A Deity Judges a Case (continued)

Seeing their leader's discomfiture, one of the henchmen quickly stepped forward. "You're just making excuses. Isn't this obvious? If she wanted to give you something, why would she give you some daily necessities? If she wasn't trying to sell something, why would she bring a basket in? Everyone can see what's going on. What evidence do we need?"

Si Ming scoffed, "I never expected to hear Legalist School say that evidence isn't needed. It's incredibly ironic. So you only need subjective assumptions to convict people, without any evidence. I thought the France were all rigorous and self-disciplined, but they're not as impressive as they seem. Suppose you help an elderly person who has fallen and they try to extort money from you, can I use 'If you didn't push them down, why did you help them up?' to convict you?"

"You, you're just making excuses! You're calling a deer a horse!"

The henchman's face turned bright red, and he trembled with anger. He glared at the little girl with a hostile look, as if he were about to forcibly grab her.

"Enough!" the horse-faced boy shouted, "Let's go!"

"Young Master Guan, are you just going to let this go?"

"Are we going to stay here and continue to embarrass ourselves if we don't leave? He's right, we really don't have any evidence," the long-faced boy glanced at the other man, "If we don't even abide by the law ourselves, how can we expect others to?"

Although the two henchmen were resentful, since the "Captain" had spoken, they had no choice but to obey and reluctantly left.

Just as the horse-faced boy was about to walk down the stairs, he suddenly turned around and said to Si Ming, "My name is Guan Zhen, and I'm the dorm leader of this building. I was unprepared today and neglected you two, but next time might be different. Don't let me run into you again; your rhetoric won't work a second time."

He was neither arrogant nor humble, and even when he made harsh remarks, he maintained a high level of politeness, without the air of a loser, which didn't match his rugged appearance.

Si Ming stroked his chin and said, "Interesting. No wonder the France aristocracy has survived to this day. If everyone were as cultured as this gentleman, it wouldn't be surprising if it continued for another century."

Of course, this is obviously impossible. No matter whether they are rich or poor, noble or commoner, those with good manners are always a minority. The two lackeys were far inferior to Guan Zhen quality. Si Ming almost thought he was going to be forced to show off again. He had his fingers clenched, waiting to snap them.

Does a good education necessarily lead to good manners?

This is a false proposition. The question of "what constitutes a good education" alone could keep educators debating for a lifetime. For example, a rich kid receives guidance from renowned teachers and learns the most professional knowledge, but no one teaches him how to conduct himself in society. Can you deny that he received a good education?

If good education focuses only on morality and ignores professional knowledge, then there won't be much difference between the poor and the rich. After all, the principles of being a good person are mostly learned from parents and are related to the overall moral system of the community, not to cultural level.

It is undeniable that the average level of education among the wealthy is higher than that of the poor, but they are also more susceptible to temptations. Whether education restrains desires or desires corrupt education is a matter of opinion, and no one has actually done the statistics.

Murong Qing said, "I remember Senior Yan instructed us to try to avoid causing trouble."

Si Ming glanced sideways and retorted, "Are you saying I should just watch what happened and not say anything?"

"Of course not, it's just that perhaps we could handle it more tactfully to avoid making enemies..." Murong Qing frowned and thought for a while, then gave up, "Forget it, it's impossible to avoid making enemies, but you can't deny that you have a constitution that attracts trouble. It's impossible to complete this trial smoothly. Perhaps I should suggest that Senior Yan prepare to deal with trouble as soon as possible."

"Hey, hey, hey, don't describe me as so terrifying, like a walking disaster machine. Don't get the cause and effect backwards. It's not that wherever I go, trouble follows; it's that wherever there's trouble, I go. Like this trip, we came to stop the Heaven-Defying Society destroying the Divine Pillar. It's impossible to get through this peacefully without fighting." Si Ming protested, unable to agree to his reputation being slandered without cause.

Murong Qing, "The trouble I'm referring to is unexpected complications. I bet something unrelated to the Four Heavenly Divine Pillars will happen on this trip. Want to bet?"

Si Ming pounded his chest in anguish, saying, "You keep making bets all the time, where did that strict, serious class monitor from back then go?"

Feeling guilty?

Si Ming adopted a gentlemanly expression and said seriously, "Of course it's not that I'm guilty, it's just that betting is really not a good habit. Once you get hooked, it's like an addiction that's hard to break. I can't just watch you, class monitor, go astray and embark on a Road of No Return."

Murong Qing said unhurriedly, "When you're feeling guilty, you try to change the subject by spouting high-sounding platitudes. Everyone knows your habit."

Who does this "everyone" refer to?

"Of course, it's those people you can think of."

Si Ming couldn't help but reflect. Had he really made it so obvious? He always thought he was quite careful in his actions, the kind that subtly influences people... If everyone knew this, wouldn't he be able to fool people no longer?

No, there's no need to scare yourself. The only person who could see through this is Murong Qing. She is usually very meticulous and has the observational skills of a detective. It's normal for her to realize her own scheme. Others may not have such abilities.

As Si Ming was trying to comfort himself, he noticed someone tugging at his sleeve. Looking down, he saw it was the little girl who couldn't speak.

She bowed deeply to express her gratitude, then took a white chrysanthemum, which had been made into a bookmark, from the basket and gave it to Murong Qing.

Si Ming protested, "Hey, I'm the one who helped you, why didn't I get a thank-you gift?"

The little girl blinked, looking puzzled.

Murong Qing sighed and explained on her behalf, "Because I'm your girlfriend. Have you forgotten what you just said?"

It seems like this setting was just added on a whim...

The foolish words were about to slip out when Si Ming swallowed them back. In an instant, a brilliant idea struck him, and he seized the opportunity, saying, "That guy named Guan Zhen is quite prestigious and probably holds a high position on campus. If what happened earlier were to be spread through him, everyone would know we're a couple. If we deny it, firstly, he'll lose face and his dislike for us will deepen; secondly, it could easily cause unnecessary trouble. So..."

Murong Qing chimed in, "So, while we're in France, we'll continue pretending to be a couple. Just say so directly. I'm not unreasonable; why make up so many excuses?"

What Si Ming really wanted to say was that as long as we don't deny it, others won't keep staring at us all the time. But he's not stupid, so of course he can't correct us at this point. The only correct option is to nod in agreement. Choosing anything else would be foolish, especially when the other person is suppressing their embarrassment and pretending to be nonchalant.

The little girl tilted her head, not quite understanding the adults' complex emotions, and was completely confused. But the only thing she was sure of was that the older brother and sister hadn't argued; on the contrary, their relationship had gotten even better. So she smiled too.

Seeing the little girl's smile, even though she knew the girl didn't mean it that way, Murong Qing still felt like she was being teased. Her face flushed, and fearing she would notice, she quickly said, "The house is messy, and I still have a lot of things to tidy up, so I won't stay with you. Si Ming, go see her off to avoid any retaliation."

Even at a time like this, she still cared about the little girl's safety, which shows how thoughtful she was. However, after speaking, she hurriedly returned to her room and closed the door.

Si Ming smiled and said to the little girl, "I'll take you out. Remember, selling things door-to-door is not allowed in this dormitory building. We can only help you this time. We won't help you next time because this time you were unaware of your mistake, but if you repeat it, even the older sister from before won't sympathize with you."

The little girl nodded obediently, making Si Ming think to himself, "I wish I had such an obedient little sister."

The following day, as planned, Si Ming and his group were supposed to go and gather intelligence, or at least make contact with the Mohist Knight Guard's base in France and get to know some important intelligence channels. After all, the identity of the transfer student was just a cover, and Si Ming and Murong Qing weren't really there to attend school, so it wouldn't matter if all their classes were counted as absences.

However, when Si Ming went to the teachers' dormitory building, he learned that his master, Yan Jinghong, had gotten completely drunk the night before and had just returned this morning, sleeping for less than two hours.

Murong Qing sighed, "Even someone as self-disciplined as Uncle Yan could lose his composure like this. It seems he truly loves his eldest sister very much."

Si Ming, "Actually, this is good. Master is so busy in China that we hardly ever see him. He's constantly on the go. This is a good opportunity for him to rest. A balance between work and rest is the way to long-term success."

Without a guide, Ling Huanxi was clearly not good at communicating with people, so the planned itinerary had to be abandoned. After discussing it, the two decided to take this opportunity to visit the Codex University and experience the customs and culture of a foreign university.

"Now that we're in France, we certainly can't miss the court hearing."