After the Dragon Boat Festival, Luo Zhenxing and a scholar named Chang came to visit Xu's house. Xu Lingyi talked with the scholar Chang for an hour and then ordered the chief steward Bai to clean up the Tingtao Pavilion not far from Shuangfu Courtyard: "From now on, the fifth young master will study with Mr. Chang in Tingtao Pavilion!"

The rumor that "the fifth young master, like the second young master, is going to study in Le'an" finally came to an end, and the one who breathed a sigh of relief was Xu Sizun.

"I told you, mother went to find my uncle," Xu Sijie looked at his brother with a smile, "my uncle will find a teacher for me. I won't go to Le'an." He had great confidence in Eleventh Lady.

"Aren't I just afraid that my uncle can't find the right person?" Xu Sizhun said embarrassedly, "When the time comes, my mother sees that my second brother is studying well in Le'an, she will make up her mind to send you to Le'an as well... then I will be alone!" He felt a little disappointed at the end of his words.

Xu Sijie felt warm in his heart: "No! Don't I still have my sixth brother at home? Even if I go to Le'an to study, I will come back during the holidays!"

Thinking about it this way, there seems to be something wrong with what he said.

Xu Sizhun felt a little embarrassed.

It’s not that the sixth brother is a bad person, it’s just that he is young and can’t play with him... Subconsciously, he doesn’t consider him a friend!

"Oh, let's not talk about this." He waved his hand and hurriedly changed the subject. "Now you don't have to go to Le'an. The place where you study is still next to Shuangfuyuan. We can go to school together again." Then he said, "When will you officially go to Tingtao Pavilion for classes? Although Mr. Chang is your teacher, should I go to pay him a visit as well?"

"I don't know either." Xu Sijie said, "How about we go ask mother?"

The two went to the main house.

Xu Lingyi was talking to Shiyi Niang about the children: "… As for Zhun, Mr. Zhao knows what to do. When Jin comes to my place to copy the red characters, I will also supervise him in class. As for Jie, I think Mr. Chang is a very serious person. He used to study with Mr. Zhao and was used to being casual. I'm afraid he won't be used to a new teacher. He is also shy, so you should ask more questions. As for Mr. Chang's tuition, I plan to pay the same as when Mr. Zhao first came - thirty taels of silver a year, a servant, and two sets of clothes for each of the four seasons. If he teaches well, I will give him more silver at the end of the year. If Jie can pass the imperial examination, I will give him another reward."

The tuition for a teacher in Beijing was between 20 and 30 taels, not to mention Xu Lingyi also had a servant, cold and hot clothes, and a red envelope. This treatment was not low.

Eleventh Lady nodded slightly.

"Don't worry, my Lord!" The weather was getting warmer, and it was not time to use ice yet, so she took a round fan and fanned Xu Lingyi who had just entered the room, "I will pay attention to Jie'er. But Jin'er is with you, you can't let him do whatever he wants. Also, you can't take him to the stable to ride horses. You have to wait until he is ten years old. If you really want to go, you can take him with you personally..."

She stood beside him, and her every move exuded a faint fragrance.

"Are you going to let me take him riding, or to let me go riding without him?"

His eyes rested on her absentmindedly.

The white shirt with silver stripes was loosely covered on her body, and as she fanned herself, it spread out like water, making her full figure look fuller, her waist look slimmer, and she seemed to be hesitant to speak.

He snatched the fan from her hand and fanned her hard twice.

"One moment you say no, the next moment you say yes. If you continue like this, the child won't know what to do..."

Eleventh Lady glared at him.

Who took Jinger to go horseback riding again? The child kept thinking about it. When he came back, he served him tea and water attentively, and circled around him like a puppy...

"I won't let you, but will you listen to me, Lord?" She couldn't help but say with a hint of coquettishness, "What else do you say about boys? They can't hang out with maids and wives all day long. Not only are they short-sighted, but they also gossip about other people all day long..."

A little maid said through the curtain: "My Lord, Madam, the Fourth and Fifth Young Masters are here!"

Eleventh Lady quickly changed the subject.

Seeing her slightly angry face, Xu Lingyi couldn't help but regret that he had spoken too harshly. He stuffed the round fan into her hand and took the opportunity to hold her hand: "Okay, the children are here!" His voice was a little lower, and his tone was very gentle, with a hint of coaxing.

Eleventh Lady didn't disagree with his point of view, but she didn't trust those horse riding masters she had never seen before, and she would rather let Jing'er follow him. She was annoyed by his bad tone. Seeing Xu Lingyi lower his voice, the unhappiness in her heart naturally disappeared. But she still twisted his shoulder and laughed.

Becoming more and more like a child.

Xu Lingyi smiled and shook his head.

Xu Sizhun and Xu Sijie walked in.

"You've come just in time!" After paying their respects, Shiyi Niang asked the maid to bring a brocade stool for the two of them to sit down. Before they could speak, Xu Lingyi said, "Mr. Chang will come to our house to be our tutor after May 15th." He looked at Xu Sijie and said, "Pack your things these few days and go to Tingtao Pavilion for classes in the future." Then he said to Xu Sizhun, "After Jie'er goes to Tingtao Pavilion, Mr. Zhao will teach Jing'er in the morning and you in the afternoon. From now on, you will come with me to the study in the outer courtyard every morning to learn how to manage the household affairs."

The two children hurriedly stood up and responded "yes" respectfully.

Xu Lingyi gave the two children a few more instructions, such as "Listen to your teacher and study hard", "Listen and watch more, ask Manager Bai if you don't understand, and don't make decisions rashly", and then asked the two children to go down and prepare well.

Xu Sizun winked at Eleventh Lady.

Eleventh Lady remained calm and sent the two children out.

Xu Sizhun hurriedly said, "I want to invite Mr. Chang to dinner. Is that okay with you?"

"Okay!" Eleventh Lady took into consideration that Xu Sizun would not take the imperial examinations, and there was no standard to prove that Mr. Zhao taught well. It didn't matter when there was only one teacher at home, but now there are two teachers. She trusted Mr. Zhao's character, but she had little contact with Mr. Chang. If there was any unhappiness between the two teachers, Xu Sizun and Xu Sijie would be affected. She reminded Xu Sizun: "Mr. Zhao is your teacher, and he has taught your fifth brother. For so many years, he has treated you like his own children. You can't neglect Mr. Zhao. Since you want to invite Mr. Chang, why not invite Mr. Zhao to accompany you, and let Mr. Zhao help you entertain Mr. Chang. The two gentlemen can also take this opportunity to get to know each other." It is always better to have a good start. Thinking that Xu Sizun would soon officially take over the family affairs, she told him, "You are in the outer courtyard, so you should also be courteous to the housekeepers at home. They will be your helpers in the future."

Xu Sizhun nodded repeatedly.

After Mr. Chang officially moved in, he invited Mr. Zhao to accompany him as Shiyi Niang had instructed, and hosted a banquet in his courtyard to entertain Mr. Chang. Mr. Chang knew that the two young masters were both taught by Mr. Zhao, but Mr. Zhao only taught some things about self-cultivation, so he naturally did not need to be strict. However, he had to teach Xu Sijie eight-part essays, which required strict supervision. He was a little worried that Xu Sijie would be afraid of hardship, would be prejudiced, and would compare him with Mr. Zhao everywhere, and would not listen. Now that he saw that the two children respected him very much, and were gentle and polite, and thought that Mr. Zhao taught well, the big stone in his heart fell to the ground, and he was a little ashamed that he had previously speculated that Mr. Zhao was hiding in the Xu family to cheat money, so he treated Mr. Zhao very politely. Mr. Zhao was originally a broad-minded person, and he was afraid that Mr. Chang, who regarded eight-part essays as Buddhist music and language, would look down on his poems and songs. Since Mr. Chang took the initiative to make friends with him, he treated Mr. Chang as a friend, and often went out with Mr. Chang during his rest time. After a few visits, the two became good friends.

If the relationship between teachers is good, the learning atmosphere for children will naturally be good.

Xu Sijie studied diligently and meticulously according to Mr. Chang's requirements. Xu Sizhun followed Xu Lingyi to handle chores every morning, not daring to be careless, and gradually focused on the affairs of the outer courtyard. Although he was slow to learn, he was gentle to others and willing to learn from those managers. Such qualities would be pleasing to ordinary people over time. Moreover, he was the son of Yongping Marquis, with a noble status and different meanings. Those managers treated him with some genuine respect, and Xu Sizhun's reputation for "generosity" gradually spread.

What Xu Lingyi wanted now was stability. Xu Sizhun's performance satisfied him. He let Xu Sizhun take charge. He would get up with Jin Ge'er every morning and go to Xiumuyuan to urge Jin Ge'er to practice martial arts, and check Jin Ge'er's homework in the afternoon. As long as Jin Ge'er could complete his homework well, he would take Jin Ge'er out for a walk, or tell Jin Ge'er about his past military campaigns. Once, he even took Jin Ge'er to play with the sand table at home according to the Kyushu map.

Jing'er found it very interesting to be with his father. He no longer fed the birds, walked the dog, or quarreled with Chen'er. Every day he just wanted to finish his homework quickly, play with his father, and listen to his father's thrilling anecdotes.

Seeing the changes in her son, Eleventh Lady couldn't help but feel a little worried. She checked his homework several times and found that he completed it better and faster than before. He suddenly appeared in the outer courtyard in the afternoon. Seeing that Xu Lingyi was just telling him stories and taking him to make landscape models, he was very excited and had a lot of fun. She couldn't help but feel a little emotional. When boys grow up, they like to be with their fathers more.

The sense of loss caused by this emotion did not last long.

Xu Sijie liked to come to her house for dinner more and more. Sometimes he would stay after dinner to chat with Shiyi Niang, appearing to be particularly clingy.

Eleventh Lady thought about it and then had a heart-to-heart talk with him about his homework.

In the past, when he was in Mr. Zhao's class, Mr. Zhao would criticize him if he did not do well, and would praise him greatly if he did well. But now that he is with Mr. Chang, although he works very hard, he rarely gets Mr. Chang's affirmation. He doesn't know whether he has met Mr. Chang's requirements.

"Did Mr. Chang criticize you?" Eleventh Lady asked him.

"No!"

"That's all!" Eleventh Lady said with a smile, "If you don't do well, Mr. Chang will definitely criticize you. Since he didn't criticize you, it means you are still okay."

Xu Sijie had always trusted Eleventh Lady the most. Hearing this, he breathed a sigh of relief and happily went to Mr. Chang's class again.

Just as the children were getting on the right track, June, the hottest month of the year, arrived.

Xu Siyu rushed back from Le'an, exhausted!

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Post a draft first!

O(∩_∩)O~

PS: Make up for the extra update on August 16th!