Chapter 320 Insignificant People

Princess Zhaoning stormed off in a huff.

Shen Xu's face was very ugly. He glanced at Li Nanke and Wang Tongyun, and Princess Zhaokang nodded.

"It's getting late, we should go to class. Everyone, let's go."

After saying that, he went inside with his two companions.

Zhao Wanqing walked over and greeted Li Nanke cautiously.

"Cousin Ke'er, we'll be able to study together from now on. I'll have to trouble you to take good care of me."

Li Nanke scoffed.

"We're all here to study. If we study hard and don't cause any trouble, we don't need any special treatment."

Zhao Wanqing's eyes reddened, and she felt extremely wronged.

"I...I didn't mean that, I just wanted to say..."

Li Nanke was too lazy to talk to her anymore and interrupted her.

"Whether you meant it or not is irrelevant. My mother has severed ties with the Song family, and I am not your cousin. Please consult me, the Princess of Fu'an, in the future."

Zhao Wanqing was taken aback by Li Nanke's bluntness and blushed deeply.

“Cousin Ke’er… no, Princess Fu’an, I… I really didn’t mean anything by it.”

There is no best.

Li Nanke's expression remained indifferent.

Zhao Wanqing couldn't say the words she was about to say, and turned away with a pitiful look on her face.

"Your Highness, wait for me."

She ran a few steps and caught up with Shen Xu.

Shen Xu turned his head, his gaze falling on her reddened eyes, his brows furrowing slightly.

"What's wrong? Who bullied you?"

Zhao Wanqing sniffed and quickly wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

He shook his head and said in a low voice, "No...nobody, I...I just said a few words to my cousin Ke'er."

She wouldn't let me call her "cousin," and made me call her "county princess." I... I was very sad.

Shen Xu turned to look at Li Nanke with displeasure.

"What a Li Nanke! He's just a county princess, yet he dares to be so arrogant."

"You wait here, I'll go get an explanation for you."

Zhao Wanqing reached out to stop him and shook her head.

"Never mind, Your Highness, don't go."

Shen Xu refused.

"She is a county princess, while I am still a prince. You should not be afraid of her."

Zhao Wanqing was full of gratitude, but she still stopped Shen Xu.

"With Your Highness's words, I am no longer afraid. After all, I am not the companion of the two princesses."

It is by His Majesty's special decree that I can come here to study; it's better to avoid trouble.

Besides, today is only the first day. If word gets out that His Highness had a dispute with his cousin Ke'er, or rather, the Princess of Fu'an, it would be disastrous.

I fear that if word got out, it would damage His Highness's reputation. It would be even worse if His Majesty and the Empress misunderstood His Highness.

Shen Xu's eyes flickered slightly, and he felt that what Zhao Wanqing said made sense.

The Emperor seems to like Li Nanke very much, and even specially bestowed upon her the title of County Princess.

He specifically begged his father to let him study at Jingxing Academy, but on his first day there he argued with Li Nanke, which his father would probably dislike if he found out.

Shen Xu took a deep breath, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Li Nanke approaching. He coughed lightly.

He shouted, "You are my savior. Don't worry, with me here, no one can bully you."

If anyone is unkind to you or deliberately bullies you, don't hesitate to tell me, and I will absolutely not let them get away with it.

Zhao Wanqing's eyes lit up, and she almost shouted with excitement.

Although she was able to come to Jingxing Courtyard under the title of Shen Xu's savior, it was also because her family had connections with the Left Prime Minister's family.

Only if the Left Chancellor mentions her studies to His Majesty will His Majesty issue a special decree.

Otherwise, His Majesty would be too busy with state affairs to think about her studies.

Before leaving home today, my mother, Song Hui, repeatedly told me that coming to Jingxing Academy to study was not the most important purpose.

The most important goal is to get close to the eldest prince and Princess Zhaoning, and it is essential to prevent Li Nanke from getting too close to the eldest prince.

Zhao Wanqing didn't understand why they were doing this, so she asked Song Hui.

"Why not keep Cousin Ke'er and the First Prince from getting too close?"

Song Hui seemed to remember something, and her expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

"You don't need to worry about that. Just do as I tell you. In short, I'm doing this for your own good."

Although Zhao Wanqing didn't know exactly how to do it, Shen Xu's words just now gave her a lot of inspiration.

She looked at Shen Xu with gratitude.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Li Nanke, who witnessed this scene, frowned slightly but remained silent.

Wang Tongyun rolled her eyes.

"baffling."

He then whispered to Li Nanke, "Zhao Wanqing isn't telling on you, saying you bullied her, is she?"

Li Nanke shrugged, not caring.

In her heart, she felt nothing but disgust for both Zhao Wanqing and Shen Xu.

Princess Zhaokang was very serious. Although she was a little scared, she still explained to Shen Xu in a low voice.

"Ke'er didn't bully anyone."

Shen Xu's expression darkened slightly, and his gaze towards Princess Zhaokang was filled with disapproval.

"I know that Li Nanke is my sister's study companion, but my sister must not show favoritism because of this."

You're still young, don't be fooled by sweet talk.

Princess Zhaokang was timid and cowardly, and her face turned bright red upon hearing this.

But she still whispered in defense, "Ke'er is fine, she didn't lie to me."

Li Nanke walked over and took Princess Zhaokang's arm.

"Princess, it's almost time for roll call. Let's hurry up and not waste time because of unimportant people. The teacher will punish us if we're late."

"Huh? Oh, okay, let's go."

Princess Zhaokang was so frightened when she heard that she would be punished for being late that she grabbed Li Nanke and left.

Chen Xu was left standing there, so angry he almost jumped up and down.

Li Nanke actually said he was an insignificant person, which infuriated him!

Li Nanke didn't care about Shen Xu's thoughts. He pulled Wang Tongyun and Princess Zhaokang into the main hall just in time for roll call.

The Master was Wu, a scholar in the Hanlin Academy, who was nearly sixty years old and had a neatly trimmed goatee.

When they went in, Grand Scholar Wu was taking attendance from the booklet.

Li Nanke and his two companions were lucky enough to make it, but Shen Xu and his two study companions, Zhao Wanqing and the other two were not so fortunate.

I was late for my first class!

Grand Secretary Wu's expression was rather unpleasant, and he did not relax even though Shen Xu was the emperor's only prince at present.

He slammed the booklet on the desk. "Does Your Highness know the rules of Jingxing Academy, and what time is roll call every day?"

Shen Xu was taken aback that Grand Scholar Wu would dare to question him directly in front of so many people, and his face turned as red as an eggplant.

He said in a low voice, "At the second quarter of Chen hour, it's time to report for duty."

Wu, the college student, gave a light hum.

"The sages said, 'If I hear the Way in the morning, I can die content in the evening.' Your Highness was late on the first day of class. Do you think the sages' words are not as comforting as a warm bed?"

Shen Xu's lips moved slightly, a hint of embarrassment flashing in his eyes, but more so, annoyance.

How dare a mere subject question the eldest prince!

This is absolutely outrageous!

Just as he was getting angry, Zhao Wanqing suddenly stepped forward and knelt down on the cold blue bricks behind him.

"Please calm down, Master. It was my fault for delaying Your Highness. Your Highness arrived long ago."

"It was a student who was talking to His Highness outside, causing him to be late. If the teacher wants to punish someone, punish me alone."

"you?"

Grand Scholar Wu glanced at Zhao Wanqing, his expression growing even more unpleasant.

"Royal children should know the principle that 'time waits for no one.' If Your Highness misses class time because of you, it would be a grave mistake."

Since this is your first offense, you will be spared the punishment of standing in the corner. All those who are late will be punished by copying "Exhortation to Learning" fifteen times!

Fifteen times!

Shen Xu's face turned green instantly.