Whoever can strike me hard will be rewarded handsomely.

After finishing his official duties, Qin Ji stood up, leaning on his desk. As he stood up, he aggravated his injuries, causing his noodles to twitch slightly.

Although Qin Ji tried his best to hide his pain, the head eunuch Fu Lu, who was always the most considerate of the emperor's wishes, still noticed something was wrong. "Your Majesty, are you feeling unwell?"

Hidden beneath his clothing, none of the palace servants attending him knew that the emperor bore such an embarrassing, humiliating injury. Qin Ji's thoughts were subtly stirred, but his expression remained largely unchanged. "My legs are numb from sitting for so long."

Fu Lu immediately knelt down to massage Qin Ji's legs, saying considerately, "It's getting late, and there's an early court session tomorrow. Your Majesty's health is paramount; please get some rest."

Qin Ji shifted his legs uncomfortably, glanced at him, and said, "You're so clever. Go back to your palace."

After being served and laid on the dragon bed, Qin Ji instructed Fu Lu to lower the curtains and dismissed the palace servants.

A stray cat stepped on the tiles of the bedchamber, leaving a small bottle of fine medicine beside Qin Ji's dragon bed. Qin Ji lifted a corner of the curtain, picked up the medicine bottle, and then lowered the curtain again, knowing perfectly well who this stray cat was.

I didn't give him a raise for nothing this month.

Qin Ji lay on the dragon bed, his hand reaching out to touch the flogging marks. It was a strange sensation; they were hotter than body temperature, and he could feel a slight throbbing pain when he touched them.

Gu Huaijin's earnest teachings still seemed to echo in his ears, and Qin Ji's ears turned slightly red again. He hastily smeared the medicine on his back, pulled up his pants, put away the medicine, called someone in to help him wash his hands, and then spent the whole night making pancakes on the bed.

……

The imperial edict arrived at the Bian family the next day. The entire Bian family received the edict with great joy. Old Madam Bian, dressed in the attire of a second-rank noblewoman, couldn't stop smiling and kept praising His Majesty's wisdom and how her precious grandson had made something of himself and had a bright future ahead of him.

Only Bian Yushu's sky collapsed.

He used to be the little ancestor of the whole family, but now he has to enter the palace to be the biggest ancestor in the world as a companion, and the kind of ancestor whose whole family will lose their heads if he doesn't serve him well. What should he do?

Bian Yushu imagined the scene of his whole family being hacked to pieces, and his face turned pale as he sat down on the ground.

Old Madam Bian was startled when he fell to the ground. She cried out, calling him her precious darling, and quickly ordered her maids and servants to help him up. "How could you be so careless? Were you overjoyed? My dear grandson, did you hurt yourself?"

Bian Yushu said, on the verge of tears, "Grandmother, if I go to be His Majesty's study companion and accidentally offend him, won't our whole family be doomed?"

"Pah, pah, pah! What nonsense are you talking about? My dear grandson is so obedient and sensible, how could he possibly offend His Majesty? Go change your clothes quickly, you still have to go to the palace to express your gratitude later!"

I knew I shouldn't have asked my grandmother. She always viewed him through a very biased lens, and she always approved of whatever terrible things he did.

Bian Yushu was very self-aware. Although he did not consider himself an arrogant second-generation rich kid, he was still a playboy who liked to tease others. He didn't dare to do anything big because Bian Hongzhen, who was far away in western Sichuan, kept him in check. He was always protected by his grandmother, who doted on him like the apple of her eye.

If someone beats the son of a vice minister today, they'll add a few pieces of salt to the teacher's tea tomorrow. By the time he's sixteen, he'll be so hated that even dogs will avoid him.

As for his education, he started learning at the age of five and studied for eleven years. He wasn't completely illiterate, but his father would shake his head and his brother would sigh in dismay.

What did His Majesty see in him that made him his study companion? It couldn't be just his looks, could it?

Bian Yushu is indeed handsome. When he's not causing trouble, he just stands there and looks like a well-behaved, pretty young master, which is very endearing.

His grandmother couldn't understand his worries, so Bian Yushu could only change his clothes with a gloomy expression as the servants helped him. Instead, the steward came and reminded him of the palace rules, which moved him so much that he held the steward's hand and called him Uncle Chen repeatedly.

His Majesty did not marry an Empress, and his grandmother was too old, so she was exempted from expressing her gratitude. Her father and brothers were all far away in western Sichuan, which meant that Bian Yushu had to go to the palace alone to meet the Emperor and express her gratitude. Sitting in the carriage, Bian Yushu was under so much pressure that she almost cried.

……

Qin Ji sized up the boy standing in front of him, who was as obedient as a quail. At first, he was also fooled by his appearance.

It wasn't until Qin Ji demonstrated his approachability and went along with Bian Yushu's words, saying a few more things in an attempt to extract information, that things changed.

Bian Yushu blurted it all out without any guile.

Good heavens, cockfighting, dog racing, eating, drinking, having fun, dice rolling, cricket fighting—he's living quite a lively life. It's not hard to tell he's someone who's good at causing trouble.

Qin Ji was initially somewhat displeased, feeling that having such a study companion would tarnish his reputation, but then he changed his mind.

If I impersonated Gu Huaijin, then if he committed a crime, wouldn't it be me who committed the crime when it reached Gu Huaijin's ears?

This is absolutely fantastic news! A stroke of good fortune from heaven!

Qin Ji immediately took a liking to Bian Yushu. "Have you chosen a courtesy name yet?"

Bian Yushu, who had been tricked into revealing a lot by Qin Ji, was deeply moved by the Emperor's approachability and began to tell him about his family situation. "Your Majesty, my father only gave my two elder brothers their courtesy names when they came of age. I am only sixteen now, so I do not have a courtesy name yet."

Qin Ji smiled kindly, "Then I will bestow a name upon you. There is a style of calligraphy called Feibai, and so it is with people. They should be both strong and gentle, elegant and unrestrained, living a lively and free life. How about Feibai?"

Bian Yushu was flattered and overjoyed, and kowtowed to express her gratitude for the emperor's favor. She silently repeated the name Bian Feibai in her heart several times, and she liked it very much.

Qin Ji looked at his foolish expression, like that of a rich man's son, and handed him a piece of paper. "There are a few questions on this. You have one day to finish them and bring them to me tomorrow. I want to see your level. Don't try to get help from others like you did to fool your father, or I'll have you punished."

The matter of the article has also been resolved; I am truly a genius.

Bian Yushu's smile froze on her face, and she accepted the question with a mournful expression.

How could he have even told His Majesty about hiring someone to write for him? He was careless.