"Xu Shi?" Xu Cheng glanced across the arena. He hadn't expected to see him again. The brat had decent talent, but after causing trouble at the last palace banquet, Xu Cheng had caught him and given him a sound thrashing. He had probably beaten a lasting fear into him.
Still, he was Xu Jiangnian's own grandson, and even had to address Lexuan as his grandaunt. Sigh, wouldn't that make Xu Cheng his...
Xu Cheng's mouth twitched, but he didn't take it to heart.
Apparently, after Xu Shi returned home, Xu Jiangnian, who had always doted on him, had locked him in a dark room and beaten him mercilessly. Then his parents had joined forces to give him another beating. He had suffered terribly.
"When I returned to the Prince's Residence, he was still kneeling in the ancestral hall. My eldest brother really steeled his heart this time." Zhang Lexuan covered her mouth with a laugh.
"There are plenty like him in the imperial family. He's already one of the more restrained ones." For once, Xu Cheng put in a good word for him.
"Yes. My eldest brother always says you can't tolerate even a nail in your eye. He's warned everyone in the household to keep a low profile from now on and not stir up trouble or cause him problems. This brat was made an example of." Zhang Lexuan nodded slightly.
"..."
Xu Cheng froze for a moment.
Then a smile appeared on his face. Those below followed the example set above-this was precisely the effect he wanted. From the looks of it, the results were quite pronounced...
On the spacious battle platform stood the top five students from each grade, thirty in total.
Naturally, the second-grade group consisted of Xue Ling'er, Yu Tianlong, Xu Shi, and the others.