Chapter 308: The Smuggler Boss
Let’s just say it, Huo Ningxue is a person who stands by her word.
She promised Young Master Sang yesterday that Huo Ming would be taken off restriction today, and now Huo Ming is off to school with the students from Class Tianzi No. 1.
As for Young Master Sang, he has no Dao Lun class today, so he’s leisurely wandering around the National Master’s estate like a slacker, casually looking for opportunities to ask about Li Shanyan’s news.
Unfortunately, he hit a dead end.
Li Shanyan’s usual living quarters are deep inside the National Master’s estate, completely cut off from the outside world.
Especially lately, now that he’s closed himself off at home, nobody, not even the Empress, can catch a glimpse of him.
Young Master Sang tried to find a way to sneak in, but it turned out the entire National Master’s estate was enveloped in a huge formation, with the inner courtyard being the formation’s core. The difficulty of breaking in increased exponentially.
Sneaking in quietly is basically impossible.
But Young Master Sang isn’t disheartened.
After all, he’s currently working in the National Master’s estate, so as soon as Li Shanyan comes out, he’ll definitely know.
Once he was done moping, he thought about how Class Tianzi No. 1 should be finishing up, and he headed over to their classroom.
As he reached the door, he spotted Huo Ming surrounded by a bunch of people.
“Little Prince, what brings you here?”
“Did His Majesty really allow you to join our classes?”
“Is Little Prince getting used to studying? If there’s anything you don’t understand, feel free to ask us!”
Faced with the flattering and insincere concern from the high-ranking students around him, Huo Ming just curled himself up, looking a bit shy as he hung his head at his desk.
“No… no thanks…” His voice came out timidly.
Young Master Sang walked over and cleared his throat, and the students instantly went super respectful: “Teacher Sang!”
“Teacher Sang, I have a question, can I ask you?”
“Me too! Me too!”
“Don’t crowd, I’m first! Teacher Sang is mine!”
Young Master Sang, knowing these students were itching to ask him something specific, coughed lightly: “The Little Prince is here, so mind your manners.”
Once he dismissed the students, he turned back to Huo Ming with genuine concern: “Little Prince, did you sleep well last night?”
Huo Ming’s mouth twitched a bit as he stared up at Young Master Sang with those dark circles under his eyes.
Got it.
Looks like he barely slept at all.
“Hey, no matter how hard you study, you have to take care of your health. Early to bed, early to rise makes a person healthy~”
Young Master Sang smiled cheerily: “So, did you finish your homework? I need to check it.”
“…I finished.”
Huo Ming nervously pulled out a stack of test papers from his bag and handed them over to Young Master Sang.
Young Master Sang gave them a quick glance.
…Even though it was clear he rushed it, at least he put some effort into it.
This little prince really is dedicated.
“Great.” Young Master Sang nodded with satisfaction: “Since that’s the case, I shall give you today’s reward.”
“Reward?” Huo Ming blinked in confusion, “There’s a reward for doing homework?”
“Of course.”
Young Master Sang laughed, ruffling his little head: “My teaching motto is simple—you get rewards for doing well and punishments for doing poorly. If you don’t finish your homework, the teacher will punish you. If you do, you’ll get a reward.”
Huo Ming seemed surprised to learn there could be a reward for completing homework.
After all, he’s just a kid, and the mention of a reward brightened his eyes right up.
“What, what’s the reward?”
“Does Little Prince like to play games? What games do you usually play?”
Huo Ming hesitated, then replied: “I play hide-and-seek or kicking the ball with a few uncles, or throwing pots…”
“Eh. That’s so boring.”
Young Master Sang looked around, then slowly pulled out a small square box from his pocket.
“Have you seen this before, Little Prince?”
Huo Ming shook his head.
“This is called a Communication Device. Don’t let its small size fool you; it’s packed with all sorts of fun stuff. Super entertaining.”
Huo Ming, curious, took the Communication Device and soon became completely engrossed in it under Young Master Sang’s guidance.
Young Master Sang watched Huo Ming’s excitement like a kid with a new toy, feeling quite emotional.
Just as he guessed.
Huo Ming had been protected by Huo Ningxue since he was little and hardly had any playmates, let alone heard of a Communication Device.
This thing is pure overload for a little prince who hasn’t seen much of the world.
Though Young Master Sang knew better than to take the risk of giving him a Communication Device; what if the Empress found out? That would be trouble.
So he asked, “Is it fun, Little Prince?”
“Fun.”
“Good. But this reward only comes after you finish your homework on time; then the teacher will let you play with it for a while. You’ve got to return it afterward.”
“And,” Young Master Sang cautioned, “don’t tell anyone about this, not even your sister. You know how adults hate kids getting distracted with toys.”
“If your sister finds out, she won’t let you play with it anymore.”
Huo Ming was so immersed in the dazzling wonders of the Communication Device that he nodded seriously.
Good. Young Master Sang was satisfied to pat his little head.
After playing with him for about half an hour, Huo Ming’s eyes started to look a bit reluctant when Young Master Sang took back the Communication Device.
“Teacher, what about today’s homework?” he even asked proactively.
“Since you worked so hard yesterday, I’ll assign you a bit less today.”
Young Master Sang casually handed him a few test papers, and Huo Ming immediately took them, excitedly running off to do his homework.
Watching the little prince’s retreating figure, Young Master Sang couldn’t help but smile.
Suddenly, a cheeky voice chimed in beside him: “Brother Sang, why are you getting chummy with the little prince?”
“I told you already, call me Teacher Sang at school, not Brother Sang.” Young Master Sang didn’t even look back and casually asked Young Master Cao, “By the way, how did it go with what I asked you to ask your dad?”
“I asked!”
Young Master Cao nodded repeatedly: “My dad was shocked at the profits you offered; he thought you were a scammer.”
“Only after I sent over a few boxes of high-grade spirit stones did he finally believe me.”
Young Master Sang remained unfazed: “So what does your dad think?”
“My dad is still hesitant. This whole thing is technically banned by the authorities. Though everyone knows it’s mostly talk, no one wants to stir up trouble, especially someone like my dad who is a high official.”
“Fear is easy to handle.” Young Master Sang waved his hand, “Tell your dad he can bring in friends as he likes. As long as they join, each will contribute five hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones.”
“Just convey that to him, and he’ll get the hint.”
Young Master Cao, being the smart cookie he is, quickly brightened up: “Brilliant, Brother Sang! The more officials we bring in, the better. That way, we’re all in the same boat.”
“If something goes wrong, we can take one or two down, but if it’s ten or eight protecting each other, even the Emperor won’t find evidence easily.”
Young Master Sang just replied lightly: “Talk more positively. There’s no such thing as if.”
“Remember, this matter is very important to me; there can’t be any mistakes.”
“In a month, I want every household in Tianlang City… to have a Communication Device hidden away.”
