Zong Wenxiu had never encountered such an unfair situation before. If it had been him, he would have gritted his teeth and endured it, but his brother was different. How could such a proud heir to the Marquis Manor endure such humiliation?
But what he didn't expect was that, unlike his own courage to seek help from Madam Xu Wan, the little devil himself had directly overturned the table!
Zong Jincheng had roamed the Capital City for years, and even the most unruly sons of noble families dared not claim to be the boss in front of him. He was willful and unrestrained, unafraid of offending anyone, and started smashing things with a stool.
Zhang Zhi, seeing this, clapped his hands and walked out, mocking, "Oh, isn't this the kid who was bragging the other day? Couldn't pass the exam, so now you're tearing down the rankings? Can't take losing, huh?"
Wu Shusen also stood beside him, although he was one rank lower than Zong Jincheng, his friend had at least won. He lifted his head and joined in the mockery, "I think it's because he couldn't pass the exam, that's why he's losing his temper and going crazy in the academy."
Zong Jincheng retorted loudly, "Who are you saying couldn't pass the exam? With your results, how could you possibly rank second? You must have cheated! And you, the last place, what's your name?"
Zhang Zhi rebuked, "What are you talking about! I answered every question on the exam myself!"
Wu Shusen also retorted, "So what if I'm last? At least I'm not as shameless as you, the second to last, to mock me!"
Zong Jincheng snorted coldly, "Answer my ass. Those exam papers were so easy. If you hadn't cheated, how could I have ranked so low?"
Zhang Zhi laughed angrily, "You little punk, do you even know what cheating is? Cheating is falsifying your own exam paper, what does that have to do with your terrible performance? Did someone force you to fail?"
The two argued endlessly, moving from their poor exam results to the fairness of the exam itself.
The onlooking students finally reacted and hurried to call someone in charge.
After Zong Jincheng and Zong Wenxiu ran over to check the results, Xu Wan went straight to the Principal's office. She wanted to take a look at the two boys' exam papers to determine the direction of their future education based on their mistakes.
Before she could find the papers, she heard students rushing in, gasping for breath, "Principal... Principal, something terrible has happened! A student who didn't do well on the exam tore down the rankings! He's still smashing tables!"
Xu Wan wasn't sure if she was being overly sensitive, but as soon as she heard about such an arrogant student, she immediately thought of the little devil.
"What?" The Principal slammed the table and stood up, too busy to continue helping Xu Wan find the papers. He followed the students out, asking as he walked, "Tell me quickly, what's going on?"
Xu Wan also followed closely behind.
When they arrived, they saw the little devil indeed arguing with others. If it weren't for Zong Wenxiu holding him back, the brat would have been eager to start a fight.
The Principal, seeing Zong Jincheng, realized who the troublemaker was.
Indeed, it was the notorious troublemaker from the Capital City.
He knew that letting Zong Jincheng into the academy would lead to this day, but there was no way around it. The Marquis Manor had offered far too much.
Who could refuse that...
The Principal's eyes welled up with tears as he pulled the three arguing students apart. He then addressed Zong Jincheng, "Master Zong, is there some misunderstanding?"
Zong Jincheng snorted and crossed his arms, even more arrogant in his posture.
Zhang Zhi cried out, "Principal, he can't take losing! He got last place and tore down the leaderboard, making it impossible for us to see the results!"
Wu Shusen also stepped forward, "That's right, Principal. We were just trying to stop him, and he started arguing with us. How can such a reckless student be allowed to stay in our academy?"
Zong Wenxiu, seeing they were only telling the parts that benefited them, quickly spoke up to explain for his brother, "It's not like that, Madam. I suspected their results were falsified, which is why my brother got so impulsive and tore down the list."
"Falsified results?" This time, Xu Wan didn't need Zong Wenxiu to explain further. She had a pretty good idea of what had happened.
The little devil must have gotten an extremely poor ranking.
But it didn't match his actual abilities.
Others might not know Zong Jincheng's true level, but she and Zong Wenxiu did. Thinking this, she said to the Principal, "Principal, perhaps we should first check the two boys' exam papers? I also want to see how Jincheng did."
The Principal nodded, "Alright, then come with me to check the papers."
They followed him and first found Zong Wenxiu's exam paper.
Xu Wan took it and heard the Principal say, "Wenxiu's paper is actually quite good. He answered all the questions he attempted correctly, so it seems he's just a bit behind in his studies."
Xu Wan nodded, "Yes, the Principal has a keen eye."
The Principal then found Zong Jincheng's exam paper and said, "Jincheng's answers are also quite good. Although his translation skills need some work, his handwriting is very beautiful."
At this, Xu Wan and Zong Wenxiu both looked over simultaneously.
The little devil's handwriting is good?
That compliment could only be accepted by Zong Jincheng himself, with his thick skin.
Zong Wenxiu gave Xu Wan a look, as if to say, see, there's definitely something wrong with the paper.
His brother had only been learning to write for a short time. Even with his talent, his handwriting had never been particularly good. Yet now, the Principal was praising it separately, which was highly unusual.
Xu Wan took the paper and looked at it. Indeed, the handwriting was unfamiliar.
Someone had switched the little devil's exam paper.
At this point, Zong Wenxiu whispered to Xu Wan, "Madam, Zhang Zhi ranked second this time. I find that suspicious."
Xu Wan immediately understood and asked the Principal, "Could you please also bring out Zhang Zhi's exam paper?"
"Why do you want to see my paper?" Zhang Zhi was so nervous he stammered.
The Principal also looked over with confusion.
Xu Wan smiled and replied, "Because I suspect you stole Jincheng's results."
The Principal: "!!!"
Good heavens! How could that be possible?!
He had been so careful with the people from the Marquis Manor, yet someone in the academy was pulling his leg behind the scenes?
Zhang Zhi shouted, "Why do you have the right to see my paper? That's my personal property, I don't allow anyone to look at it!"
Xu Wan asked him, "Are you feeling guilty?"
Zhang Zhi's face turned red to the roots of his neck. He yelled, "Who's feeling guilty! I'm just protecting my privacy!"
Xu Wan replied, "The ink, paper, and even the writing brush for the monthly exam are all provided by the academy. The Principal has the right to view the results of any student."
"Then... then only the Principal can look at it!"
"Fine," Xu Wan smiled and said to Zong Wenxiu, "Wenxiu, take Jincheng over there and write a few words for the Principal to compare the handwriting."
She didn't directly ask Jincheng to write because, given the boy's rebellious attitude towards her, he probably wouldn't cooperate.
But with Zong Wenxiu in between, Zong Jincheng, though reluctantly, still went over and wrote a few lines from the first two sentences of the "Strategies of the Warring States."
Zong Wenxiu brought the handwriting over, and Xu Wan handed it to the Principal to compare with the second-to-last place paper in his hand.
The Principal's mouth twitched as he looked at it.
The handwriting was truly ugly.
Almost every character was twice the size of normal, filling the entire paper, a stark contrast to the neat, small handwriting on the exam paper.
