Orange's expression was quite interesting.
Shock, surprise, a bit of panic and bewilderment, resentment...
Why is this even involving calling the parents?!
"Ju Zi, you should wait here." Ju Zi looked at An Zhen with a resentful gaze. "Otherwise, if we wait and miss Teacher Xuan who is looking for us, it might cause some trouble."
"Okay." An Zhen nodded. "Then you can wait here."
"Your Highness..."
"Forget about that matter," An Zhen interrupted Ju Zi. " Even if Dai Hao is going to die, it will take some time. The sudden death of the commander-in-chief of the three armed forces responsible for guarding the border with the Sun Moon Empire could easily provoke certain people and even break out into war."
He doesn't yet have enough influence with the Douluo Three Kingdoms. Once he succeeds as the Sea God Pavilion Master, he'll have enough power to persuade the Original Douluo Three Kingdoms. After that, by eliminating Dai Hao, he'll be more confident in stabilizing Xu Jiawei and preventing the outbreak of war.
Orange asked, "Don't you want to unify the entire continent? With your power, plus the national strength of the Sun Moon Empire, conquering the Original Douluo Three Kingdoms is only a matter of time."
"I prefer to achieve this goal peacefully rather than through war," An Zhen said calmly. "As long as I live, the Sun Moon Empire will not wage war against the Original Douluo Three Kingdoms."
No matter how noble the reasons, they cannot conceal the countless vibrant lives lost and the families torn apart in the war.
"Orange," An Zhen said, "You're somewhat similar to a friend of mine in the past."
An Zhen and the others left, leaving only a few voices echoing in Ju Zi's ears. "Whether you seek revenge or not, don't let hatred blind you. It will distort your mind and make you no longer who you are."
A beautiful figure stood at the gate, head bowed, silent.
Xu Tianzhen looked at An Zhen suspiciously, "You seem to care about her quite a bit."
"A poor girl," An Zhen explained. "A few words of advice before she goes to extremes might change her life drastically. It's just a small favor."
A seemingly casual action by someone else can change another person's life. An Zhen has a deep understanding of this, whether in persuasion or other areas. As the Regent of the Sun Moon Empire, he must be very careful with his words when speaking to those outside his immediate circle. A single, careless remark from someone in a superior position could lead to someone's utter ruin.
Walk towards Mingde Hall.
No one noticed along the way.
Until they entered the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
Some noisy arguments broke out.
"Why?"
Why was Nana fired?
...
"Hmm?" An Zhen noticed the word " Nana ".
Look in the direction from which the sound came.
Several students were surrounding a middle-aged woman in a teacher's uniform. The noise attracted many students from Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, who joined in. In the center of the group, a tall girl stood beside the middle-aged woman with her head bowed. Her wheat-colored skin looked healthy, and she had a slender figure, over 1.8 meters tall, making her appear exceptionally well-proportioned. Her long, dark red hair was tied into a spirited single ponytail, but now it hung low, like a lone wolf that had been defeated in the battle for the wolf king and driven out of the pack.
The girl was carrying a small bag and a spirit tool, and she wasn't wearing a school uniform; she looked like she was about to leave.
"This is a decision made by the academy," the middle-aged woman said solemnly, but she did not explain the reason. She only gave a vague explanation: "Sixth-year student Nana has seriously violated school rules and is now being expelled."
"Everyone." The girl called Nana raised her head, revealing a forced smile, and interrupted the students around her before they could speak, "I did seriously violate the school rules, and the director has already pleaded with the academy leaders on my behalf. This result is already very good for me."
On the other hand,
An Zhen's rubbing is complete.
"Spirit?"
'It seems to be Nana, the ghost from the original story.'
In the original story, this girl has a tragic past. Her mother was forcibly recruited into the Holy Spirit Church when she was young, and under its control, killed her father in front of her. After regaining her senses, she committed suicide. However, the Holy Spirit Church captured the couple's souls, threatening Nana that only by joining the church could she save them. By chance, Nana learned from her mother's spirit that the Holy Spirit Church only wanted to turn them into puppets. She then rescued her parents with Huo Yuhao.
Go take a look.
Having just resolved the entanglement of a girl with a tragic past, I've now encountered another one.
Tsk, what can I do when I can't stand seeing sad things happen in front of me?
"Wait here for a moment." An Zhen put Xu Tianzhen down from his arms. "I'll go check on things and take care of something."
"Go and play the hero to save the damsel in distress?" Xu Tianzhen looked at An Zhen with suspicion.
An Zhen shook his head. "Go and see what's going on. If it's as I think, then it's just a small favor to save a poor girl's life."
"Make way." An Zhen dispelled the spell and walked towards the surrounding crowd.
"Your Highness?"
"Your true highness!"
All the students turned around.
"And His Majesty." A student spotted Xu Tianzhen not far away.
"Greetings..."
"Alright, alright." An Zhen's spirit power steadied the group who were about to bow, his smile calm. "I just noticed there seemed to be a little argument here. Did something happen?"
"Your Highness!" The moment she noticed the newcomer's appearance, the female student named Nana was overwhelmed with excitement, surprise, reverence, and above all, gratitude. She felt like a devoted believer meeting their deity.
"Um..." The middle-aged teacher's words caught in his throat.
"Everyone, please disperse," An Zhen said, looking at the group of students. "This concerns the privacy of others."
"Yes," the students replied.
Having finally met her idol, a legendary figure, she had no choice but to obediently leave since His Highness had already spoken.
"Tell me about it," An Zhen said, looking at the middle-aged teacher.
"Yes." Seeing the students leave, the middle-aged woman breathed a sigh of relief. Some things were truly inconvenient to say in front of others; if the students knew, it would have a huge impact on " Nana." She felt pity for this student with a pitiful background, but she couldn't change the academy's decision; she could only do her part.
"Your Highness, it is like this." The middle-aged woman began to recount the past events, "A few months ago, after you led the Empire in the war against the Holy Spirit Church, some Holy Spirit Church strongholds, large and small, in Mingdu were also uprooted. Afterwards, the officials searched for any survivors who had infiltrated the Empire based on some information found in the Holy Spirit Church."
"Two months ago, we discovered Nana, a student from our academy, who is a member of Holy Spirit Church." Seemingly worried that An Zhen might have a bad first impression of Nana, the middle-aged woman quickly continued, "But Nana didn't do anything wrong. Her mission was to continue infiltrating the academy until she was discovered. She didn't cause any harm to the academy, which is why the academy's higher-ups ultimately decided to let the matter go leniently."
" Nana didn't turn herself in at the time because she was frightened by Empire's swift and decisive actions. She's a kind-hearted girl, hardworking in her studies, respectful to her teachers, and well-liked among her students, as you just saw. I originally planned to take Nana away quietly, but a few sharp-eyed students spotted me and quickly gathered around."
"I see." An Zhen's face still held a gentle smile as she nodded slightly at the teacher who had tried her best to speak up for Nana. "So the academy's final decision was expulsion?"
"Yes." The middle-aged teacher nodded. " Nana is very outstanding. She broke through to Spirit King at the age of seventeen. She can't make spirit tools, but she can use various spirit tools skillfully. She was even selected by the hall master as a seed player for the next Soul Fighting Tournament."
"But she has a criminal record after all, which has cost her the opportunity to advance further. I originally planned to release her quietly, not wanting the other trainees to know about her past. With her abilities, she could live a good life as an ordinary Empire resident."
An Zhen looked at Nana and asked, "What are your thoughts on this?"
"I… Nana is very grateful for the academy's teachings and this decision." Her voice choked with emotion, the spirited Nana suddenly knelt down, her head trying to kowtow, but An Zhen held her up with his spirit power.
Nana didn't raise her head, determined to complete the action, her voice choked with gratitude, "Please don't refuse. Perhaps you don't know, but you are a benefactor to Nana's family. Nana has no way to repay you, and I'm not exactly beautiful, but Nana really wants to repay you, anything is possible."
Then, from Nana's choked voice and the middle-aged teacher's supplementary information, An Zhen learned the whole story: the ghost Nana's background was the same as in the original plot. In the previous war between the Sun Moon Empire and the Holy Spirit Church, the Holy Spirit Church stronghold that imprisoned her parents' souls was completely razed. Afterwards, the souls of those unfortunate people corrupted by the evil power of the Evil Soul Master were still sent to An Zhen, where he personally purified them. However, there were so many souls sent at the time that he simply didn't have time to listen to each soul's story.
"I see." An Zhen nodded gently. Then Spirit Power lifted Nana, who was about to kowtow, up. "If you really want to thank me, then live well. I believe that's what your parents in heaven would want."
"Yes!" Nana nodded excitedly, tears welling in her eyes.
An Zhen continued, "As for expulsion..."
From the perspective of Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, simply expelling the individual without revealing their identity is already more than fair. However, from other perspectives…
"Dismissal is fine." An Zhen shook his head and said, "You didn't do anything wrong. Besides, the Empire failed to protect its people and instead allowed Evil Soul Masters to run rampant during that period. That's the Empire's fault, so how can you be blamed?"
"This is His Highness's decision," An Zhen said, looking at the middle-aged teacher. "The matter is settled. Go and convey this to the academy. Tell Nana to go back and continue her studies. Have the academy issue another statement saying that some things were mistaken and that today's events should not affect Nana's studies and life."
"Your Highness is wise," the middle-aged teacher said excitedly. This pitiful girl had finally gained a bright future, and she naturally didn't want her student to lose it because of it.
With tears welling in her eyes, Nana murmured softly, "Your Highness." This event might not have affected others much, but for Nana, it was a life-saving act. In her time of helplessness, a deity reached out to her, guiding her back onto the path of light.
"Study hard and live well." An Zhen smiled slightly. "You still have a bright future ahead of you."
After saying that, An Zhen left.
It was just a small favor.
An Zhen came to Xu Tianzhen and the other girls' side.
"Sigh, another pitiful soul," Xu Tianzhen sighed softly. They weren't far apart, and could hear the conversation clearly. While the main culprit behind all this was the Evil Soul Master, her father, the former ruler, was...
An Zhen gently pinched Xu Tianzhen's cheek and whispered, "We are powerless to change the past, we can only work harder in the present to create a bright future."
"Hmm." Xu Tianzhen nodded. The little empress looked up at An Zhen, " In the Empire, cases like that students are not uncommon. Should I issue a decree to change the handling method?"
"Different situations require different approaches," An Zhen said. "Don't let bad people take advantage of loopholes, and don't wrong an innocent person."
If we were to make arrangements for this, it would be a considerable amount of work, but that's how it should be done to govern the Empire.
Back to Mingde Hall.
Gu Yuena and Huo Yutong have finished their classes.
An Zhen had set up a kitchen at Huo Yutong's request. Huo Yutong would come home as soon as class was over and go straight to the kitchen to cook. For Huo Yutong, seeing his beloved enjoy the food he made was a very happy thing.
"Yu Tong ~" An Zhen slipped into the kitchen and hugged Xiangxiang, who was chopping vegetables.
rub rub~
"Hmm~" Huo Yutong let out a pleasant groan.
"Brother An Zhen, don't make trouble." Huo Yutong was still holding a kitchen knife. Although she said this, her petite body skillfully changed position in An Zhen's arms so that An Zhen could hold her more comfortably. " Yutong still has to cook."
Hehe~
...
On the other hand,
After leaving Mingde Hall, Xuan Ziwen found Ke Ke at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy and explained the orange incident. The two then headed to the Sun Moon Imperial Palace, where they easily found the girl standing at the main gate.
"Ju Zi!" Ke Ke jumped into her best friend's arms, looked up at Ju Zi's face, and said, "Ugh, why didn't you tell me about something so important?"
Facing her best friend, Orange smiled sincerely and explained with a hint of helplessness, "It's just because I don't want you to worry."
'I want revenge, but am I being a bit extreme?' Looking at the worried look on Ke Ke's face, this thought suddenly popped into Orange's mind. She still had someone who cared about her so much.
Orange looked at Xuan Ziwen who was walking over, her head slightly lowered, "I'm sorry, Teacher Xuan."
"Let's go back first." Xuan Ziwen sighed softly. "Don't keep things to yourself in the future. After all, your teacher is an Eight-Ring Soul Instructor with considerable power. Wouldn't it be better if we all worked together to find a solution than if you did it alone?"