Chapter 21 FCADW? IRTBTMOTMM
FlamingoBees
Translating Chinese Historical Dramas for your enjoyment... and mine! :)
Favoring Concubines and Destroying Wives? I Refuse to be the Mistress of this Marquis' Mansion
Chapter 21:
Throwing Dirty Water
"This country woman, why is she so unruly!"
"How could the mistress of the Marquis's mansion be criticized by an outsider?”
The servants in the room looked at Ge Bao'er with surprise and started whispering.
Although Old Madam Lu didn't like Ge Bao'er speaking up at this moment, she did express what was on her mind.
Lin Yunwan smiled slightly, seemingly amused. Can't hold back now? She hasn't even used any means on them yet!
Lin Yunwan asked with curiosity, “Miss Ge, as an unmarried woman without siblings, how did you become knowledgeable about raising children? Where did you learn such things?”
“I... I...”
Ge Bao'er bit her lip, at a loss for words.
With a stern face, Old Madam Lu rebuked her, saying, “You have no place to speak, step aside!” What a foolish move! Why intervene at a time like this?”
Ge Bao'er lowered her head and quickly retreated behind Old Madam Lu, gritting her teeth in frustration. How could Lin Yunwan be so perceptive?
Old Madam Lu quickly turned to Lin Yunwan and said, "Bao'er has a point. When teaching children, you should tailor your approach to their individual needs. Since you know Qing Ge'er is avoiding work, you shouldn't indulge him."
Lin Yunwan couldn't help but chuckle, "For a student like Qing Ge'er, who is both lazy and cunning, I shouldn't have indulged him— Old Madam Lu is right. I should have applied appropriate discipline, given him a good beating, and made him remember with a few solid hits."
Lin Yunwan looked around the room and continued, "Yet I haven't punished him, and Old Madam Lu is already questioning me. Even Miss Bao'er has some opinions about me..." Lin Yunwan directly offered to resign, "I can't handle such a student. Old Madam Lu, it's better to find someone else."
Old Madam Lu anxiously tried to persuade her, "Yunwan, you..."
However, Ge Bao'er was angry. How could Lin Yunwan belittle Qing Ge'er like that!
Old Madam Lu quickly intervened, trying to ease the situation, "Young Madam, don't be upset. I was just asking casually today. There's no need for Yunwan to resign over this, it's not that serious."
Lin Yunwan didn't refuse outright but asked, "Does Old Madam Lu really want me to continue teaching?"
She wore a sincere expression.
Old Madam Lu immediately fell silent. With the conversation reaching this point, even if she insisted on having Lin Yunwan continue teaching, there was a fear that she might indeed harbor ill intentions towards Qing Ge'er in the future.
"You as the steward of the mansion is already burdening you enough. Let the eldest son find another teacher for Qing Ge'er,"
Lin Yunwan nodded and said, "Since Old Madam Lu has made a decision..."
"Grandmother, what's happening here?"
Lu Zhengliu suddenly returned, his thick black eyebrows tightly furrowed as he observed the situation in the room.
'What happened in the half a day that I was away?' he wondered.
Old Madam Lu helplessly replied, "Nothing much. Qing Ge'er is mischievous, and Yunwan finds it challenging to teach him. We were discussing finding a new teacher for him."
"Is that all?" Lu Zhengliu's face turned cold. He glanced at Gao Bao'er without saying anything, then entered the room and greeted the old madam. When asked why he returned, he simply replied, "I came back now."
Lu Zhengliu hesitated for a moment, glanced at Lin Yunwan, and then said, "Mr. Zhang Feng'an mentioned that he is not leaving the Capitol. He sent someone to inquire if the Lu family still wants to engage him as a teacher for the children."
"Really?"
Old Madam Lu was particularly pleased.
Lu Zhengliu nodded, "Yes, he said I must give him an answer within two days. Many families want to hire him, but Lu family has offered more substantial terms and inquired first. He plans to hear from us before deciding."
He was also intrigued by the opportunity, so he rushed back to discuss with the old madam whether to hire another teacher. Unexpectedly, Lin Yunwan had no intention of teaching Qing Ge'er anymore.
How could Old Madam Lu refuse? Mr. Zhang was like a timely rain!
"Quickly go and confirm with him."
"Grandmother, don't be hasty. Mr. Zhang has two requests."
"What requests?"
If it was about money, the Marquis of Wuding's residence could afford Qinger's education expenses.
Of course, it wasn't about money.
Lu Zhengliu explained, "Mr. Zhang wants to teach only one student at a time. He also mentioned that he is strict with students, and if the elders are too indulgent and can't bear to let the child suffer, he suggests not considering him. This is to prevent any unpleasantness later on."
He was worried that the grandmother might be reluctant to let Qing Ge'er endure hardships, so he made a special trip back.
Old Madam Lu wasn't particularly concerned about this issue. Renowned teachers wouldn't intentionally harm their students. How strict could they be? Wasn't it just a scare tactic by Lanyun Pavilion?
She said, "Since Yunwan teaches Chang Gong, Mr. Zhang can teach Qing Ge'er. It won't be a problem."
Lu Zhengliu agreed, "Good. I'll have someone invite Mr. Zhang to stay in the mansion tomorrow."
He wanted to inquire about what had happened today, but with Lanyun Pavilion present, he hesitated to bring it up.
Lin Yunwan was also unwilling to waste time here.
"I take my leave," she said, leaving quite satisfied. Zhang Feng'an's irritable and eccentric temperament made him an ideal teacher for Qing Ge'er.
Finally, Lu Zhengliu asked, "Grandmother, why did Yunwan stop teaching Qing Ge'er?"
Lu Old Madam recounted today's events to Lu Zhengliu.
Upon hearing the story, Lu Zhengliu's face turned livid. Old Madam Lu held the papers with characters written by Lu Chang Gong, and they were crumpled from clenching in her hands. She sighed deeply, "Look at this. Chang Gong has been in the mansion for such a short time and already writes such beautiful characters."
Her own grandson, on the other hand, only knew how to draw horizontal lines. She felt like chopping off Lu Chang Gong's hands and giving them to Qing Ge'er.
Lu Zhengliu took the rice paper, examined Lu Chang Gong's writing, and then looked at what Qing Ge'er had written.
Yan Mama couldn't help but reveal an even harsher truth, "This is still Young Master Chang Gong's writing from the first day of moving on from the horizontal line..."
Lu Zhengliu's expression became even more unpleasant.
Old Madam Lu exclaimed, "Blame this fool! She understands nothing and enjoys inciting trouble. She thinks everyone has the same intentions as her. In the end, she's the one causing the most harm to Qing Ge'er!"
Ge Bao'er stood in the room, feeling extremely awkward. She, too, was doing it for Qing Ge'er's good. It was a fact that Yunwan wasn't teaching well.
"Grandmother." Lu Zhengliu called out slightly, but he didn't offer any comfort because he couldn't find the right words.
"Troublesome family affairs, really making everyone annoyed..."
Old Madam Lu felt dizzy, heading back to her room to lie down.
Lu Zhengliu only said a few words to Ge Bao'er, "With Teacher Zhang around, don't interfere in Qing Ge'er's studies anymore."
Was he blaming her?
Ge Bao'er looked at Lu Zhengliu with tearful eyes under the clear sky. Lu Zhengliu left without lingering, leaving her standing there in confusion.
Fortunately, she had secured a better teacher for Qing Ge'er. It was worth it.
Back in her simple quarters, she looked around at the plain furnishings, feeling a surge of frustration. She frowned and asked her maid, "Wasn't there supposed to be someone decorating my room? Why haven't the things arrived yet?"
Wu'er seemed a bit nervous, "It's the responsibility of the Young Madam, I don't know..."
Well, they would come sooner or later.
After washing her face, Ge Bao'er wandered into the garden to clear her mind.
~
In Chui Si Tang, Lin Yunwan was talking to Lu Chang Gong.
"You heard everything outside Yu Shou Tang just now? Learning in front of me will be quite challenging."
"I'm not afraid of hardships, Mother."
Lin Yunwan smiled gently, "I was just teasing you. It won't be that hard. Not everyone has to become a master calligrapher; writing neat characters is sufficient."
Lu Chang Gong shook his head, saying, "I don't want to just write good characters."
"Why is that?" Lin Yunwan was quite curious.
Looking up at her, Lu Chang Gong's eyes were full of admiration, "Mother's writing is beautiful; I want to be like Mother."
Lin Yunwan smiled, "Good."
Just as they were chatting, they heard someone shouting outside, "Madam, something terrible!"
Ping Ye went out to take a look, and a maid who was tending to the flowers in the garden came in, saying, "Qiao Da threw dung on Miss!"
"Oh my heavens, the stench is unbearable—human dung, horse dung, and even chicken dung..."
Just hearing about it made them feel nauseous. Ping Ye pinched her nose.
© translations belonging to flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com. If you read this somewhere else instead of flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com then the translations has been posted WITHOUT permission of translator.
•••
Comments
Post a Comment
What did you think of this chapter?