After being bought by seven rough men and taken to the deep mountains, I was pampered.

It was late at night, in the dormitories of Guigu Academy.

This is the first and last day that the Qin family will accompany their child to school. They will be heading home soon, leaving only the second brother to study here.

All was quiet except for a dim oil lamp burning in the most secluded yet cozy room numbered T.

"Second brother, isn't this candlelight too dim? It'll hurt your eyes." Su Wan was holding a pair of scissors and trimming the candle wick. She looked at her second brother with a hint of heartache.

She wore a moon-white undergarment, her long hair was casually tied into a bun, and she was draped in the white fox fur coat that the fourth brother had insisted on giving her. She curled up in the large chair, looking like a lazy Persian cat.

"It's alright." Qin Mo sat opposite the desk, holding a volume of "Spring and Autumn Annals" in his hands, with his gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose.

The lenses reflected a cold light in the candlelight, obscuring the turbulent undercurrents in his eyes.

"If you're sleepy, sister-in-law, go sleep in that down comforter." His voice was deep as he turned a page of the bamboo slips, his fingertips tracing the rough surface as if he were caressing something else entirely. "I'll memorize for another quarter of an hour."

"I'm not sleepy, I'll stay with you." Su Wan shook her head, forcing herself to stay awake.

My second brother came to school for the sake of this family. How could she, as his sister-in-law, sleep soundly by herself? Is that something a human being would do?

"It's this table..." Su Wan frowned and put down the sewing basket in her hand.

This cell was so dilapidated, the floor was uneven. Every time Qin Mo turned a page, the table would creak and shake.

"It's so shaky." Su Wan bent down and crawled under the table: "I remember there was a piece of stiff paper in the bundle... The fourth brother pulled it out of the brazier last time, saying that the paper was sturdy and would be perfect for padding the table legs."

The space under the table was narrow and cramped. The light was dim, and only the hem of Su Wan's skirt, swaying with her movements, drew ambiguous arcs in Qin Mo's vision.

Qin Mo's hand, gripping the book, suddenly tightened. His knuckles turned white.

"Found it." Su Wan took out the thick piece of paper folded into a square with some burnt marks on the edges from her bosom.

That was a fragment of the Grand Tutor's handwritten letter that Qin Mo had casually tossed into the brazier when he refused the Grand Tutor's invitation, but which was later rescued.

The words on it had been almost completely burned away, leaving only a blood-red seal bearing the inscription "[Imperial Tutor/Grand Preceptor]".

But in Su Wan's eyes, it was just a piece of waste paper.

"Heave-ho!" With great effort, she lifted the heavy table leg and stuffed the "waste paper"—a piece of paper that would make all the scholars in the world kneel in worship—into the table without hesitation!

"Alright! That's it!" Su Wan clapped her hands, crawled out from under the table with satisfaction, and sat back down opposite Qin Mo.

However, the moment she sat down...

The space under this table is really too small.

Their knees inevitably collided.

"Ah..." Su Wan subconsciously tried to pull her leg back.

"Don't move." Qin Mo suddenly spoke. He didn't look up, his gaze still fixed on the scroll in his hands, as if he had just recited scriptures.

But his actions under the table were anything but "saintly".

Instead of yielding, his two long, slender legs forcefully stretched forward, his knees meeting in a single motion, trapping Su Wan's awkwardly positioned legs firmly between them!

"Second Brother?!" Su Wan was so shocked she almost jumped up, her face instantly turning bright red. What... what kind of position is this?!

Through the thin trousers, she could clearly feel the taut muscles on Qin Mo's calves, and the constant, scorching heat emanating from them. It was the body temperature of a grown man. Domineering. Burning hot.

"Shh—" Qin Mo finally raised his head. He narrowed his phoenix eyes slightly behind his gold-rimmed glasses, raised a slender index finger, and pressed it against his thin lips.

"Sister-in-law."

"I am reciting 'Self-discipline and returning to propriety'."

"If you move around... you'll disturb my peace of mind."

God the hell is self-discipline and propriety?! Your legs are practically chopping mine off!

Su Wan felt as if her legs were welded together by two red-hot iron clamps, unable to move. The slightest struggle only intensified the friction, and the tingling sensation traveled from her ankles straight to the top of her head.

"Then...then loosen your grip a bit..." Su Wan's voice trembled, on the verge of tears, "It's too tight..."

"I can't let go." Qin Mo turned a page of his book, his voice as calm as if he were discussing the weather, but his eyes, through his glasses, were fixed on her flustered little face:

"This cell is too small."

"Only this way... will it keep me warm."

"Didn't my sister-in-law say she'd stay with me? Can't she handle it already?"

He exerted a little force, tightening his legs again. The feeling of being completely controlled and forcefully invaded left Su Wan's mind blank.

Is this what a scumbag of a refined scholar looks like? Reading Confucian classics while secretly engaging in leg-pinning under the table?!

Just when the atmosphere was so ambiguous it was about to explode—

"Bang bang bang!" A series of rapid and rough knocks suddenly rang out! It was the kind of knocking that carried a scrutinizing tone, specifically aimed at catching disciplinary infractions!

"Open the door! Room check!" A stern voice rang out, making everyone's legs go weak.

Su Wan froze in fright, like a startled rabbit. "It's over! It's that Master Yan, known as 'The Demon's Bane'!"

I heard that this old man hates students who don't study properly, and he hates even more women staying overnight in the cells!

If people saw them in their current posture... they'd be in deep trouble no matter what!

"Second Brother! Let go! I'm going to hide!" Su Wan hurriedly pushed his leg.

Qin Mo remained motionless. He slowly closed the book, even taking the time to straighten Su Wan's fox fur collar: "What are you hiding for?"

"My sister-in-law is a member of the Qin family; she is upright and honest."

"Besides..." He pushed up his glasses, a sly smile playing on his lips: "He'd have to have the guts to investigate."

"Squeak—" The door wasn't locked, and Master Yan pushed it open directly.

Master Yan was a small old man in his fifties with a bitter and resentful face. He carried a ruler in his hand, and two students followed behind him to watch the commotion.

As soon as he entered the room, his eagle eyes swept across the room like searchlights.

"Qin Mo! Why aren't the lights off this late? Are you up to something shady?" Master Yan twitched his nose and smelled the faint, pleasant milky scent in the room (from Su Wan).

His brow furrowed instantly: "Hmm? Why does this room smell like a woman's perfume?!" "This is utterly unseemly! Is someone hiding here?!"

At this moment, Su Wan was sitting upright opposite Qin Mo, holding a needle and thread in her hand and pretending to sew. Although her legs were still trapped under the table, her upper body looked virtuous, gentle, dignified and generous.

"I apologize for not greeting you properly, Master, as you have come so late at night." Qin Mo remained seated, not even moving an inch.

He glanced at Master Yan indifferently, his gaze, through his gold-rimmed glasses, was as cold as ice.

"Hmph! Don't give me that!" Master Yan strode in, slamming his ruler on the table: "Let me see what you're doing! Are you reading some idle book?!"

As he cursed, he bent down to check the wastebasket under the table, hoping to find any torn pages from erotic novels.

As he bent down, his gaze inevitably fell on... the table leg.

Hmm? What's that under the table? The texture of that paper... looks like the "Chengxintang Paper" used exclusively in the palace?

And that peek-out corner... that red inkpad...

Master Yan squinted his old eyes and leaned closer to take a look.

The next second, "Clang!" The ruler in Master Yan's hand fell to the ground and hit the back of his foot, but he didn't even groan.

He was completely stunned, frozen in place as if struck by lightning, his eyes bulging out of their sockets! In that instant, his blood seemed to freeze, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back!

Those two characters… those two powerful, flowing seal script characters… 【Grand Tutor】!

That's the private seal of the Grand Tutor, the Imperial Tutor of the current dynasty, whom even the Emperor respectfully addresses as "Teacher"!

Such a priceless, handwritten letter, worthy of being worshipped and burned with incense by scholars throughout the land… was actually… actually used by this Qin Mo… as a footrest for a table!?!

Master Yan's mind exploded with a flurry of thoughts. Who exactly was this Qin Mo?! Could he be the Grand Tutor's illegitimate son? No, even if he were an illegitimate son, he wouldn't dare to disrespect his own father's letter like this! Unless… he was a member of the royal family traveling incognito?! Perhaps the legendary grandson of the emperor, deeply favored by the Grand Tutor?!

Only royalty has the audacity to regard money as dirt and power as fleeting clouds! No wonder! No wonder he could produce such a divine glass object upon arrival! No wonder the headmaster held him in such high regard! It turns out… this is a great figure!

"Master?" Qin Mo raised an eyebrow, looking at the trembling old man who remained bent over. "What are you looking at?"

"This table is a bit wobbly, so my wife grabbed a piece of scrap paper and used it to cushion it."

"If Master finds it unsightly, then I will leave?"

As he spoke, he made a move to lift the table.

"No, no, no!!! Don't move!!!" Master Yan let out a pig-like scream, abandoning all semblance of teacherly dignity, and immediately knelt on the ground, desperately protecting the table leg: "Don't move! This table is perfectly positioned! Perfectly positioned!" "Stable! So stable! This means our Great Xia Dynasty is secure!"

He looked up, his face covered in cold sweat from a mixture of obsequiousness and awe, staring at Qin Mo as if he were looking at an ancestor: "Young Master Qin... please continue reading! Just read whatever you like!"

"Is this lamp bright enough? If not, I'll go and bring you the ever-burning lamp."

"Is this quilt soft enough? If not, I'll go and get you the headmaster's sable fur."

Qin Mo pushed up his glasses, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes.

Of course he knew whose letter it was. He also knew what the old man was imagining. That's called—leveraging influence.

Even a piece of waste paper can be fatal if used in the right way.

"No need," Qin Mo said calmly. "If you have nothing else, you may leave."

"My wife is timid; you frightened her."

"And... next time you enter this room, remember to knock."

"Yes, yes, yes! I'll get out of here right now! I'll get out of here right now!" Master Yan scrambled out, considerately closing the door behind him, and even yelled at the doorway: "Listen up, all of you! From now on, anyone who dares to come within a hundred paces of room number T, I'll break their legs!"

Su Wan blushed furiously under the table... "Second Brother..."