Yuxi went to Magnolia Courtyard and found she was the last person to arrive. She didn't care either. It wasn't like she was late. She set up her four treasures of study and the «Analects of Confucius» and then took some time to review the book.
Yujing sneered. "Teacher is coming soon. It's far too late for you to learn now."
Yuxi ignored her and studied carefully.
When Yujing saw that Yuxi was ignoring her, she became angrier. "You ignoring me when I was talking to you?"
Yuxi looked at Yujing and sneered, "How do you want me to answer you? Do you still want to hear me saying I am not offended by your sarcasm?" After a pause, she chuckled, "Er Jie1, I wonder, how can you have the nerve to ridicule me? I'm only four years old. You're eight years old. Aren't you supposed to be better than me?"
Yujing suddenly changed her face. "When did I ever ridicule you?"
Yuxi snickered. "Speaking of which, I am a bit puzzled. San Jie2 and I have lost a lot of weight during this period. Er Jie1, you are not only not getting thinner but also still in good spirits. Can you tell us how you did it?" She indirectly implicated Yujing in cheating.
On hearing this, Yuchen looked up at Yujing and saw what Yuxi had just said. Not only did Yujing not lose weight, but she also seemed to have gained a lot of flesh. Yuchen had learned everything that Teacher Song had taught until now, so she had lost much weight. Meanwhile, Yujing, who may not have any foundation, had a better body condition than her, making her feel doubtful of Yujing.
"What do you mean?" cried a flustered and exasperated Yujing.
Yuxi shrugged. "I'm just asking if Er Jie1 has any good learning methods. I didn't slander you." Her words obviously said that Yujing had no 300 silver taels hidden here3.
Yujing hated her till it made her teeth itch4, but she was also afraid of saying something wrong much more. She simply stared at Yuxi and kept the account in her heart, waiting for it to be counted later.
When sisters had a dispute, they naturally would be known by the maid waiting outside the classroom. She immediately told Old Woman Ding about it. Old Woman Ding initially suspected that Yujing was cheating, but there was no evidence to prove it. Now, she was more sure of her guess after hearing what Yuxi said and immediately told Teacher Song about it.
Teacher Song never suspected Yujing, not because she was too stupid to notice but because she had never encountered anything like this in her ten years of teaching. Those girls who couldn't stand her harsh teaching methods would quit by using illness or others as excuses. Yet they never thought of cheating. Instead, the price for doing so was huge for them to bear. Once discovered, they would have a bad reputation and, subsequently, be ruined for a lifetime. No one dared to gamble with their whole life.
Old Woman Ding said, "Ma'am, I don't think Second Miss is doing anything good. I was reminded of this after hearing what Fourth Miss said today."
Teacher Song was silent for a moment. "Bring over all Second Miss' homework." She had personally examined the learning and analysed the text by heart, so Yujing couldn't cheat there. If she wanted to cheat, she could only do it in her schoolwork.
Old Woman Ding quickly took out all of Yujing's schoolwork and piled them up.
After carefully checking Yujing's schoolwork, Teacher Song was angry. How could Old Woman Ding find out, not herself, when the words were written looked so similar? Precisely because she didn't check it carefully before that; therefore, it was unlikely for her to notice the differences. "Good, very good!" How could she not be angry when Yujing even dared to use this cheap means to cheat?
Old Woman Ding was also furious when she learned that Yujing had hired someone to do her homework. To use this kind of dirty means to cheat her and her Master was such a disgusting thing, "I didn't expect that Second Miss could be this bold. Ma'am, I'll drive her out now."
Teacher Song belonged to a more rational type than Old Woman Ding. "No, we should not disclose this matter." If she pushed Yujing out now, it would spoil not only Yujing's reputation but also the reputation of the other Young Misses of the residence. She shouldn't implicate others for a dirty rat.
Old Woman Ding was really annoyed. "Ma'am, how could you just forget about this?"
Teacher Song wouldn't easily forget it. "I'll keep the score in my heart."
When it was time for class, Teacher Song restrained her mood and continued the course as usual.
At noon, Old Woman Ding looked at Teacher Song and asked, "Ma'am, it is time for us to tell Old Lady Han about this. "
Teacher Song shook her head. "We will tell her after a few days."
Old Woman Ding was puzzled. "Why need to wait till a few days?" Wasn't it right to inform Old Lady Han immediately, afterwards, blocked Second Miss from coming to Magnolia Courtyard? Old Woman Ding didn't understand what Teacher Song was thinking.
Teacher Song didn't explain any further. However, Old Woman Ding knew her well, and she quickly asked, "Ma'am, are you afraid this incident will affect the Fourth Miss?"
Teacher Song shook her head. "Not at all." She had some scruples. Yuxi discovered the problem, but she, as a teacher, did not find it. This was a severe dereliction of duty.
Not long after Yuxi returned to the Rose Courtyard, a physician came over. It was Physician Bai. He was not originally the person who treated her when she had smallpox. He was also one of her relatives on her mother's side.
After examining her pulse, Physician Bai said, "Miss' health has no huge problem. She is merely exhausted. She needs to have a good rest."
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.
Yuxi gave a wry smile. When would she have the time to have a good rest?
Physician Bai was familiar with the affairs of the state residence and knew why Yuxi was being overworked.
Yuxi just nodded her head.
Yuxi's words during the day stuck in Yuchen's mind. She looked at the Old Lady and told her about it.
Yuchen's meaning was to check on it. If Yujing was cheating, it should have been stopped in time. Otherwise, the Duke's official residence reputation would seriously turn bad. She was also afraid that this matter would also offend Teacher Song. Once Teacher Song resigned from the schoolroom in a fit, even if Yuchen cried her heart out, she would never find someone like her again.
Old Lady Han frowned. "You took Fourth Girl's nonsense words too seriously." Since when was the little girl she brought up by herself led by the Fourth Girl?
Yuchen shook her head. "No, Grandmother, Er Jie1's recent performance is unusual." Everyone had learned the Book of Enlightenment, yet Yujing still misbehaved. With Teacher Song teaching them something more profound, Yujing somehow performed much better than before. How couldn't this matter look strange?
Old Lady Han was silent momentarily and said, "I'll have someone to look it up, so you don't need to mind this anymore. "She still thought this was just the Fourth Girl talking nonsense.
She planted a person in Pleasant Courtyard and got the news the next day. "Old Lady, I have asked about her. Second Miss works very hard these days. Every day, she will do her homework till late at night and gets up early in the morning."
The Old Lady asked, "Did she see anything unusual?"
Mama Luo shook her head. "No, everything is fine in Pleasant Courtyard. There's nothing unusual."
Hearing this, the Old Lady was dissatisfied with Yuxi. Did that girl not know the consequences if it happened the way she said?
Mama Luo spoke well on Yuxi's behalf, "Old Lady, you can't blame the Fourth Miss. I have inquired about it. The Second Miss has been making trouble for the Fourth Miss lately. Yesterday, the Fourth Miss got annoyed that she said the words without thinking when no cheating happened." Just a four-year-old child; where could she have this much cleverness?
When the Old Lady thought about Yuxi's performance during this period, she said nothing more: "Just tell Mama Shen to guide the girl well."
When Yuchen heard that Yujing did not do anything unusual, she frowned but did not raise any objection to the Old Lady because of filial piety.
However, Yuxi was unlike Yuchen. She didn't believe anything from this investigation but couldn't openly refute it. She just smiled and said, "I didn't say that Er Jie1 cheated. I just wanted to know if she had any good learning methods. If I learned it, I would not have to work so hard."
Mama Shen's eyebrows jumped. She thought Yuxi would question the decision, but she didn't consider Yuxi would also not accept that this was her own doing. Lately, Mama Shen discovered she couldn't see through Fourth Miss anymore.
Yuxi ignored Mama Shen and did her homework with a bitter face. Now, there was a layer of callus on her hand, which made it stop blistering anymore. It did not hurt so much when she held the writing brush now.
A few days passed in an instant.
A maid reported back to the Old Lady that Teacher Song had come. She heard that some unexpected matters had happened. Except for the first day of her arrival, Teacher Song had never been to the main house for the past half a month.
Mama Luo personally welcomed Teacher Song into the house.
When Teacher Song sat down, she immediately told Old Lady Han without beating around the bushes, "Old Lady, I came here this time to tell the Old Lady something."
When Old Lady Han looked at Teacher Song, she knew it wasn't good. "Please continue, Teacher Song."
Teacher Song told her that Yujing did not do her schoolwork by herself. "Old Lady, please forgive me. I will not teach such a child."
Old Lady Han's face changed. "Teacher Song, you must have been mistaken." If it was like Yuru, she had no objection because she knew that Yuru couldn't bear such a large amount of schoolwork and used the method of sick leave to quit naturally. However, Yujing's shameful behaviour would damage the reputation of all the Young Misses in residence.
Teacher Song said sternly, "Old Lady, I would not play with a student's reputation without sufficient evidence. Old Lady, I don't want to make a fuss about it before I tell you." As long as Yujing did not come to Magnolia Courtyard anymore, how Old Lady Han handled Yujing was beyond her control. Of course, Yujing's reputation could indeed be preserved when this was handed over to Old Lady Han.
Old Lady Han had experienced strong winds and heavy rain. Although they embarrassed her, they did not cause her to lose her sense of decency. After sending off Teacher Song, she ordered Feicui, "Go fetch Concubine Rong and Second Girl." Concubine Rong must have known that Yujing had been doing this.
When Concubine Rong heard that the Old Lady summoned her to the main house, she knew it was not something good, mainly because she suddenly felt guilty. Therefore, she was somewhat worried when the Old Lady inexplicably summoned her.
She asked her maid to send a word to the main house. It wasn't that she was being too careful, but the Old Lady's staff were too ferocious, which made her have some scruples.
Footnotes Full List
- er=second, jie=elder sister, short form for Jiejie
- san=third, jie=elder sister, short form for Jiejie
- Chinese idiom: to reveal what one intends to hide
- Chinese idiom: To greatly irritate or annoy someone, especially to the point of affecting their nerves
Noob Translator's Musing
This song is so cute! I heard it from a YouTube tutorial video.
So sweet~!
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The Rebirth of Han Yuxi