Whoever can strike me hard will be rewarded handsomely.

The arrogant young man finally admitted defeat.

They are at least true to their word.

Qin Ji's gaze swept past Pei Lian, who was kneeling upright, and landed on Fu Xingjian.

This person is upright and rigid; coercion and bribery are unlikely to work.

So he didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point: "Mr. Jiang has a vast and profound mind, yet he is a free spirit, carefree and unrestrained, and does not want to be bound by officialdom and its rules."

The Ministry of Personnel recommended him three or four times, offering him high-ranking positions and generous salaries, but he refused each time.

"I did not wish to miss out on such a great talent, so Bai Long disguised himself as a fish and became his disciple."

Qin Ji paused slightly, his gaze shifting back and forth between Fu Xingjian and Pei Lian: "You have both met Mr. Jiang outside the palace, and you both know that I am Mr. Jiang's disciple."

Until the Emperor changes his mind, you must keep this a secret for me.

This was not a request, but an imperial edict.

His Majesty cherishes talent, and since the court's recruitment efforts could not persuade Mr. Jiang to serve, His Majesty took a roundabout approach and became Mr. Jiang's disciple.

Although Mr. Jiang has traveled and lectured for many years, he has rarely taken on any students. To this day, the only one with a name is Master Shen Jiangliu.

Since Your Majesty has been able to become a disciple of Mr. Jiang, it must be because you have met Mr. Jiang's expectations.

If Mr. Jiang were to change his mind and serve the court, and become the Grand Tutor in the future, wouldn't that be a wonderful story?

While concealing one's identity to become a disciple is certainly against etiquette, if Your Majesty had made your identity clear from the beginning, the matter would probably not have succeeded.

Although Fu Xingjian was straightforward and often ridiculed by Gu Zhenhe as rigid and old-fashioned, he was not pedantic.

His Majesty's self-designation as a disciple demonstrates the sincerity of his intention to become a student.

To tell them frankly shows that I have a clear conscience.

However... he's not good at lying, so it seems he'll have to avoid Mr. Jiang as much as possible from now on.

Fu Xingjian bowed respectfully and said, "Yes."

Pei Lian responded, "Yes."

Qin Ji was very satisfied with Fu Xingjian's cooperation. He waved his hand and said, "You have all worked hard today for the announcement ceremony, the parade, and the banquet. Go back and share the good news of your success with your family."

Fang Yanqing and Fu Xingjian exchanged a glance and bowed together, saying, "Yes."

Pei Lian didn't move because he didn't know whether His Majesty's use of "you all" included him.

He had to accept his loss. Since His Majesty wanted to question him about his transgression, he had no reason to renege on his promise.

Soon, he received the Emperor's order: "Pei Lian, stay."

This familiar sentence structure wasn't directed at him this time. Fang Yanqing quickly walked out.

As Fu Xingjian left the Qianzheng Hall, he glanced at Pei Lian's upright kneeling figure inside.

Considering the fruitful day, Fang Yanqing said with a smile, "Don't worry, if His Majesty really wanted to chop off Pei Xiaoyuantong's head, why would he have bothered to correct his exam paper just now? At most, he was just giving him a warning and dampening his arrogance."

"I just don't know how to discipline him..." Fang Yanqing thought to himself, thinking of the bad habits of his sect.

Fu Xingjian naturally understood this principle as well.

Pei Xiaoshen is young and impetuous. He lost the competition and was suddenly reprimanded by His Majesty. I wonder if he can bear it.

Fu Xingjian left the palace smoothly, while Fang Yanqing was stopped by someone when he left.

A palace attendant smiled and pointed to the carriage parked in front of the palace gate: "Lord Fang did not take a carriage to enter the palace today. His Majesty was considerate that you had a lot of things in your pockets and was afraid that there would not be enough room, so he specially ordered someone to prepare a carriage for you."

Fang Yanqing choked.

Okay, okay, they didn't forget to give him a piece of their mind too.

He was reminded that someone was always watching him, and that His Majesty was watching his every move when he went out or paraded through the streets, so that he would not even think about running away with his teacher.

Fang Yanqing pointed to the carriage prepared outside the palace gate, "Is this carriage for me?"

"I hope I won't have to pay it back?"

Yimi, disguised as a palace attendant: "..."

...

Fang Yanqing innocently picked up a carriage, while Pei Lian was still kneeling, waiting for His Majesty's judgment.

His Majesty neither summoned him nor immediately punished him for overstepping his bounds. Instead, he began reviewing memorials, leaving him to his own devices.

Even if his head falls off, it'll only leave a small scar, and besides, His Majesty doesn't seem to be planning to take his head.

After an unknown amount of time, Pei Lian felt as if her knees no longer belonged to her.

His Majesty finally closed the last volume and turned his gaze to him.

Pei Lian's forehead was already beaded with sweat.

Qin Ji leaned back casually in his chair and tapped the table with his finger: "My lord, do you know what the punishment is according to the laws of the Great Yin Dynasty for overstepping one's authority?"

Pei Lian pursed his lips, his voice, still going through puberty, sounding somewhat grating: "His Majesty promised not to harm my sect or my family."

Don't talk nonsense! I never agreed to that, Qin Ji thought to himself.

His tone was unreadable: "Looks like you're prepared to lose your head?"

Pei Lian's eyelashes trembled slightly, but she quickly regained her composure and gave a confident smile: "His Majesty will not kill me."

This shorty is quite confident?

Qin Ji chuckled: "The imperial examination is held once every three years. There are countless top scholars, second-place scholars, and third-place scholars in the court. Little prodigy Pei, you are probably not as valuable as you think."

"Your Majesty is a wise and virtuous ruler who cherishes talent. I may not be the most valuable, but Your Majesty will certainly not treat me like dirt."

"Otherwise, I wouldn't have corrected your exam paper just now."

When I first met Pei Lian, this kid was arrogant and disdainful, but now he knows how to flatter him.

It is clear that setbacks can make people think clearly.

Qin Ji fiddled with a jade lock with great interest. "Since you're so clever, why don't you guess how I'm going to deal with you?"

Pei Lian bowed his head: "Your subject is willing to accept defeat and submit to any punishment without complaint."

Qin Ji had been waiting for these words, and a hint of a smile flashed in his eyes.

Since you've said that, don't blame me for giving you some good fortune.

Qin Ji raised his hand to dismiss the crowd.

Pei Lian noticed that the palace servants had closed all the doors and windows when they left, and instinctively felt that something was wrong.

A rare hint of panic, as if things were spiraling out of control, flashed across his youthful face: "Your Majesty?"

Qin Ji slightly curled the corners of his mouth: "Good fortune and prosperity."

Fu Lu understood immediately, bowed, and quickly led two eunuchs in, one carrying a bench and the other holding a bamboo board.

Qin Ji tapped his long fingers on the desk: "Arrogant and haughty, strip him naked and give him fifty strokes of the cane."

Pei Lian's expression shifted from astonishment and disbelief upon seeing the bench and bamboo planks to blushing and feeling utterly ashamed and indignant at the thought of "removing clothes."

He reached out and shoved the young eunuch who was holding him forward, his hoarse voice distorted: "A scholar can be killed but not humiliated!"

Qin Ji said calmly, "What, the third-ranked scholar has accepted his loss and is now willing to be dealt with as he sees fit?"

He listlessly fiddled with the jade lock in his hand: "Or are you already begging for mercy before my interrogation has even begun?"

...

First update delivered. The second update is a bit late; I feel like I won't be able to finish writing tonight, and it might not be available until tomorrow morning.

I'm still 239 chapters short of my goal, so I haven't reached it yet. I'll only be posting one chapter tomorrow, but it's okay, I still have the chapter I owe for today, haha.