Whoever can strike me hard will be rewarded handsomely.

Qin Ji looked at Jiang Jibai, who was bowing to Fu Lu, his throat moved slightly as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he remained silent.

Fu Lu dared not accept Jiang Jibai's full courtesy and quickly helped him up, saying, "Sir, you are a renowned scholar of your generation. You are making me feel ashamed. Young Master Bian is highly regarded by His Majesty and has a bright future ahead of him. How can a lowly servant like me compare? Please rest assured, sir. If there is anyone I can speak to, I would certainly like to establish this good relationship."

Jiang Jibai smiled faintly, turned his head to look at the somewhat "restrained" junior disciple, and said, "Then I'll thank you in advance."

Fu Lu observed the expressions of His Majesty and Mr. Jiang, and with great tact, took his leave.

The room fell silent for a moment, with only the occasional crackling of the charcoal fire.

Qin Ji held the warm hand warmer, but his fingertips were a little cold. It took him a long time to find his voice. The low hoarseness caused by the cold masked his emotions well. "Why did you ask the eunuch to take care of me and even bow to him?"

"I am your teacher, and I know you are busy with your duties and can't even take care of your health. It is only my duty to ask someone to look after you." Jiang Jibai's gaze fell on his young disciple's face with a light touch. "Besides, what's wrong with a eunuch? Do you look down on him?"

Whether they looked down on them or not, it was a fact that scholars cherished their reputation and rarely wanted to associate with eunuchs.

"It's not that I look down on him, and I'm... not someone whose identity can be made public. It's just that you did this for me..." Qin Ji was vague about his identity, his deep eyes concealing a myriad of emotions. After a pause, he slowly said, "Aren't you afraid of damaging your reputation if word gets out?"

When the topic of the leader of the secret guards' identity came up, Jiang Jibai avoided the subject, only saying meaningfully, "No one is born a eunuch. Unless absolutely necessary, no one would enter the palace and take this path. Besides, even if he entered the palace voluntarily, I don't think he is inferior to others, and I don't think there's anything shameful about dealing with him."

"Listen to his words and observe his actions. Do not humiliate him because of his disability, nor belittle him because of his background. I observe that he is clever and quick-witted, often taking unconventional approaches, yet he is of good character, unchanged from his original nature, and constantly reflects on himself. Why can't we befriend him?"

How could Jiang Jibai have had much dealings with Fu Lu? And how could he know anything about him?

Besides, what he was talking about was not fortune or prosperity.

Qin Ji was taken aback, realizing the hidden meaning and double entendre in Jiang Jibai's words.

Jiang Jibai was referring to a palace attendant, but he wasn't a palace attendant.

Controlling the secret guards, the emperor's henchmen, and monitoring all officials would also not earn them a good reputation.

Hearing his casual remark that "it's not some respectable identity," Jiang Jibai used the matter of Fu Lu to tell him that he didn't care about his identity, didn't think there was anything wrong with taking a head of the secret guards as a disciple, and didn't think that associating with him was something shameful.

Admittedly, he was not a secret guard and would not seriously consider the social divide between the leader of the secret guards and a great scholar of literature.

But Jiang Jibai had already considered his fabricated identity. He was comforting him, saying that he was not an indelible stain on his life and that he had seen all his excellence.

Qin Ji stroked the patterns on the hand warmer, but the just-right warmth felt like thorns, pricking his slightly cool fingertips.

The ten fingers are connected to the heart, and this one has pierced the heart.

Jiang Jibai treated him with utmost sincerity, disregarding worldly prejudices, but he repaid him with meticulously woven lies and deliberate deception.

For a moment, Qin Ji didn't dare to look into Jiang Jibai's eyes, wishing he could run away, but he forced himself to meet those tolerant eyes as if he were being tortured by the indulgence he once craved most.

I deserve to die.

Qin Ji opened his mouth, as if to say something. But then Jiang Jibai stepped forward and checked his forehead temperature.

Perhaps not wanting to put too much psychological burden on Qin Ji, Jiang Jibai joked, "Besides, there are only a few people in the room. If you don't say anything and I don't say anything, who else will know? How can it be said that our reputation will be damaged?"

Bian Yushu, who had been pretending to be dead for a long time, twitched his ears upon hearing this.

He quietly lifted his face slightly from the pillow, meeting the gazes of His Majesty and Jiang Daru as they looked at him.

Bian Yushu jumped up with a start, ignoring his injuries, covered his mouth, and shook his head vigorously.

...

With Jiang Jibai keeping an eye on things at the villa, Qin Ji had no choice but to rest for two days.

Hidden in the bottom compartment of the medicine box delivered by Fulu were government documents awaiting approval.

Because of his past record of not resting properly, Jiang Jibai, an idle person, simply accompanied him throughout the process, forcing Qin Ji to eat and sleep, sleep and eat, and completely stay in bed to recuperate. He could only handle government affairs in between, under the pretext of changing clothes.

After changing clothes so many times, Jiang Jibai couldn't help but look at him strangely.

After making nine trips to the outhouse, with the time getting longer and longer, Jiang Jibai finally couldn't help but ask with concern, "If you're too embarrassed to call a doctor, I have a prescription here. I don't know if you'll need it."

Qin Ji, unable to express his grievances, could only cooperate and ask, "What prescription?"

With his powerful memory, Jiang Jibai wrote the poem in one go.

Looking at the various medicinal herbs on the prescription, Qin Ji asked curiously, "When did you become acquainted with medicine? What is this for?"

Jiang Jibai remained calm and said, "I have constipation."

Qin Ji: "..."

Qin Ji's dragon face turned a deep liver color. He reached out and tore the priceless calligraphy masterpiece to shreds, then scattered it like a shower of flowers.

He stubbornly insisted, "I take my medicine three times a day. With so much water going down my throat, shouldn't I need to use the restroom?"

Jiang rolled his eyes with a smile, "Didn't you take a little too long in the bathroom?"

Qin Ji slammed his fist on the table, righteously declaring, "All you do is eat and sleep all day. Aren't I allowed to sneak out for a bit of fresh air?"

"What are you going to do? Hit me?"

Jiang Jibai sighed helplessly as his young disciple, Qin Ji, took advantage of his illness to act spoiled. He reached out and plucked a scrap of paper from Qin Ji's hair. "It's not a big deal. If you want to go out for a walk, just tell me. Bring your hand warmer and put on your cloak. Do you think your master would tie you to his bed?"

Qin Ji said smugly, "That's more like it."

Seeing his lawless behavior, Jiang Jibai's gaze lingered on him for a moment, then he smiled meaningfully, "You'll have your day."

Qin Ji tensed slightly, his arrogance diminishing somewhat. He changed the subject, continuing to press, "You still haven't said where the prescription came from? You also have some knowledge of medicine?"

Jiang Jibai succinctly replied, "It was given to me by Xiaozao."

"Xiao Zao?" Qin Ji narrowed his eyes, sensing something amiss. "You and Xiao Zao are still on good terms; he's actually more filial than me, his legitimate disciple?"

Jiang Jibai, his face stung by the sour smell, raised his hand and flicked Qin Ji's forehead with a resounding thud. "It's a return gift for those two books I asked you to bring last time."

Flicking a small jujube is done lightly, while flicking another one is done heavily.

Qin Ji covered his forehead and laughed sarcastically, "Little Zao is so filial, she must have prescribed the right medicine, right?"

Jiang Jibai slowly straightened his sleeves. "Perhaps it was because I took too long to change clothes when I came to your residence last time."

Last time I changed clothes...

When Qin Ji thought about it, he couldn't laugh anymore.

The smile shifted to Jiang Jibai's face. "Are you almost fully recovered? Will I be able to change my clothes tomorrow?"

Qin Ji: "Cough cough... cough cough cough."