Lu Chi picked up another cloth bag and tossed it over; thud... it went in again.
Meng Anzhi's expression was unreadable; the cloth bag she threw still hit the edge of the wooden bucket. Lu Chi was now somewhat regretful; he shouldn't have argued with the little girl. What would he do if he made her cry?
But he couldn't stand Jin Shanyao's arrogant expression, and when he threw it again, he found that the hole was blocked by the little girl, so he chose a different angle to throw it.
Thump... The pocket hit Meng Anzhi's pocket and bounced away.
Lu Chi thought to himself, "Forget it, I'll just consider it giving the little girl some water." But after several attempts, he couldn't get another one in; the opening of the wooden bucket was completely blocked by Meng Anzhi.
Just as he was thinking that he shouldn't have played a game with a child out of spite, he heard Meng Anzhi say softly, " Gouya, you lost."
"What? Are you out of your mind? I got two in, and you didn't get a single one in."
Meng Anzhi raised an eyebrow, her movement Jin Shanyao's. She tossed the bag into the air, and with a thud, all the cloth bags hanging from the bucket's opening were knocked into the bucket.
Lu Chi exclaimed in surprise, realizing what had happened, and angrily spun around in place. "You cheated! You blocked the entrance and wouldn't let me in. That's an unfair victory!"
Meng Anzhi smiled sweetly, "You can't focus on the rules in a competition; you have to focus on your opponent. If you want to win, just take care of them, and you're done. Don't you read military strategy books? We read them every night."
Lu Chi paused, "You guys are still reading military books?"
Meng Anzhi nodded, "Not only did he read military books, but also medical books, arithmetic, laws, and erotic pictures..."
Lu Chi quickly covered her mouth, his heart pounding with fear. He said to Jin Shanyao with displeasure, "Why do you give the child all sorts of books? Do you even know how to teach?"
Jin Shanyao head, puzzled. "The ancients said that reading enlightens one's mind. Were they wrong? Besides, that child asked me how she came to be. I can't exactly say she grew on a tree, can I?"
"You..." Lu Chi was speechless after being rebuked. He thought angrily that one day when Jin Shanyao became his maid, he would make her look at erotic pictures every day.
Stare at her until you vomit...
"I'll teach these kids, you don't need to," Lu Chi had grown quite fond of the children after spending so much time with them. He didn't want the two little ones to be ruined by Jin Shanyao's influence, so he decided to step in himself and correct their values.
Seeing her prey take the bait, Jin Shanyao scoffed, "You know the Six Arts of a Gentleman?"
A woman who has never seen the world only knows how to fixate on the Six Arts of a Gentleman.
Lu Chi snorted, "I'm proficient in all four arts: rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics. During my stay, I will teach the children, and you are not allowed to let them read any random books."
Jin Shanyao her head, "I don't want to learn musical instruments."
What does that mean?
"My two kids aren't songstresses, who are they playing the piano for?"
"You... are vulgar and ignorant," Lu Chi gritted his teeth in anger. "Music cultivates a gentleman's gentle nature and helps him avoid being impetuous; it's not as sordid as you think."
"Oh..."
Lu Chi was most annoyed by her attitude, and was about to be disrespectful when Meng Anci exclaimed in surprise, "You know how to use a bow and arrow?"
"Hmph... that was back in the day..."
"Don't think about it yet, teach me archery now," Meng Anci interrupted him, pulling him to Jin Shanyao's side. "Auntie, I want to go home and practice archery."
He Zhao Zhiyuan in etiquette at the academy, and inferior to Shi Yan in horsemanship and Shiyan; these three aspects almost became Meng Anci's nightmare.
On the sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, the academy was going to hold a horse and archery competition and asked parents to come and watch. He didn't want to embarrass his aunt.
Jin Shanyao casually pulled out a hundred-tael silver note and handed it to him, saying lazily, "Why go home? It's too much trouble. Go buy two good bows and arrows and keep them in the shop for later use."
Lu Chi assumed one of the bows was for him and thought to himself that she was quite sensible. "Buying just one bow and arrow is enough; I don't need it."
Jin Shanyao in surprise, "It wasn't bought for you, it's for Anzhi."
Lu Chi's smile froze on his face, his heart sinking. "I... I..." he stammered, finally managing to say, "Girls don't need to learn the Six Arts of a Gentleman."
Jin Shanyao her gaze and continued staring blankly at the eaves. "My child wants to learn."
Lu Chi thought to himself, "Let him learn it; it's better than looking at erotic pictures."
From that day on, after finishing school, Meng Anci would follow Lu Chi around to learn archery.
Lu Chi was, after all, a young master from the Aristocratic Clan. Even if he was uneducated, he was still better than the local tutor. He wanted to teach his two children to play the zither, but Jin Shanyao fooled him by saying the children were too young.
Tell him to learn some martial arts to protect himself.
Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci unknowingly increased their workload, and their lives were worse than those of cattle and horses.
Time flew by and it was already the sixth day of the twelfth lunar month. When Meng Anci out, he saw his aunt and sister dressed in red. His lips twitched slightly. "What's going on with you two?"
Jin Shanyao and said, "Of course, I'm here to encourage you."
"Yes, it's our first time visiting the academy, so we wanted to dress up in something festive," Meng Anzhi said, fastening her fox fur coat and taking the hand warmer from Qing He, which she then put into her bosom.
Meng Anci pushed away the clothes Qing Yang offered, "Fox fur isn't suitable for horse racing today, put it away."
Qing Yang asked, "Aren't you bringing a hand warmer?"
"I won't bring it anymore; it's too much trouble to manage."
Lu Chi leaned against the threshold, lost in memories as he looked at the scene before him. He missed his aunt too; now that he was missing, he wondered how worried she must be.
Unfortunately, no one in this remote and impoverished place knew him, making it difficult to even send a message.
After they finished packing up, they left the shop.
Jin Shanyao noticed Lu Chi following behind her and asked in confusion, "Why aren't you at home chopping wood? What are you doing following us?"
Lu Chi, with his neck stiff, said, "I have to see where my apprentice ranks."
Jin Shanyao chuckled softly, "Very well... You're so tough, aren't you? When you redeem yourself, you won't be leaving without at least ten or twenty thousand."
The small border county has a small population, and with the Green Mountain Academy being famous, all the prominent people in the county send their children there for their early education. They joke and laugh with each other, creating a lively atmosphere.
"Did you hear? The dean is coming today."
"Isn't the dean at the main campus in the capital? Why is he at this branch campus?"
"Tsk... You don't understand. Master Zhao and the Dean are uncle and nephew. They come to check on the students' studies every year at the end of the year. This year, they happened to come early because the academy was organizing an event."
As they were talking, they noticed Meng Anzhi, not because she was pretty, but because her fox fur coat was too eye-catching.
They looked Meng Anzhi up and down, whispering, "See that? That fox fur is made of fine leather, what a pity... I wonder which old garment it was taken from and altered. Wearing it like that is really..."
Before she could finish speaking, the ladies around her exchanged knowing, disdainful smiles. "Look at her head, she doesn't even have a decent headdress. Her shoes are deerskin, but unfortunately they're bare and have no embroidery."
"What kind of embroidery pattern do you want? I don't even know where I borrowed this whole set from."
They knew a little about the Jin Shanyao, and in the summer they would always bring an oxcart to pick people up. The sight of the oxcart stopping at the entrance of the academy always lowered the academy's prestige.
It's a pity he was just a fortune teller with little wealth and no connections; otherwise, I might have been able to make some connections with him.
"Stop talking, they're coming."