Beat your little brother early

Jian Ruonan finally understood why Min had looked so worried and repeated her warnings over and over when she and Teng left the courtyard earlier.

At the time, she had wondered what there was to worry about. Such a cute, clever little boy, so ready to mend his ways, was only going out to net a dragonfly.

As it turned out, this little brat really was a lawless terror!

He had actually faked an illness to scare her!!!

Once she rushed back in a panic to tell Min, the brat would sneak off and hide, creating the illusion that he had fallen into the lake and drowned, deliberately sending everyone into a frenzy.

When everyone was frantic with worry, he would change his clothes and emerge, declaring that he had never collapsed or convulsed, that his fifth sister had made it all up. That would make Min suspect her of lying. If Min read too much into it, she might even think Jian Ruonan disliked her little brother...

This little brother was one enormous black-hearted lotus!

You shouldn't be called Jian Huateng. You should be called Jian Aman!

And to think she had been willing to toil through missions to get medicine for him!!

All her heartfelt sincerity had gone straight into the belly of a brat!

Jian Ruonan walked up to Teng and looked down at him. "Go on. Keep pretending!"

Teng's soft, chubby body shuddered. ??!!

How did my sister see through me?!

I can even fool the teachers at the Imperial College!

Surely her intelligence network isn't that heaven-defying? She saw through my fake convulsions at a glance.

Jian Huateng blinked at Jian Ruonan and put on an adorable expression, a pair of dimples appearing as he smiled. "Hehe, Fifth Sister, I was just joking."

Pouting his little lips, he gave Jian Ruonan an enormous thumbs-up. "Fifth Sister, you're a heroine among women! No detail escapes your calculations!"

He finished with an adorable tilt of his head.

Jian Ruonan: "..."

[Even if an immortal comes to stop me today, I'm going to beat this brat into behaving!]

She crouched down, pinned the brat, flipped him over, and straddled him. Then she pulled down his trousers and delivered two smacks.

!!

Those two slaps knocked Teng senseless.

"..." Is Fifth Sister really this fierce?!

His eldest sister and fourth sister had never hit him. Even Father only struck his palms. Yet this fifth sister had actually spanked his bottom.

Teng turned his head and tried to bite her.

Jian Ruonan took the pouch from her waist, stuffed it into his mouth, and kept spanking him as she straddled him.

Although Teng was a sturdy, chubby little fellow, he was only six this year, a full four years younger than Jian Ruonan. She pinned him down with ease.

In another few years, she certainly wouldn't be able to.

Teng had plenty of padding on his bottom, making it satisfying to spank. As Jian Ruonan continued, she even began to enjoy herself a little.

[Sure enough, beat your little brother early.]

Teng: "..."

Boohoohoo.

When the maid and manservant returned with the shrimp basket, they saw the Fifth Miss straddling the fourth young master, spanking him until he howled.

"Do you accept this beating from your sister today?!"

"Yes, boohoo." Teng sniffled and sobbed a few times. Seeing people arrive, he started putting on an act again, wailing at the top of his lungs, "Help! Fifth Sister's murdering me!!"

The maids and manservants dared not intervene in a fight between their young masters and misses. Only after Teng's study attendant ran to fetch Min did someone lift Jian Ruonan off him.

Teng threw himself into Min's arms and bawled in aggrieved misery. "Mother, boohoohoo, I was only joking with Fifth Sister, and she... she pinned me down and tried to beat me to death... boohoohoo..."

Having heard her inner thoughts and learned what had happened, Min said, "...Serves you right!"

Teng: ??!!

Why would Mother say something like that?!

Teng turned a pitiful gaze toward Jian Xilu. She winked at him. "It's time Teng reined in that temperament of his."

Teng: ??!!

Even Eldest Sister is taking Fifth Sister's side?!!

The skies over the Marquis's Estate were about to change.

In Westglow Garden, Teng lay on the Arhat Bed, twitching with aggrieved sobs.

He didn't need to look to know his bottom must be red and swollen.

Fifth Sister looks like a frail willow swaying in the breeze. How can she hit so hard?!

Jian Huateng's big, dark-grape eyes rolled in their sockets. When Father returned later, he would definitely complain and demand that Father discipline Fifth Sister strictly.

When he saw Chang Fu enter, Jian Huateng brightened inwardly. Has Father finished work this early today?

Chang Fu was in a hurry. After a brief bow, he entered the East Side Room with Min to discuss something important.

Taking advantage of his small size, Jian Huateng secretly followed and hid beside the door, pricking up his ears to eavesdrop.

Chang Fu had hurried there and spoke just as urgently, the furrows between his brows deep enough to crush a mosquito. Although he deliberately lowered his voice, Jian Huateng still caught the gist: Father had been impeached by a censor today, and Mother needed to send Fifth Sister over immediately.

Father was impeached, so why does Fifth Sister need to go?!

The brat couldn't puzzle it out, and his curiosity clawed at his heart.

Jian Ruonan had agreed with Father last night that she would visit his office today to play, so she found nothing strange about him sending someone to fetch her.

Determined to get to the bottom of things, Teng insisted on coming along.

He held Jian Ruonan's hand, his beautiful big eyes shining, his soft little lips pouting. "Fifth Sister, Teng knows he was wrong. The Ministry of Justice Office is so boring. I'll come with you and keep you company."

As he spoke, he offered up his chubby cheek. "Here, you can pinch it."

Jian Ruonan: "..."

[Didn't this little fellow just get a beating? He's really this good at bending and stretching as circumstances demand?]

Jian Ruonan thought Teng resembled the fat cat she had raised as a child. When he was naughty, he was a real terror; when he behaved and acted cute, he could melt your heart into water in an instant.

[With skills like these, no wonder he'll grow up to be a Great Traitor.]

Min: !!

Jian Xilu: ?!

Jian Huateng: ??

Fifth Sister even knows what will happen when I grow up?

She must be lying!

Half convinced and half doubtful, Jian Huateng followed Jian Ruonan to the Ministry of Justice Office.

Early that morning, Censor Cao had impeached Jian Zhang, accusing him of failing to govern his household strictly, allowing brothers to fight within their own walls, and causing his mother to fall ill-a grave act of unfilial conduct. Emperor Deyuan had ordered him home to reflect on his mistakes and settle his domestic affairs before returning to court.

This Censor Cao was none other than Madam Song's husband.

Who would have thought Madam Song's heart was narrower than the tip of a needle? If she couldn't have something, she would destroy it.

Impeached without cause and then reprimanded by his superior upon returning to the office, Jian Zhang was in a state of utter distress. Seeing Jian Ruonan was like finding a lifesaving blade of grass. "Nannan, what took you so long? Father's been waiting ages for you."

When Jian Zhang noticed Jian Huateng beside her, his brows furrowed. "Teng, what are you doing here?"

Jian Huateng: "..."

You beam like a blossoming flower when you see Fifth Sister, but look at your son with nothing but disdain. Father, aren't you even going to pretend?

What a wonderful father you are!

Although Teng grumbled inwardly, he dared not show it. He bowed properly to Jian Zhang. "Father, I was afraid Fifth Sister would be bored, so I came especially to keep her company."

Since he was already there, Jian Zhang couldn't very well drive him away. Taking Jian Ruonan's hand, he led her into the Six Gates.

It was Jian Ruonan's first visit to a government office, and she was rather excited.

Beyond the six black-lacquered doors, the front courtyard faced the main hall. The side rooms to the courtyard's left were where the officials worked, with higher-ranking officials having rooms of their own.

Past the main hall stood a row of cells. She had heard there were all kinds of instruments of torture inside.

Outsiders couldn't enter the office freely. Jian Zhang first took the siblings to the left vice minister's office to explain the situation, then brought them back to his own room.

Jian Zhang had barely sat down when a minor clerk entered to report, "Vice Minister, Censor Cao submitted a memorial impeaching you early this morning. Your superiors require you to write and submit a memorial in your defense immediately."

As he spoke, he handed over a document.

Jian Zhang took it, and his expression changed abruptly.

He looked at Jian Ruonan with a complicated expression, hesitating before speaking. "Nannan, Father can't play with you now. I have work to do. You and Teng sit here for a while."

Jian Huateng's big, dark eyes shifted. Didn't he already know about the impeachment? Why is Father acting as though he's only just found out?

He tilted his head, utterly baffled, his innocent big eyes blinking. Suddenly, Fifth Sister's inner voice reached him.

[Censor Cao? Madam Song's husband? That Censor Cao who's publicly renowned for his integrity but secretly takes countless bribes, with gold bricks hidden all over the floor of his ancestral hall?!]

Jian Zhang: !!

Jian Huateng: !!

Fifth Sister even knows such closely guarded secrets in other people's homes?!

Is that really true?