This can't be right, can it?
He'd only been learning for three days, and now there was already an exam?
Ye Jinghe wasn't the only one caught off guard—the other students were even more bewildered, and before long, the room was filled with groans of despair.
Pei Qingyan, however, paid no heed to the thoughts of the students before him. He only said in a low, solemn voice:
"Everyone, hand in your books. Today's monthly test will be a written recitation of the one hundred and twenty characters you have learned over this past month. Let me see whether you have truly applied yourselves."
Pei Qingyan's voice was not loud, yet it was like an invisible hand that squeezed everyone's hearts tightly.
One timid student knocked over his inkstone, and with a face crumpled in distress, he looked at Pei Qingyan:
"M-Master, I'm… I'm sorry…"
"I'll give you the time it takes to burn one stick of incense to prepare."
Pei Qingyan didn't even lift his eyelids. Ye Jinghe quickly helped the student clean up the mess on the floor, then went to grind ink for Pei Du, even whispering a reminder:
"Young Master, use this hand gesture when grinding the ink—it saves the most effort. If your arm gets tired, you can rest a moment. Just scoop this much clean water at a time, a little at a time, and add more as needed…"
"Time's up. Everyone, hand in your books and return to your seats."
Ye Jinghe could only cast a worried glance at Pei Du before reluctantly heading back to his own seat, looking back with every step.
Once he had spread out his paper, Ye Jinghe ground his ink while mentally categorizing the characters he had learned, drawing on the original owner's memories.
One thing that put Ye Jinghe at ease was that both he and the original owner possessed a photographic memory, so he wasn't too worried about this monthly test.
The only thing he was worried about was his ugly handwriting!
However, improving one's calligraphy required slow, patient effort—it couldn't be changed overnight. And Ye Jinghe wasn't the type to dwell on things needlessly.
With that thought, the ink had already turned a deep, rich black. Ye Jinghe picked up his brush, dipped it fully in the ink, and bent over his desk to write.
The sunlight outside the window carried the unique warmth of winter, streaming through the carved window lattice and falling onto Ye Jinghe's shoulders, making even his slightly tousled hair seem to glow. But Ye Jinghe seemed completely unaware of it.
Pei Qingyan held an ancient book in one hand, reading. When his eyes grew tired, he shifted his gaze—and immediately spotted the youth by the window, bathed in sunlight.
Pei Qingyan had always believed that education should be given to all without discrimination. But he refused to believe that a child who hadn't paid attention in his class for over a month would suddenly refuse to leave the estate just to attend his lessons, insisting on staying.
In Pei Qingyan's eyes, Ye Jinghe was nothing more than a sly, smooth-talking bad child, young as he was, full of lies. Today's monthly test would be a wake-up call!
If he failed miserably, then he could just pack his things and leave—saving Pei Qingyan from having to listen to his elder brother say sourly, "Third Brother's reputation has grown so great that even the servants in the estate are in awe of you"!
Hmph, just a little liar!
Today, right now, was when he would be exposed!
Perhaps because Pei Qingyan had been staring at Ye Jinghe for a while, Ye Jinghe—whose wrist was sore from writing and had just set down his brush to rest—looked over with a puzzled expression.
Pei Qingyan didn't respond. He merely shifted his gaze away casually, looking at the other children instead.
Pei Du had just used up all the ink Ye Jinghe had ground for him and was now grinding his own, putting all his strength into it. He didn't even notice the splatter of ink dots that had landed on his face at some point.
When Pei Qingyan looked at him, he was like a cat that knew it had done something wrong—fidgeting helplessly, then wiping a hand across his face.
Well, now he really looked like a little tabby cat!
"Write your characters. Why are you looking at me? Is there something written on my face?"
Pei Qingyan frowned at Pei Du, who quickly lowered his head:
"Yes, Master."
Pei Qingyan shook his head almost imperceptibly and turned his gaze to the other children. Most children at this age hadn't yet developed a natural aptitude for study, so as Pei Qingyan's eyes swept across the room, he saw all sorts of behaviors—some biting their brush handles, some licking their desks, and some even tasting their ink. It was a veritable display of human nature in all its forms. When they met Pei Qingyan's gaze, they would guiltily lower their heads and pretend to be writing diligently.
But there were even worse offenders—one child was holding his brush completely upside down, with ink smeared across his face without him even knowing it, thinking he was pulling off the perfect act of deception.
It was simply unbearable to look at!
Aside from Ye Jinghe, who was writing furiously, the only others who were seriously bent over their papers were Pei Feng behind Pei Du, and Pei Huan—the stockier boy at the left rear—who was writing with great focus.
After this sweep of the room, Pei Qingyan already had a good sense of how this monthly test would turn out.
In the blink of an eye, two hours flew by. Pei Qingyan took a sip of tea to moisten his lips, then gave a light cough:
"Time's up. Hand in your papers. Make sure you write your names clearly. If anyone tries to slip through with sloppy work, they need not come to the family school anymore!"
The moment Pei Qingyan said this, two children hastily picked up their brushes to write their names.
Once everyone had handed in their papers, it was time for lunch. Pei Qingyan said "Class dismissed" and left with a thick stack of papers.
"Changfeng! Changfeng, how did you do?"
Pei Du jumped up from his seat and grabbed Ye Jinghe's hand. Ye Jinghe took a handkerchief from his sleeve and, with a smile, began wiping Pei Du's face:
"I… I think it's fine. But Young Master, this ink is meant for the writing brush to drink. Even if you're anxious enough to drink it with your face, it won't write on the paper!"
Pei Du looked down at the ink stains on the snow-white handkerchief in Ye Jinghe's hand and blushed with embarrassment.
But before Pei Du could speak, a few fellow students nearby were talking together, pointing at Ye Jinghe. Among them, a short, stout child with triangular eyes, who looked about six years old, curled his lip:
"Pei Du, are you stupid? He's just a servant. Why are you so close to him?!"
"Brother, Father said you're not allowed to speak recklessly outside…"
A tall, thin child with two red buns on his head tugged at the short child's sleeve. The short child glared at him and snatched his sleeve back:
"My father said that if we manage to complete our studies in the future, we're all here to help you. But instead, you spend all your time either with a fatherless bastard or talking to that Pei Huan whose family is cursed!
And now, even a servant gets to study at the family school with us! What right does he have? I think Third Uncle has lost his mind!"
"Pei Peng! You… you've gone too far! Apologize! You must apologize!"
"Apologize? To whom? Pei Feng? Pei Huan? Or this lowly servant in front of you?"
Despite his young age, Pei Peng had already been raised to have a nasty temperament. At this moment, his gaze at Ye Jinghe was full of provocation and unbridled confidence.
He wasn't afraid of Pei Du. So what if Pei Du was the legitimate young master of the Pei family? Would he dare to tattle? Would he have the face to tattle?
In the past, it was one thing, but today his Third Uncle was deliberately making things difficult for him. Knowing full well that he hated writing big characters the most, he still forced him to do it. He didn't dare defy the teacher, but couldn't he deal with this little brat?
Besides, even if they got into a fight, he had three younger brothers. What did Pei Du have?
At worst, his father would spank his bottom and drag him over to apologize. His mother would plead for him!
Pei Peng knew it clearly in his heart. Pei Cheng, Pei Wan, and Pei Xing also slowly moved to stand beside Pei Peng.
Pei Du had never seen such a scene before. He didn't understand how the peace of the past month had suddenly changed, but he was especially sensitive to others' malicious gazes.
"Changfeng, the window in the back isn't latched properly. Later, climb out through there and go find my mother to come save me."
Pei Du's hand gripping Ye Jinghe's was trembling slightly, but he spoke without hesitation.
"Young Master, then what about you…"
"No matter what, I'm still the young master of the Pei family. They wouldn't dare lay a hand on me!"
Pei Du stared hard at Pei Peng, just like how An Xin could drown Little White but wouldn't dare say an extra word in front of him.
Hearing this, Ye Jinghe turned his hand over and gripped Pei Du's, giving a gentle smile:
"Thank you for your trust, Young Master. But… things haven't reached that point yet."
Even if he brought the Madam over, in the eyes of the adults, it would just be a matter between children. The two families were relatives anyway, so it would only be a case of making a mountain out of a molehill and then letting it go. How infuriating!
"So, Young Master Pei Peng is unwilling to apologize?"
"Pei Du, don't make me look down on you! You're actually letting a servant speak for you?"
Pei Peng tilted his head. Pei Du clenched his fists and was about to charge forward, but Ye Jinghe stretched out his arm and held him back against his chest. Ye Jinghe's eyes were filled with coldness as he stared at Pei Peng, then suddenly smiled:
"Young Master Pei Peng deliberately provoked our young master today. Could it be that you know you did terribly on the monthly exam and are trying to cover something up?"
Pei Peng was caught off guard by having his thoughts exposed. He quietly sucked in a cold breath:
"I won't talk to you!"
"Is it that you don't want to talk to me, or that you don't dare?"
"You! You're not worthy! You're just a lowly servant, yet you sit in the same family school as me…"
"Oh? Are you afraid? Afraid that you can't even measure up to the 'lowly, base servant' you speak of?"
Ye Jinghe gently released Pei Du and let him stand behind him. However, his original body had been frail before—even at seven years old, he was only as tall as a five-year-old, just half a head taller than Pei Peng. But at this moment, his aura was fully unleashed, and Pei Peng began to stammer:
"Who's afraid! Even if I can't beat them, can't I beat you? You were too busy grinding ink and laying out paper for Pei Du to learn anything!
I… I'll bet you this: if you don't do better than me on this month's exam, you'll get out of the family school on your own and stop defiling it with your lowly status!"
"No!"
Pei Du hastily grabbed the hem of Ye Jinghe's clothes. If Changfeng left the family school, then would he… never see him again?
Ye Jinghe soothingly patted Pei Du's arm:
"Alright then. And what if I win?"
"How could you possibly win?!"
"That's none of your concern. Just name the stakes. Or are you trying to get something for nothing? You'd even try to swindle a lowly servant like me? I'm just a base, lowly servant who worked hard to earn this chance to study, and you think you can just take it away with a flap of your lips? Young Master Pei Peng, how can you be so black-hearted?"
Ye Jinghe said this with an air of sweet innocence, and Pei Peng's face flushed red with anger. He glared hatefully at Ye Jinghe and said through gritted teeth:
"Then… what do you want?!"
"If you lose, you'll apologize to me and to Young Masters Pei Feng and Pei Huan, and… from now on, you'll follow my master's lead in everything! Do you dare?!"
"I…"
"Tsk, I knew you wouldn't dare. Forget it, just apologize directly and we'll call it even. What do you say?"
Ye Jinghe stood with his arms crossed, looking at Pei Peng with a contemptuous expression that was absolutely infuriating. Pei Peng nearly exploded with rage before finally forcing out:
"Fine, we'll bet! Whoever doesn't bet is a coward!"