Was Xiao Mingzhao Not the Late Emperor's Biological Child

As soon as Madam Liu said this, the entire Pei Manor fell into a dead silence.

Even Ren Tianye was momentarily dumbfounded.

What did she mean by, "I gave birth to three children and suffered so much, yet all you care about is whether they are yours"?

Wait, was this logic correct? Is that how logic works?

The children aren't even his, and he's still supposed to care whether you suffered or not?

Beside them, Su Jin shook her head slightly.

In the first half of her life, she had exhausted her mind trying to marry a good husband she could control, but she had never been this wicked.

Thinking about it late at night, she often regretted her past mistakes, but now, looking at Madam Liu, she felt her own past actions were nothing in comparison.

While everyone was still stunned, Madam Liu's three children suddenly jumped out. Feeling they had seized an opportunity, they mercilessly thrust their metaphorical knives into Pei Jingzhi together.

"Exactly, our mother suffered so much, yet you only care about whether we are your flesh and blood. We... are also living, breathing human beings!"

"That's right, we've called you father for so many years, yet you are so fickle and heartless. You simply don't deserve to be called a man."

"Mother, let's go. The Duke is no longer holding this against us, so there's no need for us to stay here and suffer this foul treatment."

...

The three of them pulled Madam Liu, ready to leave.

Madam Liu reacted quickly. If they didn't leave now, when would they?

But Pei Jingzhi still stubbornly blocked their path.

It was just that he was once again so furious he couldn't speak.

Seeing this, Wang Ming sighed helplessly from the side. He planned to deliver another palm strike to help Pei Jingzhi clear the blockage in his chest, but unexpectedly, Pei Jingzhi turned around and drew the sword from Wang Ming's waist!

The blade was sharp and gleaming!

Even though Pei Jingzhi was merely a civil official who knew no martial arts, holding the blade still gave him a murderous aura. Not to mention, he had drawn the sword in pure rage!

This move carried an immense deterrent force.

Madam Liu and her three daughters shuddered in fear, involuntarily stepping backward.

As they retreated, Pei Jingzhi advanced with the sword.

The tip of the blade constantly threatened them.

Madam Liu was terrified, for she had seen the killing intent in Pei Jingzhi's eyes. She instinctively screamed, "Duke, Pei Jingzhi is holding a sword with malicious intent! You... you must have someone stop him quickly!"

Ren Tianye nodded and said, "Wang Ming, you call yourself a lieutenant, yet you can't even guard your own saber?"

Wang Ming hastily admitted his fault: "Duke, it is your subordinate's mistake. I will take my saber back right now."

Wang Ming shouted enthusiastically, but his hands made no movement whatsoever.

Ren Tianye urged him enthusiastically, but his eyes were full of gossip, and his tone was calm and unhurried.

Seeing that there was no hope, Madam Liu actually took a sudden step forward.

This was so unexpected that, even though her neck was right against the tip of Pei Jingzhi's blade, Pei Jingzhi was taken aback and paused for a moment.

Madam Liu then shouted, "Come on, Pei Jingzhi, kill me!"

"Show me just how petty and narrow-minded you really are!"

"So what if the three children aren't yours? Is it really that big of a deal? At worst, I'll just apologize to you. What more do you want?"

"Can't you learn from the Late Emperor and be a little more broad-minded?"

"Even the Late Emperor was willing to carefully look after a daughter who had no blood relation to him. He even supported his non-biological daughter to ascend the throne and become our wise Empress. You shout every day about serving the imperial court, so why..."

"...don't you know how to learn from the Late Emperor's fine traditions!"

If the Pei Manor was dead silent just a moment ago, now it felt as if the entire world had fallen into absolute silence. Everyone present was left dumbfounded by Madam Liu's shouting.

Even Pei Jingzhi sobered up quite a bit.

He held the sword in his hand but seemed completely unaware of it. His mind was just churning over and over with the words Madam Liu had just spoken.

Empress Xiao Mingzhao was not the biological daughter of the Late Emperor Xiao Jingyuan?

Xiao Jingyuan, not of the Xiao family bloodline?

Madam Liu, however, did not notice any of this. Her face was full of grievance: "No matter what, I've been married to you for so many years. Do you really hate me this much?"

"Do you want to kill me this badly?"

"Are you going to pin all the blame on my head?"

"Setting the facts aside, even if I am at fault, are you completely without any fault?"

Madam Liu seemed to be on a roll and continued, "These people surrounding us and forcing my hand, are they without fault?"

"Are the people of this world without fault?"

"Are the Handsome readers reading the book in front of their screens without fault?"

After shouting all of this, Madam Liu felt much better in her heart. Seeing that everyone was stunned, including Pei Jingzhi who looked completely bewildered, she immediately knew this was the best opportunity.

She pulled her three children and walked outward.

She walked at an extremely fast pace, taking large strides until she reached the entrance of the inner courtyard. Looking back and finding that Ren Tianye had not pursued her, she breathed a sigh of relief.

There wasn't a single good man in this world.

Fortunately, she had escaped today.

However, a figure suddenly flickered and abruptly blocked her path.

Looking up, she found it was a woman.

The corners of her eyes carried a natural charm, yet she was dressed quite like a man. She wore a tight-fitting martial outfit with a cinched waist, featuring a profound black base with dark gold trimming. A leather belt around her waist held a short sword engraved with the words "Severing Love."

An ink painting was embroidered on her chest.

That ink painting was very unique.

The calyx was like a blade, the petals like sharp edges, and it had no pistils or stamens, appearing sharp and imposing.

Madam Liu immediately knew that this was someone from the Demon Suppression Division.

After all, the fact that the Demon Suppression Division had the Emotion-Severing Lotus embroidered on their chests had already spread widely.

And the person blocking her was clearly the Deputy Demon Suppressor of the Demon Suppression Division, Su Jin.

She couldn't help but say, "Sister Su Jin, why are you blocking me?"

"The Duke has already let me go."

"His words are as precious as gold and jade; he surely wouldn't go back on his word, right?"

Su Jin spoke coldly, "Given the Duke's status, his words naturally count."

"Then why are you still blocking me? Could it be that you want to befriend me? That works out perfectly. Protector Bai also gave me other treasures. If you like them, Sister will give you some later."

Su Jin didn't entertain this at all and said directly, "The Duke's matters no longer have anything to do with you, but your matters have everything to do with my Demon Suppression Division."

"My Demon Suppression Division punishes romantic chaos, severs obsessive entanglements, suppresses inner demons, and solidifies the imperial court's discipline. Anyone who ruins the court's discipline, abandons their family and country, disrupts ethics, or harms the common people for the sake of selfish love is considered a Love Demon."

"The Demon Suppression Division has the imperial privilege to execute first and report later!"

These words were as cold as a blade and awe-inspiring, instantly terrifying Madam Liu and her three children.

It also startled Pei Jingzhi, who was muttering to himself on the side about who knows what. He suddenly turned his head, and a trace of light abruptly burst forth from his cloudy eyes.

"Sister Su Jin..."

Madam Liu forced a smile. "You and I are both women. Why must women make things difficult for women?"

"You... you should just let me go!"

"I could let you go!" Su Jin said indifferently. "Unfortunately, the Deputy Demon Suppressor of the Demon Suppression Division cannot let you go!"

"You, and the three of you..."

Su Jin's gaze swept over Madam Liu and the other three one by one, and then she slowly spoke: "You have violated the taboos of the Demon Suppression Division. You had better come with me to the Emotion Suppression Prison of the Demon Suppression Division!"

...