Rebirth, guarding the mute at the tip of my heart

"Greetings, Your Majesty." All the people involved in the case had arrived. When they saw the wise king sitting in the presiding seat, they all bowed respectfully no matter what they were thinking.

"No need to be polite." Xie Ze glanced at Lu Wuliang in the audience and said in a cold tone.

In his previous life, after Ah Xin was driven out of the Jiang Mansion by Jiang Zhengchu, he was favored by Jiang Xingyu and successfully stayed in Baishan Academy. Later, he was lucky enough to pass the imperial examination and became a Jinshi.

At that time, Jiang Xin had already been driven out of the Jiang Mansion, and could only make a living by copying books with a limp. I don't know where Lu Wuliang got the face from, maybe he thought he was a big shot after becoming an official, and he actually found Jiang Xin with a licking face and wanted to give Jiang Xin shelter.

It was called shelter, but actually he just wanted Jiang Xin to follow him unclearly. When Xie Ze met Jiang Xin, this guy was still shamelessly clinging to him, which was really disgusting.

Later, Xie Ze found out the dispute between the two. Although he didn't understand his feelings for Jiang Xin at that time, he really couldn't stand Lu Wuliang, this trash. He found a fault with him and took off his official hat. He brought him to the dust and made him unable to make any more trouble.

But now...

Xie Ze looked at Lu Wuliang who was standing nervously below, then looked at Jiang Xin who had a bandage on his head, and thought that the lesson he gave this man was too light.

How can it be enough to just take off the official hat?

This person should also feel the injuries, hardships and broken legs that his Ah Xin had suffered.

Thinking of this, Xie Ze smiled rarely, but there was no smile in his eyes.

He touched the crude jade pendant he had taken from the Jiang family and threw it on the ground. He looked at Lu Wuliang in a cold tone and said, "Is this your jade pendant?"

This jade pendant was broken once by Jiang Zhengchu yesterday. Now it was broken again, but no one cared too much.

However, Lu Wuliang was extremely nervous, as if he hadn't known when this matter had completely gone beyond his control. He barely suppressed his uneasiness and replied politely, "Your Highness, that's right."

"Did you buy it? Or was it given to you by someone else?"

"I bought it from the shop."

"How much silver?"

"Five taels."

"What are you going to buy it for?"

"...it has no other use, it is just for daily wear." Lu Wuliang didn't know what the wise king meant by these questions, so he had to answer truthfully and try not to reveal any unnecessary clues.

However, after just this simple conversation, Xie Ze suddenly sneered and said sarcastically:

"From what I know, your family is poor, and you only have a widowed mother working outside to support your studies. After paying the tuition, you and your mother are already stretched to the limit. How can you have so much extra money to buy yourself jewelry?"

As soon as he finished speaking, seeing Lu Wuliang's grim expression as he was about to speak, Xie Ze decisively blocked his mouth and continued expressionlessly:

"You don't have to deny it. Your long gown has been washed so much that it has turned pale. The cuffs are already torn, but you still don't want to change into another one. Now you spend five taels of silver to buy a useless jade pendant to adorn yourself. Isn't that ridiculous?"

The crowd outside who were watching the excitement had already stood in three layers. They originally wanted to catch a glimpse of the prince, but only after hearing the prince's words did they turn their attention to Lu Wuliang. They indeed saw something wrong and started to discuss in a low voice.

"This scholar is indeed dressed rather shabbily. Aren't the students of Baishan Academy the children of noble families? The tuition is so expensive. This scholar is so poor that he can't even afford clothes. How can he still study in such an academy?"

"Besides, since he is so poor, why does he need to buy such expensive accessories? He might as well buy some new clothes to wear!" In the Dali Dynasty, jade waist ornaments were worn by wealthy and prestigious people. The better the jade pendant on the waist, the more noble the person's status. But Lu Wuliang's clothes were already tattered, so even if he wore a piece of mutton-fat jade, others would just think it was rags.

Lu Wuliang knew that he was poor, but what he couldn't stand the most was others saying that he was poor. He immediately stiffened his neck and said awkwardly:

"The money I used to buy the jade pendant was saved up bit by bit. I envied my classmates who all had jade pendants to adorn their waists. I bought it with the money I earned from copying books. Even if I am a little vain, it shouldn't be against the law, right?

I wonder what the prince's intention is in teasing me about this matter?"

That's true. Even if Lu Wuliang is just trying to be rich, it has nothing to do with others. Besides, isn't today's case about someone stealing the jade pendant?

Before anyone could ask their questions, Xie Ze's face darkened in the next second. He stood up and yelled at Lu Wuliang:

"You are vain. You insist on studying at Baishan Academy even though your family is not rich. The tuition is 70 taels a year. Your widowed mother works three jobs a day to satisfy your vanity. She is so tired that she can't even stand up straight. That's fine!

How dare you squander your family's hard-earned money and say you're not breaking the law?! Filial piety is the most important virtue. You are such an unfilial bastard, you are unworthy of being a son. You deserve to be exiled!"

"Wow! Seventy taels of silver! Isn't this too scary?!" Everyone was stunned by the tuition fee. They thought to themselves, no wonder it is said that Baishan Academy is not something that ordinary people can enter. With this amount of tuition, ordinary people may not be able to earn it in their entire life!

So, how did this poor Lu Wuliang get in? Just to satisfy his vanity, he made his poor widowed mother work three jobs and work hard day and night to earn money to support him?

"You, you are talking nonsense!" Lu Wuliang panicked. He knew that if he was accused of being unfilial, it would be difficult for him to become an official in the future, let alone pass the imperial examination. He quickly explained in a stern voice: "Before my father passed away, he left some family wealth for me to study. It was not entirely due to my mother..."

That's seventy taels, not seven taels! Even if the Lu family had some wealth in the past, looking at Lu Wuliang's clothes, one should know that the wealth was very limited.

Thinking of this, everyone looked at Lu Wuliang with disgust.

This scholar is too ignorant. His father has passed away and he only has a mother to support him. Even if his family still has some money, he should not spend it like this. Even if he wants to study, he still has many choices!

The seventy taels of tuition fee, once he had spent all his family's savings, if he still wanted to stay in the academy, wouldn't that force his mother to work day and night without sleep? This was not to force his mother to work, it was to force his mother to die!

Even though life has become so difficult, this guy still wants to buy such an expensive jade pendant to pretend to be wealthy. He is simply a scumbag!