The crowd was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then their gazes fell upon Sang Qi.

Sang Qi was also taken aback, and his young face twisted. "Nonsense!"

"If I recall correctly, the Crown Prince is supposed to be in the introductory class. So why is his name on the notice board for the intermediate students? Isn’t it obvious that the instructor deliberately faked this to boost the Crown Prince’s reputation?" Ye Qianning’s chubby little face was full of contempt.

The students had been so energetic when questioning Ye Qianning, but now that it was the Crown Prince’s turn, no one dared to speak.

"I took the intermediate students’ test," Sang Qi retorted.

"Then that just proves the instructor helped you cheat."

"What did you say?" Fury rose on Sang Qi’s face.

"Didn’t you hear what they just said? Someone who hasn’t even gone through the introductory lessons couldn’t possibly do the intermediate students’ questions. You just enrolled too, Crown Prince, yet not only could you do the intermediate test, you even placed ninth. Who would believe you didn’t cheat?" Ye Qianning’s expression perfectly mirrored the students’ earlier mockery.

"Yeah, did the Crown Prince use his status to make Master Zhang change his score?" Qian Zhuye, completely unafraid, immediately chimed in to back up Ye Qianning.

Ye Qianning nodded. "He is the Crown Prince, after all. If his monthly exam scores were poor, wouldn’t that bring shame to the royal family?"

"Insolence! As the Crown Prince of this nation, I would never cheat," Sang Qi raged.

"And I’m the Dean’s personal disciple. Why would I cheat?" Ye Qianning huffed.

"Exactly, exactly," Qian Zhuye nodded.

Sang Qi was about to explode with rage. ’I’ve never met such a barbaric, shameless person!’

Ye Qianning glanced at the surrounding students. Seeing them all silent, she spoke again with contempt, "The Crown Prince also got a high score without any prior instruction. Why aren’t you suspecting the instructor of helping him cheat?"

The students looked at one another. They were, after all, just children of eleven, twelve, or thirteen. Faced with her question, most of them didn’t dare to speak.

Hearing this, Sang Qi snorted coldly. "Though I may not have had formal instruction here, I was taught by the Grand Tutor in the palace. It’s hardly surprising that I can answer the intermediate students’ questions. Cheating is beneath me."

"The... The Crown Prince would never cheat," a student in the crowd spoke up.

"The Crown Prince couldn’t possibly cheat, so that means I could?"

Ye Qianning’s contempt deepened. ’Saying it’s beneath him? He sounds so righteous, but who knows who it was that secretly swapped out Sang Zhi’s test paper. I knew it—that little fuddy-duddy is so diligent, there’s no way he didn’t pass.’

’That guy was probably afraid Sang Zhi’s score would surpass his, making him lose face.’

"Crown Prince, we all believe you wouldn’t cheat."

"Ye Qianning is trying to drag the Crown Prince down with her. She should really take a look at herself."

"You were sleeping during the entire exam. You didn’t write anything on the test..."

"I saw it too! When I handed in my paper, Ye Qianning was still sleeping. She didn’t write a thing."

Hearing Sang Qi speak, the students’ spirits were revived.

"Sycophants." Qian Zhuye’s face turned green with anger.

"She did write something. It wasn’t a blank paper she turned in." A voice called out, and the crowd turned to look.

Sang Zhi approached at a steady pace, his hands clasped behind his back.

When Sang Qi saw Sang Zhi, his expression turned even uglier.

Sang Zhi walked to Ye Qianning’s side, shielding her behind him. He gave a slight bow toward Sang Qi. "Crown Prince."

Sang Qi snorted lightly.

Sang Zhi paid him no mind, his gaze sweeping over the crowd. "Ye Qianning did not turn in a blank paper. Although she was sleeping for most of it, she did write an answer for the final question."

"Even if she answered the last question—and that’s not even considering if it was right or wrong—how could a single question earn her seventh place?" Sang Qi already disliked Ye Qianning, and seeing Sang Zhi defend her only fueled his dissatisfaction.