Shang Kai's identity is different. The matter involved is not only extensive, but also involves such a delicate position as "the emperor's attendant". Therefore, although the three officials did not personally try the case, they were responsible for monitoring and listening to the trial to ensure fairness.
　　Because of the complicated procedures, the date of the formal trial could not be set in one fell swoop. Instead, under the order of the Empress Dowager, the affairs of the Zheng family were handled quickly.
　　Stripping and beating in court is not only humiliating, but also forty is already a lot. Unlike Zheng Yuheng, who was protected and spared on the day, after forty strokes, a person with weak muscles and bones would have to stay in bed and even become disabled.
　　It is said that when the execution was carried out, the miserable howling of the second son of Zheng startled a large number of birds on the branches, and passers-by covered their faces and did not hear. Even so, there are still people in the court who blame him for being wild and rebellious, and believe that if he is spared, he will cause more trouble in the future.
　　The next day, Zheng Yuheng returned home.
　　As soon as his carriage stopped at the Zheng Mansion, the two doormen at the door stood up nervously, staring at the embroidery and marks on the carriage, thinking that it was a noble from the palace.
　　When Zheng Yuheng got off the carriage and showed up, the two were stunned and unbelievable at first, and then, in contrast to their usual appearance, they came up to him with great diligence, surrounded him from the left and right, and urged him urgently: "Young Master, Young Master, you are back! Go see the master! We can't live without you!"
　　Zheng Yuheng's eyes twitched, and he doubted his life after hearing it - what did the people in this family say at first?
　　However, the two doormen completely changed their faces, and there was no trace of the flattering face of the stepmother when she was favored in the past. It was true that after rolling in the secular world, they had honed some knowledge of changing faces.
　　Zheng Yuheng pressed his nose, unable to bear it any longer, and said, "I already know about my father's impeachment. How are he and my second brother now?"
　　Stepping over the threshold, someone beside him wiped away his fake tears and said, "The master was so angry that he said he would beat the second son to death yesterday. The stepmother tried to persuade him but was also scolded. The second son was seriously injured and caused a lot of trouble, which implicated the lady..."
　　It seems that the evidence of the stepmother's crime has not been delivered yet.
　　Zheng Yuheng rolled up his sleeves, knowing that these people were now respectful and attentive because the trouble caused by his second brother was too big. The previous calculations and provocations were useless. He was about to lose the qualification to covet this family business - so he was "expelled" from the position of the future master by the servants.
　　The Zheng family had many children born in the family as slaves. In the small piece of land of these people, the future "master" was equivalent to a local emperor. Naturally, he would change his mind and plan for his livelihood. This was human nature.
　　Zheng Yuheng said nothing, and entered the courtyard. He heard his father's coughing and scolding from afar.
　　"... It's all because of your poor discipline! He committed such a heinous crime... cough cough... I put him in your arms, and you taught him to be like this!"
　　The stepmother cried sadly, "I was determined to educate him well, but Yuxing was born by me after all. His concubine's mother was trying to sow discord between them from beginning to end. I have always been kind and soft-hearted, and I really can't hit her. This is all my fault for being weak."
　　The second son was born out of wedlock, but the only mother that all the children of illegitimate children truly recognized in the legal sense was this stepmother.
　　The stepmother had been fighting with the concubines for many years. Although the second brother was not born by her, he was also the oldest male except Zheng Yuheng. This time, the fire at the city gate was too big to be extinguished, and both sides suffered losses.
　　Master Zheng took a deep breath and said angrily, "Sell that bitch! I don't want to see her again, and that evil creature!"
　　At this moment, Zheng Yuheng knocked on the door.
　　Zheng Jie stopped talking instantly, but the anger in his eyes had not disappeared.
　　The punishment he received was not light, and he still had the strength to curse, but he still couldn't get off the bed and had to stay in bed to rest. The servant next to him reported that Zheng Jie suddenly heard that it was his eldest son who had not been seen for many days. Naturally, he thought he was here to add insult to injury, and frowned and said, "What is he doing here! Hasn't he already regarded me as his biological father?!"
　　As soon as he finished speaking, the servant opened the door for Zheng Yuheng.
　　Zheng Yuheng was wearing a light blue casual suit with elegant embroidery on the lapel, with cloud patterns and crane shadows. He wore a plain black cloak that was common in winter on his shoulders, and the end of the cloak swung over the threshold.
　　He took the cloak belt, handed it to the servant beside him, and bowed to his father, saying, "Greetings, father."
　　"You still remember to come back!" Zheng Jie said, coughing non-stop, and then changed his words, "What are you doing here?! I tell you, even if that evil beast deserves to die, it is worse than you... cough cough..." Although
　　he was injured externally, his anger affected his lungs and injured his organs, so he coughed and wanted to vomit.
　　Zheng Yuheng saw the symptoms at a glance, and silently said in his heart, he is a beast who deserves to die, so what about you?
　　This father's desire to control his children, often using insults and scolding to control and manipulate. He has long been aware of this and has a deep insight.
　　"The palace is busy, and there is no time to get away." Zheng Yuheng came over, put down the medicine box, took out the prescription for calming anger and handed it to the servant, and said lightly, "Now, the child is back to fulfill his filial piety?"
　　In contrast to the other person, even if the eldest son's various behaviors were not to his liking, Zheng Jie's anger was slightly calmed because of this sentence, and he turned his head to look at him.
　　Zheng Yuheng sat down and said to his stepmother who was crying beside the couch, "Hello, too." When
　　the lady saw him coming back, her face turned grim, but she still forced a smile and maintained a kind face: "I said that our Heng'er is the most filial and family-loving. Master, he is just busy serving..."
　　Before he finished speaking, Zheng Yuheng suddenly interrupted, "There is really nothing good about this family."
　　Zheng Jie raised his eyebrows, and the stepmother was also stunned, and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? Your father will be angry when he hears you."
　　"He will only be angry when he hears me, but he will be furious when he hears about you." Zheng Yuheng said in a normal tone, "Madam has joined forces with relatives outside, played with high-interest loans, forced people to mortgage their wives and daughters and then sold them to brothels. If such a thing is reported, it will not be enough for you to lose your head alone, right?"
　　The stepmother's face froze, her pupils constricted, and her expression revealed a trace of panic and fear, but she quickly calmed down, pretending to know nothing, and was about to speak -
　　"Let me give you a piece of advice," Zheng Yuheng said, "I didn't investigate this matter, but it was spread from the palace. It's already the end of the road, standing in front of a cliff, and will soon be smashed to pieces. Madam is virtuous and smart, don't fight a desperate battle."
　　Virtuous, smart.
　　These words are like irony.
　　The second wife was dumbfounded, a chill rose up her spine, and sweat poured down. Master Zheng widened his eyes and turned to look at his "virtuous" second wife, feeling like he was struck by lightning.
　　The bad news sounded like drumbeats, one after another. At this time, a servant rushed in from outside, fell into the door in a mess, his face flushed with anxiety: "Master, someone is coming from the palace!" At
　　this moment, Zheng Jie looked at his eldest son in front of him with an expressionless face and calm eyebrows, looked at his second wife who was twisting her handkerchief and looking pale and tearful, and thought of the evil obstacle who had just caused a big disaster. The blood and qi suddenly rushed up, and he couldn't bear it for a while, and he actually looked up and fainted!
　　The second wife was so frightened that her face turned pale and she cried out, "Master! Master, you must not be in any harm! You must save me, Master!"
　　Her voice was so sharp that it almost pierced her ears.
　　The house was in a mess. The servants and maids were in a mess, like headless flies. There were cries and noises in front, and the sound of running to receive the imperial edict was behind. It was
　　too lively.
　　This house had never been so lively.
　　Zheng Yuheng stood quietly in it, feeling an inexplicable sense of ridiculousness and absurdity. He fell into a calm and lonely thinking in the noise, almost separated from the world.
　　After a few breaths, he ordered very coldly: "Shut up. Tie her up and drag her to the hall to listen to the imperial edict."
　　"Yes."
　　The servants of the Zheng Mansion seemed to have discovered his identity at this moment, and realized that this unloved eldest son was actually the legitimate first heir of the mansion and the only child of the original wife.
　　Their panic was restrained by a sentence, and they were trapped in an invisible net. After Zheng Jie fell, the words of the eldest son were covered with a certain effect that should be in a feudal system.
　　"You can't take me away!" she screamed, "I'm your mother! I'm your elder! Zheng Yuheng, you dare not wait for the master to wake up - you are disobedient and unfilial!"
　　"I rushed home in person to treat my father and fulfill my filial piety. How can I be considered disobedient?" He said indifferently, "I am far from these two words."
　　"Zheng Yuheng! No, no... please don't! I'm your elder... You beg the queen for mercy, she just said one sentence for such a small matter, I beg you..."
　　He said nothing.
　　Soon, the room returned to silence.
　　...
　　When Zheng Jie woke up again, his eldest son was sitting beside him, with the lights on.
　　Zheng Yuheng lowered his eyebrows and looked at the "Golden Chamber Essentials" on his knees. He turned the pages and didn't realize that the other party had woken up.
　　Zheng's father looked at him for a long time, as if there was a mouthful of blood in his throat. He asked in a hoarse voice: "Where is He?"
　　His second wife's surname was He.
　　Zheng Yuheng didn't look up and said, "She is guilty. According to the law, the government will deal with her."
　　The other party was silent for a long time, with the smell of medicine and blood in his throat: "Is everything you said true?"
　　"Yes." Zheng Yuheng replied, "The evidence is conclusive."
　　The veins on Zheng's father's forehead bulged, and his skin turned faintly red: "I treated her well! She actually let me down and caused such a thing, ruining the reputation of the Zheng family..."
　　Zheng Yuheng raised his eyes, swept his eyes across his face, and sighed.
　　He didn't say anything, but Zheng Jie keenly felt a strong disappointment in his eldest son. His step-wife and second son had all made big mistakes. When he saw that his family was about to fail, he suddenly felt a sense of distress about this disappointment and subconsciously held his hand.
　　Zheng Yuheng did not struggle, and his tone was flat, as if he was used to it: "Although He is guilty and wrong, my father and her have been married for many years, and outsiders think they are deeply in love. Now that she is in great trouble, you still think about her reputation and family background, without even a trace of regret or sadness... My father treats his wife and children like objects."
　　In the past, Zheng Jie would have scolded him, but at this time, not only did he not have the energy to scold him, but he also felt a strong chill in his heart at these words.
　　He realized that it was not because he disliked Zheng Yuheng that the relationship between the two was tense and on the verge of breaking off relations. It was Zheng Yuheng who disliked him and was disappointed in him over and over again.
　　But how could this be true? There are no parents who are not right in the world.
　　Zheng Jie suppressed his panic and tensed his expression: "The upper beam is not straight, the lower beam is crooked. She is not good at managing the household affairs and raising children. It is her fault that Yuxing has become like this. Heng'er, Daddy forgives you. As long as you go home to work and don't cause trouble, Daddy's property will still be yours..."
　　"No need." Zheng Yuheng said.
　　Zheng Jie's expression froze.
　　"Father."
　　His words were still very humble and gentle, but Zheng Jie had seen through his inner rebelliousness and stubbornness more than once from under his gentle surface.
　　"I don't care whether you 'forgive' me or not. As long as I haven't made those mistakes in the past, I don't need anyone's forgiveness to prove it." He said clearly, "There is only one thing in this world that I admit to. I am willing to use my life's blessings and good deeds to make up for it, and I am willing to sacrifice everything, dedicate everything, and die for it."
　　He didn't say what the specific thing was, but tucked the corner of the quilt for Zheng Jie. His behavior seemed respectful, but he even pulled his fingers out and didn't let him touch them.
　　Zheng Yuheng was full of aloofness, as if the two were just passers-by who nodded to each other when they met.
　　"My body and hair are all given by my parents. I will do my best to support them and will never refuse. But you should keep my father's property and your 'forgiveness'. I don't need them."
　　Zheng Jie didn't adjust his decent expression for a long time.
　　He was not only stunned, but also shocked. In just two days, he lost too much in succession, and he couldn't even grab the life-saving straw in front of him.
　　Zheng's father couldn't help but raise his voice: "I am your biological father. What's wrong with Dad? Can't you speak properly?"
　　"Am I disrespectful?" Zheng Yuheng asked.
　　He was choked again, and then he frowned quickly, and said in a hoarse voice: "I am your father, and you are my son, Yuheng. Just because I beat you, you are so indifferent to your own father?! How can you be so inhumane!"
　　Zheng Yuheng sighed again and said, "It's unreasonable."
　　"You-"
　　"Don't get angry." His eldest son patted the quilt and said in a calm tone, "There are still some things. I wanted to tell my father slowly, but it's not good to get angry again and again. You should give birth to them all at once."
　　He gestured to Mo Shu beside him.
　　Mo Shu was the servant who helped him escape from the Zheng Mansion. Later, because he was afraid of being embarrassed, he was left in the Imperial Hospital to guard the room and organize the items.
　　Mo Shu showed all the evidence, letters, confessions, etc. that he had just obtained from the inner noble.
　　"The cold food powder that was found in my room was bought by my stepmother He and hidden in the children's room. I have never taken the powder since I was a child, and I hate it. I have no such habit. My father has wronged me."
　　His tone was quiet and his words were calm.
　　"As for beating and scolding the maid and instigating theft, this confession has also stated that it was a frame-up."
　　"In the past..."
　　He said these things, and there was no reluctance or resentment in his voice. It was just a re-examination of things that had been indefensible and had nowhere to appeal.
　　These words have been said more than once, and the only difference is that Zheng Jie's mentality and situation were different when he heard them. He looked at his eldest son, his mind was in a mess, as if he was in a dream.
　　These things, one by one, were all old things. Many of them were difficult for Zheng Yuheng himself to find clues, but as long as Dong Lingjiu was willing, her eyes would penetrate every hole of this seemingly secret and private matter. She would always calmly and sternly watch this city at the center of power.
　　When Zheng Yuheng finished speaking, the candle beside him was already full of tears, and the wax condensed into pieces of white frost.
　　He stared at his father in silence.
　　Zheng Jie's expression was very interesting. He once propped himself up and tried to grab the evidence. His big, broad hand was full of sweat, and his movements were so rapid that it was hard to tell whether he wanted to take it and read it, or tear it up and destroy it.
　　But when his hand touched the paper, it froze as if it had been burned. Zheng's father had been arrogant and stubborn all his life, almost to the point of blindness, but because of these few pieces of paper, he showed his fear of "mistakes".
　　Zheng Yuheng's eyes met his for a moment.
　　At this time, he suddenly withdrew his hand to grab the evidence, and instead pulled Zheng Yuheng as if waking up from a dream, calling out: "Yuheng, why didn't you say it earlier? Don't take it out earlier..." "To
　　cover your ears and steal the bell is to deceive yourself." Zheng Yuheng said, "I just made my complaints deafening, so what."
　　He paused for a moment and smiled very lightly: "I stopped crying for being misunderstood by you a long time ago."
　　His words sounded like he had never complained.
　　But when it fell into the ears, there was another meaning that kept expanding, getting bigger and bigger, to the point of destroying people's spirits.
　　Zheng Jie's throat was choked, bloodshot eyes were faintly visible, and he said hurriedly and laboriously: "Yuheng, you blame father, you blame me, father... father did... not good..."
　　Zheng Yuheng looked at the time, brushed his hand off his sleeve, and said softly: "Father, I want to go back to Cining Palace to serve."
　　"You... you and the Queen Mother..."
　　"It's my son's wishful thinking." He admitted, "If there are scoldings inside and outside the court, it's all my fault, and I can't escape the blame even if I die."
　　Zheng Yuheng stood up, and the candlelight enveloped him, draped over his straight shoulders, and cast a hazy light on his eyebrows.
　　"But as long as I live, I will do everything I can to repay her love and kindness, as long as I am useful. Please don't interfere, father."
　　He raised his hand to salute, and asked the housekeepers and others in the family to take good care of Zheng Jie, and then turned and left.
　　As Zheng Yuheng took a step forward, he faintly heard a strangled shout behind him, as if it was cut off in the throat by the cold winter air.
　　It seemed like she wanted to call his name, but she didn't shout it out in the end.
　　Zheng Yuheng stood outside the threshold and blew a breath into his palm. The white mist dispersed in the winter night.
　　The author has something to say:
　　Touch Xiao Zheng. I also stopped crying for being misunderstood a long time ago. Being misunderstood is the fate of those who express themselves.