In the morning, the second large class Ming Shuiyun attends is Zhu Yan's "Luminous Stone Alchemy," which, unsurprisingly, runs a little overtime once the bell rings.

It's not that Zhu Yan loves taking up students' break time, dragging a lesson on for a few minutes across multiple classes so it adds up to a whole extra class like some 'genius teacher.' Having taught for decades, Zhu Yan has precisely honed his teaching content to ensure every class ends just as he finishes a chapter, unlike some red-haired teachers who flee at the sound of the bell even if their curriculum isn't done.

The issue is that "Luminous Stone Alchemy" is incredibly obscure and difficult, but there are always several diligent students at the Imperial Academy who want to dig deep into matters. Almost every time, before class ends, when Zhu Yan asks, "Does anyone have any questions?" someone poses a question that Zhu Yan finds "extremely good," leading him to explain a few extra minutes.

Usually, those few minutes don't matter, but it's different if it's the second class in the morning—the best dishes at the Pig's Feed and Dog's Food cafeterias are cleared out within the first ten minutes by students. Leaving a few minutes late practically means missing lunch, not to mention having to queue for a long time.

What's frustrating is that Zhu Yan is only a few minutes late, which leaves students conflicted: If they dash, it might already be gone; if they don't dash, they definitely miss out.

Previously, Ming Shuiyun was part of the 'leisurely eating crew,' as she didn't have a large appetite nor pursued culinary pleasures. But after joining Qian Yuya's circle, she also joined the rush-to-the-cafeteria crew—Li Ying and Kui Nianruo cared very much about it, as Kui Nianruo wanted delicious food and Li Ying wanted delicious food without queuing.

Once class was dismissed, the six of them rushed out of the classroom, Li Ying darting ahead as if ascending on land, and they hurried to the cafeteria closest to the guards' department building, precisely lining up at the tastiest window.

"Xiaoyu, Lin, Yueshi, hurry over here! Right here!"

Qin Yueshi stood on tiptoe and asked, "What's the menu today? I definitely don't want to eat scrambled eggs with tomatoes like yesterday… How does a dish end up being a whole tomato with a whole egg?"

"Hey ya, could it taste bad if you're with Miss Li?" Li Ying raised her head proudly and said, "I compared the dishes at various windows from a distance, and today, surprisingly, this window has beef brisket sauce noodles!"

"Oh oh!" Kui Nianruo gasped softly, "The last time we had it seemed to be on the last day of last semester exams?"

Qin Yueshi and Ming Shuiyun, who hadn't tried it before, didn't react much, but Lin Xue couldn't help but smile with her eyes curved, and even Qian Yuya swallowed a gulp of saliva. Her cold blood can't suppress her physiological response, indicating how enticing today's dish is to them.

Honestly speaking, while the ultimate poor can't become Imperial Academy students—the poor can't even afford the fare to Yanjing—the academy has always tried to be more accessible, most straightforwardly reflected in the cafeteria acting almost as a charity. A meal is extremely cheap and affordable, and the academy constantly subsidizes the cafeteria.

However, with low prices, the taste naturally can't be enhanced, just clean and sanitary to keep you full. Students can't leave the academy at noon, and breaks are short, so they have to eat whether they want to or not.

Pig's Feed and Dog's Food aren't just quirky names.

Still, there are always a few particularly delicious dishes in the cafeteria. During certain special holidays, Cha Huan even spends out of pocket to improve student meals, and "beef brisket sauce noodles" is one dish on the "holiday menu."

Outside the Imperial Academy, such a dish is trivial. Qin Yueshi could treat everyone to noodles until they're sick. But in the academy's cafeteria, after a tiring morning of classes, if you get a bowl that can be deemed delicious...

"Delicious!"

"Why is it so tasty!?"

Qin Yueshi and Ming Shuiyun both exclaimed, applauding simultaneously. The atmosphere matters a great deal with food—while everyone else eats what feels like pig fodder, you devour a bowl of fragrant beef brisket sauce noodles, it's bound to feel like a true delicacy.

Just then, the sound of sobbing suddenly came from nearby. When they turned around, they found Kui Nianruo was eating noodles while crying, almost sobbing like a little flower cat, which surprised everyone—is it really that good?

"Nianruo, why are you crying? Did you eat a piece of ginger?"

"No, it's not that." Kui Nianruo sniffed, saying, "Eating this bowl of noodles reminded me of how last semester's final exams, I made an unnecessary mistake and ended with poor results... Boo hoo hoo..."

Ming Shuiyun and Qin Yueshi were just about to comfort her when Li Ying, still eating noodles, gave Kui Nianruo a smack on her backside, turning to the two new friends and said, "Don't listen to her nonsense. Last semester, her overall ranking was orange."

The two were startled, immediately recalling the grading color system of the Imperial Academy: Below 10% there's a gray color with no score and no ranking, below 25% there's gray with a score, 25%~50% is black text, 50%~75% is blue text, 75%~95% is purple text, 95%~99% is orange text, and the top of the class is gold text...

For a first-year guard class with only a few hundred students, an orange ranking means the top ten in the whole class, why cry!

Although Li Ying might often horse around with Kui Nianruo, this time everyone agreed, saying she hit well, hit marvelously, hit with a resounding echo—should have hit harder!

Kui Nianruo, having been hit once, stopped crying and simply muttered, "But I'm really sad... If I answered that question correctly, maybe I would have been top of the class..."

This was just too irritating. Ming Shuiyun and Qin Yueshi both felt compelled to act.

While eating noodles and chatting, from Ming Shuiyun complaining about no one in the dorm being proactive in taking out the trash, Li Ying discussed the five love letters Kui Nianruo received over the past few days, and lunch time quickly passed, with more people arriving at the cafeteria.

"Nianruo, if you don't want to interact with those boys, just hang out with Xiaoyu all day," Li Ying advised, "I've seen several times those boys trying to rush over to hand Xiaoyu letters, and end up too scared to speak once they get in front of her. And it's not just boys, several girls have come to me asking what Xiaoyu likes... Wait, is the reason I don't have any handsome guys pursuing me because I hang around with Xiaoyu all day?"

"Possible." Lin Xue nodded seriously: "Look at those novels, don't all the male characters like the same heroine? It means good men tend to be attracted by the same woman, so those who struggle will struggle, and those who have it will have it all—either as the focus of attention or as an unknown entity. Right now, it seems you're not the one under the spotlight, Li Ying..."

"So that's it! I've been wondering for half a year why no one has written me love letters," Li Ying lamented, "'Turns out Xiaoyu's driving away my luck with romance; if I can't get married, Xiaoyu, you'll have to take care of me!"

Qian Yuya: "Sure."

"I knew you would... huh? Really? Oh, no problem!" Li Ying cheerfully snatched a piece of beef brisket from Qian Yuya's bowl: "I knew Xiaoyu wouldn't treat me poorly!"

Watching them fool around, Ming Shuiyun almost forgot she came here for sword contention and throne rivalry. She had originally prepared to sacrifice everything, but after participating in this imperial rank game, rather than losing anything, she gained more, attending the academy, making many new friends, engaging in thrilling cheating competitions, and even Qin Leyin...

"What do you mean?"

"I mean exactly that! Huh, who would be foolish enough to believe there's no issue with this exam!"

"This is a principal-certified Eye of Omniscience exam, what could be wrong?"

"There is truly an issue with this exam! Shuangli Palace scoring so low must involve hidden manipulation! Plus, she's a third-year student, ahead of other Palace Masters by two years—why is this part of her record deleted without giving her the deserved resources and evaluation? And why is it that the followers of Shuiyun Palace have big figures like Dongyang Silver Blood, huh, Shuiyun Palace truly is the chosen one, might as well have the Water Emperor ascend directly!"

"Rubbish, always dragging down our Shuiyun Palace, Shuiyun Palace supporters, gather up, don't listen to the brainwashing package from the opposite side. Let's gather at the bulletin board and pump positive comments, doing our best to support Shuiyun Palace!"

The cafeteria suddenly erupted in fierce verbal battle, with accusations like "Shuangli Palace traitors" and "Shuiyun Palace fence-sitters" flying back and forth, sparking heated arguments all around. Ming Shuiyun buried her head, not daring to let anyone see her face.

Li Ying patted her shoulder: "We'll surround you and escort you out."

Everyone nodded in agreement, and Ming Shuiyun gratefully looked at her friends as Li Ying continued, "This amounts to saving your life, Water Emperor. If you soar to great heights in the future, would you let me have an Immunity Token, the kind I can use when I abduct handsome guys..."

Slap!

Li Ying winced, her butt red with tears, wanting to retaliate but unable to. Everyone noticed that Li Ying finally met her match—a mischievous little villain—with the thin-skinned future empress, there was no contest after all!

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