The Marquis Mansion's Elite Class-Chapter 424

The speaker was also a young boy around ten years old, who had come to check the exam results for his father. Seeing someone his own age, he assumed the boy was doing the same.

But his words nearly made Zong Jincheng explode with rage on the spot.

This was even more insulting than losing to Qin Ye!

The little troublemaker shouted at the top of his lungs, "I am Zong Jincheng! My name is Zong Jincheng! That’s not my father! My father is amazing—he was the top scholar eleven years ago! And I, following in his footsteps, will be the next top scholar!"

The other boy didn’t believe him, thinking he was just bragging, and shot back, "Oh, then you’re kind of weak, only tenth place. My verdict? Not as good as your dad."

Zong Jincheng: "!!!"

"Outrageous!!" the little brat howled. "Open your eyes wide and look properly! I’m only ten years old—a ten-year-old provincial graduate, unprecedented in history! And you dare say I’m weak? Your standards are way too high!!"

"Still, your dad’s better."

"My dad is mine, not yours!"

"Your dad’s amazing, you’re weak."

"You’re the weak one!!"

By the time Zong Wenxiu and He Zheng managed to squeeze through the crowd, the little troublemaker had already argued several rounds about whose father was more impressive—and clearly lost, leaving him red-faced and fuming.

Zong Wenxiu quickly stepped in to mediate, "Jincheng, are you okay? How did this escalate to dragging fathers into it?"

The little troublemaker was beside himself, "Brother, I didn’t insult anyone! He said I’m not as good as my dad!"

Zong Wenxiu wore a complicated expression.

Well… that was technically true.

He Zheng, however, was quicker with his words, "Big bro, don’t listen to him. Arguing with fools is pointless—even if you win, it means nothing."

Zong Wenxiu: "..."

He had lost this round.

When it came to soothing tempers, He Zheng was the expert.

The little troublemaker immediately cheered up, laughing heartily, "Exactly! I won’t waste my time on him. Come on, let’s go check your results!" freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

"Eh? Big bro, you already saw your rank?" He Zheng asked.

Zong Jincheng said, "Not yet, but that kid just said I’m tenth."

He Zheng’s eyes sparkled, "Wow, tenth! That’s second-class honors!"

"Huh? Second-class?" Zong Jincheng only knew that first place was the top scholar—he hadn’t paid attention to the other rankings. "Doesn’t ‘second-class’ usually mean… second place?"

Zong Wenxiu patiently explained, "No, in the provincial exams, ranks two through ten are all called second-class honors. Everyone else is just called a provincial graduate."

The little troublemaker’s eyes lit up in excitement. "Really? So I actually have a title now??"

Zong Wenxiu smiled warmly, "Of course! Only nine people in the entire capital earn this title—and only once every three years. It’s incredibly impressive!"

He Zheng chimed in eagerly, "Big bro! Super impressive!"

The little troublemaker was practically floating with pride, his motivation soaring even higher as he led his friends to find the rest of their rankings.

Zong Wenxiu: 15th place; He Zheng: 18th place; Wei Xinglu: 38th place; Shen Yibai: 50th place.

All five boys from their elite study group had passed the provincial exams.

And now, only five and a half months remained until the metropolitan exams.

"Mission accomplished!" the little troublemaker cheered happily.

The others were also beaming with joy.

Xu Wan raised an eyebrow and said to Zong Zhao, "What I admire most about them is how they brag about being first before seeing the results, and even if they’re disappointed, they bounce back so quickly. If it were me, I’d be moping for days."

Zong Zhao remarked dryly, "If it were you, you’d underestimate your own results so much you’d never feel disappointed in the first place."

"Pfft—" Xu Wan burst out laughing. "How did you guess that? Are you psychic or something?"

Zong Zhao took her hand as they boarded the carriage. "Let’s go. We should head home and tell Father and Mother the good news—they’ve been waiting for the results too."

Xu Wan nodded, "Right. I’ll also write a letter to Mr. Su. Thanks to his careful guidance over the past month, these kids with their uneven strengths managed to stay on track. Otherwise, I’m sure they would’ve ranked at the bottom."

Zong Zhao said, "The only pity is that none of the five have any talent for poetry. Otherwise, their rankings could’ve been even higher."

Xu Wan chuckled, "True. Jincheng barely scraped into second-class honors this time—his essays saved him. If you factored in his abysmal poetry scores, he wouldn’t even match He Zheng’s level. Oh, did you notice? Earlier, He Zheng didn’t dare follow Jincheng to check the results."

"Wasn’t it because he was slow?" Zong Zhao hadn’t picked up on that.

Xu Wan shook her head, "That’s because you don’t realize how blindly He Zheng follows Jincheng. My guess? He was afraid he might’ve scored higher than Jincheng, and standing next to him would only make things worse."

Zong Zhao: "...It’s like that?"

Xu Wan said amusedly, "If Jincheng really had scored lower than He Zheng this time, He Zheng would’ve deliberately underperformed in the metropolitan exams next."

Zong Zhao: "..."

After a long pause, he muttered, "That kid’s got guts. Acts timid, but he’ll do anything."

Xu Wan said thoughtfully, "That’s why I’ve always thought he’ll go further than Wenxiu in officialdom—he’s too good at reading situations. And even without Minister He backing him, I believe Jincheng will protect him."

Zong Zhao patted her hand gently, "He will. Jincheng will look after all of them—even that straightforward Qin Ye."

Xu Wan smiled softly. She thought so too.

At the General’s Manor, the good news had already spread. The matriarch ordered a grand feast to celebrate all five boys passing the provincial exams.

Xu ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‍Wan returned to her room to finish her letter and was about to ask Zong Zhao for Mr. Su’s address so she could share the happy news.

Unexpectedly, he said, "Luo Jingfeng is here. He’s in the main study."

Xu Wan relaxed, "Perfect timing. Once he’s done talking with Jincheng, we can ask for the address."

Zong Zhao said calmly, "He’s been here for a while. Didn’t alert anyone—just went straight to the study to review Jincheng’s homework."

"Homework? I didn’t expect Luo Jingfeng to care so much about Jincheng’s studies, even checking his essays and poetry. Good thing we warned Jincheng not to carelessly write about the Crown Prince’s teachings, or else—wait, he’s looking at Jincheng’s poetry too?" Xu Wan suddenly paled. "Um… when Mr. Su first arrived, didn’t he make them write a bunch of poems insulting Luo Jingfeng?"

Zong Zhao teased, "Don’t worry. Mr. Su taught them not to name names."

Xu Wan said nervously, "But didn’t you say Luo Jingfeng is also a scholar? Wouldn’t he figure it out??"

Zong Zhao grinned, "Then let’s hope he doesn’t notice?"

Xu Wan: "..." You win.

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