When Wu Tianheng later received the news, he was speechless. Fortunately, the person had passed away only after arriving in Shen Rusong’s territory! At the same time, he felt relieved that he hadn’t dared to let the infant less than a year old travel with them back then—otherwise, they truly would have “gone on the journey” together.
If both his son-in-law’s concubine and illegitimate son had been wiped out while under the care of the Wu family, leaving only the boy promised to be given to his daughter, outsiders would surely think it was his doing, wouldn’t they?
From then on, An Ge’er lost his birth mother and was naturally taken over by Madam Wu. After observing mourning for twenty-seven months in Qinghe County, Shen Rusong brought them back here.
Having roughly sorted out the sequence of events, Shen Yiyi realized she couldn’t extract much more about the Shen family, so she changed direction and continued to argue: “Even if you came first, haven’t you heard ‘the accomplished come first’? Of course, whoever knows more is more capable, and whoever is more capable becomes the boss!”
An Ge’er truly hadn’t heard this saying, but he absolutely would not admit that he hadn’t!
Moreover, he also felt this statement made perfect sense. The capable person should be the boss—no issue there!
After his fifth birthday, his father began his elementary education. He had been studying for several months—how could he possibly be less knowledgeable than this skinny girl!
An Ge’er brimmed with confidence: “Then I’m the capable one!”
“I don’t believe it~ Unless… you let me test you. What year, month, dynasty, and era is it now?”
“The Dayong Dynasty, Yuanhe 22nd Year, July!”
“Correct. Then what is the emperor’s surname? And where is the imperial capital?”
“The imperial capital is Fengjing, and the emperor’s surname is—is—Ji! Yes, it’s Ji!”
Where is Fengjing?
And, Ji?
Shen Yiyi only knew that the Zhou dynasty’s royal family was surnamed Ji. The clothing before her, especially the level of productivity, didn’t look at all like the Spring and Autumn or Warring States period.
Steadying herself, she asked again: “Then what was the previous dynasty’s name? And what was that emperor’s surname?”
Initially feeling a bit nervous upon hearing he would be tested, after correctly answering two common knowledge questions in a row, An Ge’er’s chin was practically tilted toward the sky.
Then, he was stumped by this third question.
Stammering for a long while, he retorted defiantly: “Well, do you know?”
“I don’t know either,” Shen Yiyi admitted generously. Before Little Fatty could feel smug, she added, “When I don’t know something, I look it up in books. You—have you ever read a book?”
Stung by Shen Yiyi’s skeptical gaze, Little Fatty jumped three feet high, shouting: “You’re the one who hasn’t read books! Just you wait!”
He clattered over to the next room, gathered all the books from the desk, carried them back, and tossed them onto the luohan bed. “Look! I’ve read all of these!”
Plan successful! Shen Yiyi gave herself a mental “yes.”
She quickly flipped through the three books—all thread-bound printed editions, in traditional characters, vertically arranged, similar to elementary primers like “Three Character Classic” or “Thousand Character Classic.”
Then, she picked up a copy of “Youxue” and examined it carefully. Whenever she encountered unfamiliar allusions, she asked An Ge’er.
At first, An Ge’er held his head high, thinking, “You don’t even know this,” and answered each question for her, thoroughly enjoying himself. But as she progressed further through the book, he grew increasingly hesitant.
What was going on? Why did this feel like his father checking his homework?
He came to be the boss, not to be tested by his father…
Shen Rusong returned to the inner courtyard after handling the affairs of the Ding and Zhang families. As soon as he entered the courtyard gate, he saw Xiao Man, An Ge’er’s book attendant, tiptoeing outside the window of the eastern wing, peering inside from a distance, not daring to get too close.
Shen Rusong frowned and quietly entered the wing. As he approached the side room, he heard a young girl’s clear voice: “‘You Yu Tao Tang’—this character is pronounced ‘Yu,’ not ‘Hu’ as in tiger.”
His frown instantly eased. Without entering, Shen Rusong stood quietly outside the side room, watching the two children question and answer each other while flipping through a book, the atmosphere quite harmonious (An Ge’er: ? Harmonious my foot!).
After listening for a moment, Shen Rusong realized that Shen Yiyi could actually read the entire book and was eagerly quizzing An Ge’er. In contrast, An Ge’er’s answers were scattered and incomplete.
An Ge’er had been personally tutored by Shen Rusong, but his aptitude was merely average. Yet Shen Yiyi was just a little girl and couldn’t possibly be studying all day (Shen Yiyi: Hah).
Was it that his teaching wasn’t as good as Er Niang’s, or was his daughter exceptionally talented?
Shen Rusong couldn’t help but feel the urge to test Shen Yiyi.
He walked in with a smile, waving for the children not to bow, and asked Shen Yiyi, “Do you enjoy reading?”
Remembering that she had recently established a “studious” persona, Shen Yiyi, unsure of his intentions, could only brace herself and nod. “Yes.”
“Aside from these beginner texts, what else have you read?”
?
I haven’t read any of these either!
Afraid that Shen Rusong might test her on recitation—she had only skimmed through the book once—Shen Yiyi quickly preempted the issue: “There aren’t many books at home. I only learn what Mother teaches me.”
“Aside from the poems she wrote, what else has your mother taught you?” Shen Rusong teased, noting that it was merely oral instruction without proper books. “Surely she didn’t teach you to recite ‘The Master said’ and ‘The Book of Songs’?”
Huh? “The Master said”?
Shen Rusong heard his daughter hesitantly ask, “Which ‘Master’ is this ‘Master said’ referring to?”
“Of course, it’s Confucius! How could you not know that!” Little Fatty, who had nearly been stumped by the quiz, decided to regain face in front of his father.
Confucius?!
With “the Ji-surnamed Dayong Dynasty,” I already concluded it was a fictional dynasty, so how did “Confucius” pop up again?
Seeing Shen Yiyi’s bewildered expression and assuming she hadn’t studied such things as a young girl, Shen Rusong was about to speak when he heard Shen Yiyi tentatively say, “To learn and at due times to repeat what one has learnt?”
“Correct, that’s from the Analects. Do you know any others?”
Password confirmed—it really is that “Confucius”!
In her excitement, Shen Yiyi recited the first two chapters of the Analects in one go.
Others time-travel to “compose poetry,” while I recite textbooks in ancient times!
However, back then, to show off, she had only memorized the full text of these two chapters. For the later parts, she only knew the widely circulated famous lines.
Naturally, she wouldn’t volunteer that she had only memorized up to this point. After reciting, “The Master said, ‘To offer sacrifices to the spirits of those not related to one is flattery. To see what is right and not to do it is cowardice,'” she stopped and smiled sheepishly.
Impressed by her fluency, Shen Rusong asked, “Do you understand the meanings?”
Shen Yiyi nodded.
Have you ever seen a student who memorizes ancient texts without consciously looking up the explanations?
Reciting without understanding the meaning is definitely a “teacher-will-scold” behavior—who wants to lose points?
So, when Shen Rusong asked a question, she answered it, feeling as adept as she had back in Chinese class when called upon to answer questions.
Shen Rusong was utterly astonished.
Being able to recite fluently wasn’t difficult—with enough time, anyone could manage it. The problem was that this little girl’s understanding of the Analects was remarkably accurate, almost on par with those Tongsheng (County-Level Examinees) in the County School.
“What else can you recite?”
Shen Yiyi thought for a moment. Among the Four Books and Five Classics, the texts she could recite—and whose authorship she was certain predated Confucius’s time—
“Guan guan ju jiu, zai he zhi zhou?”
Well, this girl had even studied the Classic of Poetry!
Well, it seemed that besides Confucius, that Zhou Dynasty might also have existed!
Her study of the Classic of Poetry was purely out of personal interest; she had only memorized the parts she liked.
Seeing Shen Yiyi claim she didn’t know much by heart, An Ge’er, who had already been severely shaken, thought this was more like it!
Then, he experienced the shock of believing a top student’s insincere pre-exam claim of “Oh, I didn’t study,” only to see the results when scores were announced.
He watched as Shen Yiyi recited “You you lu ming,” “Tao zhi yao yao,” “Yu zi tong pao,” “Qing qing zi jin”… and the more she recited, the more spirited she became!
This was what she called “not much”? How could someone be so insincere! Little Fatty was utterly enraged.
Why couldn’t this have been a son!
Having been shocked too many times, Shen Rusong’s first reaction now was profound regret.
His father had spent his entire life brooding over failing to pass the Jinshi examination. His two elder brothers were merely literate—they hadn’t even passed the Tongsheng exam—while he himself had taken the exam numerous times before barely scraping through as a Xiucai (Government Student).
If there were such a gifted scholar among his grandchildren, how delighted the old man would have been. What a pity that such talent was found in a granddaughter—it was such a waste…
The thought from that afternoon resurfaced, clearer than ever before.
Yes!
With such exceptional “dragon and phoenix twins,” he didn’t believe any child in the entire clan could compare. The Marquis’s Mansion would surely look upon them favorably!
However, there were quite a few servants in the vicinity who were aware of the situation. How could this be managed?
He would likely need assistance from his father-in-law’s side. The details would require careful planning…
Wu Shi had just finished sharing with Hong’er the shocking melon feast from the front courtyard—the one that had stunned her for a whole year—when she turned and saw Shen Rusong standing alone under the corridor. He wasn’t entering the room, just standing there in solitude, lost in thought.
Right, while others were watching the spectacle, her husband must have been deeply hurt. Wu Shi silently scolded herself for being so careless, not having thought of this immediately.
“Are you hungry, husband? Dinner will still take some time. Would you like some fruit to tide you over?”
Shen Rusong’s mind was entirely occupied with plans for crafting the “dragon and phoenix twins” combination. He didn’t notice what Wu Shi had said at all and casually replied with an “Mm.”
Seeing Shen Rusong so distracted, Wu Shi couldn’t help but feel even more heartache for him.
The Zhang family had wrongly pinned an illegitimate daughter on her husband. Although it was a case of mistaken identity and somewhat understandable, her husband had endured it all these years for the sake of his classmate—how aggrieved he must have felt.
As for the Ding family, they were utterly despicable!
Forcing that adulterous illegitimate daughter into the Shen Family was simply shameless to the extreme! Especially considering her husband was so handsome and dignified—Ding He had actually committed adultery with a servant! Pah! Shameless, black-hearted, and blind to boot!
Poor her husband, a man of such integrity, had been splattered with so much mud over the years and had borne so much undeserved disgrace.
And despite all this, he hadn’t even punished the Ding family. After clarifying the matter, he had even given them silver. His heart was too soft—what a good man he was!
Wu Shi led Shen Rusong inside and sat him down, dismissing the servants before gently massaging his shoulders and cautiously asking, “What is on your husband’s mind? Why not share it with me?” Don’t trouble yourself over those wretched things—they’re not worth it!
“Dragon-phoenix twins.”
“Ah?” Wu Shi was taken aback—this wasn’t what she had expected.
“—Didn’t you say the other day that you wanted dragon-phoenix twins? I was just thinking about how to give you a pair.” Shen Rusong snapped back to reality and hurriedly explained. As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt the excuse was too far-fetched—no one would believe it.
Just as he was thinking of how to smooth things over, Wu Shi had already believed him.