novelhk Chapter 437 Extra Chapter: That Year's Peach Blossoms 1
Chapter 437 Extra Chapter: That Year's Peach Blossoms 1
That year, when the peach blossoms were in full bloom, Shen Shixi had only been in the world for three years. Her elders cherished her like a treasure, but her domineering and unreasonable nature also gave her brothers and sisters a headache.
She heard from her elder sister's maid, Handan, that a very handsome young man had come to the mansion.
"I heard from the old master's side that it's a prince who has become the old master's apprentice. The old master even made a bet with someone that he must teach the prince well, or he would lose."
Shen Shixi sat on a bench under the eaves, leaning against a pillar, eating dried peaches from his sleeve while guessing in his mind that his grandfather must have made a bet with that old scoundrel Li Jizhong.
We've been tricked.
She had once visited Li Jizhong with her grandfather and knew that Li Jizhong was a tutor to the princes. She knew that some of the students in later generations were mischievous, let alone the princes, who would certainly be difficult to teach.
But Mr. Li Jizhong was clearly a highly respected and virtuous man who believed in teaching all children. He would never refuse to teach a prince unless the prince was extremely difficult to teach.
I wonder who this person is, that they're so unruly.
Shen Shixi's thoughts wandered, hoping that his grandfather would also be scared by him and expel him from the family. Getting close to the princes was not a good thing.
Today's crown prince may not be tomorrow's supreme ruler. Dragons have nine sons, and even God himself probably doesn't know who will ascend to the throne in the future.
The eldest sister was also very interested and asked the maid, "Which prince is it?"
"I heard from the people in the front yard that it's the Eighth Prince."
Shen Shixi thought to herself, "No wonder. What's the point of a prince who will never have the right to inherit the throne? It's normal that he doesn't want to study."
Shen Shixi ignored it. When Granny Ju came out and saw Shen Shixi, she called out, "Second Miss, what are you doing here? Oh dear, you've been eating dried peaches again. Madam told you to eat less. You're already so fat. If you keep eating, you'll turn into a little fat cat."
Shen Shixi was picked up and wrapped her arms around Granny Ju's neck, saying in a childish voice, "So what if I'm fat? I'm not afraid of being fat anyway."
"It's not good for a young lady to be fat. You should dress up beautifully every day like the eldest young lady. Our second young lady is already beautiful, and she would look even better if she were a little slimmer."
She loves eating peaches, so she loves peach blossoms, and she also likes wearing peach-colored clothes. People in the manor say that the second young lady is almost a peach blossom spirit.
Madam Shen took her youngest daughter from Granny Ju's arms, smelled the dried peaches, and gently poked her forehead, "Look at you, you've stolen some again, haven't you?"
Shen Shiyan was extremely jealous. "Second sister, how old are you? You still need your mother to carry you. Aren't you ashamed?"
Shen Shixi was well aware of her feelings. Originally the eldest daughter in the family, she was the most cared for. However, after Shen Shixi was born, everyone from the old master and grandmother to the servants in the mansion doted on her.
Shen Shixi pretended not to understand, yawned, and leaned against her mother's chest. "Mom, I'm sleepy!"
The First Madam patted her, and seeing her eldest daughter's disdainful expression, she whispered, "Be nicer to your sister. Didn't your family love you just as much when you were little?"
Shen Shiyan wasn't very old at the time, just over ten years old, and she was quite spoiled. She muttered to herself, "It's because everyone liked her from the moment she was born."
The eldest daughter-in-law was at her wit's end with her eldest daughter and said irritably, "You're so much older than her, why are you arguing with her about this?"
Shen Shiyan snorted coldly. Before the First Madam could speak, Shen Shixi hugged her mother's neck, "Mother, sleep!"
"Okay, okay, I won't say anymore, my sweetie, sleep, Mommy will sleep with you!"
Shen Shixi didn't really want to sleep. She mainly didn't want to hear Shen Shiyan talk, and she especially didn't want her mother and Shen Shiyan to argue. Afterwards, Shen Shiyan would give her a hard time and secretly pinch or hit her, and she would have to find a way to fight back.
She was exhausted from arguing with this idiot so many times.
Shen Shixi fell asleep as soon as she woke up. When she woke up, she heard her mother and father talking. Her mother complained about Shen Shiyan a few times. Her father didn't say anything, only that, "Xi'er should go to school too. She has been smart since she was little and should have started school long ago."
Her mother disagreed, saying, "How old is she? She's not going to school yet, why would she need to go to school?"
The father said, "It's not my idea, it's your father's idea. You don't know how much your father cherishes Xi'er. If it's time for her to start learning, your father will teach her himself."
The First Madam laughed and said, "Serving the young is the duty of the children. If Father wants Xi'er to serve, then Xi'er will go. Why bring up studying?"
Old Man Shen chuckled, "You know Xi'er's personality. She's someone who enjoys studying. My idea is to help her temper her temper while she's still young."
Even the eldest madam couldn't do anything about it. In the Shen family, even the maids could recite a couple of lines of poetry. Only this youngest daughter, who started speaking early, had been learning to read and write with the old man since she was a little over a year old. She was very diligent in her studies. When she was two years old, she tried to teach her daughter to recite Han Fu and Chu Ci, but her daughter wouldn't say a word.
And they would throw away any book they saw.
Shen Shixi was also puzzled. Why was she reading all this?
Just to uphold the Shen family's reputation for being a family of scholars and officials?
Is she the only one missing?
She couldn't help but yawn. Granny Ju saw this and quickly came over. "Second Miss is awake. This servant will help you get up."
The First Madam also rushed over, "Did Father and Mother's conversation wake you up?"
Shen Shixi said, "No, I've had enough sleep."
Seeing his daughter, Old Man Shen was both pleased and troubled, unsure of what expression to make. "It's good that you're awake. Your grandfather took on a student today, saying that he's at your level. He said that teaching one is teaching, teaching two is teaching, so he'll have you study with that student."
In fact, Old Master Shen came up with this plan in order to teach his granddaughter and the Eighth Prince a proper lesson.
Isn't the Eighth Prince unruly and unwilling to study? Fine, let him go to school with a child eight years younger than him. If he doesn't do well, wouldn't that be embarrassing?
My granddaughter gets a headache whenever she sees a book and refuses to study. So let her be with the Eighth Prince. She'll have company. She has a strong sense of self-respect. If she sees the Eighth Prince doing well in his studies, how could she not study? Wouldn't she feel ashamed?
After the rain, spring branches sprout, and orioles fly by, making the flowers squint.
As the dried peaches were almost finished, the peach blossoms began to fade. Shen Shixi was too lazy to go to his grandfather's study to listen to lessons, and he had even less interest in comparing his studies with a prince. Wasn't it better to play around?
In her past life, she wasn't uneducated. As long as she knew some common characters and could understand the general meaning, that was enough. She was a girl, and she couldn't take the imperial examinations. Why did she study in order to marry a man from a wealthy family?
Oh no, that's impossible!
Shen Shixi climbed up the peach tree, lay on a branch, crossed her legs, and watched the clouds drift across the sky, lost in thought.
Grandfather has dragged the entire Shen family onto the Eighth Prince's chariot. A prince with the blood of the previous dynasty, if he cannot ascend to the throne, he will basically have to rush to serve his father as soon as the current emperor passes away.
Hearing the voices approaching, Shen Shixi quickly sat up. Through the gaps in the branches and leaves, she saw a young man with a jade-like face and a jeweled robe leading a eunuch over, and the two of them were talking.
This must be the Eighth Prince, the new disciple of his grandfather. At this moment, a line of poetry came to Shen Shixi's mind: "Throughout a lifetime, amidst jade steps and jeweled trees, few in this world can compare to you."
That son of his is beyond beautiful!
Li Gui advised, "Your Highness, why don't you study harder? What if the Emperor finds out?"
The Eighth Prince said, "Grand Tutor Shen accepted me as his last disciple. Regardless of whether I learn well or not, he will not speak ill of me to the Emperor. Compared to that old man surnamed Li, he is quite sensible!"
Haha, he really is an unruly person!
How dare he speak ill of him behind his grandfather's back!
Shen Shixi sat up straight, swung her legs, and said, "Li Yuanke, being an emperor is very painful. Are you ready?"
That scared the crap out of me!