Chapter 10

Feng Yuanyuan served tea to Master Xu Hong, formally completing the ceremony of becoming his disciple.

There were many classrooms in Moxuan, and ten-year-old Zhou Ling and seven-year-old Zhou Jiao, being at different levels, would usually study in separate classrooms.

Xu Hong first assigned Zhou Ling his tasks before bringing Feng Yuanyuan to Zhou Jiao’s side.

“Teacher, is she going to study with me?”

Upon seeing Feng Yuanyuan, a hint of excitement swiftly appeared on Zhou Jiao’s handsome little face. He thought that having a companion would make studying more interesting.

Xu Hong saw through his thoughts at a glance and solemnly said, “So what if she does? When in the classroom, you should focus on studying and practicing calligraphy, no whispering or fighting allowed.”

Zhou Jiao replied, “Teacher, you worry too much. How could I possibly fight with a girl?”

As he spoke, he smiled brightly at Feng Yuanyuan.

Being of similar height to him, Feng Yuanyuan glanced at Zhou Jiao’s arms that were not much thicker than hers. She had no worries that Zhou Jiao would bully her.

“Alright, choose a seat for yourself.”

Xu Hong sat at the front lectern and instructed Feng Yuanyuan.

The classrooms had three columns and five rows of desks and chairs. Due to the limited number of Zhou’s children, only the middle table in the second row was occupied by Zhou Jiao.

“You can sit here.” Zhou Jiao pointed to the table on his left, inviting her warmly. It was the closest one and convenient for conversation.

However, Feng Yuanyuan, holding the bookcase prepared by Weiyun, sat directly in front of Zhou Jiao, the closest spot to Xu Hong.

As Xu Hong flipped through a book, he looked up and met her gaze.

Feng Yuanyuan took out the four treasures of the study from the bookcase and carefully arranged them. She couldn’t discern the quality of the brush, inkstone, and ink, but the rice paper prepared by Weiyun was as smooth as jade, emitting a faint scent of paper. It was evidently a rare and valuable item.

Feng Yuanyuan not only liked it but also treasured it immensely.

Many common children didn’t even have the opportunity to attend a private school, so she considered herself fortunate to be able to sit in such a bright classroom and have such an impressive teacher.

After preparing everything, Feng Yuanyuan looked at Xu Hong with anticipation.

In his eyes, Xu Hong saw a child’s yearning for learning, pure and sincere.

At that moment, Xu Hong suddenly didn’t mind that his new disciple started her studying late. As long as one is diligent in learning, it is never too late to enter the sea of knowledge, even with white hair.

“Zhou Jiao, recite the ‘Thousand Character Classic’ you have learned from beginning to end.”

Zhou Jiao stood up with a bitter expression, “It’s so long? We used to be randomly tested on a few sections.”

Xu Hong said, “I told you to recite, so recite. Don’t complain.”

Zhou Jiao scratched his head, glanced at Feng Yuanyuan, and began reciting.

The boy’s voice was crisp, with ups and downs in tone. The first few sections went smoothly, but gradually, he started stuttering, and Xu Hong’s expression worsened.

“While I teach Yuanyuan, you should silently recite. Later, I’ll recheck, and if you can’t recite it, you’ll have to copy it three times.”

Zhou Jiao:…

Xu Hong ignored him and looked at Feng Yuanyuan, beginning to explain the process and content of the “Thousand Character Classic.”

Feng Yuanyuan listened attentively.

“The first sentence, ‘The universe is vast and boundless,’ means…”

Understanding the meaning, she still needed to learn how to write.

Xu Hong personally demonstrated to Feng Yuanyuan how to hold the brush and grind the ink, among other basic knowledge.

During the hour-long lesson in the morning, Feng Yuanyuan immersed herself in the first sentence of the “Thousand Character Classic,” reciting and practicing writing.

Having started doing household chores at a young age, such as washing clothes, sewing, chopping firewood, and cooking, she had developed nimble fingers and strong wrists.

Coupled with her natural intelligence, her handwriting improved significantly. In the final writing session, her handwriting was no worse than Zhou Jiao’s!

Xu Hong felt like he had found a treasure, holding Feng Yuanyuan’s calligraphy practice book in one hand while stroking his beard, smiling. “Excellent, excellent! A child worth teaching!”

Feng Yuanyuan said, “Teacher, can you teach me the second sentence as well? I’ll practice it on my own after I go back.”

Xu Hong chuckled, “Certainly, but haste makes waste. Moderate progress is sufficient; there’s no need to rush.”

Feng Yuanyuan humbly took note.

The teacher and student continued their instruction, while Zhou Jiao propped up his chin, staring at Feng Yuanyuan with a dumbfounded look. How could someone be so eager to learn?

Outside the door, Wei Yun and the eldest son, Zhou Ling, had quietly approached and were silently observing.

After Feng Yuanyuan copied the second sentence once and received some guidance from Xu Hong, he left first.

As soon as he left, Zhou Jiao immediately exclaimed, “Feng Yuanyuan, you really never studied before?”

Feng Yuanyuan nodded.

Zhou Jiao said, “I don’t believe it. You must be lying!”

Feng Yuanyuan didn’t care whether he believed her or not and simply packed up her bookcase.

Wei Yun smiled and took it from her, leading her back to the main courtyard.

First, they went to Taoran Hall to put away their belongings and wash their hands and faces, then they headed to Fengyi Hall to pay respects to Princess Huarong.

Wei Yun happily praised Feng Yuanyuan in front of Princess Huarong, “Princess, you didn’t see it, but at first, Master Xu wasn’t very happy to accept our county princess. But after one lesson, Master Xu looked at our county princess with more satisfaction than he did at the eldest son! Look, this is the county princess’s first attempt at copying, and this is the latest one!”

She presented two calligraphy practice sheets to Princess Huarong.

Princess Huarong glanced at them and then looked at Feng Yuanyuan.

Feng Yuanyuan blushed slightly from Wei Yun’s praise, unsure if she was truly that skilled.

At that moment, Princess Huarong casually set the calligraphy sheets aside and casually said, “Your progress is alright, but your writing is only at the level of an ordinary seven-year-old. There is nothing to be proud of.”

Wei Yun immediately couldn’t smile anymore.

Surprisingly, Feng Yuanyuan was more accustomed to Princess Huarong’s attitude. She remained calm and wasn’t disappointed or ashamed.

Princess Huarong said, “Let’s eat.”

Lunch was still plentiful. Feng Yuanyuan had recently recovered from a serious illness and was in a growth period. She ate two bowls of rice, and as for the dishes on the table, she ate everything that Princess Huarong wasn’t interested in but happened to be her favorite. Feng Yuanyuan ate everything clean.

Her movements were delicate, but eating so much, especially for a girl, would definitely be discouraged and criticized in a prestigious family.

Princess Huarong’s upbringing didn’t allow her to eat like this, and logically speaking, she couldn’t accept seeing people around her eating like this.

However, Feng Yuanyuan enjoyed it so much, savoring every bite, even the ordinary grains of rice in the bowl were a delicacy to her. Princess Huarong didn’t stop her.

What else mattered?

Even as a princess, born noble with impeccable manners, in the end, she became a pawn for appeasing frontier princes on behalf of the court.

She couldn’t even protect herself. Even if she raised Feng Yuanyuan into a true county princess, what use would it be?

It was better to let this child follow her own wishes and do what she liked.

Feng Yuanyuan noticed Princess Huarong’s gaze.

She looked at the last remaining Four Meatball on the plate, a small meatball about the size of a walnut. Pausing for a moment, she gathered her courage and said, “Mother, this meatball is really delicious. Please try it.”

It must have been her enjoyment that piqued Princess Huarong’s interest.

Feng Yuanyuan looked at her with sincere eyes, as if missing out on this meatball would be a great loss.

Princess Huarong was amused by her silly appearance and, as Feng Yuanyuan wished, took the meatball.

The chef was a palace chef given to her by the Emperor as part of her dowry, and the home-cooked dishes prepared by the palace chef were also delicious.

The small, exquisite meatball was golden in color, with a savory broth and tender texture.

Having eaten the meat, Princess Huarong also had some soup.

“Mother, try this sour bamboo shoot fish. The fish is delicious, and the shoots are especially fresh. They’re much better than the ones I used to dig in the mountains.”

“You dug bamboo shoots too?”

“Yes, there are many bamboo forests on the mountain, and there are new shoots to dig all year round. But the shoots near the foot of the mountain were almost all dug up by the adults, so I had to go further into the mountains.”

“Weren’t you scared to go into the mountains by yourself?”

“Not scared. I always went during the day.”

As Feng Yuanyuan reminisced about her bamboo shoot digging adventures, Princess Huarong also took a few bites of the tender fish and tangy bamboo shoots.

Weiyun and Yingyue, who were serving on the side, exchanged glances and chuckled quietly.

After the meal, Princess Huarong belatedly realized her unusual behavior.

She put away her smile and said to Yingyue, “Bring them over.”

Yingyue stepped back and, shortly after, brought four maidservants, two older and two younger ones.

The older ones were named Huaping and Hualou, originally secondary maidservants to Princess Huarong but now assigned to Feng Yuanyuan as her senior maidservants.

The younger ones were named Qixi and Babao, the same age as Feng Yuanyuan, and would serve as her study companions and playmates.

This also meant that Weiyun would return to Princess Huarong’s side and would no longer attend to Feng Yuanyuan personally.

Feng Yuanyuan felt a bit reluctant, but fortunately, she was no longer unfamiliar with the Prince Zhen Nan Mansion and no longer overly reliant on familiar faces.

“Thank you for your reward, Mother.”

“Hmm, you may leave. Rest early, as you have lessons in the afternoon. You must be attentive.”

She didn’t expect Feng Yuanyuan to become a complete noblewoman, but she had to learn everything she needed to learn.

Feng Yuanyuan was full of anticipation for this.

.

Taoran Hall had a living room and a study.

Originally, there was no one here, and the study was vacant. But in the past few days, Princess Huarong had someone quickly arrange it properly.

She was a princess, married to a local influential nobleman. Whatever she wanted could be done with a word.

After bidding farewell to Princess Huarong, Feng Yuanyuan hurried into the study and sat at the desk, facing the second sentence of the “Thousand Character Classic” for copying.

Huaping came over and advised, “County Princess, you are so studious, but you should also take care of your health. The princess will worry if you overexert yourself.”

Feng Yuanyuan didn’t even lift her head. “I’m not tired.”

She had only studied for an hour in the morning, feeling relaxed as if she were playing. She didn’t feel tired at all.

Now that she had mastered the second sentence, she could directly learn the third sentence from Master Xu tomorrow.

Since Zhou Jiao had learned so much already, if she studied with him, she could catch up with the curriculum earlier and save Master Xu some trouble.

The little girl’s face was filled with the words “she wants to practice calligraphy,” and Huaping looked at Hualou with difficulty.

After some thought, Hualou compromised, “Then the county princess can practice for another two quarters of an hour and rest for two quarters. Otherwise, she might feel tired for the afternoon class.”

Finally, Feng Yuanyuan nodded.

After the break, Feng Yuanyuan went to Moxuan with Qixi and Babao.

In the afternoon, there were two classes. The first one was arithmetic for both her and the Zhou brothers, so Feng Yuanyuan still studied with Zhou Jiao.

In the second class, Feng Yuanyuan learned painting on her own, while the Zhou brothers went to the martial arts field.

For generations, the Zhou family had guarded the southern border, and every male member of the family was skilled in martial arts. For them, proficiency in martial arts might be more important than learning etiquette and literature.

As the sun set, Feng Yuanyuan finally finished today’s lessons.

“Are you tired?”

The evening weather was cool, and Princess Huarong had the maidservants move a rattan chair to the shade in the courtyard. As she gently fanned herself, she asked Feng Yuanyuan.

“I’m not tired.”

Feng Yuanyuan replied absentmindedly, mainly because Princess Huarong looked so beautiful. Even if she lazily leaned against the rattan chair and fanned herself, it left her mesmerized.

In the past, Feng Yuanyuan used to run to tea houses with the children on the street to listen to storytelling. In those stories, there were often scenes where talented scholars were amazed by the beauty of fair ladies. They would use all sorts of flowery words to describe their beauty.

At that time, Feng Yuanyuan thought it was all made-up by storytellers. It wasn’t until she met Princess Huarong that she believed it was true.

Princess Huarong could see that Feng Yuanyuan was absentminded.

If a man stared at her like this, he would likely have already been punished. But with Feng Yuanyuan, her innocent and genuine admiration actually pleased her.

“Am I beautiful?” Princess Huarong smiled.

Feng Yuanyuan blushed.

Princess Huarong picked a purple grape and handed it to her. While Feng Yuanyuan ate it, Princess Huarong gently lifted her little face with her fan, scrutinizing her for a moment before saying, “When you grow up, perhaps you will be even more beautiful than me.”

Feng Yuanyuan instinctively shook her head. How could that be true? She didn’t dare to even think about it.

Princess Huarong didn’t argue with her. Time would prove everything.

Of course, both she and Feng Yuanyuan had to live until that time.

Just as this thought crossed her mind, a tall figure appeared in the corridor.