"Hmph!" Old Madam Zhan let out a hoarse sneer and, using her last bit of strength, sat up. "Eldest son, you are a good and filial son, but look at your daughter. After a few days of schooling, she's become as stubborn as a mule."
After speaking a few sentences, Old Madam Zhan was already breathless. Her sinister eyes fixed on Zhan Feiyu. "This time she offended Master Zhu's family and almost got Third Brother beaten to death. If she continues to study, and offends some noble person in the future, will our entire Zhan family have to pay with our lives!"
Zhan Laoda's face instantly turned pale. When he was young, he once went to the county town with his companions and personally witnessed a bystander who had offended a noble being beaten to death by the noble's servants on the street.
The piercing screams, the unwilling eyes of the deceased, and the pool of blood had haunted Zhan Laoda, waking him from nightmares for half a month.
"Then Little Yu shouldn't study anymore!" Madam Ma shrieked, afraid that Zhan Laosan would be harmed by his niece.
"Mother, Little Yu won't study anymore," Zhan Laoda promised with firm resolve.
Previously, Zhan Laoda had felt he owed his daughter, but now he was of one mind with Old Madam Zhan. It was good for her to not study and marry someone, as that was how most village girls lived.
A flicker of triumph quickly flashed in Old Madam Zhan's cloudy old eyes. She looked at Zhan Laoda with a gratified expression. "Third son, help your elder brother up. Don't let the cold get into his body. I caught a chill when I gave birth to your elder brother, and now my whole body aches when it gets cold."
After Zhan Laosan helped Zhan Laoda up, Old Madam Zhan looked at Li Shi and Zhan Feiyu in the corner. "Li Shi, the eldest son is the head of the household. If you don't want to live here anymore, I'll have the eldest son write you a letter of divorce. You can take your dowry, but Little Yu is the eldest son's child and must stay with our Zhan family. If you disagree, have your elder brother and the Li clan elder come!"
A married woman followed her husband. Even if a couple divorced, the children belonged to the husband's side. Of course, there were cases where the husband's family disliked the children and refused to keep them, but Old Madam Zhan was determined to keep Zhan Feiyu, so Li Shi could not take her away.
Li Shi stared fixedly at the silent Zhan Laoda. Seeing that he remained speechless, she felt her heart sink into an ice cave. This was the man she had married! She and Little Yu combined were not as important as his mother.
Old Madam Zhan forced herself to get out of bed. When Zhan Laoda approached, she grabbed him and cried, "Eldest son, mother has no choice. Little Yu's temperament will truly harm people in the future. If you blame anyone, blame me for being heartless. Mother cannot send a white-haired person to mourn a black-haired one."
"If the villagers scold me, let them. It is I, the grandmother, who cannot let Little Yu attend the private school! You are a filial child!" Old Madam Zhan cried uncontrollably, closing her eyes to hide the coldness in them.
"Mother, please don't cry. I know, I understand everything," Zhan Laoda nodded repeatedly. His wife and daughter resented him these past two days, and even Third Brother was distant.
At the banquet today, the villagers had openly and subtly suggested that Little Yu should study, saying that he, as her father, should not harm his daughter. Zhan Laoda felt extremely aggrieved, but only his mother understood his helplessness and pain.
Zhan Lao Er shot a glare at the smug Xiao Yao Shi, warning her to restrain herself and go back to her room if she wanted to be happy.
Zhan Laosan looked helplessly at his mother and elder brother, who were hugging and crying. Little Yu was just going to school, not committing murder or arson. Mother and elder brother were overthinking things.
Madam Ma, showing rare intelligence, pinched Zhan Laosan's arm fiercely and whispered, "Think about Erlang!"
Earlier, it had been decided that Erlang would take Zhan Feiyu's place at the private school, and Madam Ma remembered how happy Erlang had been. Since he couldn't go to school, the wild children in the village had mocked Erlang relentlessly.
Zhan Laosan opened his mouth. As much as he doted on his niece, he cared more about his own son. Moreover, with Mother making such a scene and Elder Brother agreeing, Zhan Laosan didn't know what else to say.
"Mother, please don't argue." Zhan Feiyu tugged at Li Shi's hand, watching the scene unfold as if it were a farce.
She had lived in the Zhan family since she could remember, a mere infant in swaddling clothes. Seven years was neither long nor short. Although Zhan Feiyu couldn't consider the Zhan family as her own kin, she had developed some feelings. But at this moment, those bonds seemed to be severed.
"Enough! Little Yu will continue to study at the private school!" When Old Master Zhan spoke, everyone was stunned. They all turned their heads to look at Old Master Zhan, who was sitting on a stool smoking a pipe. Father/Grandfather never interfered, so how could he suddenly unleash such a powerful move?
Slamming his pipe onto the table, Old Master Zhan cursed irritably, "What are you looking at? I said Little Yu will continue to study. Anyone who makes trouble again will be kicked out of the Zhan family!"
Actually, Old Master Zhan had supported Zhan Feiyu's studies from the beginning. It brought him face when she went out, and if Little Yu achieved fame in the future, he would be the grandfather of a female scholar. He might not be able to become the village chief, but he could still contend for the position of clan elder.
However, Old Madam Zhan had threatened to slit her throat with a kitchen knife, and Lao Er had analyzed the disadvantages of Zhan Feiyu continuing her studies. Old Master Zhan was too lazy to argue and had acquiesced. But today, after being reprimanded by the old clan elder, Old Master Zhan had to show the authority of the head of the household.
"Father, did you drink too much last night?" Xiao Yao Shi squinted at Old Master Zhan, pouting unhappily. "What nonsense are you talking about?"
Madam Ma nodded in agreement. Father must be senile, no wonder Grandmother had always been in charge!
Feeling scorned, Old Master Zhan jumped up, angrily pointing at his two daughters-in-law and roaring, "You are all short-sighted fools! If you don't let Little Yu study, the clan and the village will be happy!"
"That's right. If a scholar emerges, the villagers can hold their heads high when they go out," Zhan Laosan chuckled. The guilt and unease finally dissipated. He patted Zhan Feiyu's shoulder encouragingly, "Uncle still hopes to benefit from your success."
"Little Yu, tomorrow after school, go and kowtow to the old clan elder," Li Shi said with a gentle smile, feeling immensely pleased as she looked at the displeased Old Madam Zhan and the others.
"Mother, I understand. I'll go back to study," Zhan Feiyu replied obediently. She then said goodbye to Old Master Zhan and Zhan Laosan and returned to her room with Li Shi.
Old Madam Zhan was so angered by the mother and daughter that she almost couldn't catch her breath. Her wrinkled old face contorted with rage, and she said sternly, "This is our family's affair. Why should the clan interfere!"
Old Master Zhan ignored the trembling Old Madam Zhan. Just as she could divorce her daughter-in-law, the clan could also expel the old woman, even if her eldest grandson was already ten years old.
In the bedroom, a single lamp flickered.
Meng Yi asked about filial piety. The Master said: "Do not disobey."
Fan Chi was driving the carriage, and the Master told him: "Meng Sun asked me about filial piety, and I replied, 'Do not disobey.'"
The clear recitation stopped abruptly. After a pause, the recitation continued. Fan Chi said: "What does that mean?"
The Master said: "When they are alive, serve them with propriety; when they are dead, bury them with propriety and sacrifice to them with propriety."
How to practice filial piety? Not to disobey propriety. When parents are alive, they should be served with propriety. Zhan Feiyu gave a self-deprecating smile. Perhaps she was a disobedient person who went against the teachings of Confucius and Mencius.
...
A night passed in a flash. Except for a few children, no one in the Zhan family slept well. Since the clan elder had spoken, Zhan Feiyu walked towards the private school step by step in the morning light.
Upon seeing Master Lin, dressed in a blue robe, standing at the entrance, Zhan Feiyu quickened her pace. "Master."
"The Master said: A gentleman learns extensively from texts and restrains himself with propriety, and can thus avoid transgressing. What is the explanation?" After speaking, Master Lin looked at his young disciple, whose hem was still damp with dew, with a complex expression.
Zhan Feiyu was startled and immediately understood why the Master was testing her. Her clear voice was calm and steady. "Confucius said that a gentleman must learn widely from classics and also restrain himself with propriety, so as not to deviate from the orthodox path."
Deviating from the orthodox path was a great taboo for aspiring officials in the imperial examinations! If she were a reclusive great scholar, it would be one thing, but a child who had only studied for less than three months dared to stir up trouble in the household and make her grandmother ill! Regardless of right or wrong, it would ultimately tarnish Zhan Feiyu's reputation.
"A gentleman endures what others cannot endure, tolerates what others cannot tolerate, and handles what others cannot handle. Come in when you have figured it out!" Master Lin finished speaking and turned to enter the courtyard. Zhan Feiyu, however, was punished and made to stand outside the gate.