Mingzhu gritted her teeth and said, "What about the man? Does he not know to protect this child?"
Xiang Wei's lips curled into a cold smile, "Protect? That man believed his son slandered his stepmother, and a punishment of twenty strokes was considered light."
The room fell silent, with only the sound of everyone's breathing audible.
Xiang Wei chuckled softly, "Fortunately, this child has a resilient fate; twenty strokes didn't take his life, but it did chill his heart. This child was very intelligent, and after this incident, lost all affection for his family. He employed some small tactics to win the favor of a highly esteemed elder in the family, who valued him greatly, allowing him to grow up smoothly. Later, when he achieved success, he used his means to uncover the truth of the past. The stepmother was later dismissed, and the children she bore were ejected from the clan."
