Pei Peng spoke with reckless abandon, completely unaware that he was being led around by the nose. He threw down his final ultimatum:
"I refuse to believe that I can't outdo a servant like you who hasn't put a single ounce of effort into his studies! Master's monthly examination today is probably just an excuse to kick you out of the family school early! The bet is on, we're doing this!"
"Ah, yes, yes, yes!"
Ye Jinghe responded perfunctorily. Even though he had been acknowledged, Pei Peng still felt furious about it.
But no matter how hard he tried, he simply couldn't vent this anger. When he walked out of the classroom, he finally couldn't hold it in any longer and kicked the osmanthus tree outside the door.
It was cold winter, and the frost on the tree had frozen into ice. After being warmed by the sun for a while, the melted water came crashing down, drenching Pei Peng completely:
"This damn tree is working against me too! If this were my house, I'd have chopped you down and burned you as firewood long ago!"
Pei Peng wiped the water from his face and said hatefully. Pei Du, seeing Pei Peng like this, couldn't help but laugh out loud:
"Serves you right! Someone should give this osmanthus tree some good fertilizer!"
Ye Jinghe smiled faintly, and Pei Du looked at him with sparkling eyes:
"Changfeng, let's go eat!"
Ye Jinghe smiled at Pei Du but took a step back:
"Young Master, although I study at the family school, I am still your book boy. Besides… if I go today, I'm afraid it will only cause more trouble."
"But…"
Pei Du's mind spun, seemingly about to use his newly learned tea ceremony skills again, but the ever-silent Pei Feng stood up:
"He doesn't want to. Besides, Pei Du, do you want him to be humiliated again?"
Pei Feng shot Ye Jinghe a look that said 'I understand you,' then pulled Pei Du and walked outside.
Pei Huan scratched his head at this moment:
"Chang—Changfeng, that's your name, right? Being able to study is no easy feat. You shouldn't have made that bet with Pei Peng just now. But don't worry, you did it for me and Pei Feng's sake. When the time comes, I'll have my grandfather talk to Third Uncle. I won't let you get kicked out."
Pei Huan looked simple and honest, but he could strike right at the heart of the matter. His grandfather was someone even Pei Du had to call Second Grandfather—a direct suppression by seniority. He was truly rough on the outside but fine on the inside.
"Thank you, Young Master Pei Huan, but I have this matter well in hand!"
When Ye Jinghe said this, Pei Huan gave him a helpless look and said vaguely:
"Your identity after all… In any case, some things are better left for Pei Du to speak up about. He is, after all, the legitimate young master of the Pei family. Surely you can't be speaking for him forever?"
Ye Jinghe was taken aback. Before he could recover, Pei Huan had already left.
Pei Huan's words deeply inspired Ye Jinghe. He always felt a bit more pity for Pei Du's younger self because he knew his future.
But now—was everything he was doing really any different from what Changfeng did in the book?
He constantly reminded himself not to repeat the same mistakes, yet he never realized he had already become too deeply immersed in the role.
Ye Jinghe let out a sigh and pushed open the door to the servants' quarters. The lively chatter inside came to an abrupt halt. Ye Jinghe suppressed his troubled thoughts and said with a smile:
"Quite a full house today, isn't it?"
Silence. Not a sound. Ali seemed to want to stand up and say something, but someone pulled him back down.
The smile on Ye Jinghe's face couldn't help but freeze. He tried again:
"What's wrong with everyone? Have I offended you all somehow?"
"No, no. It's just that the master thinks highly of you. Who knows when we'll have to start calling you Young Master Changfeng?"
Someone said this with a sarcastic tone. Ye Jinghe's heart felt like it had been pricked, but his expression remained unchanged. There are always those who are willing to walk with you through hardship, yet just as you're about to climb out, they drag you back down.
"Where did you all hear this from? Since everyone already knows, then after class, I'll definitely ask the master for clarification!"
"Hmph! See, nothing's even happened yet and you're already putting on young master airs! You want to see the master? That's if you can even get an audience!
You think you're so capable? Then why doesn't the young master bring you to dine with his classmates? Isn't it because he's ashamed of you?
I heard Third Master gave an examination today. If you don't pass, do you even have the face to stay?"
The servant's words were like knives. If the seven-year-old Changfeng had really been standing there today, he would have been scared to tears.
Ye Jinghe looked at him calmly:
"What, are you jealous?"
"Jealous of you? You—"
Ye Jinghe smiled, then suddenly charged forward, slamming his head directly into the man's abdomen with a vicious headbutt:
"Go on! Keep talking!"
Caught off guard, the man actually fell to the ground. Ye Jinghe pinned him down and threatened him. The man flew into a rage and raised his fist. Ye Jinghe lifted his head high, staring at him intently:
"Come on! Hit me! Right here! You'd better be able to strike through the mountain and shatter my brain without cracking my skull—otherwise, servants brawling means immediate sale! I'm on a living contract, you're on a death contract. Let's see who comes out worse!"
Ye Jinghe stared at the man for a long while, and only when he saw that the man made no move did he slowly kneel down on one knee. As he tried to ease his still-dizzy head, he unhurriedly smoothed out the wrinkles on the man's chest and said in a gentle voice:
"Tsk, why are you all in such a hurry? If I learn well, then in the future, when you have children, do you think the masters would allow them to learn a few characters too?
You all went to great lengths to beg me to teach you before, which shows you know the importance of literacy. Why are you so fixated on this?
If I succeed, you benefit; if I fail, it doesn't affect you in the slightest. So who exactly are you sticking your necks out for in such a rush?"
Ye Jinghe spoke slowly and calmly, but every word struck like a nail hammered into everyone's hearts:
"You're all no longer young, and you're parents yourselves. You should think about your own families. Whether my words make sense, you can judge for yourselves. Think it over carefully."
With that, Ye Jinghe pushed himself up from the ground and stood. He walked over to the rice bucket and the dish bucket, where only some leftover scraps remained, but Ye Jinghe didn't mind. Just as he was about to scoop himself a bowl, he heard Ali call out urgently:
"Changfeng, don't eat that!"
Ye Jinghe looked at Ali, who broke free from the grip of the person beside him and said in a low voice:
"There's spit in there. Don't eat it."
The ladle in Ye Jinghe's hand clattered to the ground:
"Whose?"
The man on the ground also scrambled to his feet. Not meeting Ye Jinghe's eyes, he lowered his head and said:
"M-mine!"
"Eat it all. Don't waste it."
The moment Ye Jinghe said this, the man instinctively wanted to argue back, but Ye Jinghe said directly:
"If you don't finish it, I won't teach you to read anymore!"
Ali was stunned:
"Ch-Changfeng, you'd still be willing to teach us?"
"Of course!"
"But… why? We just did something wrong…"
Ali lowered his head, feeling some regret that he hadn't struggled harder. But Ye Jinghe simply turned slowly to look at the others, and wherever his gaze passed, everyone lowered their heads and averted their eyes.
"People are not grass or trees—who can be without fault?"
As Ye Jinghe's words fell, everyone looked bewildered. Ye Jinghe chuckled:
"In plain terms, it means people can't avoid making mistakes. You did wrong at first, but after what I said, don't you all know where you went wrong?
This is the original purpose of learning. Reading enlightens the mind and brings understanding. Even if you're doing this for your own little families right now, one day, when you know more characters and understand more principles, you won't choose the wrong path."
The man covered his face, crying as he stuffed the leftover scraps into his mouth:
"I'll eat it, I'll eat it! It's precisely because I couldn't read that I signed a death contract with the matchmaker. If not for the kindness of my masters, I would have been done for! I can't let my child suffer the same loss!"
The man buried his head in eating. An old servant with graying hair pulled a blackened roasted sweet potato from his bosom and handed it to Ye Jinghe:
"Changfeng, have this to tide you over and fill your stomach."
Ye Jinghe was taken aback. He had eaten a lot in the morning, and with his emotions having surged twice today, he didn't really have much of an appetite at the moment.
But meeting the old servant's eyes, Ye Jinghe paused for a moment, then thanked him and accepted it. The roasted sweet potato still carried its warm skin. When he broke open the ash-gray outer peel, the pale golden flesh inside gave off a sweet aroma that tempted one to devour it bite by bite!
After Ye Jinghe ate the sweet potato, the atmosphere gradually began to thaw. Ye Jinghe picked up the fire poker:
"Today, we'll learn two characters. This one is 'trust,' and this one is 'righteousness'! Without trust, a person cannot stand; without righteousness, a person cannot endure. Only by being a person of feeling and honor can one truly taste the essence of life…"
Within the small room, the atmosphere that had been as cold as ice slowly began to flow again, and by the end, it was even livelier than before.
Ye Jinghe also learned that the man he had clashed with earlier was named Shi Chui. His hands were now covered in the black soot from tracing characters. He glanced at Ye Jinghe and said in a low voice:
"When I first arrived at the manor, I botched my assignment and was nearly starved to death by the steward. It was An Xin who gave me a bite to eat, and that's how I survived.
I'm sorry for today. It's also because I heard that An Xin's little grandson is frail and is about to be sent to the estate by the Old Madam. I thought… maybe he could take over your position. That's why I came up with this foolish scheme. I, Shi Chui, take responsibility for my own actions—I'll accept any punishment, as long as you're still willing to teach me to read!"
For the sake of that single meal of kindness, he had deliberately rallied most of the others to try and push Ye Jinghe out—but in the end, it was he himself who had been persuaded.
Shi Chui's heart was filled with mixed feelings, but at this moment he had only one thought:
'Damn, these educated folks really can talk! If his son ever had even a third of this skill, he could die with his eyes closed!'
"Alright, since you've said that, I have to punish you. From now on, your punishment is to serve me my meals."
"Th-that's it?"
"A few words in exchange for a beating—I'm not losing out either."
Ye Jinghe grinned, and Shi Chui was completely deflated.
By the time Ye Jinghe returned to the classroom, before he could even get comfortable in his seat, Pei Qingyan swept in with a chill breeze and slapped a stack of exam papers onto the desk. The classroom fell abruptly silent.
"I've finished grading your monthly exam papers. I'll now call out names in order of merit—excellent, good, poor, and failing. Five errors or fewer is excellent, ten or fewer is good, twenty or fewer is poor, and fifty or fewer is failing. Those who fail will copy today's exam paper ten times!"
Pei Qingyan's face darkened, fury flickering in his black jade-like eyes, his usual gentle and refined demeanor on the verge of crumbling.