Whoever can strike me hard will be rewarded handsomely.

The time spent waiting for good fortune always flies by.

Qin Ji wanted to delay, but if his illness didn't improve, he could still handle government affairs in his spare time. He couldn't let the ingredients do the same thing when summoning ministers, could he?

So the next day at dusk, Qin Ji, with his tail between his legs, sheepishly led Jiang Jibai to Qing Teng Courtyard, the furthest from Yunqi Courtyard.

After instructing his servants not to approach the Green Vine Courtyard and not to allow anyone else to enter, Qin Ji personally closed the door.

Jiang Jibai looked him up and down, then said leisurely, "Weren't you coughing yesterday?"

Qin Ji was obedient from head to toe. "With your care these past two days, and the medicine I took three times a day, my mere cold has naturally healed very quickly. This is all thanks to you! I am deeply grateful and will remember it forever."

Yesterday he acted like he was on top of the world, but today he's changed his tune. Jiang Jibai looked at his little disciple's fawning manner, straightened his sleeves, and commented unhurriedly, "Using illness as an excuse for arrogance, trying to make up for it later, haughty at first but obsequious later..."

Jiang Jibai paused briefly, stepped forward, and whispered four words in Qin Ji's ear with a smile, "It's too late."

Qin Ji's alarm bells went off at their highest. He took a step back and tried to turn around. "Cough cough... I don't think I'm completely recovered yet."

Jiang Jibai stood still, his smile undiminished, his demeanor refined and courteous. "Shall we give it a try?"

Five words, like chains, bound Qin Ji's two unruly legs to the spot.

Qin Ji pouted, "Teacher, I was wrong."

Jiang Jibai looked at him indifferently.

Before Jiang Jibai could press him for answers, Qin Ji took a deep breath and said, "I shouldn't have lied to you about my identity. I don't know how many lies I've told, big and small."

I shouldn't have neglected my health. I was sick and didn't rest properly, but instead kept running around doing errands.

I shouldn't have overturned the candied fruit; it was a waste and caused trouble for everyone.

I shouldn't have scared Xiaozao and Doctor Liang.

I shouldn't have torn up your prescription and scattered it all over the floor.

I shouldn't have taken advantage of my illness to act so arrogantly and boss you around like a madman.

The young disciple, with a smug look on his face, rattled off a string of "shouldn't have," even including trivial matters to show his good attitude in admitting his mistakes.

Jiang Jibai removed the accessory from his waist and slowly stroked the smooth lacquer surface. "It seems you've reflected on things very clearly. There's no need for your teacher to give you detailed instructions one by one?"

Qin Ji's throat tightened with nervousness.

You'd better just give me a lecture!

A little bit of good fortune is enough; I don't need boundless blessings, boohoo~

Jiang Jibai couldn't hear his junior disciple's inner wailing. He parted his thin lips and said only two words, "Reach out."

The two-word mantra appears again.

Wait, a hand? A hand!

Last time I only got hit two or three times, so I didn't feel anything.

With the Jade Complexion Cream covering his skin, Qin Ji hesitantly reached out his hand.

The ruler swiftly struck Qin Ji's left hand. "Which hand did you use to flip the plate?"

Qin Ji withdrew his left paw, wiped his numb palm on the hem of his clothes, and put it behind his back.

Then, while cursing under his breath, he stretched out his wicked right hand.

I still need to review memorials, you poison master!

"Stretch out your hand." Jiang Jibai's voice was ambiguous, revealing neither joy nor anger.

Qin Ji resignedly flattened his curled fingers.

The ruler fell with a gust of wind, and a red mark quickly appeared on the fair palm, a far cry from the playful force of three days ago.

Qin Ji pulled his hand back, then leaped three feet high, swinging his claws.

If you don't have any flesh and blood, how can you withstand the strength of a poison master who can lift a stone lock?

Jiang Jibai let his little disciple jump around exaggeratedly to his heart's content, and as always, he uttered just two words: "Give me your hand."

Qin Ji looked at the small accessory with lingering fear. He hesitated for a moment, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration. He reached out and shook Jiang Jibai's sleeve, squeezing out two tears of pain. "I'll never do it again, please... please don't punish me, okay?"

They dared to beg for mercy before it even started.

Jiang Jibai laughed in exasperation at Xiaozao's imitation, even mimicking her pauses perfectly.

He pinched his young disciple's fingertips and lashed out with the ruler without hesitation. "Have I been too nice to you these past few days? You even dare to play tricks on me when you're being punished, begging for mercy like Xiaozao. Why don't you learn from his obedient and well-behaved manner?"

"Little Jujube begged for forgiveness because she truly knows she was wrong. What about you?"

"He said he was catching a cold and wouldn't listen to the servants' advice, but what about you?"

"You, as the older brother, don't set a good example, and Xiaozao follows suit. How dare you criticize her?"

His pleas for mercy failed, and he even got a scolding.

Poison Master! What happened to you saying you'd fall for this?

When Xiaozao is being coquettish, your expression is not like this at all. Don't think I can't tell.

You're so biased, no wonder Xiaozao doesn't like you, and no wonder Shen Jiangliu, that foul-mouthed bastard, torments you every day!

Qin Ji was in so much pain that tears streamed down his face. Jiang Jibai's hands were like iron clamps, pinching his fingertips and subjecting those small, fleshy areas to a violent storm, causing them to swell up in just a few strokes.

The more Qin Ji thought about it, the angrier he became. He finally opened his mouth and shouted, "You're biased!"

Jiang Jibai glanced at him, ignoring the conversation, and continued to strike, leaving the dragon claws burning red, until Qin Ji opened his mouth and howled.

Jiang Jibai raised the ruler and gave it a sharp whack, "Are you still going to overturn the plates or not?"

After Qin Ji had finished howling, he stiffened his neck and said in a muffled voice, "Take off the skin."

As soon as he finished speaking, a crisp sound rang out from his palm.

Qin Ji was in so much pain that he wanted to curl his fingers, so the ruler was used to tap his burning palm.

With the ruler slightly raised, Jiang Jibai asked again, "Are you still going to flip the plate or not?"

Qin Ji endured the humiliation and hardship, saying, "I'll pick it up myself."

In other words, being stubborn.

Jiang Jibai stopped asking questions, and only released his junior disciple's hand after giving him a full twenty lashes, commenting, "A poor imitation."

How dare you, Jiang Jibai!

Qin Ji, his eyes brimming with pain, looked at Jiang Jibai in disbelief, clutching his hands, and asked, "Who are you calling Dong Shi?"

He knew it, he knew it all. In the Poison Master's heart, compared to Xiaozao, he was nothing more than a grain of rice or a mosquito's blood!

Jiang Jibai fastened the accessory back to his waist, and under the accusing gaze of his young disciple, he slowly pinched his hand and blew on it. "You have your own charm, why are you copying him?"

A combination of a big stick and a sweet treat—this is a tactic I've used before to win people's hearts.

Qin Ji's pointed ears twitched, and his earlobes turned red. "Is 'cute' a word used to describe a real man?"

If you're not going to lift it, then don't. Is it really worth making a big fuss about?

Qin Ji extended his hand forward. "Apply the medicine."

"No rush." ​​Jiang Jibai remained unmoved, glancing at Qin Ji's bright red paws before releasing his grip. "I found that little bamboo stick you gave me last time quite handy."

Qin Ji, "understanding the refined meaning from the music," said, "I'll send another piece to the neighbor next door."

Jiang Jibai sized up his young disciple, who was deliberately misunderstanding him, walked to the table, poured himself a cup of tea, took a sip, and asked, "Should I go get it myself?"

Qin Ji was just being mischievous; he knew he couldn't avoid this beating, and he didn't intend to.

It's not good to trouble the servants with this matter; he was already prepared.

Qin Ji went straight into the inner room, took out a small bamboo board from the cabinet, placed it on the bench, and moved it in front of Jiang Jibai.

He picked up the bamboo clappers and presented them to Jiang Jibai with both hands, his eyes lowered. "I have told you many lies. You can bring up the past with me, and I will accept them all."

...

I arrived an hour early today, won't you all give me some encouragement and support? (Good girl)