Chapter 021 Straw Bag

Early in the morning, Yan Yingqi went straight to Xie's place. Xie was asking Yao Niang to drink goat's milk, but Yao Niang covered her mouth and refused to drink: "I don't want to drink, I don't want to drink."

"Be good, just drink one sip, okay?" Xie coaxed.

Yao Niang shook her head: "I just don't want to drink this. It always has a sheepy smell and I can't drink it. Oh, please don't force me to drink it."

Seeing that her daughter refused to drink, Xie was in a dilemma. Her daughter was fine with other things but she just refused to drink goat's milk. She would not pick up her chopsticks even if she said she didn't want to eat bitter melon or eggplant.

Seeing Yan Yingqi coming in, Xie said hurriedly, "Help me persuade your daughter. She refuses to drink goat's milk again. She said she won't drink it even if she holds her nose."

It has to be said that Yan Yingqi's daughters all seem to be somewhat arrogant and unruly, which is also what Yan Yingqi wants them to be like. He himself is a very arrogant person, so he doesn't want his daughters to die for men in the future, or be bought by others for a little favor.

"Yao Niang, drink it. If you drink it, your father promises to take you to the City God Temple for fun this year." Yan Yingqi said with a smile.

Yao Niang couldn't believe it: "Really? You weren't at home during the Lantern Festival in the past two years. You either went to the theater or went to this or that house. You're not kidding me, are you?"

"Really." Yan Yingqi assured.

Yao Niang clapped her hands in great joy. Just then, someone outside said Yan Ningxin was coming. Yao Niang was still wondering why her elder sister didn't come with her father. But when she came in, she stood up immediately.

This was Yan Ningxin's first time to visit the Third House. She had never thought that the Third House also had such a large mansion. She had just heard the interaction between Yan Yingqi and the Third Sister outside, and then she realized that her father was actually very good. In the future, would her father care about her so much?

Thinking of this, she greeted him first, and Xie quickly called her over, saying kindly, "I didn't expect you to come at this time. Why don't you have breakfast here, and then go sit and talk with your third sister."

Yan Ningxin said: "Thank you, ma'am, but I have already had my meal and came here."

"Is that so..." Xie glanced at her husband.

Yan Yingqi asked, "How far have you progressed in your studies? You should have finished the Four Books at your age, right? Do you have any idea which of the Five Classics you want to learn?"

The Five Classics generally refer to "The Book of Songs", "Book of History", "Book of Rites", "Book of Changes" and "Spring and Autumn Annals". Scholars usually choose to specialize in one or two classics, and the only people who specialize in the Five Classics are great people like Xu Shen of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Yan Ningxin choked. She certainly hadn't read the Four Books. Although she knew a few words, she hadn't really learned them. So she pursed her lips to avoid revealing her true feelings, and then she looked at Yao Niang and said, "Where's the third sister?"

"Mr. Yu studies the Book of Changes, but I think the Spring and Autumn Annals is more suitable for me, so I am now learning the Spring and Autumn Annals from Mr. Zou in this prefecture. On weekdays, Mr. Yu also teaches some of the Four Books with Collected Annotations, as well as the Twenty-Four Histories, the Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government, Laozi, Zhuangzi, and Han Feizi. Father and brother both study the Book of History, so if you want to study the Book of History, you can also ask them for advice." Yao Niang thought that except for her fourth sister who could not keep up, her second sister was afraid of trouble and studied the Book of Changes. Now she had to go out every few days, learning the guzheng in the morning and the Spring and Autumn Annals in the afternoon.

Yan Yingqi nodded: "Your third sister is right. I wonder what you learned?"

"I've only read Biographies of Women and Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars." Yan Ningxin felt a little embarrassed.

Yan Yingqi didn't mind and said, "Then ask Mr. Yu more and learn well."

In Yan Yingqi's opinion, it was enough to catch up with what was left behind. Yao Niang also learned superficially back then, but she worked hard to catch up after she came back. Yan Ningxin obviously felt that it was very difficult, but she still said yes.

Yan Yingqi was still very happy: "Okay, next time I'll come to see how you're doing with your studies. I'll leave now."

Xie and Yao Niang also stood up to see him off. After Yan Yingqi left, Yao Niang said, "Big sister, why don't you come sit with me for a while?"

Yan Ningxin declined quickly. She looked at Yao Niang. In fact, she used to be like this, sweet-talking and good at dealing with people. Everyone liked her. But now she came back and became an embarrassing person.

Seeing that Yan Ningxin was unwilling to stay, Yao Niang had no choice but to remind her: "There is a greenhouse in our garden with many flowers blooming. Do you want to enjoy the flowers before going over? At this time, the eldest lady is usually summoning servants to handle household chores."

Yan Ningxin was quite embarrassed just now. Before she came, the Xie family was chatting and laughing, but when she came, Yan Yingqi left without saying a few words. Therefore, she sent two people to take back the gift sent by Xie, and went to the flower room alone. However, she didn't expect that after she entered, she found a young man in a jade-colored robe smelling the fragrance of flowers.

The moment he raised his head, Yan Ningxin seemed to feel that the gloomy sky had brightened.

Zhou Lingguang had never expected to meet a girl here. Her gaze was different from those of the Yan family's ladies. Her gaze was one of admiration and boldness.

"I wonder who the young lady is? She shouldn't be the young lady from the Yan family, right?" Zhou Lingguang asked. The young ladies of the Yan family were almost always surrounded by people when they went out, and they would be very reserved and avoid outsiders like him. It can be said that he has lived in the third room of the Yan family for almost three years, and he has met the third young lady of the Yan family very few times.

Yan Ningxin smiled and said, "No, I am the eldest daughter of the Yan family."

Zhou Lingguang suddenly realized: "So it's you. You are quite different from your sisters."

Yan Ningxin pointed at her own face and said, "We all have a pair of eyes and a nose that can ventilate air. What's the difference?"

Zhou Lingguang found it very interesting and laughed so hard that his stomach hurt. Then Yan Ningxin asked, "What about you? You haven't told me who you are yet?"

After she finished speaking, Zhou Lingguang's eyes flashed with gloom, and he turned around and stood with his hands behind his back: "Me? I'm just an idle person."

Seeing that he was unwilling to say more, Yan Ningxin understood and said, "If you don't want to say it, then don't say it. No matter if you are a peddler or a high-ranking official, everyone in the world has things they don't want to talk about."

Zhou Lingguang felt strange when she said, "You are a young lady, yet you know so much."

"It's just a momentary realization." Yan Ningxin smiled.

Zhou Lingguang pondered for a long time before saying, "My name is Zhou Lingguang. I was originally the son of the Imperial Academy's chief priest. My father offended the emperor and was forced to resign. The emperor was afraid that I might be endangered, so he asked me to come to Minister Yan's residence."

Feeling that Zhou Lingguang was not very happy, Yan Ningxin asked in a low voice: "Are they treating you well here?"

Zhou Lingguang was stunned. He didn't expect her to ask this. After all, Xie's housekeeper was in charge. Xie's share of the salary was the same as Yan Jingzhao's, and he was very polite to him. But the people below him couldn't help but gossip. He had to use part of his monthly salary to take care of the servants, so his life was certainly not going to be very good.

But not only did the Yan family take him in, but everyone else was very good to him, so he couldn't just complain about it.

"The Yan family has been very kind to me." Zhou Lingguang vaguely recalled the past, his eyes drifting into the distance.

Yan Ningxin was about to say something when she heard her maid calling her. She apologized to Zhou Lingguang and left. After Zhou Lingguang waited for her to leave, he suddenly felt a little cold.

**

It snowed again in winter. This was the last time I went to school this year because Yan Jingzhao and Yan Jingzhang’s wedding was coming up, and then it was the New Year.

When Yao Niang met Ying Niang on the road, she found that she was wearing two hand warmers and couldn't help but teasing her: "Is it so cold? You will be warm after walking for a while."

"It's cold, of course it's cold. Third sister, I heard that my third great-aunt arrived last night, why are you coming to school today?" Yingniang didn't know whether she was mocking her or what.

Yao Niang smiled and said, "My grandmother is still sleeping at this time. Today is the last class, how can I not come?"

After the two of them went in, they saw Xin Wan coming and said she was a rare guest.

Xin Wan was afraid of the cold a few days ago and didn't dare to go out. Now that she looked well, she said to them, "I heard that there are new people here?"

"Yes, even the elder sister wants to study with us." Yao Niang said with a smile.

Qianniang came in and laughed after hearing this: "The ones trained in this palace must be better than us. I really want to see them for myself."

Everyone had the same idea. Even Yao Niang thought Yan Ningxin was just pretending to be humble. She had to see her real talent. Ying Niang pouted. She was the youngest and had the hardest time learning. Now that someone with outstanding knowledge had come, she was being suppressed again.

Mr. Yu first talked about "Han Feizi". After finishing, he smiled and said, "This is the last time we will study in the school this year. I see that the camellia outside our study is still blooming bright red. Why don't you write a poem with camellia as the theme?"

"Sir, I thought you could arrange the article." Yao Niang smiled.

Writing poetry was not difficult for her, Xin Wan was also very good at it, and she wanted to show her ability. Qian Niang was also an average poet, but she was best at calligraphy and painting, so she was most worried about Ying Niang.

When everyone finished writing and were waiting for Mr. Yu to comment, they suddenly discovered that Yan Ningxin, whom they thought was the best, had written a lot of mistakes and even her handwriting was not very good.

This was embarrassing. Mr. Yu also glanced at Yan Ningxin and found it unbelievable.

Yingniang burst out laughing on the spot: "Big sister, what did you write? And why is your handwriting like this?"

She was happy that she finally had someone to cushion her back, but Yan Ningxin blushed and was very angry. Yaoniang knew that Qianniang had always been weak and cautious, and Xinwan was a guest after all. Therefore, Yaoniang said, "Let's not talk about this for now. The day after tomorrow, my eldest brother will get married, and the new sister-in-law will come in. The Guan family's dowry will be delivered soon, let's all go and see the excitement."

After changing the subject, Yan Ningxin looked much happier.

After coming out of the school, Yan Ningxin went to find Yao Niang to thank her. Yao Niang smiled and said, "It's nothing, we are all sisters. But, Dad once said that the girls in our Yan family are not the kind of family that is afraid of girls having ambitions, so they hide all the poems, books and articles in the house and let them concentrate on housework. We must understand the meaning of books and classics, so that we can not only support ourselves in the future, but also understand the truth of things and distinguish right from wrong. In the future-"

"Not only can you teach your own children, but you can also teach others in your clan and be respected."

Yan Ningxin only felt that her future was bleak, but Yao Niang was suspicious of her sister. How could a princess who was raised in a royal palace be such a fool? Could she be a foreigner?