The Marquis Mansion's Elite Class

Chapter 98

Zong Jincheng was also astonished. He exclaimed, "You did so well? You came in second place! How could Feng Song have the nerve to say you’re not suited for studying? Is he blind?"

The little troublemaker instantly felt that he hadn’t scolded Feng Song enough earlier. That weakling from the southern academy was really asking for a beating. What level was he even at, to dare bully Qin Shi, who ranked second in the joint exam?

Qin Shi smiled lightly and said, "It’s fine, I didn’t take it to heart."

His temper was truly too good.

Completely different from Qin Ye’s infuriating demeanor.

Zong Jincheng immediately decided to remove him from his grudge list and said earnestly, "Alright, just wait. I’m definitely going to surpass you!"

Zong Wenxiu turned his head in surprise. How had his brother suddenly learned to be tactful?

But he quickly added, "And me too. My name is Zong Wenxiu."

Qin Shi smiled and said, "Alright, I’ll be looking forward to it."

At the Qin household, Qin Shi had just walked in with a stack of books when he ran into Qin Ye, who had returned from the academy.

He looked the same as usual, without a trace of joy for having taken first place in the children’s division. Hanlin North Academy had prepared for this joint exam specifically to seek revenge against Qin Ye, but to their dismay, the entire children’s class of over a hundred students had been completely defeated, losing even more miserably than last month.

Qin Shi said, "Qin Ye, congratulations on taking first place again. This time it’s first in the children’s division. When the children’s exam comes next spring, you’ll surely achieve an excellent result."

Qin Ye noticed the book in his hands and walked over, asking, "Haven’t you already mastered 'Mengqiu'?"

Qin Shi glanced down at the book and smiled again. "I can recite it, but I’m not yet proficient in applying it. So I wanted to review it a few more times."

Qin Ye nodded and asked, "Brother, did you bring back your exam paper? Let me take a look at where you went wrong."

Although Qin Shi was older than Qin Ye in age, Qin Ye was far more advanced in terms of knowledge. After persuading his brother not to sacrifice his own future for him, Qin Shi often took the initiative to ask Qin Ye for help, making his brother feel that he didn’t mind.

Over time, Qin Ye got used to helping him and began to proactively ask if there were any areas Qin Shi hadn’t fully grasped, just like now.

After four months of studying in the study, the little troublemaker’s writing speed had already caught up to Zong Wenxiu’s. Although his handwriting was still atrocious, it was at least legible.

However, Xu Wan wasn’t in a hurry to correct his messy handwriting.

For one, the little troublemaker was still in the stage of enjoying the fun of using colorful ink to write ugly characters. It wasn’t the right time to crush his interest. Secondly, there was still more than half a year before the children’s exam, and there would be plenty of time to practice his handwriting before then.

Xu Wan understood the principle of not rushing things and knew how to balance things appropriately.

Meanwhile, the little troublemaker was still shouting, "Tutor Zhao, I want to take the ten-year-old class exam with my brother. Teach me at his pace. I’m going to defeat Qin Shi!"

Zhao Yin smiled and said, "Young Master Jincheng, what an admirable goal. But let’s not rush. I’ve prepared two sets of exam papers for you. Try them both first."

"Oh? What exam papers?" Not only was the little troublemaker curious, but even Zong Wenxiu looked over.

Zhao Yin smiled and said, "Our elite class has obtained the past exam papers from Qingbo Academy. These two are from the nine-year-old and ten-year-old classes. Young Master Jincheng can use them to test his current knowledge level."

Zong Jincheng’s eyes lit up. "Great, give them to me!"

The curriculum of the elite class was tailored to their learning speed. Since both children were highly talented, the lessons were faster and more detailed than those at the academy. However, it was also easy to lose track of their progress.

Now, with the academy’s exam papers for each age and month, they could clearly gauge their own progress.

Zong Wenxiu was also tempted.

Pan Hongzhi smiled and asked, "Young Master Wenxiu, would you like to try the eleven-year-old exam paper?"

Zong Wenxiu looked up, delighted. "Eleven years old... Can I?"

Pan Hongzhi smiled and said, "You can give it a try."

"Alright!"

The three tutors handed out the exam papers to the two boys and lit the specially made exam incense that Xu Wan had ordered. They began preparing for the exam.

"This incense burns for one hour, which is the duration of your exam. Please finish the exam before the incense burns out. You may submit your papers early, but once the time is up, you must stop writing immediately."