Upon hearing this, those who hadn’t joined in the commotion all took a step back. Kneeling in the Ancestor Hall for three days and copying the student rules five hundred times—this was the harshest punishment they had ever seen.

The students who had voiced their doubts were also shocked, but they simply couldn’t understand why Tutor Song was acting this way.

What had Ye Qianning possibly done to make Tutor Song so afraid of her?

"Tutor Song, we were just voicing our doubts. If there was no cheating, why would she be afraid of what others say?"

"Yeah, Tutor, this punishment is unfair."

"Tutor Song is making us copy the student rules, but he himself was just running over here..."

"Shut up!" Tutor Song was so furious his head felt like it would burst. "It’s the academy’s misfortune to have accepted such shallow students as you! If you have doubts, then fine! The competition is right now, and all of you will participate. If you lose, you can all get out!"

The students shut their mouths, but they were still unconvinced in their hearts.

"Come on, who has doubts? Step forward! I will bear witness to an immediate competition." Tutor Song rolled up his sleeves, looking as if he would slap them to death if they dared to talk back again.

Not a single student dared to step forward.

"Hmph. You don’t even have the guts to step forward, yet you dare to question others? You worthless trash! Now scram and stop embarrassing yourselves here!" Tutor Song thundered, hurling insults.

Tutor Zhang watched, utterly stunned. ’What is this all about?’

’Did Old Song have a personality transplant during his seclusion?’

’The moment he came out, he broke a whole string of student rules himself... How strange.’

It wasn’t just him who was bewildered; Sang Zhi, Qian Zhuye, and even Sang Qi were all completely baffled.

"Yes, Tutor." The students nodded silently and were about to leave. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"Hold on," Ye Qianning said languidly.

The students froze.

Tutor Song’s heart skipped a beat. He turned, a fawning, apologetic smile on his old face as he sidled up to her. "Miss Xiang, please don’t lower yourself to the level of this bunch of blind fools."

"Tutor Song, it’s not that I want to make a fuss. If they were only suspicious of me, I could laugh it off. But I will not allow them to doubt Tutor Zhang."

Although Tutor Zhang was always punishing her, he would always watch over her secretly from the shadows.

No matter how late it was, he would only go back to rest after she had returned to her own quarters.

She would absolutely not permit his painstaking efforts to be slandered like this.

Tutor Zhang was so moved he almost burst into tears. He never imagined he held such a high place in this girl’s heart.

’Ugh, how annoying. It feels like I’ve got sand in my eyes.’

Tutor Song immediately looked at Tutor Zhang, his eyes pleading for help.

Tutor Zhang pretended not to see. "The Crown Prince even wants to expel me from the academy. Ai, after teaching for over a decade, to think I’d end up with a reputation for faking results... It’s truly disheartening."

"Tutor, rest assured. As long as your student is here, I won’t allow your reputation to be tarnished."

Tutor Zhang was even more moved. He secretly swore to himself that he would never punish her by making her copy the student rules again.

"Crown Prince, the witness has arrived, so let’s begin. We can have Tutor Song create the questions," Ye Qianning said with a smile.

Sang Qi was in a difficult position. He wasn’t blind; Tutor Song’s attitude made it obvious he didn’t think Sang Qi could win, which was why he was so desperately trying to stop the competition.

Seeing that Ye Qianning wouldn’t back down at all, Tutor Song’s expression became uglier than if he were crying. He could only turn to Sang Qi. "Crown Prince... listen to me. This competition cannot happen."

’It’s better to lose a little face now. If they actually compete and word gets out, he might not even be able to keep his position as Crown Prince.’

Sang Qi thought for a moment before nodding. His tone, however, lost none of its strength as he looked at Ye Qianning and said, "Since the tutor forbids the competition, then I, the Crown Prince, will consider your young age and call off the bet."

’The little fatty is only six years old...’

’I really don’t believe she’s that capable.’

Tutor Song: "..."