When Yuxi saw that Teacher Song disagreed with the suggestion, she looked at Qiu Shi with eager eyes.
Qiu Shi smiled and said, "Teacher Song, this child is very eager to learn and wise. She had finished learning the «Three-Character Classic», the «Hundred Family Surnames», and the «Thousand-Character Classic» in less than a month. Teacher Song, please give this girl a chance! If she lags at that time, needless to say, she will give up by herself."
Teacher Song was somewhat surprised.
As Qiu Shi noticed that Teacher Song started to lose up a bit, she quickly said, "If Teacher doesn't believe me, Teacher can test her."
Qiu Shi was the Mistress of Duke Han of the State residence, so Teacher Song had to give her some face. She then said to Yuxi, "Fourth Miss, if you can answer my question, I will promise to teach you."
Yuxi answered frankly, "Okay."
Teacher Song looked at Yuxi with her self-confidence and said, "Diligence at start indeed is fine (dǔ chū chéng měi); completeness at ending, duly grand, (shèn zhōng yí lìng); Glorious works as the foundation (róng yè suǒ jī); no limit to one's reputation (jí shèn wú jìng); Studies superior, step up to serve (xué yōu dēng shì); be given your duties, join government's work (shè zhí cóng zhèng)..." She paused here and looked at Yuxi.
Yuxi understood that Teacher Song wanted her to continue. She thought about it for a while before opening her mouth, "Alive, under a sweet pear tree (cún yǐ gān táng); gone, in a song of eulogy (qù ér yì yǒng); Music distinct by social rank (yuè shū guì jiàn); rites according to prestige (lǐ bié zūn bēi)..."Yuxi recited all the following contents in one breath.
They both were reciting a part of Chapter 3 of the Thousand-character Classic.
Teacher Song nodded and said, "Write two words for me to see." This child had good talent, and she didn't know how the people she had asked to inquire about the Fourth Miss had been ignorant of this. They even said that the child was stupid and unreliable.
Yuxi wrote four big characters for 'Heaven rewards diligence1'.
When Teacher Song saw Yuxi's writings, she straightened her back, focused her eyes, and nodded secretly in her heart. When she saw the characters Yuxi wrote, they were correct, although they were not good–looking. She said, "It will be tough to learn from me. You are still young and do not need to suffer from it."
Yuxi said firmly, "As long as Ma'am gives me a chance, I will learn it well." Yuchen was the last disciple taught by Teacher Song in her previous life. After teaching Yuchen, Teacher Song bowed out of her career. Of course, Yuchen did not lose her reputation because of it either.
Teacher Song said lightly, "Self-confidence is good, but overconfidence is arrogance."
Yuxi accepted the criticism modestly. "Ma'am, I will pay attention to it later."
Teacher Song nodded, "If you can't keep up with the learning process and drag everyone back, I won't show you any mercy."
This warning made Yuxi look up at Teacher Song fiercely as she vowed, "I won't hold anyone back." She would never let such a thing happen. Even if Teacher Song could not admit her as a student, she would still want to go through the first few months of classes.
After agreeing to accept Yuxi as a student, Teacher Song told the Old Lady, "Old Lady, you know my rules. No one is allowed to raise any objection during my teaching period." If everyone told her what to do, she would not be bothered to continue teaching.
Old Lady Han didn't want to agree, but in the end, she said, "Of course." The so-called 'strict teacher produces an outstanding student' showed that the students taught by Teacher Song, even those girls who had not managed to become talented women, still had a good reputation in the end. Most importantly, she invited her for Yuchen's sake. She was very sure that she would be satisfied with her.
After that, Qiu Shi personally took Teacher Song to Magnolia Courtyard. Meanwhile, all four Han Residence Young Misses, including Yuxi, returned to their respective courtyard to prepare for the afternoon class.
Magnolia denudata, known as the lilytree or Yulan magnolia (simplified Chinese: 玉兰花; traditional Chinese: 玉蘭花; pinyin: yùlánhuā; literally: "jade orchid/lily"), is native to central and eastern China. It has been cultivated in Chinese Buddhist temple gardens since 600 AD. Its flowers were regarded as a symbol of purity in the Tang Dynasty and were planted on the Emperor's palace's ground. It is the official city flower of Shanghai. - Wiki
Image credit: Stevelarese
Image credit: Stevelarese
Magnolia Courtyard was located in the west. The atmosphere was tranquil, with various trees planted all around the property, and the name Magnolia Courtyard was also due to several Magnolia trees planted in the yard.
Teacher Song was very satisfied with the arrangement of the courtyard. When she entered the room and looked at the elegant layout inside, she was even more satisfied, "It must have been hard for my Lady."
Qiu Shi just smiled and said, "As long as the Teacher likes it."
After seeing Qiu Shi off, Old Woman Ding beside Teacher Song said unhappily, "Ma'am, why did you promise them? Even Fourth Miss, with so little talent, is stuffed under your care. They said that Ma'am would only teach the Third Miss." She grew up with Teacher Song from a young age and had been with her all these years.
Teacher Song's face relaxed a lot when only two people were left in the room, and she was no longer as strict as before. She said, "Don't worry." Although Yuxi was so confident, Teacher Song did not think Yuxi could hold on. It wasn't that she despised her, but she was too young for her class. She definitely wouldn't stand those sufferings.
Old Woman Ding felt troubled in her heart, but she also knew that she had to agree to some degree when her Master started to do things for others. She said, "Ma'am, don't take any more jobs after teaching the Third Miss. The money saved over the years is enough for us to live a good life!"
Teacher Song smiled and said, "Let's talk about it later. Don't worry."
Meanwhile, Mama Shen was thrilled when she heard that Teacher Song had promised to let Yuxi follow suit, "Miss, when you go to school, you must study hard. It is good for Miss to learn well."
Yuxi smilingly said, "Mama, rest assured. I will seriously learn." It didn't matter if you looked at Teacher Song more or less; one could clearly see that she was indeed a scholar. She must learn as much as she can from her class! After waiting for a few months, she dismantled the double-sided embroidery and studied the stitching of the double-sided embroidery. Yuxi looked back at her life. Her dark past life came into her mind, and her face instantly turned pale.
Mama Shen felt the change in Yuxi and asked, "Miss, what's wrong?"
Yuxi shook her head and said, "Nothing. Mama, please leave! I want to take a rest." Whenever she thought about things, she was reluctant to have people around her.
Yuxi took out the double-sided embroidery from the cabinet and looked at it in a daze. Why did she study double-sided embroidery stitches? If she fell into the situation of her previous life, what about her unique embroidery skill? Would this skill save her from trouble? No.
A noob translator, きつね, translated this noob translation. Please read this chapter at xin-shou.site. If you read this in another location other than the site stated, it has been taken without the translator's permission. Please don't support this kind of act.
When it was time for lunch, Mama Shen went into the house and called Yuxi. Not long after lunch, Yuxi took Moju to Magnolia Courtyard. Since Ziyi's incident, Yuxi had acted indifferently to Hongshan.
From Rose Courtyard to Magnolia Courtyard, one had to go through the central garden of the state residence. Therefore, this was the first time Yuxi had visited the place since she was reborn.
The rockeries and the curved bridge in the state residence were astonishing. The scenery was spectacular, deep, and serene, especially the view of stone peaks or accompanying auspicious trees of other courtyards, which could be seen from all directions. The posture was exquisite and peculiar. It was pretty impressive that you could even enjoy it by lying down, and when people entered the gully, they would feel like they were visiting some famous mountains.
Moju looked at Yuxi and saw that her face was not looking good. She asked carefully, "What's wrong, Miss?" Moju felt very uneasy when she noticed the worried look on her Miss.
Yuxi shook her head and replied, "Nothing." She was still young and had enough time to learn how to protect herself, but she had to plan what she should know.
When approaching Magnolia Courtyard, Yuxi saw Yuchen and her four maids. Speaking of which, she wondered that Yuchen had always been indifferent to her in her previous life but treated her very well this time. Of course, this was much better compared to her past life.
Yuchen walked up to Yuxi, frowning, and said, "The sun is so hot. I don't know if I should let the maid carry another umbrella." Yuchen's personal servant girl, Shishu, was opening a green oilcloth umbrella to shield her from the sun!
Yuxi smiled and said, "No need to worry about me."
Yuchen did not know why Yuxi was ignorant. "The sun is poisonous. Not to mention heatstroke, your skin will easily darken if you get too much sun."
Yuxi said casually, "It's okay. I'm still young!"
Yuchen sighed slightly, which was too much of a pity for herself. However, she looked at Yuxi's indifferent face and was no longer entangled with the matter. "Why do you only take such a little thing?" She couldn't see anything else besides a box in Moju's hands. It was not huge, either. Just by looking at it, you would know that there was not much that could be put inside.
Yuxi scanned the three maids behind Yuchen. Each of them was holding a big box. There were a lot of things. "I only brought the four treasures of the study room and other utensils. Other things, I think Ma'am will undoubtedly prepare it." Yuxi only carried a brush and ink with her inkstone but no paper.
Just as she spoke, Yuru and Yujing also arrived.
Yuru greeted them and smiled gently.
Yujing stared at Yuxi and said, "Your life is already hard enough, as you just survived smallpox." Her mother was placed under house arrest because of this lowly girl. She must pay for this revenge.
Yuxi felt inferior and weak in her previous life and got scolded by Yujing for her hard life. She endured it all. But now she knew the truth: good people were bullied, good horses were ridden, and retreating step by step would only let everyone bully you to the end. "I can heal not because my life is hard but because my mother protects me from heaven!" With that, she glanced at Yujing and said with a smile, "Ah, why didn't Er Jie2 wear new clothes and jewellery today?" Yujing usually liked to dress herself up beautifully. They must wear new clothes when receiving visitors at home or socialising, but today, she wore an old dress.
Yujing was angry. This lowly girl dared to ridicule her before she returned her mother's revenge. But before she could respond, her personal maid, Yunqi, whispered, "Miss, this is Magnolia Courtyard. It would be bad if Teacher Song saw this." Her Miss was so much older than the Fourth Miss. If they quarrelled with each other, her Miss would be the one people said to be with no reason in her mind. If this scene fell into the eyes of Teacher Song, she would indeed feel that her Miss was not friendly with her sisters. It was not good for Miss to leave such a bad impression right away.
Yujing had some misgivings to continue, so she immediately gave Yuxi a hostile glance before they continued moving forward.
They saw several Magnolia trees as soon as they entered the Magnolia Courtyard. Magnolia bloomed in the third and fourth months, but the flowers had now withered.
When they entered the Magnolia Courtyard, a maid led them into a room. The room was spacious and well-lit, with a long case at the top and four desks and chairs at the bottom.
Yuchen picked the front position on the left.
Yuxi went to the table positioned in front on the right. However, before she could sit down, Yujing walked up to her and said, "You sit at the back."
Yuxi firmly said, "No. I can't see anything if I sit at the back."
Yujing didn't care so much about that. She directly pushed her away to sit on the chair.
Yuxi sneered and said, "Er Jie2, you snatched my congee early this morning, and now you're snatching my seat. Do you like snatching other people's stuff so much?" Picked a persimmon with a soft pinch3, but she was not a soft persimmon right now.
Yujing did not expect Yuxi to dare to ridicule her. She snorted coldly, "I like it. What can you do?" Yuchen was the apex of the Old Lady's heart, so she didn't dare to provoke, but Yuxi...she hadn't put her in her eyes. Moreover, she and this cheap girl still had a bill to calculate.
Footnotes Full List
- (tiān dào chóu qín) Chinese idiom meaning God help those who help themselves.
- er=second, jie=elder sister, short form for Jiejie
- Chinese phrases, meaning can easily be bullied
Noob Translator's Musing
Rather than translating Yulanyuan to Yulan Magnolia Courtyard, I decided to use Magnolia Courtyard. It's much easier for me to remember.
And.. isn't it weird that Yuxi said she only brought the four treasures of the study room when she didn't even bring paper, which is one of the four treasures?
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The Rebirth of Han Yuxi