Shen Xuefeng thought for a moment longer. Because of his heavy nasal tone, his voice sounded thick and rough: “I want to invite Your Highness out to eat. Can we go outside the palace?”

Ji Wu narrowed his eyes.

Shen Xuefeng immediately realized he had said the wrong thing and hurriedly covered his mouth: “S-sorry! I forgot that Your Highness can’t just leave the palace whenever you want.”

He had been too careless, forgetting that Ji Wu didn’t have the privilege to go wherever he pleased. After all, even the spoiled Tenth Princess couldn’t leave the palace without reason, so Ji Wu certainly wouldn’t be allowed to go out with him.

Shen Xuefeng glanced around nervously, then boldly leaned closer to Ji Wu and whispered, “Then… what if we sneak out secretly? Would that be okay?”

His eyes were moist and misty, looking very sincere. As he leaned in, a gentle, fresh scent of woody patchouli quietly drifted over.

Ji Wu lowered his gaze to Shen Xuefeng’s face. It seemed as if he heard him, yet as if he didn’t listen at all. Dark emotions hid in his eyes.

Before class, when Ji Changran had spoken to him, it had been just as close.

Unsure if Ji Wu had heard his thoughts, Shen Xuefeng tiptoed closer and whispered into his ear, “Your Highness, just now I said, shall we sneak out?”

As their sleeves brushed against each other, the tempting atmosphere thickened.

Ji Wu seemed to discover something amusing on the boy’s lips. He stared at Shen Xuefeng’s red lips for a long moment, then slightly leaned down and said, “I have never left the palace gates, nor do I know how to leave the palace secretly.”

He was lying again.

But Ji Wu didn’t intend to keep up the lie. He released Shen Xuefeng and strode back to the classroom.

Shen Xuefeng stood there stunned, feeling a little disappointed after being rejected.

But he quickly pulled himself together. It didn’t matter. Since Ji Wu had never left the palace, there was even more reason to take him out and show him the outside world.

In Shen Xuefeng’s worldview, Ji Wu was still a teenager if placed in the modern era—and at that troublesome age where teenagers should be going out more and having fun, not stuck in such a dull place.

He completely forgot that the era Ji Wu lived in was not comparable to the modern world. In the Great Ji Dynasty, males could marry and have children once they turned fifteen, especially princes.

Those who managed to survive the muddy palace life were far more mature than ordinary people and couldn’t be as simple as Shen Xuefeng imagined.

For today’s second class, it was once again the turn of the six departments to lecture.

The man at the front holding the Criminal Defense book and pacing back and forth eloquently was the Right Minister of the Shangshu Department, Huo Yu. Seeing that it wasn’t his own father giving the lecture, Shen Xuefeng immediately relaxed his stiff back.

Since he was in the very last row, he figured he could rest a bit—no teacher would notice.

Bored, he twirled his pen in his hands. After a while, he sneezed and couldn’t help but glance over at Ji Wu.

…Maybe moving seats wasn’t such a good idea. He wished he was closer to the heater.

Shen Xuefeng sighed, then suddenly heard Right Minister Huo clearing his throat and asking, “Has everyone submitted the legal codes I had you all copy last time?”

All the students sitting below suddenly felt a boost of energy.

Then, Lord Huo uttered the classic line: “Ahem, now let’s check some homework, and then randomly have someone recite.” After speaking, he instructed a nearby book attendant to bring up the assignments.

This Right Minister of the Shangshu Department was a young man newly assigned to the imperial capital from Jiannan Province. He lectured with passion and vigor, and was especially diligent in his work—clearly someone who had not yet experienced the brutal politics of the capital.

The students all preferred teachers who turned a blind eye, so whenever Lord Huo lectured, they all wore worried expressions—either fearing being called on or having their homework checked.

Huo Yu flipped through several assignments and indeed found some missing. His brows furrowed deeply as he was about to lose his temper, but he held back because those few who hadn’t submitted were notorious troublemakers from Chongwen Institute, and the current emperor rarely checked the princes’ homework, which only made them more unruly.

Anger welled up inside him; he thought these kids were extremely disrespectful.

“The Crown Prince’s handwriting has improved; it looks vigorous and strong. His dictation is flawless—truly a model for everyone here,” Huo Yu praised first what deserved praise.

“Teacher overpraises me,” Ji Changran showed no obvious delight, only a faint smile.

Then Huo Yu’s expression changed, and he directly questioned, “Third Prince, why haven’t you submitted your homework?”

This was obviously a veiled rebuke.

After all, all the ministers who had taught here a few times knew that Ji Wu had once offended the Tenth Princess, who had arrogantly fetched an imperial token from the Emperor’s study and ordered Chongwen Institute not to discipline Ji Wu anymore.

They did not check his papers, nor grade his homework, nor inquire about his studies. So Ji Wu had no reason to submit homework.

The students didn’t think Lord Huo was seriously reprimanding Ji Wu; at most, he was making him an example to warn others.

Huo Yu intended to take the opportunity to give some advice and let the matter pass, but unexpectedly, the Third Prince sitting in the last row never glanced at him even once, his expression cold and indifferent—like an outsider.

That instant only fueled Huo Yu’s anger further.

So Huo Yu said again, “If I recall correctly, Your Highness has never submitted homework even once, right? As a student, even if the teachers refuse to grade Your Highness’s papers, you still shouldn’t fail to hand them in.”

This was pure nitpicking.

Upon hearing this, many people in the room chuckled quietly. Someone even shouted, “Teacher, you’re right to reprimand him!” and the laughter became more blatant.

Criticizing the Third Prince wouldn’t affect them at all—it wasn’t them being scolded or embarrassed—they were just there to watch the show.

Only then did Ji Wu lift his eyes to glance at Huo Yu. When their cold, sinister gazes met, Huo Yu suddenly felt a bit guilty and, for no reason, a sense of dread rose from the bottom of his feet.

…For a moment, he was actually frightened by this useless prince.

Huo Yu frowned tightly and was about to say more when he suddenly heard a hoarse voice from the last row.

“Teacher, are you sure you’re not mistaken? Your Highness… clearly submitted the homework.”

The whispers in the classroom abruptly stopped.

Seeing countless eyes suddenly turn to look at him, Shen Xuefeng became a bit nervous. He turned his head and noticed Ji Wu was also strangely looking at him.

What are you looking at? I told you I submitted it!

Summoning his courage, Shen Xuefeng said, “Teacher, I am the Third Prince’s study companion. I can guarantee that Your Highness handed in the homework. Please check again carefully; it must be there.”

Everyone’s gaze shifted back to Huo Yu.

Only Ji Wu kept watching the confident boy on his right.

He had never done that homework. So why was Shen Xuefeng so sure he submitted it?

Shen Xuefeng blinked at him.

On the first day of school, noticing Ji Wu had an injury, he had asked him a question after class.

He asked Ji Wu if he wanted him to help write his homework. Coincidentally, the lesson that day was Criminal Law and Debate.

Although Ji Wu ignored him, Shen Xuefeng still conscientiously did both of their homework assignments and submitted them together the next day.

Who would have thought that this small act would allow him to help Ji Wu save face today!

Sure enough, Huo Yu flipped to the last few pages of the stack of homework and found Ji Wu’s paper, neatly written with no obvious mistakes.

His expression soured, but facing a group of mostly young teenagers, he couldn’t afford to lose face or make excuses for himself. After holding back for a while, he said, “Next, we’ll do the recitation…”

“—Teacher,” Shen Xuefeng interrupted weakly, “did you find His Highness’s dictation?”

“…” Huo Yu said, “Yes, I found it.”

“That’s good,” Shen Xuefeng tilted his head, his clear apricot-shaped eyes looking very earnest. “You still owe His Highness an apology.”

“…”

Huo Yu had never imagined in his life that he would apologize to Ji Wu. He thought this useless prince was worth far less than himself and saw no need to care about his feelings.

However, Shen Xuefeng seemed genuinely determined to hold onto this point, rambling on: “In your Criminal Law and Debate class, you mentioned ‘The Son of Heaven who breaks the law is subject to the same punishment as the common people.’ If you do something wrong, you should admit it. You certainly haven’t broken the law or committed a crime, but an apology is still appropriate.”

That was true. The Great Ji Dynasty was open-minded and relatively liberal; apart from imperial authority, there was never absolute hierarchy or nobility. Whether in class or at court, there were countless examples of people sincerely apologizing for harming others.

At that moment, Ji Changran, sitting in the front row, suddenly spoke up: “Young Master Shen is quite right. Teacher should indeed apologize to Third Brother.”

Everyone was shocked by his words, apparently not expecting the Crown Prince to ever speak up for Ji Wu.

The sun was rising in the west? He even called Ji Wu “Third Brother,” which was indeed unusual.

Seeing Huo Yu’s face darken and his authority weaken by half, Shen Xuefeng’s voice softened but remained clear.

“Of course, if Teacher feels embarrassed, you can apologize to His Highness privately as well.”

Huo Yu: …

This was truly a dilemma—so many eyes were watching him that it would be hard not to apologize.

Huo Yu took a deep breath, clasped his hands together in a formal bow, looking utterly humiliated: “Third Prince, I was rude today. I hope Your Highness can forgive me.”

Ji Wu’s attention remained on the exchange between Shen Xuefeng and Ji Changran, paying no mind to whether this fourth-rank official had apologized.

His disregard made Huo Yu feel even more humiliated.