Chapter 37

“Clatter, clatter!”

A basin of ink poured directly onto Master Li who opened the door.

"ah!"

A scream was heard.

Master Li was wearing a white robe today, but now it has been turned black by the basin of ink.

Huo Rui and the others were stunned when they saw that the person who pushed the door was Master Li. Finished! They got the wrong person. They looked at Huo Ze who was hiding behind the classroom door.

"Huo Ze, don't..." Huo Yu wanted to warn him, but it was too late.

Huo Ze hid behind the classroom door and didn't see who pushed the door. He also didn't see his classmates winking at him. He just felt that the scream was a little familiar, but he couldn't care less at the moment. He cut the rope that tied the ink basin.

“Pah!”

With a "bang", the wooden basin fell directly from the door and hit Master Li on the head.

That wasn’t all. Master Li was knocked dizzy and staggered a few steps into the house with unsteady steps. By the time he realized he was standing on a thin sheet of ice it was too late.

The thin ice was coated with a layer of grease and was very slippery. He could not stand steadily at all. His foot slipped and he fell heavily to the ground as if someone had pushed him hard from behind.

“Ouch! It hurts so much!”

The child, who was originally a little afraid of being scolded by the teacher, couldn't help laughing when he saw Master Li's series of funny actions one after another, "Puchi! Haha!"

Luo Chaoyan looked at this "brilliant" mechanism layout and exclaimed! She couldn't help but sigh that Huo Rui really spared no expense to deal with him. Look at how Master Li was treated. It's so miserable. To be honest, she couldn't help laughing. Ha ha! Fortunately she was careful. Otherwise, she might be the one lying on the ground making a fool of herself.

Pineapple smacked her lips, feeling a little frightened. It was just a blink of an eye, how could it turn out like this?

“Ouch! It hurts so much!”

"Ouch! My waist!"

Seeing Master Li lying on the ground in black and screaming, Luo Chaoyan quickly winked at Fengli, saying that this was the best time to perform well.

"Master, are you okay?"

Luo Chaoyan and Fengli helped Master Li up from both sides, and found a chair closest to him and helped him sit on it.

Pineapple took out a handkerchief, held back her smile, and wiped the ink off his face.

Luo Chaoyan said to her, "Fengli, go outside the courtyard and find someone to come over."

Pineapple nodded and hurried out.

“Who among you did this?!”

Master Li looked at Huo Rui and his children with a ferocious gaze and roared.

Seeing that he was still full of energy, Luo Chaoyan thought that his injury was not too serious.

Only then did Huo Ze realize that they had gotten into trouble and had targeted the wrong person. He hid behind Huo Rui somewhat uneasily.

The other children were a little scared when facing Master Li's questioning, and they looked at Huo Rui.

Huo Rui felt so regretful. This old man liked to punish him on weekdays. Now, he would definitely be punished today. But he is the boss here, and he must not show fear, otherwise how can he make his friends trust him in the future.

"Master Li, it's my fault." Huo Rui apologized sincerely, "I wanted to play a game with my friends, but I didn't expect to hurt you by mistake. I accept the beating and punishment, but I just ask you not to blame them."

Luo Chaoyan looked at him with a look of deep sorrow and said, "Xiao Rui, I thought that having you come to the clan school would help you learn better, but I didn't expect that you would do all these messy things every day, and now you have caused Master Li to be injured. You really disappoint your mother..."

She took out a handkerchief and pretended to be very sad.

Master Li pointed at Huo Rui and then Huo Ze with shaking hands, saying, "You naughty boys, the school is a place for reading and writing, do you think it is a place for you to do miscellaneous things?"

"If I don't punish you severely today and make you realize your mistakes, I'm not worthy to be your teacher." As he said this, he looked around angrily, trying to find the ruler he had dropped.

At this time, the clan leader brought people over and saw pools of ink in the classroom. They looked up and were shocked to see Master Li covered in black ink.

"Master Li, what happened? I heard you were injured?"

Master Li was in tears and wiped his tears with his hand. "Patriarch, I have been teaching for more than ten years and have countless students. But now I have been treated so badly by these naughty boys. I am so ashamed."

The clan leader said, "Master Li, although these children are a bit noisy, they also know etiquette. Is there any misunderstanding?"

"Clan leader, what misunderstanding could there be? Isn't my miserable condition enough to explain everything? They are deliberately retaliating against me because they think I am too strict with them." Master Li beat his chest and stamped his feet, "I am wholeheartedly for them, but they humiliate me like this. I am in pain!"

The clan leader said, "Master Li, don't worry. I will first find out what happened. If they are really causing trouble on purpose, I will punish them severely and give you an explanation."

He looked at Huo Yu and said, "Huo Yu, what's going on?"

Huo Yu said calmly, "Chief, these traps and tricks were all thought up by Huo Rui. They have nothing to do with us."

"Huo Rui!" The clan leader looked at Huo Rui with a headache. Huo Rui had been making trouble ever since he entered the clan school. He doesn't hand in his homework on time, often sleeps in class, or just plays crazy with other kids. He is the future helmsman of the Huo family, the great-grandson of the family. How could he be so naughty?

He looked serious and asked, "Huo Rui, did you deliberately arrange these pranks just to tease Master Li? Just to get revenge on Master Li for being too harsh on you?"

Huo Rui said: "No, Patriarch. I..." He glanced at Luo Chaoyan and saw that she looked like she was watching a show. He was so angry that his teeth were itching, but he also felt a little sorry. Why didn't this woman fall for it? How should he explain to the clan leader now that the person he wanted to target was actually his stepmother?

"Chief, I was wrong this time. I am responsible for my own actions. If you want to punish someone, just punish me. It has nothing to do with others." Now he could only accept the defeat.

"Hmph! You wish." The clan leader said angrily, "None of you who participated today can escape. You will be punished to copy the Analects fifty times and learn the qualities of respecting teachers in it. Tomorrow I will see the copied Analects handed in. If there is anyone who does not hand it in, everyone will copy it again fifty times until everyone has copied it."

"ah?"

Huo Rui and the other children had bitter faces. Fifty times? When will they finish copying?

"Don't even think about getting away with it by asking your family members to copy for you. I can recognize your handwriting. If I find out that anyone is trying to cheat, I'll punish them fifty times!"

He looked at Master Li and said, "Master Li, what do you think of this punishment?"

Master Li pursed his lips. Originally, he wanted to punish these bastards by spanking them, but since the clan leader had ordered them to copy, he couldn't say anything else. I could only nod and agree.

Luo Chaoyan felt a little gloating in her heart, huh! You wanted to mess with me, now you're suffering the consequences.

She said seriously, "Patriarch, don't worry, I will supervise my little Rui'er and will never let him slack off. He did something disrespectful to his teacher, which really damaged the reputation of our Huo family. He should be severely punished."

The clan leader said, "It's good that the young lady understands. Blindly doting on him won't help him become a talent. Go back and have a good talk with the old lady."

"Chief, you are absolutely right." Luo Chaoyan said.