The boy lost a great deal of blood and fainted on the spot.
The children at the school were terrified and immediately told the teacher what had happened.
The teacher was badly frightened too. Without another word, he hurried the boy to the Medical Hall.
Fortunately, the boy arrived in time, and his life was saved.
Even so, he spent half a month confined to bed.
The boy's father was a sixth-rank official. Though his position was hardly lofty in the Capital, he was still a member of the imperial court.
However wealthy the Deng Family was, they were only merchants.
Although merchants were treated with considerable tolerance and friendliness in this era, their status remained a notch below that of others.
To appease the other family, Master Deng brought gifts and humbly went to their door to apologize again and again. Only after paying fifty thousand taels of silver was the matter finally settled.
But the teacher refused to take Deng Qizhi back and expelled him from the school.
Deng Qizhi had made quite a name for himself. When the other schools heard of his grand exploits, they refused to accept him as well.
Master Deng was nearly sick with worry. His son was still so young. What could he do if he did not study?
Deng Qizhi, however, thought nothing of it and said,
"Father, what use is learning all that?
I want to learn martial arts. Once I've mastered them, I can still rise above the crowd and serve the country."
Master Deng thought his son had a point. So long as the boy was willing to learn, martial arts offered another path forward.
And so Master Deng spent another handsome sum to hire a martial arts master.
This master's surname was Fan, and he was a