Whoever can strike me hard will be rewarded handsomely.

Fang Yanqing knew it wouldn't be that simple, and a sense of unease welled up in his heart: "Your Majesty, please speak."

Qin Ji spoke slowly and deliberately: "The criminal Fang Yanqing... is audacious and greedy, and has extorted 105 taels of silver from the Emperor of Dayin. His crime deserves to be punished."

Fang Yanqing's brush tip trembled.

The wording doesn't sound like an IOU.

If this were written down, with black and white text and a signature, it would be solid evidence, a sure thing, enough to get him killed a hundred or eighty times over.

Is Your Majesty perhaps trying to use this to control him?

I'm under your roof; if I don't write this today, I probably won't be able to leave this house. Being controlled is better than losing my life.

Fang Yanqing gritted his teeth and wrote it down stroke by stroke.

Qin Ji glanced at him and continued slowly, "This sinner knows he is unforgivable and is willing to conceal his identity and pretend to be deaf and dumb before His Majesty in front of his teacher Jiang Jibai, so as to share His Majesty's worries and atone for his sins."

Fang Yanqing's heart skipped a beat, and she took a deep breath.

Whether it counts as leverage or not is another matter, but what if this falls into the teacher's hands...

Thinking of this, Fang Yanqing felt dizzy and her vision went black.

Seeing that he was hesitant to write, Qin Ji raised his voice slightly, his tone carrying a deeper meaning: "Second Senior Brother... why aren't you writing?"

Hearing the slightly raised tone and feeling the eerie gaze upon him, Fang Yanqing felt a chill run down his spine.

Circumstances are beyond one's control; today, His Majesty didn't even give him the option to get off this pirate ship.

Fang Yanqing hesitated for only a moment before quickly writing furiously, without missing a single word.

After he finished writing, Qin Ji looked away from the paper, tapped his knuckles lightly on the wooden table, and Fu Lu respectfully brought a box of inkpads to Fang Yanqing's side.

Fang Yanqing tactfully signed and affixed his seal, decisively and without the slightest hesitation.

After he had done all this, Fu Lu presented the "crimes" to Qin Ji.

Qin Ji glanced at it, picked up a corner of the "charge," and gave it a slight shake. "You must not utter a single word in front of your teacher. Otherwise..."

It was full of threatening undertones.

Fang Yanqing quickly and dejectedly expressed his feelings: "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will keep my mouth shut."

Upon hearing this, Qin Ji narrowed his eyes slightly and stroked the Buddhist prayer beads in his hand.

The cheap second division is far too easy to deal with.

When Shen Jiangliu first heard about this, he risked being slashed by him to persuade him to sever all ties with his teacher.

Although Fang Yanqing is not as principled as Shen Jiangliu, he is still his teacher's student. Surely he wouldn't just sell out his teacher to save his own life without any struggle?

Moreover, although Fang Yanqing loves money, Jiang Jibai's judgment of people isn't that bad.

This can be seen from what he heard from Fang Yanqing when he paid money back on Mangshan Mountain.

Qin Ji chuckled, his words carrying a hidden meaning: "Second Senior Brother is certainly straightforward."

The knife is already sharpened and held to his neck; if he's not happy, he might have to go see his great-grandmother. Fang Yanqing kept his eyes downcast, inwardly grumbling to himself while saying, "His Majesty concealed his identity to become my disciple, and now he's even made me write an IOU. He must value me highly to have put so much effort into me. It's a blessing for me to be valued by His Majesty, and I am honored to receive it. I only hope that the friendship between you and His Majesty will last forever."

"I am overjoyed to be a fellow student of His Majesty, and I have no objection to it."

Fang Yanqing's words sounded quite agreeable and timely, and there was nothing wrong with them.

Qin Ji's gaze lingered on the top of his head.

...

It's a bit short; I'll add more tomorrow.