The young master saw her silence and waved for the others to step aside, looking at her: “Or do you want to do the beating yourself?”
Zhao Qingning: “Not exactly.”She couldn’t help but complain internally—no wonder the original host was disliked.”
“Then what exactly do you want? Did you get water in your brain when you fell into the lotus pond yesterday?”
He looked at her curiously: “Do you even remember who I am?”
Zhao Qingning stared at him for a long time before a faint impression surfaced.
If she was the female demon, then this person before her was the male tyrant.
Chen Jinbao, son of the Weiyuan Marquis.
The Chen family was a prominent noble clan. The Weiyuan Marquis had gotten this son late in life and had spoiled him into lawlessness.
The two delinquents had originally kept to their own territories, but after coming to the Virtue and Abundance Academy, they hit it off immediately, becoming figures no one dared provoke.
Zhao Qingning frowned: “Of course I remember.”
Chen Jinbao looked puzzled: “Then why are you speaking up for this Little Wild Seed? Didn’t you hate him the most?”
Looking at the boy called Little Wild Seed on the ground, Zhao Qingning recalled the backstory and couldn’t help widening her eyes.
The male lead in the original novel was from a military family who initially wanted to serve the court. However, the new emperor proved so cruel and tyrannical that he ultimately overthrew his reign.
It was also because of this that the female lead eventually became empress.
And that overthrown tyrant was none other than the beaten boy before her—Lu Jinghan!
Lu Jinghan was the ninth son of the emperor. His biological mother came from a noble family, but at the height of imperial favor, she was discovered having an affair with a palace guard, casting doubt on his own parentage.
In his fury, the emperor sentenced the consort’s entire family to execution and threw the infant Lu Jinghan into the Cold Palace.
Miraculously, he survived.
But survival in the deep palace was never simple. Lu Jinghan had never been treated as human since childhood—beaten regularly, never having enough to eat or wear.
Last month, he encountered the original Zhao Qingning in the palace.
The original host had been in a bad mood at the time, so she beat him up, then took him out of the palace and sent him to the Virtue and Abundance Academy as a servant, saying she could vent her anger on him anytime.
The emperor knew about this too, but he held great respect for his elder sister Yongjia and consequently doted on Zhao Qingning. He didn’t care about a son of questionable parentage and let her have her way.
The inhuman treatment Lu Jinghan suffered at the Virtue and Abundance Academy twisted his psyche, making him bloodthirsty after ascending the throne.
The original host’s tragic ending was partly related to him.
In the later parts of the novel, when Yongjia’s influence waned, the original host kept scheming against the female lead and ended up being framed into offending Lu Jinghan.
Clearly, he still remembered how she had abused him. He sentenced everyone in the Princess Manor to exile and had her sliced to death.
Zhao Qingning looked at the trembling figure kneeling on the ground and felt a headache coming on.
Did the original host have a death wish?
What kind of mess was this?
Chen Jinbao somehow produced a whip and shoved it into her hand: “Are you in a bad mood? Whip him. Vent your anger on him and you’ll feel better.”
Whip my foot!
She glared at him, threw the whip on the ground, and without overthinking it, reached out to help Lu Jinghan up.
The moment she touched him, Lu Jinghan shrank back even more violently, instinctively avoiding her—proof of how terrified he was of her.
“Get up.”
Seeing him evade her, she had no choice but to say this.
To her surprise, Lu Jinghan kowtowed to her: “This slave knows his wrong.”
In places she couldn’t see, his eyes held a lifelessness unfit for a child.
The deep palace had completely ground away his backbone and dignity. As long as he could live, he was willing to be a slave.
Zhao Qingning was utterly dumbfounded.
Was the future tyrant really this pathetic now?!
Chen Jinbao suddenly kicked him over: “You scum, how dare you ignore Sister Qingning?”
“Stop kicking him.”
Zhao Qingning spoke angrily. This wasn’t just kicking Lu Jinghan – it felt like stabbing her own heart!
After all, she was largely responsible for his tragic fate.
Remembering her own eventual demise, Zhao Qingning suppressed her anger and pulled him up: “Get up.”
As she pulled him, she realized how terribly thin he was. His clothes were already too small, yet the sleeves still hung loosely around his arms.
During the physical contact, Lu Jinghan trembled slightly, desperately suppressing the urge to break the wrist of the person before him as he lowered his gaze.
He didn’t want to die yet.
Noticing his trembling, Zhao Qingning mistakenly thought he was afraid of Chen Jinbao. With complex emotions, she simply stood in front of him and glared at the others: “From today onward, none of you are allowed to bully him. Anyone who does will have to answer to me, understand?”
Chen Jinbao looked incredulous: “You’re speaking to me like this for some lowborn bastard? And here I thought we were friends.”
It was true he had always treated her well – how could two kindred spirits not get along?
But right now, she couldn’t afford to care about that.
Lu Jinghan must not be offended.
“Anyway, if you hit him again, I’ll… I’ll never play with you again.”
For children around ten years old, “I won’t play with you anymore” was a devastating blow.
Chen Jinbao was deeply hurt: “Zhao Qingning, you’ve disappointed me so much! Let’s go.”
He snorted coldly, flicked his sleeve, and left.
Zhao Qingning sighed.
Well, she could always try to win him back later.
She turned to look at Lu Jinghan, forcing a concerned smile: “Are you alright?”
Darkness lurked in Lu Jinghan’s eyes.
He felt no gratitude. Zhao Qingning was merely protecting him on a whim, but in doing so, he had thoroughly offended Chen Jinbao.
The days to come would not be easy.
However, he didn’t show his thoughts, simply kowtowing again: “Thank you, young mistress.”
Zhao Qingning was speechless: “What are you doing? Get up quickly.”
Did he really enjoy kowtowing this much?
Seeing he wouldn’t get up, Zhao Qingning grew impatient and switched tactics, imitating the original host’s arrogant manner: “Get up for your young mistress immediately, or I’ll have you beaten to death!”
Hearing this, Lu Jinghan promptly stood up, bowing as he stood to the side, appearing utterly servile.
Zhao Qingning: “…”
Well, that approach worked better.
After some thought, she said: “You’ll follow me today. If you disobey, I’ll have people beat you to death.”
As she spoke, she forced a ferocious expression.
Lu Jinghan naturally complied. However, when they reached the main hall entrance, he stopped and stood motionless.
Zhao Qingning found it strange: “Why aren’t you coming in?”
The sun was so scorching – what if he got sunburned?
He spoke softly: “This humble servant is unworthy of entering the main hall.”
The main hall was where lessons were held, while attendants could only wait in the side hall for their masters to finish class.
Zhao Qingning originally wanted to pull him inside, but Lu Jinghan knew that if he stepped through this door, the noble youths would feel insulted by his lowly status. They might not dare offend Zhao Qingning, but they would target him even more.
Therefore, for the first time, he resisted the idea and refused to take another step forward.
In the end, Zhao Qingning had no choice but to compromise: “Then go wait in the side hall. Qiuhua.”
“Yes, young mistress.”
“Take him over and wait for me until class ends.”
Zhao Qingning instructed, and Qiuhua complied.
“I take my leave,” Lu Jinghan said.
With that, he turned to depart.
“Wait,” Zhao Qingning suddenly called out to them. After examining Lu Jinghan, she remarked, “These clothes are too tattered—they’re an eyesore. Get him a new set and have him freshen up. Make sure he’s properly looked after.”
Qiuhua was utterly astonished.
But she dared not question her mistress: “Yes, ma’am.”
Only after watching Lu Jinghan leave did Zhao Qingning step into the main hall.
Unbeknownst to her, those inside had already witnessed the entire scene.
Seeing her enter, Chen Jinbao let out a disdainful snort and turned his head away, refusing to look at her.
He thought this would make Zhao Qingning realize how excessive her behavior had been and come apologize to him.
To his surprise, she entered the room completely indifferent to others’ gazes, sat alone at her desk lost in thought, and didn’t even glance his way.
Chen Jinbao: “…”
The boat of friendship had capsized in an instant!