Empress, please have some self-respect. I am not your husband.

Listening to the stories told by the girls of Baihualou, all the minor officials of the Imperial Household Department except Lu Feng were furious and filled with righteous indignation.

"Are they even human?!"

"What a beast!"

"Thank goodness Lord Lu, you intervened, otherwise Miss Hongxiu would have suffered the same fate today!"

Lu Feng just smiled and took a sip of his drink. According to these girls, Zhang Shao and Wang Qi's favorite thing was group sex, specifically the kind where one woman had sex with multiple men.

And most importantly, besides engaging in group sex, he also enjoys torturing girls!

Every woman they targeted was brought back covered in blood the next day after being taken away.

Over time, many girls in the brothels of the capital fell victim to their cruelty, and the girls of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion no longer wanted to entertain them.

But these people were all sons of officials of the fourth rank, rich and powerful, leaving them no room to resist.

Their latest target is Hongxiu.

Several girls couldn't help but burst into tears as they spoke.

Lu Feng glanced at the madam beside him, whose face was full of worry, and casually asked, "Doesn't the owner of this Hundred Flowers Pavilion want to do anything about it?"

As the best brothel in the capital, it's hard to believe that Baihualou had no one protecting it.

Any shady, gray-market business that involves making money will not succeed if it doesn't have powerful backers.

Hearing his words, the madam gave a wry smile: "My lord, putting everything else aside, Young Master Zhang and Young Master Wang are the sons of the current Minister of Personnel and Minister of Rites, how could our master dare to offend them?"

"Besides, in our line of work, how can others treat us like human beings? Once we've taken the money, we have to let them do whatever they want. Unless someone dies, who's going to take responsibility?"

Lu Feng looked at her with a smile: "So you came to me earlier to promote the Red Sleeve Girl? You weren't trying to use me as a shield, were you?"

The madam felt a chill run down her spine; she never expected Lu Feng to see through her thoughts.

He didn't even dare to wipe the sweat from his forehead, and honestly confessed, "I dare not deceive you, sir. I watched Hongxiu grow up, and I love her the most."

“I was worried about her being targeted by those people. I saw that everyone called you Lord Lu and that you were very generous, so I thought I would ask you to protect Hongxiu this time. If you take a liking to Hongxiu and make it a done deal, those people will stop bothering her. They are only interested in virgins.”

"You are quite honest."

Lu Feng hummed in agreement, seemingly not intending to take it to heart.

The madam breathed a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile, Zhang Shao and Wang Shao, who had been reprimanded by Lu Feng, were both sent home.

Seeing that their children were all unable to move, the wives of the court officials wept bitterly.

Minister of Personnel Zhang Tianyuan was furious. Looking at his son's miserable state on the bed, his eyes were filled with murderous intent: "Who did this? And why did they do it so severely!"

"Father! You must avenge your son! I was beaten up at the Hundred Flowers Brothel. That bastard used some kind of trick to make me unable to move! He even said I would be bedridden for at least two months, Father!"

Upon hearing this, his mother cried even louder: "Master, this matter cannot be left like this! If anything happens to Feng'er, I will not live on!"

Zhang Tianyuan was even more furious. He only had one son, so he immediately shouted at his servants, "What are you all standing there for! Go and fetch a doctor! Steward, take a few men and come with me! I want to see just who this audacious person is!"

Meanwhile, at the Ministry of Rites' residence, Minister Wang Mingyuan was equally furious and led his men to the Hundred Flowers Pavilion in a blazing storm.

The groups met outside the Hundred Flowers Pavilion shortly afterward, each somewhat surprised. Upon asking why, they discovered they all had the same purpose, which only fueled their anger.

Someone actually dared to beat the sons of these important court officials at the same time.

And the attack was so vicious; there must be an explanation for this!

The two ministers were the first to enter the Hundred Flowers Pavilion. Zhang Tianyuan roared in a powerful voice, "Hand over the murderer to me!"

"Sir, what can I do for you?" The servant of Baihualou was startled and hurriedly stepped forward to inquire.

"Stop talking nonsense!"

A hot-tempered official slapped the servant so hard he spun around on the spot: "Who hit my son? Tell him to come out here!"

The second floor.

Upon seeing this, the madam rushed into the private room and said urgently to Lu Feng, "Lord Lu, they're here. Why don't you leave through the back door?"

"Need not."

Lu Feng stood up, and Wang Hao and a group of minor officials from the Imperial Household Department also stood up and followed him. Although they were somewhat afraid, none of them ran away.

While the officials below were venting their anger, a familiar voice came from the second floor.

"Don't look for me, I'm here."

Ministers Zhang Tianyuan and Wang Mingyuan looked up and were immediately taken aback: "Lu Feng! What are you doing here?"

Lu Feng smiled slightly: "I am the murderer you are looking for. I was the one who beat up those young masters Zhang and Wang earlier!"

"You bastard! It's you! Get down here right now!"

The speaker was a military officer, a burly man with broad shoulders and a thick waist. Upon hearing Lu Feng say that he had beaten his son, he was immediately enraged and rushed upstairs, raising his hand to grab Lu Feng.

However, just as he was about to encounter Lu Feng, he was kicked in the chest and rolled down from the second floor like his son.

Everyone was stunned by what they saw. "You're hitting officials too!"

Zhang Tianyuan and Wang Mingyuan were dumbfounded. The military officer who was kicked down the stairs was relatively unharmed, but he sat on the ground clutching his chest, feeling extremely humiliated: "Lu Feng! How dare you lay a hand on me!"

"You attacked first, I was just defending myself," Lu Feng said calmly.

“That’s right, we all saw it. You were the one who attacked Lord Lu first!” At this moment, the minor official Wang Hao didn’t care about his future at all. He was determined to stand up for Lu Feng no matter what.

Zhang Tianyuan snapped out of his daze, his expression turning ugly as he glared at Lu Feng: "You bastard, Lu Feng, do you know that he is a third-rank Dingyuan General, a rank above yours? This is insubordination!"

Lu Feng chuckled: "Is that so? Then, Lord Zhang, your son attacked me earlier. Does that count as insubordination? Or are all of your sons third-rank officials?"

Zhang Tianyuan was stunned for a moment, and Wang Mingyuan's expression also turned ugly.

Lu Feng sneered: "Why can't you say it? Then let's calculate how a commoner should be punished for attacking an official according to the laws of Qian Kingdom, and how you, as court officials, should be punished for indiscriminately leading people to provoke trouble."

Just as he finished speaking, a group of soldiers suddenly rushed in from outside, carrying knives and guns. The leader shouted, "Damn it, find the murderer for me! How dare he hit my cousin!"