Of course, Wei Chen didn’t dare to say that out loud, so he just said, "So what if I pushed you? If someone said those words to me, getting beaten would be letting them off easy. It was just a little push. Get out of the way and we can forget this whole thing happened."
"That push you gave me hurt like hell, I am even bleeding! And you’re telling me it’s nothing? Wei Chen, are we brothers or not? Don’t forget that I even gave you my wooden token. You’re being so ungrateful. Give me back my token."
"Gone, confiscated by the gatekeeper!" Wei Chen yelled back with no politeness, adding, "Besides, what use is your token now? Don’t you also have to stay in school?"
However, Wei Chen quickly came back to his senses, took a couple of steps back, and sized him up. Seeing his face pale indeed, he asked, "You’re kidding, right? You started bleeding from just a push?"
After finishing, he looked at Bai Shan.
Bai Shan rolled his eyes and said, "I just pushed him. He didn’t even fall to the ground. If he could bleed from that..."
Bai Shan looked at Ji Hao with a sneer and said, "Then I have nothing to say."
Ji Hao was so angry he almost jumped up. His two friends quickly said, "Stop fighting, Bai Shan. Ji Hao might really be bleeding. He has a wound on his chest."
Manbao then carefully observed his complexion, and County Magistrate Tang also looked over.
After a moment, Manbao nodded slightly to Bai Shan.
Bai Shan wrinkled his brow and said, "This is my fault too? How was I supposed to know he was injured? And if he was injured, why would he try to climb over the wall?"
"It’s because he was injured that we wanted your help. Otherwise, we would have climbed over directly," one of the friends explained with an embarrassed look after glancing at Ji Hao. "But you know how Ji Hao is; he has no filter. He turns good words into bad ones. He didn’t mean any harm, and besides..."
After taking a closer look at Manbao, he continued, "Honestly, we’ve never seen this classmate before. He looks younger than you, doesn’t he? But I remember you were the youngest among this year’s new students."
The two friends: ... "Bai Shan, you didn’t really bring an outsider into the school, did you?"
Ji Hao immediately puffed up with pride and called out, "What did I say? Wasn’t I right? They aren’t from the County School..."
County Magistrate Tang quietly coughed and stepped out from behind a tree.
This cough startled everyone present quite a bit, and as they instinctively turned to look, they all felt a chill run down their spines. There wasn’t a single person there who didn’t recognize County Magistrate Tang.
With a fan in hand, County Magistrate Tang stepped forward, taking in the various expressions on everyone’s faces with a smile, and asked amiably, "It’s quite lively here, isn’t it? Would you like me to mediate for you?"
Everybody shook their heads in unison, rejecting his offer.
County Magistrate Tang shook his head regretfully and clicked his tongue, "My judgements are very fair, rest assured. This isn’t a court session; I won’t have you caned."
The crowd shook their heads even more firmly.
"Alright," County Magistrate Tang said with a smile, fanning himself, "If you don’t want me to mediate, I won’t. But I am very curious. How did you get that wound on your chest, Ji Hao?"
He circled around him and continued, "Even if your father wanted to beat you, he would hit your butt, not your chest. He wouldn’t be so cruel as to strike you there, would he?"
County Magistrate Tang tapped his fan lightly on Ji Hao’s chest and asked, "Did you get this wound at the Spring Breeze Pavilion?"
Ji Hao’s face turned a tad pale, unsure if it was because of the pain from the wound or from being rattled by County Magistrate Tang’s words.
"So are you going out to see a doctor, or to take revenge?" County Magistrate Tang asked with a sly grin. "Pretty bold of you, daring to fight at the Spring Breeze Pavilion?"
Manbao quietly asked Bai Shan, "What is the Spring Breeze Pavilion? I’ve never heard of it."
Bai Shan frowned and answered, "Doesn’t sound like a tavern. Maybe it’s some kind of restaurant."
County Magistrate Tang, who had intended to keep asking questions: ...
He turned back toward the three young boys and ... the young girl, tapped his forehead with his fan, and said helplessly to the three of them, "You’re all still young. Don’t pry into these matters and don’t wander aimlessly, understand?"
Ji Hao, Wei Chen, and the other two friends: ...
Bai Shan and the two stood together perplexedly looking at County Magistrate Tang.
County Magistrate Tang didn’t bother with them anymore. To him, the trio sneaking into the County School wasn’t the big issue. The important matter was what Ji Hao was intending to do.
Of course, Ji Hao wouldn’t admit he was planning to go after someone, so he said, "I was going to see a doctor."
County Magistrate Tang was about to speak when Manbao immediately raised her hand and said, "No need to go out then, I am a doctor!"
With no words, County Magistrate Tang turned to look at Manbao, and after a moment, he burst into laughter, slapping his fan against his palm and saying, "Not bad, she’s a doctor indeed. Let her take a look at you, she’ll write a prescription, and I’ll have someone bring you the medicine."
Ji Hao looked at her skeptically, "Really? Aren’t you a student here? No wait, we were just discussing whether you are..."
"What are you all doing here?" Just as Ji Hao was unable to finish his sentence, he was interrupted again. He turned irritably to look at the person interrupting him, then his eyes widened and he shrank his head, becoming even more fearful.
Mr. Wu came over with furrowed brows, asking, "What’s this big group doing around two apricot trees? The trees aren’t even bearing fruit for you to eat..."
Though County Magistrate Tang did not recognize Mr. Wu, seeing how Ji Hao and the others became timid, he guessed his identity. After giving his respects, he said with a smile, "I am Tang He. May I inquire how to address you, sir?"
Mr. Wu squinted at him for a while, as if only then noticing his features. He returned the smile and the greeting, "So you’re the County Magistrate. I am Wu Wen, the keeper of the Book Collection Tower at the school."
Since the County School was under the jurisdiction of the prefect, and not County Magistrate Tang, Mr. Wu could afford to be neither servile nor overbearing.
Apparently having poor eyesight, after greeting County Magistrate Tang, Mr. Wu stared at the students present for a long while before he waved his hand and said, "What are you standing there for? Those who should be studying go study, and those who should be going back to the dormitory head back. Time waits for no one. If you don’t study hard now, you’ll regret it later."
Then he looked pointedly at Manbao and said, "Especially you, have you finished copying those books? Go and copy them now!"
Manbao quickly bowed her head in acknowledgment, stealing a glance at County Magistrate Tang and seeing him fanning himself with a grin, she hurriedly pulled Bai Shan and Bai Erlang away.
Wei Chen wanted to run as well, but as he lifted his leg, he felt a chill down his spine, and in the end, he didn’t dare to run.
Mr. Wu looked at Ji Hao and the others, studying their faces for quite a while before recognizing them, and asked, "Did you get into a fight, or did you fall?"
All four of them simultaneously said, "We fell!"
Mr. Wu nodded, "Whether you fought or fell, if you’re injured, go see the medical officer. The medical officer is always available in the school. Do you know the way?"
With difficulty, Ji Hao nodded and said, "Yes, we know. We will go right now."
His two friends immediately supported him on each side, saying to Mr. Wu, "He fell very badly, we’ll help him get there."
Wei Chen quickly stepped forward to lift his foot, saying, "I—I’ll help carry him."
Ji Hao and the two friends: ... They weren’t planning on carrying him, for heaven’s sake!
Barely managing to hold Wei Chen by the upper body, they all hurried off quickly, vanishing from Mr. Wu and County Magistrate Tang’s sight in a flash.