Hu Xiaotian said, "What would I know about the grand principles of governing a country? The Palace Gardens Bureau alone has already worked me to exhaustion."
Ji Feihua knew the lad was being modest. He sipped his tea and asked softly, "Has Quan Dean come looking for you lately?"
Hu Xiaotian shook his head. "No!" He was telling the truth. Ever since Liu Yuzhang's death, Quan Dean had never taken the initiative to contact him again.
Ji Feihua said, "His treacherous ambitions haven't died. He's plotting against me again." He slowly set down his teacup and looked at Hu Xiaotian with a smile. "Do you still resent me?"
Hu Xiaotian said, "At first, I did, a little. But after coming back, I gradually calmed down. I asked myself what I would do if I were in your position, Commander. If someone threatened my life, perhaps I would have no other choice either." This was precisely where Hu Xiaotian's cleverness lay. Had he claimed to bear no resentment, Ji Feihua certainly would not have believed him. Putting it this way made it easier to win Ji Feihua's trust. In fact, even at the end, he had never explicitly said whether he resented him or not.
Surprisingly, Ji Feihua did not press him. His fingers, slender as spring scallions, tapped lightly against the teacup. "Your father has been quite diligent in his duties at the Ministry of Revenue."
Hearing him mention his father, Hu Xiaotian's heart tightened. Was Ji Feihua reminding him that he held his father's life in his hands?
Ji Feihua said, "I'll arrange for you and your father to meet sometime soon."
Hu Xiaotian realized that Ji Feihua truly had exceptional qualities. His approach in this matter was the exact opposite of Quan Dean's. Quan Dean had strictly forbidden