Chapter 3112 Courage
King Jing Zhen’s office desk was stacked with letters from the officers. Even if he did not open them, he was aware that the content included more bad-mouthing of the prince and requests to take a deeper look into the case involving Steel Scene’s death. He knew the content would be very intense.
It was like if he did not kill Han Sen, he would be a bad king. It was like they were saying if Han Sen was not dead, he would become a tyrannical villain governing the government.
“My King, Mister Crown Prince is not coming to the palace,” a eunuch reported.
King Jing Zhen looked surprised. He knew what his son’s personality was like. No matter how headstrong he was, he still listened to his father. Qin Bai always listened to his commands.
This time, Qin Bai had rejected his summons. This was something that had never happened before.
“Mister Crown Prince said…” The eunuch behaved quite awkwardly.
“Just tell it to me straight,” King Jing Zhen said.
The eunuch said, “The crown prince said if he cannot maintain his friend’s innocence, there is no point in him being a crown prince. He said he would prefer not to be one.”
“Nonsense!” King Jing Zhen shouted. In his heart, he had a growing interest in the enigmatic Han Sen.
He understood Qin Bai. He was just a kid who was never able to think for himself. His heart did not have any boundaries. Since there were no boundaries, it meant he didn’t have a bottom line. He sometimes acted stubbornly. If it involved something that made him feel as if he was dealing with something much bigger than himself, he knew when to retreat.
This time, Qin Bai had disobeyed him over Han Sen and said some very bold words. That was something extraordinarily rare. He did not usually act that way.
King Jing Zhen thought for a moment and said, “Go and find Grand Teacher Thousand Mile Reach. Have him come here and bring back my son.”
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Grand Teacher Thousand Mile Reach had taught Qin Bai since he was a child. Speaking of fear, Qin Bai was more scared of Grand Teacher Thousand Mile Reach than Jing Zhen. This small matter didn’t actually require Thousand Mile Reach. King Jing Zhen just wanted to see how far Qin Bai was willing to go. That was why he was going to ask Thousand Mile Reach to visit Qin Bai.
The case regarding Steel Scene was too big. Even King Jing Zhen was not able to sweep it under the rug. So, he was not going to allow Qin Bai to have his way.
Before the eunuch walked out, he asked this with hesitation, “Mister, what if Thousand Mile Reach teacher cannot bring back the crown prince?”
“If that happens, we will summon Han Sen here,” King Jing Zhen said with a smile.
He actually hoped that would happen. Having standards was a sign of someone growing up. That meant, in his heart, he had already established his own rules. Even if the rules were wrong, it still meant his son was growing up.
Jing Zhen knew Qin Bai did not know what boundaries and rules were. At least, in front of Thousand Mile Reach, what Qin Bai stood for might not be so stubbornly upheld.
Thousand Mile Reach was a very serious grand teacher who was very n.o.ble.
King Jing Zhen requested him to be a teacher for Qin Bai, but Qin Bai was naughty and a bit of a simpleton. Not even the best teacher had the skills to make him a better person.
Qin Bai was always. .h.i.t by Thousand Mile Reach. It had happened since he was a child. G.o.d knew how many times Thousand Mile Reach had smacked him. One time Qin Bai made a big mistake. Thousand Mile Reach struck him 30 times with a ruler. Qin Bai’s hands were so swollen that he could not even eat.
While Han Sen was playing chess, Qin Bai and saw Thousand Mile Reach come in. He was so shocked that he jumped.
“Grand Teacher… Why are you here?” Qin Bai quickly stood up. His body was a bit stiff as he bowed before Thousand Mile Reach. His face twitched. He lowered his head, not daring to look at Thousand Mile Reach. He was like a schoolchild who had done something wrong.
Thousand Mile Reach looked at Han Sen. His personality was very serious. After hearing about it, he didn’t like what Han Sen had done.
He saw Han Sen just sitting there as if he did not care about anything. He thought even less of him.
Although Thousand Mile Reach did not like Han Sen, he did not say anything to him about it. He was not one of the king’s guards, and he was not there to observe. He did not capture anyone. He was only there for Qin Bai.
“Mister Crown Prince, you have skipped your homework for two days. To be successful, you must work harder. Do not just spend your time playing around. To be successful, you must put in the effort. You will not be successful if you keep on messing around. You will one day become the king of the Qin Kingdom. That is not something you should throw away, and you should not be this ridiculous. Why don’t you just come back with me?” Thousand Mile Reach grabbed Qin Bai’s hand, ready to depart the Feng family’s castle.
Qin Bai looked stiff. He looked at Han Sen as if he was asking for help. He did not want to leave, but he was scared of Thousand Mile Reach. He could not fight back.
Han Sen smiled at Qin Bai. He did not try to stop his departure.
It would have been great if Qin Bai could stay, but if he was taken, that was fine by him.
Although Han Sen asked for Qin Bai’s help, he did not put everything on Qin Bai. He was a spoiled and stupid child. Han Sen had other things planned. It didn’t matter to him if Qin Bai was taken.
Qin Bai was pulled away by Thousand Mile Reach. He kept looking back at Han Sen. He wanted Han Sen to say something, but Han Sen did not say anything. He only smiled at him.
For some reason, Qin Bai saw Han Sen smile and felt uncomfortable. He did not know where the courage came from, but he stood there and refused to leave.
Thousand Mile Reach Pulled Qin Bai very slightly. Qin Bai stopped. Thousand Mile Reach also stopped. He looked at Qin Bai and asked, “Mister Crown Prince, what is it?”
Thousand Mile Reach looked and Qin Bai, who had lowered his head. His face looked green and then white. He gnashed his teeth and said, “Teacher, I promised Han Sen I would stay with him. You always taught me that men need to keep their promises and only bad people break them. What a king says is very important. I do not want to be the bad guy who never keeps his promises.”
Qin Bai’s words were not spoken with confidence. He lowered his head and did not even look at Thousand Mile Reach, but his teacher looked surprised. Qin Bai had always been afraid of him. Now, he had mustered the courage to say that to him. This was something that had never happened before.
Thousand Mile Reach saw Qin Bai was scared, but he did not want to leave. He looked at Han Sen.
He could not force Qin Bai to leave. If he needed to use force, the king would not have asked him there.
Thousand Mile Reach nodded and let go of Qin Bai. He walked over to Han Sen, who was still at the chess table. He knew that Qin Bai alone would not have mustered such courage. Whoever gave him the courage had to have been the other young man. If he was able to persuade Han Sen, Qin Bai’s courage would vanish. Then, he could be taken away.