The Marquis Mansion's Elite Class-Chapter 156

Zong Wenxiu immediately stopped interrupting and focused on watching what his younger brother was about to do.

Luo Chen crossed his arms confidently and said, "There are plenty of ways—drugging him so he can't take the exam, framing him for cheating to ruin his reputation, or even crippling his hand so he can't write... Any of these would stop him from participating in the Children's Imperial Examination."

The two boys' eyes widened in shock.

They were stunned that there could be so many vicious ways to harm someone, and Luo Chen had just casually listed them out...

This scoundrel, so young yet so malicious—what kind of monster would he become when he grew up?

The little devil's chest heaved with anger, his calm black eyes gradually filling with rage. He had only wanted to hear what Luo Chen was planning, but what he heard had far exceeded his psychological limits.

Clenching his teeth, he asked, "Is there more?"

Luo Chen sneered, "Seems like you hate Qin Ye just as much as I do. And rightly so—people like Qin Ye are just naturally detestable. As for methods, I’ve only thought of these three for now. If you have better ideas, let me know, and we can plan together..."

Before, he had merely disliked the Zong brothers, but after comparing them to Qin Ye, he found Zong Jincheng more and more agreeable.

The leader of the four young troublemakers in the capital.

With this kid on his side, along with his wealthy and influential friends, dealing with Qin Ye would be a piece of cake.

His mother was right—as the unfavored son of a concubine, he needed to learn how to leverage the reputation of the General's Mansion to gain power. Aligning himself with Zong Jincheng would undoubtedly elevate his status in the capital.

An eight-year-old brat—easy to manipulate.

"Good, good, good. That's all, right?" The little devil's voice suddenly rose as he shouted angrily, "Luo Chen, listen up! Your plans to drug, frame, and cripple Qin Ye—my brother, I, and everyone here have heard it all!!"

Luo Chen: "???"

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Zong Wenxiu: "!!!"

With a sudden hush, the bustling street fell silent.

The lantern riddle guessers, the lantern sellers, and the passersby all stopped to listen to this unfolding drama.

"I was just guessing lantern riddles, and suddenly I hear a bunch of evil schemes to harm someone?"

"A ten-year-old kid planned all this? Good heavens, are children these days turning into demons?"

"Terrifying. Their parents must be terrible people to raise such a child."

"That kid who exposed his evil deeds is the bravest. Good lad! Uncle supports you—fight him!"

"Auntie supports you too! Take down that bad kid!"

...

Before Zong Wenxiu could recover from the shock, he found himself and his brother once again the center of attention, dazzling yet under scrutiny.

This time, he didn’t hesitate out of shyness. Instead, he bravely stepped forward and declared, "Luo Chen, everyone knows your plans to harm Qin Ye. If you dare to carry them out, my brother, I, and everyone on this street will testify against you in court. You won’t get away with it!"

"That’s right, we’ll all testify!" a passerby chimed in.

"Bad kid, go home and read some books on morality! What kind of nonsense are you spouting? It makes me furious!"

Faced with this sudden turn of events, Luo Chen finally realized he had been completely fooled by Zong Jincheng, the eight-year-old troublemaker.

Clenching his teeth, he said, "Zong Jincheng, this feud is settled!"

The ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‍little devil glared back, "What? Are you planning to use those dirty tricks on me? My bodyguards are my father's sparring partners. Do your lackeys even dare to lay a finger on me?"

Luo Chen tightened his fists, shot him a fierce glare, and then forced his way through the crowd.

The onlookers continued to point and whisper about his retreating figure, but they showered the Zong brothers with praise.

Zong Wenxiu smiled and said, "You really scared me just now. I thought you were actually swayed by him."

Zong Jincheng scoffed, "No way. Who would want to be friends with someone like that?"

He still remembered how, just a few days ago, Qin Ye had made Luo Chen apologize after he bullied Qin Shi.

No matter how much he disliked Qin Ye, he would never stoop to associating with someone like Luo Chen. A young master like him wouldn’t lower himself to such vile acts.

Zong Wenxiu suggested, "Let’s inform Qin Ye so he can be prepared, in case Luo Chen comes up with other schemes."

Zong Jincheng’s face darkened at the mention of Qin Ye. He refused, "No, I won’t meddle in his affairs. I hate him."

Zong Wenxiu, holding a small lion lantern, chased after him and teased, "But what you just did was clearly helping Qin Ye. If you hadn’t tricked Luo Chen into revealing his plans and exposing them publicly, Qin Ye would still be unaware of the danger."

Zong Jincheng’s face turned even darker as he retorted, "I wasn’t helping him! I just didn’t want Luo Chen to harm anyone. Whether it’s Qin Ye or some random stray, I’d step in—because I’m a kind-hearted kid!"

Zong Wenxiu laughed, "Yes, yes, you’re a kind-hearted little brother. I’ll send someone to the Qin Mansion later to inform Qin Shi, so we don’t have to deal with Qin Ye directly."

Zong Jincheng covered his ears and ran off, shouting, "Do whatever you want! I just don’t want to hear that name again. I hate him, I hate him!"

Zong Wenxiu sighed and ran after him.

Meanwhile, Xu Wan and Baili Weihong sat on a boat for a while before releasing river lanterns to make wishes—one wishing for the children’s healthy growth, the other for their success in the imperial exams. Together, their wishes formed a perfect harmony.

After disembarking, they were drawn to the beautiful lanterns and began solving riddles one after another. What started as a simple appreciation of the lanterns turned into a friendly competition between the two talented women.

Cui Zhi and Cui Liu watched in awe from behind.

The two ladies were truly remarkable—no wonder one had raised a son as clever and well-behaved as Zong Wenxiu, while the other had tamed a little troublemaker like Zong Jincheng.

The most distraught person during the riddle contest was the lantern seller.

The riddles in his shop were the most challenging, costing one coin per guess, and if solved correctly, the lantern was taken for free.

After the two ladies arrived, they won every lantern with just one coin each, leaving him at a total loss!

But he was a man of principle. He had set the rules and had to face the consequences. Even though his heart was bleeding, he maintained his composure.

When the two ladies finally left, he looked at his empty stall and thought, "Well, there goes a day’s work..."

Just as he resigned himself to his misfortune, Cui Zhi approached with a smile and handed him a silver ingot, saying, "Our lady asked me to give you this as payment for the lanterns, with the rest as compensation for your trouble tonight."

The seller looked up in surprise: "!!!"

No trouble at all! Please, let such compensation come more often!

Xu Wan, holding a rabbit lantern, chatted with Baili Weihong about local customs when suddenly Zong Jincheng, covering his ears, charged forward like a little bull and bumped straight into her.

"Sorry," Zong Jincheng muttered without looking up, his hands still over his ears.

Xu Wan grabbed his collar and lazily scolded, "Little brat, if you’re apologizing, at least look at the person. Where’s your sincerity?"

When Zong Jincheng looked up and saw it was her, he immediately dropped his hands and glared at her defiantly.

Xu Wan raised an eyebrow, "Who upset you? Don’t take it out on me. You’ve been getting bolder lately, haven’t you?"

Zong Wenxiu caught up and greeted them before explaining, "Auntie, it’s my fault. I made my brother angry, so he accidentally bumped into you."

Baili Weihong raised an eyebrow at this.

Xu Wan chuckled and glanced between the two brothers before commenting, "You managed to make him angry? Isn’t it usually the other way around?"

Zong Jincheng shot her another glare.

This wicked woman—always saying things he didn’t want to hear.

Zong Wenxiu recounted what had happened earlier, and Xu Wan quickly grasped the key point. She repeated the name Zong Jincheng didn’t want to hear: "Oh... Qin Ye, huh..."

Zong Jincheng: "!"

I equally dislike both of you!!