Chapter 278: Ji Runze
Under the leadership of the big yellow dog, by the time they arrived, the one-sided beating had already ended.
The scene was a mess, leaving only a thin, wounded young boy squatting on the ground, his fingers trembling as he picked up books.
The person looked no older than eleven or twelve, which would make him a middle schooler in modern times.
Hearing footsteps, the boy looked up cautiously.
He was stunned by the sight, seemingly not expecting such a young child to arrive, accompanied by so many cats and dogs.
“Were you beaten?”
Qin Wanwan walked over to him and squatted down to help pick up the books.
Keke: “Isn’t this just school bullying?”
In the school bullying of the high-tech era, there’s a possibility of seeking justice and exposure, but in ancient times, if this person had no influence behind him, he would have nowhere to seek justice.
“Your books are ruined.”
Several books were torn.
The young man pursed his lips, holding the torn books in silence.
Qin Wanwan squatted beside him and offered him some snacks.
“Do you want to eat? Do you want to ask the tutor for leave to see a doctor?”
“No need.”
He finally spoke.
“They are just superficial injuries.”
He sat down directly, casually wiped the blood from his forehead, and stared blankly, holding a pile of torn books.
“My daddy has these books, I can give them to you, but you can’t take them for free.”
Ji Runze looked up at her.
“Keke said that those who can attend this school are all Xiucai scholars. Are you already a Xiucai scholar at such a young age?”
The little girl’s voice was tender, and her eyes were full of curiosity.
Her gaze, so clean and clear, made Ji Runze feel inferior.
“Yes.”
Ji Runze’s eyes darkened slightly.
It was precisely because of this identity as a Xiucai scholar that he had fallen into his current predicament.
He had naively believed that as long as he achieved fame through the imperial examinations, he could escape that family.
However, instead, he was met with jealousy and escalating bullying from those people.
“Then you are very powerful, but my daddy is even more powerful.”
Ji Runze could clearly sense the undisguised pride in the child’s tone when she spoke of her daddy.
“Do you want books?”
Ji Runze’s eyes were firm: “Yes!”
The more those people didn’t want him to rise higher, the more he was determined to struggle and climb up.
“What do you need me to do?”
He felt more reassured by a fair transaction.
“Hehe… Help me sell flowers.”
She had grown more flowers and wanted to open her own shop to sell things.
Save money, save money, to spend on Father Xie.
“But if you have to go to school, don’t you have that thing called a day student?”
Ji Runze stood up: “No.”
Qin Wanwan: “???”
“I’m not going to school anymore.”
Qin Wanwan let out a bewildered “Ah”: “Aren’t you going to take the Imperial Examination?”
Ji Runze patted his clothes and pursed his lips: “I’ll find a way to learn myself.”
In the famous academies of Shangjing, there were many children of officials and royalty, too many influential powers, which also led to severe stratification among the scholars.
Poor scholars without background were basically bullied in such an environment, not even daring to speak loudly.
The academy tutors also didn’t dare to do anything to those scholars, which led to tutors not daring to intervene even if they knew which scholars were being bullied.
Ji Runze didn’t want to stay in this academy anymore, otherwise, he would only be bullied and learn nothing.
How could they focus on their studies if they were constantly harassed like this?
“Then when do you want the books?”
“I’ll come find you in two days.”
He was penniless now and couldn’t afford books.
Although he didn’t know if the child’s words were true, he wanted to take a bold gamble.
“Then remember to find me at the Rong Prime Minister’s Manor.”
The child’s calm expression cracked a little when he heard Qin Wanwan state the address.
“Where did you say?”
Qin Wanwan repeated: “The Prime Minister’s Mansion, you should be able to find it, right?”
Ji Runze was silent for a long time: “Is it, is it Chancellor Rong?”
Qin Wanwan nodded.
After agreeing, Qin Wanwan left some food for him and took her kittens and puppies away.
Ji Runze remained in place, still somewhat dazed.
A moment later, he looked up in the direction Qin Wanwan had left, his eyes shining with an exceptionally bright light.
Keke, perched on Qin Wanwan’s shoulder, chattered a string of praises: “Our cub is truly the most beautiful and kind-hearted, ice-smart, lovable, and universally admired…”
It was estimated that Keke had thought of all the words of praise suitable for Qin Wanwan that he could imagine.
Qin Wanwan’s lips curved upwards, her little tail wagging to the sky.
“Be low-key, Keke, we agreed we need to be low-key.”
The little one lowered her childish voice and whispered to Keke.
Keke was about to die from the cub’s cuteness.
However, Keke asked if she really wanted to open a flower shop.
Qin Wanwan nodded: “Yes, I want to open one. I’ll use my own private savings, and I won’t tell Daddy yet.”
The four-year-old Qilin cub wanted to start her own business.
Keke didn’t care; if it lost money, it wouldn’t matter anyway.
Moreover, with the flowers her cub raised, it definitely wouldn’t lose money.
On the way back, they encountered Wu Xiaohu and others who were anxiously looking for her.
“Wanwan!”
They surrounded Wanwan, checking her up and down.
“You scared us to death, we thought you were lost.”
Qin Wanwan obediently apologized: “I’m sorry, I was too bored, so I wanted to go for a walk.”
“It’s okay, we found you anyway.”
Wu Xiaohu and the others were also carefree. They had been anxious when they first discovered Wanwan was missing, but now that she was found, everything was fine.
“Do we have this many cats and dogs in our academy?”
Seeing the cats and dogs following Qin Wanwan, they were all stunned.
They knew there were cats and dogs in the academy and could encounter a couple normally, but they didn’t expect there to be so many.
Qin Wanwan looked at them eagerly: “They’re hungry, where can they eat?”
