The little demon king's confusion was written all over his face, so simple it was almost laughable.
Xu Wan, though not a top scholar, had clawed her way out of a poverty-stricken mountainous region in a highly competitive province for college entrance exams. With scarce educational resources and fierce competition, it took everything she had to rise above. Behind her were a group of siblings from the welfare home who had no one else to rely on. She, too, had her own desperate battle to fight.
"Jincheng, do you think they’ll be helpful for your studies?" Xu Wan asked with a smile.
Zong Jincheng was sure they would be, but the proud little demon king would never admit it, let alone thank her—that would be too embarrassing.
He stubbornly replied, "I’ll definitely get first place this time."
After all, if he did well, Xu Wan would also gain some prestige, since she was his nominal mother. Their fates were intertwined—glory for one meant glory for the other, and failure for one meant failure for both.
Xu Wan chuckled. "Alright, alright. I’ll look forward to seeing your results in next month’s joint exam. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself, though. If Wenxiu can make it onto the top ten list for your age group, that’s good enough. As for Jincheng, getting into the top fifty would be impressive."
Zong Wenxiu nodded obediently. "Understood."
The little demon king stuck out his tongue at her. "Don’t underestimate me! I’m definitely going to get first place and blow your mind!"
Xu Wan raised an eyebrow skeptically, clearly not buying it.
The little demon king fumed, waving his fist in the air as if to show off his strength.
Xu Wan rolled her eyes at him.
The little demon king: "!"
Zong Wenxiu couldn’t help but laugh. His brother and Xu Wan were at it again, their childish bickering never-ending.
The tutors began their intensive coaching sessions, staying with the boys from morning till night, ready to explain anything they didn’t understand.
Baili Xi was in charge of the daily lessons, speeding up the teaching pace to match the boys’ learning speed.
The content of the children’s exams wasn’t particularly deep, mostly involving memorization, analysis, and comprehension. For Zong Jincheng, who had a photographic memory, one read-through was enough to retain everything. Though Zong Wenxiu wasn’t as naturally gifted, he was still far ahead of most children, and he worked tirelessly to keep up.
Baili Xi sighed to the heavens. "I feel like I’ve taught two months’ worth of material in just half a month. How are these kids catching on so fast? Even Zong Zhao wasn’t this driven back in the day."
Xu Wan wanted to say that Zong Zhao had been focused on both martial arts and academics, with the old marquis keeping an eye on him, so he hadn’t thrown himself entirely into studying. But these two boys were different. With dedicated private tutors, all they had to do was absorb the knowledge being fed to them, saving a lot of energy in the process.
Thinking this, she had someone prepare some ginseng to boost Baili Xi’s health and also assigned him an assistant to handle lesson preparation and summaries.
It was another day of new experiences for Baili Xi.
Over the past two weeks, the boys had thrown themselves into their studies, becoming more and more competitive. If Xu Wan hadn’t enforced a strict schedule of studying from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., the little demon king, with his boundless energy, would have followed Zong Wenxiu in studying from 6 a.m. to midnight.
While other students at the academy had a five-day study week with two days off, these two didn’t want to rest at all. One was desperate to climb the rankings, and the other was determined to outshine all the geniuses in the capital. They studied until their eyes turned red.
Even a capitalist would have wept at their dedication.
Finally, Xu Wan couldn’t take it anymore. "Take a day off. No more studying!"
Zong Wenxiu obediently put down his book, always following Xu Wan’s lead.
The little demon king, eyes bloodshot, slammed the table. "Don’t stop me! I can keep going!"
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If she had a camera, she would have recorded this and sent it to the old lady, as well as to the little demon king from three and a half months ago.
The little demon king continued his grandiose declarations: "I, Zong Jincheng, will definitely take first place in the joint exam and crush all those stepping stones at Hanlin North Academy!"
She was starting to wonder if she’d pushed the little demon king too hard. The kid was like a perpetual motion machine, showing no signs of fatigue.
While this approach was certainly effective in boosting grades, Xu Wan, being a conscientious worker, knew that a balance of work and rest was essential for long-term growth.
She had Cui Zhi bring over an invitation and handed it to Zong Jincheng and Zong Wenxiu.
"Tomorrow, the Crown Prince is hosting a hunt at Autumn Sun Mountain and has invited the children from our household to attend."
At the mention of the Crown Prince, Zong Jincheng’s expression immediately lit up. He quickly took the invitation and, seeing his name listed first, grinned from ear to ear. "The Crown Prince definitely likes me the most!"
He passed the invitation to his brother. Zong Wenxiu saw his name and was also delighted, surprised that the Crown Prince even knew about him. But then...
"Brother, you’ve gotten so good! You can read all the words on the invitation now?"
Zong Jincheng was reminded of this and realized, indeed, he used to either have Shunzi read it to him or stumble over many of the characters. But now, he had read it smoothly.
Was this the power of knowledge?
The little demon king grew even more excited but tried to play it cool. "Brother, I feel like I’m terrifyingly strong now!"
Zong Wenxiu: "...You really are terrifying."
Xu Wan was both amused and exasperated.
The kid’s confidence was also like a perpetual motion machine, endlessly self-replenishing.
Autumn Sun Mountain Hunting Grounds.
The children of military families had all received invitations and arrived in full force, ready for action. Among them were two boys who had abandoned martial arts for academics.
Bu Yanzheng was checking the arrows in the boys’ quivers, occasionally explaining archery techniques. Though they were amateur archers, their recent academic obsession had changed their mindset—they now wanted to excel at everything, so they listened intently.
"You two should stick together later. It doesn’t matter if you hit anything. We’re not martial artists, so there’s no need to compete in this."
The little demon king twirled his bow in boredom. "Yeah, no need to compete. Archery’s not fun anyway—just a lot of effort with nothing to show for it. Brother, once I get first place, I’ll teach you how to play cuju."
Zong Wenxiu smiled and nodded. "Alright."
He’d only read about cuju in books and was nowhere near as skilled as Jincheng, so he was happy to hear his brother offer to teach him.
"Oh, so you’re calling him ‘brother’ now, Jincheng? Since when did you have a brother?"
Xu Wan was sitting not far away, chatting with Madam He from the Minister of War's Mansion. He Zheng had come along today after hearing that Jincheng would be there, and Madam He seized the opportunity to exchange parenting tips with Xu Wan.
While talking to her, Xu Wan kept an eye on the two brothers. When a young boy approached Jincheng, she asked Madam He, "Whose child is that?"
Madam He glanced over. "Oh, that’s the youngest son of the Right Censor of the Imperial Censorate, Wei Xinglu."
Xu Wan mentally noted: the last of the four young troublemakers of the capital.
Zong Jincheng, Zhai Yao, He Zheng, Wei Xinglu.
She’d now met all of them.