Chapter 412 Listen to Advice

"Girl, you haven't read a single page of your book today. Didn't we just put away all those things that were distracting us from studying yesterday? It's only the first day, and you haven't even looked at your book?" Zijuan muttered.

Daiyu's confident words from yesterday were still ringing in her ears, but today, because the boat stopped at a large ferry crossing, she changed her clothes and took Lansu ashore to play all day.

The people on the ship were all covering for her, preventing Mr. Yuan from finding out.

"A few years ago, when we came from Yangzhou, I passed by this place and wanted to go down and take a look. Fairy, you finally have the chance, so naturally you should go down and have some fun. Besides, Master went to the city on errands today and isn't even on the boat." Daiyu changed out of her men's clothing.

"I brought you some delicious food and fun things. Lan Su is distributing them outside. Go and see if there's anything you like, or it will all be gone."

Zijuan was not in a hurry. She helped Daiyu tidy up her clothes and combed her hair again until there was no trace of her going out. Only then did she feel at ease.

“Girl, I saw the Tenth Prince on the boat ahead today. He didn’t go ashore to play. He was just squatting in a horse stance. He’s really diligent.”

"Huh? Didn't you just say you wanted to go on a secret visit a few days ago? Why aren't you taking this perfect opportunity?" Daiyu asked, somewhat surprised.

"He does seem much more composed than he did a few days ago. I must say it's all thanks to Mr. Yuan's teaching. No matter how naughty a student is, they can all be obedient under Mr. Yuan's guidance."

“Zijuan, you mustn’t say that again. These days, Master is so busy that he’s practically running around every day. Sometimes I don’t even get to see him once a day. If others hear this, they’ll assume that Master will be burdened with a mountain of work, based on the principle that the more capable you are, the more work you’ll have to do. And most of the work that gets assigned to Master is something he can’t refuse. Look at these past few years, hasn’t Master been coming home less and less often…” Daiyu said, sounding a little guilty.

"That's true. When the young lady first arrived in the capital, Mr. Yuan was quite relaxed, and we often saw her smiling. After two years, Mr. Yuan became more and more involved. While he treated the young lady the same as before, he was different towards us. He became more and more authoritative and looked more and more like the young lady's elder. Before, he looked like the young lady's older sister, but now he looks more like her aunt..."

Hearing Daiyu's words, Xueyan chimed in, saying that these were probably things the maids had discussed in private many times.

Daiyu silently thought about what she had said before, that she felt Mr. Mi was five years older than his actual age, and that if it weren't for the crops in the space that nourished her body, Granny Yuan would probably look even older than Mr. Mi.

It pains her to think about it.

Thinking back to when I saw Granny Yuan last night, she seemed a little tired.

Even a goddess like Granny gets tired sometimes!

Every day, he had to worry about himself, manage the academy, and handle various tasks that came up from the court from time to time.

She had just promised the nanny that she would prepare well for the exam, and if she could achieve excellent results in next year's spring examination, the nanny's burden would be lighter.

Daiyu was a little annoyed. How could she have forgotten her original plan and gone out with Lan Su for the whole day after Lan Su just said a few words?

"Zijuan, I'm going to study now. Don't disturb me. You stay at the door and don't let anyone in except for the nanny." Daiyu decided to take advantage of the double time difference in space to finish her planned homework for the day as soon as possible.

Seeing Daiyu's diligence, the two maids exchanged a glance, bowed, and withdrew.

If Daiyu is reading in her study with the servants attending to her, it usually means she is composing poetry, painting, or reading miscellaneous books. But if she gives them such serious instructions, it usually means she is doing her homework and does not allow anyone to disturb her. They are used to it.

Daiyu entered the space and went straight to the study, where there were past years' spring examination questions that she had collected long ago, as well as the essays of the top ten candidates.

In addition, there were various kinds of books, neatly categorized and filling the table.

Daiyu had already organized the books according to their level of difficulty and the detail of their annotations.

Moreover, Mr. Yuan also found some analyses and explanations of the imperial examinations from later generations for her. These were all written by learned scholars, which were very helpful for her review.

After reading it, Daiyu summarized the essence of the text and planned to share it with her classmates who would be participating in the imperial examination next year when she returned to the academy.

She wasn't in competition with her classmates, so unlike other students who would hide their insightful books for fear of being seen by others.

Daiyu read for half an hour, then got up and went to the garden to rest for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

As my nanny said, unless it's a matter of life and death, you should balance work and rest.

Otherwise, even if you achieve great success, if your health collapses, it will all be for nothing!

Daiyu wholeheartedly agreed.

She was in poor health when she was a child and never even left the house. Later, when her health improved, she was able to go out and play.

The cherries in the yard are ripe; the purplish-red fruits hang from the branches, within easy reach.

Daiyu casually picked a few, and noticed that this batch of blueberries was also ripe.

She went back into the house and got a small basket, picking the biggest blueberries until the basket was full.

My nanny said that eating more blueberries while studying is very good for the eyes.

She had seen the goggles her nanny used when she was studying; they were very beautiful, but they were made by the gods, and her nanny didn't know how to make them.

The old woman said that if she went blind from studying, she would have to wear tortoiseshell glasses like the old lady's. Daiyu thought they were unattractive, so she took great care of her eyes.

"Granny, why are you back too?"

Daiyu returned to the living room carrying a basket of berries and saw Yuan Hongqu inside.

She hadn't changed out of her clothes yet, so she had obviously just come in.

"I've finished dealing with things outside." Yuan Hongqu looked very relaxed.

"Perfect timing, I just picked some fruit, Granny, have some first."

The fruit in the space doesn't need to be washed at all. In fact, washing it might even remove some of its flavor!

“There’s no rush,” Yuan Hongqu said. She was in such a hurry to enter the space for two reasons: first, to confirm whether Daiyu was in the space, and second, because she had encountered a major problem.

It's truly unexpected that Daiyu, who was already free to marry and whose marriage was not to be interfered with by anyone, would still encounter such a marriage-urging situation!

I wish I hadn't gone to that banquet today!

The ship has arrived in Pengzhou and will stay there for a day, firstly to resupply, and secondly because there is an intention to establish a girls' academy there. The Empress has asked Yuan Hongqu to take a group of people to inspect it first.