Guangwenguan was a school in Dingjing.

During the Ming and Qi dynasties, high-ranking officials often sent their sons and daughters to the Guangwen Academy, where the professors were all renowned scholars or talented scholars. Young nobles and their children were proud to be admitted to the Guangwen Academy.

Shen Miao also studied at Guangwenguan.

Unfortunately, Shen Xin and Madam Shen were both from military families, and his eldest brother, Shen Qiu, was a man who had a headache when it came to studying. Shen Miao was raised by Old Madam Shen, a singing girl who could not read a single word. Shen Miao's early education was provided by the Third Madam Shen, Chen Ruoqiu. Chen Ruoqiu came from a family of scholars, but she initially taught Shen Miao only obscure and difficult textbooks. The child was naturally playful, and after repeated teaching, Shen Miao completely hated reading and writing.

Chen Ruoqiu saw that Shen Miao disliked studying, so she never forced her. She taught her to be particular about food, clothing, and daily expenses, living the life of a spoiled young lady. Later, when she was old enough to attend Guangwenguan, Shen Miao could never keep up with the lectures, even worse than the students in the first grade, and eventually fell to the bottom of the class. As a result, Shen Miao disliked studying even more, and she became known in Dingjing as an ignorant and stupid person.

Of the three legitimate daughters of the Shen family, Shen Yue was the most renowned for her talent, excelling in all arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. While Shen Qing wasn't as exceptional, she was also quite capable, particularly in embroidery, and she was also a top performer in arithmetic. As someone who would later marry into a family and become a mistress, the better her arithmetic skills, the more likely she would be favored by her in-laws, earning her a reputation as a capable woman.

The more outstanding Shen Yue and Shen Qing were, the more Shen Miao seemed to have no strengths at all. She was even inferior to Shen Dongling, the concubine's daughter from the first wife's family.

In the carriage, Jingzhe asked, "Girl, why don't you go with the eldest and second girls?"

On weekdays, Shen Miao always rode in the same carriage with Shen Qing and Shen Yue. Shen Miao felt that having her sisters by her side gave her courage. As for Shen Yue and Shen Qing, perhaps because they had a silly sister to contrast with them, they naturally seemed more outstanding.

But now, Shen Miao didn't even want to pretend to be submissive.

"We're not even living under the same roof, and our paths are polar opposites. How can we be on the same journey together?"

Jingzhe stuck out her tongue, not knowing why. Her own daughter's words were becoming increasingly incomprehensible to her, but she felt that this was fine. Shen Miao had always been too cowardly, letting the Second and Third Houses make all the decisions. Now that she'd fallen on hard times, she seemed to have her own ideas. This was the way it should be. A legitimate daughter of the First House was inferior to anyone else in terms of status, so she couldn't be treated like a servant.

In another carriage, Shen Yue lifted the curtain and peeked behind, then whispered, "Big sister, the fifth sister is following behind."

"She's deliberately being irritable with me." Shen Qing snorted coldly. In front of Shen Yue, she never concealed her contempt for Shen Miao: "Let her be. In the end, I'm not the one who's embarrassed anyway."

Chen Yue said worriedly, "But she already caught a cold, and what about Prince Ding's incident..."

"Chen Yue?" Shen Qing said, "How could I not know what you're thinking? Stop pretending to be a good person. If you really care about her, why not just take her carriage? Why bother talking to me?"

Chen Yue bit her lip, lowered her head, and said nothing more.

However, the carriage traveled for half an hour and finally arrived at Guangwenguan.

It was still early, and the teacher hadn't started yet. The second-grade students had all arrived and were sitting and chatting in the classroom. As soon as Shen Yue and Shen Qing arrived, they were immediately greeted warmly by the girls.

In Guangwen Hall, Shen Yue was the most talented woman among the girls. She was beautiful, modest, and gentle, so she was naturally sought after by everyone. Although Shen Qing was not as talented as Shen Yue, she was capable and tactful, and the noble ladies also liked her very much.

A girl in pink asked, "Mother Yue, why is Shen Miao not here today?" Normally, Shen Miao followed Shen Yue and Shen Qing like a maid, so it was a little strange that she was not there today.

"I'm afraid you're too embarrassed to come here." The girl who said this was beautiful, but her voice was a bit loud, with a mocking expression on her face: "I heard that he fell into the water while peeping at His Highness Prince Ding. Is he still cold or is he too embarrassed to face people?"

“Pei Lan, it’s not like that…” Shen Yue shook her head.

"You're just too protective of your sister," Yi Peilan said. "Such a foolish person doesn't look like a girl from your Shen family at all, and yet you're always protecting her. But she's really eye-opening. She looks timid and weak on ordinary days, but when she meets His Highness Prince Ding, she's so brave. If you didn't know her, you'd think she was an uneducated girl from some humble family."

This was a bit harsh. Shen Qing laughed and said, "Fifth sister was just being naughty for a moment."

"I think it's because General Shen and Madam Shen aren't around to teach her," said another girl with a fallen horse bun. "Without proper discipline, she naturally doesn't even know the proper etiquette, morality, and honor that a girl should know."

"Caixuan's words are not true," Chen Yue said softly, "Although my great uncle and great uncle are not in Dingjing, my fifth sister was also raised by my grandmother. My mother and second aunt also taught her from time to time and never neglected her discipline."

The implication was that Shen Miao was born without any sense of shame.

As expected, as soon as Shen Yue said this, Yi Peilan said, "How strange! You were brought up in the same family, Yue Niang and Qing Niang, but you and Shen Miao are truly worlds apart. This is probably what the master said: rotten mud can't be helped up the wall." As she spoke, she began to giggle, and the noble ladies who were already gathered around her all laughed. Even the young men couldn't help but look sideways.

The next moment, someone shouted, “Look, Shen Miao is here!”

Everyone looked towards the door, hoping to see something interesting happen.

Then a young girl slowly walked towards the door. She was wearing a deep red silk double-nest cloud goose dress, and a dark blue embroidered cloak. Such a color was too mature for a girl, especially since Shen Miaosheng was round and soft, and if she wasn't careful, she would look like a child who had stolen the clothes of an elder.

She walked slowly, her skirt unmoving. Each step, though light, felt incredibly weighty. She couldn't explain why, but she felt an inexplicable sense of grace and dignity. Her chin was slightly raised, her brows unperturbed, and her puppy-like eyes became a bottomless pool, containing all her strength, like a ferocious beast with its claws retracted.

Her facial features are still pleasing, and they look cute because of their roundness, but now there is no trace of stupidity, because she has not fully grown yet, and it is surprisingly not out of place with her dignified demeanor.

She doesn't look like a young girl, but more like... those noble ladies in high positions, or the decisive and ruthless father who is the head of the family.

The school gradually became quiet.