War is a deceitful affair.

  Military generals often give people a rough and brainless feeling, but in fact, marching and fighting can only rely on bravery is not enough. To defeat the enemy army, the general must operate in the tent, be good at strategy, and understand the way of soldiers. The number of troops under his command is very important, but there are also many cases where a small number of people win against a large number of enemies, at this time, what is being tested is wisdom.

  Yuan Wulang was born into a family of military leaders, and the women in his household were all well-versed in the art of war. How could this young man, who had been entrusted with great expectations, possibly be just a simple character?

  At that time, he endured and did not speak out, but in his heart, there was still a thread of kindness. He always felt that no matter what, he owed his wife an apology and didn't want to tear his face before leaving. However, even the most gentle and kind-hearted man cannot remain calm after being hurt by his new bride three or four times as if nothing had happened.

  He just wanted to teach Choi Gu a lesson.

  Yuan Wulang is not someone to be trifled with, Cui Ying now fully understands.

  She figured it out, Fourth Aunt this time said she was calling her to help with new words, actually planning to teach her piano, chess, calligraphy and painting.

  It's both a lesson and a trust, so the county master's method won't work.

  She was secretly bitter, but had no way to refuse. She had just married in a few days and if she were to make an enemy of the fourth sister-in-law now, not only would she be unable to explain herself to the old lady, but also the servants below would have something to gossip about.

  Cui Ling was afraid of trouble and couldn't be bothered to make a fuss, so under the circumstances, she could only reluctantly nod her head, "Then I'll have to trouble Fourth Aunt."

  What was on his mind, however, was that Cui Jiu was a rotten wood that could not be carved, a dung wall that could not be polished, with a poor foundation, and it was not the master's fault, there was no possibility of reforming her, no matter how much effort he put in, it would all be in vain.

  I hope Fourth Aunt can see this point clearly and retreat early, then she will be at peace.

  Su Zi handed over the scroll, "This is what I got by chance when I was watching the moon last night, take a look at it, fifth brother and sister?"

  Cui Yinglian roughly understood, just as she was about to blurt out an agreement, she suddenly remembered how she had infuriated her husband at the Anning Bo Fu girls' school, and hastily shut her mouth, pretending to be clueless.

  She held up the new word and looked at it back and forth, after a while she stretched out her hand to point at several complex characters, "Fourth sister, I don't recognize these words. What does 'moon flower on dry' mean?"

  A perfectly good sentence "the moon moves and its flower shadow is on the railing" was directly read by her as "the moon is above the flower stem"...

  Su Zi's brush paused, her words filled with shock, "The fifth brother and sister have never recognized characters?"

  Generally, aristocratic families place great emphasis on the upbringing of their daughters. Proficiency in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting is fundamental; having a certain level of attainment is not necessary, but they should at least have a basic understanding. Recognizing characters and reading books are also essential skills; if one cannot even recognize characters, how can they manage the household finances or take care of the family in the future?

  The fifth brother and sister were also born in the Bo Mansion, and they were also legitimate children of the first wife. They couldn't even recognize a relatively common character like "移影阑" (shadow screen)...

  Cui Ling hung her head and said, "Fourth sister doesn't know that every time I see my sisters at home playing the zither or writing poetry and painting, I always feel a sense of longing and admiration. However, it may be that I was born dull-witted, but even a three-year-old child can learn the Thousand Character Classic, I couldn't learn it no matter how many times I tried. Later, my elders at home sympathized with me and didn't force me to learn these things."

  Her face showed a few points of guilt and unease, "So Fourth Aunt asked me to read the lyrics, no different from letting a deaf person listen to music, or a blind person watch opera... I... I don't understand..."

  Cui Ling thought that although her tone was gentle, anyone could hear that she was directly refusing. The words were already spoken so clearly and understandably, and it seemed that Fourth Aunt would definitely understand the underlying meaning and let her off the hook.

  However, reality is always less beautiful than imagination.

  Only to see Su's eyes flowing, her expression fluctuating several times, as if she had experienced painful struggles in her heart, and finally sympathy and pity took the upper hand. She gently grasped Cui Ying's hand and comforted her sincerely, "In this world, those with innate talents are few, most people have to work hard to achieve something."

  She paused slightly, "My younger siblings are still young, why must they be so self-deprecating? It's okay if learning is slow, we'll take it slowly."

  "What?" Cui Ling asked incredulously.

  Su Zi painted a smile, "Fifth brother will have to stay away from home for quite some time, anyway, the days are long ahead, during this period, let's start with simple character recognition, Fourth sister is not good at anything else, but she still has patience."

  She picked up a collection of poems from her desk and said to her five younger siblings, "Take it and read it. If you come across any characters you don't recognize or meanings that aren't clear, just ask me."

  Choi Yeong was speechless, she hated her own "tactfulness", why couldn't she just say straightforwardly that she didn't like reading and writing instead of saying something as ambiguous as "having a strong yearning"?

  It's settled then. It can be seen that the fourth sister has gone through intense mental struggle before making up her mind to teach herself to recognize characters and write poetry. If she were to refuse abruptly at this time, wouldn't that be playing with others? This grudge would be deeply rooted, not to mention that it was originally her own fault. Even if the old lady found out, she would have to say that she didn't understand reason.

  For example, Lao Taijun and Junzhu, although they also can't stand Si Jie's elegance, but mutual respect and consideration are the bottom line.

  She herself has to bear the consequences of her own misfortune, and can only think that it's just like going back to school as a kid again, relying on memories from past lives to muddle through this life, which isn't particularly difficult after all.

  Thinking so, Cui Ying could only force a smile and say, "Then I'll have to trouble Fourth Sister."

  Su Zi painted Lei Li Feng Xing, at that time she let Cui Ying sit in front of the case to read poetry, and she herself lay on the beautiful person's couch in front of the window to read books. When she heard her fifth brother and sister raise questions, she didn't need to get up, and she could say out loud the pronunciation and annotation of that word.

  In early November, the sky was slightly cool, and a gentle breeze occasionally blew in through the window gap. She turned her head to look at Cui Jiu, who was reading at his desk, a beautiful woman with a furrowed brow, her hands supporting her cheeks, intently staring at the text on the book scroll.

  Su's face revealed a pleased smile, she nodded secretly, "The fifth brother and sister may not be clever, but they are very diligent and willing to learn, they just haven't met a teacher who is willing to spend time teaching them, otherwise, how could they have wasted these years?"

  She secretly made up her mind that she must not disappoint her fifth brother's entrustment and return him a elegant and refined wife when he comes home.

  Cui Ling finally managed to persuade Xiao Lin to come and invite her to have lunch at the Tai An Institute. She hurriedly said to Su Shi, "Fourth sister, today's lesson was very beneficial to me. May I take this poetry collection back with me? If there are any parts I don't understand, I'll come again another day to ask for your guidance."

  Su Zi nodded with satisfaction, "You're humble and eager to learn, that's great."

  She slightly changed her tone, "I heard that the fifth brother and sister are following the eldest sister to learn housekeeping? This is also good, coincidentally I have been teaching Yú Gēr to recognize characters recently, after the matters of Qín Miǎn Táng are finished, the fifth brother and sister will come over here, you and Yú Gēr can study together."

  Cui Ling's lips trembled slightly, this fourth sister really didn't understand human feelings and social norms, she was just being polite, not sincerely willing to learn. Moreover, Yu Ge was only four years old, letting a fifteen-year-old girl study with a four-year-old child, wasn't that embarrassing?

  She gave Su a complex look, to avoid Si's continued talking, decided to pretend not to have understood, didn't respond, and pulled Xiao Lian away quickly.

  On her escape route, she didn't forget to despise and scorn Yuan Wulang who was secretly plotting behind her back.

  It's better to offend a gentleman than to offend a petty person. If she had known that her momentary mistake would bring so much trouble, she should have sewn up her mouth and not said a word!