Pei Du's small hand holding the teacup paused. He lowered his head, initially wanting to say it was nothing, but somehow, he remembered the words Ye Jinghe had spoken to him, and so he stammered out everything that had happened since he woke up that morning.
"Changfeng is too skinny—he doesn't have the strength to pull me, and he fell flat on his bottom. But I've already punished him… Also, An Xin suddenly made a sound and startled me so much that I dropped my clay whistle and it broke.
M-Mother, I'm not a naughty child who only plays around. It's just that I woke up early today, and I thought since there was nothing to do, I'd play for a little while. I won't do it again."
Madam Pei looked somewhat surprised at Pei Du, who had poured out everything in one breath like dumplings tumbling from a pot, but she quickly composed herself:
"Mhm, Du'er has grown up—you have your own plans now. Studying is certainly important, but there's no harm in loosening the bowstring a little on ordinary days."
Pei Du's eyes lit up:
"So Mother won't rap my palms?"
Madam Pei didn't know whether to laugh or cry:
"How could Mother ever rap your palms?"
"Mother, you're so wonderful!"
Pei Du smiled with his lips pressed together, then suddenly lunged forward to hug Madam Pei, before running off quickly as if shy.
After Pei Du left, the joy in Madam Pei's heart surged up like a rushing tide:
"Wenxin! Did you see that? Du'er, Du'er just hugged me!"
Madam Pei's face flushed with color, tears glistening in her eyes as she gestured with her hands:
"When he was first born, he was only this long when he was taken from my side. After that, whenever he saw me, he was always afraid of me—he wouldn't even let me hold his hand, not even his hand. But he just hugged me! He hugged me!"
Wenxin held Madam Pei's hand, happy on her behalf:
"The young master is growing up slowly, so of course he's willing to be close to his own mother. Madam's good days are still ahead!"
Madam Pei dabbed the corner of her eyes with her handkerchief:
"Du'er is certainly a good child—I had simply assumed the boy had a cold temperament. But today, I caught a glimpse of some Underworld techniques at work.
Go ask the people in Du'er's courtyard to find out who's been whispering in his ear, telling him I would rap his palms."
Wenxin acknowledged the order immediately and withdrew.
On the other side, after returning to his own courtyard, Pei Du shouldered his little satchel and set off with Ye Jinghe toward the Pei family school.
The Pei family was a great clan in Qingzhou, having once produced two chancellors and a general. But when the late emperor passed, the Pei family found itself in a gap between generations, and the previous generation had not entered court service at all.
However, for the sole direct-line blood descendant of this generation, the Pei family held great hopes, having begun teaching him to read at the age of three.
Now, at five years old, Pei Du could already compose several poems full of childlike charm.
For this reason, the Pei family had specially established a family school, allowing branch-line descendants to come and study, hoping that in the future the entire Pei clan would stand together in the court and carry some weight.
Ye Jinghe and Pei Du arrived early—after all, it was within their own estate, just a few steps away.
The schoolroom was empty at this hour. Seeing that the brazier hadn't been lit yet, Ye Jinghe had Pei Du sit to the side with a hand warmer while he picked up a fire striker to light the fire.
This fire striker was quite convenient—Ye Jinghe soon had the brazier burning. Pei Du scooted closer to the brazier and said in a small voice:
"Changfeng, I'm so happy today! Mother's embrace really is fragrant and soft. I was even afraid she might push me away and I'd land on my bottom! But I'm wearing thick clothes today, so even if I fell, it wouldn't hurt."
Ye Jinghe couldn't help but feel somewhat surprised:
"How could the young master think that way? Madam clearly dotes on you immensely—your underclothes, your shirts, your shoes and socks are all sewn by Madam's own hands. When Auntie Wenxin brought them over last time, she made a point of telling Uncle An, and I heard it clearly!"
Pei Du's eyes went wide. Ye Jinghe pointed at Pei Du's shoes:
"Take these shoes of yours, for instance—with soles this thick, just threading the needle and pulling the thread would wear your hands raw with blisters. If Madam didn't dote on you, why would she go to such trouble?"
"I—I didn't know. An Xin never told me."
Pei Du lowered his head, staring at the flickering flames in the brazier. After a long moment, he rubbed his eyes and looked at Ye Jinghe:
"Changfeng, my eyes feel sore."
"Should I blow on them for you?"
Pei Du awkwardly lowered his head:
"No need—I'll just rub them myself."
Before long, a young boy in plain clothes walked in:
"Pei—Pei Du."
Ye Jinghe could tell he'd wanted to say "young master" instead. This was a child from a branch of the Pei family so distant that the relation was hard to trace—his name was Pei Feng.
Hmm, quite similar to the name Ye Jinghe had been given, except this boy had always been called Pei Feng, while Ye Jinghe had only been "Changfeng" for a month.
"Pei Feng, you're here? You came quite early today!"
Pei Du greeted Pei Feng with a smile. Pei Feng set down his book satchel and leaned in close to talk with Pei Du.
Ye Jinghe tilted his head to listen, and saw that Pei Feng—who had seemed a bit timid just a moment ago—pulled out a wrapped package of rice cakes from his satchel and immediately seemed to straighten his back:
"Pei—Pei Du, would you like some? My mother made these with her own hands!"
The words "my mother" were emphasized heavily by Pei Feng, the tone rising at the end with a hint of pride and self-satisfaction.
Pei Du didn't catch on and simply waved his hand:
"I'll pass!"
"Why aren't you eating? My mother made this with her own hands. Your mother doesn't make you anything."
"My mother didn't make me pastries, but she made me shoes. Look at these shoes—the soles are so thick. My mother must have sewn them with great effort!
The pastries your mother made for you must have been hard work too. You should finish them all. And you're right—a mother's embrace really is fragrant and soft!"
Pei Du spoke in a cheerful tone. Pei Feng paused for a moment before slowly saying:
"You… you and your mother…"
"Let me tell you, my mother is actually very gentle. I was wrong to think otherwise before!"
Pei Du's expression carried a hint of sweetness. He took out a book and flipped it open as he spoke: "Anyway, from now on, I'm no longer a child without a mother's love! Hurry up and finish your rice cake and study well. I need to review my lessons first—I promised Mother I would."
Pei Feng gave a soft acknowledgment, but Pei Du, who was looking down at his book, didn't see Pei Feng silently crush the rice cake in his hand into powder.
Ye Jinghe noticed this and his brow twitched slightly. It seemed… the Pei family head had let a wolf into the fold.
However, Ye Jinghe couldn't speak up directly. Even if Pei Feng harbored malicious intentions, he was still a law-abiding citizen. If he ever had the chance to pass the imperial examinations in the future, today's transgressions would be wiped clean.
Then wouldn't the one who pointed this out become the scapegoat?
After a full day and night of ear-splitting noise, Ye Jinghe had learned one principle: talk less, meddle less, and survival comes first!
That said, Ye Jinghe vaguely remembered that his uncle who sent him here hadn't made him sign a permanent indenture contract. He'd need to properly confirm that matter when he got the chance!
A quarter of an hour later, the small classroom gradually filled up. About seventeen or eighteen Pei family youths came to study, and if one or two of them passed the examinations in the coming years, the family school would be considered impressive.
The instructor was Pei Du's own third uncle—the renowned great scholar Pei Qingyan, a rare and handsome man.
The moment he walked in, Ye Jinghe instantly understood the true meaning of the phrase "a room lit up by one's presence."
Even though snow was falling heavily outside, Pei Qingyan wore a plain blue robe with wide sleeves and long garments, exuding elegance and refinement.
Perhaps Pei Qingyan hadn't brought an umbrella on his way over. His dark hair looked like ink melting into snow, his sword-like brows like mist-shrouded peaks, and his long eyes slightly upturned. When he looked down at people, an indescribable nobility radiated from his very bones.
"Everyone's here, it seems. Let's begin today's lesson."
Pei Qingyan taught the Thousand Character Classic that day. Although Pei Du recognized quite a few characters in a rough way, he listened very attentively.
However, Ye Jinghe listened even more attentively than he did, since simplified characters and traditional characters still had some differences.
But unlike Pei Du, he didn't have a brush and ink to use, so he could only trace the strokes on his thigh, silently committing them to memory.
Pei Qingyan's lessons weren't stiff or boring—the group of little sprouts listened with great relish, and Ye Jinghe found relearning characters to be quite enjoyable in its own way.
At noon, the Pei family provided lunch for the children who came to study. Perhaps to let Pei Du familiarize himself early with his future team, Old Master Pei required him to eat with these children.
Ye Jinghe was a book attendant, so he couldn't eat with the others. The small side room not far away was where the servants ate.
That day, the Pei family served the students pork stewed with cabbage and cold dressed shredded radish. The pork was three-layer belly meat, two fingers wide and one finger long. Perhaps because soy sauce had been added, it was a glossy dark brown that looked especially appetizing.
As for the cold dressed shredded radish, it was even more noteworthy—crisp red and white radishes shredded thin, tossed with fragrant vinegar and chili oil. That sour and spicy aroma hit you right in the crown of your head—a proper appetizer to go with rice.
But as Ye Jinghe was leaving, he happened to see Pei Du picking piece after piece of meat from his own bowl and giving them to Pei Feng.
Ye Jinghe opened his mouth as if to speak, but then turned and walked out instead.
"Changfeng's here? Come sit, come sit!"
The moment Ye Jinghe stepped into the side room, two cleaning servants pressed him down onto a bench. Before him was a prepared meal—simple stir-fried cabbage and dried vegetable with tofu, with rice made from a mix of millet and white rice.
"Two big brothers, what's this about?"
"Ahem, Changfeng, you've been studying with the young master for a while now. How's your reading coming along?"
Ye Jinghe was taken aback. Looking at those two earnest, curious eyes, he couldn't help but ask:
"What, you two want to learn to read too?"
The two men fidgeted a little, then said:
"Ah, my wife just had a boy. I signed a fixed-term contract with the household. When my son grows up and learns to read, I won't let him be a servant."
"My little sister keeps pestering me with questions. I'm her older brother—how could I let my sister stump me?"
With those two pairs of eyes fixed on him, Ye Jinghe felt a sense of being at a loss, but more than that… it was a sense of mission to pass on knowledge.
This made Ye Jinghe think of the first ray of light he'd encountered in the backward mountain village where he'd grown up.
That people's teacher who burned herself out, putting down roots in the mountain village.
Back then, when she looked at the children below the podium, was she feeling the same way he felt now?
Then, Ye Jinghe spoke softly:
"Alright, I'll teach you. We'll start with the simplest. Today, we'll learn one character—'person.'"
As Ye Jinghe traced the character on the ground with a charred stick, a few servants nearby who were noisily eating from their bowls turned to watch. Ye Jinghe simply stepped aside and ate his own meal—a full bowl of rice topped with vegetables—off to the side.
The food was bland, but Ye Jinghe had been hungry all night and wasn't picky. He wolfed it down, finishing every last bite in no time.
Meanwhile, the group was staring at the black character as if it were some rare curiosity.
"Person? So this is 'person'!"
"I can write 'person' now!"
"This character is pretty easy to write!"
"Easy to write, but hard to be one…"
Hearing one of them utter such a philosophical remark, Ye Jinghe curved his lips into a faint smile, and the man immediately grew flustered:
"I—I mean, I was just talking nonsense. Changfeng, don't laugh at me."
Ye Jinghe shook his head:
"I'm not laughing at you. You're right. Besides, we eat and talk together here every day—how is that any different from family? And what can't you say to family?"
At Ye Jinghe's words, the tension in everyone's hearts eased, and their bond with him grew a little closer.
Seeing that it was almost time for their shift, the men gradually filed out. A tall, lean young man of about twenty-five or twenty-six lingered behind. Ye Jinghe remembered his name was Ali.
"Changfeng, be careful of An Xin in the young master's courtyard!"