To break her hand? Jing Rong had never been so ruthless, much less to a lady.
The guards stood still as they exchanged looks as if they were silently asking each other, 'Do we really have to break her hand?'
The silence was interrupted when Jing Rong commanded furiously, "Why are you still standing here?"
"We'll get to work now!" The guards obeyed and promptly restrained Tang Si.
Tang Si writhed, trying to escape. She shouted at Jing Rong, "Who do you think you are? Even my dad doesn't dare to punish me but you are trying to break my arm. What right do you have? Let me go!"
Unfortunately, she failed and was dragged toward the exit of the room.
All of a sudden, Teacher Yu yelled, "Stop it." He lifted up his robe from the floor and walked forward. He said solemnly, "She has undeniably made a huge mess and disrespected the Academy. For this crime, she should be punished and be punished severely. But Mingshan Academy is a sacred place where knowledge is stored and passed down. Blood shall not be shed lightly in this place."
The spectators were flustered.
Teacher Yu coughed and continued, "Miss Tang's behaviour was certainly infuriating, but not to the extent that it should cost her one of her hands. That's not something an educated man should do. Furthermore, Master Jing has just agreed to allow Mingshan Academy to decide on the punishment as the incident occurred within our compound."
The corner of Jing Rong's mouth lifted slightly. Everything was going according to plan. He had merely passed the baton of decision making to Teacher Yu but at the same time, his action allowed Teacher Yu to back down without bruising his pride. Why would he really want to break Tang Si's hand? That would only make him as terrible a person as Jing Yi.
He cupped his hands together in acknowledgement. "Then I'll leave her to you, Teacher."
"The study hall has been completely ruined. Everything is either stained or broken. According to the rules, you'll first be caned ten times. Then, you shall clean the entire place and kneel for a night in the memorial hall of the Sage Immortal Teacher. That will be your punishment."
"Great. We'll do as Teacher says." Jing Rong agreed without any hesitation.
Yet, Tang Si, the offender, dissented loudly. "There's no way I'm going to clean this place, not to mention to kneel for a whole night. Dream on. I'll bend my knees for heaven, earth and my parents, but never to scholars like you."
Ji Yunshu walked to her side and said in low tones, "You'd better stay silent and obey. There is no doubt this incident was your fault. This is the most lenient punishment you can get. No one can help you if you continue to misbehave."
"But…"
"You have learned about Jing Rong's temper along our journey. He is one who stands by his words. If you continue to act up, you might really lose your hand." That was more a piece of advice than a threat.
Once Tang Si calmed herself down, she looked at study hall filled with debris, then threw a fearful glance at Jing Rong. She then forcefully flung her arms to the side to extricate herself from the grip of the two guards and massaged her bruised arms. "Fine. I'll clean and kneel at the memorial hall." She gave in!
However, the scholars were not content with this resolution. "Teacher, you are letting her go just like this? She destroyed so many of our tables and chairs, as well as countless of our books. How can you let her pff just like this?"
"That's right, you can't let her off." The scholars protested, unsatisfied with Teacher Yu's way of rectifying the issue. Teacher Yu did not respond, face remaining placid as his back stooped a little more.
Jing Rong interrupted, "I'll compensate for the damages at the academy today. Make a list of the broken furniture and the ruined books. I'll replace all of them."
"Can money solve everything?" one of the scholars rebuked.
Yes. Money can solve everything. What can you do to me? I'm a prince! My word works miracles!
Teacher Yu said sternly, "The matter has been settled. Other people might be at fault but Lin Shu initiated the fight. Things would not have ended up like this if Lin Shu were less competitive and impulsive. No one is allowed to mention this incident anymore." He shook his finger disapprovingly at the studentsas he dismissed them. "Look at all of you. Go and clean yourselves up."
The students finally realized that their robes, faces and hands were now covered with black patches of ink. The whole debacle was hastily concluded just like this.
In fact, Teacher Yu was still angryl as well and did not wish to spend another second in the study hall looking at the mess. He tottered his way out of the study hall as he massaged his head. This incident was probably the worst on record in his forty years at the academy.
After a short while, a pageboy lobbed a broom and a piece of cloth at Tang Si, remarking sarcastically, "Miss Tang, thanks for the hard work."
She tugged the cloth and placed it over her shoulder. Hmpf! She jabbed the broom savagely on the ground several times.
Jing Rong glanced at the furious Tang Si and said, "Young lady, your temper is terrible. If Ji Yunshu was not there to stop you, I reckon that you'd have turned the entire academy upside down."
Tang Si glared at him. "Sooner or later, I'll wreck the academy."
"I admire your willfulness. Anyway, you have to first clean this place. Otherwise, I'll have to break your hand as I promised."
"Isn't it just cleaning? Everyone knows how to do it." She finished her words and commenced her work.
However, she was born a lady in a noble family. How could she have ever done manual labour like this? Back home, whatever she wanted, she was served on a silver platter with just a single command. She had never touched a piece of cleaning cloth, not to mention the housekeeping chores.
Before long, the mess got worse. The small number of tables left standing were now on their sides had now fallen; any ink that remained upright had now spilt as well. It looked like a hurricane had just passed through.
Suppressing his laughter, Mo Ruo walked toward Jing Rong and gently nudged him. "Do you really intend to leave the job to her alone?"
"Do you want to help?"
"I don't want to dirty my hands."
"Keep quiet then." Jing Rong threw an icy glance at him before he dragged Ji Yunshu along as left the scene.
On their way back to the backyard, Ji Yunshu studied him discreetly. His icily calm expression did not reveal a single clue about his mood. Ji Yunshu stammered, "You can't blame it entirely on Miss Tang. Nothing would have happened if I didn't drag her along. Moreover, she only got mad because Lin Shu was being extremely sarcastic and mean."
Jing Rong did not answer.
"When you said you wanted to break her hand, you were only trying to intimidate her and to let Teacher Yu back down it that situation with his dignity intact. At the same time, you didn't want to use merely your title as a Prince to settle the problem to avoid him holding a grudge against you. Your tactful solution worked perfectly."
Jing Rong remained silent as his thin and cold lips slowly turned into a faint smile. A smile that seemed to be so mysterious and has so much hidden underneath. Is that an evil grin? Or a discreet chuckle? What's wrong with this man? He's always indecipherable!
Ji Yunshu ended the conversation as they arrived at her room. Just as Ji Yunshu was about to enter the room, Jing Rong pulled her by her wrist, forcing her to turn and face him. Her gaze landed at her wrist and slowly traced upward to finally meet with Jing Rong's calm and tranquil eyes. They locked eyes and stayed still for a very long time.
"What's wrong?" A foreboding feeling grew stronger as Jing Rong's grin grew broader and broader. He tightened his grip and pulled the petite lady toward himself. His head slowly lowered to close the gap between them.