Chapter 323 Let's listen to Mother.

"Why should I get out? I..."

Wei Zizhao straightened his neck and shouted defiantly, but halfway through his sentence, he met Shen Cong's gaze and immediately shivered.

"I'll get out, okay? I'll get out!"

He held the whip and rubbed it reluctantly for a couple of moments, then asked again, persistently.

"Can't you really give it to me?"

Shen Cong narrowed his eyes slightly.

Wei Zizhao shuddered, quickly dropped the whip, and ran away in a flash.

The way the mouse looked at the cat made Li Nanke chuckle.

Reaching out, I picked up the whip. The ebony was polished to a very smooth finish, and it felt warm and smooth in my palm.

She tilted her head and looked at Shen Cong with a smile.

"You just randomly found it?"

A hint of unease flickered across Shen Cong's pale face as he reached up and touched the tip of his nose.

He glared at Li Nanke again and said gruffly, "If you don't want it, then forget it."

"Who says I don't want it? Not only do I want it, I also want to use this whip to practice a powerful whip technique."

Li Nanke twirled the whip in his hand, then left with a grin.

As Shen Cong watched her retreating figure, a silent smile crept onto his lips.

A master of whip techniques!

He's really looking forward to it!

As soon as Li Nanke stepped out of Jingxing Courtyard, a figure suddenly darted out from the side.

"Li Nanke".

"oops!"

Li Nanke was so startled that he took two steps back before he could see that the figure that had suddenly appeared was Wei Zizhao.

He couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Oh, it's you! Why did you suddenly appear and startle me?"

Wei Zizhao walked around her with his hands behind his back, a hint of curiosity in his dark eyes.

"I just want to take a closer look at what kind of person the Lady of Fu'an County, whom my parents talk about every day, really is."

"Your parents talk about me every day? What do they say about me?"

Li Nanke looked puzzled.

Wei Zizhao pursed his lips.

“What else could it be? My father praises you for being exceptionally intelligent, and my mother praises you for being incredibly blessed. The more they praise you, the more they criticize me for being worthless.”

Wei Zizhao's gaze toward Li Nanke revealed undisguised dissatisfaction.

"I've been looking at you all morning, and you and I both have two eyes, a nose, and a mouth. We're not that different."

I really don't understand why my mother always looks like she wants to put me back in her belly and be reborn whenever she mentions you.

Li Nanke was both amused and exasperated. Just as he was about to speak, Wei Zizhao suddenly spoke up again.

"No, you're still different from me. You're not afraid of the prince!"

He stared wide-eyed at Li Nanke.

"What kind of bewitching potion did you give the prince? He actually gave you something, a whip he made himself!"

Wei Zizhao stared at the whip in her hand, his eyes filled with undisguised envy.

"I have known the prince for many years. He is a man of few words, and his cold and aloof demeanor always frightens people."

This is the first time I've ever seen him make a gift by hand and give it to someone.

Wei Zizhao frowned and pretended to be mature, saying, "So you must still have some impressive skills."

"Teach me how to use it, I'd like the prince to give me a whip too."

Li Nanke was very curious.

"Why do you want the prince to give you a whip?"

Wei Zizhao chuckled.

"A whip made by the King himself! I'm not afraid of my father anymore!"

"Are you very afraid of your father?"

Wei Zizhao's face fell.

“My father and the prince are close friends despite their age difference. He listens to no one but the prince. He never listens to anyone else. He is always the one who gets into trouble.”

He could have given me a good spanking. This time I angered my tutor so much that he ran away, and my dad was so angry he wanted to break my legs.

It was the prince who suggested I study here, and that's why my father spared me from punishment.

"Think about it, if I had a whip made by the prince himself, it would be the same as me being friends with the prince."

"From now on, my dad won't beat me so easily anymore, out of respect for the prince, hehe."

Wei Zizhao's eyes grew brighter as he spoke, as if he could already see himself wielding a whip and swaggering in front of his own father.

Li Nanke.......

"So you want to curry favor with the prince?"

Wei Zizhao nodded vigorously.

“You call the prince Ninth Brother in private, so you must be quite familiar with him. Why don’t you teach me?”

Li Nanke thought for a moment, then deliberately asked, "Why should I teach you?"

Wei Zizhao patted his chest and said, "If you are willing to teach me, then in the future, if anyone dares to bully you in Jingxing Academy, I will be the first to not let them off the hook!"

"Regardless of who that person is?"

"No matter who he is!"

Wei Zizhao retorted, "My word is my bond, I will never go back on my word!"

The Zhao family.

Song Hui was also questioning Zhao Wanqing about her first day of class, asking her to tell her everything that happened before class.

When Song Hui heard Zhao Wanqing implying that Shen Xu and Li Nanke were bullying her, a smile appeared on her face.

“You did a good job. You must not let the Crown Prince get close to Li Nanke, or the two companions by his side.”

You should also try to get closer to them.

Zhao Wanqing looked bewildered and asked timidly, "Mother, I don't understand. You and Father found a way to send me to Jingxing Academy, wasn't it so that I could study hard?"

Why does her mother never ask about her studies, but instead keeps asking about her interactions with the eldest prince and others?

Song Hui reached out and tapped her forehead.

"Silly girl, what's the point of girls studying so much? In the future, they'll get married, raise children, and manage the household."

Your parents went to great lengths to send you to Jingxing Academy, all so that you could marry a good husband in the future.

"The eldest prince is His Majesty's eldest son and the future crown prince. His two companions are a young master from the Duke of Xue's mansion and a young master from the Marquis of Wenchang's mansion."

Now, Xue Shu, the eldest daughter of the Xue family, is engaged to the heir of the Marquis of Wenchang, and the Xue and Feng families are now linked together.

If you maintain good relationships with them, even if you can't in the future... the Xue family or the Feng family would be excellent options.

Zhao Wanqing hesitated and stammered.

"Mother, I'm only nine years old. Isn't it too early for me to be thinking about these things?"

"What do you know? The bond that grows from childhood sweethearts is the most precious thing."

Song Hui said, "In short, just do as I teach you. I'm doing this for your own good."

Zhao Wanqing's lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she didn't dare to say it.

Let's listen to Mom!

After listening to Song Hui's words, Zhao Wanqing did not focus on her studies in Jingxing Academy from then on, but instead tried her best to win Shen Xu's favor.

Shen Xu liked playing the piano, so she went to learn it.

Shen Xu prefers light colors, so she dresses simply and elegantly.

Shen Xu likes to eat snacks, so she also learned to make them.

Then, every now and then, she would pretend to be bullied by Li Nanke in front of Shen Xu. With Princess Zhaoning's instigation, Shen Xu disliked Li Nanke more and more.

Every time someone tries to pick a fight with Li Nanke, Li Nanke always manages to cleverly defuse the situation, ultimately causing him to be reprimanded by Shen Cong or punished by the teacher to copy books.

Shen Xu grew increasingly dissatisfied with Li Nanke.

May arrived in the blink of an eye, and after the Dragon Boat Festival, the weather became increasingly hot.

That day, Princess Zhaokang came to Jingxing Courtyard. Her face was as pale as paper, and she held Li Nanke's hand, which trembled incessantly.

Li Nanke grasped her hand in return.

"Princess, what's wrong?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a sneer rang out from behind him.