Chapter 177: Chapter 165: Beg Me, Won’t You! (Third Update)
After the autumn examinations, Hongwen Academy began recruiting new students.
Song Fang practiced in the General Mansion for over a month and finally managed to reduce the weight of her characters’ strokes. The horizontal and vertical lines were straight, the projections and recessions appeared just right, and it looked quite decent.
Knowing Third Brother had finished the provincial exams, Song Fang personally wrote a letter asking Xu Shu to help send it to Ningzhou. In the letter, she inquired after her parents, her two brothers and their wives, Yuanbao, and the three little girls. Finally, she asked about Song Wei’s exam situation, also mentioning that she was doing well in the Capital, so her parents need not worry. She promised to find a way to visit them when she had time.
After the letter was sent, Song Fang began counting down the days to the start of Hongwen Academy with her fingers every day.
After becoming the "Young Madam" of the General Mansion, all the chores like laundry and cooking were handled by the servants. She didn’t need to serve the General and the General’s wife at all; she only went to pay her respects occasionally. Her daily task was simply accompanying Xu Shu to greet the old lady before he left in the morning and when he returned in the evening from school.
After acting for more than a month, both had mastered the art. No matter how much they bickered in private, they immediately transformed into a little newlywed couple, sweet and syrupy in front of the old lady. Even with her sharp eyes, the old lady couldn’t detect any flaw.
Knowing Song Fang was about to go to Hongwen Academy, Mrs. Xu had the embroideress quickly make a few sets of brightly colored outfits for her.
On the day the clothes were delivered, Song Fang tried them on, and the maid kept praising how nice they looked.
Song Fang also thought they looked nice and was reluctant to wear them, wanting to take them off and set them aside for a few days.
A man’s voice suddenly came from the door.
"You’ve already tried them on, why take them off? In the grand General Mansion, do you think you’d be short of a few sets of clothes to wear?"
Unprepared for Xu Shu’s sudden appearance, Song Fang was startled, then turned and shot him a sharp look, "Can’t you knock?"
Xu Shu curled his lips, "When have I ever knocked at your door? Besides, should I need to knock when entering my wife’s room?"
The maid covered her mouth and laughed softly.
Song Fang ground her teeth and waved the maid away, then sat down, taking a sip of tea to calm her nerves, and asked irritably, "What do you want?"
Xu Shu rolled his eyes, almost snorting, "With that attitude, I’m disinclined to tell you."
Song Fang knew he was just coming over to annoy her out of boredom, "Say it or don’t, if you’re unwilling to talk, I’m unwilling to listen!"
Xu Shu walked over, sat across from Song Fang, and seeing no curiosity on her face, couldn’t help his itch. Tapping the table with his fingers, he teased, "Hey, aren’t you curious? How about you ask me nicely? If I’m in a good mood, maybe I’ll spill it."
This guy was infuriating beyond words!
Song Fang lowered her head to drink her tea, pretending not to hear.
Xu Shu reached out to shake her arm, "Just ask me nicely! I promise to tell you some good news right away."
Song Fang slapped his hand away, raising an eyebrow, "You want me to ask nicely?"
Xu Shu nodded eagerly like pounding garlic.
He did think about it! He dreamed of her giving in just once and asking him nicely.
"Alright!" Song Fang agreed swiftly, "You ask me nicely first, maybe if I’m pleased, I’ll ask you."
Xu Shu: "..."
"If you don’t want to talk, fine, get out, I’m going to take a nap." Song Fang stood up to chase him away.
Xu Shu remained seated, "If you don’t ask, I won’t leave. Later, we’ll have to sleep in the same room, on the same bed."
Originally thinking the little girl would be frightened into panic by these words, who would have thought she maintained her serene attitude and even smiled at him, "Go ahead and try sleeping up there, if you dare?"
"You challenging me, huh? Believe it or not, I really dare!" Xu Shu stood up, pretending to head into the inner room, but then turned back, "Hey! Don’t you really want to know?"
Song Fang: "Ask me nicely, and maybe I’ll be a bit interested to listen."
"You’re impossible!" Xu Shu looked disgruntled, "I’m your husband. At home, you should listen to me in everything. If I say go east, you can’t go west. That’s called following your husband after marriage, understand?"
"Oh!" Song Fang feigned sudden enlightenment, "Following the husband after marriage?"
"Of course! When you go to Hongwen Academy, the teachers will also teach you the three obediences and four virtues. Your husband is preparing you in advance."
Song Fang yawned drowsily, "I’m naturally dull and don’t quite understand. I’ll wait for the teachers to teach me then!"
Seeing she was ready to stubbornly resist to the end, Xu Shu magnanimously decided not to argue with a woman, "Listen up, I’m only going to say it once, in two days, new students are to enter Hongwen Academy."
Song Fang suddenly snapped awake, staring at him, "Are you serious?"
She had waited eagerly for this day, nearly getting moldy with anticipation.
Xu Shu lifted his chin slightly, "Ask me nicely, and I’ll take you to register."
Song Fang replied, "Oh dear young master, you can stop hoping! Asking you? I’d rather directly ask the General, telling him someone here won’t let me go to Hongwen Academy and only bullies me. In his sympathy, he’d surely arrange someone to take me. You just wait for the consequences!"
Xu Shu, most afraid of angering his father, immediately changed his expression upon hearing Song Fang’s threat, "Business is business, and personal matters should be kept separate. Bringing my father into this is quite unreasonable, you know! If you have the nerve, just ask me nicely?"
"Got the guts to beg me for a favor?"
Song Fang said while pushing people out, every time she saw him, nothing good came out of his mouth, might as well keep him out of sight!
——
Two days later, Xu Shu, under the pressure of his father, was forced to take the "little cousin" to enroll at Hongwen Academy.
On the way, Song Fang’s sweet talk was non-stop, calling "cousin" here and there, if people didn’t know better, they’d really think they were cousins.
The clingy cousin would call him that from the moment she arrived at their house, and whenever Xu Shu heard the word "cousin," he’d immediately think of his real cousin, feeling uncomfortable all over. Every time Song Fang called him that, he would tell her to shut her mouth.
But Song Fang wouldn’t quit, the darker his face got, the happier she called him.
Who asked him to have such a sharp tongue usually? Finding a way to tame him was rare, how could she waste it?
The enrollment procedures weren’t complicated, mainly familiarizing with the surroundings today, paying tuition, and getting to know a few teachers.
It’s a girls’ official school here, so naturally, the teachers are all female.
There were quite a few female students inside, same as the Imperial College, with uniforms for different classes and grades, strict makeup requirements banning heavy makeup, and the rule against taking maids or servants past the main gate.
Other things were about discipline inside the academy.
Song Fang glanced casually at the rules etched on the wall and felt they were very fair, making her feel more and more that Hongwen Academy was a sacred place, and staying there was the right decision.
Xu Shu only accompanied her initially to complete enrollment procedures. When it was time to meet teachers, Song Fang went by herself, and the process was rather long, Xu Shu waited outside for quite a while.
Today the Imperial College had a day off, so a classmate saw Xu Shu loitering outside the Hongwen Academy gate and ran over to ask what he was doing there, had he taken a fancy to one of the girls inside?
Xu Shu glared at him, "Mind your own business, go chill somewhere else!"
The other shrugged, "What’s wrong with liking someone? Men unmarried, women unwed, it’s not any rare thing. Why be so coy? Our Imperial College and Hongwen Academy facing each other, it’s normal for a spark to fly."
Xu Shu raised his fist, "Want to see if I hit you!"
——
There’s no age limit for students at the Imperial College, and though Hongwen Academy doesn’t outright limit ages either, the female students were mostly unmarried girls. Married women were busy managing households, they didn’t have the spare time to study there.
By evening, when Song Fang came out, she had a satisfied smile on her face.
Hongwen Academy wasn’t just good, it was excellent, even better than she imagined!
Once again, Song Fang felt her "marriage" was worth it; studying here for a year or two, even if she didn’t turn into a swan, she could shed some of her rustic vibes.
Xu Shu saw her like that and asked, "Good news? Don’t smile foolishly alone, share it so we all can smile."
"You wouldn’t understand even if I said." Song Fang didn’t want to engage and lifted her skirt to board the carriage.
Because of the "cousin" relationship, to avoid suspicion, Xu Shu didn’t ride in the same carriage as her, instead, he rode on horseback outside.
Back at the General Mansion, Mrs. Xu immediately had someone bring Song Fang over for questioning, asking how she felt on her first day at Hongwen Academy.
Song Fang said Hongwen Academy was quite good, strict rules but fair enough that she could accept them and slowly adapt.
Mrs. Xu smiled satisfactorily, "The old lady doesn’t know about your attendance at Hongwen Academy, I’ve told the mansion staff not to leak it, remember not to slip up when you see her next."
Song Fang nodded seriously, "Rest assured, since I’ve promised to act this role out, until I finish learning and leave the academy, I won’t let you down."
Mrs. Xu asked again, "Have you written back home to inquire about the Autumn Exams?"
Song Fang said she had written, but no reply from Ningzhou yet.
Mrs. Xu said: "I heard from Xu Shu, your third brother’s exam results at the Imperial College were always good, it’s likely he can become a scholar in the district exam, only the ranking matters."
Song Fang thought so too, believing her third brother was excellent in whatever he did, especially exams, last time not topping the academy exam was purely an accident, this time he’ll surely rank well, might even grab the top scorer title.
——
After enrolling, Song Fang had to get up early every day, dressed as the Young Madam to accompany Xu Shu to greet the old lady, then return to change makeup, clothes, hairstyle, and go out to Hongwen Academy.
Xu Shu teasingly asked her, "Should I wait for you outside Hongwen Academy in the evening?"
Song Fang flatly refused, "No!"
"You think saying ’no’ means ’no’? Dream on!" Xu Shu said smugly, "I send cousin to school by day, pick wife up by night, it’s only right, who dares say anything against it would get a piece of me!"
Song Fang sat in the carriage covering her ears, feeling her good mood for the day was ruined by this nuisance.