[Even his coming to the Imperial Academy was because Mr. Feng, whom he revered, was here.]
Feng Yinsong, who was passing by, paused. Who revered him?
Feng Yinsong poked his head around the entrance to the women's school and said with a smile, "I thought I just heard someone calling me."
Lou Yingyu said, "Your Mr. Feng has appeared..."
She looked back at Yue Hangjin, only to find that the man she had just angered until his face and neck turned red had silently turned around.
Lou Yingyu reached out a finger and poked Yue Hangjin in the back.
Yue Hangjin remained unmoved. His eyes tightly shut, he murmured, "What virtue or ability do I possess to deserve another meeting with Mr. Feng?"
Lou Yingyu: "?"
"You're a master of Confucian scholarship. Have a little confidence."
Yue Hangjin's back trembled. "That counts for nothing. Nothing at all."
He fell far short of Mr. Feng.
Lou Yingyu: "..."
[If that counts for nothing, then I'm just a lump of rotten mud.]
Lou Yingyu wanted to laugh. She looked up and met Tong Aning's eyes, then immediately shrugged to express her helplessness.
[Ah, that's how it is when you're facing your idol.]
Lou Yingyu would never be like that. If she particularly revered someone, she would definitely charge up to them, throw all caution to the wind, and get what she wanted first.
Her father had scolded her, calling such behavior banditry.
What was wrong with being a bandit? She called it courage.
Lou Yingyu immediately slapped the table and stood up, leaving Tong Aning and Azhu blinking in astonishment.
Tong Aning and Azhu exchanged a glance. Neither knew what Lou Yingyu intended to do.
Feng Yinsong swept his gaze over everyone and pursed his lips in disappointment. "If no one wants me, I'll be going..."
"Wait a moment."
Lou Yingyu pushed Yue Hangjin in front of Feng Yinsong. Yue Hangjin had no idea where she had found such strength.
Feng Yinsong asked, "What's this?"
Lou Yingyu said considerately, "Mr. Feng, I previously ruined the autograph you gave Mr. Yue. Could you write him another? Otherwise, he'll never let me off."
Lou Yingyu looked pitiful. "I'm so miserable."
"Outrageous."
Trembling, Yue Hangjin tried to leave, only for Lou Yingyu to grab him again.
Lou Yingyu whispered, "Oh, please. You don't want to leave at all."
Yue Hangjin's face reddened with agitation. Lou Yingyu had been mischievous as a child, and even now that she was grown, she still wouldn't spare him.
Thinking this, he instinctively covered his beard.
Lou Yingyu snorted with laughter. "Don't worry. I'm no longer the beard-pulling Lou Yingyu I once was."
Yue Hangjin looked at her, suddenly feeling a little dazed. Had Lou Yingyu... evolved?
Lou Yingyu looked at Feng Yinsong and asked, "What do you think, Mr. Feng?"
Feng Yinsong's eyes lit up. "Really?"
Lou Yingyu said, "Absolutely. Guaranteed."
Feng Yinsong rubbed his hands excitedly. "To think I'd have such an honor..."
Feng Yinsong was about to step inside to get paper and a brush when he suddenly stopped, conflicted. "No, this won't do. Since this calligraphy is for Mr. Yue, I must show my utmost sincerity. I'll go back and fast for three days, then bathe and burn incense."
Lou Yingyu thought, By then, even the daylily dishes would have gone cold.
She was just about to grab Feng Yinsong when a pair of hands reached out from beside her and solemnly clasped his.
Tears streamed down Yue Hangjin's aged face. "Mr. Feng... you hold me in such esteem."
Feng Yinsong's eyes were likewise wet. "You don't know this, Mr. Yue, but I love your poetry most of all. Some of my paintings were inspired by your poems. It was you who made me what I am."
"No wonder, no wonder!" Yue Hangjin's voice rang like a great bell as he patted the back of Feng Yinsong's hand. "Whenever I look at your paintings, I find myself in a similar state of mind."
The two regretted not having met sooner and wished they could share drinks and conversation.
Lou Yingyu gaped.
[Are we not having class today, then?]
Tong Aning was getting ready to pack her things.
At the mention of class, Feng Yinsong and Yue Hangjin immediately reined themselves in.
Yue Hangjin walked back with a stern face and opened his book. "Now we'll begin spot-checking your recitation..."
Tong Aning: "..."
[I'm going to die.]
[Don't be afraid, host. Haven't you still got me?]
Tong Aning perked up again.
Lou Yingyu and Azhu were terribly envious. If only they had a system too, though even now, neither knew what exactly Tong Aning's system was.
The first person called on was Tong Aning.
Tong Aning answered fluently, and Yue Hangjin should have been very satisfied. Unfortunately, he knew perfectly well that the thing called a system was helping her cheat.
Very well. He would see whether the system or this old man was more formidable.
Next, Yue Hangjin broke apart the classics and asked exceptionally tricky, peculiar questions, twisting this way and that until even Tong Aning was dizzy, let alone the system.
[Host, I'm a little dizzy. I need to go offline for a rest.]
[Hey, hey, hey...]
Yue Hangjin said, "The final line. Tong Aning, finish it for me."
Tong Aning stumbled over her words, but at least she managed to finish it.
Yue Hangjin looked at her with gratification. "Your foundation isn't bad. You simply don't quite believe in yourself."
The formerly stern Yue Hangjin suddenly grew a little more kindly. "Have confidence in yourself."
[Wah, why am I suddenly a little touched?]
She ought to be touched. Wasn't this precisely the meaning of imparting principles, teaching knowledge, and resolving doubts?
"Who's next? Is it Lou Yingyu, who pulled my beard?"
"Hey!" Lou Yingyu protested indignantly. "I just helped you get Mr. Feng's autograph."
Yue Hangjin said seriously, "In that respect, you are my teacher. You're bold and brave, daring to think and act. I am your inferior, but..."
Lou Yingyu craned her neck. "But what?"
Yue Hangjin harrumphed. "Your recitation still falls a little short."
Lou Yingyu: "..."
No wonder she had pulled Yue Hangjin's beard. He must have been just as annoying when she was little.
Azhu was last.
She could recite everything Yue Hangjin asked, but fell a little short in citing the classics. All of that required accumulation and couldn't be improved overnight.
Yue Hangjin pointed to the three of them in turn. "Think more, recite more, read more."
Yue Hangjin said this so often that those three phrases were practically becoming nicknames for Tong Aning, Lou Yingyu, and Azhu.
Tong Fengye asked, "Fourth Sister, why does everyone call you Little Si?"
Tong Aning gave him a gloomy look. Tong Fengye pressed his lips together guiltily, and Feng Chu said, "Don't go lifting the one kettle that hasn't boiled."
Tong Aning immediately chimed in, "Feng Chu's right!"
Feeling very pleased, Feng Chu suggested, "Aning, how about I become your big brother?"
Tong Aning: "..."
Tong Fengye rolled up his sleeves. "Feng Chu, you..."
Tong Aning held his hand down and said solemnly, "I'm not short on big brothers, but I could use a little lackey."
Feng Chu knew when to bend and when to stand tall. "A little lackey works too."
This time, Tong Fengye truly couldn't stand it. He threw a punch. "Look at you showing off."
Feng Chu dodged Tong Fengye's fist and exclaimed, "Hey, I think I see my sister."
Tong Fengye turned to look. He had thought Feng Chu was making an excuse, but unexpectedly, he really did see Feng Jingruo.
With Feng Jingruo there, Tong Fengye restrained himself considerably.
Feng Jingruo walked toward them and asked gently, "Finished with school?"
All three nodded together. "Yes."
Tong Aning and Tong Fengye also greeted her. "Sister Feng."
Feng Jingruo's eyes curved. "Such good children."
She trusted both Tong Aning and Tong Fengye. With them keeping Feng Chu company at the Imperial Academy, she imagined he wouldn't be lonely and could find his way onto the right path sooner.
Feng Chu peered behind Feng Jingruo and asked, "Sister, why are you here alone? Where's Brother-in-law?"
A happy smile appeared on Feng Jingruo's face. "Your brother-in-law remembered that I love iced cream curds and went to buy some."
Feng Chu lifted his chin. "Have Brother-in-law buy some for us too."
Feng Jingruo looked at him and teased, "You won't be left out."
They entered the teahouse.
Only then did Feng Chu learn that his brother-in-law's maternal uncle had been transferred back to the capital a few days ago. Because his uncle and aunt had divorced years earlier, today was originally meant to be a matchmaking meeting arranged for him.
Feng Chu had no interest whatsoever in the matchmaking. He asked, "What's he like? Does he stir up trouble? Has he made things difficult for you?"
Feng Jingruo smiled. "Don't worry. No one can get the better of me. Uncle is an honest, well-behaved man."
As they spoke, Feng Jingruo's husband, Yan Yunze, returned.
He set the iced cream curds in front of them and told his wife quietly, "Mother just told me Uncle didn't particularly like any of those women."
Feng Jingruo was a little surprised. "Could Uncle have no intention of remarrying at all?"
Every one of those women was outstanding, carefully selected by her and her mother-in-law. Yet none had caught Uncle's eye?
Uncle's standards were rather too high.
Yan Yunze shook his head. "If that were really the case, why would Uncle have asked Mother to arrange this for him?"
"True. Will she keep arranging meetings, then?"
"Mother said Uncle's ambitions reach higher than the heavens, and she can't be bothered with him anymore."
Feng Jingruo pushed a teacup toward Yan Yunze. "Then let's stay out of it too. After all, it's Uncle's business. As his juniors, even if we wanted to interfere, it's not our place."
"Understood. I'll do as my wife says."
Tong Fengye sighed admiringly. "They're so close."
Feng Chu clenched his hands. "If they weren't, I'd chop my brother-in-law up!"
Tong Fengye: "..."
He admitted that in this respect, he was no match for Feng Chu, but in other respects, that wasn't necessarily so.
The three lowered their heads to eat, then suddenly saw Feng Jingruo and Yan Yunze both stand up.
"Uncle."
Through the gap between the couple, Tong Aning and the other two saw the man. His features were fairly regular, but he was getting on in years, and his hair was graying.
[This must be the uncle they've been talking about?]
[Uncle hasn't had it easy either. When he was young, he met the person most compatible with him and thought they would stay together for life. But after a few years, the woman grew bored and simply abandoned him.]
Yan Yunze: "?"
Uncle had actually been abandoned? Uncle hadn't told him that part.
He suspected even his mother might not know.
Yan He rubbed his hands uneasily. Who was this person, and how did she know his secret?
[Well, Uncle was born impotent. Only having the woman on top can satisfy him.]
[Uncle still longs for his former wife... A few days ago, he even went to see her and begged desperately to be her dog. Do they really play that wild?]
Yan Yunze: "..."
He looked at Yan He with a complicated expression.
Was this really his honest uncle of few words?