Even though Zhu Jiayu, Song Jiangmei, and Gu Jinshu are now mothers, their lives are still pretty much the same as before.
Aside from the occasional headache of figuring out how to raise a child.
Of the three, Jia Yi, born to Song Jiangmei, is the youngest. Yu Mu, Zhi Yi, and Ru Yi have all started school and are learning poetry and literature from their teachers, while Jia Yi is still crawling on the ground.
So her headaches were different from Zhu Jiayu and Gu Jinshu's, and besides, Jia Yi was at the age where he was most easily fooled. He wouldn't sleep at night, so Song Jiangmei threatened him: "If you don't go to sleep, your father will throw you into the army camp and let Uncle Chang prick you with his stubble!"
Wei Jiayi immediately calmed down and fell asleep in no time.
Although he was still young, he already knew that Uncle Chang liked him, which was why he kissed him cheek to cheek, but this affection could not make up for the pain of his face being pricked by stubble.
Fortunately, Uncle Chang seemed to have realized that he didn't like the stubble on his face, and he rarely kissed him on the cheek anymore.
Upon hearing that if she didn't sleep properly, she would get pricked in the face by Uncle Chang's stubble, Wei Jiayi, who was only two years old but already knew how to know when to stop and avoid harm, found it really hard not to behave.
Unlike Song Jiangmei, Gu Jinshu was troubled by her son's overly honest nature. From a young age, he had learned to be just like his father, with an old-fashioned and rigid demeanor, unlike her at all.
Having grown up with a cunning mind, Gu Jinshu began to worry about her son's future. She felt that her son would be easily bullied in the future.
What kind of child is this? When Wei Zhiyi took him fishing, he sat by the river reading; when Wei Zhiyi took him to collect bird eggs, he sat under a tree reading; when Wei Zhiyi took him to cricket fighting, he sat on the street reading…
If Gu Jinshu hadn't been certain that the child was her own, she would have suspected that Yu Wenchao had fathered the child with another woman.
After much thought, Gu Jinshu decided that she should find her son a hobby outside of studying.
But Yu Xiaomu, that blockhead, didn't like anything. Tall horses, fine clothes, and delicacies were all less valuable to him than a book.
Later, something happened that finally put a weight off Gu Jinshu's heart.
This brings us to the story of Xiao Ruyi going to the Imperial Academy.
That day, Mr. Wen from the Wei family took leave, so Xiao Ruyi took her two older brothers to the Imperial Academy. Logically speaking, they should be studying at the Imperial Academy at their age. However, given Mr. Fu's previous words and Wei Qinglou's subsequent question to Xiao Ruyi about whether she wanted to study at the Imperial Academy or wait until she was older to go to Zhanglu Academy, the decision was made.
The Imperial Academy and the Zhanglu Academy followed different paths. The students at the Imperial Academy were mostly from aristocratic families, and after graduation, most of them would go on to become officials, either civil or military. Therefore, the teachers at the Imperial Academy also cultivated their students in this direction, teaching them that the most important thing in being a person is to be loyal to the emperor and love the country, and also teaching them to master both literary and martial arts so that they could serve the emperor.
However, the atmosphere at Zhanglu Academy was more free, because the students came from different backgrounds and schools of thought, thus presenting a harmonious yet diverse atmosphere.
After careful consideration, Xiao Ruyi discussed with her father that she would study at Zhanglu Academy in the future. Wei Zhiyi always followed his sister's lead, and Yu Mu also planned to go with them, so the three of them agreed not to attend the Imperial Academy, but to study at the Wei family first, and then go directly to Zhanglu Academy when they reached the appropriate age.
Although it was agreed upon, Xiao Ruyi couldn't help but be curious about the lives of the noble ladies and gentlemen of her age at the Imperial Academy. So she made an appointment with her two older brothers to visit the Imperial Academy on the day Mr. Wen took leave.
As soon as the three arrived at the Imperial Academy, Wei Zhiyi's friends came to greet them. Later, some people heard that the three unfamiliar faces were the sons and daughters of the Wei and Yu families, and they found it quite novel. They squeezed over and chatted with each other, and inevitably someone asked the three of them when they planned to enroll.
Wei Zhiyi couldn't keep it to herself and said frankly, "We'll go to Zhanglu Academy when we're fourteen, and then we won't come to the Imperial Academy anymore."
The students of the Imperial Academy and the Zhanglu Academy had some mutual dislike. The students of the Imperial Academy, considering themselves superior, regarded the people of the Zhanglu Academy as all sorts of people, even if there were some outstanding individuals among them, they were still tainted with worldly nature and vulgarity. Therefore, someone laughed and said, "I thought the famous Miss Wei was someone special. After meeting her today, I understand what it means to see something for yourself."
This means that Wei Ruyi's reputation is undeserved.
Seeing that Wei Zhiyi was about to roll up his sleeves and start a fight, Xiao Ruyi didn't care about retorting. She only thought that comforting her brother was the most important thing.
Unexpectedly, Yu Mu, who was usually taciturn, spoke coldly: "I have heard that when the teachers of the Imperial Academy teach, they always make their students memorize the Analects. Have you not heard that a gentleman is dignified but does not contend?"
With just one sentence, the speaker was rendered speechless. Now no one dared to speak ill of Zhanglu Academy, nor of the Wei family's young lady; they could only watch quietly as the young master of the Yu family left the Imperial Academy with his friends.
Later, the matter somehow got out, and it was said that the tutor of the young master learned of it, felt extremely ashamed, resigned from his post, and went back to his hometown.
Gu Jinshu later found out and called Yu Mu over to ask him why he was acting so unusually that day, since he was not one to argue with others.
Yu Mu said in a serious tone: "They were the ones who made offensive remarks first."
Gu Jinshu nodded in satisfaction, thinking to herself: Very good, her son doesn't seem to be a blockhead after all, but his sharp tongue, which can be infuriating, is just like his father's.
Before she could even get angry about how her son hadn't inherited any of her traits, she heard Yu Mu say, "Besides, I've already agreed to betroth Ruyi to my childhood sweetheart, so naturally I have to protect him."
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