Whoever can strike me hard will be rewarded handsomely.

With a crisp slap, Bian Yulou was done for.

Bian Hongzhen slowly gave his son four or five more slaps, adding a thin layer of powder to his face and cheeks. "Didn't you cry to me every other day about missing Yushu, worrying that he wouldn't be a good companion to His Majesty and would be bullied? Now that I'm giving you the chance to stay in the capital, you don't want it?"

"Isn't Bian Yuheng going to stay in the capital soon? With him looking after us, what's there to worry about?" Bian Yulou suddenly thought of something, as if he had found a handle to use against him. "Fine, Bian Hongzhen, you don't trust Bian Yuheng's abilities? I'm going to tell him!"

"I'm at their mercy, yet I dare to call them by their names!" Bian Hongzhen smiled and slapped his second son a few times, each slap loud and crisp. "Do you think your eldest brother will side with you or with your father?"

Bian Yulou was filled with grief and indignation. "I suffered so much from your ostracism in western Sichuan, and now I have to suffer from it again at home. Grandmother, I'm going to tell you."

Bian Hongzhen patted his son's dumpling with a nonchalant smile, "Go on, tell your grandmother that Xiao Lou was disobedient and his father spanked him on his lap."

"Bian Hongzhen!" Bian Yulou felt his blood rush to his head, looking as if he was about to faint from embarrassment.

Bian Hongzhen was incredibly gentle, placing his hand on his son's slightly warm dough. "Xiaolou, what's wrong with calling me Daddy? Do you know you were wrong?"

Bian Yulou buried her head in the pillow, pulled the blanket over herself, and covered her ears under the blanket.

"Snap!" Another crisp sound rang out in the room, seeping through the blankets and relentlessly into my ears.

Bian Hongzhen continued to persuade him calmly, "I'm not seventy or eighty years old anymore. Do I need you to stay by my side and take care of me every day? You are still young and have a bright future ahead of you. It's the time to realize your ambitions. Why waste your time and precious youth by staying by my side?"

"Who said that future officials must hold higher positions than me, and that their names in history must be more renowned than mine?"

Bian Yulou didn't respond.

"It can't be that the slap you get is louder, can it?" Bian Hongzhen added a bit more force, making the dumpling tremble and the sound even crisper.

Bian Yulou's ears under the covers buzzed, and his cheeks burned. He cursed Bian Hongzhen inwardly for being out of ideas, using the same trick for twenty years.

He stuck his head out to get some fresh air, and took the opportunity to protest to Bian Hongzhen, "I don't know who it was, sent to western Sichuan, but before they even got there, they caught a bout of malaria, got sick with vomiting and diarrhea, and almost abandoned their three poor sons to go see their mother. And they still have the nerve to say they're not seventy or eighty years old? I think most people in their seventies or eighties are healthier than you!"

"What do you mean by 'just eating, drinking, and waiting to die'?" Bian Hongzhen smiled, gently rubbing the spot where his son had been disciplined. His words hit the nail on the head. "So, Xiaolou was worried about his father?"

Bian Yulou stood frozen for a long time, then couldn't hold back any longer. His ears turned a pomegranate color as he struggled to get up. "Big brother, big brother, please come and talk to me. I don't want to talk to Father anymore. I never want to talk to Father again."

They were so anxious that they called him "Big Brother" and "Dad." A smile flashed across Bian Hongzhen's eyes. He pressed down on his son's back and patted the slightly reddened dumpling lightly. The dumpling and his palm were almost the same temperature.

Despite not exerting much force, Bian Yulou was frozen in place, her back completely still, so she simply pretended to be dead.

"Take when you accompanied me on my assignment to a distant region, for example. We had a doctor on the journey and precious medicinal herbs bestowed by His Majesty. Although I was sick for a few days, the doctor said it was due to the change in environment and I recovered quickly. Now I've been governing western Sichuan for two years and have long since adapted to the climate there. I can usually eat two large bowls of rice in one meal. What do you have to worry about?"

"Snakes, insects, rats, ants, and the damp, humid air—the conditions are already harsh," Bian Yulou said sullenly. "His Majesty has plans to wage war in recent years, and you'll definitely have to stay in the rear to manage supplies and provisions. When you get busy, you're unpredictable; sometimes you don't even remember to eat. What if some clueless subordinate causes you trouble... Besides, it's not like there haven't been times in the past when the local people from the tributary states ambushed and killed the provincial governors..."

"I don't believe my brother isn't worried about these things! Why doesn't he stand on my side?" Bian Yulou became angrier the more she thought about it.

"I've convinced your older brother," Bian Hongzhen said, patting his son on the back.

Bian Yulou rolled her eyes. "You were persuaded by family rules, weren't you? Don't try to persuade me; I'm not as thin-skinned as Bian Yuheng!"

"Do you know how I persuaded your older brother, and finally got him to relent?"

Bian Yulou's vigilance level instantly spiked. Every time Bian Hongzhen said something like that, it meant he was about to "intensify" his efforts, determined to make him flee in embarrassment.

Seeing his son's wary expression, Bian Hongzhen smiled slightly and said meaningfully, "I told him, 'Yuheng, you absolutely cannot miss this opportunity for promotion. You must stay in the capital. Only if you stay in the capital can you keep an eye on Yulou, because... he has the idea of ​​infiltrating the tributary prefectures as a spy.'"

Bian Yulou shuddered, his Adam's apple bobbing slowly. "Father..."

That cry of "Dad" earned him a slap that was more serious than it seemed. The muscles where the hand landed twitched slightly, and a burning sensation rose up.

The smile on Bian Hongzhen's lips gradually faded. "Do you think I didn't know that you spent your days in the markets of the border trade districts, learning the languages ​​of different tribes, openly and secretly inquiring about the customs and habits of the tributary states, and uncovering the past conflicts and hatred between the tribes, and even pretending to deal with the Shangwu and Rousang people on several occasions?"

Bian Yulou held his breath, his heart pounding so hard it felt like it would burst out of his chest. He had been very discreet, thinking he had fooled his father, but he hadn't expected to be discovered.

Bian Hongzhen struck again without hesitation, causing Bian Yulou to lower his head and tense his back.

"Why did you stop talking?" Bian Hongzhen's voice was calm as he raised his hand and slapped her hard again. "Keep saying you want to stay in western Sichuan to freeload and wait to die, that you only want to stay in western Sichuan for pleasure."

Even though the volume hadn't increased by the slightest, Bian Yulou felt an overwhelming sense of oppression.

He swallowed hard, his voice dry, "Father, I..."

"You intend to take a risky approach, infiltrate the tributary states, and incite conflict between tribes to resolve the border troubles without bloodshed, so that Father can rest easy and fulfill His Majesty's request to be transferred back to the capital?"

Bian Yulou's fingers unconsciously tightened around the pillow, but she pretended to be relaxed. "You overestimate me. This whole charade is making me doubt whether I really want to do this. I was just browsing around..."

"Smack!" Before he could finish speaking, he was hit hard from behind again.

"Xiao Lou is filial, but..." Bian Hongzhen commented calmly before raising his hand, "Your father doesn't agree."

"Snapped!"

Full force.

...

Here's the second update for today, featuring the father-son drama between Lao Zao and Bian Xiaolou. Xiao Ji has been absent for two chapters, so I wonder if everyone still wants to see the Zao family father and son, haha.

Goal achieved! Double updates tomorrow!

Am I early today? Should I give myself a compliment?