Whoever can strike me hard will be rewarded handsomely.

Under His Majesty's gaze, Shang Jingming lowered his eyes uncomfortably, his ears turning slightly red.

He braced himself with his hand beside him, turned around and lay face down on the kang (a heated brick bed), with a pillow under his arm, and held his breath.

Although there are only five, which is a small number, the quality must be up to standard.

Qin Ji moved his wrists slightly, raised his arm, and the small bamboo slats came whistling down.

With a dull thud as a bamboo stick struck clothing, Shang Jingming silently lowered his head, making little movement.

Qin Ji pursed his lips, slightly displeased.

Shang Jingming may not have eyes on the back of his head, but for some reason he always feels uneasy.

After waiting a long time without receiving the next instruction, he moved his lips and asked, "Teacher?"

Just as Shang Jingming was about to turn around to check the situation, Qin Ji, expressionless, gripped the small bamboo stick and poked him in the back.

Shang Jingming didn't dare to move.

Soon, His Majesty's slightly displeased voice came from behind: "Looks like I didn't hit you hard enough again?"

Shang Jingming: "..."

His Majesty cares quite a bit about the effectiveness of education; he simply didn't think of it for a moment and was careless.

"Hiss—" Shang Jingming took a deep breath. "What did you just say? Jingming was in so much pain that I didn't hear you clearly."

That kid's clever.

Qin Ji was slightly satisfied, and then raised his hand to strike again.

Shang Jing gave a muffled groan, then opened his mouth and snorted, "Hiss, hiss."

Qin Ji was so angry he almost laughed. He raised his hand and gave him another hard slap, commenting, "Too exaggerated."

"If you continue to be so extravagant, I will punish you for deceiving the emperor."

Shang Jingming wisely kept quiet.

Qin Ji tapped the small bamboo clapper behind his second disciple. His playful expression vanished: "Do you know why I ordered you to be flogged forty times?"

Shang Jingming pondered for a moment, "Are you trying to mislead the people who are actually sending messages to the 'Cao Gang'?"

The Emperor pursued his responsibilities in a grand manner, which, to outsiders, might have led the Emperor to believe that Shang Jingming had failed in his duties, that the Five Cities Garrison had not been thoroughly cleaned up, and that there were still internal collaborators within the Cao Gang, rather than to suspect the Ministry of Justice.

Seeing that Shang Jingming understood immediately, Qin Ji slightly curled the corners of his lips, "Do you know what to do next?"

With his thoughts clear, everything became easier. Shang Jingming nodded and said in a low voice, "Recover from your injuries, and then cause some big trouble at the Five Cities Garrison."

Previously, Shang Jingming had already used the account book matter to purge the Five Cities Military Command once, suppressing the arrogance of several "factions".

Now, taking advantage of the escape of two more wanted criminals, he can openly and legitimately follow orders to do it again, kick out those who are dissatisfied, and promote a few reliable people to his command position, thus securing his position completely.

Furthermore, it could also make the actual inside agents of the Ministry of Justice relax their vigilance slightly.

The gang's top leader and second-in-command are both imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice's jail. If we don't want them to confess anything they shouldn't, or if we want them to simply pin the matter on the Five Cities Military Command, then our inside man, who has relaxed his guard slightly, might take a risky move.

Shang Jingming looked on with admiration and clapped his hands, saying, "This move kills three birds with one stone! Your Majesty is truly wise!"

Qin Ji raised his hand and gave him the remaining two strokes of the cane together, saying, "Do your job well and don't kneel down in front of me looking for a beating all the time. I'll be grateful if you do."

Shang Jingming grunted twice, "Your Majesty's strategic planning is beyond my reach. If it weren't for your guidance, I'd probably still be stuck in a rut..."

That's natural.

Qin Ji curled his lips, tossed the bamboo stick aside, and said leisurely, "If there's a next time, I won't bother with this. Let Bian Yushu deal with his junior brother."

Shang Jingming: "..."

Your Majesty, are you serious?

Don't worry, there won't be a next time.

Seeing his second disciple's deafening silence, Qin Ji couldn't help but chuckle and said, "Can't you pay up?"

Shang Jingming quickly got up, limping.

Qin Ji glanced at him and said coolly, "Are you mocking me? Don't you know that going too far is as bad as not going far enough? Do you know what happened to Yang Xiu, who was too clever for his own good?"

Shang Jingming immediately stood up straight, quickly changed out of his blood-stained clothes, and was carried out of the palace.

Good things don't go out, bad things pass thousands of miles.

The news that Shang Jingming, the commander of the Five Cities Garrison, had been flogged for his incompetence spread throughout the capital overnight.

...

These days, Bian Yushu is still doing the same thing as before: listening to the Hanlin scholars lecture in the palace in the morning, and going to the Ministry of Works to borrow workshops in the afternoon.

Qin Ji went to check on his studies and bumped into Liu Zhiwei, who was entering the palace to listen to the lecture with a pair of tokens.

Due to the strict separation between men and women, Liu Zhiwei would occasionally ask questions when she encountered something unclear or worth exploring, separated by a screen.

Although Bian Yushu did not like reading the Four Books and Five Classics, he was quite talented in mathematics.

The two men and Hanlin often engaged in lively discussions.

Sometimes people hold firm to their own opinions and no one can convince the other, but other times they can spark unexpected insights and gain something from each other.

However, this inevitably led to some rumors circulating outside.

Some people speculated that His Majesty intended to bestow a marriage upon Bian Yushu and Liu Zhiwei, which is why the young men were allowed to spend so much time together to cultivate their relationship.

Even more extreme, some say that Liu Zhiwei's frequent visits to the palace indicate that His Majesty is quite fond of her, and perhaps she seduced His Majesty at some point, making him consider taking her as a concubine.

The rumors were even more unpleasant, saying that she was seducing the Emperor in hopes that he would take her as a concubine, while at the same time keeping the son of the Sichuan Provincial Governor on a leash.

Regardless of the speculation, the final conclusion is that Liu Zhiwei is disabled and has no family background, so she is not worthy of marrying the son of the Sichuan Provincial Governor or becoming a concubine in the palace.

Some people envied her good fortune, while others spared no effort to slander her.

As a woman, Liu Zhiwei had already found it difficult to acquire her current skills, and she had finally gained Qin Ji's favor through her abilities.

The world cannot see her talent and resilience, but only focuses on her romantic affairs, paying attention to her incompetence and fictitious relationships with men and women.

Liu Zhiwei was not affected much and continued to act as usual, while Bian Yushu was quite angry.

Not only did they make fun of him and Liu Zhiwei, but they even included His Majesty in the scheme?

This is absolutely intolerable!

He was seething with anger and had nowhere to vent it.

One afternoon, Bian Yushu ran into several spoiled brats from aristocratic families who were always talking big when they came out of the workshop.

"A cripple, going in and out of the palace every day, could he really be thinking of marrying into a higher social class?"

Has anyone seen them? What do they look like?

"I heard from the head of the Imperial Observatory, Bao Zhangzheng, that she is quite good-looking, but I don't know what kind of seductive tricks she used to win the favor of His Majesty and his companion. Tsk tsk."

That "tsk tsk" is meaningful and leaves much to the imagination.

Sure enough, a brazen person immediately chimed in, "I wonder what it's like for a cripple to try it? Maybe... it'll be quite something."

The group laughed and joked.

Bian Yushu, who was passing by, was enraged upon hearing this, and his teeth clenched so tightly they made a grinding sound.

"All you do is hurl insults; are you even fit to carry someone's shoes?"

...

Second update delivered! Goal achieved! Double updates tomorrow!