The matter of girls' education was naturally underway.
Princess Ruining and Yaoniang often mentioned it in their private interactions, and both of them took it very seriously.
These days, things are complicated and numerous, so there's really no time to rush things.
The location of the girls' school, how to enroll students, the tuition fees, and the coursework all need to be carefully planned.
Zhao Yao would naturally not discuss such important matters in the private room of Jin Yu Lou.
A few days later, Gu Yaoniang received a reply from her home in Qingyun County.
When they returned to the Gu family that day, Uncle Zhong handed a small bundle to Bitao and said a few words to her.
Bitao's face lit up with joy. She mysteriously hid the small bundle behind her back and approached Gu Yaoniang.
Gu Yaoniang saw Bitao approaching in the bronze mirror. He seemed to be walking carefully, but it was still very obvious. She couldn't help but find it amusing.
Seeing that she had been discovered, Bitao stopped trying to hide it and waved the small bundle next to Yaoniang, saying with a grin, "My lady, guess what this is?"
Bizhu was carefully removing the hairpins from Yaoniang's head.
Yao Niang tried to turn her head, but Bi Zhu gently helped her up and stopped her.
She glanced at the bundle in Bitao's hand out of the corner of her eye. The bundle was small, and the fabric was very ordinary.
I can't really tell anything from that.
But... she suddenly twitched her nostrils, and a surge of joy welled up on her face: "But she's from Qingyun County."
Bitao smiled and nodded, placing the small bundle on the dressing table.
Gu Yaoniang was overjoyed and, ignoring Bizhu's exclamations of disapproval, placed the small bundle on her lap and began to unpack it.
There were three letters in the small bundle. Gu Yaoniang looked at the covers and smiled, "That's all there. Even my father wrote a letter this time."
Since she arrived in Shuojing, Mr. Gu has only written her one letter. It was the one he wrote to scold her when she said she wanted to learn business from Gu Xingzhi.
This is the second one today.
"My lady has been in Shuojing for more than half a year. Even if the master doesn't say it, he must be thinking of you."
The pearl earrings by Gu Yaoniang's ears swayed slightly with her movements. She didn't rush to open the letter, but instead took out other things from the small bundle.
The small bundle contained three letters and two neatly wrapped small parcels in oil paper.
A faint fragrance of osmanthus wafts from it.
Gu Yaoniang picked up the two packages, which were about the same size. One was soft, with what appeared to be dry and loose contents, while the other was rather hard, like pieces of hard material.
Gu Yaoniang couldn't wait to tear open the oil paper package.
She first opened the sturdier small bag, inside which were several neatly arranged pieces of candy, each about an inch square. As soon as she opened it, the room was filled with the rich fragrance of osmanthus blossoms.
Bitao exclaimed with delight, "My lady, it's osmanthus candy!"
Gu Yaoniang was also very happy. She let Bitao and the others each take a piece, and she also picked up a piece and threw it into her mouth before going to look at the other small bag.
She guessed that it must contain loose items, so she opened it very carefully.
Even so, some of the golden osmanthus blossoms still fell off. Gu Yaoniang felt a pang of heartache, and with her slender white fingers, she gently picked up a few osmanthus blossoms and put them into her mouth without any regard for appearances.
Bitao merely wanted to stop it, but showed no surprise. Bizhu and Bishuang, however, were somewhat astonished.
Seeing the different reactions of the maids, Gu Yaoniang smiled apologetically.
The osmanthus blossoms are fragrant and rich, their aroma spreading in the mouth. Upon closer tasting, a slightly bitter aftertaste lingers on the tongue, a unique flavor of dried osmanthus.
"As soon as I smelled the osmanthus fragrance, I knew it must have been sent from home."
She smiled broadly. Only then did she unfold the letter and begin to read it.
The new content was similar to usual; her mother's letter merely reminded her to wear more clothes in the cold weather, that everything was fine at home and not to worry, and mentioned Gu Pingsheng's recent situation. Only at the end of the letter did she casually mention:
My son loves osmanthus flowers, and the osmanthus trees in the courtyard are in full bloom, so I specially gave them to my son.
Gu Yaoniang had guessed from the beginning that the osmanthus flowers must have been brought over at her mother's request.
Seeing that his mother had also mentioned this matter in her letter, he couldn't help but smile knowingly.
Gu Pingsheng's letter was the thickest, and considering Gu Pingsheng's usual rambling writing style, Gu Yaoniang put his letter last to open.
Her father spoke concisely, without giving her the same instructions as her mother, but instead directly told her about Gu Pingsheng's trip to the capital.
He said he had agreed to Gu Pingsheng's trip to the capital, but things in the capital were complicated, and he estimated that it would take some time for Hualing Academy to complete the formalities.
After Gu Yaoniang has made all the necessary preparations in the capital, she should write home before Gu Pingsheng sets off. The goal is to get him into the academy as soon as he arrives in the capital, rather than letting him get carried away by playing around in Shuojing for a few days and then being unable to settle down at the academy, thus neglecting his studies.
Gu Yaoniang smiled bitterly to herself; her father was indeed as rigid as ever.
In her opinion, one should read ten thousand books and travel ten thousand miles. Gu Pingsheng's studies are certainly important, but he doesn't need to stay in school all the time without opening his eyes to see the world.
Thinking back to when she first arrived in Shuojing, everything she saw and heard was new and exciting. If Gu Pingsheng wants to establish himself in the officialdom after her birthday, she must travel more, see more, listen more, and learn to apply what she has learned.
If one relies solely on what one learns in academies but remains ignorant of human suffering, it is nothing but a mirage and cannot bring any benefit to the people.
Having received his father's permission, he could then go to his second uncle to set the date for Gu Pingsheng's trip to the capital.
Gu Yaoniang took a deep breath and finally opened Gu Pingsheng's letter.
Gu Pingsheng was as verbose as ever, writing down a thick stack of letters, from his observations at the academy to trivial matters at home, as if they were happening right before his eyes, without any literary embellishment, but without any details.
Just by looking at it, one could almost hear Gu Pingsheng's youthful voice ringing in their ears, which seemed to be disturbing their eyes.
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