I, the villainous eldest prince, will suppress everything!

"Ahem!"

Qin Feng clenched his fist and placed it under his chin, then coughed twice on purpose before speaking:

"Ambition knows no bounds. After high school, whether you stay in Beijing or return to your hometown, it's all good."

Lu Shushu nodded in agreement.

After a while, Lu Shushu asked, "Oh, by the way, Seventh Prince, why aren't you participating in this year's imperial examination?"

"If I pass the imperial examination, I will surely be highly valued by the court and will no longer be just an idle prince like I am now."

"This humble woman can see that Your Highness harbors great ambitions!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Feng wished he could rush over and cover Lu Shushu's mouth.

It's one thing to say these things in front of others, but how could you say them to Qin Li's face?

What Qin Li feared most was that his younger brothers had lofty ambitions.

In Qin Li's mind, his younger brothers were best off as spoiled princes who indulged in all sorts of vices, including eating, drinking, gambling, and whoring.

Otherwise, the outcome would be like that of the Third Prince, who, with the support of his mother, Consort Hui, coveted the throne, but now his grave is overgrown with weeds.

Even if he had ambitions, he didn't dare to show them. He could only do things if Qin Li took the initiative to assign him some tasks.

"Miss Lu misunderstands. This prince has no great ambitions."

"If I had to say what my ambition is, it would be to bask in the sun and go fishing. Such a life is incredibly comfortable."

After saying that, Qin Feng took a sip of tea, looking quite pleased with himself.

Lu Shushu frowned when she saw Qin Feng like this.

She could tell that the Seventh Prince, Qin Feng, was clearly not that kind of person.

Could it be that they are afraid of revealing their ambitions and giving others leverage against them?

But she wouldn't go out and talk nonsense, and Qin Li wouldn't go out and talk nonsense either, because it wouldn't do Qin Li any good if it got out.

Why did Qin Feng do this?

"Miss Lu, please don't spread what you just said after you leave. I will not participate in the imperial examination."

"This prince is of limited talent and learning; it would be a disgrace for me to go, unlike my sixth brother, who is determined to succeed in this imperial examination."

"The Sixth Prince?"

Lu Shushu asked, "Is the Sixth Prince going to participate in this year's imperial examination?"

Qin Feng nodded.

Lu Shushu couldn't help but mutter to herself... What's the point of the Sixth Prince participating in the imperial examination? He's just a rich but foolish nouveau riche. Even if he participates, he won't pass.

"Miss Lu, what did you say?"

Qin Feng didn't hear clearly.

"No, it's nothing."

Lu Shushu quickly said, "It's getting late, so I won't bother Your Highness any longer."

After speaking, Lu Shushu stood up, bowed to Qin Feng, and prepared to leave.

"Take care, Miss Lu."

Qin Feng personally went out to see him off, escorting him all the way to the gate of the mansion before he stopped.

……

Qin Feng was still standing at the gate of the mansion, raising his arm to see them off from afar.

Lu Shushu and Qin Li walked side by side. Qin Li didn't seem to mind, but Lu Shushu didn't even dare to turn her head. She felt that the Seventh Prince was being too polite today, to an unreasonable degree.

Only after their figures disappeared from Qin Feng's sight did Lu Shushu breathe a sigh of relief, her whole body relaxing.

She couldn't help but reach out and pinch Qin Li's arm hard as punishment: "What can I say to you? He's a prince, and you're just an outsider who's not even considered a citizen of the capital. You can't even bow to a prince. You didn't bow when you left just now. Do you want to be the best?"

Qin Li placed one hand in front of his chest and the other behind his back, gently rubbing his fingers together as he said with a smile, "Since the other party is a prince, why would he care about such trivial matters?"

"Besides, I heard when I was in Jiangnan that the Seventh Prince was a good-for-nothing prince, and everyone could bully him."

Lu Shushu couldn't help but pinch him again, angrily saying, "Where did you learn all this twisted logic?"

Qin Li stopped, and Lu Shushu stopped as well, asking in confusion, "Why did you stop? Why don't you keep going?"

Qin Li laughed and said, "Didn't you ask me where I learned my twisted logic? My teacher is you, so where else could I have learned such twisted logic? Of course, I learned it from you."

Lu Shushu pointed to herself, incredulous: "Although I, Lu Shushu, can't be considered a lady from a prestigious family, I know proper etiquette. When did I ever teach you such nonsense?"

Qin Li said, "You taught me on the first day. I don't know who it was that day, but like a scoundrel, they snatched my jade thumb ring and haven't returned it to me yet."

Upon hearing this, Lu Shushu fell silent, because she knew she was in the wrong.

And so, she returned to the Imperial College in a huff.

Lu Shushu locked herself in her room and said she wouldn't eat dinner.

Qin Li smiled and didn't take it seriously.

……

In the days that followed, nothing happened, and life was uneventful.

Lu Shushu and Qin Li never left the Imperial Academy again, but Cao Quan would spend a few hours each day coming here to listen to Lu Shushu's teachings.

At first, Lu Shushu didn't have much hope for Cao Quan, thinking that he was on the same level as Qin Li, arrogant and conceited, and couldn't see his own worth at all.

After teaching him for a few days, she suddenly realized that Cao Quan was a treasure, not only obedient but also eager to learn.

Cao Quan was able to complete the tasks she assigned him every day perfectly.

So much so that in the last few days of teaching, Lu Shushu guaranteed that Cao Quan would definitely pass the imperial examination.

"Thank you, teacher. Tomorrow is the imperial examination. If Cao Quan passes with flying colors, I will definitely come to thank you profusely on the day of his success."

That evening, before leaving, Cao Quan kowtowed deeply to Lu Shushu.

Not only did Lu Shushu not have much hope for him at the beginning, but he also didn't have much hope for Lu Shushu at first, thinking that Lu Shushu was just a young woman and her knowledge was definitely not as good as his. But later he found that he was very wrong.

Cao Quan has benefited greatly during this period.

Lu Shushu bent down, reached out and helped him up by the arms, and said with relief:

"Cao Quan, you are the smartest and most hardworking student I have ever taught."

"You will definitely pass the exam this time, and I will be very proud of you."

After helping Cao Quan up, Lu Shushu looked at Qin Li, who was standing idly to the side.

She couldn't see any nervousness on Qin Li's face at all; she was worried for him.

After studying for so many days, tomorrow is the day the results will be announced. Why isn't Qin Li nervous at all? Does he think he's definitely not going to pass the high school entrance exam, so he's given up and decided to give up?

"Come here."

Lu Shushu stretched out her hand and pointed to the spot in front of her, beckoning Qin Li to come over.

Qin Li strolled over slowly, and before Lu Shushu could speak, he said, "You'd better not try to make me kneel."

Lu Shushu had gotten used to Qin Li, this rebellious student. She used to scold him, but now she couldn't be bothered to.

"I didn't make you kneel, after all, there's gold under your knees."

After saying that, Lu Shushu commanded, "Stretch out your hand."

"What are you doing?" Qin Li asked.

"Just put your hand out when I tell you to, stop with all the nonsense."

Qin Li obediently did as he was told, extending one hand.

Lu Shushu reached out her hands, took off the pendant from her neck, and placed it in Qin Li's palm.

Upon closer inspection, it was none other than Qin Li's jade thumb ring.

During this time, Lu Shushu was afraid that Qin Li would take away the jade thumb ring, so she wore it around her neck with a red string.

Qin Li picked up the red string, held the jade thumb ring up in front of his eyes, looked at it, and squinted as he said:

"This can't be fake, can it? The color looks different. Did you switch it out?"

"Qin! Li!"

Lu Shushu gritted her teeth and shouted Qin Li's name, clearly furious.