Whoever can strike me hard will be rewarded handsomely.

Shang Jingming respectfully bowed to Qin Ji, saying, "Jingming greets Your Majesty."

Qin Ji looked at the "right arm" kneeling below and slightly raised his hand.

Except for Fu Lu, all the palace servants who were serving in the Qianzheng Hall bowed and quietly withdrew.

Upon hearing the palace doors close, Shang Jingming's throat tightened with tension, and he lowered his body even further.

The hall was completely silent, with only the occasional sound of the person sitting at the head of the table lightly tapping their fingers on the desk, and one's own heart beating faster and faster.

Qin Ji didn't keep him waiting long. He picked up the teacup beside him, took a sip, and asked casually, "Is your injury healed?"

Knowing why he was there today and the implications behind the question, Shang Jingming replied vaguely, "It won't affect anything."

Arrow wounds don't heal completely quickly. Qin Ji had reservations about the person who described the bloody hole on his shoulder as a minor abrasion. He gave Fu Lu a sidelong glance and said, "Summon the imperial physician."

Fu Lu hurriedly went to the Imperial Hospital to invite Physician He. The two met Bian Yushu, who had just finished listening to Shen Hanlin's lecture, at the entrance of the Qianzheng Hall.

Bian Yushu hesitated for a moment, looking at Fu Lu as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

He heard that Shang Jingming was inside and wanted to request an audience with His Majesty, but only received an order to wait outside.

He had experienced the Qianzheng Hall's doors and windows being tightly shut, with no one allowed to enter, so he couldn't help but have some guesses, and even more so, he couldn't help but think more about himself.

Has my arch-rival gotten into trouble?

He...he won't be implicated, will he?

Bian Yushu was punished three days ago and stayed in bed for several days. He only returned to the palace with His Majesty last night. Even now, his walking posture is still unnatural, and he can only make excuses to the outside world that he accidentally injured his leg.

Even Shen Hanlin couldn't help but tease him, saying how could he be so careless walking, tripping and falling every other day. And if he were to get another meal...

Bian Yushu felt a pang of sorrow, but could not shed a tear.

Why is my arch-rival so useless?

"Young Master Bian, please wait a moment." His Majesty's order was of utmost importance. Fu Lu gave Bian Yushu a reassuring look and hurriedly led Imperial Physician He into the Qianzheng Hall.

After Physician He finished his bow, he saw His Majesty slightly raise his hand and said, "Commander Shang has been wounded by an arrow. Go and take a look at him."

After taking Shang Jingming's pulse, unwrapping the bandage on his shoulder to examine the wound, and changing the dressing again, Physician He bowed and said, "Your Majesty, Commander Shang's wound has scabbed over, the redness and swelling have subsided, and his pulse is stable. As long as the dressing is changed on time and he takes good care of himself, he will be fully healed in another half month."

Qin Ji glanced at the folded document in his hand, "Could it interfere with the event?"

"Appropriate activity is fine, just avoid excessive exertion and lifting heavy objects to prevent the wound from reopening."

Qin Ji closed the folding book and casually tossed it aside. "I understand. You may leave."

As Physician He left, the palace doors were closed.

Shang Jingming knelt upright, his back taut in a straight line. "Your Majesty, I have something to report."

Qin Ji closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. "Speak."

"At the villa, while you were unconscious, Mr. Jiang had a conversation with me."

Qin Ji's eyelids twitched, and he looked up at him, his fingers stroking the teacup beside him.

Shang Jingming recounted the events in detail, truthfully recounting what had happened.

After a straightforward account, Shang Jingming bowed his head and kowtowed, saying, "I took it upon myself to coerce Mr. Jiang, causing him to bow to me for your safety. I accepted his bow, which is a violation of moral principles. I know I have acted against ethics and morality and am willing to be punished."

Shang Jingming's voice faded into the excessively large Qianzheng Hall.

Silence reigned.

Jiang Jibai bowed to Fu Lu in the hope that someone would take care of him during his time in the palace; he bowed to Shang Jingming in the hope that Shang's probing questions would implicate him and cause him to be punished in front of "His Majesty".

Both times he bowed his head were because of his endless lies, and because he was planning for his future.

After a long silence, the person sitting on the throne finally stirred. Qin Ji traced the rim of the cup with his fingers, sat up straight, and said in a voice devoid of any emotion, "I understand."

After reporting the matter to His Majesty, Shang Jingming felt relieved and waited for His Majesty to order someone to take him away and punish him.

His Majesty's voice flowed slowly through the Qianzheng Hall.

"It was my doing to give you that token; it was also my intention to give Mr. Jiang the wrong message."

"Mr. Jiang is no ordinary man; he is quick-witted and has keen insight. Under his relentless pressure, in order to fulfill my instructions, you had no choice but to risk my safety to stop Mr. Jiang from asking questions. This was both unavoidable and foreseeable."

"As for the disruption of social order, and Mr. Jiang's bowing to you..." Qin Ji's gaze fell on Shang Jingming's tense back as he calmly analyzed the situation, "The fault lies with me, not with you."

Shang Jingming suddenly looked up.

Throughout history, there have only been ministers who misunderstood, never rulers who were not.

His Majesty absolved him of all responsibility, yet openly and frankly analyzed his own faults.

A wise and enlightened emperor is no different from this, and a monarch's protection is no different from this.

Shang Jingming said, deeply moved, "Your Majesty..."

Qin Ji tapped his knuckles on the dragon table, and with a calm expression, used the leverage to stand up. Amidst a surge of burning pain, he walked as if on flat ground to Shang Jingming's side.

Fu Lu bowed and stepped forward, offering a small bamboo clapper.

Qin Ji casually took the document and lightly tapped Shang Jingming on the back. "At a time like this, you're still calling him 'Your Majesty'? Are you reporting on state affairs and obeying the laws of the land?"

"Am I so bored that I dragged a minister who worked diligently and was injured while trying to atone for his crimes into the palace and beat him up?"

This seemingly insignificant tap caused Shang Jingming's face to display a variety of colors, with a slight, unnatural blush rising from the roots of his ears, a testament to his stature.

Is His Majesty going to take action personally?

Shang Jingming was somewhat incredulous, yet suddenly felt a real sense of having been accepted into His Majesty's household, and a secret joy welled up in his heart.

He readily changed his address to "teacher".

Qin Ji said calmly, "Kneel upright."

Shang Jingming was already kneeling very straight. Hearing this, he was a little confused, so he straightened his back, put his knees together, and became even more upright.

One stood, the other knelt; Qin Ji realized that to beat him more easily, he still had to bend over.

Jiang Jibai was punished with forty strokes, thirty of which landed on the part of his body that made contact with the stool. He had been sitting upright on the throne all morning, and a burning pain ran down his waist and abdomen. Bending over would inevitably aggravate the injury, making it impossible for him to exert any strength.

Qin Ji gave the order expressionlessly, "Stand up, legs shoulder-width apart, hands on your thighs."

His Majesty gave the order, and Shang Jingming dared not delay, so he did as instructed.

He realized with embarrassment that this posture forced him to bend over slightly, arching a certain part of his body. A slight blush crept up his earlobe and up his cheek.

Qin Ji placed the bamboo board behind Shang Jingming and said, "The imperial physician said you should avoid excessive force on your wound to prevent the scab from cracking."

Why did Your Majesty suddenly bring this up again?

A sense of foreboding suddenly rose in Shang Jingming's heart.

"Did Dr. Liang also give you this instruction?"

Shang Jingming dared not hide the truth and said, "I have already confessed."

Soon he heard His Majesty's indifferent voice, "How come I heard that after Bian Yushu was punished, you carried him back to his room? Did you ignore the doctor's words?"

Shang Jingming: "..."

Bian Yushu, is that you?

You ungrateful bastard!

...

Is it too late? It's too late!

Waaah, I'm half an hour late today, but I'll update an hour earlier tomorrow. I'll update at 5 PM tomorrow!

****Give me some encouragement! If this keeps up, maybe one day I'll be able to update twice a day. (Look at my big, sparkling eyes!)