Plan One
"Good."
The system was Gao Xing to be called "baby" by Xu Xi. However, it maintained a calm demeanor, agreed once, and then obediently fell silent.
Xu Xi lay in bed, pondering a solution.
The old lady and the first lady were both elderly women confined to their homes, and such people are most prone to suspicion. The suspicion of the child swap was originally raised by Xu Xi, so if there was even the slightest trace of her involvement in finding a midwife, the old lady and the first lady would certainly suspect that she had orchestrated the entire scheme.
After all, with her abilities, how could she find a midwife that even the old lady and the first lady couldn't find without money and manpower? She was the ultimate beneficiary of this matter. Everyone else could provide clues to the old lady and the first lady, but she couldn't.
So, what method could they possibly devise to entice the old lady and the first lady to find a midwife? Gusu in Jiangnan is hundreds of miles away from here.
After thinking for a while, Xu Xi finally came up with a solution and then fell into a deep sleep.
The next day, after having breakfast, she went to pay her respects to the old lady and then went to the academy.
She was worried that Madam Cui would send someone to summon her again, forcing her to give an answer. But Madam Cui's people didn't come even before class started, Xu Xi breathed a sigh of relief.
She didn't necessarily need the Old Madam and the First Madam's consent. If she made up her mind, even if the two disagreed, she would find a way to persuade them to agree. Given how much the Old Madam valued the future of the Marquis's mansion, having another granddaughter participate in the imperial examinations would only benefit the mansion, so she would definitely agree.
Xu Xi herself was still undecided about whether to participate. If Madam Cui had been casual about asking her to participate in the imperial examination yesterday, she wouldn't be so conflicted. But Madam Cui's attitude frightened her. Once she agreed, she would have to see it through to the end, and Madam Cui would absolutely not let her give up easily.
Therefore, this answer must be given with great care.
The morning classes are on "Law" and "Women's Virtues".
Xu Xi initially disliked "Women's Virtues," thinking it was similar to "Admonitions for Women." However, upon opening the book he had bought at the academy, he found it to be quite similar to modern "Political Ideology and Morality," except that some parts were more focused on the education of women, such as clothing, appearance, and manners, which was similar to the "Etiquette" course.
When Xu Xi returned to the Marquis's residence, Lady Wei asked Matron Li to teach her the so-called "rules," which was part of the "Women's Virtues" course. If she mastered this part, she would be similar to the etiquette education that noble ladies received, and even if she attended banquets held by noble families in the capital, or even went to the palace to pay homage to the Empress, there would not be much for people to criticize.
No wonder women in the Great Jin considered it an honor to attend Women's Academy, and wealthy families were willing to marry women who graduated from these Women's Academy. Just learning etiquette alone could transform a country girl into a noblewoman in terms of appearance and demeanor; with three or four years of such training, she would become an elegant person at heart. Not to mention the intellectual refinement cultivated through learning in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.
In the afternoon, Xu Xi was looking forward to her painting class, which was also part of the plan Xu Xi had come up with last night.
This time, the Beining County Women's Academy finally had a male teacher. Because of the differences between men and women, and to avoid gossip, the Women's Academy would only hire men over sixty years old.
The person who taught them to paint was an elderly man of about sixty-seven or sixty-eight, surnamed Kang, named Shi Lin, and nicknamed Ku Mu Ju Shi (The Layperson Kumu). He lived up to his name, with a goatee, tall and thin, with a gaunt figure and a face full of wrinkles, resembling Kumu. Xu Xi didn't know what he looked like when he was young, but now that he was old, he was considered somewhat ugly.
But they are talented.
During their conversation, Shimo revealed to her that these painting and calligraphy teachers were all hired randomly. This was because these famous calligraphers and painters were rather capricious and did not lack money. They would occasionally accept the academy's invitation on a whim, but after a while, they would get tired of the work and simply resign, and the academy could not force them to stay.
Among the painters hired, some were skilled at painting figures, some at landscapes, and some at birds, beasts, insects, and fish. Which painter one could hire depended entirely on luck.
This Layperson Kumu, judging from his name, should be skilled in landscape painting, but that's not the case. He is most adept at painting figures.
It's unclear whether this teaching model was mandated by the academy or if the teachers were learning from each other. Like other teachers, Master Kang first outlined the requirements for the tools, then displayed a few of his own paintings, and finally asked the students to draw freely to assess their abilities.
Xu Xi had been waiting for this opportunity.
Yesterday in the Marquis's storeroom, she saw a stack of paper that was thicker than the usual Xuan paper, so she asked the First Madam for a few sheets. After having an idea last night, she specifically asked Qingfeng to go to the main kitchen this morning to ask for more than a dozen charcoal sticks.
At this moment, Master Kang let everyone create freely, and she immediately began to draw a portrait of Master Kang's thin, wrinkled face using sketching techniques.
Originally, it was disrespectful to paint Mr. Kang's face without his permission. However, Xu Xi was still not fully aware of the constraints that bound women in this era. Her painting style might be considered shocking and sensational in this time. If she painted Xu Xue and then, because of Master Kang's excitement, showed the painting around, allowing all sorts of men to stare at Xu Xue's portrait, it would inevitably damage Xu Xue's reputation.
The same was true for the other women.
Therefore, Xu Xi simply risked offending Master Kang and painted his not-so-handsome old face on the canvas. If Master Kang didn't want people to see his face, he could simply not display it around. In this way, Xu Xi wouldn't become famous because of this painting style, saving a lot of trouble, which was quite good.
While everyone was painting, Master Kang, like Madam Xiao, walked back and forth in the aisle, looking at the students' work. When he finished walking around and came to Xu Xi's side, he stopped.
"What kind of pen are you using?" he asked, frowning.
At this Xu Xi had only drawn a figure outline on the paper with charcoal sticks, without drawing the facial features yet. Master Kang's own face had not yet appeared on the paper; otherwise, he would not have been so calm.
"Charcoal sticks," Xu Xi answered honestly.
"Charcoal sticks?" Master Kang's small, narrow eyes widened in surprise.
"Nonsense." His face immediately darkened. "How can you use charcoal sticks for drawing?" He sized Xu Xi up. "Didn't your family give you money to buy brushes and ink?"
Hearing this, the students who were drawing seriously all looked over.
Although the Marquis of Suiping's Residence had declined generation after generation in the old lady's mind, that was in comparison to the upper-class noble families in the capital. In fact, in terms of food, clothing, and daily necessities, they were much better off than ordinary officials' families, not to mention the families in the county.
Xu Xi's attire was among the best in her class. Her classmates had many speculations about her family background.
Now, when the teacher said that Xu Xi's family hadn't given her money to buy writing materials, everyone was both curious and eager to see what would happen.