Chapter 18: Master Baili's Retribution
If Zong Jincheng, who was trying to help out of good intentions, knew what his half-brother was thinking at the moment, he would probably run as far away as he could, crawling all the way.
Although the two were talking about going to the study, their steps were actually towards Aunt Hong's courtyard. The young man was full of energy and did not even blush or get out of breath when he got there. However, surprisingly, Xu Wan was outside Aunt Hong's door, listening to the court doctor talking about her condition.
"Hong Yi Niang is suffering from tuberculosis. The slums are dirty and messy, and many people suffer from tuberculosis. And to cure this disease, you need a famous doctor and a lot of medicinal materials. People in the slums obviously don't have these conditions, so they can only wait to die silently."
When the court doctor spoke, he looked at Zong Wenxiu. This bastard who had been living outside must have seen too many people dying of tuberculosis in the slums.
Zong Wenxiu's face turned pale. Of course he remembered it, which was why he knelt in the rain and begged Xu Wan when his mother was seriously ill.
Xu Wan was only a little puzzled: "Why didn't the old lady tell me when she was in the mansion?"
Given the old lady's character, she would definitely not refuse to ask the imperial physician to treat them.
Everyone looked at Zong Wenxiu, even Zong Jincheng felt something was wrong. Could there be some unspeakable secret?
Zong Wenxiu closed his eyes and said awkwardly, "Because my mother said her illness could not be cured, instead of wasting my grandmother's energy, it would be better to make her feel guilty, so that she could take me... take me to her hospital and teach me carefully."
Aunt Hong had a very good plan.
She was even willing to give up her own life to fight for a future for her son, but unfortunately her son was very filial and disrupted her plans.
Zong Jincheng stood aside, deep in thought.
Originally he should have been unhappy, because if Aunt Hong's plan succeeded, his half-brother would always snatch some of his favor from his grandmother.
However, he seemed to be a little jealous of this kind of relationship, jealous that his half-brother had a mother to plan for him.
The more the little devil thought about it, the more suffocated he felt, and he kicked the stones randomly.
The court doctor suddenly called out, "Master Cheng..."
"What?" the little devil asked unhappily.
Can't you see he's upset?
The court doctor said weakly, "You kicked my foot."
Zong Jincheng: “…”
Doctor Yu came very quickly, so quickly that Zong Jincheng suspected that he had flown here, and he had no doubt at all that Xu Wan had sent someone to invite him long ago.
After the imperial physician diagnosed Aunt Hong, although he had not diagnosed this disease for a long time, she quickly recovered and started writing a prescription.
"Take this medicine three times a day on time. You will see improvement in three months, and then the government doctor will be able to treat you."
"Thank you for your concern, Imperial Physician." Xu Wan thanked him with a smile, and motioned Cuizhi to slip a bag of silver over to the Imperial Physician and send him out of the house.
The maids in the courtyard were busy preparing and cooking medicine.
Xu Wan said to Zong Wenxiu: "Go and study without worry. I will take care of you here and will not let anything happen to your mother."
Zong Wenxiu thanked with red eyes: "Thank you, madam."
Young people are the most grateful. He, who was supposed to go to the study, turned around and looked at Zong Jincheng, looking like he was determined to help his younger brother study hard.
Zong Jincheng: “…”
My half-brother’s eyes are so scary, I really want to run away.
The little devil took a half step back subconsciously.
Xu Wan raised her eyebrows and said coldly, "Some people wouldn't want to break their promise to me, would they? But he's just an eight-year-old kid. So what if he doesn't keep his word? Even if I call him a dishonest bastard every day, he won't feel embarrassed."
The untrustworthy little bastard: “???”
Zong Jincheng shouted angrily: "Who broke his promise? Who is the little bastard?"
Xu Wan said nonchalantly, "Of course it's whoever doesn't keep his word is the bastard."
Zong Jincheng was provoked, glared at her and said, "Study if you want, tell me, how long do you want me to study!"
He just didn't believe that Xu Wan would let him study till the end of time!
Xu Wan held her chin with one hand while looking the little devil up and down. The brat had a look of indignation and was extremely proud. If she asked him to study for three years in peace, he would probably not agree.
Her gaze turned to Zong Wenxiu, and an idea suddenly came to her mind.
Got it!
"Don't accuse me of making things difficult for you. I'll just set a small goal for you: just pass the Wenxiu exam. He has only been in school for a few months, and he grew up in a slum, so he has been exposed to much less than you. And with your intelligence, Master Cheng, you should be able to surpass him soon, right?"
Xu Wan praised Zong Jincheng in various ways during her conversation, making her very happy.
He raised his chin proudly and thought to himself, that was indeed the truth, he would definitely surpass his half-brother in a few months at most.
Seeing that he was getting nervous, Xu Wan gave him another drastic measure: "If you can keep up with the progress of Wen Xiu, I will return your money and servants to you, and guarantee that you will not interfere with me for the time being while you are working hard to surpass Wen Xiu."
Zong Jincheng became excited when he heard this.
The decision was made immediately: "Deal!"
The two men stretched out their palms and struck each other in the air, completing the agreement of the century.
In the years that followed, whenever Xu Wan thought of this moment, she felt it was very memorable.
The place where the two of them studied was naturally arranged into a large study. The study was originally used by the young marquis Zong Zhao, and now it seemed spacious for the two children to use.
When the old marquis and his wife heard that the little devil was willing to study, they invited Baili Xi, a highly respected teacher in the capital, to teach in their mansion overnight. This old teacher was also Zong Zhao's private teacher.
On the first day of class, Lao Fuzi conducted a baseline test.
When examining Zong Wenxiu, the old man's eyes were all smiles as he praised the boy for his hard work and rapid progress.
When examining Zong Jincheng, the wrinkles on the old man's brows almost pinched ten mosquitoes to death. This little devil answered questions irrelevantly. Not only was he ignorant, but he also pretended to know everything.
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After only teaching for half a day, the old teacher wanted to look up to the sky and sigh, thinking that those people were jealous of him for teaching Zong Zhao, a man who was both civil and military, and who became the top scholar in the imperial examination and made him famous in the capital.
As a result, looking at the naughty child below now, he really feels that retribution has finally come. There is no such thing as good things coming one after another in this world.
"Jincheng, your foundation is too poor. The most urgent thing is to lay a good foundation. These are the introductory books I have selected for you. You should memorize them in the next few days."
Zong Jincheng sat in his seat, looking at the bowl-high book left by the old man, and suddenly realized that something was wrong...
He immediately turned around and asked Zong Wenxiu: "Have you memorized all of these?"
Zong Wenxiu nodded: "Don't think these books are thick, but the content is easy to understand and memorize. You can finish memorizing them in five days."
The little devil sneered: "Do you think I believe it?"
“…”
Zong Jincheng, realizing that something was wrong, finally asked the crucial question: "How many books have you memorized in the past few months?"
Zong Wenxiu said with a stiff face, "More than a hundred."
In fact, he actually memorized more than 200 books, but seeing his brother's eyes getting uglier and uglier, he decided not to tell the truth.
As expected, Zong Jincheng was so nervous when he heard this that he finally realized that he was on Xu Wan's pirate ship again. He took a deep breath and forced a fake smile: "So how many pages of books can you recite every day now?"
"Ten... ten pages or so."
"Very good." Zong Jincheng closed the book in front of him, signaled Shunzi to close the door, and blocked the study door tightly to ensure that not even a fly could fly in.