Chapter 582 - 585: You Just Wait
Meanwhile, inside Duke En’s State Duke Mansion, the Duchess held her precious grandson, tears streaming down her face.
"Look at what they did to Hong’er! Even if he’s the Princely Heir of the Regent Prince Mansion, he can’t be so lawless!"
Bao Hong huddled in his grandmother’s embrace, crying right along with her.
His parents stood to the side, their expressions grim.
Bao Hong was their only son. They could hardly bear to say a single harsh word to him, yet now he had been beaten. How could they possibly accept it?!
All the crying was giving Duke En a headache.
He slammed his hand on the table and scowled.
"All right, that’s enough! Stop crying. It’s just a squabble between children. Is it really worth all these tears?"
That only made things worse. As soon as he spoke, the Duchess began to wail even louder.
"Easy for you to say! A squabble between children?
That little brat from the Regent Prince Mansion was clearly throwing his weight around!
Otherwise, how could a boy that young possibly beat our Hong’er so badly?!"
Duke En frowned. "Then what do you suggest we do? Surely you don’t want Hong’er to go and beat up the Princely Heir of the Regent Prince Mansion?"
Bao Hong’s eyes lit up when he heard that.
He really did want to give Li Xun a good beating. It was the only way to vent his frustration.
But he soon heard his grandmother say,
"A beating isn’t necessary. Just have him apologize to our Hong’er and promise it won’t happen again. That’ll be enough."
It wasn’t that the Duchess was being merciful. She was simply terrified of the Regent King’s fearsome reputation and was afraid that making a scene would provoke his retaliation.
Bao Hong was deeply disappointed. He whined, "I don’t want his apology."
The Duchess hugged him and burst into tears all over again.
"I know you’ve been wronged, but there’s nothing we can do. He has a powerful father, so we’ll just have to swallow this grievance for now."
At the thought of the formidable Regent King, Bao Hong didn’t dare say another word.
Duke En considered it.
’An apology is no big deal,’ he thought. ’The Regent King surely wouldn’t fret over such a trivial matter.’
His heart ached as he looked at his precious grandson.
"All right, here’s what we’ll do. Tomorrow, I’ll go to the palace and speak to the Empress Dowager about this. We’ll see how Her Majesty wishes to handle it."
With this, he had agreed to stand up for his grandson.
The Duchess finally stopped crying. "I’ll go with you tomorrow."
Duke En nodded.
Although he was the Imperial Uncle, it was merely an honorary title. He was no match for the Regent King, who wielded true power.
If he were to approach the Regent King directly, the man would likely not even give him the time of day.
He had to rely on his relationship with the Empress Dowager and have her step in to handle the matter.
Bao Hong was the Empress Dowager’s only grandnephew. She had doted on him since he was a child and would surely be willing to stand up for him.
As it turned out, he was right.
The next day, they went to the palace to request an audience with the Empress Dowager.
After hearing their story, she agreed to help without the slightest hesitation.
She not only felt for her grandnephew, but also wanted to use this opportunity to put the Regent King in his place and remind him of his status as a subject, lest he forget to show the Royal Family proper respect.
...
When Li Xun arrived at the Imperial College, Ke Lang, who sat to his left, immediately and obediently handed over his homework.
Having dodged a bullet yesterday, Ke Lang was in an especially good mood and was particularly attentive in class.
At lunchtime, Ke Lang deliberately scanned the room for Bao Hong, then chose a seat as far away from him as possible.
But to his surprise, he had barely sat down when Bao Hong approached him.
Ke Lang’s face went pale with fright. He scrambled to his feet, trying to get away.
Bao Hong deliberately stuck out his foot, tripping Ke Lang.
Ke Lang went sprawling, flat on his face in front of everyone.
Bao Hong roared with laughter.
The scene drew the attention of everyone in the dining hall.
Seeing everyone staring at him, Ke Lang was overcome with shame and indignation, and the rims of his eyes turned red.
He struggled up from the floor, intending to find another table.
But Bao Hong shouted in a malicious voice,
"If any of you dare to sit with him, you’re making an enemy of me!"
At his words, the few students who had felt a pang of pity and were about to invite Ke Lang to their table immediately changed their minds.
They all knew what Bao Hong was like.
He was petty and loved to bully others.
It wasn’t worth offending such a difficult person for the sake of someone they barely knew.
Plenty of tables had empty seats, but whenever Ke Lang approached one, the students already there would immediately claim the spot was taken.
Ke Lang was too embarrassed to force the issue, so he could only turn and look for another spot.
This repeated several times, but he still couldn’t find a place to sit.
The lunch period was almost over.
If he couldn’t find a seat soon, he’d have to eat standing up.
Everyone else would be sitting while he stood alone. What’s more, the teachers would see him. The mere thought of that scene made him burn with unbearable shame.
Seeing that no one was willing to take Ke Lang in, Bao Hong felt his intimidation had worked and couldn’t help but grin even more smugly.
Just then, Ke Lang happened to be passing Li Xun’s table.
Suddenly, Li Xun called out to him.
"Come sit here."
Ke Lang thought he must have misheard.
He stopped in his tracks and stared at Li Xun in a daze.
"Are you talking to me?"
Li Xun jutted his chin. "Who else?"
His followers immediately took the hint and scooted over, making just enough room for one person.
Ke Lang was utterly astonished.
’In his mind, Li Xun had always been a little tyrant. He never did his homework and loved to pick fights. Yet, the teachers never dared to do anything about it, letting him do as he pleased.’
’How could such an arrogant and tyrannical person extend an olive branch to him at a time like this?!’
Ke Lang stammered,
"Wh-why?"
Li Xun adopted a matter-of-fact tone. "You do work for me, so you’re one of my guys. Of course I’m going to have your back."
Ke Lang wanted to ask what work he had done for him.
Before he could ask, he remembered: he did Li Xun’s homework every day.
Seeing him hesitate, Li Xun frowned impatiently.
"What are you still standing there for?"
Afraid he would get angry, Ke Lang quickly sat down.
Seeing this, Bao Hong was so furious he was practically hopping mad. He pointed at Li Xun and threatened,
"Are you trying to pick a fight with me?!"
Li Xun grinned as though he’d heard a joke, revealing a set of menacingly white teeth.
"That’s right. What are you going to do about it?"
And indeed, there was nothing Bao Hong could do to him.
This fact only made Bao Hong even more furious, as if he might explode on the spot.
Just then, the teachers began to file in.
Bao Hong could only suppress his rage and spit out one last, vicious threat.
"You just wait!"
Li Xun just sneered, completely unfazed by the threat.