"Long'er, it's time to get up."
"Sister Liuxu, it's not even dawn yet, what am I doing up so early?"
Liu Xu held Huo Xiaolong in her arms as she dressed him. They would be practicing martial arts soon. Last night, Cen's mother had specifically instructed her to let Long'er wake up with the girls.
Normally, the little girl could sleep until Chenshi (7-9 AM), but she couldn't even open her eyes, and was fast asleep with her eyes closed, letting the willow catkins sway around her.
"Our Long'er is going to study today!"
"Read books, or you won't get ahead."
"That won't do. You're the only illiterate person in our building who can't read."
"Who said that! Sister Mando doesn't know her either."
As Huo Xiaolong said, Manto had no exposure to these things. She was raised by the madam of Fanghualou since childhood and had no contact with books except for dancing.
"Then I will read the mantra with you."
"Sis, can I not study?"
The little dumpling finally woke up, staring longingly at the willow catkins amidst the messy hair. The girl almost blurted out a sentence, but she straightened her expression and said...
"No, you must read it!"
In this world, whether you're a man or a woman, if you can't read and write, you're considered inferior! You'll be easily deceived!
So no matter how much hardship one endures, this is an inevitable path.
Huo Xiaolong pursed his lips. Fine, there's no way to resist now.
When they arrived at the classroom, Huo Xiaolong saw not only Manto, but also Hou Xiangxiang.
What are you doing here?
The little dumpling nudged her shoulder and asked...
"Didn't you want to go to school? My mother brought me here with you." She wasn't fully awake yet; she was still tired.
"You can't read?"
"I know him."
"So what are you doing here?"
"My mom wants me to come with you; she says I'm too idle at home every day."
"Oh, that's what my mom and my mother said too."
—cough cough cough
Zhao Kai cleared his throat a few times. Today, the man was wearing a dark blue robe, and he gently tapped the table with a ruler. His words and actions revealed a refined and scholarly demeanor.
"Your family's manager seems quite authoritative."
"Let me tell you, Uncle Zhao is amazing. He always ranks among the top in the imperial examinations."
"Then why is he in charge here?"
"Why are you so dense? Can't you see anything?"
Huo Xiaolong and Hou Xiangxiang were not intimidated by the sound of the ruler; instead, they whispered among themselves.
"From today onwards, I will be your teacher. As a teacher, I do not expect you to be gentlemen, but the principles of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness should accompany you throughout your lives."
"Sir, why don't you ask us to act like gentlemen?"
"Uncle Zhao, is it because we are women that we cannot act like gentlemen?"
Hou Xiangxiang and Huo Xiaolong sang in unison, and Zhao Kai felt a little itchy to do so. However, he had long promised A Cen to teach his daughter. Even if the two of them were stubborn rocks, they would be stubborn rocks engraved with the Four Books and Five Classics!
"The path to becoming a virtuous person is long and arduous, and I don't want you to suffer so much. Also, Long'er, in the classroom, you must not call me Uncle Zhao anymore; call me Teacher."
"Yes, sir!"
The little girl had a serious expression, which made people want to laugh.
"Can that girl be a gentleman?"
Zhao Kai paused for a moment at the question. After studying for so many years, he had never heard of any woman being able to be a gentleman. However, this was a question asked by Huo Xiaolong. Even if a woman couldn't be a gentleman, she must be one in his eyes!
"Yes, you can, if you want to."
It must be possible. Even if all the gentlemen and scholars in the world say it's impossible, it must be possible for Zhao Kai.
Isn't it just verbal attacks and written criticism? Let's discuss poetry and reasoning.
"Oh my, my Long'er is so cute!"
"That's for sure! Look at that serious little face!"
"Let me see, I'll give you a spot and a few rooms."
Outside the classroom, a group of girls huddled together, peeking through a hole in the window at the little girl inside. Cen's mother and He Yi were sitting at a stone table.
"I wonder if Long'er has angered Mr. Zhao."
"It's alright, even if I offend him, I'll continue teaching him."
The two mothers took the matter of finding a tutor very seriously. There were hardly any talented people around who were willing to teach in a brothel, let alone a scholar who had passed the county-level imperial examination.
At first, they really didn't want Zhao Kai to teach them personally, after all, they were all their own children, and Huo Xiaolong wasn't afraid of him at all, but after looking around, he was the only one who was suitable.
"At birth, human nature is inherently good."
The sound of students reading aloud filled the classroom, which the girls found incredibly delightful.
"Draw quickly and show it to us when you're done."
"How's it going? Can our Long'er memorize the Three Character Classic?"
Zhihua's brush never stopped moving, and she also had to keep talking to her sisters.
"Our Long'er is so clever; she remembered everything Steward Zhao said after just one reading."
Really?
"Okay, come and see for yourself later."
The girls at the brothel weren't the only ones who found it novel; Lu Wangji was too embarrassed to stand with them and look at Mantuo, so he could only listen from afar.
Listening to Mando's reading aloud, the young man's ears turned bright red, as if he were thinking about something.
I should be considered well-versed in the Four Books and Five Classics, so if there's anything Mando doesn't understand, I can ask him later...
And so, Huo Xiaolong spent his days reading during the day and practicing martial arts in the afternoon.
She originally thought that once she came here she wouldn't have to go to school anymore, and that her life now would be exactly the same as when she was in elementary school.
Under the moon and amidst the flowers, the night was as dark as ink, and the bright moonlight poured down, scattering onto the ground, as if it could warm the slightly cool bluestone.
Under the plum tree, Zhao Kai and Cen Ang were brewing tea.
"Ah Cen, do you know what Long'er asked me today?"
"What did I ask you?"
She asked me if a woman could be a gentleman.
"So what did you say?"
"I said yes, I can do it. My child even asked me, how could I say no?"
Cen Ang picked up a cup of tea and looked at the man beside him, saying...
"Since the founding of the Great Yan Dynasty, not a single female virtuous woman has emerged. Therefore, is Zhao Tanhua lying?"
Zhao Kai looked at the moon tonight and thought, "Wow, it's so bright it's blinding!"
"I never lie, Ah Cen."
He took the woman's hand beside him and continued speaking.
Just because it didn't exist before doesn't mean it won't exist in the future.
"Innovation and unconventionality always attract trouble and gossip. Aren't you bothered by the trouble now?"
Zhao Kai was able to come to the border town with her because his personality was not suited to being an official. This man didn't understand the ways of officialdom and even found them annoying.
"Isn't she our daughter? As her godfather, I should always do my part in whatever she wants to do."
"If we're talking about talent, I'm not afraid. It's just that Zhao Kai is currently insignificant and his influence is weak. Ah Cen, if you want to give Long'er a woman who can also be a gentleman, I might have to..."
"Do whatever you want, as long as you're by my side, anything is possible."
Nothing in the world is harder to accept than separation. People spend their whole lives learning the lesson of separation, but most people never learn it, or even want to accept the word.
Yes, the book of separation, no one can truly understand it.
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