Chapter 7: Just now, they were calling him Xue Yu. The next evening, each room in the Xue Mansion...
The next evening, lights were lit in every room of the Xue Mansion, and parchment lanterns were hung under the corridor. The summer night breeze blew past, swaying and casting a clear light on the ground.
Passing by the courtyard of the third room, I could only hear the sound of women arguing with each other.
After a while, the maids came in a row with silver plates in their hands and went to the third room to set out the food.
The third wife picked up the chopsticks and took a bite of the dish. Xue Jin stood aside, and the maids looked at each other in silence, no one dared to persuade her.
After dinner, the third wife took Xue Jin to the Xue family ancestral hall. By then, Yun Yang was already kneeling on the mat copying the family precepts. There was paper and pen prepared beside them, which was for Xue Jin to copy.
Under Xue Yu's instruction, Yun Yang is about to go to Fengjian Mingyue Hall, the clan school in Xue's mansion, to study. Xue Jin feels even more aggrieved when he hears this.
"Brother," Yun Yang pleaded softly, "Can you tell me when my brother-in-law will return home? When can I see him? I have something to tell him."
Si Qing looked back at the closed door with some embarrassment. The young master was on leave today and had left the house for the Eastern Palace early in the morning.
The matter is that the second Miss Yun is unwilling to go to the clan school. For such a small matter, the young master's words will not change. Even if he runs to the East Palace to inform him, it will be in vain and will only make the young master unhappy.
"Second Miss, please tell me what you want to say." Si Qing said politely, refusing calmly. "The young master is busy with official duties every day, working day and night, and leaving the house before dawn. There is really no need for you to wait here."
Yun Yang came here with one purpose, which was that he didn't want to go to Fengjian Mingyue Hall.
Putting aside the question of whether she was studious or not, the Xue family school was well-known for its strictness in the circle of nobles in the capital. The Xue family treated women and men equally, and all of them had to be taught by Confucian scholars who had studied hard for many years. It was said that the teachers who came to give lectures had to pass the imperial examination to become Jinshi, not to mention the diverse teaching content that was comparable to the six arts of a gentleman.
After Yun Yang inquired about it, he felt as if the sky had fallen.
After being teased by Xue Jin at the calligraphy and painting banquet, she was not unmoved. She worked hard and stayed up late for two nights to identify the masterpieces of calligraphers and painters. She did figure out who Master Qi was and the characteristics of his brushstrokes, but she was almost exhausted.
When she was in Youzhou, the content taught by her family teacher was what all girls should learn, mostly teaching her how to recite poems and write essays. Plus, she was always lazy...
If I went to Fengjian Mingyue Hall to take the imperial examination, I would definitely show my weakness, and who knows how I would be laughed at! Wouldn't that bring shame to the Yun family and my sister?
Thinking of this, Yun Yang raised his eyes to look at the servant. The Xue Mansion had strict rules and administration, and there were no particularly spoiled and domineering servants. But this guy named Si Qing, maybe because he had been with Xue Yu for a long time or something, although he had a smile on his face, he gave people a feeling of polite distance.
Yun Yang had no choice but to continue begging, "Then I'll wait here."
Si Qing nodded, turned and went in.
Until sunset, Xue Yu still hadn't returned home. No matter how patient Yun Yang was, he still felt a little resentful, especially because his legs and feet felt like they were filled with lead, swollen and numb. As dusk deepened, Xue Yu still hadn't returned, and Yun Yang's resentment towards him increased.
This man, when they were all the way back to the capital, he was obedient to her, but now it’s hard for him to even see her. He just said a few bad words about him, and he said it in front of her, why is he holding such a grudge!?
It is wrong to talk about people behind their backs, but isn’t what she said the truth?
"Is he deliberately avoiding me?" Yun Yang walked forward and knocked on the door.
Si Qing looked troubled. "Second Miss, you are worrying too much. The young master does have important matters to attend to. It's getting late. Please go back first."
"How can I go back first? I have to go to the clan school tomorrow, and I don't want to go. I'm his sister-in-law, and I'm here as a guest. Has Xue Yu ever treated me as a guest? Not only did he punish me by making me copy the Xue family precepts, but he also thought I was vulgar and asked me to go to school. Who is he trying to punish?" Yun Yang's frail figure trembled with anger. He was hungry and tired. As he spoke, his eyes turned red. "I came to the capital this time, and I didn't even see my sister. I was even bullied. Xue Yu is a liar and a bad guy!"
Countless young ladies from the mansion, or those who had come to see the young master out of admiration, had come to him. After being turned down, they all left politely without further ado. Si Qing had never seen such a scene before, and for a moment she didn't know what to say. She fumbled and tried to soften her tone, but to no avail.
Yun Yang grew angrier as she spoke. "I'm his sister-in-law. He treats me like this because he looks down on me and us. What's so great about Xue Yu? Who does he think he is..."
At this moment, a clear and cold voice sounded behind her, "Why are you making so much noise?"
Si Qing rushed forward as if she had found a life-saving straw, "Master!"
Hearing the word "Young Master", Yun Yang turned around, held back the tears that were about to burst out, and looked up.
In the darkness of night, a young man in a snow-white robe holds a scroll in his hand, his handsome face carrying a cold, distant and weary expression.
He looked at Yun Yang indifferently.
The fine moonlight passed through the branches of the Luan tree in front of the courtyard gate and fell on the girl. Her skin, as white and fair as the first snow, was faintly tinged with crimson. She was so angry that even the tip of her nose turned red. Her big eyes were sparkling, and she looked delicate and helpless, so pitiful, as if she would cry at the next moment.
But Xue Yu knew that this was an illusion, because a woman like her had nothing to do with being delicate, and would never cry.
They only tease, slander and treat him rudely.
Just now he just called him Xue Yu, not even brother-in-law.
Xue Yu paused, but did not move forward. He just stood there and asked his servant, "What's going on?"
Si Qing spoke quickly and clearly, "Miss Yun Er didn't want to go to the clan school, so she came to the young master early in the morning to plead for mercy. I told her that the young master was not at home, but she insisted on waiting, and has been waiting until now."
Xue Yu looked at Yun Yang and asked, "Why don't you want to?"
Yun Yang was annoyed. Why did he always hear her badmouthing him? She mustered up the courage to hide her guilt, but her tone remained stiff. "The teacher in the mansion has taught me everything a woman should learn. I've also learned some of the paintings of famous artists... I didn't come to the Xue Mansion to study."
Her neck was straight and her eyes were filled with a fierceness that refused to give up.
Normally, the women in front of Xue Yu were either submissive or shy. Although Xue Yu did not like pretentiousness, he could not appreciate Yun Yang.
Not only is he vulgar, but he also refuses to learn.
"Then what is Miss Yun's purpose in staying at the Xue Mansion?" Xue Yu stood with his hands behind his back, his tone light but with an invisible sense of oppression, "Can you tell me?"
“…” Yun Yang was speechless for a moment.
I came to Xue Mansion... to keep an eye on him for my sister. How should I explain this?
And why is it that no matter how angry or unconvinced she is, her arrogance always diminishes a bit in front of him!?
"But have you forgotten what Yun Jia said in the letter?" Xue Yu asked.
“…I haven’t forgotten.” Yun Yang replied in a low voice.
Isn't it just that I have to listen to you in everything?
He actually used his sister's words to pressure her. What a Xue Yu.
"Yes." Xue Yu nodded and glanced sideways in the direction of Fengjian Mingyue Hall. "If your sister were here, she wouldn't object if I asked you to go to the clan school. Do you know the way?"
"I recognize it." Yun Yang said.
"The teacher who will be giving lectures tomorrow is a Hanlin of the current dynasty. Not only is he a scholar of great learning, he has also visited and traveled to the border states of Dazhao. His descriptions of local customs are quite interesting." Xue Yu's voice was clear and persuasive in the fading summer night. "You shouldn't find it boring."
Yun Yang raised her eyes in surprise, "Brother-in-law..."
She has always had a dream of traveling around the world with a sword, and she especially envied the knights in the storybooks who robbed the rich to help the poor, and fought against the strong and helped the weak.
I originally thought that the teachers who came to give lectures were all old-fashioned and mean people, and that the empty and grand principles of Confucius and Mencius they talked about were even more sleepy. I didn't expect that there were also some who talked about local customs and history.
Xue Yu's indifferent gaze moved away from her eyes that were sparkling like a little animal.
Brother-in-law? Didn’t he just call him Xue Yu?
He didn't respond to her, paused, and said calmly, "You mean the women should learn 'Rules for Women' and 'Instructions for Women'? They don't study these in the Xue Mansion's school."
"Go and listen for a few days first. If you really feel you have no energy left, come back and find me."
What does it mean to have no spare energy? Is it that I have the will but not the strength?
Yun Yang felt like he was being secretly ridiculed.
I stood there thinking for a moment, then looked back and saw that the white robe had fluttered and disappeared behind the screen wall.
*
For several days in a row, Yun Yang went to Fengjian Mingyue Hall to attend classes on time. Xue Jin did not make things difficult for her, except for rolling his eyes and speaking coldly to her.
Even when the words became harsh, they would always stop in time.
When Xue Jin wanted to suppress Yun Yang with words, his mother's timid appearance flashed through his mind. His younger brother would be taking the imperial examination this year, and he would need his big brother's care by then. Just a few words of advice might help him jump several places.
What followed was the elder brother's cold gaze, which made people shudder.
Yun Yang wrote down in detail all the interesting points that the Master said.
Maybe I can travel there in the future?
Xue Yu listened to the servant's report on Yun Yang's recent studies.
Si Qing rarely spoke up for others, but the dispute between Second Miss Yun and Xue Jin really gave the servants who had always been treated harshly by Xue Jin a sense of justice. What's more, Second Miss Yun was kind to others and acted efficiently, which made people want to say a few good words for her.
"The second Miss Yun is very studious. She took the initiative to sit in the front row and wrote down everything the teacher said in class on paper. Yesterday, Lord Liu praised the second Miss Yun for her diligence. By the way, she also learned the "Canal Running Script" written by the young master in the past. The second Miss Yun was amazed at the time..." said Si Qing.
Xue Yu paused holding the pen and looked up at Si Qing.
Si Qing's voice lowered, and sweat broke out on his forehead. It turned out that the young master could not hide any bias from him.
"In that case, let's go and take a look." Xue Yu put down his pen, stood up and went to the school.
Back at the academy, the Hanlin who had previously taught local customs was replaced by an old teacher who taught numerology. Not only was the content of the lecture profound and obscure, but he also spoke with a slight accent. Yun Yang was originally dull with numbers, and what he had learned previously in the Yun Mansion was only the basics. After trying hard to listen, he only understood half of it.
I gradually felt drowsy, especially when the afternoon breeze blew across my cheeks, making it difficult for me to keep my eyes open.
While he was arguing with Zhou Gong, he heard the old man call out, "Yun Yang, come and answer."
Yun Yang quickly stood up and panicked. How could he understand this?
The old teacher attached great importance to rules and etiquette, and was even stricter with this student who interrupted him. He was immediately displeased, and the air seemed to be stagnant.
Yun Yang stammered and couldn't answer.
"Is it Master Chen who is giving the lecture today?"
The whispers of the younger generation of the Xue family sitting nearby suddenly stopped, and a tall figure appeared hazily behind the fine sand screen. The voice was cold and pleasant, but it also revealed a strict and oppressive tone, which was more suffocating than the teacher's questioning.
"Yes, is it big brother?" Xue Jiuniang from the Xue family's branch touched Shiyi Niang's shoulder.
Eleventh Lady glanced at her and mouthed, "It should be."
Which woman wouldn't want to see with her own eyes the elegance of Lord Xue as he comes to the capital in a dignified manner?
Not to mention that it was difficult for others to see him, even the Xue girls rarely saw this big brother except during festivals.
The little girls who were chattering before became reserved behind a gauze screen.
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