RPAGF Chapter 102 Spoiling a child is like killing a child; it's all too late.
Chapter 102 Spoiling a child is like killing a child; it's all too late.
A burly constable spat and said viciously, "Pah! You call yourself 'master'? You're just a prisoner now, and you still dare to act wildly here!"
After saying that, he suddenly raised his knee and slammed it hard into Wei Qiming's stomach.
Wei Qiming groaned, his body arching like a shrimp, a look of pain on his face.
But he remained defiant, glaring at the bailiffs through gritted teeth and cursing incessantly.
Seeing this, another constable also lost his patience and swung his stick, striking Wei Qiming hard on the back.
With several muffled thuds, Wei Qiming was knocked to the ground, clutching his head and curling up in a ball.
Just then, a richly decorated carriage slowly came to a stop not far away. The carriage door opened, and Wei's mother hurriedly got off.
Her eyes were filled with anxiety and worry. She was extremely anxious the whole way, hoping to see her son before he was taken away.
But when she saw her son being beaten by the yamen runners, her anxious face instantly twisted, and a surge of anger rushed to her head.
"Stop!" Wei's mother screamed as she rushed over, her voice sharp and shrill with anger.
She staggered and nearly lost control as she rushed toward the two constables.
She, who was used to a life of luxury, didn't care about her image at this moment and only wanted to protect her son.
"How dare you treat my son like this!" Like an enraged mother beast, Wei's mother tightly shielded Wei Qiming behind her.
She glared fiercely at the two constables, as if she wanted to tear them to pieces with her gaze.
The two yamen runners had no idea that the Duchess of Wei would suddenly appear.
The two panicked instantly, their faces drained of color, and their eyes were filled with terror and helplessness.
They hurriedly bowed, their voices trembling: "Greetings, Lady of Wei! It was the Emperor who ordered the exile of the young master; we were merely following orders!"
As they spoke, their foreheads were covered with fine beads of sweat.
The Duchess of Wei's face was ashen, her eyes burning with fury as she glared fiercely at the two constables.
"Hmph!" She snorted coldly, her voice filled with resentment and authority. "The Emperor has sentenced him to exile, that's true! But when did he allow you to beat my son at will? You're completely disregarding the Wei State Duke's Mansion!"
Her chest heaved violently, each word seemingly squeezed out from between her teeth. "Go, summon the Prefect of the Capital immediately!"
The two constables trembled with fear and, without the slightest delay, scrambled off to report.
At that moment, the Prefect of Jingzhao was handling official business in his residence when he heard that the Duchess of Wei was angry, and he secretly thought that something was wrong.
He was well aware of the status of the Duke of Wei's mansion in the capital, and he also understood that these two yamen runners had offended someone they shouldn't have.
He didn't bother to straighten his official robes and hurriedly headed towards the prison, constantly calculating his next move along the way.
In the capital, nobles who had committed crimes and were sentenced to exile would often suffer beatings and scoldings once they fell into the hands of these yamen runners.
The constables did this to establish their authority over these people who had once been in a high position.
Secondly, we wanted to make them behave themselves on the road, to make them realize that they were no longer the same people they used to be, and to stop putting on that arrogant attitude.
But to their utter surprise, they encountered the son of the Duke of Wei's mansion, and even more unexpectedly, the Duchess of Wei herself came.
When the Prefect of Jingzhao arrived, he saw the Duchess of Wei with a furious expression and Wei Qiming being supported by others, with marks on his body from being beaten. He immediately understood the seriousness of the matter.
He quickly bowed respectfully and said with a smile, "Madam, please calm down. It's all because I failed to discipline you properly that this happened."
As he spoke, he secretly glared at the two troublemaking constables.
The Duchess of Wei was unmoved and continued to glare angrily, saying, "You failed to discipline them properly? These two unruly servants are so presumptuous, you must give me an explanation!"
The Prefect of Jingzhao nodded repeatedly and hurriedly ordered the replacement of the yamen runners responsible for escorting Wei Qiming, as requested by the Duchess of Wei.
He then ordered his men to pin the two constables who had beaten Wei Qiming to the ground and give them a heavy beating.
Each thud of the clapper seemed to strike the heart of the Prefect of the Capital, who knew full well that this incident was not going to be handled well.
Tomorrow, my memorial to the throne will likely appear on the Emperor's desk.
After the two constables were punished, the Prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture still felt it wasn't enough, so he immediately announced their demotion, which finally calmed the anger of the Duchess of Wei.
Lady Wei's expression softened somewhat, and seeing the bruises on her son's face, tears streamed down her face.
"My son, you must take good care of yourself! Your mother is still waiting for you to come back in the capital!"
Wei Qiming gripped his mother's hand tightly, as if he had grasped the last straw.
"Mother, please save me! Go to the palace and have my sister beg the Emperor to release me. I really don't want to go to that godforsaken place, Pingzhou!"
His voice was choked with sobs, and his eyes were filled with despair; this time, he was truly terrified.
Hearing her son's words, the Duchess of Wei felt as if her heart had been pierced by a thousand arrows.
She desperately wanted to save her son. To this end, she and her husband exhausted almost every means and searched for everyone they could.
However, Wei Qiming's mistake this time was too great, and the Emperor was furious, leaving no room for maneuver.
Even the master was not allowed to come and visit.
She opened her mouth, wanting to say a few words to comfort Wei Qiming, but found that her throat was blocked and she couldn't say anything; only tears kept flowing.
However, time will not stop because of the grief of this mother and child.
Urging voices came from afar, and the official in charge of escorting them stepped forward, though he was somewhat wary of the Lady of Wei.
But she still forced herself to say, "Madam, it's getting late, we can't delay any longer."
Lady Wei raised her head, tears blurring her vision. She knew that the moment of parting had finally arrived.
She hugged Wei Qiming tightly, "My son..." as if she wanted to keep him in her arms forever.
But in the end, with everyone pulling them apart, the mother and son were separated.
Lady Wei watched helplessly as Wei Qiming was led onto the prison cart, which slowly started moving, raising a cloud of dust.
Her gaze followed the prison van until it disappeared from sight.
At this moment, her heart was filled with remorse, and she finally understood the saying: "Spoiling a child is like killing a child."
If I had disciplined Wei Qiming more and indulged him less in my daily life, perhaps today's tragedy would not have happened.
But now, it's all too late...