My ink!
Hongsheng watched as his precious ink stick, along with everything else on the table, crashed to the floor.
The ink shattered into several pieces and became covered in dust, instantly losing its original preciousness.
Hongli glanced at the things on the ground, a slight smile playing on his lips, before continuing his studies. Hongzhou quickly turned away, refusing to look. Hongshi simply withdrew his eyes coldly, avoiding any glance at Hongsheng.
Enraged, Hongsheng yelled at Hongli, "It's all your fault! You'll pay for my ink stick!"
"You're the one who broke your ink stick, so why are you blaming me!" Hongli glared at him.
“It was you who mocked me just now. That’s why I got up,” Hong Sheng said, his face slightly flushed. “If it weren’t for you, and the angry words you said to me, I wouldn’t have suddenly stood up.”
"Hehe, what did I say? Which sentence mentioned you by name?" Hongli said.
"You're clearly talking about me. And now you won't admit it! You'll pay for my Mo!" Hong Sheng's face turned red with anger, but he seemed unable to say anything.
"You broke the ink yourself, and you spoke first. Now you want others to compensate you? It's utterly ridiculous!" Hongli said.
Hongsheng suddenly swept everything off Hongli's desk, including Hongli's favorite calligraphy brush, which had been used by Emperor Kangxi and specially given to Hongli.
One section of the penholder was made of jade. Because Hongsheng intentionally dropped it, he used a lot of force, and as a result, the pen broke in two when it hit the ground, with the jade section breaking off.
"You did this on purpose! This brush was bestowed upon you by the Emperor himself. This is treason!" Hongli stood up abruptly, staring at Hongsheng and speaking each word with utmost seriousness. Although he was just a child, the boy's words carried a sharp edge, causing Hongshi, who was standing to the side, to tense up.
Hongsheng rushed forward and immediately started fighting with Hongli. He didn't understand what imperial items were or what responsibility he would bear for breaking them. Anyway, he had disliked Hongli for a long time and was taking this opportunity to vent his anger.
Before long, the two were fighting fiercely. Hongshi hesitated whether to step forward to break them up, while Hongzhou wanted to intervene but was hesitant. The servants outside heard the noise of tables and chairs being overturned and came in to find the two young princes wrestling. Hongli had grabbed Hongsheng's braid, making him scream, while Hongsheng had Hongli's neck in his hand, causing Hongli's face to turn red.
The servants immediately shouted and rushed to separate the two princes, while another servant quickly went to report to the master.
When the tutor whom the Fourth Prince had invited arrived and, after clarifying the facts of the matter, said to the two of them, "Today I will punish all four of them. Although it was Hongli and Hongsheng who fought, Hongshi and Hongzhou will also be punished. Each of them will receive ten strokes of the cane! Do you have any objections?"
Hongli's eyebrows twitched, and he said fiercely, "If I fought with him, you can punish both of us, why bring Hongzhou into it?"
Hongli always protected Hongzhou. When he saw that his teacher was going to punish him, he stood up and spoke up, disregarding the risk of contradicting his teacher.
"As your brother, how could he not stop you from fighting? As your classmates, he should have intervened as well. Hongshi, do you know why you are being punished?" the teacher said righteously.
Hongshi nodded, took the lead and walked up to his teacher, extending his palm and saying, "Teacher's reprimand is correct, Hongshi is willing to accept the punishment!"
As the ruler struck Hongshi's palm, Madam Nian arrived in a large entourage with her maids. Meanwhile, Lanqin received a report from her maid that Hongli and Hongsheng were fighting in the front yard.
"Consort!" The servants at the door couldn't stop Lady Nian, because the Fourth Prince had instructed that this place was equivalent to the study in the front courtyard, and without his permission, the ladies of the inner quarters were not allowed to enter.
"Get out of my way!" Nian shouted sharply.
The servants had no choice but to let her in. The sound of a ruler being struck echoed from inside the room. Madam Nian was terrified and quickly quickened her pace, supporting Cui Ling's hand. The pearl hairpin at her temple shimmered and struck her cheek.
"Hong Sheng!"
Before Nian even entered the school, his voice had already reached inside. The teacher, seeing Nian suddenly enter, froze in mid-air, his hand that was striking Hongshi.
When Madam Nian realized that it wasn't her son being punished, she felt a pang of embarrassment. After all, she was a woman of the inner quarters, and barging into the front yard, surrounded by men, was certainly not proper. However, when she saw that Hongsheng's hair was disheveled and that he had scratches on his face, she immediately disregarded her husband's astonishment and went straight to Hongsheng's side.
When the master saw a beautifully dressed woman enter, he realized he could no longer continue with his rules, so he put away the ruler and waved to Hongshi, signaling him to return to his seat.
Without even greeting the man, Nian pulled Hongsheng aside and asked, "Hongsheng, who hit you? How did you get like this?"
As soon as Hongsheng saw Nian Shi arrive, he burst into tears and threw himself into her arms, saying, "Mother, Hongli bullied me! He threw my ink stick. My uncle gave me the ink stick."
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