The Reticent Blade

"You. Chen Xun, come here."

Su Yi's expression was somewhat somber.

"Hmph, you lead the way then," Chen Xun said, as he tilted his head arrogantly.

Su Yi gasped in anger. He had never seen a student act so pompously toward a teacher.

"I see how it is," Su Yi said, fixing his gaze on Chen Xun. "As a student... have you forgotten to respect your teachers?!"

Su Yi nearly shouted this last sentence, startling Chen Xun. Throughout his entire life, he had only been spoken to gently. No one had dared scold him so loudly.

The children who had been chattering nearby immediately fell silent.

Chen Xun stared blankly at the man, who seemed imposing compared to his own small stature. A shadow cast across his face obscured his expression, but Chen Xun could almost physically feel the man's anger.

Chen Xun swallowed hard, feeling intimidated.

"Come with me," the man said.

Chen Xun saw the man wave his hand and walk out first. Chen Xun quietly followed.

The two returned to Su Yi's office, where the older teachers were absent, presumably having gone to teach.

Su Yi casually took a ruler from one of the teachers' desks and sat down at his own desk.

He glanced at Chen Xun, who was still standing at a distance, and frowned. "Come here."

Chen Xun looked at the ruler in Su Yi's hand and reluctantly walked over.

Su Yi tapped the ruler on the table and asked, "Chen Xun, let me ask you, was what Xu Tairan said true or false?"

Chen Xun moved his lips and muttered something softly, but Su Yi couldn't hear it clearly.

"Speak up," Chen Xun scolded with a frown, "A gentleman should be straightforward, don't whimper like a woman!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Xun looked up angrily and spat to Su Yi, "So what if it’s true!? I just don’t like studying! I tore my own book! It's not like I ripped up his!"

"You did something wrong and still think that you are right?!" Su Yi's frown deepened. "You say you don't like studying, so what do you like?"

"Hmph, I like practicing martial arts!" Chen Xun replied, seemingly proud of it.

"Practicing martial arts?" Su Yi raised an eyebrow. "Martial arts are for those brash and reckless men. As a student of the Hanlin Academy, how can you be obsessed with martial arts?"

"Pah, nonsense!" To Su Yi's surprise, Chen Xun reacted even more strongly, spitting on the ground.

"By your logic, all those fighting at the border to defend the country are brutes! Why not send all you effete scholars to the border to fight? I’m afraid you'd all wet yourselves at the sight of blood!"

Su Yi stared at the spit on the ground, his eyes wide open. How could there be such a disrespectful student?!

"Is this how you should speak to a teacher?!" Su Yi questioned sternly, "Even if you were right, do you not understand the importance of respecting your teachers?!"

Chen Xun snorted, crossed his arms, and turned his head to the side.

"You!" Su Yi's anger made the veins on his forehead bulge. How could there be such a rebellious child?

Su Yi slammed his hand on the table and picked up the ruler. "You! Give me your hand!"

Chen Xun shrank back. "What do you want to do?"

"What do you think? Beating classmates, tearing books, and disrespecting your elders! Shouldn’t you be disciplined?" Su Yi held the ruler and glared at Chen Xun. "Give me your hand!"

"I won't!" Chen Xun raised his head defiantly.

"Give it!"

"I won't!"

"Give me your hand already!"

"I won't!"

The two engaged in a tug-of-war, both refusing to give in.

"What is this uproar?!" A loud shout came from outside the door. The two turned their heads to see an elderly man with white hair walking in.

Su Yi quickly greeted him, "Senior Zhang, you are back from class."

After a moment, Senior Zhang did not respond. Su Yi looked up only to see Senior Zhang staring blankly at them.

"Senior Zhang?" Su Yi tentatively called out.

Senior Zhang slowly looked over. Seeing Su Yi staring at him, he hurriedly pointed at Chen Xun and asked, "Su, Su Yi... what's going on?"

Seeing Senior Zhang point at little Chen Xun, Su Yi quickly replied, "It's like this, Senior Zhang. This child is too unruly, so I brought him back for a little punishment..."

"You have some nerve!" Before he could finish, he was interrupted by Senior Zhang’s powerful shout.

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"Uh... what?" Su Yi was stunned.

"You punished him?" Senior Zhang pointed at Chen Xun, who was standing to the side.

Su Yi glanced at Chen Xun, and saw the boy looking back at him with a conceited expression.

"Yes, yes." Su Yi thought for a moment before continuing, "Chen Xun beat up his classmate, tore his—"

"Do you dare to punish him?!" Senior Zhang violently interrupted again.

Su Yi frowned and cupped his hands. "Senior Zhang... please speak directly."

At this moment, several teachers had returned and entered the room to see this scene.

Senior Zhang glared at Su Yi. "Do you know who he is?"

Su Yi looked into Senior Zhang's eyes and after a while said, "He is a student, and I am his teacher."

"Ha... his teacher..." Senior Zhang sneered contemptuously, then his expression immediately turned severe. "Let me tell you, Su Yi... you are nothing but a minor scholar, while he... is the Crown Prince! The only son of the current Emperor!"

The Crown Prince... Even though Su Yi felt he hadn’t done anything wrong, hearing these two words made him feel dizzy, as if he had been bashed across the head.

"Do you still want to punish him?" Senior Zhang coldly walked over and stood next to Chen Xun, who was looking at Su Yi haughtily.

The other teachers in the room did not dare to breathe. In fact, no one dared to speak.

Su Yi leaned on the table and finally steadied himself. He looked at Chen Xun, who was making faces at him. Gritting his teeth he insisted, "Punish... He still must be disciplined!"

"What did you say?" Senior Zhang was stunned, Chen Xun was stunned, and the surrounding teachers were also stunned.

Su Yi stared into Chen Xun's eyes and calmly said, "At the Hanlin Academy, there are only teachers and students, no lords and subjects. Chen Xun, this is what your father, the current Emperor, has personally decreed."

With that, Su Yi picked up the ruler again and walked toward Chen Xun. "Today, you made a mistake, so you must be disciplined."

Chen Xun involuntarily took a step back, and at that moment, he felt a bit scared.

"Su Yi, how dare you?!" Senior Zhang yanked Chen Xun behind him, shielding him with his body, and shouted loudly, "If you want to hit His Highness, the Crown Prince, you'll have to knock me down first!"

"Senior Zhang..." Su Yi frowned.

Senior Zhang was taken aback. It was the first time he had seen Su Yi not smile at him. But when he saw Su Yi did not stop, he hurriedly added, "Punishing His Highness the Crown Prince?! Su Yi... is that really something you should do?!"

Crack!

A loud cracking sound echoed, startling everyone in the room. They saw that Su Yi had struck his ruler on the table, snapping it clean in half.

Senior Zhang was momentarily stunned, and his voice unconsciously dropped. "You... what are you doing?"

Hiding behind Old Zhang, Chen Xun also dared not speak, his previously smug expression gone without a trace.

"Things that should be done... heh..." Su Yi glanced at the broken ruler in his hand, chuckling as he shook his head. "Must be done in the end."

Su Yi eyed Senior Zhang. "Isn't it beneath scholars to do such things as sweeping the floor? Can scholars not work the fields? Were you born a scholar?!"

"You!" Senior Zhang pointed at Su Yi, about to speak, but Su Yi furiously interrupted him.

"How dare you point at me?!" Su Yi shouted angrily, "What is it that a scholar shouldn't do? Is it that they shouldn't sweep the floor or that they shouldn't punish the Crown Prince?! Tell me!"

Senior Zhang was so angry that his chest heaved, yet he couldn't refute a single word.

"What's the matter? Can't say it?" Su Yi smiled, then immediately glared fiercely. "Then let me tell you! It is only right for a teacher to discipline a student! This is what I, Su Yi, should do! Step aside!"

"You cannot punish the Crown Prince!" Senior Zhang's face changed. He rushed over, hugging Su Yi's waist tightly, and blocked him from advancing. The older man loudly shouted, "Crown Prince, run! Go find the guards outside!"

At this point, Chen Xun was already too scared to speak. Hearing the reminder, he finally came to his senses and fled the room.

Grabbed tightly by Senior Zhang, Su Yi was unable to move and was only able to watch Chen Xun run outside. He shouted, "Chen Xun, don't you run! If you dare to run, I'll double your punishment the next time you come to Hanlin Academy!!"