"Teacher..."
Old Madam Ning pondered deeply. In fact, in every wealthy family, boys would begin their education at the age of five and go to school, while girls would usually be taught by tutors in the household. Given Old Madam Ning's background and the fact that the General's Mansion was a family like this, they should have hired tutors in the mansion long ago.
However, Ouyang Yue used to hate studying the most. During that time, she drove away several teachers, so much so that people would shake their heads as soon as they heard that she was from the General's Mansion. But Ouyang Zhide spoiled her so much that he didn't force her to study even if she didn't want to. He just said that it would be enough for her to go to university in two years.
Furthermore, Ouyang Hua was raised by Old Madam Ning, and she herself was hardworking, so there was no need to worry about her. Old Madam Ning had always looked down on Ouyang Rou; she only wanted to use her and didn't treat her illegitimate daughter like a human being at all, which naturally led to this situation.
Ouyang Hua is now fifteen, Ouyang Rou is thirteen, and Ouyang Yue is twelve. The fact that their relationship has not been finalized is due to the Ning family's negligence!
Old Madam Ning glanced at Madam Ning, whose heart skipped a beat. She smiled and said, "I didn't want Mother to worry about this, so I wanted to find a tutor to confirm it before telling you. It's also Mother's thoughtfulness to have Aunt Ming help me. She thought of this matter. However, Hua'er is already fifteen. Why not hire another tutor to save us from being in such a rush when she gets married?"
Ouyang Yue sipped her tea, her eyes filled with mockery. Ning Shi was subtly praising her while simultaneously belittling her, implying that her concubine, having just been promoted to assistant manager, was bypassing her to complain. Although she was relying on Old Madam Ning's influence, she lacked understanding of proper etiquette, implying that Old Madam Ning was incompetent in personnel management. The tension was palpable.
Ouyang Yue was a little curious. The reason why Old Madam Ning brought in Concubine Ming was because Madam Ning had not conceived in the two years since entering the mansion, but Concubine Ming was also fertile and gave birth to Ouyang Hua not long after entering the mansion, which is why she caught Old Madam Ning's eye.
Is this why the aunt and niece have developed a rift? So, when Old Madam Ning values Ouyang Hua, she wants to promote Ouyang Rou to make Concubine Hong compete for favor?
The power struggles within the inner quarters are far more complex and interesting than she imagined.
Old Madam Ning's face froze for a moment. Although she didn't speak, Concubine Ming was startled. She glanced at Madam Ning and smiled, "Old Madam, it was my oversight that I didn't think things through. But what you say is true. Hua'er is fifteen today and will soon be of marriageable age. Although I know there is a difference in status, I am also anxious. That's why I brought it up. Of course, these matters are still up to you, Madam and Old Madam. I had no other intentions."
Ning Shi would openly praise but secretly criticize, wouldn't Concubine Ming admit her mistakes and criticize her in secret? Ouyang Hua is about to get married, and Ning Shi, as the mistress of the house, doesn't seem to care about the marriage of her concubine's daughter. She's even unwilling to hire a tutor. Isn't this deliberately suppressing her concubine's daughter? If word gets out, she'll surely be known for being mistreated.
Ning's face stiffened. Just as she was about to speak, Old Ning turned to look at Ouyang Yue and said with a smile, "Yue'er was too young and didn't know any better before, but now she's all grown up. I think we should hire a tutor. What do you think?"
Ouyang Yue paused, fiddling with the teacup lid. "You old hag, Ning Shi!" she thought. "All these years, the General's Mansion has been rife with petty squabbles, but nothing serious has ever happened, all thanks to old hag Ning Shi's mediation." Like this time, when Consort Ming came to her to save face, she couldn't let Ning Shi lose face too much. So she secretly blamed Ouyang Yue for her youthful ignorance; it was her fault for not hiring a tutor for the General's Mansion!
Having earned a good reputation, how can you expect to maintain a balance within the inner quarters?
Ouyang Yue blinked, and it took her a while to come back to her senses: "Grandmother, is it true? That's wonderful. In our mansion, eldest sister is the most learned. Yue'er has always admired her."
Old Madam Ning's eyes darkened, but when she met Ouyang Yue's innocent and happy eyes, she couldn't vent her anger. Old Madam Ning had naturally taught Ouyang Hua a lot, so what if she was fifteen and ready to marry? It was still much better than Ouyang Rou and her, who had no one to teach them since childhood.
This fire won't be directed at Ouyang Yue. Even if she chased her teacher away when she was little, she was only a few years old and didn't understand anything. If she didn't understand, are all the people in your household incompetent?
Are the old Ning family and the Ning family still from a prestigious family? Their vision is even more short-sighted!
These words left Old Madam Ning speechless for a long time. Concubine Ming's eyes lingered on Ouyang Yue, and she said with a smile, "Old Madam, I have a favor to ask. The Ning family is a prosperous family that has lasted for a hundred years. Even the servants in the mansion are literate, and there are many talented people in the family. I was thinking, could we invite one of them to teach you?"
These words resonated deeply with Old Madam Ning, greatly praising their lineage, and the request was not unreasonable. The Ning family already had its own clan school, and it was only right to select one or two from it to teach the household staff. After all, they were afraid of trouble if the teachers were found from outside, so it was much easier to handle if they were family members.
Old Madam Ning nodded: "Alright, I will send a letter to the main family. As for the tutor, the tutor we hired before was a tutor from the government, Aunt Ai, who was quite good."
Aunt Ming echoed, "How could someone from the Ning family be anything less? This humble concubine will first thank the old lady and madam on behalf of the eldest young lady."
Ouyang Yue looked at Aunt Ming and lowered her eyes slightly.
As far as she knew, since Xiaoming's aunt had arranged for two tutors to serve and teach Ouyang Hua as her personal maids, it seemed rather strange that she was doing this now.
To be fair, the original owner's mischief had its advantages. At least she learned about it by chance when she was running around one day and happened to see two tutors teaching Ouyang Huagui.
Old Ning was very efficient; by the third day, she had already contacted the tutor and the teaching assistant.
Ouyang Hua and Ouyang Rou had been starving for two days and their bodies were weak. Fortunately, these two people came to the mansion. Otherwise, after being starving for two days and staying in the Buddhist hall for several days, they would have caught a chill even if they didn't collapse into bed.
Because of the previous quarrel with Aunt Ming, Ning was very concerned. The original plan was to teach music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry and songs in the morning and needlework, the three obediences and four virtues and female precepts in the afternoon. This was reversed, and Ouyang Yue finally saw why this Granny Ai was favored by Old Ning!
On the first day of instruction, Granny Ai made Ouyang Hua and his companions wait for a full half hour before finally arriving. Ouyang Hua and his companions naturally stood up and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Granny Ai."
"Hmm." Granny Ai responded with a haughty indifference, without saying a word, and made the three of them stand with half bows. After a while, their backs ached, especially Ouyang Hua and Ouyang Rou, who had just been released. They could hardly stand. Ouyang Yue couldn't help but turn her head to look over.
Seeing this, Granny Ai rushed towards Ouyang Yue with a ruler about seven feet long. She raised her hand and struck Ouyang Yue from behind. Ouyang Yue was startled and immediately dodged. Granny Ai immediately shouted angrily, "You dare to dodge!"
Ouyang Yue's heart tightened. She was sure she had good posture and hadn't made any major mistakes in her bowing. She was much better than Ouyang Hua and Ouyang Rou. This Granny Ai was clearly after her!
A cold glint flashed in Ouyang Yue's eyes. With a slight movement of her foot, she swiftly kicked the table leg beside her like the wind.
Just as Granny Ai was furious, two screams suddenly rang out from inside the room, followed by two loud bangs. Startled, she immediately turned her head to look, and then froze!
☆、039、Distorting the facts!
Seeing the scene over there, Granny Ai's face turned completely black!
But Ouyang Hua was lying face down on the table, his upper body dangling in the air and his buttocks sticking up high. Ouyang Rou was in an even worse state. As if she had been hurt by Ouyang Hua, she twisted her body and fell backward to the ground, her limbs facing upward, just like a turtle flipping over and flailing its legs.
The two of them looked extremely ugly!
Granny Ai is an old nanny from the palace, and she is also a well-known strict nanny. Few of the newly entered palace ladies-in-waiting and palace maids are not trained to be obedient by her. In all her years in the palace, she has never seen such shameful people. And these two are her current disciples!
This was a direct slap in the face to her. The ruler that was originally meant to strike Ouyang Yue was so hot that it almost flew and hit the two of them!
After Ouyang Hua and Ouyang Rou recovered from their pain, they immediately realized their loss of composure. Someone rushed over and exclaimed, "Oh dear, what happened to you, eldest sister and second sister... Did you catch a cold while worshipping Buddha in the Buddhist hall? Get up quickly! Granny Ai, do you think we should ask a doctor to take a look before you treat us?"
Granny Ai pursed her lips, her sharp eyes sweeping over Ouyang Hua and Ouyang Rou, her heart filled with surprise and doubt.
She had previously received two hundred taels of silver. The man's instruction was that she should be as strict as possible with Ouyang Yue during class, in order to train Ouyang Yue's stingy nature.
It now seems that the eldest and second young ladies of this mansion are not as good as the third young lady with a bad reputation. Granny Ai came from the palace and has seen many corrupt officials. She immediately understood the reason. However, she had taken the money and naturally had to do the job!
“No need, I appreciate your kindness, sister. It’s only right that your second sister and I chant sutras and worship Buddha for our grandmother in the Buddhist hall. It’s nothing serious. Just don’t let it interfere with Granny Ai’s lessons.” Ouyang Hua said, enduring the pain in her body.
These words imply that she and Ouyang Rou prayed for the old Ning family, but Ouyang Yue, as the eldest granddaughter, did not show any gratitude, which is truly unfilial!
Granny Ai knew perfectly well what was going on, but she still gave Ouyang Yue a cold snort against her will: "Alright, put away your clothes and sit down quickly."
Knowing that Granny Ai had been bribed, Ouyang Yue naturally didn't care about her favoritism, but did they think that letting Granny Ai teach rules would torment her?
As a special agent, she possesses a skill that ordinary people absolutely lack: the ability to learn anything quickly. Furthermore, through extensive superhuman physical training, her memory, while not quite photographic, is close. She'd like to see how this Granny Ai could possibly cause her any trouble after she perfectly imitated her!
As expected, during the rest of the lesson, Granny Ai kept a dark face. It wasn't for any other reason than she found that this third young lady was exceptionally clever. Often, she would learn the material before the eldest and second young ladies could even reach her standards. This made her extremely frustrated, as she was paid but not doing her job. In the end, she couldn't help but yell at Ouyang Hua and Ouyang Rou.
Ouyang Hua and Ouyang Rou were angry but dared not vent their anger. Their faces turned red from holding it in, and they became even more nervous.
"Wrong, wrong!"
As Ouyang Rou was walking slowly, Granny Ai suddenly shouted, startling her. She stumbled and bumped into Ouyang Hua, causing the two of them to fall and tumble together.
Granny Ai was so angry that her chest heaved, and she gritted her teeth, thinking to herself, "Two hundred taels of silver is too hot to handle! Teaching these two things is far too little!"
A glint flashed in Granny Ai's eyes, and a greedy smile crept onto her face...
Two hours finally passed. Ouyang Hua and Ouyang Rou respectfully saw Granny Ai off and breathed a sigh of relief. However, they were also quite puzzled as they thought that Ouyang Yue hadn't received a single reprimand from them today.
This fool used to hate etiquette, how come she learned it so quickly today? Is she really that smart and can learn so easily? If so, then we can't let her live!
Ouyang Hua's face was pale: "My younger sister has practiced martial arts, so she is stronger than us. Look how tired I am. The maids have already gone back to prepare lunch. Would you be so kind as to run over and ask two maids to come and help me and your second sister?"
Ouyang Yue didn't speak, but Ouyang Rou said weakly, "Third sister, look how much your sisters are begging you. You said we were a bit tired in the Buddhist hall, and if we get sick again, there will be trouble in the mansion. You're a filial daughter, you don't want Grandmother to be angry, do you?"
This was a combination of soft and hard tactics. Ouyang Yue glanced at them indifferently. At this time, the maid had indeed gone to prepare the meal and wouldn't be back for a while. Given Ouyang Hua and Ouyang Rou's condition, if she didn't run an errand for them, Old Madam Ning and Madam Ning would definitely give her a scolding tomorrow.
"Then you two sisters should rest for a while. I'll go look for the person now." With that, Ouyang Yue left. Ouyang Hua and Ouyang Rou exchanged a glance, both seeing coldness in each other's eyes.
The school for Ouyang Yue and her two companions was located in the middle courtyard. To reach the inner courtyard, one had to cross a road. However, just as she stepped out of the school, a person approached her. He was dressed in a gray long robe, had a slender figure, and wore a square scarf on his head. He had a fair complexion and extremely elegant features. He was a scholar with a strong Confucian air, but he had come from the outer courtyard.
Ouyang Yue was immediately startled and turned to leave, but the scholar, seeing someone, quickly ran over and called out, "Miss, please wait!"
Ouyang Yue's face immediately darkened. Before she could react, the scholar said, "Miss, I am a tutor hired by the General's Mansion. I do not know the way to the central courtyard. Would it be convenient for you to show me the way?"
Ouyang Yue turned her head, squinted at the smiling scholar in front of her, and said coldly, "So you are a tutor hired by the manor. Why didn't the gatekeeper lead the way? Instead, you have to ask for directions yourself?"
The scholar paused for a moment before hesitatingly saying, "This... I don't know either."
"snort!"
"Furthermore, it's already close to noon. You've already had your meal before arriving, so are you planning to eat at your residence?"
The scholar's expression stiffened slightly: "I brought my own provisions to organize my lessons." Then, he said angrily, "Although I do not know the identity of this young lady, it is really impolite of me to question her like this. If the manor has no other intentions, I will leave on my own."
Ouyang Yue sneered, "If you keep walking forward, you'll naturally reach the middle courtyard." After saying that, she walked towards the inner courtyard, where she encountered two maids. She immediately ordered someone to call Ouyang Hua and Ouyang Rou's maids to serve her, and then returned to Mingyue Pavilion on her own.
Little did she know that her conversation with the scholar was caught on camera by Granny Ai, who had come back to retrieve something. Granny Ai's eyes lit up, and she immediately went to Old Ning's Anhe Hall.
Inside Anhe Hall, Old Madam Ning was drinking tea when she saw Granny Ai enter with an unfriendly expression. She asked, "Granny Ai, what's wrong... Is it because Hua'er and the other two are too unworthy and have angered you?"
Granny Ai paused for a moment, then said in silence, "Madam, there are some things I'm not sure if I should say."
"Granny Ai, speak frankly!" Old Madam Ning also sensed that something was amiss.
"Oh dear, that Third Miss is really... I just saw her talking to a man in the central courtyard. Not only did she send him away, but the two of them were also pulling and tugging at each other. It's really outrageous! As you know, I come here to teach the young ladies of the manor etiquette and the three obediences and four virtues. They are all my disciples. If this gets out, how am I supposed to live in the capital?" Granny Ai looked at her with a disappointed expression.
Old Ning was so angry that her blood boiled and she was furious!
☆、040, Who will break the deadlock first!
"Oh?" Old Madam Ning was seething inside, but she didn't show it on her face and just gave a faint reply.
Granny Ai, however, thought that Old Ning hadn't heard her clearly, and continued, "Madam, you should know how important a woman's reputation is. If outsiders find out about this, it will be a disaster for the General's Mansion. We must be careful..." Her face was full of anxiety.
Old Madam Ning chuckled, "What are you saying, Granny Ai? The daughters of our General's Mansion are all well-educated and virtuous ladies from noble families. How could they be the kind you're describing?" She then turned to Zhang Mama with a smile and said, "Quickly help Granny Ai down to rest. Granny Ai is teaching the young ladies etiquette and is very tired and hungry. How can you be so negligent?"
Zhang Mama immediately nodded and said, "It was all my oversight. Now I'll take Granny Ai down to rest." As she spoke, she took out a round, bulging purse and stuffed it into Granny Ai's hand. Granny Ai casually weighed it in her hand, estimated its weight in her mind, and immediately beamed with joy.
She's making things up out of nothing, isn't it all because of this bag of silver!
"Oh, I'm tired and dizzy. I can't even see two shadows of you. I don't remember what we were talking about."
"That's terrible! Granny Ai, please come with me to rest..." Zhang's mother said nervously.
As soon as Zhang's mother left, Old Ning immediately slammed the teacup beside her onto the ground, her chest heaving with anger.
That damned girl! I thought she'd behaved herself for a couple of days, but she's caused trouble again!
She was jilted because of her stingy nature, and now, not long after, she's hooking up with a disciple she hired from the Ning family. She's utterly shameless!
Zhang Mama had already returned by now. Seeing Old Madam Ning's face flushed with anger, she couldn't help but advise, "Old Madam, please calm down. In my opinion, things are not necessarily as Ai Mama said."
"Granny Ai is a renowned nanny who has taught many daughters of noble families. Do you think the General's Mansion will benefit from her saying a few words?" Old Madam Ning tried to silence her with money, but she herself suspected there was some exaggeration. However, the fact that Ouyang Yue had privately met with the tutor couldn't be entirely baseless, which was why she was so angry. She couldn't believe she had such a disrespectful granddaughter!
But Zhang's mother couldn't help but think of the Third Miss's behavior in recent days. She always had a smile on her face, and when she smiled, her eyes crinkled in a charming way. Moreover, she was very polite. She didn't quite believe it: "Then... does the Old Madam mean that we should change the tutor?"
Old Madam Ning's face was gloomy, and she shook her head: "If it were someone else, people would talk. Zhang Mama, keep a close eye on the Third Miss these days. If she really does get married, stop her immediately."
"Yes, I understand."
The reason why Ningzhuang School was invited in the first place was because of the old Ning family. The Ning family is large and has many relatives. Ningzhuang School is just a branch of the family. However, before the old Ning family married, she had a good relationship with the mother of Ningzhuang School. Moreover, Ningzhuang School has performed well in the Ning family school and is highly regarded by the Shang family.
So she believed about 70% of what was said about Ouyang Yue.
Although Ouyang Yue was unaware of all this, as soon as she returned to Mingyue Pavilion, she immediately summoned Chuncao, Qiuyue, and Dongxue: "Chuncao, keep a close watch on Mingyue Pavilion during this period. Do not allow any suspicious persons to enter without prior notice. Also, have your brother keep a close eye on this new schoolteacher."