At dinner ti.
Shen Yibai stared at the table full of pork dishes, drooling as he picked up his chopsticks: "Ah... so delicious... truly worthy of the little wild boar I hunted myself! The at is tender and flavorful, absolutely unforgettable!"
Zong Wenxiu raised an eyebrow, sensing sothing amiss. He rembered wild boar at being tough and not particularly tasty—so why was Shen Yibai enjoying it so much?
He took a bite to try.
Hmm... seed no different from regular pork to him.
The little troublemaker, Zong Jincheng, piled a large pork knuckle onto Shen Yibai’s plate and deadpanned, "Eat up, brother. Finish this, and you’ll grow taller than Wei Xinglu in no ti. This is a wild boar from the royal hunting grounds, after all."
Zong Wenxiu: "..."
Little brother, you’re fooling Shen Yibai again.
Shunzi kept his eyes down, pretending not to know the truth.
Earlier, the manor physician had fussed for a long ti before finally confirming—with the chef’s help—that the little wild boar had ingested so kind of sedative, which slowed its movents. Other prey from the hunt had traces of the sa substance, clearly tampered with by soone.
Young Master Cheng, concerned that consuming such dicated ga might be harmful, had all the wild boar at secretly replaced with regular dostic pork without telling anyone.
As for Young Master Shen’s claim that it tasted better than usual... well, that was probably just the placebo effect. After all, the pork was the sa as always.
Shen Yibai gnawed on the pork knuckle excitedly and cheered, "Tomorrow, I want stir-fried wild boar!"
Zong Jincheng gave him a look that scread "you fool" but nodded indulgently. "—Consider it done."
"Yes," the servants replied in unison.
Shunzi covered his face, torn between secondhand embarrassnt and stifled laughter.
After dinner, Zong Jincheng went to chat with Xu Wan. Not seeing Zong Zhao at ho, he asked in surprise, "Mother, Father still isn’t back?"
Xu Wan replied, "No, he was called away by the Dali Temple officials at the hunting grounds this morning and hasn’t returned yet. There must be new developnts in the case. Why? Do you need him for sothing?"
Zong Jincheng quickly shook his head. "Oh no, I was just asking."
After a pause, he added hopefully, "Since Father’s never ho anyway, does that an I can keep coming to eat with you?"
Xu Wan laughed. "Of course, co whenever you like."
The little troublemaker brightened at once and recounted the dinner table antics, making Xu Wan burst into laughter. "You’re terrible! At least have the kitchen prepare real wild boar next ti, or Shen Yibai will forever think wild and dostic pork taste the sa."
Zong Jincheng chuckled. "Nah, that guy thinks everything tastes amazing—he wouldn’t know the difference anyway."
Xu Wan smiled and asked, "So you still think it was Luo Jingfeng’s doing?"
Zong Jincheng rocked back and forth on his chair, swinging his legs. "Who else would pull such a stunt? And he still won’t admit it—what a coward."
Xu Wan teased, "Maybe he’s afraid of sinking even lower in your esteem."
Zong Jincheng scoffed. "He has zero favor with to begin with."
"But at least you don’t despise him yet, right?" Xu Wan prodded.
Zong Jincheng looked up, puzzled. "Mother, what are you getting at?"
Xu Wan mused, "I’m just wondering... why does he dote on you more than his own child?"
Back when Zong Zhao had said Luo Jingfeng would cherish Zong Jincheng deeply, she hadn’t fully grasped it. But now, seeing it firsthand, she understood—even soone like Luo Jingfeng could show such tangible affection.
Setting aside the unfairness of rigging the hunt, his actions resembled those of doting grandparents, spoiling a child rotten just to see them happy.
Zong Jincheng thought of Luo Ji and grumbled, "He’s never pampered his own son like this. Look at Luo Ji—top hunter, martial prodigy. Thank goodness I’m not his kid, or he’d have turned into a useless cheat."
Xu Wan patted his head fondly. "Exactly. Thank heavens you’re sensible enough not to be swayed by such indulgence. Stay sharp, my dear. We’re raising a future official who’ll serve the people and the nation."
"Don’t worry, Mother! I’ll never forget my principles!"
The next day, Luo Jingfeng sent another gift.
Though the Yangyuan Marquis Manor was wealthy beyond asure, so rarities—like the tribute items Luo Jingfeng collected—simply couldn’t be bought at any price.
Unfortunately, the little troublemaker remained unmoved. Without even unwrapping the package, he ordered the servants to return it. By now, he’d perfected his routine: the mont Luo family servants arrived, his own staff would block the gate, ensuring no one left without his permission.
And his permission always ca with one condition: take your gifts back where they ca from.
The Luo servants made the trip day after day, leaving empty-handed every ti.
Eventually, even Luo Jingfeng seed to give up, realizing he couldn’t out-stubborn the little mule. The gifts stopped coming.
Early June, the boys went to Qingbo Academy to check the exam rankings.
With the autumn imperial exams drawing near, their scores kept improving, making each ranking announcent a joyous occasion.
Of course, their joy ant soone else’s despair.
"AAAAAH! I’m losing it! This is the civil service exam ranking, not the child prodigy list! How are the top spots all taken by kids?! Am I hallucinating?!"
"Brother Cheng, calm down. Those ‘kids’ are Childhood Scholars—exceptional talents. They’re not your average children."
"AAAAAH... I still want to scream! Six kids above ?! As the seventh-ranked, I might as well dig a hole and disappear!"
"And what about at eighteenth?"
"Should I even bother with the autumn exams at fiftieth? With only 300 spots in the capital, our academy’s no match for Hanlin North Academy anyway."
"...Stay calm. These are just academy rankings. The real exam’s different—what if they test everything I know and nothing I don’t?"
"Good point!"
Zong Jincheng hadn’t even seen the rankings yet but was already teasing, "I bet Shen Yibai’s still the bottom of the advanced class."
Wei Xinglu hopped off the carriage and agreed, "That’s a given."
He Zheng concluded, "My man Shen Yibai—steady as a mountain!"
"..."
Shen Yibai leaped out of the carriage and launched a counterattack: "Says you guys! He Zheng, forever trailing Brother Wenxiu; Wei Xinglu, all talk no skill; Zong Jincheng, Qin Ye’s eternal loser!"
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" The three boys, each hit where it hurt, rolled up their sleeves in unison and charged.
Shen Yibai ducked behind Zong Wenxiu, sticking out his tongue. "Nyah nyah!"
Zong Wenxiu: "..."
Buddy, if you’re gonna act this smug, even I might have to hit you.
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