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Published at 19th of October 2020 04:56:22 PM


Chapter 44

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Uncut Jade and Plain Stone

In the end, Gu WenQing was unable to best Teacher Lin in a test of will, and Yu Fu was given to Teacher Zhou.

Seeing him return alone, Gu Xiang and Gu Yi let out heavy sighs and began to complain.

“I knew that old man Lin has a wicked heart. If he doesn’t let Yu Fu come and study with us, what is the point of me coming here?”

Gu Yi was the first to express his unhappiness and promptly had his mouth covered by Gu Xiang.

He looked around. In the class were other students that were around 17 or 18 years of age, and they were all preparing their books and paper to protect themselves from being struck on the back. None of them could afford to pay any attention to what they were doing.

He lowered his voice, “You’re begging to be hit, aren’t you? Is that any way to address teacher? Have you forgotten how many times you were beaten the last time you let something slip in front of father?”

With Gu Yi having been fiercely scolded, he copied Yu Fu’s expression from when she had performed the horse stance and puffed up his cheeks in a pout.

Gu WenQing said: “Fifth brother is right. We have a military background, but we still must respect our elders and teachers. Moreover, Yu Fu will still be able to study under Teacher Zhou. They will be just next door. We will be able to go back together once class is dismissed.”

*Cough cough*

One of the students at the table in front of them suddenly coughed very loudly a couple times while preparing their things. Gu Xiang and Gu Yi understood and returned to their own seats, putting on the appearance of reading.

Teacher Lin entered the room with a very straight posture and saw that everyone was reading very attentively. Even the often-truant Gu Xiang and Gu Yi were reading. He ran his fingers through his beard feeling very satisfied.

Wait…

He looked more closely, and his beard began to tremble from the anger. A thunderous sound rang out when he slammed his ruler on a desk.

“Gu Yi, your book is upside down. Stand up!”

Zhou SiDao led Yu Fu inside and passed by that door. Hearing the laughter come from inside, neither knew what had happened.

“Young miss Yu Fu, this room is Teacher Lin’s classroom. The students are higher level students, and there are some who are older than your three older brothers.”

Yu Fu nodded, thinking of how Gu WenQing should be inside.

“Teacher Zhou, just call me Yu Fu. Since I came to learn from you, I am your student. Where is there any teacher that addresses their student as young miss?”

Zhou SiDao was stunned. Only after a long stretch of silence did he awkwardly reply, “Hah, my intelligence is lacking compared to my courtesy. In truth, I am also one of Teacher Lin’s students. Even at 30, I could not become a successful candidate in the imperial exam, thus I received his recommendation and came here to teach young children. For young miss to have been so kind as to accept me as your teacher, I will definitely do my best to teach young… you.”

He smiled awkwardly once more then pointed at a room next to the previous one and said: “This is a smaller classroom. All of the students inside are lower level students. There are some that are 15 to 16 years old, and there are also 13 to 14 year olds. They are all a little older than you. Fortunately, all of them are just starting their studies, thus it will be beneficial to study together.”

Yu Fu thought it over. Earlier, Teacher Lin had mentioned starting from becoming literate, but she was already literate.

Should she clarify with Teacher Zhou?

Forget it, she would wait until she went in and got an understanding of the situation. This would prevent Teacher Lin from feeling even more dissatisfied with her for being frivolous.

“Then I will be troubling Teacher Zhou.”

When Zhou SiDao pushed the door open, a book that had been torn to shreds flew towards his head and grazed by his ear.

He was a scholar. Having been given a fright by something akin to a hidden weapon, his expression instantly became stern, and he turned to look at the younger students.

The previously rowdy classroom instantly fell silent. Everyone pretended to be reading in earnest, as none were willing to admit that they were the one to throw the book.

Zhou SiDao was helpless to do anything about it. Remembering that Yu Fu was still there, he introduced her to everyone.

“This is a new student. She is young miss Yu Fu from Marquis Gu’s Manor. She is young. Your usual rowdiness is what it is, but you absolutely must not let her get hurt. Do you understand?”

“We- understand-“

The dragged out voice made it sound like someone reciting a script with a feeling of self-satisfaction. Yu Fu could not help but cover her mouth to hide a smile.

The young students poked their heads out from behind their books. Seeing that she was exceptionally pretty and looked even more beautiful with her dimples when she smiled, they all began to rejoice.

Zhou SiDai arranged a seat for her next to the window. First, it would provide better lighting, and second, it would also be convenient for Yao Lan to watch over her from the outside. If she needed anything like tea or water, it would be easy to take care of it.

He sat at the front and began to look through a cabinet before suddenly turning his head.

“There were still quite a few notes in here previously. Where did they all go?”

His gaze suddenly landed on the entrance. The worn book that had nearly hit his head earlier. Were they not the notes that he had personally written?

He was both embarrassed and angry, “All of the notes have been used up. Which one of you can share with Yu Fu? I will write some more when I get the chance.”

Just as Yu Fu was about to speak, four or five books were offered to her from all sides.

“Use mine!”

The short and stout child sitting behind her stood up and did his best to extend his hand. He was doing everything possible to try and put his book directly on Yu Fu’s desk.

“His is already torn. You should use mine!”

The youth sitting in front of her was a little older, and he smugly looked at the stout child, “Teacher said that I am learning quite well. I will soon be able to go and learn from Teacher Lin. Either way, I won’t be able to make use of these notes. It will be perfect for you to use them.”

Once these words came out, the room became filled with admiration and envy.

Being able to go from this room to studying with Teacher Lin is something that would receive three days and three nights of praise from one’s parents!

Those who had originally extended their hands to offer their notes now began to slowly pull back. Only the stout child behind her continued to offer his notes in dissatisfaction.

Yu Fu smiled at the youth then stood up and said: “Teacher Zhou, I know how to write. I will write for you to see. Should you find it to be no good, give me some notes then. Is that alright?”

“Very well, write a bit for me to see.”

Yao Lan had already laid out the paper and prepared the brush. She raised the thin Jinhao pen* and dipped it in some Huizhou ink. She then smoothly wrote a few words on the piece of paper.

Everyone gathered around in curiosity to take a look. The stout boy behind her did his best to read it: “If I had a me-mention-“**

“It’s if I had a mansion with thousands of rooms, it would be a great shelter for all of the scholars of the world!** You don’t even know this much, yet you have the nerve to try and read it out here. Don’t make people laugh so much that their teeth start falling out!”

Everyone began to mock the stout boy. Only Zhou SiDao picked up the piece of paper to read what was written.

Not a single character was wrong, and the handwriting was neat and graceful. It had a carefree and leisurely appearance like water flowing down a mountain. The writing really was a reflection of the writer.

“I noticed that the name of the school was Guang Sha Study and heard the head general say that this was a place for all to learn. All could come, regardless of their social status. Thus I thought of Master Du’s words and felt that this place had a similar aspiration.”

Upon hearing this, Zhou SiDao felt even more amazed.

Looking at Yu Fu and her childish aura, who could have known that she would be so well-read!

He said in shock: “Your writing is so good. How could Teacher Lin have you come and learn here? As I see it, you should go and study next door. Teacher Lin has made a mistake in this matter. He has mistaken an uncut jade for a plain rock!”

*TN: Jinhao is a modern brand of fountain pens. I guess the author just chose them because they’re a recognisable brand?
**TN: The stout kid misreads one of the characters from a poem by Du Fu. http://www.chinese-poems.com/d08.html





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