Chapter 51-Part 1

Qin Zhao was taken aback by the question.

No matter how you look at it, the Crown Prince’s question was too presumptuous.

He had just confessed his feelings, stating that this was the woman he was infatuated with. Even if the Crown Prince didn’t approve, he shouldn’t have asked if he had seen the chest of the Princess of the State of Bo in such a frivolous manner.

However, the Crown Prince had asked, and he couldn’t pretend to be deaf or mute. He had to answer truthfully, “When I tore her clothes, I saw the inner wrapping cloth and realized she was using it to conceal her figure. But her chest was snow-white, her neck slender, and one could see at a glance that she was a woman…”

Before Qin Zhao could finish speaking, Feng Liwu suddenly stood up and kicked him hard in the chest.

Qin Zhao, unprepared, was kicked to the ground.

He quickly kneeled again. The Crown Prince’s reaction was understandable since he had concealed Jiang Xiurui’s identity for so long.

But Feng Liwu wasn’t satisfied with just one kick. The scene of their panic when they left that room that day replayed in his mind, stirring a deep sense of anger.

He grabbed a nearby horsewhip and lashed out at Qin Zhao.

Qin Zhao didn’t dare to dodge, enduring the blows that made his body tremble.

After whipping him until his back was torn and bloody, Feng Liwu threw the whip aside.

He couldn’t continue beating him, or he might kill him. After all, Qin Zhao was an heir of the Qin family, and he hadn’t married yet. A descendant for the Qin family was still necessary.

However, he had to put an end to Qin Zhao’s lewd thoughts. Feng Liwu took out a handkerchief to wipe his hands, then threw it at Qin Zhao, kicking him to signal him to wipe the blood off his face.

Then, Feng Liwu took a deep breath and said, “You truly have the guts to tarnish your ancestors’ merits! Since you knew she was a woman, why didn’t you report it sooner? How could you let such a deceitful person stay by my side?”

Qin Zhao was speechless and lowered his head in guilt, crying out, “Your Highness, she is just an orphan abandoned by her father, forced to disguise herself to avoid entering the palace. She has no ill intentions. If she did, she wouldn’t have saved you personally…”

Feng Liwu kicked him down again and said, “You are really bewitched by that woman! I have to help you calm down on your father’s behalf. The border is in urgent need of defense. I will send you to the border defenses for a few years to reflect. When you have figured it out, ask your father to tell me!”

At this moment, Qin Zhao didn’t care about his future. Even if he was demoted, he wanted to ask the Crown Prince to grant him that woman.

But Feng Liwu, no longer willing to listen to his entreaties, angrily stormed out of the camp.

He usually hid his emotions.

Besides, the Qin family was a great support for him, and he shouldn’t have lost his temper like that.

However, the cold wind outside the tent gradually cleared his mind. He walked along the riverbank, asking the guard behind him about the time.

Calculating the time, it was when Young Master Jiang would be finishing her studies, so he got into the carriage to pick her up.

When Feng Liwu arrived, the academy was holding a debate.

The various academies had sent their best debaters to argue on the high platform.

The Ding branch was short of talent, and only Jiang Xiurui could represent them. She wore a loose scholar’s robe with a three-inch bamboo crown on her head, exuding the vigor of youth.

Today’s debate topic was “Establishing Virtue to Rule the World,” a common slogan among scholars.

But Master Mufeng had asked the students to debate from both sides.

One side argued that virtue was necessary to rule the world, while the other claimed that one could rule without virtue.

“Establishing Virtue to Rule the World” was more in line with common sense and easier to argue.

But Jiang Xiurui was unlucky and drew the “ruling without virtue” side.

Her opponent from the Tiangan branch was none other than Ziyu, who had tricked her during Master Mufeng’s tea party.

Ziyu, a distant relative of Marquise Jing, was an outstanding student of Tiangan branch, known for his intelligence.

Originally, the Ding branch students wouldn’t have faced him.

But Jiang Xiurui had somehow arranged it, so they ended up debating each other.

Although it was Marquise Jing’s idea to trick Jiang Xiurui last time, Tiangan students already looked down on Ding branch students. So, Ziyu felt no shame in tricking Jiang Xiurui, seeing it as a lesson for an ignorant foreign student.

He hadn’t expected Jiang Xiurui to abandon the purchased poem and compose a superior one herself.

Ziyu assumed she must have bought it from someone else, thinking Jiang Xiurui couldn’t have such talent.

With this contempt, Ziyu didn’t even look at Jiang Xiurui, casually sipping his tea.

On the high platform, the debate was intense. Feng Liwu, having nothing else to do, watched from behind a pillar.

Ziyu started the debate, having already participated in several rounds. His opening remarks were smooth and practiced.

After he finished, it was Jiang Xiurui’s turn to continue, followed by Ziyu’s counterattack.