Whoever can strike me hard will be rewarded handsomely.

It's not impossible...

Seeing the Emperor's expression and realizing that the Emperor had no such intention, Shang Jingming pursed his lips and said in a deep voice, "Jingming dares not."

He knelt for an hour and a half, his knees aching like they were being pricked with needles. He braced himself with his hands on the ground and stood up, enduring the pain.

As soon as he straightened up, Qin Ji put the teacup in his hand on the kang table.

The teacup hit the table with a loud thud.

Shang Jingming was startled and looked up.

His Majesty's cold voice rang out in the warm pavilion.

"Shang Jingming, the commander of the Five Cities Garrison, failed in his duties and leaked information, resulting in the escape of the prisoner. Considering his young age and short tenure in charge of the Five Cities Garrison, his punishment is reduced by one degree and he is to be flogged forty times."

Shang Jingming's bewildered eyes met His Majesty's cold gaze. His eyes flashed, "Thank you for your mercy, Your Majesty. I accept my punishment."

His Majesty's decree was completely different from the comforting words he had spoken when he had asked him to get up.

Although Shang Jingming did not know His Majesty's plans, he understood that there must be some reason he did not know.

Forty strokes of the cane, unlike the lesser strokes at the villa, would surely leave the skin torn and flesh ripped if struck seriously.

With the imperial edict already issued, there was no room for maneuver, and Shang Jingming had no intention of arguing.

Regardless of what His Majesty intended, he accepted the punishment willingly and did not believe he had been wronged.

After Qin Ji whispered a few instructions to Fu Lu, Fu Lu stepped forward and gestured for Shang Jingming to come with him. "Young Master Shang, come with me."

Shang Jingming bowed to His Majesty and followed Fu Lu out without hesitation.

The two arrived at the place of the chief eunuch, Sixi.

Si Xi greeted the two of them with a warm smile.

Nowadays, everyone knows that Commander Shang is a favorite of His Majesty.

His Majesty even bestowed a "Fu" character upon Commander Shang on the 28th day of the Lunar New Year, suggesting a bright future ahead.

Those who are sent to him are there to be tortured.

He asked cautiously, "What happened? Why did you send Commander Shang here all of a sudden?"

Fu Lu said in a serious tone, "His Majesty has decreed that Commander Shang has failed in his duties. Considering his youth and inexperience, his punishment is reduced by one degree, and he will be given forty strokes of the cane."

Upon hearing this, Si Xi's face instantly contorted into a bitter expression.

This job is not easy.

"Considering his youth, his crime was reduced by one degree," meaning that Commander Shang had not lost the emperor's favor and was still a favorite of His Majesty.

But it was ultimately delivered due to poor handling of the matter. If the beating was too light, His Majesty would be furious and unable to explain himself; if it was too heavy, the skin would be torn and the person would be offended.

Those being punished naturally dared not have any complaints against His Majesty, but those with narrow minds would inevitably take their anger out on those in charge of the punishments.

Too lenient, too harsh; pleasing neither side will appease you.

After announcing the decree, seeing that Sixi looked troubled and his brows were so furrowed that it looked like flies were trapped between them, Fulu whispered a few instructions in his ear.

Si Xi breathed a sigh of relief, beaming with joy, and quickly said, "Thank you for your guidance, Eunuch Fu."

He gestured to Shang Jingming, "Commander Shang, please forgive me."

Shang Jingming nodded slightly, without the slightest hesitation, and strode over to the bench, where he knelt down, folded his hands at the end of the bench, and said in a deep voice, "Thank you for your trouble, sir."

A young eunuch stepped forward to remove his clothes according to the rules, but Sixi immediately stopped him, saying, "His Majesty values ​​Commander Shang and has granted him special permission to be spared the punishment of having his clothes removed."

The young eunuch quickly stepped aside.

Si Xi gestured to the two eunuchs who were carrying out the execution.

The executioners exchanged glances.

The rod was raised high.

Shang Jingming held his breath and prepared himself mentally.

The cane fell heavily.

He brushed off a layer of dust from the back of Shang Jingming's shirt.

Shang Jingming pursed his lips, immediately realizing what was going on, and cooperated by letting out a muffled groan.

Si Xi casually picked up a board and started hitting the sandbag.

Two eunuchs in charge of punishment brushed dust off Shang Jingming; Sixi vigorously punched the sandbag; Shang Jingming groaned every now and then.

The four worked together so well that the young eunuch who had just entered the palace and was about to undress Shang Jingming was amazed.

The young eunuch asked Sixi anxiously in a low voice, "Godfather, isn't this... isn't this a lie? Will His Majesty punish us if he finds out?"

Si Xi gave the little eunuch a light tap on the side of his leg: "Observe more, listen more, and speak less. There's a lot to learn here."

The little eunuch covered his leg and dared not utter a sound.

After forty strokes of the cane, the two eunuchs were exhausted and covered in sweat.

Shang Jingming was unharmed.

Si Xi gave a wink and told a chief eunuch to fetch a bucket of chicken blood.

The wooden cane was stirred in the bucket, then pulled out and stuck to Shang Jingming's back hem.

Finally, use a cloth to wipe it, making it look like the blood has "blended" and adhered to the wound.

Shang Jingming was carried onto a door panel and carried all the way back to the warm pavilion to express his gratitude to His Majesty.

Once everyone had left, Fu Lu thoughtfully closed the door behind him.

Qin Ji leaned against the kang table, leisurely sipping his tea. "Feeling better now?"

"..."

Shang Jingming quickly climbed up from the door panel and awkwardly called out "Teacher" in a low voice.

"Turn around."

Shang Jingming had no choice but to comply.

Qin Ji admired the masterpieces of the eunuchs in charge of punishment and clicked his tongue, saying, "Not bad, they look quite realistic."

Shang Jingming turned around somewhat embarrassed and knelt down with a "plop": "Thank you for your forgiveness, Your Majesty."

Qin Ji glanced at Shang Jingming's knees without changing his expression, then raised an eyebrow: "Who said we were going to forgive you?"

Shang Jingming's heart skipped a beat, realizing something.

Qin Ji tilted his head, gesturing for Shang Jingming to look across the kang table, "Change your dirty clothes first."

Shang Jingming followed His Majesty's gaze and saw a set of clothes neatly arranged on the opposite side of the kang table.

A small bamboo stick next to the clothes caught his eye; it was one that Shang Jingming recognized.

Shang Jingming's ears turned slightly red. He obediently followed Fu Lu to the side room to change out of his "blood-stained" clothes.

After returning to the warm room, he picked up the bamboo board from the opposite side of the kang table, and with a "plop," knelt down and presented it to Qin Ji.

"Jingming knows he has made a mistake and begs Your Majesty for punishment."

"You admit your mistake?" Qin Ji raised his voice, narrowing his eyes. "I don't think you really know your mistake, Commander Shang."

Shang Jingming could clearly feel His Majesty's displeased gaze falling on the top of his head.

He nervously moved his Adam's apple and slowly said, "I am truly ashamed to accept your kind words, teacher."

Qin Ji twirled the teacup in his hand with three fingers: "You have high standards for yourself and a heavy mind. You have already been kneeling for an hour and a half. I don't want to be too harsh on you. I plan to give you a small punishment as a warning and reward you with twenty strokes of the cane."

"Given that you knelt twice more, knowing full well what displeases me, yet still persisting in doing so, I will reduce your punishment by fifteen strokes."

"Five boards."

Shang Jingming looked up, completely bewildered.

No, is this calculation method correct?

Why is it decreasing instead?

Qin Ji looked at his youngest disciple, who was unusually clueless, and said, "A stubborn brat who makes his teacher angry and refuses to change his ways doesn't deserve to be punished by me."

Is good fortune so cheap?

Is that brat thinking he didn't do his job well and now he wants to get some good fortune from me?

Dream on!

...

Second update delivered! Goal achieved! Double update tomorrow!