Chapter 673 - 673. Teaching

Chapter 673: Chapter 673. Teaching

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation 1 Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

The speakers were hushedly discussing the royal family, their words laced with criticism and rumors.

“Sigh, what a shame. He devoted herself to educating the prince, only to have his efforts benefit others. I heard he was so upset by it all that it led to his death,” one of the diners lamented.

“Really? Who are you talking about?” the other inquired.

“It’s about the changes in the royal family. They replaced the Grand Tutor without any reason. Seems a bit harsh, doesn’t it?” the first diner replied.

“I also heard that the women’s hospital has been abducting pregnant women off the streets due to a lack of patients. They take them to the hospital, perform horrifying procedures on them, and even force a pregnant woman’s mother-in-law to witness the gruesome scene. The poor woman fainted from shock,” the second person added.

“The Empress forbids the Emperor from taking concubines. In the past, such behavior was seen as jealousy, and meddling in state affairs was utterly unacceptable. But the Emperor, blinded by infatuation, ignores the repercussions. Now, his reputation is suffering,” the first person commented.

As Su Qing listened, her expression turned frosty. These people were blatantly slandering the royal family, negatively painting her, the Empress.

“Keep an eye on those two,” she instructed the head guard, subtly gesturing towards the gossipers at the next table.

Their lavish meal, replete with delicacies and fine wine, seemed inconsistent with their apparent status, hinting at a hidden agenda to spread malicious rumors.

Su Qing was not inclined to act hastily, she wanted to trace the rumors back to their source. They appeared to have encouraged someone to create unrest in the recent days of tranquility.

The waiter went to ask the shopkeeper for instructions. The shopkeeper glanced at Su Qing and the guards with golden sabers. He had sharp eyes and could tell at a glance that these were not ordinary people.

“Pick the best dishes and tell the kitchen to make them well. Also, send over the good tea in our shop. Don’t disregard it.”

“Yes.” This chapter is updated by nov(e)(l)biin.com

With the shopkeeper’s orders, the waiter immediately went to the kitchen to announce the names of the dishes. He chose all the dishes that the restaurant’s master was good at and ordered them. He also brewed five pots of good tea and sent them over.

The shopkeeper personally served tea to Su Qing’s table. It could be seen that all five tables followed her lead. She must be the leader of these people.

“Miss, this is Longjing tea after the rain. Please enjoy.”

Su Qing glanced at him and hummed coldly.

The shopkeeper didn’t mind. He was used to it since people in high positions were usually like this.

“I heard that the Empress had cast a spell on the Emperor. Otherwise, how could he be so devoted to her?”

“I’ve also heard about it. It’s too terrifying. She poisoned the ruler of a country?”

This was her son!

Su Qing was even more convinced that changing the Grand Tutor was the right decision. Otherwise, if He Yulin continued to teach him, the child would become a marionette.

The few men who spread the rumors paid for the meal and left in a sorry state, leaving a pool of blood on the ground. The man who had his calf stabbed dragged his injured leg as he walked. Every step he took was heart-wrenching.

Su Qing ordered the guards who followed him out,

“How dare they talk about the royal family behind their backs? Beat their teeth out. There’s no need to follow them anymore. Capture them and interrogate them.”

These two guards had always been by Su Qing’s side. They admired her from the bottom of their hearts. Those kids dared to slander their idol. They had to teach them a lesson.

Su Qing only ordered them to knock out the teeth of these brats. They decided to feed these brats feces soup and wash their stinky mouths.

Ziqi returned to the table with the bloody dagger. He looked at Su Qing uneasily, worried his mother would scold him.

“Ziqi did well. You have the guts of a man.”

Su Qing smiled when she saw her son’s nervousness and praised him gently.

“Brother is so awesome.”

Yun’ er looked at her brother with admiration. She did not have a dagger, or else she would stab him. No, she would ask her mother to give her a dagger later.

Zhang Qirui also looked at Ziqi with admiration. He wanted to learn from his brother.

Ziqi asked Su Qing in disbelief,

“Mother...Did I do anything wrong?”

“That’s right. If you don’t dare to say anything when others scold your mother and father, then you don’t have the blood of a man at all. You’re not worthy of being the ruler of a country. Remember, you must use kindness and power to govern, not just kindness. If you’re kind, you can’t control the army. If you’re not ruthless, you can’t be a ruler.”

Su Qing took the opportunity to teach her son. To be a qualified ruler of a country, he had to be ruthless. If the officials in the court were only merciful, he would think he was weak and easily bullied.

Yes, mother. Your child will remember.”

Ziqi’s eyes sparkled as he looked at Su Qing. He knew what his mother meant and suddenly understood. In the past, what the Grand Tutor taught him was pedantic. He only taught him to be a benevolent ruler, to love the people like their children, and to have a tolerant heart.

It was still Mother who taught him well. When he should be ruthless, he should be ruthless and not blindly merciful.

The people in the restaurant looked at Ziqi with fear in their eyes. Wasn’t this child too ruthless?

Su Qing took everyone to the restaurant for a meal before returning to the Imperial Palace. The first thing she did when she returned to the Imperial Palace was to look for Xiao Zeyu and ask him what had happened in court..