Episode 14

  The next morning, Minglan took the practice paper to Old Madame's place, planning to finish the remaining "Thousand Character Classic" in one go over the next few days, so she wouldn't have to pretend to be illiterate anymore. Just as she arrived at the main hall with her short legs, Wang Shi had already come to pick up Kong Yinniang early in the morning, just like a disaster victim afraid of coming late and missing out on relief grain.

  She sat at the bottom, respectfully listening to Old Lady Sheng's words: "... Last night I put down my old face and asked Kong Yiniang to take some trouble to teach Da Niangzi, and also bring along a few younger maidservants. Although they are still young, following them to listen and watch can also increase their accomplishments..." Wang Shi naturally agreed, originally she thought it was hard to invite such a high-standard home teacher, how could she waste it? So Minglan's writing class had to be suspended first, after finishing breakfast, she was sent to Hualan by Cui Mama.

  Passing by Dian Qi Bridge, through a small garden, came to Hua Lan's Wei Ruo Xuan. As soon as she saw Hua Lan, Ming Lan's eyes lit up instantly. Today, Hua Lan was wearing a silver-embroidered double phoenix brocade short jacket in a smoky willow color, with a light green soft-wrapped long skirt, and her hair was styled in a cloud-like morning moon bun, with only one strand of golden silk embedded with precious stones as a hairband. The whole person was like a white jade orchid bud, truly radiant and resplendent to the extreme. Even Granny Kong couldn't help but take a few more glances. Ming Lan thought to herself: That guy surnamed Yuan is really blessed.

  Mr. Wang saw his eldest daughter so elegant, extremely proud in his heart, and then turned to look at the other two - Rulan was obviously not in a good mood, standing aside with a sullen face, while Molan was full of energy, as soon as she saw Mrs. Kong, she politely asked about her well-being, which made Mr. Wang feel stifled, scolding: "Rulan, why didn't you greet Mrs. Kong properly? This is so rude, be careful or I'll whip your skin!"

  Ruolan heard this and immediately pouted her small mouth, lowering her head in anger.

  After Wang left, Kong Yini started class. She focused on teaching Hualan, while the other three were just accompanying guests. Rulan had a bad attitude from the beginning and was basically slacking off, soon sitting aside with Xiaoyu to play with a jump rope; Minglan didn't want to learn either, but she didn't have Rulan's boldness or strong resentment. Forcing herself to study was nothing new for Minglan, it was just routine. Compared to the modern exam-oriented education system, Kong Yini's methods were just a drizzle. Was Yaoyao really interested in trigonometry that she kept drawing double curve calculations? Was she fond of Anglo-Saxon pronunciation that she woke up early every day to recite vocabulary? Was she passionate about memorizing books that she chose the dry and boring major of politics and law? Don't be ridiculous, it's all just for a meal ticket.

  Now in a different environment, with the same logic, Minglan must start from scratch again if she wants to stand firm here.

  "It's said that girls from good families value virtue and conduct the most, but etiquette and manners are just empty formalities. However, people from respectable families tend to emphasize these empty formalities. This relationship can be either big or small; if you do it well, no one may praise you, but if you mess up, you'll inevitably become a laughingstock, whether openly or secretly. You sisters are all clever and should know what's important."

  Kong Yinniang spoke to several girls in a gentle tone, making it clear the necessity of learning from the start, and then it would be easy. Kong Yinniang's class was well taught, clearly and concisely pointing out the key points, demonstrating and correcting, and occasionally citing practical examples. Hualan and Molan didn't do well, but she didn't get angry, letting the girls slowly understand on their own.

  Mo Lan followed closely behind Hua Lan, imitating her every move. She demanded high standards from herself and frequently asked "Auntie, is this correct?" or "Auntie, is this good enough?" almost as if she were the real student, not just a substitute. Hua Lan bit her lip, struggling to hold back her temper in front of Kong Auntie.

  Minglan's learning attitude was not enough compared to others, and she had only practiced a few etiquette and walking postures in the morning, but she felt more and more awkward as she learned. She had been in this world for just over a year, and more than half of that time was spent lying in bed pretending to be dead. Not to mention her elder sister Hualan, even compared to the other two, Minglan herself was clueless about the etiquette of this world, and now she couldn't keep up with the pace at all.

  So, during lunch, I asked Cui's mother to cut out a piece of plain paper and bind it into a small notebook. First, I reviewed the knowledge points from the morning and wrote them down. Then, in the afternoon when I went to class, I had Xiaotao put her own small brush, inkstone, and the plain paper notebook into a bamboo handbasket and bring it along. When Kong Yiniang was teaching, she didn't rush forward to practice, but instead spread out her writing tools on a small wooden desk with a design of pine, bamboo, plum blossoms, and pear flowers, rolled up her sleeves, leaned on the table, and began to take notes.

  Madam Kong was instructing Hualan on various postures for displaying fabrics, and she cast a glance at Minglan without making a sound.

  Taking notes during class is second nature to Minglan, who has been trained in the exam-oriented education system. If a teacher doesn't hold a pen while lecturing, they are likely to be targeted by the teacher's attention. With a pen in hand, Minglan's mind is at ease, and she quickly gets into the right state of mind. The many years of quality education have not been wasted, as she clearly summarizes and organizes the key points.

  What is referred to as etiquette and propriety is a very vague concept, including every move in daily life, such as bowing, walking, speaking, smiling, treating people and things, even holding a cup of tea and taking a sip of water have established ways of doing things. Originally, everyone, from young ladies to servants, naturally developed these habits through hearing and seeing them since childhood. Kong Yiniang's arrival was just to remind the girls that the etiquette of the top aristocracy and the Sheng family, this middle-ranking official household, were different, in short, it was a crash course.

  The master led the way, and the personal practice was in progress. Several Lan girls practiced together, Minglan was born with a deficiency but made up for it later, Rulan had the ability but lacked heart, three days of drying nets and two days without fishing. Molan was clever but after all, her body was still small, age and understanding were limited, movements not agile and neat enough. In the end, Hualan stood out alone, learning quickly and remembering firmly.

  It only took a few days to see the results, Hua Lan was no longer arrogant and domineering, Mo Lan was no longer shy, Rong Lan was no longer unruly, and Ming Lan was no longer absent-minded. The girls seemed to have suddenly become gentle and elegant, speaking with ease and propriety, their behavior as refreshing as a spring breeze. Shi Ying looked on with great satisfaction, praising them for several days in a row, even Wang Shi began to truly respect Kong Yu.

  "After all, it's someone from the palace who has the ability; if not for this, I would have taken these few girls in already." Madam Wang clicked her tongue repeatedly.

  "It's all thanks to Mother's good fortune, I heard that when Kong Yiniang was in the capital, ordinary aristocratic families couldn't even invite her, you can't put on airs in front of her, or it would make people laugh at us for being unsophisticated."

  Sheng Hong was a cautious and sensitive person, with some careful consideration. Later, after being taught by Old Lady Sheng, he became more open-minded and far-sighted. He knew that to be an official for a long time, one must have sharp ears and eyes, know oneself and others. In the past few days, he often took the opportunity to ask Kong Yinniang about some stories of the capital city. Kong Yinniang, considering Old Lady Sheng's face, also roughly told him about the complex and secretive relationships between the powerful officials and nobles in the capital, without revealing too much. Kong Yinniang had been living in the deep palace for decades, and most of the people she came into contact with were top social figures, so her experiences were not ordinary. After several conversations, Sheng Hong was deeply influenced, almost treating Kong Yinniang as his own elder; he wished he could keep her by his side. However, Kong Yinniang missed her hometown and firmly declined; Sheng Hong had no choice but to give up.

  Kong Yiniang's training class was very humane, after studying hard for ten days, she let them rest for a day. Coincidentally, the weather was also good, Hualan led the way with Rulan and Minglan to play in the garden, while Kong Yiniang, who was also on holiday, went to Shou'antang to chat with Old Lady Sheng.

  "I'm afraid I underestimated your family's Sixth Miss." Kong Yini sat on the kang, sitting across from Sheng Lao Tai Tai with a small table between them.

  "What did he say?" The old lady was very interested.

  Madam Kong brought the teacup to her eyes, admiring it carefully, and said slowly: "I originally thought this child was kind and honest, but a bit dull, never expecting that he would turn out to be clever and wise."

  "You're talking nonsense again, but after teaching for a few days, you've actually taught someone to be wise and foolish at the same time." Old Lady Sheng shook her head with a smile.

  "Come on, don't be skeptical... these past few days of teaching, your eldest daughter is quite good, clever and quick-witted, she understands with just a hint, only lacking in patience. As for the fifth daughter, it's not worth mentioning, being young and playful is forgivable. The fourth daughter appears weak but is actually very strong-willed, insisting on learning even when it's hard. You also know that those rules for serving tea aren't meant for children to learn, their bodies are still developing and many actions can't be fully executed; the fourth daughter insisted on showing off and yesterday alone broke four teacups and two plates, and even dropped chopsticks while serving dishes."

  The old lady listened, not speaking, shaking her head. Kong Yinniang glanced at her and smiled, saying: "Only your precious Liu Niangzi, looking quiet, but in the morning she had already figured out the joints, yesterday afternoon she brought pen, ink, paper and inkstone, didn't come to bother me, just recorded what I said and did, and corrected Hualan and Mulan's mistakes; I stole a glance, hmm, very good."

  The old lady still didn't believe it, shaking her head with a smile: "Ming Yuer only recognized a few words? How could she remember? You're trying to deceive me again."

  "If you don't believe me, just ask someone to bring her that booklet and take a look." said Kong Yiniang.

  The old lady also had a childlike heart, and immediately called Housekeeper Wang to bring over Minglan's personal book box. Housekeeper Wang asked Cui Mama if she wanted the basket of books handed over, and the old lady immediately opened up the woven bamboo square basket. Inside, sure enough, were neatly arranged writing utensils, inkstone, and another small, thick white paper notebook. The old lady flipped it open and was shocked.

  The notebook clearly records the content of these classes, and also categorizes and summarizes each item, such as "Food", "Rest", "Daily Life" and so on. Under each category, there are items listed, and under each item, there are sub-items written in a neat and organized manner using numbers "one, two, three, four". Each sentence is clear and easy to understand; however, due to limited vocabulary, half of the text is filled with incorrect characters, either missing strokes or wrong radicals. In some places, there are even small funny drawings, such as when serving dishes to elders, how to roll up sleeves, how many inches to roll up, Minglan estimated that it was hard to write clearly, so she simply drew a short and stout arm next to the text, with the sleeve slightly rolled up, and then used an arrow to provide detailed explanations.

  Old Mrs. Shi flipped through a few pages, finding it both amusing and infuriating. As she turned to the back, where there was more content, Minglan had used red thread to carefully mark important passages with tiny notes. Housekeeper Fang leaned in to take a look, and couldn't help but laugh: "I said that day Danju asked me for cinnabar, it turns out it was for Sixth Miss's use; this method is good, everywhere is written densely with black characters, making one's eyes dizzy. These few places marked in red are particularly eye-catching, our Sixth Miss has a good idea."

  The old lady saw that there were still a few strange symbols inside, and she pointed to ask Kong Yiniang: "What is this? It doesn't look like words."

  Kong Yinniang put down her tea bowl and smiled, "I also asked Liu Niang, she said that for some characters she couldn't write, she would first jot down a symbol to mark it temporarily, then go back and look up the 'Zihui' and 'Zhengzi Tong', and fill them in later;... Don't think of her as muddled, I took a closer look, these crooked symbols all have their own logic, they're not off by a single thread."

  The old lady looked a bit silly, and then turned to Kong Yiniang, only to see her shaking her head with a smile, sighing: "When I was learning things from Old Shang Gong, I also picked up some small tricks, but they weren't as good as this, so neat and meticulous. It's clear that she thinks clearly in her mind, and it's likely that she'll be straightforward and clean in her actions in the future. And her temperament is warm and gentle... alas, what a pity, not born from Lady's belly..."

  The old lady remained silent for a while, then said: "Good or bad days are not about wealth and status. If she can understand this, she will have comfortable good days to live."

  Old Lady Kong nodded slowly: "I think this girl is not foolish and will certainly understand your kindness."

  ……

  As the training class continued, there was a linearly increasing sister contradiction with learning progress in reverse proportion. The later it got, the more Mo Lan couldn't keep up with Hua Lan's learning speed, which was very natural. Primary school students and junior high school students had different acceptance levels from the beginning. However, Mo Lan seemed weak but was actually strong-willed, desperately squeezing beside Hua Lan, asking Kong Yiniang this and that. Sometimes when Hua Lan could have learned the next part, Kong Yiniang had to slow down the pace for Mo Lan's sake.

  Hua Lan endured and endured, went back to tell Wang Shi countless times, Wang Shi was also helpless, after telling Sheng Hong, but brought a sentence "Mo Er is also a good learner, sisters should be close" and other nonsense; what's the saying, either explode in silence or become abnormal in silence, ancient times didn't have mental hospitals, so Hua Lan chose to explode.

  That afternoon, the weather was a bit dry and cold. After Kong Yiniang finished speaking, she felt a bit hoarse and thirsty, so she let the girls practice giving their elders a peaceful rest. She went back to the inner room to use some tremella fuciformis syrup to moisten her lungs. Hualan looked at Molan panting and sitting on the brocade stool to rest, feeling suffocated in her heart, and couldn't help but sneer: "Fourth sister is really making an effort, it's not like there are many places that require these complicated rules and etiquette, but today you're being so diligent, it's as if you'll definitely be using them in the future."

  Mo Lan's face turned red, and she said in a soft voice: "Mother said that although these are empty rituals, it's better to learn them even if you don't use them, otherwise people will laugh at you; my sister is foolish, and I'm afraid that in the future she'll lose face for our family, so I'd rather put in more effort."

  Hua Lan was a big girl, and after venting her anger slightly, she didn't want to be on the same level as the children, so she sat alone by the window, turning her head to look at the scenery. But Rulan was different, these days she had been listening to Wang Shi's complaints, and now she was furious, so she jumped out and took over the quarrel, saying in a cold voice: "Fourth sister knows she is foolish, so she should be sensible and not bother Kong Yiniang all day, dragging down her elder sister."

  Mo Lan's face was filled with anxiety, and she argued: "How could I have bothered Kong Yiniang? It was just that Father ordered me to learn well from Yiniang, and when I return, he will test me one by one. I didn't dare not comply, and if there were things I didn't understand, I had to ask for clarification."

  Like an orchid, a breath of air came out of her nose, and she looked at Mo Lan with disdain: "You'd better not use your father to pressure me. Kong Yiniang was specially invited by the old lady for my sister, and my sister is her proper student. Teaching us is just a favor, you always rush ahead of my sister, affecting my sister's good teaching from Kong Yiniang, don't you have any shame?! Hmph, really don't know who taught you such despicable tricks, seeing others' goodness, you like to snatch others'!"

  Mo Lan's face suddenly turned red, tears welled up in her eyes, and she trembled with rage: "What is Fifth Sister talking about? I don't understand at all. What despicable tricks? What stealing from others? We're all born of the same father, but you bully me because I'm a concubine's daughter! Fine, fine, I was always an extra person anyway. Why bother staying in this world and getting in people's way? It would be better to just die cleanly!" With that, she buried her face in her arms and sobbed loudly.

  "Like Orchid was furious, rushing to Mo Lan's front, shouting: 'You're crying again! You're crying again! Every time something happens, you come to me with your golden beans and pretend to be pitiful, making Kong Yiniang think I'm bullying you, so Father will scold me! You, you, you...' She was both angry and anxious, stamping her foot and unable to continue speaking. Hua Lan saw that she couldn't just stand by and also came over, saying indifferently: 'Fourth sister, stop crying quickly, we won't dare provoke you in the future. As soon as something happens, you cry like you've lost your mother, we're really afraid of you.'"

  Mo Lan cried even harder, her sobs becoming more and more intense, until she was almost gasping for air. Her body shook with each sob. Ru Lan stamped her foot in frustration, while Hua Lan sneered coldly. Ming Lan, who had been tidying up her notes from earlier, watched the commotion with a growing headache. If she didn't intervene now, things would only get worse later on. So, she scratched her head and jumped down from the round stool, walking over to Mo Lan's side. "Fourth sister, stop crying," she said softly. "If Auntie Kong sees you like this, she'll think that we, the daughters of the Sheng family, are completely uneducated."

  Mo Lan ignored her and continued to cry, crying until she was hoarse, as if she wouldn't stop until the matter was blown out of proportion. Ming Lan, who majored in law, not psychology, sighed bleakly in her heart, but still had to continue. She went over and pulled Mo Lan's sleeve again, saying: "Fourth sister, let me ask you something, how long can Kong Yini stay at our house?"

  Although Mo Lan was crying loudly, her hearing was unaffected. She heard Ming Lan's inexplicable question and slightly calmed down her sobs, looking at her with her eyes. Ming Lan shook her head and continued to say: "I heard Old Lady say that when spring arrives and the weather warms up a bit, and the ice melts and snow disappears, making it easier to travel, Kong Yinniang will leave soon. This means there aren't many days left; Fourth Sister, I'm asking you, in the remaining days, is it better to let Kong Yinniang teach more good things or fewer good things?"

  Molan choked back a sob, her eyes red and puffy as she stared at Minglan. She was too choked to speak, but when Minglan finally looked up, she hastily advised: "I know Fourth Sister wants Auntie Kong to give more guidance, but if we follow your lead, not only will Eldest Sister be inconvenienced, but also Auntie Kong won't be able to teach much. Why don't you, Fourth Sister, swallow your pride and first memorize what Auntie Kong teaches? Later, when you have time, you can slowly ponder it yourself. This way, we won't hurt our sisterly harmony, and you'll learn even more things. Wouldn't that be better?"

  After finishing speaking, Minglan felt very proud. With her eloquence, being a court clerk was truly a waste, she should be a lawyer instead.

  Minglan heard this and gradually stopped crying. Just as the situation was under control, Yulan suddenly chimed in with a sentence: "Why bother trying so hard? Eldest sister is marrying into the Duke's household, can't we all have such good fortune? I'm telling you, fourth sister, some things are better not to be overly optimistic about!"

  Adding fuel to the fire!

  Mo Lan stood up with a great effort, pointing at Ruolan and Minglan, her whole body trembling with rage, and said in a hateful tone: "Fine, you think I'm inferior because I'm born out of wedlock, one by one using words to humiliate me, not treating me like a human being! Why must I live in this world!" As she spoke, she buried her face on the table again and burst into loud sobs.

  Minglan sighed and looked up at the sky, "She's also a concubine-born daughter, why count her in as well?"

  At this time, the sound of the curtain behind her was heard, and Kong Yiniang returned. She had a small maid supporting her as she came back, and when she saw the scene inside the house, her face turned cold.