The Marquis Mansion’s Elite Class

Halfway there, she turned back.

Xu Wan, holding her skirt and suppressing her irritation, returned to sit across from Zong Zhao, who looked up at her in slight confusion.

"I'll settle the score with him after finishing the meal," Xu Wan said stiffly, lifting her chin.

After all, he had helped her transcribe exam questions for so long. It felt too harsh to leave him alone mid-meal.

The corners of Zong Zhao’s lips curled faintly as he lowered his gaze and gave a quiet hum of acknowledgment.

Xu Wan didn’t catch his expression and picked up her spoon to continue eating her porridge. Perhaps due to her emotional turmoil, her appetite had improved.

Zong Zhao said, "There’s still a small portion of the exam questions I haven’t recalled yet. I referred to the two sets you compiled and managed to remember some familiar ones, so I wrote those down as well."

Xu Wan nodded eagerly. "Great! I’ll organize them for the teachers. Thank you so much!" She even gave him a thumbs-up.

Zong Zhao was puzzled. "What’s this?"

Xu Wan grinned. "It means you’re amazing and incredible. To recall most of the exam questions from twelve years ago—no wonder you’re the youngest top scholar in history."

Zong Zhao flexed his fingers, his expression visibly softening. He stood up and said, "You go ahead with your work. I’ll go investigate the case now."

"Oh, alright. See you later." Xu Wan tilted her head and waved at him.

Zong Zhao left again.

But he seemed to be in a hurry this time. Xu Wan thought it must be because transcribing the questions had delayed him.

Just as she stood to head to the desk, the Old Marchioness entered, beaming. "Wan’er, have you eaten yet?"

Xu Wan hurried to greet her. "Yes, I just had breakfast with my husband."

"Ah, no wonder I saw Zhao’s ears bright red when I came over," the Old Marchioness said without hesitation, betraying her son.

"Huh??" Xu Wan was stunned.

Bright red ears? What had Zong Zhao just done?

The Old Marchioness chuckled. "He was embarrassed. He even walked faster than usual—I noticed."

Xu Wan: "?? … Wasn’t he in a hurry to work on the case? He said he’s been busy with it lately."

The Old Marchioness leaned in and whispered, "Next time, observe closely. It’s different. He’s not good at expressing emotions, but some little gestures are easy to spot."

Xu Wan stood there, docile as a quail.

Was her mother-in-law teaching her how to uncover Zong Zhao’s little secrets?

After the Old Marchioness left, Xu Wan scratched her head, still confused. Why would she need to discover Zong Zhao’s secrets? Deciding not to dwell on it, she returned to reviewing the imperial exam questions.

Zong Zhao had transcribed many questions, seemingly having worked on them all morning. The ink had dried, so she carefully gathered them to take to the Marquis Manor Elite Class for the teachers.

As she walked, a sudden realization struck her.

Had Zong Zhao’s ears turned red because she praised him?

Was the Old Marchioness smiling like that because she thought Zong Zhao liked her?

That couldn’t be. They had barely met a few times, and Xu Wan didn’t consider herself stunning enough to inspire love at first sight.

Then another thought occurred: Maybe Zong Zhao was as easily flustered as Wenxiu, turning red at the slightest compliment.

Unable to figure it out, Xu Wan decided: Next time, she’d observe more carefully.

Marquis Manor Elite Class.

Xu Wan handed the exam questions to the teachers and arranged for a copy to be sent to Qin Mansion.

Pan ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌‍Hongzhi marveled at the twelve-year-old exam papers. "The general truly is the general. To recall so much after all these years—we pale in comparison."

Jiang Yan and others chimed in, "Indeed remarkable. Thankfully, he wasn’t in the same year as the students—even Young Master Cheng wouldn’t dare claim he could surpass him."

Zhao Yin laughed shamelessly. "Hahaha, Young Master Cheng is right behind you…"

Jiang Yan immediately shrank back.

But the little troublemaker wasn’t angry. Instead, he grinned proudly. "Teachers, you’re overthinking it. I’m not jealous at all. I’m my father’s son—his brilliance is mine too. No, wait—I have a photographic memory. Even twenty years from now, I could transcribe the exam questions. You know what they say—the student surpasses the master! Hahaha…"

The teachers: "…"

Though true, saying it so arrogantly made them lose all desire to praise him.

Xu Wan stared at the little troublemaker, her gaze growing increasingly dangerous. Only when his laughter died down did she speak, word by word: "Zong Jincheng, come with me."

The laughter stopped abruptly.

Mother had just used his full name?

What was wrong? She had never called him that before. Had he done something wrong? Was she angry?

Zong Jincheng followed her nervously.

The teachers and students inside exchanged amused glances, setting down their books in unison.

Shen Yibai suggested, "Let’s eavesdrop by the window. Auntie is definitely going to scold Jincheng. I bet my head it’ll be hilarious."

He Zheng gasped. "No way! If Big Brother finds out, he’ll be furious."

"Come on, what’s the worst that could happen? A fight at most," Wei Xinglu said, already sneaking toward the window, pressing an ear to the wall while staring at the ceiling.

Shen Yibai mimicked him, ear against the wall, clinging to it. "Close your eyes, close your eyes. Hearing improves when you shut your eyes."

"Oh, right, right." Wei Xinglu quickly squeezed his eyes shut.

Zong Wenxiu and He Zheng: "…"

These two clowns never ran out of antics.

The small pavilion.

Zong Jincheng trailed behind Xu Wan timidly. "Mother… are you angry? Did I do something wrong?"

Xu Wan glared. "Didn’t you say we were the best, closest pair in the world?"

The little troublemaker nodded vigorously. "Of course! Our mother-son bond is unbreakable, enduring as gold, unchanging even if the seas run dry and the rocks crumble!"

Xu Wan sneered. "Yet you’ve been hiding a pile of big secrets from me?"

She emphasized "big," not "small."

Hiding Wenxiu’s living relatives wasn’t a small matter—it was a safety risk. If anything happened, the two children wouldn’t be able to handle it alone.

"Ah? A pile?" The little troublemaker blinked. "No way…"

He often ate with her and shared all sorts of things—how could there be so many big secrets?

Then it hit him. "Oh! His Highness and I do have many big secrets, but I told you before—you said you understood!"

"And what else?" Xu Wan pressed.

The little troublemaker frowned, counting on his fingers. "Saving pocket money? But that’s not a secret—you said I could spend my sixty taels a month however I wanted… Oh! The other day, the son of the Court of Imperial Entertainments official wanted to join our Marquis Manor Elite Class. I told him to scram—we’re not a school; we don’t take outsiders. I didn’t tell you because Grandmother hasn’t let me eat with you lately. But Mother, why won’t you let me eat with you and Father?"