...
Looking at the group of students below the stage who were as excited as if they had been injected with chicken blood, Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling, who were standing at the back, exchanged a glance and saw the shock and speechlessness in each other's eyes.
So... this is how they managed to fool me?
What was clearly banditry involving extortion of protection money was transformed by this kid into a patriotic movement of "serving the country and the people" and "shame leading to courage" through a series of spiel.
This brainwashing ability... is even more terrifying than his strength!
Xue Qinghe, who had just arrived at the edge of the square and was about to rush up to confront the culprit, froze on the spot upon hearing the deafening roar.
Looking at the little figure on the stage, who was passionately persuading a group of spoiled rich kids to get excited, and then looking at the aristocratic students below the stage who were usually arrogant but were now blushing and acting like they had been injected with chicken blood.
Xue Qinghe's mind went completely blank.
No way?! This is allowed?!
Can collecting protection money really inspire patriotism?!
...
Even after the speech ended, the atmosphere in the square remained enthusiastic.
Xuan Hao jumped off the platform with satisfaction and waved to the three people behind him who were still dumbfounded:
"Alright, stop daydreaming and get to work."
"The three of you are in charge of collecting the money.
Remember, everyone must be registered, and you must keep a clear record of who paid and who didn't.
This will be our proof of providing protection services in the future."
"in addition..."
Xuan Hao pulled Na'er, who was eating candied hawthorns, over and pressed her behind the table where the accounts were kept.
He said with a serious expression:
"Na'er, you just sit here and keep an eye on things."
"If any of those three dare to slack off or embezzle our hard-earned money, write it down and tell your brother later, and he'll dock their pay!"
Na'er blinked her big eyes and nodded vigorously, looking obediently like she was "guaranteed to complete the task": "Yes! Don't worry, brother, Na'er can count!"
Dugu Yan and the other two: "..."
Are you the devil?!
Sending a five- or six-year-old girl to supervise the construction? Are they afraid we'll embezzle this so-called "protection money"?
Although they had a million complaints in their hearts, under Xuan Hao's ambiguous gaze, the three of them obediently went to set up the table and collect the money.
After arranging everything, Xuan Hao was just about to find a place to rest when he was stopped by Xue Qinghe, who had a dark expression on his face.
"Come with me."
Xue Qinghe lowered her voice, grabbed Xuan Hao's arm, and dragged him to a secluded grove of trees next to the square without saying a word.
"Your Highness, what kind of behavior is this, pulling and tugging like this in broad daylight?"
Xuan Hao pulled his hand away from Xue Qinghe's, straightened his slightly wrinkled collar, and said with a look of disgust, "Why can't we say what we want to say over there?
Why do we have to go into the woods?"
"You know what kind of behavior this is?!"
Xue Qinghe pointed to the long line forming in the distant square, and the noble students scrambling to pull out their money, feeling his head pounding:
What exactly do you want?
"You turned the entire academy upside down, beat up all the noble children, and even publicly collected protection money... Is this how you repay the royal family?"
"What? Is Your Highness dissatisfied?"
Xuan Hao leaned against the tree trunk, casually plucked a willow twig and toyed with it in his hand, saying nonchalantly:
"I've taken so many treasures from the old emperor, I can't just do nothing, can I?"
"Look at the former Heaven Dou Royal Academy, what a mess it was!
It was lifeless, all it did was compete and enjoy itself, and everyone was arrogant but actually a bunch of good-for-nothings."
Xuan Hao pointed to the square in the distance where people were still queuing up to pay, a slight smile playing on his lips:
"Take another look at it now?"
"Although they were scared by my beatings and misled by me, at least... they now have fighting spirit, a sense of crisis, and even the motivation to become stronger."
"Isn't this a good thing?"
"Good news?"
Xue Qinghe laughed angrily, "Then what's the meaning of the protection fee?"
"One hundred gold soul coins per person per month! With five hundred people in the entire academy, that's fifty thousand gold soul coins!
That's six hundred thousand a year!"
"What you're doing is no different from robbery!!"
"Robbery?" Xuan Hao looked at Xue Qinghe with disdain.
"Robbery is nowhere near as quick as this for making money.
Besides, robbery is illegal, but this is legitimate education funding."
"Besides, you heard it yourself just now.
Everyone was willing to give and take.
It was a mutually agreeable transaction.
How can you call it robbery? That sounds awful."
"and..."
Xuan Hao shrugged.
"What is one hundred gold soul coins to these noble scions who are either rich or noble, or whose families even have fiefdoms?
Is it the cost of a few meals?
Or the tip for listening to a song at a brothel?"
"I'm saving them money so they don't squander it."
Xue Qinghe rubbed his temples, feeling that trying to reason with this kid was just asking for trouble.
"No matter how you try to justify it, the impact is too bad."
Xue Qinghe said in a deep voice, "This is, after all, the Royal Academy, representing the face of the royal family.
What will outsiders think of you doing this? What will the nobles think?"
"If you think it's going to have a bad influence, then I'll leave?"
Xuan Hao spread his hands and made a move to walk out.
"Anyway, I've already taken the things.
If you think I'm in your way, I'll leave now and I definitely won't look back."
"you--!"
Xue Qinghe's face darkened, and he grabbed him.
Walk?
If this kid leaves now, wouldn't the three national treasures from before be wasted?
Wouldn't the old emperor be furious with him?
Moreover, it wasn't easy to establish some contact with this kid.
If he gets away, it will be difficult to win him over in the future.
"Who let you leave?"
Xue Qinghe took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and tried to resolve the problem in another way:
"Isn't all you want money?"
"I'll give it to you!"
"How much do you want?
100,000?
200,000?
Just name your price, and I'll give it to you! Stop doing this shameful thing!"
In Qian Renxue's view, money is really just a number to her.
If a problem can be solved with money, then it's not a problem.
However.
Upon hearing this, Xuan Hao's previously nonchalant expression vanished instantly.
He slowly turned around, his sky-blue eyes turning incredibly cold as he stared intently at Xue Qinghe, his gaze filled with a chilling intensity that sent shivers down one's spine.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince."
"I remember telling you this before."
"I will find a way to get what I want. Even if I have to steal, cheat, or rob, I will still get it through my own abilities."
"But I would never accept charity from anyone."
"Especially this kind of... handout given with a sense of superiority, as if it were a beggar's handout."
Xuan Hao stepped forward, staring intently at Xue Qinghe:
"Don't use that tone of voice, and definitely don't talk to me like that."
"Last time at the hotel, I let you off the hook because of your mother."
"This time, I'll tolerate you one more time, out of respect for your princely status and those three national treasures."
"Things shouldn't happen more than three times."
Xuan Hao's eyes narrowed slightly:
"If you dare to put on that arrogant attitude towards me again..."
"Don't blame me for beating you so badly your own mother wouldn't recognize you!"
After saying that, Xuan Hao flung Xue Qinghe's hand away, snorted coldly, and strode towards the square.
Xue Qinghe stood there, watching the departing boy, his face turning pale and then red.
Was she wrong again?
She thought he was greedy, so she gave him the money directly.
But in his eyes, this became charity, a trampling on his strange self-esteem.
This kid...
What kind of freak is it exactly?
Despite being a shameless bandit, he possesses, in some strange ways, stronger principles and pride than anyone else.
...
The Imperial Palace of Heavenly Dou, Imperial Study.
"This is utter nonsense!
This is absolutely... hahahaha!"
To everyone's surprise, when news of Xuan Hao collecting protection money and verbally abusing all the noble children at the Tian Dou Royal Academy reached Emperor Xue Ye's ears, the majestic emperor not only did not get angry, but instead put down the memorial in his hand and let out a hearty laugh.
"Your Majesty, this..."
The Education Commissioner Meng Shenji, who came to report, stood below, looking embarrassed and uneasy.
"Xuan Hao's actions were indeed a bit... a bit excessive.
Now many nobles are complaining in private, saying that he beat their children too badly and even took money from them.
They really can't get over it."
"Can't get through it?
What's so hard to get through?"
The Snow Night Emperor stopped laughing, picked up his teacup, and took a sip:
"Dream God, you're getting more and more confused as you get older."
"Look how old Xuanhao is!
He's not even nine years old!"
"And those so-called aristocratic elites who were beaten down by him?
The youngest must be twelve or thirteen years old, and the oldest are even over twenty!"
"A group of young men in their twenties were beaten to a pulp by an eight or nine-year-old child, and they still had to obediently pay protection money...
If those aristocratic parents had any brains, they should have kept their mouths shut and shrank back at such a shameful thing!"
"Anyone who dares to cause trouble for the academy over this matter is announcing to the whole world that their offspring is a good-for-nothing, not even as good as an eight-year-old child!"
"I cannot afford to lose face, and they cannot afford to lose face either!"
Upon hearing this, Meng Shenji paused for a moment, then nodded with a wry smile.
really.
The problem is that Xuan Hao is too young.
If Xuanhao were an adult, this would be considered bullying the weak.
But he was just a child; that's what they call "genius crushing mediocrity."
What can you say besides admitting you're outmatched when you're beaten to tears by an eight-year-old?
Read 20+ chapters ahead at Patreon
patreon.com/TaroYamato
patreon.com/TaroYamato