The instructor controlled the mad horse, Jin Shanyao to withdraw its Spiritual Power.
Immediately afterward, Meng Anci was pulled down by a strong force and firmly held under his armpit. Before he could struggle, a crisp slap landed.
Lu Chi roared, "I'll teach you to be disobedient! I'll teach you to be competitive!"
This was the first time in Meng Anci's life that someone had pulled down his pants in public. In the dead of winter, the cold wind blew into his pockets, and the spot where he was hit burned with pain.
Meng Anci's face flushed red with shame and indignation. " Gouya... you dare hit me? I'm your master!"
"I'm still your ancestor!" Lu Chi's heart pounded. He had never experienced such a shock. Although the race used ponies, the ponies were almost up to his shoulders.
How old is Meng Anci? A four or five-year-old child dares to control a horse. Does he think he's a mighty and strong man of the grasslands? Lu Chi got angrier and angrier and slapped Meng Anci twice more.
"Foolish! I'm teaching you riding, not so you can show off your heroism."
When Jin Shanyao saw Meng Anci being hit, her expression changed instantly. She picked up Meng Anzhi, flipped over the railing with one hand, and quickly ran across half of the horse field to Lu Chi.
" Gouya!" Jin Shanyao coldly scolded, snatching Meng Anci away, both angry and heartbroken.
She helped Meng Anci put on his pants, then glared at Lu Chi, "Everyone has a reputation, and you shouldn't have hit him in front of so many people, especially since he performed so well."
Ha... Now you're telling me people need to have a sense of shame, like trees need bark? Why didn't you think of that when you were pulling down my pants? What, did you miss the point?
"He's so young and so eager for quick success. He escaped unscathed this time, but what about next time, and the time after that? He can't always be so lucky."
Jin Shanyao wanted to say that with her Spiritual Power protecting him, Meng Anci could escape unscathed even on the battlefield, but she couldn't say it. She could only glare angrily at Lu Chi.
It's infuriating that the other party is in the right, and I can't win an argument... but I can win a fight. The book says that when the other party is in the right, you have to be unreasonable and argumentative, otherwise you will definitely lose the battle.
Her eyes narrowed slightly, her face ashen. "You... you bully the young and then the old. Do you think I'm a vine, to be manipulated at will?"
Jin Shanyao grabbed Lu Chi with a backhand grip, and returned the favor in the same way he had beaten Meng Anci.
As she hit him, she said, "I'll let you hit him! I'll let you hit him! I won't lay a finger on him, but you, a servant, dare to lay a hand on your master? You've gone too far!"
If this servant dares to hit his master today, then tomorrow all the servants will dare to do the same.
She didn't care about any kind of good fortune or luck anymore; even if the Heavenly King himself came, he couldn't hit her child.
Lu Chi tried to get up and resist, but it felt like a mountain was pressing down on his back, and he couldn't straighten up at all.
"How Jin Shanyao! You think you're courting death?"
The moment the word "death" was uttered, Meng Anzhi's expression changed.
Meng Anci silently took out a handkerchief and covered Lu Chi's mouth with it. "Master, sometimes you have to bow your head."
Lu Chi was stunned, a look of joy flashing in his eyes. The brat was finally willing to call him master. But the next moment, he was hit again, and shame and anger overwhelmed his reason.
" Jin Shanyao, I'm going to kill you! I'll definitely kill you!" Lu Chi yelled angrily.
He's ruined; his arrogant and overbearing image is completely destroyed.
Lu Chi's eyes were bloodshot as he thought that one day he would send his stepmother and her son to this remote mountain village so that they too could experience the feeling of being trapped in an inescapable fate.
He's now completely helpless, with no one to turn to for help, not even the authorities will stand up for him. Damn it... how could his father have married such a vicious woman?
They actually sold him to this godforsaken place?
His noble status was utterly useless here... Lu Chi had a handkerchief stuffed in his mouth and kept making muffled noises.
" Jin Shanyao, you're dead meat! And you little ingrate, I was teaching you horseback riding and archery, and you stuffed a stinky handkerchief in my mouth—you're dead meat too!"
Meng Anci felt his gaze, reached out and silently covered his eyes, letting out a soft sigh.
" Gouya, you have to accept your fate. I don't know what you've been through, but don't forget, you're a servant of the Meng Household now, and I'm your master. If you hit me, my aunt is being lenient by not killing you."
"Ugh... I'm your father. I'm going to kill all of you Meng Household, kill them all!"
With the commotion at the horse farm quelled, Master Zhao breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to recommend Meng Anci to his uncle, he noticed that the uncle was staring straight ahead with an indescribable expression.
Following the gaze, thinking his uncle was looking at Meng Anci, he smiled and said, "The child is a bit impulsive, but he is extremely intelligent. With proper guidance, he will surely become a top scholar."
"Hey... Uncle, where are you going?"
Don't follow me.
At this moment, Lu Chi had already been Jin Shanyao and was squatting on the ground, feeling wronged and refusing to leave.
He's a man, he can't be beaten for no reason. He needs an explanation. Even slaves have dignity. He always used a board when he beat his servants.
Ah... Pshaw, that's not what he meant. He meant that even a master can't just hit people.
His vision blurred, and Lu Chi's lips curled into a smug smile. "Hmph, too late to apologize now. What were you thinking when you hit me?"
Zhao Cheng jogged over, still catching his breath, before bending down to look at Lu Chi's face.
Lu Chi, head bowed, was startled by the old face suddenly thrust towards him and fell to the ground with a cry of surprise.
He shouted sternly, "What are you doing?"
Zhao Cheng rubbed his aging eyes and said tremblingly, "Young Master?"
Lu Chi looked the newcomer up and down, and asked in confusion, " Lord Zhao?"
"Yes, it is I, Your Highness..." Before he could finish speaking, Lu Chi grabbed him and hugged him tightly.
"Heaven hasn't forsaken me, Heaven hasn't forsaken me!"
" Lord Zhao, didn't you retire to your hometown? What are you doing here?"
Zhao Cheng was the Imperial Academy, a veteran of two reigns who never took sides. In the emperor's words, he was loyal to the throne, not to any person.
Zhao Cheng was being held so tightly he could hardly breathe; his old bones were almost shattered. "Let go, Your Highness, let go first!"
Lu Chi regained his composure, tried to calm himself, and adopted his usual aloof demeanor. " Lord Zhao, I hope you can pretend you didn't see what just happened."
Zhao Cheng asked in confusion, "What should this humble official see?"
Lu Chi patted him on the shoulder with satisfaction. As expected of a cunning old fox, anyone who can escape unscathed from the court is no fool.
He cleared his throat. "Tell me, what are you doing here?"
Zhao Cheng laughed and said, " Qingzhou Prefecture is my hometown, Green Mountain Academy was established by me. My nephew, who is a Juren (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations), joined in the fun and set up a branch academy in Willow and Poplar County."
I come here two or three times a year, just in case he mismanages it and ruins my reputation.
Lu Chi glanced at him sideways. He was lying. He only came once a year. Lu Chi was too lazy to expose him. In this remote and impoverished mountain village, it was a blessing from heaven that someone knew him. He couldn't afford to offend him.
Do you still have contact with Beijing?
Zhao Cheng's eyes darkened. Although the Heir Apparent Lu was unloved by his father, had no mother, and was a powerless playboy, the current empress was his aunt and the crown prince was his cousin.
The reason he asked this question was perhaps because he suspected him of forming cliques for personal gain.
Zhao Cheng considered carefully before replying, "I still have some old friends, but we don't keep in touch often."
Lu Chi nodded. "I'll write a letter later, and you can have someone deliver it to the Eastern Palace." He then walked forward, Zhao Cheng hurriedly followed.
Inside the study, Lu Chi handed the completed letter to Zhao Cheng, saying, "Be sure to deliver it as soon as possible."
Zhao Cheng Chengying, seeing Lu Chi about to leave, hurriedly spoke up, "Your Highness, my nephew has some meager property in the county town. Although his dwelling is not as luxurious as in the capital, it is still adequate for sleeping. May I ask Your Highness?"
Lu Chi waved his hand, "I still have things to do. If there's any news, have Master Zhao and Meng Anci from the Enlightenment Academy convey it. I'm staying at his house now."
Zhao Cheng then remembered who Meng Anci was, and grinned, "I heard from my nephew that the child is extremely intelligent, a potential top scholar. Your Highness has a discerning eye."
Lu Chi cursed inwardly, thinking, "That's an ingrate! A potential top scholar? I'll kill him as soon as I get back."