Chapter 793 Li Jianrong Tops the List

The sun gradually rose higher.

After breakfast, it was time for class.

Pang Jie, Li Jian, and three others, who had been missing all day yesterday, appeared at the classroom door.

On the leaderboard, these six players are tied for last place.

“Being last is really not a good look.” Li Jian shook his head. “We shouldn’t have come to class, otherwise Madam Sui would definitely have made an example of us.”

A younger brother standing nearby chimed in, "Exactly, it's so much more fun to go out and have fun..."

Pang Jie glared at him coldly: "Don't say things you shouldn't say, or I won't include you in my group."

The younger brother immediately covered his mouth and shook his head violently.

Pang Jie flicked his sleeves and strode towards the classroom.

He came over because it was Lady Sui's class, mainly because he was afraid that the woman would go to the King of Qin to complain.

He wasn't afraid of Lady Sui, but rather of the King of Qin.

After the bell rang for class, Cheng Wanwan walked in from the classroom door.

With a smile on her face, she walked up to the podium and glanced around the classroom.

Seeing the six troublemakers sitting properly in their seats, her smile deepened. It seemed that these six were still somewhat wary of her.

"Good morning, everyone," she said gently. "Before we hand in the assignments given the day before yesterday, I have something to announce."

The curiosity of the crowd below was piqued, and more than fifty pairs of eyes turned to her.

"I met the Lady of Huainan at the palace gate yesterday."

Upon hearing her words, Li Jian was so shocked he almost jumped off his chair.

Lady Sui actually ran into his mother... Could it be that she said bad things about him to his mother?

His mother wouldn't hit him, but she would complain to his father. And when his father got angry, he would whip him. He was doomed... completely doomed...

"Lady Huainan naturally mentioned her son, and that's when I learned that Li Jian, a student at the academy, once jumped into the water to save someone when he was ten years old. If it weren't for Li Jian's actions, the fourth young master of the Zhou family would probably be dead by now," Cheng Wanwan said slowly. "The academy teaches and nurtures people, not only by imparting knowledge, but also by teaching students how to be good people. Li Jian's actions are acts of great benevolence and love, worthy of emulation by everyone present. After discussing with the other teachers at the academy, we have decided to add twenty points to Li Jian's score."

She picked up a booklet from the desk, a smile curving her lips. "So far, Li Jian is in first place in total points. I hope you will continue to work hard."

Li Jian was completely stunned.

He thought he was doomed, but instead of being shocked, he was pleasantly surprised.

He... he became number one?

The King of Qin seemed to have said that if one became the top candidate, one could directly enter the court as an official.

Good heavens, isn't he bringing honor to the Li family...?

"You're spineless." Pang Jie looked at him coldly. "Madam Sui is deliberately praising you, raising you up high, and then crashing you down."

"Brother Pang, you're just jealous of me." Li Jian couldn't contain his joy. "Even if you're deliberately trying to flatter me, I need to have the merit to be praised. Look, all the good deeds I did as a child have finally paid off. Hahaha, I'm number one! I can go straight to the imperial court as an official! Hahahaha..."

Pang Jie: "..."

Is this person an idiot? Can't he see that Madam Sui is deliberately plotting something?

Furthermore, who said that being number one guarantees an official position? The King of Qin clearly stated that only those who rank first in the monthly rankings for ten consecutive months can be recommended.

"Alright, now it's time to hand in the homework from last class."

As soon as Cheng Wanwan finished speaking, the students below went up to the stage one after another to hand in their assignments.

Of course, those six people didn't pay.

Her smile faded slightly: "I said before, it's okay if you don't hand in your homework the first time, we won't deduct points since it's your first offense. This is the second time you haven't finished your homework, so each of you six will lose one point."

Li Jian's face immediately fell. He had only been in first place for less than fifteen minutes; that was far too short...

“Li Jian is still in first place on the overall list.” Cheng Wanwan glanced down at the booklet. “Peng Wang is in second place. There’s a five-point difference between you two… Oh right, I heard from the cafeteria staff that Li Jian, you didn’t put your plate back in the designated place after breakfast this morning. That will deduct one point. In other words, the second-place person only needs four points to catch up with you. You’d better work harder.”

Why are you deducting points for something so trivial?

Li Jian felt a mixture of joy and worry.

To his delight, he still came in first place.

The worry is that the second-place team is eyeing the game closely.

He suddenly realized that being last was better, because then he would never have to worry about being overtaken.

They're already in first place, it would be such a shame to be overtaken.

He needs to maintain this for a long time, long enough for him to go back and brag to his parents...

Li Jian sat up straight, determined to pay close attention in class during this period and try not to lose any points.

Cheng Wanwan gave a cryptic smile and began her lecture.

After the morning classes ended, she announced again: "The school has a five-day weekend, and tomorrow is the last day before the weekend. Therefore, we will invite all of your parents to attend the first meeting. The invitations have been sent to your respective homes."

As soon as he finished speaking, the classroom erupted in groans.

"Studying is our own business, why ask our parents to come?"

"I think I've been doing alright at school these past few days. Except for missing half a day on the first day, I've been behaving myself the whole time."

“I ranked forty-sixth, which is an improvement from before, so my dad probably won’t be angry.”

"When I was studying at the Imperial Academy, the teachers never invited my parents. Madam Sui's methods are truly endless, it's a real headache."

"Look on the bright side, our parents are both important figures, so at least they wouldn't do it in public."

“It’s even scarier to do it secretly at home.”

"..."

Cheng Wanwan walked out of the classroom and called over the four top imperial guards left behind by the King of Qin.

The four experts were all top-notch fighters selected by the Empress Dowager from the Imperial Guard and were specially sent to protect the King of Qin. They were all quite skilled.

She said calmly, "The four of you go and find out what Pang Jie, Li Jian, and the others were doing all day yesterday."

The four of them had been in the school all day without being told what to do, and they were getting bored to the point of madness. Now that they finally had a task, they immediately went to carry it out.

The four of them split up and worked very efficiently, returning in less than half an hour.

"Madam Hui, Young Master Pang and Young Master Li claimed to have slept in their rooms all day yesterday, but in reality, they spent the day having fun on East Street in the capital. They watched opera at a teahouse in the morning, had lunch at Feitianlou, went to Wanhua Pavilion in the afternoon, and then went to the casino to fight crickets in the evening..."

Cheng Wanwan couldn't help but laugh.

She knew that these six spoiled brats wouldn't stay in the dorm all day; they were definitely up to something.

Listen to how fulfilling this day is, with eating, drinking, and having fun—everything is included.

"All the doors of the university were tightly closed, and the walls were covered with ceramic tiles. How did they manage to get out?"

"Yes... there's a dog hole."

The four of them led Cheng Wanwan to the west side of the square, where a row of bamboo was planted, making it somewhat secluded. After passing the bamboo, they could see the thriving wild grass, and in the wild grass, a dog hole half a meter high suddenly appeared in front of them.

The dog hole was clearly violently chiseled open, and its shape is very irregular.