newbobooks Chapter 589 Now that I know, is it too late to be afraid?
Chapter 589 Now that I know, is it too late to be afraid?
Gu Junze walked into the woodshed step by step, each step firm and powerful, as if he were stepping on the hearts of those thugs.
The man's wooden stick fell to the ground with a clatter, and his face was as white as paper.
"My lord, my lord, spare us! We didn't know, we really didn't know!" He knelt down with a thud, his voice trembling violently.
Gu Junze ignored her and quickly walked to Gu Qingchen's side, reaching out to pull her up.
"Father!" As soon as Gu Qingchen saw his father, tears welled up instantly, and the strength he had just pretended to have crumbled in an instant.
"It's alright, it's alright." Gu Junze gently patted his daughter's back, his voice as gentle as a spring breeze.
But when those eyes looked at those thugs, they were as cold as the dead of winter.
The young prince also got up from the ground, and when he saw Gu Junze, a complex emotion flashed in his eyes.
"Duke Zhenguo." The young prince tried his best to straighten his posture and maintain the dignity of the royal family, but his voice still betrayed him and was tinged with sobs.
Gu Junze immediately knelt on one knee: "Your subject Gu Junze greets Your Highness the Crown Prince."
"Get up." The young prince waved his hand, then looked at the thugs, his face full of anger. "These audacious bastards dared to kidnap me!"
Upon hearing this, Brother Wang collapsed to the ground.
He had thought the children were talking nonsense, but now that he saw the dignified Duke of Zhenguo kneeling, he understood that this really was His Highness the Crown Prince!
"Your Highness, I was blind and didn't recognize your greatness. I deserve to die, I deserve to die!" The prince kowtowed desperately, his forehead bleeding from the effort.
Gu Junze stood up and glanced at Lin Jiayou on the ground.
Although the child was kicked, he stubbornly sat there, neither crying nor begging for mercy, but just silently watching everything.
"Are you alright?" Gu Junze asked.
Lin Jiayou shook his head: "Thank you for your concern, Duke Zhenguo, I am fine."
Qian Zhenyun crawled out from the corner at this moment. Upon seeing Gu Junze, he immediately knelt down: "Uncle, it's all my fault. I didn't take good care of my sister and His Highness!"
"Get up, child." Gu Junze's voice remained gentle. "It's good that you're all alright."
After saying that, he turned to the group of thugs, his face instantly turning ashen.
"Guards, take these audacious fools away and interrogate them thoroughly."
"Yes!"
Several guards immediately stepped forward and dragged the thugs, who were already terrified, out of the way.
As the prince was being dragged away, he kept begging for mercy: "Duke Zhenguo, spare my life! Your Highness the Crown Prince, spare my life! I will never dare to do it again!"
The woodshed finally quieted down, and Gu Junze then carefully examined the children.
"Tell me, what happened?" Although his voice was calm, Gu Qingchen could tell that his father was suppressing his anger.
Gu Qingchen lowered his head and said softly, "Father, we just want to go out and have a look."
"Take a look?" Gu Junze raised an eyebrow. "You got yourself into trouble just by looking?"
The young prince spoke up at this moment: "Duke Zhenguo, it's not her fault, it was I who wanted to go out."
Gu Junze looked at the young prince, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.
This child does seem to have a sense of responsibility.
"Your Highness, your safety is of utmost importance. How can you treat this so lightly?" Gu Junze said earnestly.
The young prince lowered his head: "I know I was wrong."
Qian Zhenyun whispered from the side, "Uncle, we originally wanted to buy some things and go back, but who knew that the restaurant owner wanted three taels of silver. We didn't have the money to pay, so these bad guys targeted us."
"Three taels of silver?" Gu Junze frowned. "What did you eat?"
"It's just some ordinary dishes," Gu Qingchen said, feeling wronged. "That shopkeeper definitely ripped us off!"
Gu Junze nodded, already understanding the general idea.
Seeing that the children were dressed in fine clothes, the vendors became greedy and deliberately raised the prices.
"Father, what will happen to those bad people?" Gu Qingchen asked.
“Kidnapping the Crown Prince is a capital offense,” Gu Junze said calmly.
Upon hearing this, the young prince's expression changed slightly: "Duke Zhenguo, although they have bound me, they haven't truly harmed us, perhaps..."
“Crown Prince,” Gu Junze interrupted him.
"Some things cannot be let off easily just because you are kind."
The young prince fell silent. Although he was young, he understood the reasoning behind Gu Junze's words.
"Let's go back to the academy first," Gu Junze said. "The news of the Crown Prince's disappearance has probably spread throughout the capital by now."
The children followed Gu Junze out of the woodshed, where a large number of guards and soldiers had already gathered.
Gu Qingchen was startled by the scene: "Father, what, what's going on?"
Gu Junze patted her head gently, his voice steady: "His Highness the Crown Prince has gone missing, and the capital has been placed under martial law. These are the troops searching for His Highness."
Gu Qingchen then realized that his "outing" with the Crown Prince had caused such a commotion.
She felt a little uneasy and a bit scared.
The young prince looked at the densely packed soldiers before him, and a look of seriousness appeared on his face.
He had probably never seen such a massive mobilization, all for the purpose of finding him.
The guards quickly cleared a path, and Gu Junze, protecting the children, strode out.
The journey back felt unusually long to Gu Qingchen.
Throughout the journey, Gu Junze didn't say much, only occasionally glancing at her with a look of worry and a hint of suppressed anger.
Finally back at Bailu Private School, Headmaster Zhou was already as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, pacing back and forth at the door.
Upon seeing Gu Junze appear with the children, his aged body jolted, and he quickly stepped forward to greet them.
"Duke Zhenguo! Your Highness the Crown Prince!" Headmaster Zhou's voice trembled, his face filled with relief at surviving such a disaster. "It's good that Your Highness is unharmed, it's good that you're unharmed!"
He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that although the young prince's clothes were somewhat disheveled, he was in good spirits.
His gaze then fell on Gu Qingchen, and he hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.
Gu Junze simply nodded slightly to Headmaster Zhou without saying anything more, and led the children directly into the private school.
"Your Highness, please go to your study to rest. I will immediately send someone to the palace to report to His Majesty," Gu Junze said to the young crown prince.
The young prince nodded, a hint of weariness on his handsome face: "Thank you for your trouble, Duke Zhenguo."
Gu Junze then looked at Gu Qingchen and Qian Zhenyun: "You two, go back to the school and wait for me."
Gu Qingchen knew he couldn't escape the punishment, so he obediently agreed and pulled Qian Zhenyun away.
Lin Jiayou stood quietly in place, without moving.
Gu Junze looked at Lin Jiayou: "Lin Jiayou, you did a great job."
Lin Jiayou paused for a moment, then lowered his eyes: "I just did what I was supposed to do."
Gu Junze looked at him, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes.
"I will report your actions today to His Majesty truthfully. As for your injury, I will have a doctor examine you."
Lin Jiayou then looked up and bowed deeply to Gu Junze: "Thank you, Duke Zhenguo."
After Lin Jiayou left, Gu Junze said to Headmaster Zhou, "Headmaster, please forgive me for what happened today."
"I have ordered those villains to be interrogated thoroughly. As for the losses to the private school, the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion will bear all the costs."