What is this child thinking? The Song family mansion is no different from a dragon's den or a tiger's lair. Shouldn't we try to avoid it as much as possible? Why are we going there instead?
Zhou Laoda and Zhao Guihua were anxious. The county magistrate was right in front of them, and they couldn't find a chance to talk to their daughter.
Zhao Guihua's mind raced, and she immediately said, "That won't do. It would be inappropriate for a whole group of you to go to the Song residence. Since you insist on staying with your brothers, then you can skip the martial arts lessons and just study at home..."
But Zheng Qingshu interrupted her halfway through her sentence, "Madam, there's no need to be so polite. Just treat Qingfeng and Jiaojiao as family. The children can get along well in the future. A few more people won't make a difference. Let's settle this matter then. How about we send the children to the Song residence to study tomorrow?"
What else could they do? The magistrate had already made the decision, leaving them no room to refuse. What could they do but agree?
This Magistrate Zheng really went to unnecessary lengths, adding unnecessary details. Since he had already decided that all the Zhou family's children should go and accompany Young Master Tie, he could have just sent an official to issue the order. Why did he have to pretend to come and talk to him in person?
The problem is that the talks were essentially meaningless; the outcome was already decided, so they just came to put on a show, which is truly frustrating.
Watching the county magistrate and his entourage leave, Zhou Laoda and Zhao Guihua both clicked their tongues in displeasure.
"Sister and brother-in-law, why are you both so tense? What are you worried about? I don't think this is a bad thing. Whether it's a good thing or not depends on the situation." Zhao Guizhi had overheard a bit of what was going on and roughly knew what had happened.
Hearing her sister's contradictory words, Zhao Guihua became even more worried. "That Miss Song has a bad temper. Although she was polite just now and seemed to have genuinely admitted her mistake, wealthy families are not easy to deal with. Who knows if she's just saying one thing and doing another?"
"Don't think it's just a simple matter of gratitude. We already gave them two thousand taels of silver when they received the medicinal ingredients, which repays all the favors. There's no need for further repayment. Besides, we wouldn't dare claim to have done that Iron Prince a favor. It's a clean transaction. For a man of the magistrate's status to personally come to our door wanting to befriend us—this just doesn't seem right."
Zheng Qingshu, who was also puzzled by what seemed amiss, said, "The Zhou family doesn't seem very bright. They're turning away the benefits that are offered to them. Being able to take classes and learn martial arts with Qingfeng and Jiaojiao is a rare opportunity that many people would kill for, but they act like they're going to their execution. I just can't understand their thought process."
Zheng Yue also looked bewildered. "The Zhou couple are a bit stupid. We were trying to help them, but they thought we were trying to harm them."
"But this is good too. At least the other party is not the kind of family that likes to climb the social ladder. The Zhou family's little girl is also clever and cute, unlike other farmers' children who are dressed in tattered and dirty clothes."
When Zheng Qingshu entered the Zhou family's house, he took the opportunity to look at the Zhou family's children. The five boys were about the same age as Qingfeng, but each one was taller than the last. Two of them were particularly tall and strong, and they were in good spirits. If Qingfeng spent more time with them, his personality would become more cheerful.
Because Tie Qingfeng's health was not yet fully recovered, and due to the disaster in the north, fearing an accident on the way back to Beijing, Lord Tie advised Tie Qingfeng to recuperate in Yegou Village before returning to Beijing, and preferably wait until the disaster situation in the north stabilized.
Since his maternal uncle was serving as the magistrate of Lishan County and he had many guards protecting him, Lord Tie was not worried about his son's safety. Therefore, Tie Qingfeng would likely stay in Yegou Village for two or three years.
Zheng Qingshu felt that it was too lonely for Song Jiao to keep him company. Besides, the two of them were getting older and couldn't always be alone together. It wouldn't sound good if word got out. Thinking about how much his nephew had suffered over the years and how mature and reserved he was, Zheng Qingshu wanted to find some lively people to play with him.
I hope to influence him and help him regain some of the innocence that a child should have.
Originally, Master Song wanted his nephews and nieces to come and keep Tie Qingfeng company, but Zheng Qingshu had someone investigate the children in the Song family. Although they were well-educated and could be considered well-mannered, they were either too dull or even more willful and unruly than Song Jiao.
Tie Qingfeng had once subtly complained to Zheng Qingshu that Song Jiao was too noisy and prone to temper tantrums, which he found exhausting to deal with. Song Jiao and Tie Qingfeng had a fairly good relationship, but he disliked people he was on good terms with. He figured his nephew would be even more unable to tolerate someone he had never met making a scene in front of him.
After searching around, Zheng Qingshu felt that the Zhou family's children were the most suitable. Although it felt a bit like bullying to force them to come over, what he valued was that the Zhou family was of humble origin, and the Zhou family's children were not unruly or unreasonable. They had attended school for a few months this year and he heard that they were doing quite well.
What his nephew needs is the companionship of peers and people who can make him happy. The Zhou family's children, out of consideration for their status, naturally dare not do anything out of line in front of their nephew and will generally tolerate and accommodate him, which he thinks is appropriate.
Tie Qingfeng did not refuse his uncle's kindness. He was indeed quite lonely. Due to his health condition, he had never liked to interact with other people his age before, but now he wanted to experience it.
Having stayed at the Chen residence for a long time, Chen Shunping and Zhao Guizhi were able to deduce some things from it.
“I think the magistrate just wants to find some companions for his nephew, afraid that the young master Tie will be too lonely and have no one to play with. He knows that Dafu and the others are all sensible and of low status, so they will definitely not dare to cause trouble when they go to find them. They will just obediently stay by the young master Tie’s side,” Chen Shunping said thoughtfully.
"Although the magistrate used us, we can also use them. The tutor the magistrate hired for his nephew is definitely not an ordinary person; his knowledge is certainly higher than that of Master Gu."
The children can also learn some self-defense skills. Since the county magistrate has spoken, they can't refuse. They just need to be careful not to anger Young Master Tie and Miss Song. In this matter, we won't suffer any losses.”
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