Chapter 9
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Xie Duo didn’t have to act that way. There was no need for such a sense of responsibility.
Han Jiao remembered that in the novel, Xie Duo was a proud villain who placed great importance on his reputation and dignity until he took his own life.
And now, all the academicians at the Hanlin Academy were focused on Xie Duo. Why not put all the blame on Han Jiao, who was an insignificant scholar?
The future Crown Prince shouldn’t have had such a history. The future boss, who was arrogant until the end of his life, shouldn’t have had such experiences.
“Is that true?” The Emperor clearly felt that his son had embarrassed him. With a dark and piercing gaze, he turned slowly towards Han Jiao and repeated the question in a low voice, as if seeing through everything, “Is that true?”
No, no, no!
Mind in turmoil, Han Jiao almost blurted out.
Images of implicating his family and being exiled or sent off as a soldier clashed in his mind like a tumultuous army.
This wasn’t the time for loyalty. He could bear the blame lightly, but it might harm his family.
The Emperor stared at him with a face full of doubt.
There was no more room for hesitation.
Taking a deep breath, Han Jiao silently bent down, touching his head to the ground.
This meant he agreed with the Ninth Prince’s words.
Elder Lin was the first to calm down. He slowly closed his eyes, the tension from before making him feel dizzy. His body swayed slightly, supported by his colleague at his side.
“You have been wrongly accused.” The Emperor’s voice lacked any tone of mercy. “Stand up.”
Han Jiao didn’t move, still kneeling on the ground, his fists clenched tightly.
The Emperor sat up straight, leaning back in his chair, raising his chin as he instructed, “Two lecturers, help this pillar of the Great Chu Dynasty stand up.”
This compelled Han Jiao to stand up.
Han Jiao didn’t dare to trouble the two Expositors-in-waiting to help him. He slowly stood up with stiff movements. His back couldn’t straighten, and his wide sleeves hung slightly forward, like a fallen phoenix, losing the previous air of calm and unruliness.
The other junior scholar-officials around him couldn’t understand what had happened. When wrongly accused, he had displayed a calm and composed demeanor, but now that the Prince voluntarily took on the blame, he appeared lost and dejected.
“This son of mine has been mischievous since childhood, but unfortunately, he didn’t use his intelligence in the right way and always loved to be lazy.”
Being the most favored Prince after all, upon hearing the Emperor’s assessment, the people present also breathed a sigh of relief, guessing that at most the Ninth Prince would be confined for a few days as a way to let the matter pass.
However, the Emperor turned his head and asked the Expositors-in-waiting, “If this young man were in a private school among the common people, how would the teacher punish him?”
The two Expositors-in-waiting exchanged glances. It was Elder Lin who spoke first, “His Highness should be punished by rewriting the Great Plan essay.”
Upon hearing this light punishment suggestion, the Emperor chuckled, lowered his head to look at his son still kneeling, and sneered. “A’Duo, since the teacher is reluctant to punish you, I’ll have to take matters into my own hands.”
“Your Majesty!” Elder Lin quickly knelt down. “Young people occasionally indulge in laziness and playfulness. This humble subject believes that although His Highness resorted to laziness as a shortcut, it unintentionally caused harm to the innocent. However, without any hesitation, he rose to the occasion and accepted responsibility. Such generosity and tolerance are truly commendable! Administering a minor punishment today will ensure that he avoids repeating the error in the future.”
The other Expositor-in-waiting also knelt down. “May Your Majesty have mercy!”
All the junior scholar-officials in the entire hall quickly followed suit, kneeling down and pleading in unison, “May Your Majesty have mercy!”
Everyone prostrated on the ground. Although Han Jiao joined them in kneeling, he mustered great courage. He secretly raised his head to observe the Emperor’s expression, fearing his anger had not subsided and he would severely punish the Ninth Prince.
The anger on the Emperor’s face finally dissipated by half.
Elder Lin’s plea hit the mark. The Emperor looked at his son again, feeling that this young man indeed had some heroic spirit in him, inheriting his own traits.
“Your teachers have both pleaded for you. Will you still have the heart to deceive them in the future?” The Emperor offered his son a way out.
“This son and subject will never repeat his mistakes again.”
“I will trust you this time, so listen to your teachers.” The Emperor slammed the table. “Go back and put effort into rewriting the Great Plan essay. Today, you will receive twenty strokes of the paddle on your left hand.”
“Your Majesty!”
“Enough, no more words.” The Emperor interrupted the pleas from others, gesturing to a eunuch to call for the executioner.
Seeing that the twenty paddle strokes could not be avoided, Elder Lin quickly took his leave, intending to herd the group of junior scholar-officials away to prevent the Prince from being publicly punished.
However, the Emperor was determined to teach the young Prince a lesson and did not allow anyone to leave. They all stayed to witness Xie Duo receiving the paddle strikes.
A young eunuch, holding the paddle, approached the Prince.
Xie Duo lifted the hem of his clothes and stood up, his expression indifferent, extending his left palm toward the executing eunuch.
The Emperor nodded.
With a crisp “slap” sound, everyone in the room winced!
“Hiss…” Xie Duo quickly withdrew his hand and shook it vigorously, creating multiple afterimages. He completely lost his composed demeanor from earlier, incredulously turning his head towards the executing eunuch. The handsome face was now filled with the words “Do you want to die?”
His heroic spirit came to an end as the Ninth Prince severely underestimated the pain of the paddle strikes.
The threat in the Ninth Prince’s eyes scared the young eunuch, who trembled and dared not continue the punishment.
“Get your hand back in position!” The Emperor’s eyes narrowed.
Xie Duo clenched his fist, attempting to suppress the burning pain in his palm. However, the pain only intensified upon squeezing. He had no choice but to open his hand again, casting an angry gaze towards the executing eunuch.
As expected, the second paddle strike showed mercy, the sound less terrifying than before.
“It doesn’t count if you go easy on him. If you want him to endure more strikes, continue hitting him like that. If it’s too heavy, I’ll pardon you. If it’s too light, I’ll watch you continue until sunset.”
Xie Duo’s fair complexion gradually flushed red, his face clearly expressing the desire to go back and inform his Mother Empress.
The young eunuch, under the Emperor’s command, could only grit his teeth and forcefully strike the Ninth Prince’s hand.
After ten paddle strikes, Xie Duo’s palm was covered in blood spots. With two more strikes, the skin broke.
Beads of sweat appeared on Xie Duo’s forehead, trickling down his cheeks and gathering into a large droplet at the tip of his chin.
He had no energy left to glare at the eunuch. All his efforts were focused on enduring the pain.
Surprisingly, Han Jiao behind him displayed a similar expression of agony.
While observing the Ninth Prince’s silhouette, Han Jiao’s back was soaked in sweat. After all, half of the punishment was his own fault. With each strike, he trembled slightly, his clenched fist almost breaking the skin in his palm.
It felt like he had endured a century, but finally, the paddle strikes came to an end.
Xie Duo let his left hand hang down, a few droplets of blood falling from his fingertips, staining the azure-colored wide sleeves and hem of his clothes.
“Take him to the imperial physician for treatment,” the Emperor reminded the eunuch, “No need to inform the Empress.”
Xie Duo performed a salute to his Father Emperor, then turned around.
Han Jiao immediately lowered his gaze, his complexion even paler than Xie Duo’s.
Xie Duo’s gaze seemed to sweep over the junior scholar-officials for a moment. The eunuch on the side tried to assist him, but he waved them away. In a defiant manner, he quickly bypassed everyone and walked out of the courtyard.
“Han Jiao,” the Emperor suddenly spoke.
Han Jiao seemed to have lost his soul. He raised his head in confusion to look at the Emperor.
The junior scholar-official beside him nudged him with his elbow, bringing him back to his senses.
“This subject is here.”
“Write a strategic essay on tactics for offensive warfare. Submit it to me within three days. I enjoy reading what you write.”
Han Jiao forgot all modesty and raised his hand to salute dazedly, “This subject obeys Your Majesty’s orders.”
The news of the Ninth Prince stepping up to exonerate Han Jiao quickly spread throughout the Hanlin Academy.
After class, several colleagues gathered around Han Jiao, inviting him to drink. Among them was a defector from the first-ranked scholar’s faction.
Seeing Han Jiao’s absent-mindedness and lack of response, someone laughed and said, “Brother Xiaobai must be overwhelmed today, having his first audience with His Majesty. It seems you couldn’t join us for a drink, but we can gather another day to drink together.”
The group dispersed amidst laughter and commotion, but Han Jiao remained lost in thought.
It was said that accompanying the Emperor was like accompanying a tiger. Unless experienced firsthand, one could not truly understand the aftermath.
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