Chapter 373: Finding out the Little Devil's Bottom
Zong Jincheng was listening to his nonsense. This weird old man came and took away Second Aunt's class. Mother would definitely not pay any attention to him.
Who knew that the next second, Xu Wan said: "Okay, I'll go tell the Master of Etiquette to take a month's rest first. Sir, you should also pay more attention to your health. If you feel tired, let other masters take care of you first."
Zong Jincheng: “???”
Mom, you are too used to him!
Su Xi snorted and said, "Why bother? They are just a few brats. I can handle them with one hand."
The little devil rolled his eyes at him.
Weird old man, if you weren’t so famous, who would give in to you?
Su Xi caught this glance again, and he immediately complained to Xu Wan: "Look, I told you that he doesn't need etiquette lessons, but how many people in this world dare to roll their eyes at the gentleman?"
Xu Wan smiled awkwardly, turned to the little devil and said, "Why don't you apologize to the master quickly?"
Zong Jincheng said aggrievedly: "I'm sorry, sir."
Su Xi was as surprised as if she had seen a ghost, and asked back: "Who is she to you? You are so obedient."
The little devil said with a dark face: "My mother!"
You don't even understand this, and you're already making trouble for us!
Su Xi looked at Xu Wan and Zong Jincheng and sighed, "Women in the capital are really well-fed. They don't look old at all."
Xu Wan: “…” Okay, you can just ignore this misunderstanding.
The little devil is happy.
Su Xi felt that she was his biological mother, and must have thought that they looked like mother and son. Humph, this weird old man had good taste. After being comforted, Zong Jincheng lowered his head and began to work hard on his creation again.
After finishing the homework for the ninth time, he finally passed it. The little devil ran away as soon as he got the order. He was almost starving to death after being tortured by the old man. He just wanted to have a big meal.
Su Xi didn't want to eat those big fish and meat, so Xu Wan asked someone to bring the freshly made steamed cakes to the study. It was already dark at this time, and Su Xi was already hungry. He grabbed the steamed cake and stuffed it into his mouth: "As expected, freshly made steamed cakes are the most delicious. The few pieces of dry food I brought with me can make my teeth fall out."
In the quiet study, there were only Su Xi and Xu Wan and Cui Zhi. The old man was eating without caring about his image. Xu Wan asked Cui Zhi to pour him some tea. Then she asked, "Sir, you have suffered a lot on the way. What else do you like to eat besides steamed cakes? I will prepare it for you in advance."
Su Xi said while chewing on a steamed bun: "Just simple food and drink. I am a rough man and cannot eat your fine food. It will upset my stomach. Now go. It is almost midnight. It is hard for a woman like you to stay here with me and starve. It seems that being a mistress in the capital is not easy. She is not as free as me. She would have gone to bed long ago at this time."
Xu Wan took a pancake from the tray and ate with him. Su Xi saw this and complained again: "It's hard to be a mistress. How pitiful, how pitiful."
For a rough man like him who was used to simple meals, eating steamed buns every day seemed like a luxury. But for a daughter-in-law of a wealthy family like Xu Wan, eating steamed buns was probably like abuse. Although Su Xi cursed everything, he understood the world very well.
Xu Wan smiled and said, "The baked cakes are delicious, so why are they pitiful? If I were to guess, would you also like to have a bowl of millet porridge in the morning, and a steamed bun with salted vegetables? If it's the harvest season, you can also add a salted duck egg?"
Su Xi paused while chewing on a pancake. He asked suspiciously, "Aren't you the mistress of the Zong family? I heard that the Zong family is rich enough to rival a country. Have you ever suffered such hardship?"
Xu Wan shook her head and smiled, "If all relatives and friends are here, and everyone is getting along harmoniously, what difference does it make what they eat? They are all food that can fill your stomach, regardless of whether they are high or low quality."
Su Xi laughed and said, "I agree with what you said. In the past, those nobles always gave me houses and money so that I could write poems for them. Humph, what's the difference between this and the prostitutes in brothels? Fine clothes and expensive food are just worldly possessions. They are not as happy as the harvest I get from growing sweet potatoes."
Xu Wan nodded and said, "Not being bothered by worldly things and staying away from the hustle and bustle of the world, so this is why you can write good poems, right?"
Su Xi hissed, "Oh, that's not the case. It's mainly because it's far away. The person who was scolded can't run thousands of miles to beat me up."
Xu Wan: “…”
You are self-aware.
Su Xi finished a steamed bun and drank two large bowls of sweet water before asking, "Tell me, which child do you and Luo Jingfeng want me to focus on teaching? Zong Jincheng? Or Zong Wenxiu?"
After an afternoon of getting used to it, he had memorized the names of these five people. The two brothers surnamed Zong were from the Zong family, and the other three had different surnames. But strangely, there was no one surnamed Luo. Why was Luo so panicked? What did it have to do with him?
Xu Wan replied honestly: "It's Zong Jincheng."
Su Xi snorted and said, "It's that brat, he's a troublemaker and has a bad temper."
Xu Wan tried to make amends for the little devil: "Jincheng is much better now. He just lacked guidance when he was young, and he slowly corrected himself when he grew up. Luo Jingfeng is his adoptive father and has high hopes for him. He hopes that he can get good grades in the autumn examination."
Su Xi frowned and asked, "This kid looks like he's not even twelve years old yet. Has he passed the imperial examination? Is he qualified to take part in the Autumn Examination?"
Xu Wan quickly smiled and said, "Yes, Jin Cheng passed the examination for the boy category last year. Boys are not subject to age restrictions and are eligible to participate in the autumn examination as an exception."
"Tongzilang? Him?" Su Xi felt like she was hallucinating, and the second pancake in her hand no longer tasted good.
He remembered that the Tongzilang class was a nationwide selection of child prodigies, with only 120 spots available each year, and only 360 in three years. Although the Autumn Examination was difficult to pass, there were nearly 2,000 candidates each year, far more than the lower-level Tongzike class.
However, because it is so difficult to pass the test, many people do not know about it, and you rarely hear about who has passed the test and become a Tongzilang.
But that kid... the brat who just stood up to him, passed the exam to become a Tongzilang last year?
Su Xi simply didn't believe it: "Luo Jingfeng bought it for him, right?"
Xu Wan: “…” As expected of a great man, he scolded both the uncle and nephew with just one sentence.
She shook her head and explained with a smile: "Luo Jingfeng only accepted Jin Cheng as his adopted son a few months ago. We were not familiar with him before."
Xu Wan wiped her hands with a handkerchief, went to the bookshelf to find Zong Jincheng's test paper, handed it to him and said, "Mr. Su, you can take a look. This is Jincheng's monthly test paper."
Su Xi was not as particular as Xu Wan. He grabbed the hand holding the pancake and smeared several marks on Zong Jincheng's test paper. Xu Wan quickly looked away to avoid being unable to resist and wanting to say something to him.
The first thing Su Xi read was a policy paper, which happened to be about the flood control of the Yellow River. From blocking to dredging, the pros and cons of each item were analyzed carefully. The combination of the two in the end was so logical that it didn't seem like it was written by a child at all.
He turned to the next test paper, and found that he could recite the Four Books and Five Classics by heart, and his translations and explanations were so accurate that they looked like they were taken from a book. Su Xi took the two test papers and looked at them and said, "The handwriting is indeed his, but he recited the Four Books and Five Classics very well, so why didn't he use a single sentence in his poem?"
He picked up the last test paper puzzled. It was the poem dictation and translation analysis that Jincheng had written earlier. Again, every item was perfect, but when it came to the final poetry writing part, it was like a piece of dogtail grass suddenly being inserted into an expensive, exquisite and priceless vase, and it was showing off to others in an ugly and unconscious way: Look, this flower is the most beautiful in the world!
Su Xi's breath got stuck in his throat and he almost couldn't breathe. He held it in for a long time until his face turned red. Finally, he slammed the test paper on the table and uttered a comment: "He has the nerve to brag about this rotten poem. The birds I raise at home can sing better than him!"