Chapter 253: Pretty Easy to Coax

Old Man Ye and Old Lady Ye wanted to give Wei a good scolding.

But it's not appropriate to make noise in front of guests.

Ye Peng on the side said anxiously: "Mom..."

"Shut up!" Wei glared at him. Who was she doing this for? Isn't it all for him?

Shen Zhiyan saw the embarrassment of Old Man Ye and others, and didn’t want to embarrass them, so he looked at Ye Peng calmly: “How old are you?”

Ye Peng stuttered, "Sixteen."

"Your family is poor and you don't have money to study?"

"Yes! My family can earn more than ninety taels a month!"

“Poof!” Shen Manman covered her mouth.

Wei was so angry that she fell backwards: “No… Master Shen, although my family can make money, the teachers we found are not as good as you.”

Shen Zhiyan just looked at Ye Peng: "Do you like studying?"

"dislike."

Shen Manman wanted to laugh again, but held it back.

Wei was almost angry, and before she could speak, Shen Zhiyan continued: “I’ll give you a few questions.”

As he spoke, he asked three simple and easy questions.

Ye Peng had a constipated expression on his face, stammering, and couldn't answer a single key point.

Ye Xuan was getting anxious for him.

At last, Shen Zhiyan said, "It seems that you really don't like studying."

Ye Peng felt relieved, but Wei said anxiously:

"No, the reason why Peng'er doesn't like to study now is that the previous teacher didn't know how to teach. If he follows you, he will definitely like studying."

Shen Zhiyan was displeased and said coldly: “Shen is not free, and I don’t want to discipline someone who doesn’t like to study.”

"If Madam Ye Er wants him to continue his studies, she can go to the city to find an old gentleman named Chen Qi. Mr. Chen is the retired principal of the city's academy. It is said that he likes to treat people."

"Only 10 taels a month, in less than three years, will ensure that Ye Peng will like studying from now on. With the income of Mrs. Ye's family, this cost is not high."

As soon as these words came out, Wei fell silent instantly.

10 taels a month? Why don't you go and rob it!

Whose study is so expensive? One month is equivalent to a year's work for others? The county school only charges 1 tael per month, and private schools like Master Qian’s only charge 2 taels!

Wei’s face turned pale: “That… Master Shen, just give Peng’er a chance, as long as you teach him well…”

Shen Zhiyan's face was slightly stiff: "Sorry, here with Shen, no matter who you are, if you want to learn, you can learn, if you don't want to learn, then leave."

Wei's face changed. She had originally thought that this unrestrained Mr. Shen was a kind person, but now she realized that he was not easy to deal with.

Ye Xuan's back couldn't help but straighten up.

Ye Daquan and Old Lady Ye felt extremely ashamed. They had already been rejected once, and Wei still came. Wasn't this asking for shame?

Ye Caiping said unhappily: "Peng'er, take your mother home first."

Ye Peng blushed, took Wei and turned away.

Xiaoyan happened to come over with tea, Ye Caiping served a cup to Shen Manman, and stuffed another cup into Shen Zhiyan's hand:

"This is chrysanthemum tea. Do you like it?"

Shen Zhiyan took it, took a sip, and said with a smile: “It tastes good.”

When Old Lady Ye, Mrs. Du and others saw him smile, they finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Surprisingly... quite easy to coax?

At this time, Duanwu walked in, holding boxes of snacks in his hands.

Shen Zhiyan said: "These are some careful things made at home, Uncle Ye and Aunt Ye can try them."

"Oh, good."

Duanwu placed the three boxes of snacks in front of Old Mrs. Ye and his wife, Ye Daquan and his wife, and Jin'er Huan'er respectively.

Ye Caiping looked at Shen Zhiyan and asked, "Why are you here today?"

"I saw that there are a lot of prey in your mountains and forests, so I wanted to come and hunt."

Ye Caiping was surprised and said, "You are just a scholar, but you can actually hunt."

Shen Zhiyan rolled her eyes at her: “The six arts of a gentleman.”

Ye Caiping suddenly realized.

Shen Zhiyan is not a weak scholar like Li Zhiyuan. He comes from a large family and in addition to studying, he also has to learn other things, and the Six Arts of a Gentleman are compulsory.

A qualified nobleman must be proficient in etiquette, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics.

Shen Manman said: “Aunt, please lead the way for my father!”

Ye Caiping said, "Okay, brother, Xuan'er, let's go with Mr. Chen."

After chatting for a while, everyone packed up and prepared to go up the mountain.

Jin'er, Huan'er, Yinhua and Manman did not go. The maids liked to stroll in the fields.

After they left, Old Lady Ye went to Ye Er's house angrily to look for Wei.

Wei was sitting in the yard sulking.

Old Lady Ye walked in and started to scold: "What did you just do? Aren't you ashamed?"

Wei was startled and stood up: "Mom, what did I do? I just tried to give Peng'er a chance. Why can Xuan'er worship such a good teacher, but Peng'er can't?"

"Come to think of it, when I found Master Shen for Xuan'er, I only pushed Xuan'er in, but didn't think of Peng'er at all. If I had pushed Xuan'er and Peng'er in together, Peng'er would also be a virgin now."

The more Wei spoke, the more aggrieved he felt, and his eyes turned red.

Old Mrs. Ye almost fainted: "What do you mean? Are you blaming Cai Ping?"

"I don't blame anyone... it's just... why didn't they push both of them in together? Mother was biased towards the eldest wife, towards Xuan'er. When she sent one in, she didn't even think about my Peng'er."

As he spoke, tears began to flow.

"Oh... I'm so pissed!" Old Mrs. Ye laughed in anger, "They are both my grandsons, who would I favor?"

"Besides, the apprenticeship was not smooth at that time. Mr. Shen didn't want to accept students. Master Qian also said that Xuan'er had good grades and had a chance to become his apprentice. If Peng'er was pushed in together, maybe they wouldn't accept either of them."

"Besides, Peng'er doesn't want to miss it! Mr. Gangchen has already said that he doesn't like to discipline people and doesn't want to learn. Even if both of them went in, do you think he could pass the exam?"

"I've said before that if I don't pass the exam, I won't teach Xuan Er. There are good teachers, but there must be good students too!"

Wei's eyes were red: "Whether it was successful or not is one thing, but we should have sent both of them in at the same time!"

No matter how good-tempered Old Lady Ye was, she exploded: "If you think it's unfair, why didn't you say anything at the beginning? When the decision was made, you should have said something!"

"What happened was that Xuan'er went to become a disciple again, while Peng'er stayed at Master Qian's place and continued his lessons. If you also wanted Peng'er to become a disciple again, why didn't you say anything at the time? Tell me now!"

Wei choked and pursed his lips: "..."

"Humph!" Old Lady Ye laughed in anger, "You didn't say anything at the time because you didn't know how much you would have to pay to become Mr. Shen's apprentice again, and you were afraid of paying too much."

"Later I found out that Master Shen didn't have to spend a penny, and now Xuan'er has passed the imperial examination, and you're making a fuss again!"

Wei's face turned pale and blue after hearing what she said.

Old Lady Ye said unhappily, "If you want Peng'er to study so much, just continue studying now! You earn more than ninety taels a month! Mr. Shen said that Mr. Chen Qi can take care of it, 10 taels a month, it's not like you can't afford it. Go, go, I'll send it over tomorrow."