Chapter 123

Old Master Cui has already passed the age of seventy, his head full of white hair.

He started from scratch and experienced the ups and downs of changing times. He spent his whole life working hard for the family business.

More than ten years ago, after suffering a stroke, he handed over the heavy burden of the family to Cui Wuniang, finally getting some leisure time.

In these past two years, his health has improved a lot, but he still cannot overexert himself.

So, he usually spends his days meeting old friends, drinking tea, fishing, and enjoying a leisurely life.

Usually, by this time when he returns home, he asks if the children have come back, then he should prepare to rest.

Today, he specially summoned Cui Fei, obviously with something on his mind.

When Cui Wuniang passed by, she heard Old Master Cui asking inside, “When I was fishing this afternoon, I met Old Man Li. Why did I get the impression that you haven’t been to the perfectual school lately?”

Old Master Cui has relieved himself of the heavy burden of the Cui family for many years, but his authority still remains.

Except for Cui Wuniang, no one dares to defy him.

Not to mention that Cui Fei, who grew up by his side, has received his ‘education.’ Even if questioned, he dare not argue.

Although his attendants have not accompanied him to the school, they still assist him in getting on and off the carriage every day.

Seizing the opportunity, one of them explains, “Old Master, please understand, Young Master went there yesterday and today!”

Old Master Cui slammed the table, “Yesterday and today? Then it’s the day before yesterday, and the day before that… he didn’t go?”

Cui Fei hung his head in despair, not daring to utter a word.

Seeing him like this, Old Master Cui became even angrier. If it were about ten years ago when he was younger and stronger, he might have directly punished Cui Fei for not being ambitious enough.

Cui Wuniang knocked on the door and entered, explaining, “Grandfather, don’t be angry. I was the one who asked for a day off for Fei. If you’re upset, direct it towards me. Don’t strain your own health.”

Of course, Old Master Cui knew that Cui Wuniang was calling the shots for Cui Fei. Cui Fei’s mother had passed away years ago, and Cui Wuniang truly treated him like her own son.

But now Cui Wuniang was the head of the family. Besides favoring Cui Fei a bit more, she didn’t make any mistakes.

Old Master Cui couldn’t bring himself to scold her, so he addressed Cui Fei directly.

“Don’t think you’re doing him any favors by doing this!” Old Master Cui huffed, “He’s eighteen, not eight!”

Cui Wuniang stood behind Old Master Cui, massaging his back to calm him down. “Grandfather, let’s think about today’s matter. Old Man Li and you have never gotten along. Normally, you two don’t even acknowledge each other when you meet. So when he came specifically to talk to you about Fei, was it not to provoke you?”

Thinking along her lines, Old Master Cui realized it might be true.

The Cui and Li families both ran bookstores. Cui’s was established by him when he was young, while Li’s was an inherited family business from the previous dynasty.

Old Man Li had been at odds with him for half his life. As Cui’s bookstore gradually outshone Li’s, especially after Cui Wuniang took over, the scholars in the city only recognized Cui’s bookstore, not Li’s.

Seeing Cui’s descendants not living up to their potential should have made Old Man Li happy.

So why would he kindly remind him?

Frowning, Old Master Cui thought for a while but couldn’t figure it out, so he subconsciously looked at Cui Wuniang.

Actually, though Cui Wuniang sensed something was amiss, she couldn’t figure it out immediately.

Finally, Cui Fei spoke up, “It seems to be about what happened at the perfectual school today.”

The two who had teased Cui Fei in the cafeteria were Zhang Shuo, a burly figure, and Li Rufeng, who seemed conciliatory but actually deliberately called him unpleasant nicknames in public, was Li’s eldest grandson.

The two teasing Cui Fei didn’t succeed, instead, they intimidated Mei Ruochu, causing him to retreat and lose face.

This morning, something else happened. Li Rufeng’s homework didn’t pass muster, so the professor sent him back, not to redo it, but to think about where he went wrong.

Once he figured it out and made the necessary changes, then he could attend the professor’s class again.

Normally, the professor wouldn’t punish students like this, but this time, his face was dark, clearly extremely dissatisfied with Li’s work.

Li Rufeng didn’t dare to ask too much but scratched his head trying to figure it out. After consulting with classmates who were usually friendly with him, he still couldn’t understand where he went wrong.

During lunch break, he found Mei Ruochu and asked him for advice.

Mei Ruochu glanced at him a few times and said, “Your essay indeed has significant problems. The professor punishing you is for your own good.”

Li Rufeng felt as if a pardon had been granted and quickly asked Mei Ruochu to explain in detail so he could rewrite it during lunch break and attend the professor’s class in the afternoon.

Mei Ruochu nodded, then said, “I’m helping you out of the camaraderie between classmates. But I don’t want to help someone who bullies his classmates blindly.”

Then Mei Ruochu laid out his conditions.

“Yesterday, at the cafeteria, Wei Shu asked around and found out that the nickname ‘Fatty’ was given by Li Rufeng, and he usually leads others in teasing me. I advised Wei Shu not to cause trouble because of me, but it just so happened that he ran into this situation today. I demanded that Li Rufeng apologize to me in front of all our classmates and promise not to engage in factionalism or bullying in the school again before I would help him. Li Rufeng, who is very concerned about his reputation, naturally refused. When lunch break ended, he still hadn’t figured out what was wrong with his essay. Since the professor’s class was in the afternoon, he went home. I suspect he went home to complain to his family…”

Old Master Cui’s anger intensified upon hearing this. “That darned Old Man Li, he’s never crossed swords with me in his whole life, and his son, who runs the family business, has never crossed swords with your sister… A useless bunch, instead of reflecting on themselves, they dare to vent their anger on you? Giving you a nickname? How come you never came back to tell us?”

As he spoke, he looked at Cui Wuniang again. Cui Wuniang obviously didn’t know everything that Cui Fei had experienced at the school.

She thought he was simply unable to withstand the scrutiny of others’ eyes. Little did she know that at the school, under the instigation and leadership of Li Rufeng, Cui Fei had encountered such things!

Cui Fei’s head drooped even lower, but soon he lifted it again and said, “I was wrong before. I used to think that since Old Man Li had never crossed swords with you and his son had never crossed swords with Sister, it wouldn’t happen to me. But now his grandson bullies me, and I have to rely on our family to stand up for me. Isn’t that embarrassing for you and Sister? Now I know I shouldn’t have thought like that. I can’t let them bully me just because they outnumber me. I might be chubby, but that’s not a reason for them to make fun of me. From now on, I won’t let them get to me! I’ll still go to the perfectual school every day. If they find me annoying, that’s their problem.”

Old Master Cui scolded him today out of tough love, wanting him to improve.

Seeing him finally not as timid as usual, he nodded and said, “You shouldn’t provoke trouble, but you shouldn’t be afraid of it either. That’s what our Cui family’s sons should be like!”

Cui Wuniang gave Cui Fei a meaningful look and said to Old Master Cui, “Fei will go to the school tomorrow. It’s getting late; you should rest.”

Old Master Cui nodded and let him go first.

After he left, Old Master Cui said, “Regarding what Fei said about Wei Shu and Mei Rou, send someone to find out. If they are willing to stand up for our Fei at the perfectual school, we should thank them properly.”

As he spoke, Old Master Cui paused, pondering for a moment, then continued, “If… if they really don’t look down on our Fei, then we should ask them to take care of Fei a bit at the Perfectual school. We’ll remember this favor, and we’ll repay it properly in the future.”

Old Master Cui knew that Cui Fei had a formidable friend like Mu Yunchuan before.

Later, Mu Yunchuan even passed the imperial examination and specifically invited Cui Fei to his home for a feast.

But at that time, Cui Fei hadn’t come back to mention the fact that he was being teased and made fun of at the school.

In contrast, those few people he had just learned about today seemed to be more open-hearted towards their own chubby grandson.

“I was just about to tell Grandfather about this,” said Cui Wuniang.

So Cui Wuniang told Old Master Cui about Cuiwei’s situation.

Before, Old Master Cui would have hesitated, considering that he knew nothing about it and would worry about his not-so-healthy grandson being left in the academy.

Besides, he had never heard of Cuiwei Academy before, and it wasn’t well-known.

But now, with Mei Ruochu and the Wei brothers being prominent figures at the Perfectual school, they naturally became the living advertisement for Cuiwei Academy.

Not to mention that the Mu family had produced Mu Yunchuan, who had achieved high honors in the imperial examination. The Mu family was undoubtedly a genuine scholarly family.

Cui Wuniang also knew that Cui Fei’s obesity was a concern for Old Master Cui. Among all the younger generation in the family, Old Master Cui had never intervened in their upbringing, except for Cui Fei.

She even brought up the successful weight loss of Mu Er Pang, saying, “Fei mentioned to me before that he could get along with Mu Yinchuan because Mu Yunchuan’s younger brother was much fatter than ordinary people from a young age, and they shared some common experiences. But guess what? Not long ago, I met Mu’s second son — the one called ‘Er Pang.’ He has nothing to do with the word ‘fat’ now!”

Old Master Cui immediately became interested. “Do they have some kind of secret recipe?”

Cui Wuniang thought that Shen Cui didn’t seem like the type to hide secrets, but in order to persuade Old Master Cui to agree, she deliberately teased, “There must be, but they can’t tell outsiders, can they? But if Fei joins Cuiwei Academy, he’ll be one of their own. I know you’re worried about him just like me. Since there’s a vacancy at Cuiwei for a handyman, I’ve arranged for Ah Yao from our household to go there. I’ve told you about her before; she’s the most grateful person and has taken care of Fei for these years as if he were her own. She also knows a bit about medical science. With her taking care of him, Fei definitely won’t go astray.”

Cui Wuniang valued Cui Fei even more than Old Master Cui did. Since she could suggest this, she must have thoroughly investigated Cuiwei.

After thinking for a while, Old Master Cui nodded and said, “Then let Fei go. After all, he’s usually cooped up in his room. Since Cuiwei’s students get along with him and genuinely care about him, let him give it a try… Whenever you have time, go over and check on him.”

So Cui Fei’s enrollment was quickly settled.

After it was settled, Cui Wuniang went to inform Cui Fei.

He had been scolded by Old Master Cui earlier and was still feeling a bit down in his room.

When he heard the news, he was so pleasantly surprised that he almost couldn’t believe it.

Cui Wuniang’s heart softened, and she chuckled as she lightly patted him. “Don’t just be silly with joy. It’s the first time you’re going to someone else’s house. Let me remind you of a few things. Listen carefully and don’t do anything that will get you sent back.”

Cui Fei quickly composed himself and listened attentively.

The next day when he went to the perfectual school, Cui’s family had already sent his luggage to Cuiwei.

The scene was quite grand, with dozens of people in the procession, much larger than when the Wei family sent him off.

Cui Wuniang was too busy to come personally today, so Ah Yao led the group.

Shen Cui was somewhat worried, not because she thought the Cui family was troublesome, but because Cui Fei’s health was not good, and he came from a wealthy background, so it was normal for him to bring more luggage.

However, the rooms where the children usually stayed—two bunk beds had already been set up, but it seemed like they wouldn’t be able to accommodate so much stuff.

Another empty room would need to be arranged.

Ah Yao explained, “Madam, the young master’s luggage is just one box. I’ll be working here in the future, and if he’s missing anything, I can bring it to him the next day. These people are all here to work.”

What kind of work?

Just the other day when Cui Fei came for a meal, Mu Er Pang had already taken him to visit the classrooms.

The second time, he took him to visit the bedrooms.

Seeing the double-decker bunk beds, Cui Fei was fascinated. Seeing his envy, Mu Er Pang asked if he wanted to sit on it.

Cui Fei naturally declined, considering his body shape, but he asked, “I’ve never seen this type of bunk bed before. Is the lower bunk okay? Is the upper bunk convenient?”

Mu Er Pang assured him that it was, saying, “I’m young, and my brother is weak. Mei and Wei take care of both of us. They usually sleep on the upper bunk… But it’s definitely not as convenient as sleeping on a kang bed at home.

Have you ever slept on a kang bed?”

Cui Fei said he hadn’t, only read about it in books.

They chatted for a bit, and Cui Fei unexpectedly remembered this after he went back.

Today, he wanted to move over, knowing that two bunk beds wouldn’t be enough, so he arranged for the Cui family to come over and set up a kang bed.

This way, Mei and Wei Shu wouldn’t have to climb up and down all day.

The craftsmen sent by Cui Wuniang were all experienced, but it still took them a whole day to set up the kang bed, and then it needed to be burned for several days to dry completely before they could sleep on it.

However, they had a unique method.

They started burning in the morning, and by evening, it would be ready for sleeping.

Shen Cui felt softened after understanding the situation.

No wonder Cui Wuniang cared so much for him—

Even though others treated him poorly and bullied him at the perfectual school, making him suffer, he never mentioned a word when he got home.

Otherwise, considering Cui Wuniang’s temperament, if she knew what he had been through at the school, she would have found a way to stand up for him long ago.

But one inconvenience for others was that even if someone mentioned something in passing, he would silently remember it and try to help resolve it.