Lin Yu obediently sat down, and because he had received an interesting book he had never seen before, he became engrossed in it and quietly read the book.
All I could see was a gourd tree painted on it, with seven flowers blooming on a gnarled vine. At first, they were bathed in sunlight, but after a short while, they were battered by wind and rain, yet they still bloomed in full glory.
Turning to the second page, one sees an old man wearing a straw hat and with a white beard, watering the gourd tree every day, ladle by ladle. Soon after, seven small gourds appeared under the flower, hanging in a row on the vine, swaying gently in the breeze.
Later, with the old man's careful care, the gourds grew bigger and bigger. One day, the largest gourd split open, and a little baby jumped out!
The little child, with an endearing clumsiness, stretched out his chubby little hands, like lotus roots, and hugged the old man, sweetly calling out twice, "Grandpa, Grandpa."
Lin Yu turned to the next page, only to find it blank except for the words written by Teacher Qingchen: "Our bodies, hair, and skin are given to us by our parents; we dare not damage them. This is the beginning of filial piety." — *The Classic of Filial Piety*
Seeing that he had read this far, Qingchen read the sentence to him and said, "This sentence means that our bodies and hair are all given to us by our parents. Realizing this is the beginning of filial piety. Just like the Calabash Brothers in this painting, it was only because the old man watered them every day that they were able to grow into human beings. After they were born, they called the old man 'Grandpa,' which means recognizing their father. This is the beginning of filial piety."
Lin Yu listened attentively to her words, and nodded afterward, his eyes shining. He resembled Shen Qian somewhat, and today, unlike his usual mischievous self, his face looked even more like Shen Qian's, with a hint of the refined and elegant features inherited from his second uncle.
The difference is that he is still young, and he will likely have a long period of youthful vigor ahead of him.
Lin Yu continued flipping through the booklet, and Shen Qingchen didn't stop him. He turned a few pages, engrossed in reading, until he saw the Calabash Brothers growing up day by day and developing a special ability to move mountains and boulders, and even help the old man. Suddenly, the booklet came to an end.
He looked up at his teacher, somewhat reluctantly, and asked, "Teacher, is that all?"
Qingchen shook his head. "Of course there are more. But look, this Calabash Brother is a filial son with immense strength. If you want to know how he helps his father live a better life later, you'll have to learn what the Classic of Filial Piety teaches. Also, there are seven gourds on this vine, and only one Calabash Brother has been born so far. There are six more to come. Each of these six has their own unique abilities. Would you like to know what they are?"
Lin Yu opened his big eyes and nodded vigorously.
Qingchen pushed the Classic of Filial Piety in front of him, "Then let's learn the first two chapters today. If you can recite these two chapters from memory, I will show you the illustrations for the rest next time."
The exciting story that followed hooked Lin Yu's heart. He glanced at the first two chapters of the Classic of Filial Piety, and it didn't seem to have too many words. After thinking for a moment, he agreed.
He used to be lazy and didn't even know how to write some characters. Qingchen would write those characters for him stroke by stroke, and he would try to copy them. Because he inherited Shen Qian's intelligence, he didn't make any mistakes, but because he hadn't written much, his handwriting wasn't very good.
Qingchen thought for a moment, then took his small hand holding the pen, and gently tucked his sleeve with her other hand, guiding him to write slowly. Just like Song Yue had guided her in writing before.
Lin Yu witnessed another skill of his teacher today and couldn't help but admire him. He was also looking forward to seeing the sequel to the Calabash Brothers story as soon as possible, so he behaved well, staring intently at the ink flowing on the paper and memorizing each stroke.
After he finished writing, Qingchen asked him, "Is it finished?"
The bright-minded boy nodded. "Yes."
Qingchen handed him the pen, saying, "Then you can write it yourself."
Lin Yu took the pen, smoothed the paper with his small hand, and buried his head to start writing again.
Qingchen couldn't help but look out the window. A cloud drifted across the sky, obscuring the sun, and the light filtering through the window became weak and pale.
When she held Lin Yu's hand just now, Lin Yu's obedient and dependent manner made her vaguely feel a silent teacher-student affection, which reminded her of her own teacher.
I wonder what Teacher Song is doing now.
Before she knew it, she had known him for almost three months. He had asked her if she dared to debate with Xu Silin after entering the court, what she would do if she couldn't make ends meet with her salary, and what she would do if she claimed to have done something she didn't. He had gone to the Embroidered Uniform Guard to ask for Ming Xiang for her, helped her join the Wang family, taught her to write, and even washed dishes for her... Three months is clearly a short time, yet he had already taught her so much and done so much for her.
Qingchen felt a pang of emotion, realizing how fortunate she was to be his student, even though he had punished her mercilessly.
She looked out the window, slightly raised her head, and followed the sunlight shining through the clouds.
Regarding the punishment, she understood her teacher's intention perfectly; she knew he was trying to make her experience the cruelty of the imperial court. Every choice inevitably comes with a price, and facing the turbulent political landscape, she needed a strong heart.
One day, she too will need to pierce her own frail body and grow sharp horns to fight off malice.
Lin Yu was writing intently when he suddenly coughed. Qing Chen stood up and poured him a glass of water.
At the same time, Song Yue left Emperor Zhu Rui's Qianqing Palace.
Zhu Rui was pleased because he had handled several government affairs well recently, and specially rewarded him with some things that he could use in the winter. The eunuchs from the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs followed behind him carrying the rewards.
As he descended the stone steps, the cold wind of the changing seasons blew his robes, but his face remained radiant and fair under the sunlight.
Upon returning to his office in the cabinet, the fifty-year-old Grand Secretary Zhang saw the reward and remarked, "Grand Secretary Song has received another reward from the Emperor."
Grand Secretary Xu Yan glanced at the book and put it down, saying, "Grand Secretary Song has truly surpassed his teacher." After saying that, he got up and walked towards the door, patting Song Yue on the shoulder as he passed by.
After everyone left, a "tsk" sound rang out in the hall. Another Grand Secretary, who was over fifty years old, said, "Grand Secretary Zhang, are you confused? It's not appropriate to say that in front of Grand Secretary Xu."
Grand Secretary Zhang immediately realized that Xu Yan had risen to the position of Grand Secretary by flattering the emperor, but now Song Yue was gaining the emperor's increasing trust, which naturally made some people feel uneasy.
Just then, someone delivered a letter to Song Yue. Song Yue accepted the letter, ignored the two old men whispering amongst themselves, and went outside to read the letter.
The letter came from a disciple of the School of Mind, named Zhao Qiran, who was also a top scholar in the imperial examinations and is now serving as the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief in the Censorate. In the letter, he said that he would be returning from Guangxi in a few days and wanted to organize a gathering of the School of Mind, asking if Song Yue would be available to attend.
Song Yue was the leader of the Jiangyou School, but because he was busy with government affairs, some matters within the school were delegated to certain people to organize, and Zhao Qiran was one of them.
The gathering is planned to be held in Tongzhou, and there will be about several dozen people attending, including many officials from the Six Ministries and Nine Courts.
Song Yue closed the letter, her mind drifting to Shen Qingchen. She had just joined the Wang family, and this was a perfect opportunity for her to get to know everyone.
Tongzhou isn't far; a day trip is possible. If everyone is still eager for more, they can stay overnight at most. However, the weather will get cold in a few days, and if it snows early this year, we might even catch the first snowfall of the season.
Should we take her with us?
...
"Teacher, I'm tired."
While Qingchen's thoughts wandered, Lin Yu stopped writing after a while, probably because he felt that Qingchen's attention was not on him, and he found writing boring.
After speaking, he got off the chair, went to Qingchen, and pressed his two small hands on her knees. "Teacher, I'm tired. I'll write again next time."
The child had never been so close to her before. Looking at his face, which bore a resemblance to her second uncle, Qingchen felt a pang of tenderness. After a slight hesitation, she decided she should maintain some of her teacher's authority and hardened her heart: "No. We agreed that if you can memorize these first two chapters, you can read the rest of the story next time."
Upon hearing this, Lin Yu blinked, then buried his head in her lap and nuzzled against her affectionately, saying, "Teacher, I wrote a lot today, more than usual."
Qingchen gently patted his head, "No! Hang in there a little longer."
Lin Yu then raised his head and said with a slightly aggrieved expression, "Okay."
After lunch, Xie Huiying arrived as expected. She wore a magenta plum blossom patterned jacket, a moon-colored pleated gauze skirt, and a thin satin cloak draped over her back. She walked with a light and quick gait.
Madam Lin specially set up a west-facing warm pavilion for Shen Qingchen to teach, and also left a maid to serve Xie Huiying.
Once inside, Xie Huiying took off her thin satin cloak and saw that Shen Qingchen was wearing a blue cloth dress with white trim, looking slender and refreshing. She smiled and said, "I live far away, so I'm sorry to have kept Teacher Qingchen waiting."
After finishing her lesson with Lin Yu, Shen Qingchen waited for her here. Since she had nothing else to do, she took the opportunity to tidy up Xie Huiying's writing desk, setting out the brush and inkstone, grinding the ink, and laying out the paper, which was then weighed down with a paperweight.
Now that she had finally arrived, she straightened her sleeves, went up to her, nodded, and greeted her, "Little Aunt."
Xie Huiying couldn't help but laugh when she heard this form of address.
“You’re my teacher now, why do you still call me that? Logically speaking, ‘teacher’ is a sign of respect, and you should change how you address me. But for some reason, I just love hearing you call me that. Fine, from now on I’ll call you teacher, and you can still call me Auntie, okay?”
Qingchen nodded. "Okay. Let's begin."
Xie Huiying responded, then noticed a maid standing beside Qingchen. She waved her hand at the maid, saying, "You can leave now. We don't need you here. I'm here to learn from Teacher Qingchen properly, so I don't need to do anything and don't need to serve you."
After the maidservant closed the door and left, she strolled to the desk, looked at the neatly arranged writing implements, and asked with delight, "When I came in earlier, I saw you busy at this table. Were all these prepared for me?"
Shen Qingchen, worried that the ink would dry out, rolled up her sleeves and ground it a couple more times. "Hmm. I have nothing to do either, so I'll prepare it while I wait for my aunt. My aunt's residence is far away, so I don't want to take up too much of your time."
Xie Huiying's joy was palpable. She took out a golden fruit from her sleeve and handed it to Qingchen, saying, "You're such a good teacher!"
"These are apricots I just picked in the yard. I've tasted them, and they're very sweet."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
