Whoever can strike me hard will be rewarded handsomely.

Bian Yushu's gaze was drawn to the bamboo tube in Qin Ji's hand.

The bamboo tube was about the thickness of a child's wrist, divided into three sections, with a total length of no more than one foot. Each section was connected by a mechanism. On the wall of the bamboo tube was engraved a line of small characters: "Presented to the founding disciple Bian Yushu on his seventeenth birthday."

It was unsigned, but Bian Yushu could tell that it was His Majesty's handwriting.

He took the bamboo tube with a smile on his face, observed the structure of the joint for a while with curiosity, and quickly figured out how to play with this gift.

Bian Yushu turned the first section of the bamboo tube, and a rolled-up cowhide scroll came out. Bian Yushu took out the cowhide scroll, carefully unfolded it, and his eyes immediately lit up.

The leather scroll contained a set of miniature tools, each no longer than a little finger. The file blade was as fine as a hair, and the carving knife as thin as a cicada's wing. They could not only be used to create more intricate mechanisms, but were also very convenient to carry around.

Bian Yushu carefully put the leather scroll away again, deeply moved as she looked at Qin Ji, "Your Majesty, you are so good to Yushu..."

This is nothing. This kid is too easily moved. How could the gifts he offers be bad?

In order to find the right ingredients in a very short time, I only had to run around a few times to find the right ingredients.

Qin Ji said casually, "And another thing, continue."

Upon hearing this, Bian Yushu turned the second section of the bamboo tube with great anticipation, and three jade dice fell out of the bamboo tube and landed in his palm.

Bian Yushu was dumbfounded.

His Majesty just reprimanded him for gambling this morning and said he would be punished with a beating, but then he gave him three dice. What does that mean?

Is this a fishing operation, or entrapment?

Bian Yushu stole glances at His Majesty's expression, but couldn't discern anything from it.

Qin Ji picked up a cool jade die, a half-smile on his face, and said, "Keep this safe. It's a penalty-exemption die. I'll take one back after each use. Whatever number you roll, you'll get off the punishment by several dozen strokes."

Bian Yushu's face flushed red instantly, but she couldn't help but confirm the scope of application, asking in a voice barely above a whisper, "W-anything can be used?"

Qin Ji placed the dice back into Bian Yushu's palm, and pinched his cheap apprentice's persimmon-like face. "The punishment from the Emperor of Dayin cannot be avoided, but your teacher's can be waived, but there is a condition."

Bian Yushu stared at Qin Ji with wide eyes, like a curious child.

"If the same mistake is made again, the amount deducted last time will be added back next time."

Bian Yushu felt a chill behind him and quickly shook his head vigorously, "I won't do it again, I absolutely won't do it again."

He blushed and carefully put away the three dice, then quickly turned the third die.

With a "click," a strangely shaped piece of wood, about the size of a thumb, was ejected from the bamboo tube.

Bian Yushu held the wood in his hands, examining this grand finale gift from left to right. Suddenly, his eyes lit up as if he had found a clue. "A wooden carved roasted sweet potato?"

With an idea in mind, Bian Yushu thought about it more and more and it looked more and more like the original. "This sweet potato is carved quite vividly. The skin is roasted to a reddish-brown color and flipped up a bit to reveal the golden sweet potato flesh. These wooden spikes must be the sugar that flowed out after the sweet potato was roasted and burst through the skin, right?"

Those are a rooster's comb, beak, and wings!

Blind kid, can't you even tell your favorite fighting rooster?

I suspect you're a scoundrel!

Qin Ji gave Bian Yushu a few cool glances, then awkwardly stretched his fingers, which were stiff from filing wood all afternoon, under his sleeves. He couldn't bring himself to say that he could just throw it away if he didn't like it, so he gritted his teeth and said, "Keep it safe for me whether you like it or not. If you dare to lose it, you'll get at least five hundred lashes."

How many?

The board is probably going to break...

Although Bian Yushu would certainly cherish the gift His Majesty gave him, the thought of the price for losing it still made his eyes widen in disbelief.

He held the small wooden carving like a precious treasure and carefully placed it in a wooden box with a lock.

But why did His Majesty send him a wooden roasted sweet potato? And with such "importance"?

Bian Yushu paused in locking her hand, then picked up the "roasted sweet potato" and examined it carefully several times. After a long while, she raised her head with tears in her eyes, "Teacher..."

Qin Ji pinched Bian Yushu's face. "Cry?"

Bian Yushu reflexively shut his mouth, tears welling up in his eyes, but he dared not let them fall. He raised his hand and grasped the hand that His Majesty was using to pinch his face, gently massaging His Majesty's knuckles.

He can be considered to have benefited from having a cheap apprentice.

This kid is so easily pleased; he's so touched by such a small thing...

The gentle, forceful movements relieved the soreness and softened Qin Ji's heart.

He casually patted Bian Yushu's head, reflecting on his dereliction of duty. "I should have told you earlier in the carriage that we were being followed, so you wouldn't have been confused and said those things at the gambling den, earning me a slap. It was my oversight that I didn't give you enough respect, causing you to suffer."

Bian Yushu immediately retorted, "I'm not wronged!"

"Today is your birthday, and it's understandable that you want to relax. I've seen how hard you've worked these past few days, and I knew you wanted to go to the gambling den, but I scolded you without asking why. I was too arbitrary."

Bian Yushu continued to retort, "Gambling is bad, but His Majesty did it for Yushu's sake!"

"You suffered a lot on your birthday, and this gift was prepared in a bit of a rush and isn't very good."

Bian Yushu retorted again, "Who says it's bad? It's wonderful, Yushu loves it!"

This is the first time I've ever been refuted for every word I say; it's incredibly audacious, yet somehow impossible to get angry at.

Qin Ji chuckled and poked the automatic rebuttal machine's face. "If you want your teacher to celebrate your birthday with you, you can boldly say so. This is not a capricious request. Although it is inconvenient for me to attend your birthday banquet in a grand manner, I can still celebrate it for you privately like this."

Qin Ji looked into Bian Yushu's eyes, and under the reflection of those clear, bottomless eyes, he slowly said, "When facing your teacher, you don't need to stammer or be unable to speak."

Bian Yushu felt as if his heart had been scalded. He couldn't describe the feeling at that moment. With tears welling up in his eyes, he tightly clutched the wooden carving of "Sweet Potato" to his chest and said incoherently, "Your Majesty, you are too good to me. What have I done to deserve this? ... Rest assured, as long as Sweet Potato lives, Yushu lives; if Sweet Potato dies, Yushu dies!"

Qin Ji: "..." Is it possible that it wasn't a sweet potato?

After Bian Yushu made her vow to Qin Ji, she turned to the memorial tablet and wiped away her tears. "Mother, although Father and my brothers are not here this year, I have my teacher with me."

"He gave me many gifts, made me a wooden sweet potato by hand, and was afraid that I would be sad alone, so he came to celebrate my birthday with me and said a lot of comforting words. He said that my departure was not my fault and that I would be gratified to see me as I am now."

"He is a really, really good teacher."

Qin Ji: "..." There's no need to go into so much detail; just the first and last sentences will suffice.

Qin Ji coughed lightly. "Lysimachia."

The lentil scurried down from the roof, offering another set of nighttime attire.

Qin Ji tossed the night clothes to his cheap apprentice, who was rambling on and on in front of the memorial tablet, and said succinctly, "Change into these."

...

My attempt to time the perfect moment failed, boohoo~