Lu Ye felt neglected by the side. He had long accepted his fate. As long as Guai Bao was around, he, as a father, was a completely transparent figure.
However, he didn't feel resentful. His wife and their five children were all his treasures, his most precious ones.
Bai Sheng could only kiss Jin Ye again, put him down, and then kiss and hug the other three cubs.
Having many children had this one drawback: one had to make sure each child felt equally loved by their parents, without any favoritism.
Lu Hu stood timidly to the side, fiddling with his small hands and looking on expectantly. Bai Sheng's heart softened, and she stepped forward to hug him as well.
After handing the four cubs back to Lu Huo, Bai Sheng asked Lu Ye to go to the street to buy the second young master Ye Ye the Four Treasures of the Study.
That evening, the family was shocked to learn that the eldest young master could teach himself to read. Everyone excitedly ran to see the eldest young master.
"Young Master, how are you so smart?" Lu Tu looked at Jin Ye with adoration, unable to help but praise him. He scratched his head, feeling as if his mind was filled with nothing but foolishness, otherwise, why would he be so stupid?
"Because my mother is very smart, and my father is also very smart, so they gave birth to me, which is smart plus smart," Jin Ye said without looking up, his voice gentle and pleasant.
"Yes, that's right," Lu Tu nodded incessantly. He had no hope for himself in this life and could only pin his hopes on the next generation.
Speaking of the next generation, he glanced at Su Jinfeng again. Su Jinfeng could still have children, right? He really wanted to have a child of his own.
Ga Mei secretly glanced at Qing Feng and giggled, covering her mouth. Brother Qing Feng was very smart, so their offspring should be smarter than her.
Lu Yun said proudly, "I originally thought I was a child prodigy, but I didn't expect my eldest nephew to be the true child prodigy. Compared to him, I'm truly just a glutton."
"Second brother, I am the glutton, you are the dung bucket," Lu Yu corrected him with a serious expression.
Lu Yun raised an eyebrow, "Yu, is it appropriate to speak to your second brother like that?"
Lu Yu said stubbornly, "I think it's very appropriate. I eat a lot, so I'm a glutton; you excrete a lot, so you're a dung bucket. Moreover, you used to be a dung general."
The crowd burst into laughter, and Lu Yun blushed for the first time in a long time.
Tian Dou placed his arm on Lu Yun's shoulder and said obsequiously, "Boss, if you are the dung bucket, we are the dung spoons. We will follow Boss to the death."
"Mmm, mmm, mmm," Tie Zhu and Tian Ya nodded repeatedly.
Facing the eager attention and high praise from everyone, Jin Ye was completely unfazed. He sat on a high chair, his small feet dangling in the air, and with his small hands gripping a child-sized wolf-hair brush, he wrote characters stroke by stroke.
The other three cubs and Lu Hu held small brushes, drawing doodles that only they themselves could understand.
Looking at her second child, the prodigy, Bai Sheng suddenly recalled the story of Shang Zhongyong. Zhongyong was born intelligent, but due to a lack of subsequent education, he eventually became ordinary.
Bai Sheng immediately decided to hire the best tutor for her second child.
Although she never demanded that her four children study hard for imperial examinations or anything of that sort, Ye Ye had a talent for memory and language, so he needed to be well-taught and his talent should not be wasted.
However, most tutors in ancient times were pedantic old scholars who recited "zhi hu zhe ye." Bai Sheng was afraid they would make her Ye Ye dull. She wanted a tutor who could teach according to aptitude, preserving the student's personality and intelligence.
Upon hearing her idea, her third uncle immediately thought of someone.
This person was naturally free-spirited, unrestrained in personality, and profoundly learned. His actions were unconventional, making him absolutely the kind of tutor Bai Sheng was looking for.
"Who?" Bai Sheng, Lu Ye, Concubine Mei, and Uncle Ding all stared at her third uncle's mouth.
Her third uncle looked at Lu Ye, "He is the eldest son of the Zuo family, Zuo Siming. Little Ye, you won't mind, will you?"
Lu Ye shook his head, "My mother's connection with the Zuo family ended twenty years ago. If Zuo Siming is truly a good tutor and my wife likes him, I don't mind at all."
"Third uncle, when the Baili family faced disaster, wasn't the Zuo family also implicated?" Bai Sheng felt that her third uncle was not repulsed by the Zuo family at all, suggesting that the Zuo family might not have kicked the Baili family while they were down and distanced themselves.
Her third uncle nodded solemnly, "The Zuo family was the only one who did not disdain the Baili family. After the incident, Marquis Wenshan always believed that my father had not colluded with the enemy and treason, and insisted on requesting the Emperor to thoroughly investigate. The Emperor, in his anger, stripped Marquis Wenshan of his hereditary title, confiscated all their property, and demoted their entire family to commoners."
Concubine Mei also sighed, "Marquis Wenshan was upright and honest, truly a pure minister. However, the Emperor and the court had completely chilled his heart. After being stripped of his title, he moved his entire family to a small manor in the suburbs. Only Zuo Siming, to support his family, remained in the capital and opened a small private school."
"Husband, I want Zuo Siming to be Ye Ye's tutor!" Bai Sheng rested her chin on Lu Ye's shoulder, her dark eyes shining with moisture, and said coquettishly.
Lu Ye's heart skipped a beat. He coughed lightly and said, "Alright, then we'll invite Zuo Siming."
Her third uncle instructed, "Zuo Siming is not easy to invite. You two had better go in person and show your sincerity."
"Okay, we'll follow third uncle's advice," Bai Sheng said with a smile.
The next day, Bai Sheng and Lu Ye set out to find Zuo Siming's small private school. After asking around for a long time, they learned that the small private school was located in a remote dark alley on West Street.
As soon as they entered the small alley, they heard sounds of smashing.
Bai Sheng and Lu Ye exchanged a look and immediately ran over.
They saw four or five thugs smashing tables and chairs. A middle-aged man in his forties was wielding a stick wildly, confronting the five thugs. A child about three or four years old was also standing beside him with a stick, baring his teeth and putting on a fierce expression.
Another five or six children were cowering in the corner, too scared to move.
"You're not paying protection fees, are you? I'll make sure you can't open your school! Smash it for me!" The thug leader kicked over a wooden table, his neck outstretched, and menacingly threatened.
The middle-aged man was not to be outdone and shouted recklessly, "Damn it! I won't pay! Let's see what you bastards can do to me!"
"Grandpa, can we not use foul language?" the little boy beside the middle-aged man frowned.
The middle-aged man said sternly, "No, if I don't use foul language today, it won't be enough to convey my anger. I must also kill these son of bitches!"
As the grandfather and grandson were talking, a young man and woman suddenly flashed in. The man was dressed in black and wore a mask, while the woman was in pink and was exceptionally beautiful.
Without any preamble, the two began kicking the thugs. In the blink of an eye, all five thugs were lying on the ground.
The man in black raised his foot and stomped heavily on the thugs' right legs with cracking sounds. Just listening to the sound made one feel excruciating pain, and the five thugs cried out in agony.
The neighbors from left and right heard the commotion and came to watch, crowding the entrance of the private school.
Seeing the thugs being dealt with, the people all clapped their hands in delight.