When Shen Qingchen arrived, he also saw Xingzi, whose bright yellow color was very tempting.
She had been teaching Lin Yu until now and hadn't had lunch. She was indeed hungry, but thinking of her role as a teacher and the need to maintain composure, she shook her head and said, "Thank you, Auntie. I'm not hungry. Let's continue the lesson."
Xie Huiying withdrew her hand with some disappointment, but after a moment she smiled and said, "It's okay, I'll leave it for now, and you can eat it if you get hungry, Teacher." She seemed quite persistent.
Shen Qingchen remained noncommittal, flicked his sleeves, sat down facing her, and prepared to begin his lesson with a serious expression.
Xie Huiying knew what kind of situation this was, so she sat down properly and looked at the talented scholar who had passed the imperial examination. He was refined and elegant, with a gentle temperament, and was truly in the prime of his life.
"What did you learn at the clan school?" Qingchen asked, needing to assess the students' understanding before classes started.
“I’ve learned a bit of everything, but the teachers at home were all old pedants who taught in a boring way.”
Qingchen guessed that she should have already studied "Admonitions for Women" and "Inner Teachings," and since she liked "Mencius," she said, "I didn't know I was going to teach you before I came here today, and I didn't have time to prepare. How about we start with Mencius?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Xie Huiying interrupted, "Okay, whatever the teacher says is good. The teacher is a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), so his knowledge is beyond question. Unlike my brothers, who couldn't even pass the Xiucai (a lower-level imperial examination) exam."
She rested her chin on her hands and asked with great interest, "Teacher, now that you've passed the imperial examination, are there many people who envy you? And you're so young, do any women secretly flirt with you?"
After asking the question, Xie Huiying blushed slightly. She had always been a straightforward person, but as a noblewoman, she knew proper etiquette and shame. However, she didn't know why, but when facing this person who called her "little aunt," she couldn't help but want to know more about her.
Well, they're relatives anyway, so there's no need for so much formality.
Qingchen hadn't expected such a question, and after a moment of stunned silence, she replied, "...No."
Seeing her slight hesitation, Xie Huiying smiled and said, "I don't believe it. There must be some. You must be too oblivious to notice." She paused and then added, "However, many scholars like you are oblivious; there are plenty of them in storybooks."
"Auntie, let's..." Shen Qingchen was about to get back to the point when Xie Huiying, cupping her face, asked again, "Teacher, have you read a story written by Tang Yireng called 'The Peony Pavilion'?"
"I've seen it. But it's just a story after all, no need to take it too seriously."
"Teacher Qingchen, aren't you moved by the emotions expressed in the story?" Xie Huiying was clearly intrigued and, instead of continuing the lesson, asked, "To stay together, never abandon each other, overcome all difficulties, and remain faithful to one another—this is the most beautiful kind of love in the world. Don't you think so, Teacher?"
As she spoke, her eyes were filled with longing and hope for love.
Overcoming all difficulties and remaining steadfast to the end... If that could be achieved, it would be the best possible outcome. Thinking of her own identity, Qingchen's slightly lowered eyelashes blinked involuntarily.
"Probably. But stories are always beautiful, while life is mostly mundane." Only after saying it did she realize that she wasn't a very romantic person.
Xie Huiying seemed to remember something else and leaned closer to ask, "Will you take concubines in the future? How many will you take?"
"..." Qingchen cleared his throat. "Auntie, it's time for me to start my lesson."
How could a woman like her take a concubine, and what would she use to do so?
Seeing that the teacher looked a little embarrassed, Xie Huiying smiled happily, thinking to herself that she had met him too late. If she had known he was so interesting, she should have visited her cousin's house more often.
After Xie Huiying made a fuss for a while, Qingchen was finally able to start teaching.
Xie Huiying listened attentively, and Qingchen would occasionally interject with little stories or jokes, which always made her laugh non-stop.
Outside the lattice window, the autumn light was just right, and the sunlight shone into the room slowly, casting warmth across the floor.
The incense burner on the high table was burning a light fragrance of lilies, which gradually permeated the books on the desk, and the ink marks of the explanations on the Xuan paper fell down little by little and then dried.
The teacher before her was focused, his thin lips moving as he spoke clearly and calmly, reciting passages from Mencius without missing a single word, patiently explaining them to her with a wealth of knowledge, and making even the most rigid texts vivid and interesting… Xie Huiying watched him, her chin resting on her hand, her admiration growing even stronger.
A man who is born handsome, highly educated, good-tempered, and has a good sense of humor is truly rare.
He was very different from the military generals she usually encountered.
Especially that Mr. Lu from the Lu family, a family friend of ours, he's always so cold and aloof. He's a perfectly normal person, but he insists on acting like a block of ice.
Xie Huiying still remembers that when she first met Lu Shenyun, she was four years old and he was fourteen.
At that time, she accompanied her parents to a banquet at the Lu residence. Somehow, she wandered into the courtyard and saw a proud young man practicing swordsmanship, dressed in a black robe with white trim. The peach trees in the courtyard were in full bloom, their pink petals fluttering in the wind.
At that time, she was wearing a red padded jacket, round and plump, and could barely walk steadily. Seeing him wielding his sword with interest, she approached and asked, "Big brother, who are you?" He completely ignored her.
Many peach blossoms had fallen to the ground, so she grabbed a handful with her small hand and flung them at him. The boy, whose face was red from the sun, finally turned around and said, "Kid, stay away from me."
She was a little unhappy and stubbornly refused to leave, so she squatted down next to him and played with the peach blossoms. After a while, the young man walked towards her, and without saying a word, he stretched out an arm and lifted her up around the waist. After walking a few steps, he put her on a bench in the corridor and then went back to practice his sword.
The four-year-old girl stood trembling on the veranda bench, wanting to get down but not daring to. After standing there for a while, tears streamed down her fair face, and her sobbing was drowned out by the sound of her practicing swordsmanship.
Then, she accidentally fell off the chair, scraping her knee and crying in pain. The boy then put down his sword and hurriedly ran over, his dark eyes blinking slightly.
He was about to reach out and hug her when her mother rushed over. The boy's lips parted slightly, but he didn't say anything; he just lowered his head.
She looked back at him from her mother's arms, and saw the boy still standing there, his face blurred by the peach blossoms.
From then on, Xie Huiying had a particularly bad impression of Lu Shenyun. His increasing indifference in the days that followed only reinforced her negative view of him. The fact that Lu Shenyun remained unmarried became something she secretly gloated over.
He bullied little girls when he was only fourteen; no one will dare to marry him when he grows up. He deserves it!
When it was time for dinner, Qingchen was tired and hungry after teaching all day. Xie Huiying seemed to have not had enough and did not say she was leaving. Instead, she called in a maid and said she wanted to stay for dinner.
After a while, the maid brought in her dinner. Seeing that there was only one set of bowls and chopsticks, she asked in surprise, "Where are your bowls and chopsticks, teacher?"
The maid hesitated for a moment, then said, "Miss, Madam said this morning that the kitchen has not prepared any meals for Young Master Shen."
Xie Huiying understood Lin's temperament and, after thinking for a moment, understood. She smiled and said to the maid, "My teacher has worked so hard to teach me, and she doesn't even eat. How can I eat alone? Fine, take all of this back. I won't eat it; I'll just go hungry."
Seeing the maid's troubled expression, Shen Qingchen quickly said, "Auntie, there's no need for that. I'm not hungry, so please ignore me. You should eat first."
She turned to Qingchen, no longer looking at the dishes on the table, and said very seriously, "Teacher, there's no need to persuade me. I respect my teacher and naturally know what to do. My cousin's family has its own rules, and I have my own rules as well. Since they are rules, we should all abide by them."
Xie Huiying comes from a prestigious family and was pampered from a young age. Although she is not arrogant, she has her own principles.
When a teacher is wronged, a student like her certainly can't just sit idly by.
Seeing that the situation was getting tense, the maidservant hurriedly went to report to Madam Lin.
After a while, Madam Lin came into the room herself. Shen Qingchen quickly got up and bowed.
Without even looking at her, Madam Lin walked straight to Xie Huiying's side and said in a kind voice, "Huiying, if the meal prepared by the kitchen today doesn't suit your taste, just tell your cousin and I'll change it for you. You can't skip meals."
"It's just in time for my cousin to come."
Xie Huiying looked up at her. "It's my fault for being so careless and not explaining things clearly to my cousin. I've asked Teacher Qingchen to teach me, so I'll inevitably have to eat two meals at your house. Since the teacher has worked so hard to teach me, he should naturally eat with me. There's no reason for a student to eat while the teacher watches. I come from a distinguished family and have been taught propriety and integrity since childhood. I would never do anything so disrespectful and disgrace my parents. Therefore, I would like to trouble you, cousin, to prepare meals for the teacher and me in the future. He can eat whatever I eat, and I will cover all the expenses."
Although the tone of these words was gentle, the underlying meaning was sharp.
Madam Lin was quite displeased that her cousin had already sided with Shen Qingchen after only one day of classes, and dared not say anything. She could only awkwardly smile and say, "Look at what you're saying, you're being too formal with your cousin. It's just two meals, why should you have to pay for them? Although my family isn't as well-off as yours, we're not struggling either. My dear sister, just focus on your studies, and I'll take care of all these trivial matters."
Xie Huiying smiled and said, "The money is a small matter; respecting the teacher is the most important thing. In any case, I should do my part. I'll worry about it with my cousin later. Since my cousin didn't prepare a meal for the teacher today, I'll just go home and eat."
Upon hearing this, Madam Lin became anxious. If the Marquis knew that she hadn't even prepared a meal so late, it would be truly embarrassing. So she quickly grabbed Xie Huiying's arm, "How could it be unprepared? It's just that the maid is hard of hearing and misheard. Please sit down properly, and I'll have someone bring your meals up right away. You can go back after you've eaten."
Xie Huiying glanced at Qingchen before nodding slightly with a smile. "Thank you so much, cousin. I'm a little hungry, so please ask the kitchen to hurry up... It's getting late and cold, so please close the door behind you when you leave."
Lin could only smile awkwardly and say, "Okay, okay."
After Lin left, Xie Huiying turned to Qingchen and said, "Teacher Qingchen, don't be afraid, your aunt will protect you."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
