"Wen Zhizhou... Wen Jijiu?!"

Upon hearing this name, Zhan Xinjia immediately recalled some unpleasant and painful memories.

The Imperial Academy has several branches, including the Imperial College, the Imperial University, and the Four Gates College, all managed by the Chancellor. Zhan Xinjia, known as a troublemaker in the Imperial University, had clashed with the fierce and stingy Chancellor quite a bit in the past few years.

In her opinion, the old man was not human at all. Despite his advanced age, he was incredibly fierce and would order people to copy texts or stand as punishment at the drop of a hat.

Seeing her kicking pebbles in a fit of anger, Shen Suqing could guess that she and Wen Jijiu didn't get along. Recalling some past events, he couldn't help but chuckle.

Zhan Xinjia turned to look at him suspiciously.

"Young Master Shen, what are you laughing at?"

Shen Suqing coughed a few times with his fist to his lips, his eyes sparkling, and his smile deepened.

"I have a pretty good relationship with this Wen Jijiu, and we visit each other from time to time."

Once, when we were making tea with snow, he would tell me with a worried look on his face about a little girl in the Imperial Academy who was harder to manage than the King of Hell… Now that I think about it, could he have been talking about Ah Zhi?

Zhan Xinjia was dumbfounded.

Surely her reputation doesn't have to be this bad?!

She stepped forward and affectionately took Xiao Shen's arm, then began to ask him questions out of curiosity.

"What did that old man say? I thought I was a very well-behaved student when I was in school, so it couldn't be me!"

"oh?"

Shen Suqing pondered seriously, "Who was it that complained about the food at the Imperial Academy and always secretly climbed over the wall to dump it outside? One day, a bowl of hot porridge was poured directly onto the head of the passing Wen Jijiu."

And who was it that, in a fit of anger after being punished to copy texts, went out in the middle of the night and poured boiling water on the orchid that Wen Jijiu had been raising for six years, killing it?

Someone gets into a fight and acts heroically, but ends up giving the name and address of their over-seventy-year-old teacher. When the people seeking revenge arrive, they can only stare helplessly at an elderly man with hardly any teeth left.

Who tried to imitate the protagonist in the storybook by disguising herself as a man and going to the brothels, only to be detained by the madam, requiring the entire class to go and redeem her…

Zhan Xinjia: "..."

Goodness.

The military dispatches consist of twelve volumes, each bearing my grandfather's name.

No, why does Wen Jijiu have to be so gossipy and tell everyone everything? How is she supposed to act all innocent in front of Lord Shen now?

She gritted her teeth, gave a soft snort, and looked completely unconcerned.

"Never mind that. I was just a kid back then, it's normal that I didn't understand things."

"Yes, our Azhi is still young."

Shen Suqing stopped and smiled as he stroked her hair.

"It's just around the corner, go ahead."

Zhan Xinjia kept turning back to look at him, even though it was just a school trip. She wanted to stick to Xiao Shen's side all day long, since going to school was just a way to pass the time for her anyway.

As soon as Zhan Xinjia stepped into the Imperial Academy, he was met with a barrage of strange looks from his classmates, who whispered among themselves.

"...Holy crap, the living Yama is back!"

"Huh??? I haven't seen her for several months. I thought she had been persuaded to leave by the teacher."

"Sigh, we're in for another rough time. Wait, can someone remind Chief Minister Wen to hide his newly bought orchids? They might get watered to death in the middle of the night again."

"Aaaaaah! She looked at me!! Will I even make it home alive?! Am I going to get beaten to death right now?!"

...

Zhan Xinjia fell silent.

Is her reputation really that bad? She feels quite easy to get along with, and she rarely lays a hand on someone unless they start it.

Just as he was feeling down, a chubby little boy dressed in gold and silver swaggered over from a distance.

He had a set of dazzling gold teeth, squinty eyes, and a few pockmarks on his round face. His lewd gaze was full of lewdness, and behind him were several servants who were as thin as greyhounds.

"Hey, Zhanxin, I heard you've been kept by a sugar daddy while you've been away from school. What's wrong? Last time I tried to touch your cheek, you knocked out four of my teeth. Was it because you didn't pay enough?"

At this point, the chubby boy took the money bag from the servant beside him, weighed it in his hand, and then gave it a disdainful look.

Name your price.

Greetings.

She clenched her fist, which made a cracking sound.

"Minimum 500 taels per session, allowing for three hours of crying. Keeping vigil costs extra. Relatives must come in person for the latter half of the night. If your family has many deaths, I can offer a discount—"

After saying that, she punched the other person in the forehead.

Caught off guard, before the chubby boy could even react, he was already lying on the ground, dizzy and vomiting blood, searching for his teeth everywhere, much to the dismay of the servants nearby.

"How dare you! My young master is the grandson of Prime Minister Wang! How dare you lay a hand on him!"

"ah?"

Zhan Xinjia was speechless. "Dude, I've beaten up your young master at least twenty times, and you always say the same line. Aren't you tired of it?"

On the ground, the chubby boy, who was picking up his gold tooth in a disheveled state, was still spouting threats.

"Zhan Xinjia, you just wait! I'm not going to let you get away with this... I'm going back to my grandfather and complaining!!"

"Hehe, there's a street in the south and north of the city. Ask around and see who's the father."

After saying this, Zhan Xinjia, whose clothes were slightly dirty, dusted off his sleeves and was about to walk inside when he bumped into an old man with graying temples and a serious expression.

The old man was so angry when he saw her that he glared and his whole face twitched.

When he saw the chubby boy lying on the ground, he was so angry that he could barely manage to squeeze out a sentence after a long while.

"Zhan Xin Jia, you've hit people again?!"

How could that be considered randomly hitting people...?

She thought this to herself, but didn't say it aloud.

After all, she was afraid of being punished by standing in the corner on her first day back at school. Although she was thick-skinned and didn't care, the main problem was that Wen Jijiu was so talkative; it would be quite embarrassing if Master Shen found out.

She stepped in front of the chubby boy who was still coughing up blood, giving him a guilty and awkward smile.

"Not much fighting..."

Upon hearing this, Wen Jijiu was so angry that he couldn't even roll his eyes back.

"...Get out and stand there, all of you!!"

With a sullen, cat-like face, Zhan Xinjia skillfully found a corner outside the classroom and squatted down.

well.

Thankfully, Master Shen wasn't around, otherwise she wouldn't know how embarrassed she would be right now, she wouldn't know where to hide her face. Even if she's usually quite abstract, she at least wants to maintain a certain level of decorum in front of people she likes and cares about, she wants to act a little more obedient and sensible...

Just then, a sound came from not far ahead.

"Lord Shen, please come in."

The doorman bowed respectfully, and behind him stood a young man who had changed into a wide-sleeved robe with a blue and white cross-collar pattern. His black hair, which had been casually draped in the morning, was now neatly tied up with a silver crown.

His phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, and his thin lips were pressed tightly together.

As he walked, his robes fluttered in the wind, his sleeves billowing like clouds. Bathed in the radiant sunlight, he seemed like a deity who had stepped out of a painting.

Zhan Xinjia: "..."

She silently turned her back to face the wall.

Looks like I'll have to find a way to dig a hole and sneak out now.

Over there, the Chief Minister Wen came out with a smile.

"How could Lord Shen have come to my humble abode so unexpectedly? It is truly an honor to have you here, and I have failed to greet you properly."

He smiled calmly and gently.

"His Highness the Crown Prince is still recovering from his injuries. There is nothing going on in the Eastern Palace and the Imperial Study. I heard a few days ago that Lord Wen is temporarily short of a teacher to teach the Analects, so I thought I'd come and take a look."

"Oh my, what an honor! It is a great honor to be personally instructed and taught by Lord Shen. Come, Lord Shen, please come in!"

Wen Jijiu was overjoyed.

The young man only followed him a few steps before stopping, his gaze fixed on a corner of the wall not far away, and the smile on his lips gradually faded.