Chapter 14: The aunt's intention, sir is being difficult

  The news that Pei Yuange won the seven-colored crystal beads in the black and white chess game at Jianxuan Pavilion spread quickly throughout the capital, causing a heated debate. Everyone knew that the eldest miss of the Pei family, Pei Yuanhua, was talented and beautiful, with a great reputation among the noble ladies of the capital. The third miss, Pei Yuanrong, was also said to be beautiful and charming. But this legitimate fourth miss was said to be ordinary in appearance and lacking in talent, so she hid in the Pei family and didn't dare to see people. This time, being rejected by the Zhen Guo Hou Fu made people even more convinced that this fourth miss must be as bad as the rumors said.

  Now, Bae Won-song has actually won against the chess master Xuan Zhu?

  This is too subversive of people's cognition!

  Not only in the capital, but even the lower-ranking people in the Pei residence were talking about it and couldn't believe it: "Hey, have you heard? The fourth young lady actually won a game of chess against the master of Heibai Chess Pavilion and took away the seven-colored crystal beads. I heard that the pavilion master had been playing chess for three years and had never lost before!"

  "Isn't that right? Such a formidable person, Fourth Miss can still win. What do you think of Fourth Miss's chess skills? I'm afraid even the eldest miss is not as good as her!"

  "That's strange, Fourth Miss is so skilled at chess, how come I've never heard of it?"

  "Hey, do you understand? Fourth Miss is the birth daughter of Madam Mingjin, while First and Third Miss are both born to Concubine Zhang. Now Concubine Zhang is in charge of the household... Sigh, think about it yourself, there must be some hidden scheme going on here."

  ……

  The rumor reached Zhang Yun's ears and almost twisted her mouth.

  "Nonsense, utter nonsense! What is that little wretch compared to? Not to mention comparing her to Hua'er, even a single strand of Rong'er's hair is better than she is!" Zhang Yun slammed the table and shouted in anger, "She thinks she can stand out and surpass Rong'er and Hua'er? Don't even think about it! My daughter is the most outstanding young lady in the Pei Manor, that little wretch Pei Yuange is nothing!"

  Wang's wife was worried: "The old master is getting more and more fond of her, Sister-in-law, we can't delay any longer!"

  "Hmph, this little wretch thinks she can turn against me?" Zhang Yun coldly smiled and instructed in a low voice, "Mother, take my message to the teacher of the young ladies in the manor. Tell him..." After giving the instructions, Zhang Yun went to Tong Ze Institute in Pei Zhuo City again.

  So on the second day, Pei Yuange was summoned to Tong Ze Hall.

  "Song'er, I think you've recovered well enough, it's time to catch up on the lessons you've missed. From today onwards, go back to Wen Gu Yuan and continue your studies with Master! And let me warn you, now that you're older, you must not disobey Master again. If I find out about such behavior, no matter how much I love you, I won't be able to forgive you lightly! Do you understand?"

  Zhang Yun stood beside her, with a smile on her face. The fourth young lady wanted to avoid offending Mr., but it seemed quite difficult...

  She knew that Zhang Yun would never let her show off, and would eventually find an opportunity to slander her! Pei Yuange sneered in her heart, not that she didn't respect Mr., but those people weren't worthy of respect! But on her face, she wore a sweet and gentle smile, and softly replied: "Daughter knows."

  Just as Pei Yuange had expected, her days at school were far from peaceful!

  "Fourth Miss, you must listen carefully in class and not be distracted! Get up and stand at the side to listen to the lesson!" Mr. Chen, who taught poetry, sternly said, pulling up Pei Yuange to stand as punishment for not listening carefully, but smiled warmly at Pei Yuanrong, who was sleeping soundly with her head down beside him, "Third Miss must have been too tired from studying hard last night, take a good rest!"

  "Fourth Miss, what are you embroidering? You've turned the mandarin ducks into wood ducks! Look at Third Miss, aren't you ashamed? Unpick it and re-embroider! Don't think that just because you're a legitimate daughter you're superior, you're far inferior to Third Miss!" Mr. Huang, the embroidery teacher, harshly scolded, and without another word, he tore up Pei Yuange's embroidered handkerchief and threw it at her.

  "Fourth Miss, how many times have I told you, this chess move is wrong, wrong! I don't know how you won the chess competition, you don't even understand the basics! Look at Third Miss, she's only one year older than you, but already has the air of a master player. You should learn from her, and not rely on being the eldest miss to be careless!" Mr. Li, who was teaching chess, said disdainfully, his entire face written with "You're stupid, you're foolish, you're useless, you're wasting my time".

  ……

  Who can help but disobey such a master?

  Under the candlelight, Pei Yuange's palms were red and swollen from being hit by a board as he copied out the penalized article, his eyes cold and stern.

  In her previous life, she was intentionally made difficult, black and white were reversed, and as soon as she had a slight disagreement, she was accused of being disobedient and stubborn. The school only had the teacher and three sisters, and the teacher insisted that she was disrespectful to her elders and refused to be disciplined. The second miss, Pei Yuanchang, was a fool and didn't dare speak up, while Pei Yuanrong was an accomplice, making it impossible for her to defend herself. With Zhang Yun adding fuel to the fire, eventually even Pei Zhucheng believed that she had a stubborn personality and refused to be disciplined. The father-daughter relationship gradually drifted apart, and in the end, he completely lost hope in her.

  But this time, she will never repeat the mistakes of her past life...

  The second day, school.

  "Fourth Miss, I assigned homework yesterday and need a poem from you today. Where's your poem? You're disobedient, so as punishment, you'll copy the Rhyming Enlightenment 100 times today. If you don't finish, you won't be allowed to eat!" Mr. Chen had clearly received Pei Yuange's homework, but still distorted the truth. Yesterday, this Fourth Miss was too calm and didn't get angry with him; today she needed to increase her intensity.

  As expected, you're playing this trick again! Pei Yuange bit his lip and stood up: "Mr. Chen, I clearly handed in my homework."

  Chen Qiming was worried that she would continue to hold back her tears, but upon hearing this, she was overjoyed and hastily said: "Nonsense, I didn't see your poem at all."

  "The plum blossoms are blooming, but their fragrance is not timely. The pure and elegant lady is only accompanied by the moon, while the green girl is not spared from the frost. I present this to you with a full heart, but it's a pity that we must part ways soon. For whom did I compose this early poem? Not waiting for the year to be fragrant. This is the poem I gave you, and I clearly saw you put it between those books." Pei Yuange said discontentedly, pointing directly at the stack of books on the right side of the desk.

  Chen Qiming walked to the front of the desk, took out a piece of paper, and sneered: "Is this it?" He then took out a flint and ignited the paper, watching as it burned to ashes. Only then did he say, "I said I didn't see your homework! As for this poem about plum blossoms, I just wrote it a few days ago. I didn't expect you to become more and more disobedient, not only not turning in your homework but also daring to plagiarize my poem. You're beyond help! Now you not only have to copy the Rhyme Enlightenment one hundred times, but also apologize to me and be punished with twenty slaps on the palm of your hand, so you'll remember the lesson!"

  Although Pei Yuansong was young and hadn't been properly taught, he had a natural talent and occasionally wrote poems that even his teacher couldn't help but praise.

  Just right, can become his poem, let people praise.

  "Not bad, Fourth Sister, I can testify that you didn't even do your homework, yet you still want to pass off Mr. Chen's poem as your own, that's too much! Don't you ever think, Mr. Chen is a scholar, the poems he writes are not something someone of your level can produce?" Pei Yuan Rong gloated at the side, letting you monopolize Father's favor, letting you show off, letting you repeatedly offend me, now the retribution has come!

  With Pei Yuanrong's support, Mr. Chen's tone became even more confident and angry: "You dare to slander me for plagiarizing your poem? Let's go to General Pei's place to reason it out." Since the physical evidence had already been destroyed, he had Pei Yuanrong as a witness, so it was perfect to make a scene at General Pei's place. At that time, not only would General Pei have to apologize and offer compensation, but there would also be a reward from Zhang Niangniang to collect, and he could even get a good poem out of it - killing three birds with one stone!

  It seems that he also knew his situation was unfavorable, and Pei Yuange said somewhat weakly: "You all joined forces to frame me, I...I won't go!"

  "You can't get away with this! Hmph, at such a young age, you're already so misbehaved, what will become of you in the future? This matter must be told to General Pei, let him properly discipline his daughter!" Seeing her retreat, Chen Qiming became even more pleased with himself, and insisted on bringing the three misses to find Pei Zhoucheng. Pei Yuange was originally unwilling to go, but was pulled by Pei Yuanrong towards Tongze Hall where Pei Zhoucheng was located.

  As he gazed at the room where his father was in, Pei Yuange's mouth slowly curved into a subtle and determined smile...

  Let Mr. Chen be that monkey's master!

  Digression

  By the way, the poem in the text is Li Shangyin's "Seeing Plum Blossoms at Fufeng Border in Mid-November"