The Marquis Mansion’s Elite Class

Xu Wan looked over and asked, "What's wrong?"

Zong Wenxiu took a deep breath and said seriously, "I'm sorry, Madam. I acted impulsively this time. I shouldn’t have bet on dropping out of school to stand up for someone."

Zong Jincheng interjected in surprise, "What’s so impulsive about that? He was being so aggressive earlier. Standing up for me was a good thing. Why are you apologizing?"

Though the little devil’s words were a bit too self-assured, they weren’t entirely unreasonable. Xu Wan looked at Zong Wenxiu and noticed he was growing increasingly nervous, his demeanor visibly uneasy.

She thought for a few seconds and seemed to understand what was on his mind.

This child must be terrified right now.

She sighed, feeling both a pang of pity and a softness in her heart.

Xu Wan said gently, "Wenxiu, remember this: you are a child of the Yangyuan Marquis Manor. No matter what you do, the manor will always be your support, never casting you aside like a worn-out shoe. It’s just Qingbo Academy. Even if you lose, we can always switch to another academy. It’s not a big deal. Standing up for your brother was a brave and commendable act. How could I possibly blame you without reason?"

"I…" Zong Wenxiu’s eyes gradually reddened, tears welling up but stubbornly refusing to fall.

Xu Wan reached out and hugged the sensible and well-behaved child, gently patting his back as she said, "Don’t be afraid. Your aunt is here to support you. I’ll protect you."

Finally, the tears rolled down.

Zong Wenxiu sobbed softly, his body trembling more than before. After a long while, he whispered, "Thank you, Aunt."

Xu Wan felt a sense of relief.

In the past, she had always been bothered by this title, feeling it made her seem old. Little did she know how important it was to Zong Wenxiu—it was as if an outsider had finally been accepted.

She even regretted not letting him use it sooner.

Such a good child deserved to be cherished.

Xu Wan patted his back and said, "From now on, just call me Aunt. Calling me Madam is too formal."

"Okay…"

Zong Jincheng, watching from the side, was also moved. At first, he just felt sorry for his brother, but he was glad Xu Wan knew how to comfort him. Later, he felt a twinge of envy—he wished Xu Wan would treat him like that too…

No, who needs her comfort? I don’t care.

The little devil pouted, trying to justify his feelings.

When Zong Wenxiu’s emotions had stabilized somewhat, Xu Wan handed him a handkerchief and said, "Wipe your face, little kitten."

Zong Wenxiu smiled through his reddened eyes, taking the handkerchief to clean his face.

Xu Wan shifted the topic casually, saying, "Jincheng mentioned taking you to play cuju earlier. I think it’s been delayed for too long, so I had Cui Zhi book the cuju field for tomorrow. You’ve just finished a month of studying. Go and relax, have some fun."

If it were the old Zong Wenxiu, even if he felt confident, he would have been too worried about the upcoming exams to go and play.

But now, with Xu Wan’s gentle gaze fixed on him, he couldn’t bring himself to refuse. He simply nodded obediently, "Okay."

"Cuju? You’ve already booked the field?" Zong Jincheng perked up at the mention of going out. He quickly added, "Then I’ll call my friends too. A cuju match needs 32 people. Just the two of us won’t be enough."

Zong Wenxiu’s eyes widened in surprise. "That many people?" How big must the cuju field be?

He had never participated in such a match, only knowing vaguely that cuju involved a round object that teams tried to kick into a goal, with the team scoring the most goals winning.

Xu Wan chimed in, "With Wenxiu, you’ll need to find 14 more people. I’ve already arranged the other team."

"Huh? What arrangement?" Both boys turned to her in unison.

Xu Wan looked at Zong Jincheng with a mysterious smile and said, "Someone wants to challenge you to a match. This challenger will bring her team."

The little devil was so confident he didn’t even ask who it was. He just snorted arrogantly, "Some ignorant fool. Let them come. I’ll crush them tomorrow!"

Xu Wan raised an eyebrow. "Quite confident, aren’t you? Just don’t cry if you lose tomorrow."

Zong Jincheng stuck out his tongue at her and, as soon as he got off the carriage, instructed Buyan, "Go, notify my friends—Wei Xinglu, He Zheng, Lu Fang… Tell them to be ready tomorrow. I’m going to lead them to dominate the field!"

"Yes!" Buyan went off to carry out the order.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The manor suddenly became lively. Zong Jincheng dug out his cuju outfits, which included sizes for various ages. He even pulled out the ones he had planned to wear in a couple of years and handed them to his brother. The two boys excitedly tried on the clothes.

Shunzi brought out the family’s cuju ball, listening as Zong Jincheng patiently explained the rules to Zong Wenxiu, even drawing a diagram of the cuju field on paper.

Zong Wenxiu occasionally asked questions, and the little devil would gesture animatedly to explain. Shunzi couldn’t help but marvel at the patience on display. Zong Jincheng had truly changed. Back when Wei Xinglu had asked him to teach cuju, he had grown impatient after just a few sentences and told him to learn the basics before coming to the field.

If Wei Xinglu saw this now, he’d surely accuse Zong Jincheng of favoritism a hundred times over.

Shunzi smiled with the pride of a father.

The next morning, as Xu Wan was still eating breakfast, the third wave of messengers arrived, saying that the 18th Princess was already impatiently waiting for them to hurry over.

Xu Wan sighed, looking up at the sky. "What time is it? Did she go there before dawn?"

Cui Zhi chuckled. "Perhaps the princess is just too excited. The two young masters were also talking late into the night and woke up very early this morning."

"Really? That excited?" Xu Wan couldn’t help but feel their enthusiasm.

She stood up with a smile. "Let’s go then, or the princess might storm over here soon."

The group took the carriage to the cuju field. Before Zong Jincheng even got off, he heard someone calling him.

"Jincheng, we’re over here!" It was Wei Xinglu’s voice.

The young boys were all dressed in matching round-collared robes, with belts around their waists, hair caps on their heads, and plain boots. They looked neat and ready.

Zong Jincheng and Zong Wenxiu got out of the carriage and waved back.

Not far away, a girl’s voice rang out. "Wow, you’re finally here!"

Zong Jincheng turned to see a girl dressed in cuju attire. She was trying to pass as a boy, but it was a rather unsuccessful attempt, and she looked strangely familiar.

"18th Princess!" Zong Jincheng gritted his teeth as he called out.

She was third on his list of people he held grudges against!