Chapter 72 Poor Ma Song and Pomegranate

  Qin Lei sighed inwardly, he didn't believe that Huangfu Zhanwen, a veteran of over a decade, wouldn't understand the principle of avoiding public anger.

  It's not the time to be petty. He smiled and said to Huangfu Zhanwen, "Twenty military sticks are enough, I'm afraid the resentment can fill the entire North Mountain Ranch. Let's give a discount."

  "Huang Pu Zhan thought to himself: 'In that case, it's ten sticks.'"

  Qin Lei patted his shoulder and said in a low voice: "Just five rods will do. During the beating, arrange for the 200 award-winning people to return to camp."

  Huangfu Zhan's heart was secretly shocked, and he quietly asked: "Your Highness can guarantee that nothing will go wrong? If it gets out of hand, it won't be easy to clean up."

  Qin Lei narrowed his eyes and said: "Nothing can go wrong, go." Huangfu Zhanwen had no choice but to bow and turn around to leave.

  Qin Lei gazed at his departing back, his face exceptionally cold and stern. Someone approached from behind and draped a cloak over him. Qin Lei didn't turn around, only saying dryly: "Please invite Mr. Guantao to my place."

  Before going to the museum, he met someone first.

  Ma Liu was stopped by Zhong Likan as soon as he left the school field and told him that the prince wanted to see him, then led him into a small room to wait.

  Soon Qin Lei arrived, took off his cloak and threw it behind him, Shen Qing hurriedly caught it.

  Qin Lei's big knife was placed on a long bench, and he said directly: "I don't have much time. I'll only ask you one question, if you're not willing to answer, then leave."

  Ma Liu's face changed color for a moment, then immediately returned to normal and said: "The little ones will answer truthfully according to what they know."

  "Whose person are you?"

  Ma Liuqiang smiled and said: "Your Highness is joking, of course, I am your person and the Crown Prince's person."

  Qin Lei shook his head and stood up, instructing the guard beside him: "Cut it off." Then he walked towards the door.

  The guard beside him stepped forward, kicked Ma Liu who was still dizzy, and cut him down with a fierce face. Ma Liu suddenly shouted: "Wait!"

  Qin Lei seemed not to have heard, and had already walked to the door. The gleaming wooden knife didn't even pause as it chopped towards Ma Liu's neck. He could even feel the icy blade raising a patch of goosebumps on his neck. In that instant, Ma Liu finally felt the cold kiss of death, and discovered that he was not as strong-willed as he had imagined.

  "...I am the Taifu's..." Before he could finish, a sharp blade had already cut through his skin, and fresh blood was flying everywhere. There was also the smell of urine, as Ma Liu was finally scared into losing control of his bladder.

  Qin Lei still didn't turn back and eventually disappeared from Ma Liu's line of sight.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  When Qin Lei returned to his room, Guan Tao was already waiting there. He sat crookedly on the couch, carefully peeling a pomegranate, with an absorbed expression, and didn't even raise his eyelids when Qin Lei came in.

  Qin Lei saw his calm and collected appearance, inexplicably felt a surge of anger in his heart, slapped away the pomegranate that he had just peeled halfway in his hand, and sat down on the edge of the couch, not saying a word.

  Guan Tao didn't get angry, bent down to pick up the pomegranate, wiped it with his sleeve, and continued to peel it seriously. Qin Lei narrowed his eyes and looked at him for a while, then stretched out his hand and knocked the poor pomegranate to the ground again.

  Gong Tao finally lifted his eyelids and stared at him for a moment, then bent down to pick up the pomegranate that had been dropped twice, which was already somewhat tattered. He held it in his hand and carefully picked out the rotten parts. Then he thought of going to peel off the skin completely.

  Qin Lei didn't give him the chance, and for the third time, he slapped the pomegranate to the ground. He pressed his hands firmly down, not giving him a fourth chance to pick it up.

  Guan Tao looked at Qin Lei who was staring at him angrily and finally gave up trying. He said seriously to Qin Lei, "Let go." Qin Lei shook his head firmly.

  Guan Tao felt as if his hands were being pinched by iron pliers, the pain was unbearable. He forced a smile and said: "Why bother? Everyone is suffering, it's better to let go."

  Qin Lei clenched his fists tightly and growled in a low voice: "Devil..."

  Guan Tao might have been hurt too much and relaxed instead: "It's the devil in your heart. I just let you feel its existence."

  Qin Lei let out a few heavy sighs, and suddenly dropped his hands. In a voice that seemed to come from afar, he murmured: "You don't know, you don't know. I'm different from all of you. Our living environments are different, the education we received since childhood is also different. It's really painful for me to ignore people's lives, dignity, hope and other beautiful things." He fiercely grasped his hair, as if trying to drill out the devil in his heart.

  "Gentleman, no matter what kind of education you've received, what kind of environment you've been in. Even if it's not important what your heart holds onto."

  Qin Lei raised his head, gazing blankly at Guantao, and asked with a sneer: "If even the persistence in one's heart is not important, what else is more important in this world?"

  For the first time, Guan Tao locked eyes with Qin Lei. His gaze was clear and transparent, as if there wasn't a single speck of impurity in his heart. In a soft voice, he said: "It's to live on. To live on with dignity."

  Qin Lei was about to speak, but Guantao waved his hand and said: "Hear me out. I know that Your Highness is a wise person, and such people are usually not easily moved by words. They will throw all the unpleasant truths into the clouds as sophistry. I understand you, because I am also this kind of person."

  Qin Lei couldn't deny it, and he was even rarely convinced by himself.

  Guan Tao stood up straight, his expression more serious than ever before: "In the state of Qi, you treated me as a friend, and I also treated you as one. After coming to Qin, you treat me as a teacher, so I should speak straightforwardly without reserve, letting you avoid taking detours."

  Qin Lei remained silent. Guan Tao continued, "Your Highness, it's not boasting, but I've been gifted since childhood and have had the opportunity to study under the greatest mind of our time, my mentor, Master Shen Ji. I've learned the art of strategy and governance for eight years. Feeling that I'm already one of the top talents in the world, I wanted to make a name for myself. However, my mentor wouldn't allow it."

  Qin Lei knew that Guantao was sixteen years old when he came down from the mountain, and didn't expect this episode, gradually becoming more and more entranced.

  "My mentor said that my skills were already mature, but I was not yet a complete person. I hope to follow him for another three years and learn how to be a good person during this time." As he recalled the past, Guantao's face showed a clear expression of regret. "At that time, my teacher locked me in the room and wouldn't let me out. In the middle of the night, I wanted to sneak out quietly, but found that the window could be opened. At that time, all I thought about was going down the mountain, without thinking twice, I climbed out the window and snuck down the mountain."

  "Who opened that window, was it your master or your brother?" Qin Lei couldn't help but interrupt.

  Guan Tao nodded in approval, saying: "When I was in the capital, I said that Your Highness can always see through to the heart of the matter. After I came down from the mountain and was blown by the cold wind, I also understood this point. My wise teacher must have a plan in mind and will not make such low-level mistakes. At the time, I thought my teacher did it on purpose. I didn't even have the face to go back, so I went down the mountain and surrendered to the state of Qi."

  Qin Lei shook his head and said, "It won't be your master. He has been watching you grow up since you were a child, so he should know your character best. If he wanted to keep you, he wouldn't have opened that window. And if he didn't want to keep you, there's no need for him to waste his breath on you in broad daylight."

  Guantao sighed and said, "It's a pity that I used three years to figure this out after experiencing the coldness and warmth of human relationships. It must be my senior brother who was jealous of me. Ah, never mind." He adjusted his mood and continued to tell his story: "Think about it, when I first came down from the mountain, how arrogant and proud I was, looking down on everything. As soon as I left the mountain, I won first prize at the Poets' Convention, dominated the Couplet Pavilion, and righted wrongs for the people, relying on my righteous indignation to defeat the infamous 'Iron-toothed Copper-mouthed' lawyer in the capital. For a time, my reputation spread throughout the imperial city, and I was full of pride."

  Qin Lei knew that although it was used as a negative teaching material at this moment, it must have been the happiest day of Guantao's life.

  "At that time, I thought I was the greatest talent in the land of Qi, so I didn't deign to start from scratch like ordinary people, gaining the favor of the host and being recommended into officialdom. I always fantasized about being summoned by the emperor one day and rising to the top overnight. Therefore, I bluntly refused countless invitations from noble families, earning their resentment. The imperial court's annual selection and recruitment were controlled by these people, so I naturally had no chance of entering officialdom through this route. Even when the emperor and empress dowager heard of my talent and repeatedly wanted to summon me to the palace for an audience, they were all blocked. Over time, I gradually declined, forced by poverty and with some self-abandonment, doing some shameful things, ultimately becoming a laughing stock in the capital city."

  Guan Tao spoke in one breath, his mouth a bit dry. Qin Lei went to get him water, but he shook his head and said in a slightly hoarse voice: "Your Highness, I told you about the first half of my life, not to reminisce or make you laugh, but to explain two words."

  Qin Lei knew that this was a summary of his own failure in the first half of his life, and he listened attentively with a focused expression, afraid to miss a single word.

  Guan Tao looked at Qin Lei with an unprecedented seriousness and said: "Discipline."

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  Today's first update, as usual there will be three updates.

  Please collect and recommend! I'm willing to shed three liters of blood for all of you masters.