To break her hand? Jing Rong had never been so ruthless, much less to a lady.

　　The guards stood still as they exchanged looks as if they were silently asking each other, 'Do we really have to break her hand?'

　　The silence was interrupted when Jing Rong commanded furiously, "Why are you still standing here?"

　　"We'll get to work now!" The guards obeyed and promptly restrained Tang Si.

　　Tang Si writhed, trying to escape. She shouted at Jing Rong, "Who do you think you are? Even my dad doesn't dare to punish me but you are trying to break my arm. What right do you have? Let me go!"

　　Unfortunately, she failed and was dragged toward the exit of the room.

　　All of a sudden, Teacher Yu yelled, "Stop it." He lifted up his robe from the floor and walked forward. He said solemnly, "She has undeniably made a huge mess and disrespected the Academy. For this crime, she should be punished and be punished severely. But Mingshan Academy is a sacred place where knowledge is stored and pa.s.sed down. Blood shall not be shed lightly in this place."

　　The spectators were fl.u.s.tered.

　　Teacher Yu coughed and continued, "Miss Tang's behaviour was certainly infuriating, but not to the extent that it should cost her one of her hands. That's not something an educated man should do. Furthermore, Master Jing has just agreed to allow Mingshan Academy to decide on the punishment as the incident occurred within our compound."

　　The corner of Jing Rong's mouth lifted slightly. Everything was going according to plan. He had merely pa.s.sed the baton of decision making to Teacher Yu but at the same time, his action allowed Teacher Yu to back down without bruising his pride. Why would he really want to break Tang Si's hand? That would only make him as terrible a person as Jing Yi.

　　He cupped his hands together in acknowledgement. "Then I'll leave her to you, Teacher."

　　"The study hall has been completely ruined. Everything is either stained or broken. According to the rules, you'll first be caned ten times. Then, you shall clean the entire place and kneel for a night in the memorial hall of the Sage Immortal Teacher. That will be your punishment."

　　"Great. We'll do as Teacher says." Jing Rong agreed without any hesitation.

　　Yet, Tang Si, the offender, dissented loudly. "There's no way I'm going to clean this place, not to mention to kneel for a whole night. Dream on. I'll bend my knees for heaven, earth and my parents, but never to scholars like you."

　　Ji Yunshu walked to her side and said in low tones, "You'd better stay silent and obey. There is no doubt this incident was your fault. This is the most lenient punishment you can get. No one can help you if you continue to misbehave."