The Marquis Mansion's Elite Class

Chapter 88

Zong Jincheng nodded and said, "Really, I’ve promised not to lie to you anymore. Trust me, brother."

Zong Wenxiu looked at him steadily and replied seriously, "Alright, I trust you."

While waiting in the carriage, Xu Wan discussed with Cui Zhi how to warn the Eighteenth Princess. After some deliberation, the two tactful women agreed that being too direct would be unwise. Such matters could easily backfire, and blunt honesty might only bring trouble.

However, they couldn’t simply stand by and let the princess be deceived. Instead, they decided to anonymously pass the clues to the princess’s mother, Consort Jing, and let her investigate. As the princess’s biological mother, whatever results she found—good or bad—would carry more weight than anything Xu Wan, who had only met the princess twice, could do. Moreover, they wouldn’t have to worry about the aftermath; the consorts in the palace were all skilled in handling such matters.

Cui Zhi said, "But we have no way to reach Consort Jing. Would you need to make a special trip to the palace, Madam? The princess mentioned last time that it’s easier to enter her palace than the Eastern Palace."

Xu Wan shook her head. "Even if her palace is easy to enter, it’s no use. The consorts and princesses don’t live in the same place, and it would be inappropriate for me to request an audience with Consort Jing directly."

"Then what should we do..." Cui Zhi was at a loss.

Xu Wan smiled and said, "There’s another way."

"What is it?"

"The six degrees of separation."

"Ah?" Cui Zhi was baffled by the new term.

Xu Wan explained, "In this world, two strangers can be connected through no more than six people."

Cui Zhi was even more astonished. "How is that possible..."

She instinctively wanted to argue—could she really reach the emperor through just six people?

But after thinking about it carefully... it actually seemed plausible.

She might not even need all six.

..................

Xu Wan mentally mapped out her and the Eighteenth Princess’s social networks. Aside from Lady Zhai and the Duke of Jin’s household, there was one couple who seemed particularly suitable.

"The Crown Princess." "The Crown Princess!"

Xu Wan and Cui Zhi spoke the name simultaneously, though the former was calm while the latter was shocked.

Brother, please, stop bragging for me.

As someone who just climbed to nineteenth place, I’m really not comfortable being called first in the academy.

Xu Wan snorted. "Are you planning to cause trouble again? Let me remind you, my father, the Minister of Justice, has a terrible temper. If he gets angry and decides to punish you, he won’t care if you’re the eldest grandson."

She wasn’t exaggerating. The little troublemaker often caused chaos at home or outside, but her father, who had overseen the Ministry of Justice for years, had a face so stern it could freeze the ground. He could fly into a rage at any moment.

Zong Wenxiu, seeing his brother misunderstood, quickly explained, "No, Madam, my brother just wants to help you..."

The little troublemaker immediately covered his mouth and interrupted with a grin, "Help you show off."

Zong Wenxiu: "......"

Is this showing off ever going to end?

Xu Wan’s eyes darted between the two of them, and she noticed that Zong Jincheng’s behavior was different from his usual scheming self.

Could it be that this time, he actually had good intentions?

Zong Jincheng was quite relaxed during the journey, snacking on pastries and playing around with his brother. For once, he didn’t argue with Xu Wan.

This made her suspicious, and she decided to test him to see if there were any cracks in his facade.

"I heard you want to transfer to the Child Prodigy Class?"

Zong Jincheng turned his head sharply and nodded repeatedly. "That’s right. If Qin Ye can transfer, so can I. The Child Prodigy Class is nothing to a rare genius like me. It won’t be long before I push Qin Ye down to second place."

Xu Wan thought to herself: Good, still as blindly confident as ever.

She said, "Given your current progress, you might manage a decent ranking if you transfer to the nine-year-old class. At most, you could be in the same class as Wenxiu, but you’d probably fall far behind. As for the Child Prodigy Class, don’t even think about it for now. You wouldn’t be able to keep up."

Zong Jincheng immediately bristled. "How could I not keep up? I’m so smart and talented. Why can’t I transfer directly to the Child Prodigy Class? Why can Qin Ye do it but not me? Are you deliberately holding me back, trying to slow down my progress?"

Xu Wan said lightly, "Do you think Qin Ye was on the same ranking as you before just because that’s his actual ability?"

Zong Jincheng frowned. "What do you mean?"

Xu Wan replied, "You’re underestimating Qin Ye, little troublemaker."

"He only stayed in the same class as his peers for his brother’s sake."