Jenny dared not plead for him. Although she felt sorry for Jude, she also knew that he had gone too far this time. She could only turn her head away, not looking at him.

Before long, Jude’s screams came from outside.

By the time the thirty strokes were finished, his buttocks were already a bloody mess.

When he was carried back to the hall, his arrogance was gone, and there was a hint of fear in his eyes when he looked at Athena.

The Queen Mother looked at him with a cold face. “Do you know your mistake?”

Jude was in so much pain that he wished he were dead, and he nodded repeatedly. “I was wrong. I was just confused for a moment. Ruth said that Gracie was pregnant with a daughter, which would affect my future in the court, that’s why I did this."

“It’s that bitch who bewitched me.”

Hearing his words, Ruth’s face was ashen.

The person who previously held her and called her darling was now blaming her. How bitterly ironic.

“No, it’s not like this,” Ruth screamed, “Even if I had eight hundred guts, I wouldn’t dare to instigate you to hit your wife. I listened to his words. He said Mrs. Miller was boring and only I could make him ecstatic… Jude also said that Jenny had already agreed to help us hide it from the Queen Mother!”

Ruth thought, ‘If we’re going to die, we’ll die together.’ Ruth wouldn’t take the blame for Jude.

As soon as these words came out, the hall fell silent.

The Queen Mother’s gaze suddenly turned to Jenny, who was so frightened that her soul flew away, and she kowtowed repeatedly, “Queen Mother, I didn’t! Ruth is talking nonsense!”

Queen Mother said, “Whether it’s nonsense or not, we’ll know once we investigate.”

Athena spoke in a timely manner, “I have already sent someone to search Ruth’s residence and found letters between her and Jenny, with Jenny’s personal seal on them. In addition, the butler of the duke’s estate has also confessed that Jenny asked him to send 350 thousand dollars to Ruth every month.”

The Queen Mother felt her eyes darken and pointed at Jenny. “You… you are really going to embarrass the duke’s estate! How could Jude marry such a muddle-headed person like you!”

As the matriarch of the duke’s estate, she colluded with a mistress to frame others. It was a shame!

The Queen Mother took a deep breath, suppressed the anger in her heart, and looked at Jude. “Jude, domestic violence against his pregnant wife, privately keeping a mistress, condoning instigation, the crime is increased by one degree! From today onwards, you are confined to the woodshed for a year to reflect on your mistakes! In addition, compensate Gracie with a thousand taels of gold to seek her forgiveness.”

Then, she looked at Ruth, her tone as cold as ice. “Ruth instigated the relationship between Gracie and Jude, and murdered the direct son of the duke’s estate. She will be beaten to death with sticks immediately.”

Finally, she turned to Jenny, her eyes full of disappointment. “You have failed to teach your son, and you have condoned your son’s mistreatment of his wife. You will be punished to be confined in the hall of the duke’s estate for three months, and copy the moral scripts a hundred times every day to atone for your son and the unborn grandson!”

Jude raised his head in disbelief. “A year? How can you do this to me!”

“How do you want me to deal with you?” The Queen Mother sneered, “If it weren’t for the sake of Athena, I would have sent you to the authorities for investigation today! If you dare to say another word, you will not only be confined for a year, but exiled a thousand miles!”

Jude shrank his neck in fright and dared not say another word.

Ruth fainted directly after hearing about the beating to death.

Jenny lay on the ground, accepting the punishment without a word.

The Queen Mother felt that she had done a very good job; she asked Athena with a smile. “Athena, are you satisfied?”

“I am not,” Athena replied calmly.

The Queen Mother choked and froze in place.

Jude was beaten half to death, and she also dealt with the mistress, but Athena was still not satisfied. She was, after all, being too disrespectful.

The smile on her face faded, and the Queen Mother looked at Athena with a mean expression. “Why, do you have to take Jude’s life?”

This sarcastic look made Jenny straighten her back a little.

“To kill a man is only to dash his head upon the earth. Even if you don’t show me some respect, you should still respect the Queen Mother,” she said.

Upon hearing this, Athena not only did not back down, but took half a step forward. Her eyes were calm but her words were firm. “Queen Mother thinks the handling is satisfactory, but in my opinion, this handling protects the dignity of the duke’s estate, but it shamed the dignity of a marriage granted by the throne, and left Gracie without the rightful answer she deserved."

She raised her hand to signal the maid to hand over the paper book that had been prepared earlier again. “Jude committed domestic violence against his pregnant wife. According to the Law, he should be beaten fifty times and exiled for a thousand miles. He privately kept a mistress and conspired with her to murder the legitimate heir; according to the law, he should be stripped of his title and removed from his name. Now, Queen Mother only punishes him by confining him in the hall for a year. This confinement is just a change of place for him to relax. How can such a punishment make him remember the lesson? How can the whole Pidence City know that the royal family does not allow domestic violence against wives and the evil deeds of murdering children?”

Queen Mother’s face completely sank. “Athena, I have already beaten Ruth to death, and also punished Jude and Jenny. What else do you want? Are you satisfied only when you force the duke’s estate to a desperate situation?” Her eyes flashed with a warning light. “You must think twice before you act.”

Forcing the duke’s estate into a desperate situation was the same as opposing the Queen Mother.

Athena said, “I am not trying to force the duke’s estate, but just want justice.”

Athena turned to look at Jenny, her tone cold. “Jenny said, “To kill a man is only to dash his head upon the earth, but Gracie was almost beaten to death by Jude, and the child in her womb was dead. You watched and did not save her that day, and afterwards, you helped to hide the matter of the mistress. Now you are only punished with confinement in the hall to transcribe scriptures. Isn’t this showing you too much leniency?”

She looked at the Queen Mother again, her gaze as sharp as a knife. “You said that I am not showing respect, but have you ever considered whether Jude showed respect to the imperial marriage when he wielded a club at Gracie? When Jenny indulged her son’s mistreatment of his wife, did she respect you, Queen Mother? If a lenient punishment is given today because of ‘respect,’ others will follow suit in the future. When the sons of feudal lords commit domestic violence against their pregnant wives, and noble families indulge and shield them, what will be damaged is not only the reputation of the Xander Manor, but also the dignity of the laws of the entire Grand Luminary Empire!”

Gracie also spoke at the right time, her voice weak but firm. “Queen Mother, please have mercy and allow me to divorce Jude.”

Hearing this, Jenny became anxious and was about to retort, but Athena forced her back with a glare.

The Queen Mother looked at Athena’s humble yet confident appearance and Gracie’s pale but firm face, and her heart grew increasingly annoyed. “Athena, is it also your intention to divorce?” she asked.

Athena had already made up her mind. “Jude must be punished with thirty strokes according to the law, his title as heir be abolished, demoted to a commoner, and he shall never be allowed to hold office in the court. Jenny must personally go to the Xander Manor to apologize to Gracie and publicly admit her fault of indulgence. And all the property under Ruth’s name will be compensated to Gracie as her recuperation expenses. Please, Queen Mother, allow the two to divorce. Only in this way can the public be convinced, can Gracie be given an explanation, and can the royal law be given an explanation.”

As soon as these words came out, Jude instantly collapsed on the ground, and Jenny screamed even more.

“No! Abolishing the position of heir and demoting him to a commoner is to ruin Jude’s life! Queen Mother, please save Jude!” Jenny said.