Wolf-Raised Cub with a Space: Surviving the Disaster Years

Chapter 218: Chapter 218: Your Teacher Is Actually Dai Yuheng?

Shen Ningning thought she had misheard. She blinked her big eyes a couple of times before anger finally appeared on her fair little face.

"What nonsense are you spouting! I wrote the exam answers myself! If you don’t believe me, I can write them again right here on the spot!"

Mr. Han also put on a stern face and chided them, "You shouldn’t doubt the Commandery Princess. From the start of the term until now, all the homework she has submitted has been in neat and tidy handwriting. What’s so strange about that?"

The young student from before was unconvinced and grumbled, "Who knows if someone else wrote it for her."

"Besides, I wasn’t the first one to say it. Everyone at the academy is saying the same thing. The Commandery Princess is close to the Crown Prince. With His Highness’s power, what couldn’t he do if he wanted to help her cheat?"

The person next to him nodded along. "Yeah, we all think Xu Jingxi should have been the one to get first-rank."

As Shen Ningning was about to retort, Xu Jingxi unexpectedly stood up.

"I do not agree with what you’ve said," he stated flatly.

The young student’s eyes widened. "Xu Jingxi, are you trying to suck up to her too? If she really cheated, she stole first place from you!"

Xu Jingxi’s handsome face was impassive, his expression cold and distant.

"I know my own level. Just now, I went to the notice board and compared my exam paper with the Commandery Princess’s."

"Compared to the Commandery Princess’s, my answer lacked a certain foresight. I didn’t consider how to solve the drought from everyone’s perspective, but the Commandery Princess’s thoughts were more comprehensive than mine."

"I don’t go out of my way to suck up to anyone. Facts are facts. I deserved second rank. Please do not use my name to belittle the first-rank recipient. Thank you."

After speaking, he sat down coolly, not sparing anyone another glance.

The young student fumed in frustration.

Shen Ningning’s soft, sweet voice was tinged with anger. "What else don’t you believe? Ask me right now, and I’ll answer it on the spot!"

Mr. Han soothed her, "Commandery Princess, don’t be angry. What they mean is that the way of thinking you displayed in your exam answers is different from that of an ordinary child."

Someone else said, "Isn’t that just because the Commandery Princess is brilliant? If she weren’t, how could she have gotten first-rank? If everyone thought the same way, wouldn’t everyone get first place!"

"Exactly," her classmates chimed in.

Mr. Han gently nudged Shen Ningning. "Alright, sit down for now. Don’t think about this anymore. Let’s have a proper class."

"I’ve already spoken with Mr. Guo. These rumors in the National Academy really need to be dealt with."

The little one sat upright in her seat, but her rosy-white cheeks showed a hint of unhappiness.

’I earned that first-rank with my own ability and hard work.’

’Why does everyone have to say I used my connection to the Crown Prince to cheat and steal first place?’

After Mr. Han’s class ended, Shen Ningning went outside and sat on the long veranda to cool off and clear her head, feeling gloomy.

Students from other classes passed by, pointing and whispering—

"Look, that’s the first-ranker. How could someone so young come up with such a profound answer?"

"Exactly. I heard from others that she might have known the questions in advance."

Shen Ningning’s head snapped up, her eyes locking onto them. The two panicked. "She’s looking over here! Let’s go."

Seeing them scurry away, the little one’s dark, round eyes filled with a sense of grievance.

"I really didn’t cheat..."

Just then, a voice called out from the entrance, "Commandery Princess."

Shen Ningning looked up and saw the guard specifically responsible for carrying messages between her and Mo Lingwei had actually run into the National Academy.

He hurried over to greet her and handed over a letter from Mo Lingwei.

The guard was panting. "The Crown Prince is on his way back to the Capital, but he instructed me to be sure to deliver this into the Commandery Princess’s hands."

As he spoke, he held up an oil-paper package tied with a hemp rope.

Even through the oil paper, she could smell the fragrance of sesame.

The little one unwrapped it and found fragrant walnut crisps sprinkled with fine sesame seeds.

She took a piece and began to read Mo Lingwei’s letter as she ate.

"Shen Ningning, may this letter find you well. By the time you read this, you should be enjoying the walnut crisps, right?"

The little one paused, turning to look at the pastry in her left hand. "Brother really can predict everything!"

"I have arrived near the Capital and should be back in the city within a few days. I heard you’ve been busy with your studies lately, but on the day I return, you must make time to have a meal with me. And while you’re at it, tell me all about how you ended up opening a shop with Lu Shaoyuan."

"This trip has been busy and exhausting, but I have many interesting things to share with you. You must write back."

Shen Ningning’s mood improved considerably after reading Mo Lingwei’s letter.

She took out paper and a brush, sat down on the veranda, and wrote her reply while nibbling on her snack.

The little one wrote about the clouds she saw, the rain that fell, and the weather that was gradually growing colder.

She included every little detail, even writing about Wolf Three and Wolf Four arguing.

However, she deliberately left out that people at the National Academy were speculating she had cheated on her exam with the Crown Prince’s help.

The guard waited to the side, still holding the pastries, as students from other classes occasionally passed by.

They whispered among themselves—

"That guard’s uniform... isn’t that for the Crown Prince’s personal guard?"

"It is. I heard the Crown Prince went to inspect the four commanderies. I can’t believe he’s only been gone for ten or fifteen days and he’s already writing letters to the Commandery Princess. They’re really close."

"I didn’t believe the Crown Prince would cheat for the Commandery Princess at first, but seeing how he dotes on her like a sister, maybe those rumors about cheating are true after all."

Shen Ningning didn’t hear them; she was focused on writing her reply.

But the guard heard everything.

He shot a few stern glances in their direction, and the students scurried away in a panic.

The guard frowned, looking at Shen Ningning’s quiet and well-behaved profile.

’It seems the Commandery Princess isn’t having a very easy time at the National Academy.’

’But she definitely didn’t mention it in her letter, or the Crown Prince wouldn’t know.’

"It’s done!" Shen Ningning stood up with a smile and blew on the ink.

The guard, distracted, sealed the letter with red wax and asked one more question, "Commandery Princess, is there anything else you’d like me to convey to the Crown Prince?"

Shen Ningning tilted her head. "Hm? Nope, I wrote everything in the letter."

The guard looked at her, wanting to say something but holding back. He felt a pang of sympathy for her from the bottom of his heart.

’She doesn’t even know how to tattle. It’s making me anxious just watching.’

So, the guard decided he would have to speak up for the Commandery Princess himself.

"Commandery Princess, I will take my leave then." With that, he departed, dusty from his travels.

Shen Ningning had thought no one would bring the matter up again.

But unexpectedly, after Mo Lingwei’s trusted aide had visited the National Academy, new rumors began to circulate.

Many of her classmates now looked at her with even more direct suspicion.

To resolve the matter, Mr. Guo summoned all the students to the Book Sound Hall and had Shen Ningning rewrite her exam answers in front of everyone.

However, the moment the little one wrote the first character, a series of gasps erupted from the students below.

"There’s no mistake this time! That’s the calligraphy of the National Grandmaster, Dai Qu!" they exclaimed.

Mr. Han, who was standing to the side, had a somber expression and looked as if he wanted to speak several times but held back.

But Mr. Guo said, "Nonsense!" Dai Qu had died long ago.

Although he also felt that Shen Ningning’s calligraphy was cast from the same mold as the Dai Family’s, possessing the same style and spirit, he knew what everyone else did: the Dai Family had already been annihilated, burned to the ground by the Crown Prince’s own hand, with not a single person left alive.

In front of everyone, for the sake of clarification, Mr. Guo asked Shen Ningning, "Commandery Princess, from whom did you learn your calligraphy?"

"From my teacher!" she chirped.

"And what is your teacher’s name?"

The little one hesitated, unsure if she should say it.

Because the mad scholar had said that if anyone knew his name, it would bring him trouble.

Shen Ningning didn’t want to cause trouble for the mad scholar.

The students below shouted in unison, "Say it! Tell us, or it means you cheated!"

At that moment, Mr. Han shouted, "That’s enough! Stop pressuring her."

He walked to Shen Ningning’s side with a grim look in his eyes. After a glance at the little one, he said in a heavy tone, "I recognize this calligraphy. It must have been taught by the Eldest Young Master Dai, Dai Yuheng."

Shen Ningning was astonished. "Mr. Han, you know my teacher?"

As soon as she said this, the entire hall erupted in an uproar!

Her teacher was actually the former Unrivaled Young Master, Dai Yuheng!