Exhausted both physically and mentally, Hongjing returned to the front courtyard and soon encountered his third brother, Hongshi, who had come looking for him.
When Hongshi walked in, Hongjing was limping from the corridor into the house.
"Hey, you're walking with a limp, haha, you got beaten by your father again, didn't you!"
Hongjing was furious at Hongshi's mocking face.
The little guy was quite shrewd; instead of arguing with the other person directly, he mocked them back and insidiously set a trap for them—and he did it openly and honestly.
"Third brother, you've never been spanked by father? Well, you were spanked on the palms, after all. Next time you can't answer father's question, your little brother will help you remind him. He won't spank your palms anymore. Do you want to try spanking your bottom?"
The little guy was so quick-witted; he rattled off the whole thing in one breath, giving Hongshi no chance to interrupt.
Hongshi was furious. He pointed at Hongjing and cursed, "You bastard..."
"Third brother!" At this moment, Honghui, pale-faced and thin, walked in and called out weakly.
"Big brother!"
In unison, Hongjing and Hongshi called out to Honghui and bowed to him.
Honghui nodded and then asked, "What happened to you just now?"
Hongshi was about to recount how Hongjing had disrespected his elder brother and verbally insulted him, but Hongjing stopped him first.
"Brother, please come in and sit down. We can bring up this issue later." With that, he welcomed Honghui into the house, ignoring Hongshi.
Of course, we can't be so disrespectful to him on the surface.
"Third brother, I'm injured and it's uncomfortable for me to stand for a long time, so I'll go in first without waiting for you." After saying that, he limped into the house before Hongshi could react.
Hongshi was annoyed and a little angry. What did it mean that standing for a long time was uncomfortable? Once he went inside, it would only be a short while. He wouldn't be allowed to stand for long.
That kid is definitely doing it on purpose.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, so he strode heavily into the house.
He's going to complain to his older brother. Humph, he absolutely can't let that brat Hongjing get away with this.
As soon as he entered the room, before he even sat down, Hongshi started complaining about Hongjing.
He first repeated Hongjing's sarcastic remark and the trap he had set for him to set for him, and then Honghui looked at Hongjing after hearing it.
Because of his injured buttocks, Hongjing did not sit down, but stood up while holding onto the back of the chair.
He blinked innocently and said, "It's because you said I was laughing with envy when Father hit me, so I gave you this idea: from now on, Father will hit your bottom instead of your palms. After all, there's more flesh on your bottom, so it won't hurt."
Hongshi: "...You're blind and deaf, was I laughing out of envy? That was..."
"What is that?" Hongjing asked Hongshi with a smile.
Honghui now understood the cause and effect of the matter. His third brother had ill intentions, but he had not been able to gain any advantage from his fifth brother.
Although both sides were at fault, Hongshi was, after all, the older brother, and it was he who provoked the fifth brother, Hongjing, first.
Hongshi met their gazes, gave a dry laugh, and stammered, "Fifth, Fifth Brother, you, you're right, that's envy, envy, yes, that's the kind of laughter that comes from envy."
After saying that, he gave another dry laugh, then made up an excuse and slipped away.
“You!” Honghui poked Hongjing’s forehead.
Hongjing pouted and said, "It's all because Third Brother provoked me first. Besides, he was very malicious and came here specifically to mock me."
Honghui patted his head, smiled gently, and said nothing, "Tell him to give Third Brother some face. After all, he is the elder brother."
Instead, she asked with concern, "Does it still hurt?"
Hongjing frowned and nodded.
Honghui had someone bring over the medicine, took it from him, and handed it to Hongjing. "This medicine is very effective. Although I know you should have enough medicine here, if you don't, just use the one I gave you!"
"Thank you, big brother!" Hongjing took the medicine and told Xiaochengzi to put it away.
"This is the second time Ama has hit you on the knees!"
Hongjing immediately felt embarrassed and annoyed, "Big brother!"
“If you feel ashamed, then stop provoking your father and messing with him. Otherwise, he’ll probably pull down your pants and beat you on his knees again, making you even more humiliated,” Honghui advised.
Embarrassed and annoyed, Hongjing hurriedly nodded and agreed, "Alright, alright, I understand, little brother. Next time, I won't do it again."
"You want a next time?" Honghui was speechless.
Hongjing shook his head violently.
Hongjing and Honghui were talking when Hongxuan came in.
After exchanging greetings with his brothers, Hongxuan bid farewell to Honghui and Hongjing, as he was about to enter the palace.
A few days after Hongxuan entered the palace, news suddenly spread that the prince was going to stay at the estate for a while.
"Those who went with them included Consort Guarjia, the First Prince Honghui, the Third Prince Hongshi, and the Eldest Princess," a maidservant said from the rockery.
Not far from the artificial hill, Hongjing stopped and strained his ears to listen to what the two cleaning maids were saying.
Father is going to stay at the village. Oh, and Father also said that he will teach Mother to ride a horse after he goes to the village! He was happy at the thought of going to the village, but then he frowned.
Because he heard another maid ask in confusion, "Huh, where's the Fifth Prince?"
Yes, why isn't he there?
Just as he was feeling anxious and frustrated, the cleaning maid who had spoken first spoke up.
"Didn't the Fifth Prince anger the Prince earlier?"
“They even got beaten up!” another maid quickly chimed in.
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