Whoever can strike me hard will be rewarded handsomely.

"Ninety-nine, one hundred."

As the last blow of the cane fell, the last notes of the count disappeared into the main room. The servants holding Liu Qinghong released his arms and removed the gag from his mouth.

Liu Qinghong lay weakly on the bench, her temples soaked with cold sweat.

He tried to move, pulling up his pants, but the movement aggravated his injury, making his already pale face even paler.

Knowing how embarrassing this was, Shang Jingming took off his coat and covered Liu Qinghong's torn and bleeding buttocks.

Liu Qinghong gratefully thanked him in a hoarse voice.

He didn't know what would happen to him next, or if he would be thrown into jail at any moment. He simply pulled a letter from his pocket, raised his face, which was covered in cold sweat, and looked weakly at Qin Ji. "Could you please send this letter to my younger sister? If I don't come home for too long, she'll start to overthink things..."

This question is both a plea and a test.

They were testing him to see if he would be unable to return home for too long, or if he would face exile or imprisonment.

Qin Ji looked at Liu Qinghong's trembling hand holding the letter, which was trembling from the pain, and did not order anyone to take it.

After a long while, just as Liu Qinghong's anxious heart was about to plummet to the bottom.

Qin Ji slightly raised his hand and instructed his servant, "Go to the seventh household in Yulin Old Alley in the south of the city and inform them to find a pretext to appease his sister."

A servant accepted the order and left.

He neither accepted his letter nor gave him a definite reply, but instead sent a servant to inform him that he was safe.

Liu Qinghong's heart pounded in his chest, a vague thought flashing through his mind. Before he could even sort out his thoughts, the person in the main seat spoke calmly, "You should give her the letter yourself after you've recovered."

Once the injury heals, I can give it to her myself...

These words were practically a pardon, telling him there would be no further punishment. Liu Qinghong was momentarily incredulous and cautiously asked, "You're not going to pursue this, sir?"

Qin Ji stood up, straightened his clothes, and said, "Considering that you had the intention to report on the foreign tribes and that you stopped yourself in time, I will give you a chance to redeem yourself."

The knife that had been hanging over his neck finally fell to the ground smoothly. Liu Qinghong's anxiety turned into ecstatic joy. "My lord, your judgment is truly astute!"

A sliver of color returned to his face. "Just tell me what you need me to do, and I'll do my best to serve you."

"Since you've repeatedly scaled the city walls without being detected by the garrison, you must be very experienced and know the loopholes in the walls inside and out," Qin Ji said calmly.

This isn't something to be proud of, since it all came about by violating the laws of the Great Yin Dynasty. Liu Qinghong guiltily looked away, "I don't know that much about it."

Upon further thought, fearing that Qin Ji might think he was not cooperating, he quickly added, "But I promise to tell you everything I know, without holding back."

Qin Ji glanced at him casually, "Send him to the side room."

As soon as he finished speaking, the servants sprang into action.

With the help of his servants, Liu Qinghong got off the bench. The moment his legs touched the ground, his knees buckled and he almost fell. He was nearly unable to stand, but fortunately, the servants held him firmly and carried him to the side room on a wooden plank.

Hot water was ready, and a servant with some medical knowledge lifted the clothes covering his back.

Fortunately, the wound was only covered for a short while, so the clothes didn't stick together and the patient didn't suffer too much.

But wiping away the bloodstains wasn't so easy.

Clean cotton cloth was repeatedly wiped across the wound, and excruciating pain, making one's vision go black, relentlessly assaulted the scalp. Liu Qinghong trembled violently, biting her fists and enduring the pain.

In order to save more money for his younger sister's future, he had many ways to make money. One of them was to do stand-up comedy at the Imperial College. Although he couldn't make it work later, he was still "battle-hardened".

Liu Qinghong tried to find humor in his predicament. If he hadn't done this kind of work before, which improved his endurance, he might have burst into tears and made a complete fool of himself halfway through.

Even so, this is the first time I've been injured this badly.

The Imperial Academy's punishment hall was, after all, a place for disciplining students, far removed from criminal punishment. Although the use of a small rod showed leniency, it was still intended to make him suffer enough, and the force was no joke.

With his thoughts racing, Liu Qinghong suddenly heard the sound of a door creak open. He looked in the direction of the sound and saw the boy who had glared at him earlier leading an old man in.

He was so focused on the pain that he didn't notice what had happened in the main room, so he didn't know that Bian Yushu had gone to fetch a doctor for him.

Liu Qinghong was somewhat flattered. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Bian Yushu subconsciously replied, then remembered that this person had made His Majesty sick, and continued to glare at him, but couldn't vent her displeasure at his injury.

Liu Qinghong, unaware of what was going on, simply shut her mouth and remained silent.

Dr. Liang, carrying his medicine box, hurried over to the bedside. When he saw Liu Qinghong's injury, his brows furrowed so deeply it looked like he was about to kill a fly.

His skin was torn open, and blood was gushing out; the sight was no less gruesome than the first time the young man had been in.

Another one has appeared. How come the team is getting bigger and bigger?

One, two, three of them are all so naive, don't they know that a big stick will make them run away?

Doctor Liang's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. While deftly treating Liu Qinghong's injuries, he asked, "What is your relationship with Bian Da?"

Is the side large?

Liu Qinghong was a little confused when he heard Bian Da's name. Then he remembered that he had been beaten up and didn't even know the name of the person who dealt with him.

Liu Qinghong didn't know how to answer, so he could only stammer and laugh it off.

As Dr. Liang treated the injuries, he became increasingly distressed, moving with extreme care for Liu Qinghong, fearing she might suffer further harm. He couldn't help but mutter to himself, "What's wrong with me?"

It's one thing to be biased, but to punish one or two of them so severely that their skin was torn and bleeding is hardly how you discipline your younger brothers.

This is clearly a criminal injury!

Could this be a privately run torture chamber?

Thinking of Liu Qinghong's ambiguous words, Doctor Liang's expression suddenly became somewhat suspicious.

If someone sets up a private torture chamber in their home, should a law-abiding citizen report it to the authorities?

Dr. Liang lowered his voice, "Excuse me, but what's your name?"

Liu Qinghong, unaware of the situation, said, "Liu Qinghong."

If it's about clan and patriarchal rules, how can there be four brothers with three different surnames?

Dr. Liang's doubts deepened, and he glanced at the scene.

By sheer coincidence, I noticed the marks on Liu Qinghong's wrists where she had been bound with rope.

Dr. Liang's pupils dilated.

Just then, Shang Jingming lifted the brocade curtain and bowed to step aside.

Qin Ji stepped into the side room and met the suspicious eyes of Doctor Shangliang.

...

Thank you all for your concern, love you all~

It's an hour late, so rounding up, can we consider it midnight? (Well-behaved)