Each class lasted two hours with two breaks in between.
After the class ended, a page boy came to take them to meet their respective teachers. As they walked, he explained, "Mr. Zhao is the headmaster and usually only teaches basic subjects, but he oversees the entire Clan School. Students spend less time in Mr. Zhao's classes and more with their individual teachers. Fourteen Lady will meet Mr. Qingming, who is well-versed in Zen studies and open-minded. Shishi Niang will meet Mister Mo, who was a romantic talent in his youth—proud and aloof. Twelve years ago, he placed third in the imperial examinations but left the capital in anger to travel."
"Why would he be angry after placing third? Was there cheating involved?" Mei Ru Yan asked.
The page boy chuckled, "No, it wasn't that. Mister Mo felt humiliated."
How infuriating! Many people spent their entire lives studying without even passing the provincial exams, yet here was someone who placed third in the highest imperial exams and still felt ashamed.
...
As the three conversed, they soon arrived at a bamboo hut without realizing it. The melodious sound of a zither mingled with the murmuring of a stream, while the wind rustled through the bamboo leaves, showering them like rain.
On the veranda sat a man in plain white robes, cross-legged with an ancient zither resting on his lap. His eyes were closed, and his hands moved with effortless grace, exuding an air of untouchable elegance.
The three stared in awe until the music ended, and the page boy finally snapped out of his daze. "Mister Mo, the headmaster has chosen a disciple for you."
Mister Mo opened his eyes and looked at Mei Jiu and Mei Ru Yan. After a long pause, he said, "Come here."
Noticing Mei Ru Yan still seemed distracted, the page boy whispered a reminder, "Shishi Niang, go quickly. Mister Mo has a peculiar temper."
"Thank you for the warning." Mei Ru Yan blushed slightly and murmured, "Sister, I'm going."
"Alright," Mei Jiu replied.
An Jiu clicked her tongue. "The men of the Mei family sure are easy on the eyes."
Mei Jiu agreed. In just a few days, she had already encountered three strikingly handsome men—though their personalities were another matter, especially that Mo Sigui.
"Ah!" The page boy sighed. "I wonder if Shishi Niang will last seven days."
Mei Jiu grew worried. "What do you mean?"
"Mister Mo has a difficult temperament. Others have studied under him before, but none lasted more than seven days before being dismissed," the page boy explained.
Mei Jiu pressed urgently, "What happens if she's dismissed?"
Seeing her anxious expression, the page boy quickly reassured her, "It's fine. The headmaster will simply assign her another teacher."
Mei Jiu sighed in relief. "That's good."
"Come, I'll take you to meet Mr. Qingming," the page boy said cheerfully. "Mr. Qingming is very kind. Everyone wants to study with him—he already has eleven students, and you'll make twelve."
Mr. Qingming's residence was some distance away. From the fork in the road, it took another two cups of tea's worth of walking south. Mei Jiu, her legs aching, felt the journey was unbearably long.
Suddenly, laughter—both male and female—echoed from the woods. Mei Jiu gave the page boy a puzzled look.
"We're almost there," he said.
As they rounded a bend, the view opened up to a large clearing enclosed by a fence, filled with fruit trees. Over a dozen people were chatting and picking oranges.
The moment Mei Jiu appeared at the edge of the yard, all sound ceased. The gazes that turned toward her were filled with curiosity, mockery, and even challenge.
"Hey!" A boy perched high in an orange tree called down to her. "So you're the Fourteen Lady who killed two martial arts masters with a bamboo bow?"So the news had already spread far and wide!
Mei Jiu lowered her head in embarrassment, unsure how to respond. She didn’t want to admit in front of everyone that she had killed someone, but there was no room for denial.
Under a tree, a girl in purple robes stared at Mei Jiu with undisguised jealousy and disdain. "Pfft! It must have been Yan Niangzi who killed those martial arts masters. Look at her—she probably can’t even peel an orange without her maidservant’s help!"
Seeing Mei Jiu on the verge of tears, the young attendant quickly stepped in to defuse the situation. "Young masters and ladies, is Mr. Qingming not here?"
Though the attendant was young, he was still someone close to the headmaster, so they gave him some face. A boy perched in the tree replied, "He’s gone to herd the sheep. No idea when he’ll be back."
Mei Jiu thought she must have misheard. Herd sheep?
An Jiu suddenly chimed in, "What a versatile man."
The girl in purple walked up to the gate and said with a light laugh, "Since we’re all idle, how about a little competition?"
"A competition in what?" Mei Jiu couldn’t pretend not to hear from this close.
"Archery," the girl in purple said provocatively. "Let’s compete in what you’re best at!"
"An Jiu…" Mei Jiu called out to her inwardly.
"Childish. Not interested." An Jiu decided to keep herself hidden, trying to make Mei Jiu appear as normal as possible in others’ eyes. What if they really started treating her like a madwoman?
If this were just an ordinary noble family, being mad might not matter. But the more An Jiu learned about Mei Shi, the more she suspected that the assassins hadn’t killed her to silence her because of her role in shooting those two martial arts masters. If that were the case, would she be killed once she outlived her usefulness?
Mei Jiu said weakly, "I won’t compete with you."
"Ha!" The girl in purple burst into laughter and turned to the others in the courtyard. "They say Yan Niangzi could take on a hundred men single-handedly back in the day, yet she gave birth to such a coward!"
Mei Jiu was both shocked and furious, her delicate face flushing red. "You’ve read the Four Books and Five Classics—how can your words be so crude?"
An Jiu couldn’t take it anymore. "Insulting someone with such gentle, watery words—how sophisticated."
"Then what should I say?" Mei Jiu knew she was at a loss for words, so she humbly sought advice.
"I never argue with people," An Jiu said.
Mei Jiu didn’t believe it. With that mouth of hers, so full of snark, anyone with even a bit of temper would end up quarreling with her!
But in truth, in her past life, An Jiu had indeed never argued with anyone. Aside from taking on missions, she rarely interacted with people and spoke even less.
"Help me think of something!" Mei Jiu pleaded. She hated it most when insults aimed at her also dragged her mother into it.
"I remember once having a dispute with the organization’s commander. We exchanged exactly three sentences before we started fighting. Later, we both ended up in the hospital for a month." An Jiu said proudly, "But he broke three ribs. I only broke one."
Mei Jiu’s tolerance had clearly improved, as she replied after hearing this, "I’ll… I’ll handle it myself…"
The girl in purple, noticing Mei Jiu’s distraction, shoved her in a fit of anger.
Caught off guard, Mei Jiu fell to the ground.
"Hmph, what a frail little thing," the girl in purple sneered, growing even more resentful. "I really don’t see what Elder Zhi finds so special about you! Aside from that pretty face, you’re utterly useless!"Mei Jiu was a bit dazed. How could they say she knew nothing? She was well-read in poetry and literature, proficient in zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting—why did everyone call her incompetent?
An Jiu faintly sensed tremors on the ground and immediately commanded, "Stand up!"
Before the words fully left her mouth, a heavy, musky odor rushed toward them. Mei Jiu scrambled up in panic, only to be knocked off balance by a stampeding flock of sheep.
Through the swaying chaos, An Jiu spotted a disheveled old man with grizzled hair and beard trotting toward them, waving urgently. "Come quick, lend a hand!"
Poor Sleeve has no internet access. I'm Sleeve's good friend Xiao Qing, here to update on her behalf~O(∩_∩)O~
OpenNovel