Whoever can strike me hard will be rewarded handsomely.

After several setbacks, Qin Ji realized something.

This palace is full of good-for-nothings; there's not a single one who can fight. If we want to achieve anything, we have to look outside the palace.

By the time Qin Ji was seventeen, he had left the palace very few times. Firstly, as the emperor, he was always accompanied by a large entourage wherever he went, making such a large and cumbersome affair. Secondly, since the age of six, he had been waking up earlier than the roosters and going to bed later than the dogs, leaving him with very little free time. Over time, he lost much interest in the outside world.

In that instant, in order to make his wish come true, Qin Ji rekindled his longing for the outside world.

Going out was inevitable, but it couldn't be done openly, otherwise it would become an inspection by his superior. Qin Ji ordered Fu Lu to prepare a set of casual clothes and instructed him to tell anyone who came that he was resting.

Fu Lu's lips trembled. After a long internal struggle, he knelt down with a thud. "Your Majesty, please reconsider! Your life is precious; what if you encounter danger outside the palace..."

Qin Ji stared at him expressionlessly for three seconds. Fu Lu, biting his handkerchief, stood up with tears in his eyes to help Qin Ji change his clothes. "Your Majesty, please take care and come back soon."

She looks just like a young wife who has been seduced and then abandoned.

Qin Ji withdrew his gaze with satisfaction, then led the guard Bian Dou out of the palace with an air of indifference.

Qin Ji glanced back at the majestic palace gate and took a deep breath of fresh air.

"You're the one who can fight! I'm coming!"

Qin Ji did not leave the palace blindly. He had limited time and had planned everything before leaving the palace, pursuing a ruthless and quick approach, ensuring quality and quantity, getting a beating and running away without getting a single thing on him.

Destination: Imperial College Rope-Temperature Hall.

The Hall of Punishment was a place specifically for punishing students who made mistakes. Qin Ji had already considered that only a handful of people from the Imperial Academy, such as the Chancellor and the Director of Studies, had ever seen him before, and they would not usually come to such a place.

As for whether the students he met in the Hall of Punishments would recognize him when they entered officialdom, it was just a fleeting encounter. Who would dare to imagine that this was the Emperor? Moreover, students who were punished in a place like the Hall of Punishments had neither background nor power, nor any good knowledge. They probably wouldn't have much of a chance to meet the Emperor in their lifetime.

The bodyguard Bian Dou obtained a set of the Imperial Academy's student uniform, so Qin Ji changed into the uniform and swaggered into the gates of the Imperial Academy.

Just as Qin Ji was rubbing his hands and walking towards the Hall of Punishment, a guard stopped him. "You look unfamiliar. Are you a student from the 'Outer Dormitory'?"

According to the three-dormitory promotion system, the Imperial College divided students into three classes: "Outer Dormitory", "Inner Dormitory" and "Upper Dormitory". The Outer Dormitory was for new students, and only those with good grades could be promoted to the Inner Dormitory.

Qin Ji was eager for his wish to come true, so he gave a perfunctory "Yes, yes" and headed towards the Hall of Rope Reproach.

Seeing his hurried manner, the guard swallowed the reminder that was about to come out.

Outside the Hall of Punishment, students who had committed offenses lined up, and Qin Ji could hear the sound of the boards striking flesh and the cries of pain rising and falling from afar.

Amidst this beautiful voice, Qin Ji dragged a student of similar stature to himself into a corner and said, "I'll go for you."

To be honest, I'm not used to this guy calling himself Qin Ji.

The student thought he had misheard, picked at his ear, and asked, "What did you say?"

Qin Ji repeated expressionlessly, "I'll go in your place."

He impersonated someone else to get in, got beaten up, and ran away; nobody knew him. (Plan successful)

Student: I've never seen anyone volunteer to take someone else's place in my life. Where did this sucker come from?

Without asking any questions, the student took out a pen and paper, licked it on his tongue, and then quickly wrote down his personal information and what he had done. He patted Qin Ji in the arms and ran away as if afraid that Qin Ji would change his mind.

Qin Ji watched the students' departing figures with great admiration.

Let's get straight to the point. Once it's done, I'll reward you handsomely!

After quickly glancing at the contents of the paper, Qin Ji smiled and cut in line to the front.

The offending students: Is this even allowed? No need to be polite, cut in line as you please.

The bailiff casually asked a few questions to verify Qin Ji's identity, and Qin Ji answered fluently. The bailiff then led him to the corresponding bench and said, "Lie down here, thirty strokes."

Having reached this point, Qin Ji's face remained expressionless, but he could hardly contain his joy.

After so many years, my long-cherished wish is finally about to come true. Thirty is thirty, so give it your all and let me know that the muscles in your arms weren't built for nothing!

Qin Ji lifted his robe to bend over, when a gong sounded, "The Chief Justice observes the execution."

This back can't bend down anymore; it's a disgrace to the nation.

You can't see me, you can't see me.

"Your Majesty, what are you doing here?" The chief priest exclaimed in surprise, and led the way in bowing. Everyone in the Shengqian Hall knelt down in a clatter. Only Qin Ji stood alone on the bench, feeling lonely on his high position, with a bailiff kneeling beside him, looking like he was questioning the meaning of life.

The board you were about to get has flown away; your time as a libationer is over!

Qin Ji wore a cold smile. "I wouldn't have known how lax the rules at the Imperial Academy have become if I hadn't come."

The chief minister's face changed drastically, and he trembled like a leaf. He kowtowed repeatedly on the ground, saying, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. I am terrified. Please enlighten me on my dereliction of duty."

Qin Ji threw the paper the student had given him at the Imperial Academy’s face, his tone as cold as ice, “I am dressed in white dragon robes, my identity unknown, yet I freely enter and leave the Imperial Academy. The identity verification in the Hall of Verdicts is so childish, anyone can impersonate me. You’ve done a good job as Imperial Academy.”

So His Majesty came for an inspection tour. He even resorted to this undercover operation. How terrifying and insidious!

The Chancellor wiped the sweat from his brow. "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. I deserve to die. I will certainly rectify the atmosphere of the Imperial Academy."

Qin Ji snorted coldly and strode away, saying, "If you still want this head, don't follow me."

The chief priest remained silent, like a cicada in winter, and murmured "Yes."

He thought to himself, "Could it be that some other unlucky old man is going to follow in my footsteps?"

Qin Ji walked out of the Imperial Academy with a somber expression, tears welling up in his eyes.

The national system has been preserved, but the path to the Imperial Academy is blocked—that damned Chancellor.