Having said he would teach Cheng Chun to read and write, Su Xubai was true to his word. Every day after finishing his own tasks, he would pull Cheng Chun aside to learn characters.
From the start, Su Xubai taught Cheng Chun to read the Qianziwen. He originally thought that a book like the Qianziwen would take at least a month or two to learn, but he never expected Cheng Chun to be exceptionally clever. Basically, any character he taught her, she could remember after reading it at most three times. Before long, she had almost finished learning the Qianziwen.
Ever since Su Xubai began teaching Cheng Chun to recognize characters, she spent nearly ten hours each day practicing writing with a brush. Within a few days, several blisters had formed on her fingers. Hongdou, seeing this, felt heartbroken and couldn’t help but remark, “Madam is so diligent, almost as much as those scholars preparing for the imperial examinations!”
“My family was poor. When I was young, having a meal was already quite good. Although things have improved a bit in recent years, my parents are farmers. They understand the value of education, but they couldn’t afford the Shuxiu. My younger brother only started attending the village school this year!” Cheng Chun said softly, watching Hongdou bandage her wounds.
“Madam must have suffered a lot in the past, right?” Hongdou looked at Cheng Chun, who remained silent as she applied the medicine, and suddenly felt a pang of sympathy.
Cheng Chun thought for a moment, then shook her head. “Perhaps in your eyes, it was a very difficult life. But for me, it wasn’t particularly hard. Although I’m not my parents’ biological child, they treated me very well. They would rather deprive themselves than let me go without food or necessities. Although we weren’t wealthy, life was still comfortable.”
Hongdou carefully bandaged the wounds and said softly, “Just as Fifth Master said, Madam is a very perceptive person!”
Cheng Chun lowered her head to look at her hands and said nothing.
Hongdou glanced around, making sure no one was nearby, then said, “Madam has been in the mansion for almost a month now. I can see that Fifth Master cares deeply for you, but Madam, you never seem happy! On the contrary, these past few days, because of learning characters, you’ve smiled a bit more!”
“I come from a poor background and was never from a wealthy family. In the past, I was always busy and bustling about. Suddenly having so much leisure time feels uncomfortable. Now that I’ve found something to do, I’m actually happy!” As she spoke, Cheng Chun picked up the embroidery frame beside her, which held a pair of shoe soles.
With blisters on her knuckles, it wasn’t a good time to write more, so Cheng Chun picked up the shoe soles and continued stitching them.
Hongdou looked at the beautifully layered Qianchengdi and couldn’t help but say, “Madam’s hands are so skillful. This Qianchengdi is really well made!”
“Earlier, Fifth Master said I should prepare a gift for the teacher. I still haven’t finished making these shoes, even though I’ve been learning for so many days!” Cheng Chun said as she stitched the soles. “I don’t have anything valuable, and I can’t just go and cut a few ounces of meat for Fifth Master. So I thought of making a pair of shoes. I hope Fifth Master won’t mind!”
Hongdou helped by separating the threads beside her. “Fifth Master favors Madam so much. Whatever Madam makes, he’ll definitely like it very much!”
Cheng Chun’s expression stiffened slightly, but she still smiled, saying nothing more.
Hongdou noticed something amiss and was about to speak when she happened to see Nanny Zhang approaching. Her expression shifted slightly, and she quickly whispered, “That old hag is here to cause trouble again!”
Cheng Chun naturally knew who Hongdou was referring to. Her hands paused for just a moment before she resumed stitching the shoe sole, pretending as if nothing was wrong.
Nanny Zhang arrived with a stern face. She entered the room without announcing herself or knocking, barging straight in. Then she had the person behind her toss a whole stack of account books in front of Cheng Chun.
Cheng Chun frowned slightly, but by the time she looked up, her gaze had already turned innocent. She stared blankly at Nanny Zhang, looking somewhat puzzled. “What is Nanny Zhang doing?”
“I heard the young mistress has been learning to read lately, and I suppose you’ve made good progress. These are the household account books. They should have been handed over to you earlier, but I was worried you were too young and inexperienced, so I managed them a bit longer. Now it’s time to hand them over to you!” Nanny Zhang smiled, though the ferocity in her eyes was rather frightening.
Cheng Chun suddenly understood. Nanny Zhang was here to humiliate her—grandly handing over the account books, then watching as she made a mess of the household accounts. When the time came, Nanny Zhang would swoop in like a savior to take over the mess.
This was what was called Pengsha. Cheng Chun had heard of it while accompanying Su Xubai in his studies. At the time, she had been particularly curious and had asked about it in detail.
Cheng Chun stared at Nanny Zhang for a long while before finally nodding. “Then leave them here.”
Nanny Zhang had expected the usually obedient Cheng Chun to refuse, and she had prepared a whole basket of arguments. She never imagined Cheng Chun would agree so readily. For a moment, she felt as if a lump had lodged in her chest, leaving her speechless for a long while.
Seeing Nanny Zhang standing there, neither speaking nor leaving, Cheng Chun couldn’t help but feel puzzled. “What’s wrong? Do you need me to offer you a cup of tea?”
Cheng Chun’s tone remained gentle and soft, but to Nanny Zhang’s ears, her words were unbearably grating. Yet there was nothing she could say, so she could only turn and leave in a huff.
“Young mistress, that old hag is clearly trying to make things difficult for you!” Hongdou trembled with anger. “She knows perfectly well you’ve only just started learning to read, yet she brings so many account books. It’s obvious she’s trying to embarrass you!”
“I don’t know all the characters yet, so I might not be able to understand the account books fully, but you know how to read. If you help me look them over, we can surely manage the accounts properly! I have a good memory—I remember every amount mentioned clearly. The more I look, the more characters I’ll learn. It’s not a bad thing!” Cheng Chun remained smiling cheerfully.
Hongdou let out a long sigh. “The young mistress is always so easygoing!”
Cheng Chun continued stitching the shoe sole, needle by needle, with great focus, as if nothing had happened. The account books piled on the table might as well have been invisible.
Su Xubai only learned of the matter that night. He had gone out for drinks that day and didn’t hear about it until he returned, when Songlan mentioned it to him. He frowned slightly. “This Nanny Zhang is acting more and more without any sense of propriety.”
Songlan didn’t like Nanny Zhang either—the way she acted one way in front of people and another behind their backs, always acting as if she were the mistress. Her words were far from kind. “She’s just relying on the master’s authority to throw her weight around here!”
When Su Xubai returned to the mansion, Cheng Chun had not yet slept and was still talking with Hongdou. The sound of clattering abacus beads came from the room, and he pushed the door open curiously, only to see her and Hongdou—one writing down accounts with a brush, the other calculating with an abacus—working together seamlessly.
Su Xubai walked over to Cheng Chun’s side and watched her skillfully operate the abacus. After several calculations, she made not a single mistake. “When did you learn to use the abacus?”