Chapter 675 Putting a Sack on Your Head (First Update)

Xiao Heng sighed and rubbed his forehead in exasperation.

This girl...

It's impossible to stop her from going; she agrees readily to your face but can slip away the moment she turns her back.

Don't be fooled by the fact that Gu Jiao is the most easygoing person at home; that's because she's extremely tolerant of her family. She applies a completely different standard to outsiders.

The Shaolin monks that Han Shizi brought in injured all the polo players from Tianqiong Academy. If she could swallow this insult, she wouldn't be Gu Jiao.

She was a wolf cub facing a fully grown tiger; even if she couldn't defeat it, she would still bite off a piece of its flesh.

This is the spirit that is etched into her very bones.

Don't say anything about avoiding conflict with the Han family to prevent retaliation. From the moment Han Che coveted the Horse King, the feud between the two sides was officially established.

People from inferior countries have no status in superior countries; the Han family can simply take away whatever they want.

But Gu Jiao is definitely not a lamb that can be slaughtered at will.

No one can take her away.

She wouldn't allow it, and neither would Xiao Heng.

...

That concludes the morning classes.

In the prodigy class at Lingbo Academy, Master Lü finished reciting the last poem and then ended the class.

Since they are all children, most of them are picked up by adults.

Xiao Jingkong was the youngest in the class, but he was also the most mature-looking. While the other children rushed out, he remained seated, calmly packing his schoolbag.

In reality, what he meant by "tidying up" was just stuffing the textbooks in haphazardly, and Xiao Heng would have to reorganize them for him when he got back.

Even so, Xiao Jingkong still closed very slowly, slower than a tortoise.

The academy's prodigy class had a rule that students could only leave after all the teachers had left.

They're all just kids, I'm worried something might happen.

Master Lü sat in the lecture hall, watching the little guy slowly pack his books. The dignified Confucian scholar was so anxious that he was shaking his leg.

He wasn't hungry, nor did he have anything urgent; he was simply captivated by the child's slow-motion movements.

Can't you hurry up a bit?

After waiting a while longer, Master Lü seriously doubted that even half a cup of tea's time had passed and the child still hadn't received half of it.

Master Lü could no longer hold back and said to Xiao Jingkong, "Jingkong, let me help you put it away."

Xiao Jingkong said seriously, "No, I have to do my own things. I'm not a child anymore."

Master Lü was about to lose it. "If you're not a child, then who is? You're the youngest in the class, okay? I've been a teacher for twenty years, and this is the first time I've had such a young student!"

Master Lü stretched out his legs and changed his sitting posture.

Xiao Jingkong continued tidying up slowly.

Master Lü changed his sitting posture again.

Xiao Jingkong is still tidying up.

Master Lü's blood pressure was about to spike.

Finally, Xiao Jingkong finished tidying up.

Master Lü breathed a sigh of relief, thanking heaven and earth—

Splash—

Xiao Jingkong emptied the books out of his bag again: "I can't find something."

Looking at the mountain of books piled on the table, Master Lü finally rolled his eyes and fell backward!

Xiao Jingkong was taken away by Master Cheng.

Master Cheng led Xiao Jingkong out of the classroom and said to him in a kind tone, "I'll take you out for lunch today."

Master Cheng was a teacher at Lingbo Academy and had profound calligraphy skills. Xiao Heng asked him to teach Xiao Jingkong how to write.

Xiao Jingkong gets first place in all subjects, but his calligraphy is terrible, like a defeated soldier. He has truly inherited Gu Jiao's talent in this area.

"Oh." Xiao Jingkong's reaction was very calm.

Master Cheng: "..."

Why does this child seem a bit listless today?

The polo match was over, and he left before he even saw Jiaojiao. His little soul left with Jiaojiao, and he is now a soulless little Jingkong.

...

After coming out of the pavilion, Prince Han and Prince Ming went to the entrance of the academy, where Prince Ming's carriage and Prince Han's horse were already waiting.

"I'll take you back to your residence first," said Prince Han.

"Well then, thank you very much, cousin," Prince Ming said with a smile.

Han Shizi mounted his horse and escorted Prince Ming back to the Crown Prince's residence.

Prince Ming lifted the curtain of the carriage window and said to Prince Han, "Cousin."

Han Shizi glanced at the road ahead, then turned to look at him: "What is it?"

Prince Ming said, "I haven't finished speaking yet. What do you mean by saying that His Majesty no longer cares about his birthday?"

Han Shizi looked ahead with deep eyes and said, "Either he has forgiven the Crown Princess, or he has completely severed his father-daughter relationship with her. Judging from the current situation, the latter is more likely."

Prince Ming muttered, "Then why hasn't the Emperor deposed the eldest grandson yet?"

When the king deposed the crown princess and exiled her to the imperial mausoleum, it did not affect the eldest grandson of the emperor. However, the eldest grandson of the emperor insisted on following his mother.

The king then said, "If you dare to leave, I'll disown you!"

The eldest grandson of the emperor has passed away.

Logically, this meant that the king had severed ties with the monarch. The monarch never mentioned the eldest grandson again after that day, so many people believed that the monarch no longer recognized this grandson.

But the emperor did not issue an edict to demote the eldest grandson to a commoner, so was he still the eldest grandson?

No one dared to question the king, nor did anyone dare to speculate on his thoughts. After all, the title of "eldest grandson" was an unlucky one, so the crown prince simply ordered his subordinates to keep quiet and not to call Prince Ming "Your Highness Eldest Grandson."

Prince Ming snorted, "I was born to be the eldest grandson of the emperor, but the Crown Princess brought back a child from outside, saying that the child is half a month older than me, and has stolen my status as the eldest grandson of the emperor!"

He dreamed of being addressed as His Highness the Grandson of the Great Sage.

Han Shizi said solemnly, "You don't need to think about him anymore. An imperial edict is also a royal decree. His Majesty said he doesn't recognize him, and that means he won't. You are the eldest grandson of the Great Yan Emperor, and the entire Han family is your support."

That's right, the entire Han family is his backing. How dare a bastard with an unknown father compete with him?

Thinking of something, Prince Ming asked mysteriously, "Cousin, do you think that rumor is true?"

Han Shizi glanced at him and asked, "What rumors?"

Prince Ming gestured to the Imperial Guards accompanying him, and they surrounded the carriage, preventing anyone from getting close.

Prince Ming then whispered, "He is a child that the Crown Princess brought back from outside; he is not her biological child at all."

If this is true, then that guy is completely out of the running for the position of eldest grandson.

Prince Han frowned slightly and said seriously, "It would be best if the Prince did not speak such words carelessly. It concerns the reputation of the royal family. If the King were to blame you, the Prince would not be able to bear the responsibility."

The thought of the capricious and ruthless ruler sent chills down Prince Ming's spine.

Han Shizi pursed his thin lips. This cousin was good in every way, and had a high talent for learning. However, he was a bit spoiled and lacked composure.

"How is the Prince's study going lately?" he asked.

Prince Ming said, “That’s good. The Grand Tutor just praised me, saying that I write well. But I don’t understand why, despite my talent, my father doesn’t allow me to display it in front of my grandfather?”

This was the king's quirk; he disliked people who were too intelligent.

Han Shizi could only say, "Since His Highness the Crown Prince has given this order, there must be a reason for it. The Prince should comply."

In fact, the Crown Prince did not only have Prince Ming as his son, but he was the legitimate son, and the Crown Princess was also a member of the Han family. Therefore, the Han family valued Prince Ming highly and did not want him to make any mistakes.

Prince Ming sighed. Prince Han always spoke so succinctly that he couldn't get any information out of him.

Prince Ming didn't want to speak anymore and was about to lower the curtain when suddenly, a familiar female figure appeared on the street.

He recognized her at a glance as the maid he had sent to watch over Miss Gu at the counter. The maid looked at him as if she had something to report.

He mustn't let his cousin know about his pursuit of the female students at Canglan Academy, or his cousin will definitely report it to their father, and then he'll be in big trouble.

He coughed lightly and said to Han Shizi, "Cousin, I... want to go to the restroom."

Han Shizi nodded.

Prince Ming ordered his carriage to stop and walked to a teahouse that his maid had just entered.

After confirming that Prince Han could not see him, he called the maidservant to his side: "Why did you suddenly come to see this prince, Miss Gu? Is there something you need?"

The maid said respectfully, "Miss Gu said she wants to see you."

Prince Ming's eyes lit up: "Is this true?"

The maid smiled and said, "It's absolutely true. The event had already ended and Miss Gu had left, but suddenly she came back and said that she was grateful to the Prince for booking the arena for her. She painted a picture and wanted to give it to the Prince in person."

Prince Ming laughed excitedly: "She's finally willing to see me! And she even wants to give me a gift of thanks! It seems that revealing my identity was the right thing to do!"

The maid said, "You are the eldest son of the Crown Prince and the eldest grandson of the Emperor of Great Yan. She is merely a person from a lower country. How dare she refuse your pursuit?"

Prince Ming's eyes darkened: "You mustn't treat her so lightly!"

The maidservant quickly lowered her head: "This servant misspoke."

With his hands behind his back, Prince Ming glanced at the bustling crowd and laughed merrily, "As long as she submits to me, what difficulty would it be for me to grant her a status from a superior nation? Yuebinlou, is it?"

The maid hesitated for a moment, then advised, "Your Highness, Prince Han is outside. Wouldn't it be inappropriate for you to go see Miss Gu like this?"

There was indeed some trouble with his cousin, but Prince Ming had been pursuing the beauty for a long time, and she wouldn't even give him a glance. He was worried that if he missed this opportunity, she would ignore him again next time.

After much deliberation, he finally mustered the courage to lie to Prince Han.

"Cousin, I met a friend at the teahouse. You don't need to see me off. I'll go home by myself in a bit."

After saying this, he suppressed his nervousness and tried his best to appear open and calm.

Han Shizi seemed not to have noticed anything amiss and nodded: "Then be careful."

Prince Ming smiled and said, "I will. There are so many Imperial Guards!"

After Han Shizi left, Prince Ming couldn't wait to go to the nearby Yuebinlou Restaurant.

Xiao Heng waited in a side room on the second floor, which was closer to the street.

Prince Ming entered the house in high spirits, while six Imperial Guards stood guard at the door.

Don't underestimate these six people; they are all top-notch experts from the Crown Prince's residence.

Otherwise, Xiao Heng wouldn't have found a way to lure them away from Prince Han.

However, even if Prince Han is alone, he is not so easy to deal with. His martial arts skills are too high, so high that even the Dragon Shadow Guards are far from being his match.

Therefore, some auxiliary means are needed to weaken his strength.

Prince Han rode his horse and turned into the alley.

He wasn't riding the Black Wind King. The Black Wind King was too powerful; if it walked down the street, it would frighten other horses into running away, causing unnecessary accidents and panic.

He took a few steps, then suddenly tightened the reins, turned his head slightly, and glanced behind him out of the corner of his eye: "Who goes there? Come out!"

On the rooftop, Gu Jiao flicked her finger, and three crabapple blossom needles shot out!

Han Shizi leaped off his horse, flipped in mid-air, and three crabapple needles swiftly embedded themselves into the wall beside him!

What amazing light-footed skills! What incredible speed!

Gu Jiao looked at him calmly. Han Shizi, who had dodged the pear blossom needle, did not fall back onto his horse, but stood steadily on the ground.

He looked warily in the direction from which the crabapple needles had come, but Gu Jiao didn't give him a chance to see herself clearly and shot out the crabapple needles again.

This time there are ten.

Han Shizi drew his sword from his waist, channeled his inner strength, and unleashed streaks of sword light, deflecting every single one of the Tanghua needles.

Gu Jiao stopped shooting the crabapple blossom needles and started shooting darts instead.

The darts were also made by Nan Shi Niang, and they were even more powerful than the Tanghua needles.

However, Han Shizi blocked them all without lifting a finger.

How much Nan Shi Niang doted on him can be seen from the hidden weapons she used. Gu Jiao shot more than ten kinds of hidden weapons, some non-poisonous and some poisonous, but none of them successfully injured Han Shi Zi.

Having roughly gauged the opponent's strength, Han Shizi scoffed disdainfully, lightly touched the ground with his toes, and swung his sword towards the rooftop.

Gu Jiao's lips curled slightly, and she fired another round of hidden weapons with both hands at the same time.

Han Shizi showed no fear and swung his sword to strike!

Bang!

The six black fire orbs exploded without mercy!

The Crown Prince of Han was stunned by the explosion, and his body froze in mid-air!

He had actually flown up to the rooftop and seen the masked boy who had ambushed him.

The boy was only a few feet away from him.

Now!

Gu Jiao coldly raised her leg and kicked him down!

With a loud bang, he crashed back to the ground like a small mountain!

The hard bluestone pavement was smashed and cracked, the sword flew out of his hand, hit the street corner, and stuck into a crack in the wall!

Han Shizi was in excruciating pain. He clutched his chest and stood up with a fierce look in his eyes.

Gu Jiao narrowed her eyes slightly.

With so many black fire beads and the double dose of sleeping potion, how could he still get up?

Then I'll give you six more Black Fire Pearls.

"What a waste of Black Fire Pearls."

Gu Jiao threw six more black fire beads at him, and then used half a dose of neurotoxin before she could finally knock him down.

However, a tuft of his hair still stubbornly sticks up, as if it were his unyielding will!

"hehe."

Gu Jiao slapped his hair flat and then quickly stuffed a sack over his head!

(End of this chapter)