Whoever can strike me hard will be rewarded handsomely.

Bian Yushu was startled by His Majesty's words, "calculate according to the decree," and quickly and obediently returned to the side of the imperial desk.

Qin Ji raised his hand and ruthlessly disciplined his cheap apprentice.

Bian Yushu trembled uncontrollably and began to cry softly like a kitten.

The instinct for survival was screaming in his brain, urging him to run, but he struggled to overcome it and obediently lay down to accept his punishment.

He almost ruined His Majesty's plans, and felt he deserved it, so how could he allow himself to hide?

With her vision obscured by the moisture, everything became blurry. Afraid that her crying would annoy His Majesty, Bian Yushu simply opened her mouth and bit her arm, turning her sobs into a more delicate, low whimper from her nose.

When Qin Ji stopped again, Bian Yushu looked as if he had been pulled out of the water, his entire back soaked with cold sweat.

Seeing his disheveled appearance, Qin Ji gave Fu Lu a wink.

Fu Lu immediately took a handkerchief and stepped forward to wipe Bian Yushu's face and wet palms.

Bian Yushu thought the punishment was over and tremblingly prepared to express his gratitude. The ruler tapped lightly on his back, and he instantly froze, as if sealed in place. His face paled even more. "T-Teacher?"

His Majesty still wants to punish him, but he doesn't even know what the punishment will be. This is truly disheartening.

Qin Ji raised his hand and gave him another slap without any hesitation.

Bian Yushu's rabbit-like eyes welled up with tears again, and she let out a soft sob.

Seeing his pitiful state, Qin Ji raised an eyebrow and asked indifferently, "You've grown quite bold, daring to set fire to the imperial tent?"

Bian Yushu then belatedly realized what foolish thing she had done. Without uttering a word in defense, she sniffled and obediently apologized, "I'm sorry, I was wrong."

Although his original intention was to escape and save His Majesty, and although he moved away anything that could easily catch fire when he set the quilt on fire, it now seems that he not only did not help at all, but also caused more trouble. Even Li Feng, who was guarding him, was beaten with thirty strokes of the cane.

Thinking of this, Yu Shu felt so guilty that she almost lowered her head to the desk, secretly wiped away her tears, and said in a barely audible voice, "It was I who implicated Guard Li."

Qin Ji frowned slightly and tapped Bian Yushu's wound as a warning. "What do you mean by implicating him? He underestimated you and let you escape, which was his dereliction of duty. I have my reasons for reprimanding him."

"If you don't put your heart into your work, even if he doesn't stumble with you today, he'll stumble with someone else someday. It's only a matter of time."

His Majesty's words made Bian Yushu feel a little better, but no matter what, he still needed to find an opportunity to apologize to Guard Li.

After considering the matter of apologizing, Bian Yushu suddenly realized that His Majesty was trying to comfort him.

He was immediately moved to tears again, turned around and gently tugged at Qin Ji's sleeve, "Thank you for comforting me..."

The boy's grateful eyes made Qin Ji move his fingers uncomfortably. He continued to scold him in a cold voice, "You're usually not very bright, but you become clever when you cause trouble. You even know how to set the camp on fire."

"If you burn down my imperial tent, how do you plan to clean up the mess? Do you intend to cut off the heads of your Bian family and lay them out as stools for me?"

Bian Yushu turned pale with fright and quickly said, "No, I moved all the things that could easily catch fire away."

"If it weren't for Fu Lu covering for you, your act of setting fire to the imperial tent would have spread, and I wouldn't have had to go through all this trouble to deal with you. Go to jail and be cellmates with the assassins."

Bian Yushu felt a wave of lingering fear and silently thanked Fu Lu for a moment. Then, glancing up at His Majesty's displeased expression, she whispered, "Your Majesty is merciful; you won't treat me as an assassin just because I accidentally started a fire..."

Qin Ji scoffed upon hearing this, "Hmm, no. At most, someone will drag you out and punish you with sixty strokes of the cane in front of everyone as a warning to others."

Glancing at Yu Shu's pale face, Qin Ji's expression remained indifferent. He parted his thin lips slightly and said, "Considering you are my disciple, I will not allow anyone to kill you. However, you will inevitably be beaten to a pulp, with your skin torn and flesh torn apart. Are you prepared for that while you are studying with me?"

Bian Yushu instinctively touched her burning wound, swallowed nervously, and tugged at His Majesty's sleeve, "Teacher..."

Qin Ji pulled his sleeve from Bian Yushu's hand, unconsciously reducing the amount he was about to say, "The last thirty."

"Lie down properly, no begging for mercy, no whining, or we'll have you dragged out and flogged."

Despite having been struck about fifty times and in excruciating pain, Bian Yushu obediently listened to His Majesty, turned around and braced himself on the imperial desk, even whispering his thanks, "Thank you for your leniency, Master."

Seeing Bian Yushu's obedient and compliant appearance, Qin Ji thought he should teach the boy a lesson, but he held back a bit when he actually hit him.

Unfortunately, Bian Yushu couldn't feel any of His Majesty's pity at all; he was in so much pain that his soul seemed to leave his body, and he was powerless to distinguish between them.

Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably, and sweat mingled with her tears as it trickled down her cheeks and brows. Bian Yushu tried her best to keep her sobs as quiet as possible.

Qin Ji spared the hardest-hit areas and instead lowered the ruler to the lower boundary, instructing, "Straighten your legs."

Bian Yushu was in so much pain that he was dizzy and disoriented. He vaguely heard His Majesty's order and subconsciously obeyed it.

Qin Jixu pressed down on his waist, weighing the force as he yanked him away.

Bian Yushu paused in her sobbing, her legs reflexively pulling back. After realizing what was happening, she lowered her head and bit her arm, then shakily straightened her legs.

Qin Ji landed only three feet there. On the fourth strike, before the ruler even touched him, Bian Yushu's leg tucked up again. The ruler, whistling through the air, almost struck the old wound he had sustained while riding a horse.

Qin Ji barely managed to withdraw his hand, then frowned as he looked at Bian Yushu, who realized he had dodged and struggled to stretch his leg back to its original position.

If that blow had landed properly, that kid would have been in big trouble.

The punishment stopped, and Bian Yushu, having recovered slightly from the pain, realized that she had been dodging earlier. She turned around to steal a glance at His Majesty's expression.

With a soft, nasal voice and red eyes, he stammered, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hide. Teacher, please don't be angry..."

Qin Ji wouldn't get angry at him for this. When people feel pain, their bodies naturally tend to seek advantage and avoid harm. Even he, a dignified ruler of a country, has moments when he can't bear it, let alone this doughy little boy.

Besides, Bian Yushu has always been well-behaved and wasn't deliberately going against him, so he wouldn't be so petty about such a small matter.

Qin Ji's unpleasant expression stemmed purely from his frustration at not possessing Jiang Jibai's ability to strike accurately no matter how the opponent dodged.

Lost.

I lost my ass!

Good skills are mostly honed through practice. Jiang Jibai truly is a master of poison!

After mentally grumbling for a while, Qin Ji's expression improved considerably. Looking at Bian Yushu's pitiful appearance, Qin Ji scoffed, "Thirteen more strokes, can you hold on?"

Although Bian Yushu was afraid, she still nodded with tears in her eyes.

Seeing that his little companion was relatively well-behaved, Qin Ji eased his grip a bit more.

Bian Yushu was still in excruciating pain, her soft sobs echoing in the Qianzheng Hall for a long time after Qin Ji stopped.

When Bian Yushu finally came to his senses, Fulu had already tidied up his wrinkled clothes so that he wouldn't lose too much composure in front of the emperor.

With Fu Lu's help, he limped and knelt before Qin Ji to express his gratitude.

Qin Ji took the handkerchief from Fu Lu and half-squatted down to wipe Bian Yushu's face.

Bian Yushu obediently tilted her head back, not daring to move.

After wiping himself, Qin Ji casually tossed the handkerchief to Fu Lu, then pinched Bian Yushu's chin, "Have you learned your lesson yet?"

Bian Yushu nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

"You asked me before if I had done anything unnecessary, and now I will answer you."

Qin Ji slightly raised his lips, "Although you were unable to help me in saving the emperor, you have helped me discover a rare talent, so it is not an unnecessary task."

"Talent?" Bian Yushu asked in a daze, then seemed to remember something, pursed her lips, and felt a pang of sadness.

His Majesty is probably referring to Shang Jingming.

Seeing Bian Yushu's confused expression, Qin Ji chuckled and pinched his cheek. "Did the punishment hurt, teacher?"

Bian Yushu nodded with lingering fear, rubbed her eyes, and gave a soft "hmm".

Qin Ji stood up. "Take the staff down to apply the medicine."

"Yes," Fu Lu replied with a smile.

Me, me?

Bian Yushu's eyes widened slightly. Before she could react, Fu Lu gently helped her up and carried her to the side hall, turning back every few steps.

Qin Ji looked at Bian Yushu's pitiful limping figure, scoffed, and swung his arm.

You get punished every few days, and you've used up all your medicine.

Foolish scoundrel!

What a waste of money!