Xiao Yunshi had lost his usual high-spirited demeanor, standing dejectedly at the door.
“I’m sorry, Teacher. I’m late for class!”
Xiao Yunshi bowed deeply to the teacher.
The teacher glared at him with a dark expression as he sized Xiao Yunshi up.
“Did you run into some bandits?” Xiao Yunchuan, sitting by the door, looked at Xiao Yunshi with a smug grin.
Xiao Yunshi lifted his head and shot a glare at Xiao Yunchuan.
Then, he quickly glanced at the teacher and lowered his head.
The teacher cleared his throat sternly. “Hand in your assignment!”
Xiao Yunshi hurriedly bent down to fetch his book basket.
But the basket suddenly split open, spilling everything all over the floor.
A satchel, an inkstone, a slingshot, some stones...
The teacher’s face grew even darker.
Xiao Yunchuan watched Xiao Yunshi’s clumsy misfortune with unrestrained glee.
He sneaked a look at the teacher, then, hidden by the desk, quietly stretched out his foot.
Xiao Yunshi gathered his homework and stood up to hand it in.
Suddenly, he tripped and lurched straight toward the teacher.
The teacher couldn’t dodge in time and was knocked right into Xiao Yunshi.
The classroom fell silent for a moment.
Everyone stared at the teacher and Xiao Yunshi.
Xiao Yunshi scrambled to his feet. “Teacher, I didn’t mean to!”
“Someone tripped me, and I couldn’t stop myself from falling.”
“Snap!” The teacher’s ruler came down on Xiao Yunshi’s leg.
“A man should show composure and not his emotions! What’s all this flapping about?!”
The sound of the ruler made everyone in the class shrink back a little.
Xiao Yunshi clutched the spot where he’d been hit, looking as if he might cry.
The teacher picked up the homework from the floor and opened it.
The scrawling mess on the paper turned his face as black as a pot lid.
“Stretch out your hand!” The teacher raised the ruler again.
Xiao Yunshi held out his palm. “Teacher, could you go easy? I still need this hand for writing!”
“You write with your right hand—what does your left have to do with it? Don’t argue!”
The teacher’s eyes bulged as he relentlessly struck Xiao Yunshi’s palm three times with the ruler.
Just hearing the “snap” of it made everyone wince, as if their own palms were stinging.
“Stand by the door!” the teacher ordered, not wanting to waste any more class time.
Xiao Yunshi bowed to the teacher and walked back to his spot at the door.
He quickly stuffed his things back into the basket and shot a glance at Xiao Yunchuan’s foot.
Xiao Yunchuan, noticing Xiao Yunshi’s look, smiled back without a hint of fear.
“Ahem!” the teacher cleared his throat habitually and began the lesson.
Sitting at the very back, Duoduo couldn’t help but watch Xiao Yunshi with curiosity.
She remembered what Stone had told her—that the person who had chased her that day was one of the Fifth Prince’s men.
And Xiao Yunshi’s father was none other than that very Fifth Prince.
Duoduo recalled how Xiao Yunshi had once been kind to her.
She had initially thought that, for all his mischief, he was at least friendly toward her.
But that man that day was clearly not a good sort.
Given Xiao Yunshi’s state, Duoduo wondered if her father had gotten involved.
Still, her father had shown some mercy—those men meant to capture her, after all.
Duoduo had noticed earlier that Xiao Yunshi had asked the teacher to be gentle because he still needed to write.
Yet the hand he’d held out was his left!
Duoduo propped her chin on her hands and carefully recalled how Xiao Yunshi usually behaved.
She remembered that when he first handed her that oil-paper package, he’d used his right hand.
He also shot his bow with his right hand.
Everything pointed to the fact that Xiao Yunshi wasn’t left-handed.
But he’d just let slip that he wrote with his left hand.
In a moment of panic, people blurt out the truth.
So Xiao Yunshi definitely hadn’t lied.
A thought suddenly struck Duoduo.
Xiao Yunshi, like her, deliberately used his left hand for writing!
Just like her...
Xiao Yunshi was hiding his true ability!
This realization made Duoduo scratch her head in confusion.
In the classroom, Xiao Yunshi was nothing but a troublemaker.
Whether it was writing or reciting lessons, he was always the one beaten most by the teacher.
If Xiao Yunshi really was hiding his skill, then he had an incredible tolerance for pain.
The teacher’s ruler was no joke—it hit hard.
When Duoduo had been struck, the bruise lasted nearly two full days.
Lvdou had fretted over it endlessly.
Xiao Yunshi, though, seemed to get beaten almost every day.
Hiss!
Why would anyone be so harsh on themselves?
He was still just a child!
Thinking this, Duoduo glanced at Xiao Yunshi standing by the door.
He wasn’t paying attention to the lesson at all. Instead, he was fiddling with his torn clothes, wincing as he tried to press the ripped edges back into place as if that could make them whole again.
He seemed completely uninterested in what the teacher was saying.
Duoduo’s eyes flickered again.
She didn’t listen to the teacher either—because she’d already learned the material a long time ago.
What was Xiao Yunshi’s reason for zoning out?
Could it be that, like her, he’d already been taught at home by a tutor?
But if Xiao Yunshi had learned it, why couldn’t he recite the texts?
Something didn’t add up.
Unless... he was doing it on purpose!
Duoduo’s eyes lit up. She was suddenly fascinated by Xiao Yunshi.
She wanted to test her theory—to see if her guess was right.
The next day was a day off, so the Imperial Academy only held morning classes.
The teacher left with his books, and the classroom erupted into cheers.
Students who were close to Xiao Yunshi crowded around his desk.
“Hey, Xiao Yunshi, want to go horseback riding tomorrow?”
“I know a huge place—we can run free!”
“Xiao Yunshi, there’s a dog-fighting ring somewhere. You wanna check it out?”
...
Duoduo slowly packed her book basket, her ears pricked to hear what was going on at the next table.
Xiao Yunshi carelessly tossed his things into his basket and picked it up.
“I’m not going. You all go ahead!”
“The teacher punished me with so many pages of calligraphy—are you going to write them for me?”
“Forget it, we all have a pile to do too,” the others quickly declined.
“I’m off!” Xiao Yunshi hugged his basket and ran out in a rush, leaving the group bewildered.
“Why’s Xiao Yunshi in such a hurry?”
“Let’s go see where he’s running off to.”
With that, the group that had clustered together stampeded out of the room.
Duoduo quickly grabbed her own basket and followed after them.
Lvdou and Qingliu, who had been waiting for Duoduo, came over from under the porch.
Qingliu took the basket, while Lvdou saw Duoduo looking around.
“Princess, who are you looking for?” Lvdou asked quietly.
“Where did that group of people go?” Duoduo asked in a low voice.
