he arrives, you insects will all be dead!" Luo Jing'an declared haughtily.
Ever since his elder sister married the heir, he had been able to strut through the capital unopposed. Those who offended him always ended up paying hefty compensations out of fear for the Prince of Zhennan’s power.
Luo Jing'an was certain this would be no different.
"Hah! The Prince of Zhennan’s household?" Xu Heming scoffed.
He had expected some formidable figure, but it turned out to be that useless heir.
Madam Luo, who had been frozen in shock, finally snapped back to reality upon hearing her son’s words.
"Prince An, spare us! My son didn’t mean to offend you!" She immediately dropped to her knees, kowtowing frantically.
"Mother, why are you begging him? Once Brother-in-law gets here, they’ll all be dead!" Luo Jing'an, still lost in his delusions of invincibility, had no idea that the Prince of Zhennan’s name meant nothing against true power in the capital.
"Jing'an, kneel down now!" Madam Luo trembled as she yanked at her son, her fear overwhelming.
She never would have imagined that Prince An would actually send his son to a small, insignificant academy like Rushan Academy.
"Mother, we don’t need to beg! Get up—why are you scared of them?" Luo Jing'an still didn’t grasp the situation, finding his mother’s behavior embarrassingly weak.
"Don’t get too cocky! Once my brother-in-law arrives, it’ll be the end for you!" he shouted at them again.
When Xie Jincheng arrived at Rushan Academy, he was met with this tense standoff and nearly jumped out of his skin.
"Old Xu, what’s going on?" Xie Jincheng rushed over in concern.
But when he saw Li Zhiwei unconscious in Xu Heming’s arms, he sucked in a sharp breath.
Well, well—looks like Xu Heming had found himself a romantic entanglement here.
"Dad! You’re finally here! What kind of terrible academy did you send me to? I almost got beaten to death!" Xie Yanzhi, who had been holding back his emotions, completely broke down upon seeing Xie Jincheng. He clung to his father’s leg and wailed.
Xie Jincheng had never seen his son like this. He was about to comfort him when he noticed the bruises covering Xie Yanzhi’s face.
"Yanzhi, what happened to you?" Xie Jincheng’s heart sank. If Lady Yao found out their son had been injured on his very first day at the academy, she would never let him hear the end of it.
Then another thought struck him—who in their right mind would dare lay a hand on his son?
"Dad, look at my face! Look at my hands! If you hadn’t come, you’d never see me again!" Xie Yanzhi cried pitifully.
Madam Luo, witnessing this, bowed her head even lower. She couldn’t handle Prince An, and now this man—whose status she didn’t know but whose fine attire suggested he was another figure the Luo family couldn’t afford to provoke.
