Watching Lu Jinghan’s pained expression, Zhao Qingning sighed and took his hand.
Though she wasn’t much older in her modern life and certainly didn’t have such a grown son, she didn’t mind comforting him for now.
She cleared her throat gently, “Be good, Xiao Jiu, Mother is here.”
Qiuhua: “…”
Faintly hearing the response, Lu Jinghan struggled to open his eyes, wanting to see what this gentle mother looked like.
Finally, a sliver of light appeared in his world, and he saw the figure.
As his vision gradually cleared, a youthful face came into view.
Zhao Qingning.
She was holding his hand, soothing him tenderly.
Lu Jinghan: “…”
For the first time, his expression became truly complicated.
Seeing him wake up, Zhao Qingning couldn’t help exclaiming, “You’re finally awake! You scared me to death.”
She patted her chest in relief, letting out a soft sigh before smiling.
Lu Jinghan felt somewhat dazed.
This seemed to be the first time someone had felt genuinely happy that he was alive.
In the past, even when he was beaten so badly he couldn’t get up, no one cared. Every time he forced himself through it and woke up, he would only face harsher punishment.
Back then, he often fantasized about how wonderful it would be to never wake up – life was so bleak and exhausting that death seemed appealing.
But looking at Zhao Qingning’s smile now, he suddenly didn’t feel tired anymore.
“Doctor, please come check how he’s doing?”
The doctor came forward to examine him before saying, “This young master is no longer in mortal danger, but he still needs proper recuperation. He must continue taking medicine, and it would be best to find some nourishing supplements for him to consolidate his foundation and recover completely.”
Zhao Qingning memorized these instructions.
After everyone left, she had someone bring the medicinal soup and carefully blew on it to cool it down.
Lu Jinghan instinctively reached for it, but he was too weak to hold it.
When the medicine was fed into his mouth, he was completely stunned.
Zhao Qingning was actually feeding him personally.
Her action shocked him so much he didn’t know how to react, only mechanically swallowing and nearly choking himself.
“Don’t get saved only to choke to death,” Zhao Qingning quickly wiped the medicine stains from his mouth.
She sighed, “I’m sorry, this was my negligence. Nothing like this will happen again.”
She had punished the guards too, and now everyone knew she genuinely valued Lu Jinghan – people didn’t even dare come to the backyard anymore.
As for Chen Jinbao, he had become much more subdued after her outburst that day, though Zhao Qingning remained vigilant and had people secretly watching him.
Lu Jinghan watched her, motionless.
He knew she was the one who had saved him.
All this time, she had been the one treating him well.
But he couldn’t understand why her attitude had changed.
What value could a lowly servant like him possibly have that deserved her attention?
The academy bell rang.
“Oh dear, I need to get to class, or the teacher will be angry again,” Zhao Qingning said after finishing feeding him the medicine. “Rest well for now. If you have any problems, tell Li Dezhong. I’ll come check on you later.”
Nearby, the eunuch steward Li Dezhong quickly nodded in agreement.
Lu Jinghan could only watch her leave.
While changing his bandages, Li Dezhong remarked with emotion, “You’re really fortunate, young man.”
Lu Jinghan remained expressionless.
If someone had told him this before, he would have thought they were mocking him.
But today, he actually felt that he might indeed be a fortunate person.
Zhao Qingning went to the main hall and only after sitting in her seat did she notice that the people around her had instinctively moved further away, and no one dared to speak to her.
Not far away, Chen Jinbao watched with schadenfreude, waiting for her to lose her temper.
After all, when Zhao Qingning first revealed her true nature upon arriving at the academy and found herself isolated, she had thrown a massive fit.
Back then, he had taken the initiative to talk to her, but he wouldn’t do that now.
However, he didn’t see the outburst he had imagined.
Instead, Zhao Qingning calmly pulled out her chair and sat down, completely oblivious to the fact that others were isolating her.
After class, Chen Jinbao deliberately led the boys in playing games, while the girls all gathered around Jiang Zhiyi.
Only Zhao Qingning remained seated alone, untouched by the lively atmosphere around her.
Chen Jinbao occasionally glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and found her remarkably composed, which infuriated him.
It wasn’t that they were isolating her—Zhao Qingning was isolating the entire main hall all by herself!
In reality, Zhao Qingning truly hadn’t noticed his petty schemes.
She was preoccupied with deciding which tonics would help Lu Jinghan recover faster.
She had heard there was a century-old ginseng in the mansion’s storeroom—giving it to him should speed up his recovery.
And there was snow lotus too, she remembered they had some.
She mentally listed these supplements one by one and even made a written list, planning to have the storeroom prepare them as soon as she returned.
Just as Yang Fuzi entered the room, she tucked the list away and obediently focused on the lesson.
The material the teacher was covering was quite basic, and as she listened, her mind began to wander again.
“Fuzi, Zhao Qingning can recite it.”
Suddenly, a voice broke through her thoughts. Zhao Qingning snapped back to attention and saw everyone staring at her.
Not far away, Chen Jinbao repeated with a smug grin, “Zhao Qingning can recite it. Why not let her recite it for us? We could all learn a thing or two.”
The others watched with curiosity.
The teacher had been teaching the Thousand Character Classic, which was quite challenging—just being able to read it through was an accomplishment. Everyone knew that the Zhao young lady was practically illiterate and could barely recognize a few characters.
Chen Jinbao was clearly picking a fight, trying to embarrass Zhao Qingning.
Yang Fuzi frowned. “Stop causing trouble.”
Chen Jinbao replied maliciously, “Fuzi, she really can. How could the daughter of the esteemed Grand Princess not even recite the Thousand Character Classic?”
He knew Zhao Qingning well—she was extremely proud and couldn’t stand being provoked like this. But since she was uneducated, she would end up humiliating herself.
Zhao Qingning narrowed her eyes and feigned concern. “Chen Jinbao, the wounds on your backside must be almost healed, right?”
On the day she and Chen Jinbao had their falling out, Yongjia noticed something was off and asked a few questions. Zhao Qingning told her the truth. Perhaps feeling her daughter had been wronged, Yongjia paid a visit to the Weiyuan Marquis.
It was said that same night, the Marquis personally took matters into his own hands and gave his son a thrashing so severe he howled in pain, leaving his backside swollen.
This wasn’t exactly a secret. At the mention of it, their classmates snickered quietly, and Chen Jinbao flushed with anger.
In all his life, it was the first time his father had ever laid a hand on him.
And it was all because of Zhao Qingning!
How could he not seek revenge?
That’s why he was deliberately trying to make a fool of her.
“Quiet, quiet!” Yang Fuzi scolded the laughing students, then turned to Zhao Qingning. “If you can recite it, do so. If not, then practice reading more.”
He didn’t expect her to know it.
To everyone’s surprise, Zhao Qingning closed her book and lazily began, “Heaven and earth, dark and yellow; the universe, vast and wild. Sun and moon, full and waning; stars and constellations, spread out in array…”
It was just the Thousand Character Classic. After all, she had received nine years of compulsory education—how could she not recite it?
The hall fell silent.
Yang Fuzi’s expression shifted from confusion to shock, and then to utter disbelief.
She actually managed to recite it?!
From a dunce to a genius?
“How… how did you manage to recite it? Just a few days ago, you couldn’t even memorize the Three Character Classic.” Yang Fuzi looked at the person before him with cautious amazement, both shocked and delighted. “Such rapid progress in just a few days—you’re a genius.”
Had he misjudged her before? Could this girl actually achieve great things?
Hearing this, Chen Jinbao’s face darkened.
He couldn’t recite it himself, nor did he recognize most of the characters, and he had no idea whether Zhao Qingning’s recitation was correct. But judging by the teacher’s reaction, she had actually succeeded.
The others were equally astonished.
What was this? They were all supposed to be failures, yet Zhao Qingning had secretly worked her way to the top and staged a comeback!