Changing Seats
"Yes, we live at home." Xu Xi secretly sized them up. "You live in the dormitory?"
To be admitted to the Women's Academy, one's family had to be able to afford writing materials and be willing to spend that money on their daughter, and someone in the family had to be literate. Therefore, the family had to be well-off, at least free from worries about food and clothing. Moreover, when a girl entered the academy, her family would inevitably make her new clothes and buy her jewelry, so as not to be looked down upon.
Xu Xi could only distinguish between coarse cloth, fine cotton cloth, and silk. As for how many types of silk there were, and which was the most expensive and which was the cheapest, she didn't know.
However, having stayed at the Marquis's residence for the past two days, where all the maids and servants of second rank and above wore silk, Xu Xi could tell from the comparison that the silk worn by the masters was different from that worn by the maids and servants. Furthermore, the silk worn by Qingfeng was also different from that worn by Xu Xue. She had indeed developed a discerning eye.
Seeing that the two women were wearing silk dresses, but the fabric was similar to Xu Xue's, one could tell that they came from ordinary families.
She could tell, and others could too. Xu Xi had deliberately chosen a relatively understated dress today, but the exquisite fabric and embroidery still made it clear that it was quite different from the dresses worn by the other three.
Zhang Lu clearly noticed that Xu Xi's attire was different from Xu Xue's, and mumbled a reply, "Yes, we live in the dormitory." Then she asked Xu Xi, "You two aren't biological sisters, are you?" Her tone was certain.
"Yes, cousins," Xu Xi replied.
A knowing look appeared on Zhang Lu's face.
It was almost time for class, and after Zhang Lu and He Yuqi sat down, more people arrived one after another. In less than fifteen minutes, the classroom was almost full. The classroom was filled with the sounds of self-introductions and friendly greetings.
At this moment, two more people entered from outside the door, one wearing a red dress and the other a pale yellow one. When they saw that there were only seats left in the last row of the classroom, their faces were not very pleasant. The woman in the red dress had a stern face and looked very Gao Xing.
The two exchanged a few words, and then the woman in the pale yellow dress walked over and said to Zhang Lu in a troubled voice, "My sister asked me to come and ask if I could switch seats with you." Her expression and tone of voice were extremely gentle.
Xu Xi and Xu Xue both turned around and looked at Zhang Lu in surprise.
Zhang Lu paused for a moment, then looked troubled. "This..."
She winked at He Yuqi, signaling her to object.
He Yuqi pretended not to see it and turned to talk to the person at the other end of the aisle.
Zhang Lu was at a loss. She said to the woman in the pale yellow dress, "Even if I agree, it's no use. There's only one seat. Your sister is going to sit with you, right?"
The woman in the pale yellow dress glanced at He Yuqi and said to Zhang Lu, "If you agree, I'll talk to Miss He again." She clearly knew both Zhang Lu and He Yuqi.
Zhang Lu was now backed into a corner. She glanced at He Yuqi, gritted her teeth, and said, "Fine, I agree."
The woman in the pale yellow dress looked at He Yuqi: "Miss He..."
He Yuqi couldn't pretend she didn't hear anymore. Even if she did, the other person would inevitably ask her directly.
She turned to the woman in the pale yellow dress and said expressionlessly, "Excuse me, I don't want to sit in the back."
Zhang Lu's face immediately lit up with joy. However, she reacted quickly, pursing her lips to prevent them from turning upwards.
The woman in the pale yellow dress didn't press the matter; her expression remained gentle. "Okay, I understand." With that, she turned around and returned to the woman in red, explaining the situation to her.
Zhang Lu thought she was out of the picture. Fearing the woman in red might persist or take her anger out on her, she didn't dare look in that direction and went to talk to her classmate behind her. But before she could say two words, the woman in the pale yellow dress called out beside her, "Miss Zhang..."
Zhang Lu turned her head and was met with the cold face of the woman in red.
The woman in the pale yellow dress smiled gently at her from the side, "Thank you, Miss Zhang."
Is this... a matter of switching seats with her?
Zhang Lu looked at He Yuqi, then at the two others, and remained stunned for a long time.
Seeing that Zhang Lu didn't move, and because people were already looking their way since they hadn't sat down yet, the woman in red became impatient and coldly asked, "Are you going to change or not?"
Seeing her like this, Zhang Lu felt a surge of anger. Was this how she asked for a favor?
She wanted to answer with pride, "I won't change it." But considering the power of the woman in red's family, she changed her tone, "I promised Miss Mu, so of course I'll change it."
As she spoke, she stood up, took the book bag out of the desk drawer, and made room for him.
The woman in red sat down without any hesitation.
Because of the commotion, even more people turned to look. Seeing this, the woman in the pale yellow dress quickly pulled Zhang Lu to the back row, smiling, "Let's go."
"No... um... didn't you talk to He Yuqi about it?" Zhang Lu was unwilling to be the only one suffering. If someone else suffered with her, then the number of misfortunes would be halved, and she would feel better.
"She doesn't want to, and it's not good to force her," the woman in the pale yellow dress said gently with a smile.
They're not stupid. They came to the academy representing not only themselves, but also the reputation of their families. If they caused trouble over changing seats, they might not only be expelled, but they'd certainly face a severe reprimand. They'd not only be criticized by the teachers at the academy, but their elders would definitely discipline them. The younger sister would be scolded, but she would likely be beaten.
The younger sister herself didn't dare to cause trouble; she only went to pressure He Yuqi because she was full.
Zhang Lu was so depressed she wanted to bang her head against the wall.
But with the woman in the pale yellow dress beside her, she dared not show the slightest emotion. Otherwise, not only would she lose the favor she had made at such great cost, but she might also offend someone.
By this time, everyone in the class had arrived, except for two seats in the last corner. Zhang Lu followed the girl in the pale yellow dress and sat down in that corner.
Not long after, Madam Cui came in and asked everyone to take notes and write down the course schedule she was going to read.
The system adopted here is a ten-day rest period, meaning a day off every ten days. Therefore, the courses are also arranged in ten-day cycles. Students will study the Four Books and Five Classics and Five Classics, music, chess, calligraphy and painting, women's virtues, laws, history, and needlework.
Of course, he didn't study the Four Books and Five Classics in depth like men who were preparing for the imperial examinations; he only had a general understanding of them.
This is likely also for the benefit of the men. After all, most of the female students here come to study to improve their social standing and marry a good husband. And the men they marry will need to study the Four Books and Five Classics. In this way, the couple will have common topics to discuss. It would prevent the man from trying to be literary or reciting classical allusions that his wife wouldn't understand, which would damage the reputation of the Women's Academy.