4. I knew my Yue'er was a genius.

"What?" Marquis Beiding didn't react immediately.

After realizing what had happened, he looked at Qu Zijin in shock, wondering if the Grand Tutor was in a normal mental state.

As for Jin Lanyue, the person involved and Qu Zijin's "teacher"... she felt extremely guilty.

At this moment, her little brain also came to a realization. She vaguely realized that the reason why she learned the "Three Character Classic" so easily was because the strange voice rewarded her with the "Mastery of Enlightenment Knowledge (Literary Version)" when she completed the task for the first time.

She always felt guilty about cheating, but couldn't bring herself to confess about the strange noises.

To everyone's surprise, the Grand Tutor actually honored his bet and chased after her, calling her "Teacher."

"...Um, Grand Tutor, how are you?" Marquis Beiding asked hesitantly.

Qu Zijin paused, turned to him, and bowed again, saying, "What are your instructions, Grandmaster?"

Marquis Beiding jolted and took two steps back warily while holding Jin Lanyue.

Then, realizing he'd made it too obvious, he gave an awkward laugh and asked, "Should I call the imperial physician for you, Grand Tutor?"

Marquis of Beiding: I think you've got some mental issues.

Qu Zijin realized he had been misunderstood. He thought for a moment and said earnestly, "Perhaps my teacher hasn't explained the situation to you, my grandmaster? Then please allow me to explain..."

He recounted the whole story.

"What?!" Marquis Beiding looked at his youngest daughter in disbelief.

"Yes," Qu Zijin nodded solemnly, "I believe that you are a genius who is one in a hundred years. If I were to teach you alone, I would be afraid that your talent would be wasted. The reason I came here is that I hope you can study under a famous scholar, so as not to disgrace your talent."

After a brief moment of surprise, Marquis Beiding quickly recovered and even accepted it well, laughing heartily and praising, "Oh my, I knew my Yue'er was a genius, hahaha! I'll go and invite a great scholar for you right now, the best one! After we finish school, we'll invite a great scholar to teach you in the manor. We'll have one teacher for each of the four arts: rites, music, riding, archery, calligraphy, mathematics, and charioteering!"

No child is born loving school, especially for the first seven consecutive classes.

Jin Lanyue was no exception.

She suddenly raised her little head: "No!"

"Teacher, with such talent, you should study diligently and strive for excellence!" Qu Zijin advised.

Jin Lanyue looked at him with a wronged expression.

She seemed to understand why the Grand Tutor had no friends.

Meanwhile, Qu Zijin was still lamenting, "One who doesn't study hard in youth will regret it in old age," and "If you don't work hard when you're young, you'll only have regrets when you're old."

Marquis Beiding nodded repeatedly as he listened, his gaze towards Qu Zijin changing from "this lunatic" to "a true confidant."

Jin Lanyue felt the same way as the princess—the Grand Tutor was babbling on and on, and she couldn't understand what he was saying.

But after a few thoughts, she sensed something was wrong.

If this continues, it seems like she'll have endless classes every day.

Her eyes were wide open.

No way, that's too scary!

What should I do? What should I do...?

Got it!

She suddenly had a brilliant idea and looked at Qu Zijin: "Yue'er wants the Grand Tutor to teach her! The Grand Tutor is the most amazing one!"

Qu Zijin stopped nagging and looked at Jin Lanyue in surprise, only to meet her bright, innocent eyes full of expectation.

"Oh, our Yue'er really likes the Grand Tutor!" Marquis Beiding teased with a smile. "Does she only want the Grand Tutor to teach her, and doesn't want anyone else to teach her?"

"Mmm!" Jin Lanyue nodded emphatically, stretching out her little hand to Qu Zijin, "I only want the Grand Tutor to teach me!"

Qu Zijin was stunned.

"Grand Tutor, give me a hug!" Jin Lanyue smiled at him.

"Alright, Grand Tutor, give me a hug." Marquis Beiding smiled and escorted her to Qu Zijin.

Qu Zijin then took Jin Lanyue from the Marquis of Beiding in a daze.

The little child was soft and had a sweet milky scent. Her soft little hands tugged at his collar, her skin was white and tender, and she looked up at him with hopeful eyes with her chubby little round face.

She was so small and light that she was held obediently in his arms.

Qu Zijin looked at her and felt his heart soften.

He pursed his lips and solemnly promised, "If you don't mind, teacher, I will definitely teach you everything I know... No, I will study hard day and night when I get back, and I will never let you fall behind others in the slightest!"

"Thank you, Grand Tutor!" Jin Lanyue smiled broadly and thanked him happily.

Marquis Beiding stood aside, finding it amusing.

These two are really...

You call me teacher, I call you Grand Tutor, we each have our own way of addressing each other, the seniority is all over the place but no one should bother with anyone else.

"Alright, Yue'er, we should go home now. Let's not disturb the Grand Tutor." Marquis Beiding took Jin Lanyue back from Qu Zijin's arms.

After nodding to Qu Zijin, he turned and walked out.

Jin Lanyue, clinging to her father's back, waved to him with her eyes curving like little crescent moons, saying, "Goodbye, Grand Tutor!"

Qu Zijin awkwardly raised his hand and waved, mimicking her gesture: "...Goodbye."

He stood in front of the Wenhua Hall and watched them go until their figures completely disappeared.

-

The wheels whirred and swayed as Jin Lanyue sat on the carriage.

“Father, Yue’er has a question.” She suddenly spoke.

Marquis Beiding was still basking in the joy of his daughter being a genius when he heard this and looked at her with a smile: "What's wrong, Yue'er?"

"Exactly, what if a teacher taught Yue'er a lot of things, but... Yue'er feels a little scared when she talks? What should she do?" Jin Lanyue rested her chin on her hands, trying to show a bit of adult vicissitude, but failed.

Marquis Beiding believed it to be Qu Zijin.

After all, when he has a stern face, not to mention a child like Yue'er, even he himself feels a bit fierce.

So he smiled and patiently guided her, "Is this teacher helping you?"

“Yes,” Jin Lanyue nodded. “It helped Yue’er help others, taught Yue’er knowledge, and gave Yue’er things.”

“He’s very good to Yue’er. This teacher might just be bad at expressing himself, but he’s very good to Yue’er,” Marquis Beiding patted her head. “Of course, if he bullies Yue’er or makes her feel uncomfortable, Yue’er must tell Father and Mother, okay?”

"Okay~~" Jin Lanyue understood and regained her fighting spirit.

Although the strange voice in her head was really weird, it was definitely helping her!

From now on, it will be her auntie teacher!

Hmm... Jin Lanyue thought hard.

What was Auntie Teacher's name again?

It seems to be called... Western Tong? Is it related to the same lineage?

Never mind, from now on I'll just call it System Auntie!

Jin Lanyue randomly picked two words and made the decision.

"We've arrived at the Marquis's residence," the carriage stopped, and the Marquis of Beiding carried Jinlan Yue out of the carriage. "Yue'er, your second brother is still waiting for you to come back and fly a kite together."

Mentioning this, Jin Lanyue perked up and happily exclaimed, "Yay! Yue'er also wants to fly kites with Second Brother!"

As soon as she entered the courtyard, Jin Lanyue saw her second brother running towards her with a kite in his hand: "Sister, sister!"

She ran over too, and the two siblings held hands and ran to fly kites.

Marquis Beiding glanced at them with a smile, instructed his servants to take good care of them, and then returned to his study.

In the garden, Jin Lanyue sat on a small stool, her hands obediently placed on her knees. Her second brother was showing her the kite in his hand: "Little sister, look, this is the first one I picked out. Isn't it pretty?"

Jin Lanyue clapped: "Beautiful! Beautiful!"

The second brother proudly puffed out his chest and presented the kite to her: "Here you go!"

The moment her chubby little hand touched the kite, a voice echoed in her mind—

[Task triggered]

You returned to the Marquis of Beiding's residence—your former home, the place that ultimately cruelly banished you.

That person has replaced you; everything you once owned has become hers; every trace of your life has been erased.

[Your once doting older brother now speaks harshly to you. As you watch your second brother throw the kite, filled with the joyful laughter of your childhood, in front of you, you feel endless sorrow and resentment.]

You must tear this kite apart, just as you would tear it apart, just as you would tear apart your current predicament.

[Mission: Tear the kite to shreds in front of your second brother]

[Reward: Mastery of Basic Knowledge (Numerology Edition)]