Hibiscus as a Painting - Chapter 11
As Zi Jin was walking leisurely, her hand suddenly went empty. Had she arrived?
happy Bao will only let go of my hand when we arrive at our destination, but something seems off, since we've only walked a short while.
Even walking briskly, it would take more than half an hour to get from Taiping Pavilion to the Imperial Study. If they were to walk like this, it would take them almost an hour to arrive.
What's Xibao doing? Why is she making so much noise?
Zi Jin just wanted to find a quiet place to continue sleeping, but fate seemed to be against her wishes, as a hand grabbed her collar. Zi Jin was furious and slapped the culprit's hand that was grabbing her clothes. Suddenly, the whole world went silent.
All that could be heard was happy Bao's trembling voice: "Master?"
What could have frightened Xibao so much? Who is so blind as to dare to bully her?
Zi Jin opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was Crown Prince Jun Lin's face, which was panting heavily and flushed red.
Zi Jin looked at him with a puzzled expression, her eyes clear and innocent, as if asking: What happened?
"Zi Jin! How dare you!" Jun Lin glared at Zi Jin's innocent expression and roared while rubbing his reddened hands.
"Your Highness, my master did not mean to offend you. It was my fault for not reminding him in time, which caused him to accidentally bump into Your Highness's imperial carriage. I beg Your Highness's forgiveness." Xi Bao trembled as she defended her mute master.
"Guards! Slap this servant's mouth!"
Two eunuchs beside Jun Lin walked up to happy Bao and were about to attack her from both sides.
Zi Jin rushed over recklessly, shoving the two eunuchs aside. Her angry eyes clearly said: Why?
Jun Lin, who had never been so defied in his life, could not bear such humiliation. He immediately recalled the slap he had received in the Imperial Garden, a slap he remembered vividly. Today, this public defiance had slapped him again. A surge of old and new grievances welled up within him; how could he possibly swallow this insult?
"You audacious servant! How dare you openly defy me! Guards, give her a good beating!" Jun Lin finished speaking, sat back down on the throne, and stared directly at Zi Jin's fearless face.
The four eunuchs beside Jun Lin grabbed Zi Jin and happy Bao and pinned them down. The two eunuchs who had just been pushed away by Zi Jin rolled up their sleeves and began to lash out at them like they were drawing a bow with both hands.
Zi Jin struggled, but she was only a twelve-year-old child and could not break free from the restraints of the two eunuchs. Now she could only obediently endure the beating.
A sharp, burning pain shot through Zi Jin's left cheek, then her right. "Slap! Slap!" Countless times, Zi Jin went from burning pain to numbness and loss of sensation in both cheeks.
Jun Lin looked at Zi Jin with great satisfaction, his mood immediately improving.
After slapping her more than twenty times, Jun Lin waved his hand, signaling the eunuch to step back. He walked triumphantly to Zi Jin, chin held high, and said, "Today I've given you a small lesson. If you ever offend me again, I certainly won't let it go so easily!"
The anger in Zi Jin's eyes made Jun Lin feel unusually happy. He smiled, sat on the throne, and got up to leave.
Zi Jin got up and pulled happy Bao up beside her, feeling extremely guilty as she looked at happy Bao's pig-faced face.
"It's all my fault. I was distracted when I was holding your hand, and I didn't expect you to offend the Crown Prince." happy Bao also looked guilty.
Zi Jin wanted to smile, but the smile aggravated the injury on her face, making her wince in pain.
"Master, we'd better hurry, or we'll be too late."
Zi Jin thought of the old tutor with white hair and a white beard, whose personality was such that he would rather kill the innocent than let the guilty go free if they were late. She felt a chill in her heart and forgot her pain. She grabbed happy Bao and ran wildly.
Before even entering the study, Zi Jin heard the sound of a ruler striking flesh. This made her heart clench, as she had just suffered physical pain. She struggled internally and hesitated before finally stepping inside.
The Crown Prince's tutor, who was nearly sixty years old, saw Zi Jin enter but did not speak. He continued to tap the Crown Prince's personal eunuch's palm with the ruler.
Seeing that the Grand Tutor made no move, Zi Jin did not dare to go to her seat. She could only stand at the entrance and watch helplessly as the old Grand Tutor Zhou knocked on the eunuch, and then knocked on the Crown Prince's companion, the prime minister's grandson, Qi Yongyue.
The "smack, smack, smack" sound of the small ruler hitting her palm sent chills down Zi Jin's spine.
After beating those people, Grand Tutor Zhou stroked his snow-white beard and stared at Zi Jin for a long time before saying, "It's one thing to be lazy in class, since you can't speak, so no matter how much you learn, it's useless. But now you don't even come to class on time. You're truly an incorrigible child."
Grand Tutor Zhou picked up that small, resented ruler once again.
Zi Jin walked slowly and reluctantly to the Grand Tutor's side, her head drooping. She stretched out her hand with great resentment, thinking to herself: Why is it that when the Crown Prince is late, only his eunuchs and attendants are punished, but when she is late, Xi Bao can't take the blame? This world is so unfair!
The Grand Tutor picked up a small ruler and struck Zi Jin's palm hard.
Putting aside the eunuchs, Grand Tutor Zhou was extremely biased; he only used a fraction of his strength when he beat Qi Yongyue. There was a reason why Grand Tutor Zhou couldn't bring himself to harm Qi Yongyue: Qi Yongyue was not only the Prime Minister's eldest grandson but also one of his most prized students. How could he truly be ruthless?
Zi Jin was different. Grand Tutor Zhou had long disliked this mute boy. Not to mention that Zi Yingfeng, a reckless warrior who only knew how to fight, was already at odds with him due to their differing opinions, the fact that this mute boy treated his classroom like a bedroom was unforgivable. Normally, he thought the boy was hopeless because he was sleeping, but now he was not only sleeping but also late. Grand Tutor Zhou hated students being late more than anything, and today he would teach him a lesson in respecting his teacher. Grand Tutor Zhou used all his strength in wielding the small ruler.
After a long while, Grand Tutor Zhou, having exhausted his strength and calmed down, put the ruler down and dismissed Zi Jin.
Zi Jin raised her head and walked towards her seat, when suddenly the crowd below burst into laughter. Zi Jin's dark face was now swollen and purple, like a steamed bun that had been squeezed, so it was no wonder that the crowd below was laughing.
Jun Lin's laughter was the most jarring among them. The Second Prince, Jun An, smiled faintly. The Third Prince, Jun Chi, glanced up briefly, then quickly lowered his head.
Zi Jin glared angrily at the group of scumbags, her eyes burning with fury, her small face gleaming with rage. She stared at Jun Lin with hatred for a long time, her mind flashing through countless images of murder, silencing witnesses, and destroying evidence.
First rape, then kill; kill, then rape again; rape and kill, rape and rape again. Seeing that the pig-headed prince was not bad-looking, male-male pairing was not a bad choice. Thus, countless BL scenes appeared in Zi Jin's mind, with the prince innocently playing the role of the bottom.
This morning, Jun Lin felt as if someone was staring at him with hatred and ambiguity. His originally pleasant mood was now chilled by the unsettling gaze.
"Little mute, how was it? Feeling good, huh?" As soon as Old Master Zhou left, Jun Lin walked up to Zi Jin with a smile and an extremely smug expression.
Zi Jin slowly stood up and looked around. Only the timid Third Prince Jun Chi was still lingering in his seat.
Zi Jin slowly moved to a position that would facilitate her escape, and smiled gently. Jun Lin stared at Zi Jin with suspicion in his phoenix eyes, completely bewildered.
Zi Jin revealed her most sincere and natural smile, gently took Jun Lin's hand, and stroked it softly, her face full of apology and regret.
Jun Lin stared at Zi Jin's every move with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion. After seeing Zi Jin's apologetic and regretful expression, his eyes revealed even greater smugness and disdain. In the end, he was still afraid of his own status as the Crown Prince.
Jun Lin made no attempt to hide his contempt for Zi Jin: A mute is always a mute! Especially one who fears and fawns over power. How could Zi Yingfeng, a hero of his time, have a son like you! You are a disgrace to the Zi clan!
Jun Lin smiled slightly, but the smile was extremely fake: "You know you're wrong? Since you know you're wrong, I don't want to argue with a fool like you anymore..." After saying that, she tried to pull her hand away in disgust.