Chapter 18: That’s All You Two Talked About?
Chapter 18: That’s All You Two Talked About?
Capital City.
A room in a certain club.
Steam rose, and the fragrance of tea drifted through the air.
Two people sat in silence across from each other.
“Wang Fu is most likely already dead.”
“Truly useless. A Golden Body can’t even kill a crippled Second Order…”
“Someone from that side must have taken action.”
Another stretch of silence followed.
Zhao Tianping steadily brewed the tea, rinsed the tea leaves, and poured a cup for the other person.
Then he looked up at the other person. “This matter is my fault.”
The other person was silent for a moment before saying, “There was nothing wrong with you targeting him. The mistake was not directly going for the kill.”
Zhao Tianping sighed and did not try to explain anything.
Because what the person across from him said was right.
“Leng Mingda cannot be saved. With him alone, it’s not enough,” the person across from him said.
A flash of anger appeared on Zhao Tianping’s originally calm face. He took a deep breath and nodded. “I understand.”
“Regarding those matters targeting Ling Yi, revoke them. Issue a public apology, saying you were unaware and were misled by those below you. Remember, when apologizing, apologize properly. Absolutely no sarcastic or insincere wording,” the person across from him reminded.
“I understand,” Zhao Tianping said.
“All the people involved in this entire matter must be dealt with severely. Restore Ling Yi’s reputation and credit record. Finally, offer a sincere apology and earnestly request them to return for the Graduation Ceremony to receive their diplomas,” the person across from him added.
After a moment of silence, Zhao Tianping asked, “What if they refuse to come back, if they still reject it?”
The person across from him said flatly, “Then they are being ungrateful. A bunch of people who would stomp their own alma mater to death are also a pack of wolf cubs.”
Zhao Tianping asked again, “What if they do come back?”
The person across from him thought for a moment. “Then offer another sincere apology in person and ask for their forgiveness for your mistake.”
As he spoke, the person across from him added, “Adopt the lowest posture, demonstrate the utmost sincerity. This is the only way to salvage your image and minimize the losses.”
Zhao Tianping took a deep breath. “I understand.”
The person across from him offered some encouragement. “Actually, it’s not a big deal. Although this failure caused significant losses, we also managed to probe and learn some things. Also, regarding Wang Fu’s death, the Great Chu side won’t let it go easily. So, later, think of a way to have Ling Yi sent as an envoy to Great Chu.”
“As an envoy? Promote him?” Zhao Tianping couldn’t help but raise his head, frowning slightly as he looked at the person across from him. “Aren’t you afraid it might cause even greater losses?”
“Tianping… although your abilities are strong, you’ve worked in the education system for too long,” the person across from him said with a light laugh. “There are countless ways to deal with a person. The method you used before was actually the lowest of the low.”
Zhao Tianping remained silent.
The person across from him said, “You hold a grudge against Shen Xiaowu and wanted to take the chance to ruin his foster son. That’s fine. But your mistake was choosing to act against him at that particular time.”
“But that was the best opportunity…” Zhao Tianping finally couldn’t resist defending himself.
The person across from him shook his head. “That was the worst opportunity! I know you want to say that external sympathy and public opinion are meaningless; once the deed is done, nothing can change. But the facts have proven that it still was changed. Changed by a group of people you also overlooked.”
“Those damn…” A flash of anger passed through Zhao Tianping’s eyes.
“That group of people have already signed agreements with the Military. Just watch, within a month, they will all join the Military. Some will go directly to the Military Headquarters, others will enter the major army groups. They are a treasure, but unfortunately, they belong to Shen Xiaowu, they belong to the Military, not to us.”
Having said that, the person across from him stood up and walked towards the door. At the doorway, he glanced at Zhao Tianping. “You can rest assured, everyone hasn’t lost confidence in you because of this incident. We look to the future, not the present.”
Zhao Tianping’s expression eased slightly. He stood up and nodded. “Regarding this matter, thank you.”
“Don’t mention it!”
After saying that, the person turned and left the room.
Zhao Tianping sat on the sofa, silent for a long time. He picked up a cup of tea that had gone cold and drank it in one gulp, murmuring, “An envoy to Great Chu?”
…
Spring City, in the small cafeteria of the City Guard Army.
Gu Tong was hosting Ling Yi and his group of classmates.
He Qin, Luo Xue, Zhang Lei, and Sun Pengfei had also just found out that their usually lazy Class Monitor had become the Chief Instructor of the Spring City Guard Army.
But thinking about it, it made sense. Teaching and nurturing had always been something Ling Yi enjoyed doing.
He also had the ability for it.
As for what he taught and who he nurtured, that wasn’t important.
And here, it was probably difficult to cultivate “talents” like Liang Shanming or Yang Tie anyway.
During the meal, Gu Tong spoke privately to Ling Yi. “That person, after you gave me that information, I finally managed to check that person’s identity. His name is Wang Fu. He was indeed a classmate of Zhao… at the Great Chu Academy. However, his public records show he went missing over a decade ago.”
Ling Yi nodded and said, “Probably became someone specializing in dirty work.”
Gu Tong hummed in agreement, then said, “Your classmates, have they all joined the Military? Is there any possibility of keeping a few here?”
Ling Yi looked at Gu Tong. Gu Tong rubbed his nose a little sheepishly, then said with a bit of annoyance, “Fine, forget I said anything.”
Ling Yi felt quite speechless. This guy not only had a big appetite but also real nerve!
You, a mere Captain of the Public Security Brigade of the Spring City Guard Army, actually dare to compete with the Military Headquarters and those army groups for people…
Even if you are from the Gu family, those big shots you’d be snatching people from would definitely dare to rush to your doorstep and curse later.
After dinner, a few classmates who had also booked rooms at the same hotel felt it wasn’t quite enough. So, Big Brother He Qin took Old Seven Sun Pengfei and Old Eight Zhang Lei out to arrange for more food and drinks, leaving Luo Xue and Ling Yi waiting in the room.
But no matter how you looked at it, it seemed like those guys deliberately created some private space for the two of them.
“What are your plans next?” Luo Xue plopped unceremoniously on the sofa, shamelessly throwing her two pale, long legs onto the coffee table.
“I want to rest for a while. As you can see, I’m currently an external Chief Instructor for the Spring City Guard Army. Food and drink aren’t a worry, life is pretty relaxed,” Ling Yi said.
Luo Xue slightly frowned. “That’s no way to go on. And I know you. You won’t give up on avenging Principal Shen. With your current situation, if you want revenge but don’t want to rely on external help…”
Ling Yi looked at Luo Xue. “I’ve recovered.”
“Probably just… Huh?” Luo Xue looked up in surprise, her face showing shock as she looked at Ling Yi. “What did you say? You… recovered?”
Ling Yi nodded. “Yes. Currently, only Senior Brother Gu Tong knows about this.”
Luo Xue was dazed for a moment, then asked as if bewitched, “Does Qingqing know?”
Ling Yi shook his head.
Luo Xue said very happily, “That’s really great! What exactly happened? When I saw Old Man Chen last night, I privately asked him. He still firmly said the injury to your Acupoints couldn’t recover…”
“He’s an idiot!”
A sentence suddenly popped into Ling Yi’s head.
Ling Yi was almost scared into crying out. He responded in his mind, “Could you not always be so startling? Only I can hear your voice. Every time you suddenly pop up, you scare me!”
“Timid as a mouse,” the consciousness in his head snorted coldly.
From Luo Xue’s perspective, this internal communication with the being in his head appeared as a pained, hesitant silence.
So she smiled and said, “Forget it, I won’t ask how you recovered. But this is really good news! Excellent!”
Ling Yi snapped out of it and gave Luo Xue an apologetic smile.
This question was indeed difficult to answer.
Old Man Chen was a Divine Physician, not some self-proclaimed master, a charlatan.
If he judged someone as crippled, there must be strict reasoning behind it.
So it really wasn’t easy to explain why he suddenly recovered.
He couldn’t exactly say a meteorite latched onto me, not only drilled into my body but gained sentience, and even worse, it’s a pervert with a voice changer who said he likes you and Su Qingqing…
That’s impossible to explain!
“Since you’ve recovered, you should even more consider finding a powerful backer. As for cultivation resources… relying on yourself to slowly acquire them isn’t very easy!”
Luo Xue racked her brains, trying to think if there was any place particularly suitable for Ling Yi. But after much thought, she still felt joining the army was most suitable.
“There’s something you, who never pays attention to politics, probably haven’t noticed,” Luo Xue looked at Ling Yi. “The Crown Prince has begun participating in governance. Did you know?”
“Crown Prince?” Ling Yi raised an eyebrow.
Great Qin was a hereditary system, with the Monarch as the head, assisted by the Cabinet, jointly governing the land.
For over two thousand years, the struggles between the Monarch and Cabinet had been incredibly dramatic, enough to fill a lengthy novel.
Especially in modern times, the conflicts between the two sides had intensified, becoming somewhat irreconcilable.
However, for the people of Great Qin, the supremacy of the monarch’s authority was a concept deeply ingrained in their bones, almost like a totem, difficult to change with the times.
Especially since the current Monarch was wise and heroic in his youth, diligent and striving for good governance.
Although he suffered a setback in the matter of recapturing Eastern Sea City, his reforms in other areas had achieved remarkable results.
For example, boosting the economy, greatly enhancing Great Qin’s comprehensive national power; for example, combating corruption, earning cheers from the common people.
Only now, in his old age, he had also begun to enjoy praise and glossing over problems, allowing the Cabinet to seize back some power.
It was also precisely for this reason that the Military, which the Monarch had strongly supported, was being suppressed by the Academic Faction, unable to lift its head.
“Speaking of this, it reminds me of something. At yesterday’s press conference, why were there people from the Cabinet present? I really don’t understand that,” Ling Yi asked.
Luo Xue laughed. “Looks like the great Class President isn’t completely insensitive to politics.”
Ling Yi glanced at her. “Speak properly!”
Luo Xue said, “Those were people from the Crown Prince’s side. Also, as for who the Crown Prince is, you probably can’t guess.”
Ling Yi thought for a moment and said, “If you put it that way, then I should be able to guess who it is.”
Luo Xue made a dismissive sound. “I’m practically spelling it out, okay.”
Ling Yi said, “It’s that goofball from our class who used the pseudonym Chen Hao back then, right?”
Luo Xue rolled her eyes at him. “He is the Crown Prince, show some respect. Correct, it’s Chen Hao, who attended our class for half a semester freshman year and then suddenly disappeared. His real name is Qin Hao. He is the Monarch’s third son. Previously, he served as City Lord of a small city in the south. Now he has returned to the central Cabinet. Although his position isn’t high for now, he is in charge of several key departments. This incident was greatly helped by his intervention.”
Ling Yi slightly frowned. “Wouldn’t that make him enemies among the big shots of the Academic Faction?”
Luo Xue looked at him. “You’re overthinking it. From start to finish, the tone set for this matter was seeking justice for a classmate! No matter how much impact it caused, how much turmoil it stirred up, even if it formed a storm because of it, it never strayed from this basic tone. However, Qin Hao’s willingness to help this time wasn’t solely for you. It was also a signal released to the outside, a kind of probe.”
Ling Yi said wryly, “That’s why I really don’t like getting involved in such things.”
Luo Xue pursed her lips. “A mission bestowed by the times; you can’t escape it.”
At that moment, He Qin, Sun Pengfei, and Zhang Lei came back from outside carrying a bunch of food and drinks.
Zhang Lei asked casually, “Old Nine, what were you talking about with our Class Beauty?”
Ling Yi said, “We were talking about the Crown Prince.”
Zhang Lei was startled, his face full of disappointment. “Damn. The brothers went through the trouble of creating private space for you two, and that’s all you talked about?”