Only then was Emperor Zhou satisfied enough to dismiss them.
"Jier, you must never lose the courage to start over just because you stumbled once."
Emperor Zhou held his hand as they strolled through Taiji Palace.
"Jixia Academy was where I studied. I wanted you to see what sort of people made up the highest circles of Chang'an, too. Well, now you've seen the last of them."
"A bunch of short-lived fools."
A son inherited his father's calling; father and son followed one another. Emperor Zhou had always harbored a terrifying sentiment: he wanted the little Crown Prince to visit every place he had visited and experience everything he had experienced.
The darkness in human nature made Emperor Zhou curious whether an exact reproduction of his upbringing could produce a child identical to himself.
If he guided a piece of flesh and blood split from his own body to the same crossroads of fate he had once faced, what would the little Crown Prince choose?
He had once eagerly anticipated such a future.
But as his own flesh and blood grew up, Emperor Zhou found himself unable to bring himself to do it.
He did not want the Crown Prince to suffer the anguish and grievances he had had nowhere to voice in his youth.
"Last night, I killed everyone who bullied you."
"Minglu Academy is the complete opposite of Jixia Academy. All its students come from poor families."
"You'll enroll at Minglu Academy. No one will dare bully you."
"I killed many people. I will spare none of the relatives of Jixia Academy's students. Jier, do you think those people deserved to die?"
When the old geezer asked your opinion, he usually already had an answer in mind, or the matter was already underway.
Wu Junji calculated the number and clicked his tongue faintly. At least ten thousand.
There had to be innocent people caught up in it.
"They deserved to die."
Emperor Zhou asked, "Because they bullied you, Jier?"
"No. Because you wanted them dead, Father."
Something stirred in Emperor Zhou's mind. "Then am I cruel and tyrannical?"
The little Crown Prince's expression was hidden beneath his bandages. His eyes, their blacks and whites sharply distinct, were like the clearest gems beneath the heavens. He said:
"Father, you are wise and enlightened."
Emperor Zhou roared with laughter, the sound piercing the clouds. He lifted his son high and spun around in excitement. Heaven had treated him well!
It had actually given him an heir of one mind with him!
Wu Junji would not play the pure white lotus, the great saintly savior, weeping and pleading not to implicate innocents for his sake.
Nor would he feel so guilty that he took the karmic burden upon himself, believing all those people had died because of him.
How could he possibly have enough charm to make the old geezer slaughter two thousand wealthy households in a fit of rage on his behalf? He was merely seizing the opportunity to reshuffle the powers at play. The swallows wanted to fly into the homes of ordinary folk now.
Yesterday, he had taken him out of Jixia Academy; today, he had already booked his next destination. Jixia Academy was full of great clans, while Minglu Academy was full of humble families. Wasn't the meaning obvious enough?
It was not just the imperial family. Any great Lineage made major decisions not for personal desires, but after deep consideration.
A purebred brute could not hold an imperial throne steady.
Emperor Zhou might say that if the empire fell, then so be it, that it was bound to happen sooner or later. If it truly fell, he would go madder than anyone.
"I once wondered why you weren't a girl."
After all, a soft little princess wheedling would surely be sweeter than a stubborn little Crown Prince.
"If you were a girl, I would choose the finest husband in the world for you and keep you in Chang'an City for the rest of your life, by my side."
The little Crown Prince asked without the slightest courtesy, "Father, have you ever heard the saying, 'If you love someone, give her power'?"
"Do you love me, Father?"
If Wu Junji had been a girl, he would not have been a beggar in his previous life. He would have ended up in the Falling Flower House instead.
The old geezer was airing his deranged ideas to him here. Did he think he would be moved to tears?
He only thought the old geezer was a thoroughbred lunatic.
If he were a girl, he would not have General Summoning or the power he held now. He would not even have had the chance to take part in the General Summoning ceremony. He would never have known the truth of this world.
Emperor Zhou froze for a moment, then laughed even more freely.
Holding his son, he planted two smacking kisses on his eyelids.
"I'll give it to you! Whatever you want, I'll give you!"
"You and I, father and son, were meant to guide this realm together!"
Wu Junji rolled his eyes.
Emperor Zhou's string of questions had completely erased the little stirrings of emotion Wu Junji had felt the night before.
Before you continue