The Marquis Mansion’s Elite Class

“What story?” The Little Demon King’s curiosity was piqued.

Cui Zhi recounted the tale of the scholar who had been swindled during his exam preparations. Upon hearing it, the Little Demon King immediately flew into a rage, exclaiming, “He scammed me out of 90 coins! That unscrupulous shopkeeper might as well have robbed me!”

Cui Zhi secretly gave him a thumbs-up.

Earlier, she had thought she was more hot-tempered than Xu Wan, but with Zong Jincheng as a comparison, she now felt eerily calm.

Xu Wan raised an eyebrow and asked, “So, what would you do, Young Master, now that you’ve been swindled out of 90 coins?”

Without hesitation, the Little Demon King replied, “I’d smash his shop, of course. 90 coins is enough for Lin Yu to copy two or three books. I’m not giving it to him—I’m no fool.”

Xu Wan reminded him, “But if you take the time to smash his shop, you’ll miss your exam.”

The Little Demon King paused, then said, “Then I’ll have Buyan do it.”

Buyan: “…”

Day in and day out, he’s assigned these kinds of tasks, and none of them are good.

The Little Demon King added, “If Buyan’s busy, I’ll do it myself after the exam. The shopkeeper can’t run away—I’ll make sure he’s crying and begging for mercy, shouting ‘I’ll never do it again!’ at least three hundred times.”

Xu Wan fell silent for a moment, then also gave him a thumbs-up.

Truly, the Capital City’s number one troublemaker.

This little rascal’s approach was anything but conventional, relying on brute force to solve problems.

While outrageous, it was undeniably effective.

Xu Wan, for some reason, suddenly asked another question, “What if someone keeps bothering you, but if you hit them, they’ll only cling to you more? What would you do then?”

The Little Demon King took another bite of his crisp peach and decisively said, “Then I’d hit them in secret, making sure they don’t know it’s me. Buyan can handle that—he’s good at staying unnoticed.”

Buyan: “!”

Another one of these absurd tasks!

As a martial arts champion’s sparring partner, couldn’t he get some decent work to do??

Xu Wan pressed further, “But if the person doesn’t know it’s you, they might not learn their lesson and keep bothering you. What then?”

The Little Demon King replied, “Then Buyan can keep hitting them until they’re bedridden, too weak to go out, and in so much pain they can’t even think of causing trouble.”n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Buyan: “…”

Young Master, I’m just a bodyguard, not a thug, and certainly not a torturer…

Xu Wan and Cui Zhi both fell silent.

Somehow, it sounded oddly tempting to try.

“Young Master Wenxiu has finished his exam,” the tutor’s voice came from inside the room.

The Little Demon King quickly got up to leave, but after a step, he turned back to grab a large peach, muttering, “This peach is delicious. I’ll take one for my brother too.”

With that, the little troublemaker was gone in a flash.

The pavilion fell silent for a few seconds before Cui Zhi suddenly burst into laughter.

Xu Wan joined in, chuckling as she said, “This kid’s thought process is much more thorough than before.”

“Though still a bit immature, it’s strangely satisfying to hear,” Cui Zhi remarked, feeling as if her frustration had been cleared.

Xu Wan laughed, “Haha, let’s go with that plan for now. If it doesn’t work out, we’ll just have to borrow Buyan.”

“Understood,” Cui Zhi replied with a smile, going off to arrange things with Cui Liu.

Inside the room, the incense had burned out. Zong Wenxiu had submitted his exam just in time, though he kept glancing at the collected papers, feeling he hadn’t done well.

Zong Jincheng ran in from outside, cheerfully handing him a large peach, “Brother, take a break. Have a peach—it’s really crisp.”

Zong Wenxiu accepted it, saying, “Thank you.”

But he wasn’t in the mood to eat.

Xu Wan entered shortly after, immediately noticing the dejected Zong Wenxiu, who looked like a pitiful little figure, clearly upset about his performance. In contrast, the Little Demon King was as carefree as ever.

Xu Wan spoke up, “This exam is just a test of your current knowledge. Even if you didn’t do well, it’s okay. There’s still a whole month before the academy’s monthly exam to improve. Besides, you’re learning material beyond your age group, so don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Stay calm.”

Hearing this, Zong Wenxiu snapped out of his self-doubt, realizing he had once again set impossibly high standards for himself.

“Thank you, Madam.”

The Little Demon King, however, couldn’t relate to his brother’s sensitive emotions or understand the significance of Xu Wan’s words. To him, it was just her usual nagging, which he didn’t need.

Zong Jincheng whispered slyly, “I just took the nine-year-old’s exam, and it was a breeze. Since there’s still time in the afternoon and the results aren’t out yet, maybe I’ll try the ten-year-old’s exam too?”

Perhaps if he aced this one, the tutors would be amazed, applauding him as the future prodigy and urging him to join the Child Prodigy Class to outshine Qin Ye. That would be… hahahahaha…

Zhao Yin was indeed impressed by the Little Demon King’s boundless energy. He turned to Xu Wan and asked, “Madam, what do you think?”

Xu Wan smiled, “Let him take it. Just don’t let him fail in silence.”

The Little Demon King placed his hands on his hips and declared, “Just wait. This prodigy is about to prove you wrong!”

A new exam paper was brought in, and the incense was lit once more.

Zong Wenxiu began silently reciting what he had learned the previous day, while Zong Jincheng picked up his brush to tackle the new exam.

However, things didn’t go smoothly.

The Little Demon King, who was already fidgety, became even more restless with this new exam. He scratched his head, kicked his legs, flipped through the pages, and beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

Damn it, I don’t know this one, or this one either.

I’ve memorized so many books—how can I be so far behind my brother?

Zong Jincheng glanced at Zong Wenxiu, who was sitting upright, silently writing things he hadn’t even learned yet.

Turning back, the Little Demon King continued to struggle.

Xu Wan’s words echoed in his mind: he wouldn’t even rank in the ten-year-old exam next month. Not ranking meant not even making it to the top tier. If he couldn’t do it in a month, how hard must it be for him now?

Zong Jincheng wanted to put down his brush, but Xu Wan was waiting outside. If he gave up after just fifteen minutes, she’d surely laugh at him.

But… damn it, I can’t do this! Why is this exam so hard? I know every word individually, but together they make no sense.

Zong Jincheng slammed his brush on the table, frustrated, and shouted, “Master Zhao, did you give me the wrong exam? Is this really for ten-year-olds?”