Chapter 537: Chapter 537: Never Return in This Life!

Lady Guoyue felt suffocated by the aura surrounding Zhan Lan.

Zhan Lan looked at Zhao Xin, “Lord Zhao, what exactly is going on?”

Zhao Xin dared not hide anything and recounted the entire sequence of events.

Rage surged in Zhan Lan’s heart, as the honest parents of Li Sui were repeatedly bullied.

It’s true that good people are easily bullied!

And Li Sui had just started his official career, and he needed time to adapt to the change in his identity. Li Sui surely didn’t want to cause her any trouble; otherwise, if he had invoked her name, he wouldn’t have been subjected to such humiliation.

“The parents of an honorable Vice Admiral were beaten by a street thug, and even with strong evidence, they couldn’t clear themselves of false accusations! Is the law of Dayu giving special privileges to certain people?”

Zhan Lan’s voice was chillingly cold, and Lord Zhao nervously knelt on the ground.

He gulped continuously; he had long heard of the empress’s decisive nature, and as the governor, his handling of this matter was indeed inadequate.

Zhan Lan looked at Xu Chun, who had been extremely arrogant but was now trembling.

Xu Chun felt like he was sitting on pins and needles, and his legs gave way, making him kneel uncontrollably.

Zhan Lan’s voice wasn’t loud, but it carried infinite authority, “Take Xu Chun away, send him directly to the Ministry of Justice, give him sixty lashes, and then send him to the borderlands, never to return!”

“Yes, Empress!” Yang Wu signaled, and the Imperial Army in silver armor immediately took Xu Chun away.

Xu Chun was terrified to death; what had he just heard? The Empress had ordered him to never return to Ding’an City, and apart from enduring the harsh cold at the border, he would also have to perform menial labor there, which was more painful than death.

Mr. Xu knelt with tears in his eyes, pleading, “Empress, spare him!”

Mrs. Xu, seeing Lady Guoyue kneeling as well, could only kneel down too. Reluctantly, she pleaded, “Your Highness, please, we only have one son, Xu Chun, in our three generations!”

Zhan Lan looked at Xu Chun’s mother with a cold laugh, “Does having one descendant in three generations justify his frame-up against the Li Family? If Li Sui hadn’t been appointed as Vice Admiral, today he would’ve been imprisoned due to Xu Chun’s false charges, dooming his family to death! Your son wants the Li Family to end their bloodline in tragedy! You should thank the Emperor’s amnesty for not awarding Xu Chun the death penalty!”

Mr. Xu tugged at Mrs. Xu’s sleeve; wasn’t this fool trying to enrage the Empress more?

They couldn’t let her continue speaking.

But Mrs. Xu, driven by desperation for her son, didn’t care anymore; she’d fight to the death if needed. She looked Zhan Lan straight in the eye, “Empress, Lady Guoyue has the Death Exemption Token; she’s already securing my son’s life. Do you intend to disrespect the late Emperor? Are you deliberately wanting to cut off our Xu Family’s lineage?”

Her voice was loud, like a shrew, leaping three feet high, asserting her reasoning to Zhan Lan.

Even risking her life, she had to protect her son; after all, the Empress was only on her first day in her position. Didn’t she care for a reputation of virtue and grace?

Yang Wu was amazed that there was such a reckless woman daring to speak to the Empress like this. If the Emperor knew, wouldn’t he destroy her entire clan!

Mr. Xu’s face gradually turned pale; his stupid wife had committed a grave mistake!

If it weren’t for his father-in-law’s wealth, he would’ve never married this domineering woman!

Today, this foolish woman offended the Empress, possibly implicating the entire Xu Family.

Mr. Xu immediately spoke respectfully, “Empress, it was Xu Chun’s mother who was ignorant and offended you. I’ll divorce her immediately and have her beaten to death with rods!”

Mrs. Xu’s eyes widened; her husband wanted to divorce her. She sneered, “You heartless man!”

Today, with Mu Yan’s enthronement, Zhan Lan didn’t wish to start a killing spree. She gazed down at Mr. and Mrs. Xu; one was ruthless while the other was unaware of the gravity of the situation. What kind of good son could such parents raise?

“Audacious! To dare show such disrespect to the Empress, take the Xu family three away!” Yang Wu drew his sword, pointing it at the Xu Family members.

Mrs. Xu stood there obstinately with her neck stiffened; she refused to believe that the Empress would disregard the late Emperor’s edict in front of so many people; they had the Death Exemption Token.

Lady Guoyue, trembling, got up from the ground; Zhan Lan had humiliated her in front of so many people, not caring about her rank as a second-class Imperial Decree lady.

How could she not feel hatred for such disgrace?

Even if not for the Xu Family, she couldn’t lose face like this!

Lady Guoyue took out the Death Exemption Token, facing Yang Wu and the Imperial Army behind him, “Let’s see who dares! With the Death Exemption Token, it’s as if you see the late Emperor; even the Empress should kneel!”

Previously lost in Zhan Lan’s beauty, she had forgotten holding the Death Exemption Token exempted her from kneeling before Zhan Lan.

Mrs. Xu was even more smug, see, wasn’t Lady Guoyue more formidable? The item in her hand was granted by the late Emperor; even the Empress couldn’t act against her son today!

Li Sui frowned, stepping forward to say, “Outrageous! The Empress is the Mother of the Country, your behavior is disrespectful!”

Zhan Lan gave Li Sui a glance and smiled lightly, “Mr. Li speaks correctly, take Mrs. Xu out, slap her a hundred times!”

Upon hearing that Zhan Lan didn’t care about the Death Exemption Token and ignored Lady Guoyue’s status, Mrs. Xu finally realized her wrongdoings. She looked towards Lady Guoyue in desperation, “Lady Guoyue, save me!”

Lady Guoyue never liked Xu Chun’s mother, coldly looking into the distance.

Xu Chun, unable to help himself, hung his head without saying a word in his mother’s defense.

Mrs. Xu was dragged away by the Imperial Army.

The cries of anguish from Mrs. Xu resounded nearby; the people felt exceptionally content listening to the loud slaps; that Lady Xu was no good herself, deserving of this beating!

Having suffered at Zhan Lan’s disrespect, hearing Mrs. Xu’s punishment, Lady Guoyue’s tone towards Zhan Lan softened, “Empress, I will take Xu Chun away; as for the woman who showed you disrespect, I leave it to your majesty’s judgment. I will not interfere.”

Zhan Lan’s gaze fell on her, “Lady Guoyue, Nanjin is Nanjin, Dayu is Dayu. It seems you’re unfamiliar with Dayu’s laws, flaunting an item from a former dynasty is a capital offense!”

Lady Guoyue’s eyes trembled; Zhan Lan called her Death Exemption Token an item from the former dynasty.

She tried to defend herself, “Empress, the current Emperor is also from the Si Family. Why would the Death Exemption Token granted by the late Emperor be considered something from the former dynasty? Are you trying to disregard the late Emperor’s merits?”

Zhan Lan spoke disdainfully, “The merits of the late Emperor of Nanjin? Can you provide an example?”

Lady Guoyue thought for a long time but couldn’t come up with anything, forcefully maintaining her composure, “After all, the current Emperor and the late Emperor are brothers; they’re family. Why won’t the Empress acknowledge the late Emperor’s Death Exemption Token?”

Zhan Lan smirked, “Does Lady Guoyue want a stint at the Ministry of Justice to learn Dayu’s laws better?”

Lady Guoyue was thwarted, gritting her back teeth, being infuriated by Zhan Lan’s words.

Zhan Lan’s subsequent words sent a shiver down her spine, “Does Lady Guoyue need me to inform the world how you came to possess this Death Exemption Token?”

Meeting Zhan Lan’s confident gaze, Lady Guoyue broke into a cold sweat; how could Zhan Lan know how she got the Death Exemption Token?

It’s impossible!