Shen Xuefeng felt a bit worried, but then he thought to himself that Ji Wu was the true dragon emperor of this world, so there was no way a minor villain like Ji Ling could do anything to him.

So he focused on writing.

Although Ji Wu’s status at Chongwen Hall was barely on par with the other princes, he still spent his days lazy and indifferent, pretending not to care about anything and never turning in his assignments.

Because of this, Fan Qinghe and several other classmates often privately told Shen Xuefeng, “You really should persuade Third Prince. If he doesn’t win the favor of the teachers, one day when they speak ill of him before His Majesty, you’ll suffer the consequences too.”

Besides reading along, the role of a companion reader was also to supervise progress, but none of them had ever seen a companion reader like Shen Xuefeng, who toiled every day writing two sets of homework. Ji Wu didn’t attend classes, and Shen Xuefeng didn’t bother either.

These words went in one ear and out the other for Shen Xuefeng. He had no intention of pushing Ji Wu to study hard and improve every day. If Ji Wu became a model student with excellent grades and conduct, then his role as a companion reader would be pointless. Moreover, encouraging Ji Wu to work hard would contradict Shen Xuefeng’s goal of cultivating a frivolous ruler.

So no matter how hard or tiring it was, Shen Xuefeng had to do the assignments himself. He exhaled deeply and picked up his brush to continue writing the characters assigned by the teacher.

After about the time it took to finish a cup of tea, Ji Wu returned.

He looked as calm and carefree as ever, as if his outing hadn’t disturbed his mood at all. Sitting down beside Shen Xuefeng, he even patiently wrote Shen Xuefeng’s name once.

“The stroke order for the character Xue isn’t right,” Shen Xuefeng couldn’t help but point out. “You have to write the two dots on the left first, then the two dots on the right.”

Ji Wu raised an eyebrow. “You show me.”

Shen Xuefeng leaned over and wrote his name again to demonstrate.

Near the end of class, Ji Changran in the first row turned around and cast a subtle glance at where Shen Xuefeng and Ji Wu were sitting.

His companion reader was Bo Ying, the eldest grandson of Grand Tutor Bo — a quiet but knowledgeable youth. Seeing Ji Changran turn his head, Bo Ying couldn’t help but remind him, “Your Highness, the teacher hasn’t dismissed the class yet.”

Ji Changran came back to his senses. “Thanks for the reminder.”

But in his heart, he was already thinking about how to keep Shen Xuefeng behind to explain the misunderstanding that happened that morning.

It was partly because their father spoiled Ji Ling too much, which had made her selfish and self-centered, not only foolish but stubborn, always insisting on doing what she shouldn’t.

Although he couldn’t force Ji Ling to apologize, he could at least compensate Shen Xuefeng on her behalf. Whatever Shen Xuefeng wanted, he would do his best to make it happen.

As soon as class ended, Shen Xuefeng stood up, preparing to leave.

At that moment, Ji Wu suddenly reached out and grabbed his schoolbag, obediently pulling him back.

Shen Xuefeng turned to look at him, his clear eyes full of confusion — Ji Wu had never kept him behind before.

“Come with me,” Ji Wu said simply, then pulled him out of the main hall.

But in an instant, Ji Changran followed them. He shook his folding fan, looking conflicted, but his desire to talk to Shen Xuefeng won out, so he hurried after them.

Ji Wu held an umbrella above the two of them with one hand and pulled Shen Xuefeng through the bamboo garden, moving slowly against the crowd toward the back hall of Chongwen Hall — a place where teachers and attendants corrected homework, rarely visited by students.

“Where are you going, Your Highness?” Shen Xuefeng asked curiously.

They arrived at an open space in the courtyard of the back hall. There were no plants or potted greenery—only bare stone tiles exposed to the scorching sun, with a few dry yellow weeds growing between the cracks.

Seeing Ji Ling standing in the center of the courtyard with a bowl of water on her head, Shen Xuefeng was stunned.

Truly stunned.

Under the blazing sun, Ji Ling’s hair was disheveled and sweat covered her face. On her head was a small carved bowl. When she saw Ji Wu appear, she trembled uncontrollably, clearly afraid the bowl would break, so she did her best to hold still.

“…” Shen Xuefeng felt this was very strange.

He had already noticed that Ji Ling’s attitude toward Ji Wu had suddenly and strangely changed. She used to be arrogant and proud, but ever since a serious illness, she had been avoiding Ji Wu like a snake or scorpion, obediently addressing him as Third Royal Brother every time.

It should be noted that in the original game story, Ji Ling was a wild troublemaker spoiled since childhood, growing up to be a bona fide lunatic who almost killed Jiang Suliu. Because of this, Shen Xuefeng always tried to avoid conflict with her whenever possible.

But Ji Wu actually managed to tame her?

Shen Xuefeng looked at Ji Wu, who gently clapped his hands, and then heard Ji Ling crying miserably under the bowl on her head: “Shen Xuefeng, I’m sorry.”

Ji Wu said lazily, “Haven’t eaten, Tenth Princess?”

Ji Ling raised her voice and repeated it. Her small palm-sized face was covered in tears and sweat, and she cried in a high-pitched voice, “Shen Xuefeng, I’m sorry.”

After repeating this several times, Ji Wu said, “Let Xuefeng say what she should do to calm down?”

Calm down? Shen Xuefeng no longer paid attention to Ji Ling. After thinking carefully, he cautiously asked, “Your Highness, won’t this bring you some trouble?”

After all, Ji Ling was quite favored by His Majesty…

Hearing Shen Xuefeng’s concern, Ji Wu’s interest dropped sharply, his gaze indifferent: “So what?”

To him, everyone was the same. The only difference was that some were alive, and some were corpses. They were all two-legged beasts; what was the difference between high and low, noble or base?

However, Shen Xuefeng could be distinguished from others in his heart.