Whoever can strike me hard will be rewarded handsomely.

Jiang Jibai found the boy's boisterous behavior, used to mask his inner wariness, rather amusing.

Without any attempt to conceal it, he said, "It's Zheng Ying, the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy. He wanted to invite me to teach at the Imperial Academy, but I declined. Hearing that my student, Jiang San, was composing poems next door, he asked to see you again."

Who?

Who is it?

Chancellor of the Imperial Academy?

Qin Ji's legs seemed rooted to the ground, firmly planted there.

No way!

Absolutely not going!

I will not step into the door next door.

Zheng Ying, the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, isn't he the one I went to the Imperial Academy's Hall of Punishments to ask for a beating, and just as I was about to kneel down, he came to inspect me, and didn't even understand my warning look, so he bowed down and shouted, "Your Majesty, what are you doing here?"

If Qin Ji was worried that Yang Xiuyun back then wouldn't understand his gaze and would shout "Long live the Emperor!" three times upon seeing him, Qin Ji was almost certain that the current Chancellor of the Imperial Academy wouldn't have that kind of insight.

exile!

exile!

"Both are Minister Yang of the Ministry of Works and Minister Zheng of the Imperial Academy. Teacher, you have quite a wide circle of friends, don't you?" Qin Ji gritted his teeth inwardly.

"You're not happy about being introduced to my friends?" Jiang Jibai casually snatched the fan from Qin Ji's hand and lightly tapped him on the forehead: "What's with the sarcastic tone?"

If an ordinary student had a teacher helping him expand his network before even entering officialdom, he would naturally be more than happy.

For Qin Ji, however, these were like unexploded bombs, ready to detonate at any moment the relationship between Jiang Jibai and his master-disciple.

Qin Ji whispered, "You have the nerve to say that? Your last friend made me get beaten up several times!"

Jiang Jibai said half-jokingly, "You're not going to slip away again, wearing a mask and acting all weird, are you?"

Qin Ji, his voice booming with guilt, asked, "How could that be?"

"That's not true."

"Your friend wants to see me; wouldn't it be impolite of me not to go?"

Jiang Jibai smiled and nodded: "That's good, you're a promising young man."

He took the first step: "Shall we go?"

Qin Ji hesitated for a moment, taking a step forward under Jiang Jibai's watchful gaze, but stopped moving as soon as Jiang Jibai turned away from him.

Jiang Jibai glanced at him, and he followed him step by step; he glanced at him again, and he followed him step by step.

Qin Ji was covered in sweat.

I was cursing him in my mind.

Bean, are you trying to die? Don't you have any sense of humanity at all?

Aren't you going to save the day?

Utterly useless! Absolutely useless!

Jiang Jibai was very patient and didn't rush him, letting him dawdle.

The two were about to move to the private room next door.

A sudden bird call rang out.

Qin Ji felt as if he had received a timely rain and was relieved of a heavy burden.

He looked toward the source of the voice with a grave expression: "This is my colleague's code; it's an urgent matter."

Having said that, before Jiang Jibai could react, he slipped away and disappeared in a flash.

Jiang Jibai watched as his young disciple flew away as if riding on wheels of fire. A faint, meaningful smile flashed in his eyes as he watched his disciple's retreating figure.

He made the trip in person because he wanted to reveal that this "friend" was the chief priest.

Whether or not to come to see me, and whether it is convenient for me to come, I, your humble disciple, have always been decisive and will make my own decision.

Anyway, this isn't the first or second time he's slipped away and made a quick getaway.

He smiled, shook his head, and walked towards the private room.

...

After Qin Ji fled, he glanced at the direction of the private room from afar.

The lentils hidden in the shadows leaped out.

Qin Ji stared at him menacingly for a while, making Bian Dou break out in a cold sweat.

If he hadn't managed to pull the strings at the end, Qin Ji would have chopped him up and thrown him into a pot to boil.

"Well done, here's three months' salary."

Bean said happily, "Thank you for your great kindness, Your Majesty."

I broke out in a cold sweat.

Since His Majesty left the palace to become Jiang Daru's student, he has earned much more than before, but the risk of losing his head has also increased day by day.

Luckily, at the last moment he had a flash of inspiration and gave His Majesty a perfect reason, protecting His Majesty's identity and narrowly escaping the situation.

"Your Majesty, shall we return to the palace?" Lentil asked.

Since His Majesty said there was an "urgent matter," then he must have to spend time "taking care of the matter," so it's impossible for him to go to the Jiang residence today.

Qin Ji was about to return to the palace when he suddenly seemed to realize something. He paused, looked again in the direction of the private room, and his eyes were deep.

A moment later, he suddenly felt much better, opened his folding fan, and changed direction: "To the Jiang residence."

...

After Jiang Jibai finished dealing with Zheng Jijiu, dusk had already fallen, and he returned to his residence in a carriage.

As soon as I stepped through the hanging flower archway, I saw a young disciple sneakily peeking his head out from behind the screen wall.

Jiang Jibai wore a smile he himself didn't even realize was on his face: "Didn't you have an urgent matter? Are you done already?"

In the past, Qin Ji would have racked his brains to find a way to make amends.

Today, however, he emerged from behind the screen wall, fanning himself, and smiled brightly: "Didn't you already know I was going to run away, and specially went to deliver the message to me?"

He snapped his folding fan shut and tapped it against his palm: "Well, Mr. Jiang, you've actually resorted to that 'luring the enemy into a trap' tactic?"

"Since you said I was inviting you into a trap..." Jiang Jibai took a step closer, a half-smile on his face, and said, "You still dare to swagger here waiting for me? Do you want to jump into the trap and walk right into it?"

"Don't try to scare me." Qin Ji met his gaze without backing down, his eyes gleaming. "You know my special status, and you're afraid that if word got out that the Emperor's tutor is your disciple, it would bring me unpredictable risks. So you deliberately leaked information to me, letting me decide for myself whether to stay or leave, isn't that right?"

If you were really determined to take him to meet your friends, why go into so much detail, and even specifically mention Zheng Ying's position—Chancellor of the Imperial Academy—while letting him dawdle?

Jiang Jibai smiled but did not answer.

This reaction confirmed Qin Ji's guess. He grinned so wide his eyes disappeared: "Teacher, your current approach is quite different from when you first showed me to Lord Yang and discovered I was sneaking around...

"Actually, it's not that different." Jiang Jibai placed his hand on the accessory and smiled gently.

...

Second update delivered! Goal achieved! Double update tomorrow!