Chapter 58
"Do you know him?" Jiang Yu asked, puzzled as he noticed the boy seemingly addressing them.
"No," Xie Yanzhi replied, shaking his head at the chubby little boy.
"Me neither," Xu Qingshi added, even craning his neck to get a better look.
None of them thought the boy was actually calling for them.
After all, their families were all well-off.
They’d never done menial chores like sweeping.
Besides, they were still children—their households wouldn’t make them do servants' work.
"Hey, you! Are you deaf?" The boy was Luo Jing'an, the nephew of the Prince of Zhennan’s wife, Lady Luo.
Children from noble families usually had private tutors.
But Luo Jing'an had turned the Roshan Academy into his personal playground, bullying others with impunity—no one dared cross the Prince of Zhennan’s household.
"Oh no, Young Master, I think he’s calling us," Jiang Yu said excitedly.
"But did you hear him? He wants us to sweep the floor. Do you even know how?" Xu Qingshi rolled his eyes.
"Do I look like someone who knows? My father never taught me!" Jiang Yu scratched his head, confused.
"I don’t know either. My father didn’t teach me," Xie Yanzhi quickly added, waving his hands.
"And my father never had time to teach me," Xu Qingshi chimed in under their expectant gazes.
"Then let’s just ignore him," Xie Yanzhi suggested after a moment.
The three huddled together, whispering among themselves, completely disregarding Luo Jing'an—which only infuriated the little tyrant.
"I said get over here! Can’t you understand human speech?" Luo Jing'an marched up to them and slammed his fist on the table.
"Who are you calling 'human speech'?" Xu Qingshi frowned. Was this kid raised without manners?
He might be young, but he wasn’t stupid.
"Where did these country bumpkins come from? How dare you talk to Young Master Luo like that?" Another boy stepped forward, sneering at Xu Qingshi.
"He called us bumpkins? Do we look like bumpkins?" Jiang Yu laughed in disbelief.
As the eldest son of the Yongning Marquis’ household, being called a bumpkin was downright ridiculous. Who was the real bumpkin here?
In an instant, the children were brawling.
Punches flew, kicks landed—chaos erupted.
Xu Qingshi, Xie Yanzhi, and Jiang Yu were small but quick.
Still, they were outnumbered, and soon, bruises began to show.
When Teacher Wang arrived, he nearly lost his temper at the sight.
"Stop! All of you, stop!"
He rubbed his temples. He’d only stepped away for a moment—how had they ended up fighting?
Seeing the children, all sporting fresh injuries, only made him angrier. How was he supposed to explain this to their families?
"Teacher, it was these bumpkins—they started it!" Luo Jing'an pointed accusingly at Xu Qingshi and the others.
"That’s a lie! You bullied us because we’re new!" Xu Qingshi widened his eyes, shocked at the blatant falsehood.
"You—you—" Teacher Wang was so furious he could barely speak.
Regardless of who threw the first punch, they’d all fought.
Xu Heming had specifically instructed that these new students should be given a hard time, so Teacher Wang had introduced them as commoners.
But Luo Jing'an’s status was flaunted everywhere.
Now, the teacher was stuck in a dilemma.
"Teacher Wang, they hurt me like this. This isn’t over," Luo Jing'an declared smugly.
With the teacher on his side, he was sure these three would pay dearly.
"Oh yeah? Look what you did to me!" Xu Qingshi rolled up his sleeves, revealing shocking bruises.
"Me too!" Xie Yanzhi followed suit.
Who didn’t have injuries?
"Ow, this hurts so much!" Jiang Yu also bared his arms.
The classroom descended into chaos as everyone claimed to be the victim.
"Enough! Your families will be notified to collect you!" Teacher Wang snapped.
He glared at Xu Qingshi, Xie Yanzhi, and Jiang Yu. "You three, stay outside. There was never this much trouble before you arrived!"
"Teacher, they were the ones who started it!" Jiang Yu protested.
"I’ve already sent for your parents," Teacher Wang said coldly, shooing them out.
"Teacher, I’m hurt! I want my mother to deal with this!" Luo Jing'an demanded.
"Young Master, rest assured—I’ve already sent word to Lady Luo," Teacher Wang assured him.
"You’re dead," Luo Jing'an taunted, curling his finger at them.
Standing outside, the three boys stewed in frustration.
"If my father finds out I got into a fight on my first day, he’ll whip me for sure," Jiang Yu muttered, rubbing his backside fearfully.
"We didn’t do anything wrong—they were the bullies!" Xu Qingshi insisted.
"But the teacher took his side," Xie Yanzhi pointed out, watching the others continue their lessons undisturbed.
"I can’t let my father know," Xu Qingshi groaned. If Xu Heming found out he’d been fighting, punishment was inevitable.
"But didn’t he already send for him?" Jiang Yu asked.
"Relax, my father’s rarely home. Besides, I doubt he told them our real address," Xu Qingshi said smugly, resting his chin on his hand.
Getting an audience with his father wasn’t easy.
At the Li Residence
"Miss Li, Teacher Wang requests your presence at the academy," a servant announced, momentarily stunned by Li Zhiwei’s beauty.
But then he scoffed inwardly. Pretty as she was, living in the West Willow Alley meant she was no match for the Prince of Zhennan’s household.
"Madam, you’d best bring plenty of silver," the servant added before leaving.
"Sister Lin, what kind of place is Roshan Academy?" Li Zhiwei asked Lin Ziyi, confused.
Wasn’t an academy just a school?
Why would she need to bring money?
Was it some kind of bandit den, demanding ransom?
"Sister, do you have a child studying at Roshan Academy?" Lin Ziyi frowned.
Most well-off families sent their children to the Imperial Academy.
Given the Li family’s status, why would they settle for Roshan?
