When he said these words, it seemed that a floodgate was opened in his heart. Everything that Qing'er had hidden before was finally revealed by him.
From Qing'er's mouth, Sang Nianyue learned that those people began to reject Qing'er, and it actually started after that fight.
That fight?
Sang Nianyue's heart was agitated and she remembered something, "It was the time when you were held down and beaten by Wang Hongyuan and Wang Hongcai. Was it that time?"
Qing'er gritted her teeth and said, "Yes."
Before that fight, he got along very well with his classmates in private school. In private, everyone referred to each other as brothers, and even informed each other of their birth dates and talked about elder and younger brothers.
But since that fight, everything has been different.
At that time, several classmates were injured trying to save him. Although his sister promptly asked Sister Su Xin to send generous gifts afterwards, the knot still existed.
After Sang Nuanyue heard what her brother said, she understood everything immediately.
It was also because she was negligent and forgot that these princes were not just ordinary private school students.
Although their status is not enough to allow them to enter the Imperial College, they live in Dongcheng, and their families generally have officials. Just ask, in this case, if their child is injured while trying to save someone else's child, will the parents not feel sad and dislike the student who caused the trouble?
In this situation, no parent is rational. Even if they knew in their hearts that the matter actually had nothing to do with Qing'er, he was also a victim. But everything happened because of him. Wang Hongyuan and Wang Hongcai recognized him, beat him desperately, and then implicated the other students.
It doesn't matter if their family background is good, if there are high-ranking officials in their family, even if those parents are dissatisfied, they will swallow it hard. But there are no other relatives in the Sang family, and the two siblings are just ordinary widows and children.
If your child was injured trying to save a poor and powerless child, which parent would be calm?
They didn't come to the door that day, which was a good thing on their part. But it is impossible to expect them to say nice things in front of their children, or to encourage their children to associate with Qing'er in the future. What they are most likely to do is to scold the children and then try their best to prevent them from playing with such trouble-making students.
The fact is exactly what Sang Nianyue thought.
Although the classmates who came to help Qing'er had no serious injuries, because Wang Hongyuan and Wang Hongcai bit people like vicious dogs, their exposed skin had many wounds visible to the naked eye.
The fact that these students were sent to Master Zheng's private school by their families shows that their families value them and are even more optimistic about their future. In the end, because he helped his classmates fight, he got his face bruised. How could this be possible?
This is why my little boy pulled it off in time. Otherwise, if the child's face was disfigured, how would he be able to take the imperial examination or become an official in the court in the future?
Qing'er's classmates were a little disapproving of their family members' nagging at first. They are children and don't think there is anything wrong with helping their classmates fight. They have a chivalrous heart and a childish heart. They feel that it is natural to help others when they are in trouble. But when their family members lectured them about "what will happen if their face is disfigured," the children were so frightened that their faces turned pale, and they all felt regret and fear.
It was also because of this regret and fear that the parents later told them not to have contact with Qing'er, saying that he was causing trouble, but they also listened to it.
That's when they became estranged from Qing'er, but at first they were just estranged, and because the estrangement came from themselves, those classmates still felt a little guilty.
But then, for some unknown reason, things gradually escalated, and Qing'er was gradually ostracized and contradicted.
When the "Sang family's treasure trove" was revealed, a large number of books belonging to the Sang family in the ghost house in Beicheng were burned, which brought the conflict between the two parties to its peak.
On the one hand, the classmates felt that the Sang family must have better books than those in the yamen collection. If Qing'er regarded them as friends, she should share them with them so that they could also become top scorers in the exam.
Qing'er naturally denied this, saying only that all the books at home had been moved to Beicheng. Clinker and their every move were watched, and the house was stolen not long after. Moreover, the gangster was so vicious that he accidentally set the books on fire. Instead of putting out the fire, he thought of escaping first.
So it's not that he doesn't care about the friendship between his classmates, but that there are really no books in his home, and the books were really reduced to ashes in the fire.
What Qing'er said was sincere, but these classmates didn't believe it at all. Not only did they not believe it, but even their family members felt that this could not be true. It is said that eggs cannot be put in the same basket and risks must be shared equally. Everyone knows this truth, and the Sang brothers and sisters are not ignorant of it. So if they say they are unlucky and the collection of books stored in a certain place is discovered, it is possible. But if they say that all their ancestral books are stored in that ghost house and there are none elsewhere, this is a lie. This is because he didn't treat them as classmates at all, so he was so stingy and fooled them. In the final analysis, it was just that Sang Qingyue was very scheming. He didn't want to add a few more opponents, and he didn't want everyone to win the top prize.
When it comes to your own interests, which of those classmates can stay calm? Besides, they also think what their family members said makes sense. As a result, he became even more disgusted with Qing'er, and felt more and more that he was a scheming person who only knew how to cheat. He was really a villain and should not be friends with her.
Qing'er said what needed to be said in a few words, although he had tried to minimize the viciousness and unreasonableness of his classmates and tried to make things as light as possible. But whenever Sang Nianyue thinks of her brother staying in an environment full of malice for so many days, she feels suffocated.
She pinched her neck and touched her throat, feeling like she was out of breath.
Seeing this, Su Wen hurried over and pressed some acupuncture points on Sang Nuanyue's body, while gently persuading her: "Girl, calm down and don't be tense all the time. Relax, relax."
When Qing'er saw this scene, he was so frightened that he was numb. He rushed over and called "sister" and "sister" twice in tears.
Sang Nuanyue finally relieved her breath, and her complexion finally improved a lot. She drank a cup of tea from Su Wen's hand, and after a while she calmed down again. Until her hands stopped shaking, she reached out and pulled her brother up: "I'm fine, don't be afraid, sit down in your seat."
Qing'er timidly sat back in his seat.
Sang Nianyue asked: "It's impossible that Zhuye and Zhuqing don't know about such a big thing happening to you. I also told them before that if they find anything wrong with you, they should go home and tell me immediately, but so far, They didn't say anything to me. Tell me, did you intimidate them and prevent them from telling me the truth?"
Qing'er gritted her teeth and responded, "Yes."
Sang Nuanyue became angry again and looked back for the feather duster. Qing'er quickly begged for mercy: "Sister, don't be angry. I was wrong. I don't want you to worry about me. Sister, please spare me this time. Just spare me this time."
"Okay, you are my biological brother. I'll let you go this time. I won't be angry with you. But Zhuye and Zhuqing violated the law, so I have to punish them this time."
When Qing'er heard this, she was even more scared than if she was going to suffer.
How can we beat bamboo leaves and bamboo greens? They wanted to tell their sister the truth, but he threatened them with death and said that if they dared to tell the truth, he would never let them follow him again. Zhuye and Zhuqing were used to living a hard life, living without food and hunger, but now they are finally living well. Who would want to go back to the past? If they don't care about their own honor and disgrace, can they really not care about his life?
The two of them had no choice but to pretend to be deaf and dumb. But they kept the secret for him, how could he just ignore it?
Qing'er said: "Sister, please spare them. They did not dare to tell my sister because they listened to my words. If my sister punishes them this time, then my words will no longer have any prestige in their hearts. Who will they say in the future?" Treat me sincerely? Sister, I promise this is the first and last time. I will never dare to deceive my sister about anything in the future. Sister, just look at my face and spare them."
Sang Nianyue's original purpose was not to punish Zhuye and Zhuqing, but to make her brother dare not deceive her anymore. Now that he has achieved his goal, Sang Nianyue will naturally no longer be entangled. However, she still pretended to be reluctant, letting Qing'er know that this was really the last time, and also letting Zhuye and Zhuqing, who would hear this later, understand that the master would really sacrifice his life to protect his master if he truly served his master. your. They did the right thing by protecting Qing'er. Whoever protects the master in the future will benefit.
After thinking about this matter, Sang Nianyue asked Qing'er calmly, "You have made it clear why your classmates are rejecting you. What about Master Zheng? Why does Master Zheng dislike you?"
Qing'er's face froze when she heard this. She was afraid that her sister wouldn't be able to bear the stimulation anymore, but Sang Nianyue just looked at him and said, "I can bear it, just say what you want. Qing'er, sister I didn’t expect that my good intentions would harm you so much. Now you can tell my sister the truth and make me feel less anxious."
"Okay...I told my sister, sister, don't be anxious, listen to me slowly."
Master Zheng is actually a very decent person, and he is indeed very good at teaching and educating people. Therefore, although he failed in the imperial examination and failed to become an official, he has also trained countless students over the past few decades, which can be called a saying. "The world is filled with peaches and plums."
Master Zheng was knowledgeable and had a good temperament, but one thing was that he was stubborn. If he was sure of one thing, even ten cows would not be able to pull him back.
Master Zheng was very fond of Qing'er at first. He felt that this student was spiritual and could understand everything. He was really a good young man. He was destined to take the imperial examination and become an official in the future, which would bring glory to his family.
But since the treasure-hiding case occurred, the news of the books being burned reached Master Zheng’s ears. Master Zheng was not like the students. He stubbornly believed that the Sang family had other books. In fact, it didn't matter whether there were other books. He would not covet other people's things. He had lived half his life and could not do anything. Such a shameless thing.
But the Sang family shouldn't have let the books in the ghost house be burned. They should not take risks with books, let alone trade the uncertain future of these books in exchange for a peaceful life for their siblings.
Yes, Mrs. Zheng is a mature man, and he has a different view on the burning of books in haunted houses.
In his eyes, this is just a game. In order to live a stable life, the Sang brothers and sisters chose to throw out these "hot potatoes" in order to give everyone a "Sang family's book collection has been destroyed, and the Sang family's treasures have been hidden until now." There is no world” illusion.
The Sang siblings want to live a stable life, and Master Zheng understands this very well. But it is too cruel and shameless for you to choose this method and do whatever it takes to achieve your goals.
Books, these are the wealth passed down from our ancestors to this day. What's more, those books were bought with the blood and sweat of the family's ancestors. But the Sang siblings didn't know how to cherish them at all, so they burned them all...
Master Zheng saw clearly that this matter was a scheme, but he did not expect that the books burned were not serious books at all. There were a large part of new books and some books that could not be put on the table. Only the outermost four boxes contained It is the sought-after "number one book".
But no matter what, for Master Zheng, the most intolerable thing was the burning of books. And the Sang siblings have such bad character, how can they make the old man like them?
Master Zheng was angry and got angry in front of everyone in the school. He also scolded Qing'er for a whole morning because of an inexplicable incident.
Everyone is a clear-sighted person, who doesn't know that Sang Nianyue was angered by Master Zheng? Master Zheng doesn't like him, and they don't like him either. Will Qing'er's life in school become even more difficult?
Qing'er finished the matter in a few words. After finishing speaking, he looked at his sister anxiously and said, "I know this matter is of great importance, so when Master Zheng reprimanded me, I didn't dare to reply." I didn't dare to tell Master Zheng the truth. , after all, there are many people in the school, and maybe after Master Zheng finds out, his classmates will know about it immediately, and then the whole city will know about it. So what is the point of setting up such a situation when the two of them have spent so much manpower, material and financial resources?
When Qing'er said this, Sang Nuanyue fell silent.
She knew this was an unsolvable situation.
If Qing'er tells Master Zheng the truth, there is a risk that the matter will be exposed; but if she doesn't tell Master Zheng the truth, think about it, if your wife is prejudiced against you, can you still stay in this private school?
Sang Nuanyue asked Qing'er: "How do you want to deal with this matter?"
"How to deal with it?" Qing'er chuckled: "Sister, haven't I already dealt with it? Just leave it like this, don't tell anyone, and try to reduce the scope of insiders. This is the best way to protect our siblings."
"Okay, I understand." Sang Nianyue said this calmly, but her watery peach blossom eyes could not help but water vapor welling up again.
She said: "Qing'er, you are old and you have made this decision. I think you know what it means."
"I'm not stupid, of course I know." Qing'er said as easily as possible, "Isn't it just that I can't continue to stay in Master Zheng's private school, so I need to change to another private school. That's okay. I'm also very tired of my classmates. , they...forget it, just don't say anything."
People say that lust is hard to satisfy. What if he really showed his classmates the Sang family's collection of books? After reading this book, they will think that there must be something better in the Sang family. Sang Qingyue decided to keep the best for himself.
They want something better, something that can make them win the top prize, and something that can ensure that they win the top prize, so they will ask Qing'er again and again. And as long as he doesn't satisfy their desires even once, they will have all kinds of desires to criticize him, so why bother?
Qing'er said: "I was a classmate. They saved me before. Although we no longer interacted with each other due to various reasons, I still backed up each of the books I kept in the yamen and gave them a copy. This This ends our fate. As for more, I can't give you anything more. Sister, that's it. I will never go to Master Zheng's private school again."
Sang Nuanyue responded with a choked voice: "Okay."
The two siblings finalized the matter, but there were other things that needed to be resolved. The first thing was, "Since you are not going to Master Zheng's private school, do you have any other place you want to go to? Name it." , after sister investigates, we will make a decision together."
Qing'er wailed, "No, sister, I just jumped out of a fire pit, and I haven't even had a night's rest. You are going to force me to jump into another fire pit. Sister, sister, you are my biological sister." "
"It is precisely because I am your biological sister that I am so worried about your studies. If I were your step-sister, I would not care whether you go to school or sleep at home."
Qing'er scratched her head when she heard this, "Then I don't know now how the other private schools are like around here. I have to find out. Sister, don't force me. Let me rest for two days before I get busy with this matter."
Sang Nianyue's loving sister's heart suddenly disappeared. She grabbed her brother's ears and said, "You still want to take a break for two days? Why didn't you say two years of rest? You didn't study in the good times, but you said you wanted to take a break." What are you doing? Come on, go and talk to your parents in front of their memorial tablets, and let them know your ambition."
Qing'er quickly begged for mercy.
How can any sister do things like this? How could you tell your parents such a thing? Isn't this just waiting for his parents to fall asleep at night and scold him like a bitch?
Qing'er begged for mercy again and again, but Sang Nianyue finally spared him. But my brother's words are also true. Master Zheng's private school has already stepped into a trap, so he should look for the next private school more carefully. This will definitely take a long time, so should I let my brother rest at home during this time?
Sang Nuanyue thought of an idea and said, "You should study with Ding Juren during this period."
"Ding Juren?" Qing'er looked in disbelief: "Sister wants me to run to Nancheng?"
Ding Juren sat in Chongwenzhai.
Over there is a shop in the front and a courtyard in the back. The courtyard is neither big nor small, and it is enough to teach more than ten students. But as soon as the good news about the clinker was released, hundreds of students came to sign up, so the place was not enough. So, he bought the house next door at a high price and opened it up. The place was spacious, with more Qing'er and less him.
Sang Nianyue: "Ding Juren is a jurencer. It's enough to teach you, a child who has never even participated in the boy's examination."
"But didn't Ding Juren only teach the children over there to read and practice calligraphy? I have almost finished studying the 'Four Books' now. They and I have learned different things. Ding Juren is not allowed to teach the two sides separately. This must not delay Ding Juren's time. , does it consume his energy?"
"It doesn't matter. I will give Ding Juren an extra piece of money. I think Ding Juren is willing to earn this money."
Qing'er looked at her sister speechlessly and choked, how could she do this? The place where they live now is Dongcheng. Dongcheng is far away from Nancheng. It would take more than half an hour to get there by carriage. So how early does he have to get up every morning to catch up with Ding Juren's first class? Is my sister a devil? How can my sister be so strict with him? She didn't even consider that he had just experienced such great pain. He also had psychological trauma. Did he need time to heal?
Qing'er unknowingly said what was in her heart, and Sang Nianyue was a little bit dumbfounded when she heard it. "I see that you are alive and kicking, and you don't look like you have suffered psychological trauma at all. Next, you went to Nancheng. The private school there was founded by us. That short-sighted person dared to exclude you? If there is such a person, look back. You tell your sister and she will provide you with justice."
Sang Nuanyue has said everything, what can Qing'er do? No matter how reluctant he was, no matter how unwilling he was to enroll in school, he finally had to bear his sister's earnest gaze and agreed to her arrangement, planning to go to Nancheng to study from tomorrow.
But, are you going tomorrow?
Sang Nianyue thought about it and said, "It's better to do it the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow, my sister will accompany you to Master Zheng's place to say goodbye to Master Zheng."
No matter what, Master Zheng taught his younger brother a lesson, and then transferred him to another school without saying a word. What's going on?
The most important thing in this world is respecting teachers. Although Master Zheng did something inappropriate before and hurt his brother badly, she also complained about it. But for the big picture, you have to do what needs to be done, otherwise it would be bad if you leave something to say and affect your younger brother's future in the future.
When Qing'er heard this, before she could be happy, she became depressed again.
Rather than going to Master Zheng's private school, he might as well go to Nancheng early tomorrow morning. However, what his sister said made sense. Master Zheng taught him that there was hard work without merit, so he should say goodbye and end their fate.
*
The next day, the sister and brother went to Master Zheng's private school early.
Because when you wake up early, you will have half an hour of morning reading. Usually at this time, Master Zheng will personally watch the students reading. But if something happens, he can just walk away.
If you wait until noon or afternoon, that won't work. Master Zheng is very busy and has classes all day long. Even if they go there, Master Zheng may not have time to see them.
After the siblings passed by and explained their purpose, the teaching assistant hurried into the classroom to look for Master Zheng.
Later, Master Zheng walked out of the classroom and met the siblings in his yard.
Sang Nianyue didn't go into details. She just said that her younger brother couldn't adapt here and planned to transfer him elsewhere.
Master Zheng's face was dark and inexplicable.
He was silent for a long time, then took two steps back and bowed to the two siblings. He was the kind who bowed his head and apologized very sincerely and with great care.
Sang Nuanyue hurriedly turned aside, while Qing'er quickly helped Master Zheng up and said repeatedly: "It can't be done."
Master Zheng said guiltily, "I owe you this."
Everything is unspoken.
Master Zheng has realized that what he did before to make things difficult for Qing'er in class was inappropriate. Even though he still criticizes the sister and brother for burning fire to escape, but since they did this, they must have been forced into a desperate situation. There is a better solution.
It's just a matter of survival, and it seems understandable that books should be abandoned in order to survive.
Master Zheng opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he just sighed and said: "That's all, I won't say anything else. After all, I failed you as a student. You have lived in this private school." If you are unhappy, then go elsewhere."
Then he said sincerely: "I know most of the private schools in the capital. If you want to go to any of them, I can give you a letter of introduction, and it can also save you and your brother some detours."
The two sisters expressed their sincere gratitude, then bowed to Master Zheng, then accepted the tuition fees that the teaching assistant forcibly refunded, and left the private school.
Once they leave this time, they will never come here again.
When the siblings walked out together, they saw several students looking through the transparent glass windows of the classroom. The classmates near them seemed to know something, and they all lay on their heads to watch.
Qing'er didn't say anything, her expression didn't change, and she followed her sister out.
But when she was about to walk out of Master Zheng's private school, Qing'er couldn't help but look back at the classroom. When he looked back, his eyes were red. It was obvious that he felt uncomfortable leaving in this way and being separated from these classmates like this.
Sang Nianyue said: "Life is a journey. You will always meet different people and see different scenery. Now your fate with them has ended, but your fate with others is just about to begin. The scenery ahead is just right and clear. Don’t you look forward to it?”
Qing'er wiped the corners of her eyes, smiled and said, "Looking forward to it."
Good or bad, happy or painful, that's it for now.
Just like what he told his sister before, these classmates excluded him and made things difficult for him, but he still remembers that when he was pressed to the ground and beaten by Wang Hongyuan and Wang Hongcai, when he was helpless and powerless to resist, his heart was filled with fear and fear. When he was scared, it was these classmates who rushed forward desperately and fought with Wang Hongyuan and the others. They were the ones who gave him a chance to breathe.
Now that he has given his reward, let them settle the matter.
The siblings returned to Sang's house. Sang Nianyue went to practice calligraphy and meditate, while Qing'er returned to his own yard to pack his things.
My sister said that summer is about to begin. There are heavy rains in summer, and Nancheng is too far from Dongcheng. If he had to stay in Nancheng due to weather reasons, he would rest there first.
Anyway, Uncle Mute and Ding Juren lived there. They were all reliable people. She was not worried because they were watching over him.
While Qing'er was packing the things she was going to bring tomorrow, she muttered: "I don't believe that my sister won't be lonely without me at home? I don't believe that my sister will miss me."
Just as she was muttering like this, Qing'er suddenly heard two knocks on the door. He said nonchalantly: "Whoever it is, just come in."
Zhuzhi came in, and Zhuzhi said: "Master, the Marquis knows what you went through in the private school. There is a good place over there. I just ask if you want to go."
"A good place?" Qing'er first thought of the Imperial College, but did the Imperial College just go in? The students who enroll there are all descendants of royal relatives, prominent families, and noble families of courtiers. In the Wu'an Hou Mansion, the twin sons of the second master Shen Tingyi were studying in the Imperial College. But that makes sense. After all, he was born in the Hou family and was admitted to the Imperial College.
But why did he enter the Imperial College? Just because he is close to the Marquis, can he be favored by the Marquis?
Qing'er laughed at herself and couldn't help laughing. Regardless of whether he can get in or not, he won't get in anyway.
When he studied with Master Zheng, he could feel the class discrimination - even though the elders in his classmates' families did not have high official positions, after they turned against each other, his classmates put on high airs.
Even the heirs of these petty official families are so difficult to deal with. Then the proud son of the emperor in the Imperial Academy, when he sees this kid who got in, doesn't he look at him like a bedbug?
It is important for people to be self-aware, and they cannot force themselves into a circle that they cannot stay in.
However, the Marquis has always done things in a measured manner, and he would not have introduced him to the Imperial College even if he thought about it. Where else could it be?
Qing'er became curious and asked Zhuzhi, but Zhuzhi didn't know.
Just listen to Zhuzhi say, "The Marquis only said this, and there is no more. But the Marquis knows that you can leave home tomorrow, so he invites you to get together at the restaurant after school tomorrow. The Marquis told you to know where the gathering is. , I don’t need my subordinates to tell you again.”
Qing'er thought about it, Master Hou's arrangements were really thoughtful. Knowing that it would be difficult for him to go out today, he arranged to meet tomorrow. This arrangement is quite appropriate. But, how would he know about the gathering place?
Qing'er couldn't think of a reason, but suddenly, a light flashed through his mind, and he suddenly remembered that after he came out of Jingzhao Yin Yamen last time, he and the Marquis had dinner together, and he told his sister that he and his sister had heard about the restaurant in the corner. The dishes are not bad. And that road is right on the road from Nancheng back to Dongcheng. There is no doubt where it is.
Qing'er secretly praised herself, she was really smart.
But after lying on the bed at night, Qing'er suddenly sat up from the bed without knowing what she thought of.
Zhuye heard the commotion and asked: "Master, what's wrong with you? But you have to get up at night?"
"No, I have something to think about. Don't disturb me. Go back to your room and rest."
Zhuye said "ok" but didn't leave.
He was extremely grateful. The fact that the young master was bullied was exposed. He originally thought that the girl had designated him and Zhu Qing to punish him, but the clinker young master had the courage to plead for them both and forced the girl to relent, and then spared their lives. .
Zhuye and Zhuqing burst into tears of gratitude for this, wishing they could sacrifice their lives immediately to repay the favor. Therefore, let alone keeping vigil, they are willing to go through fire and water and die for their master immediately.
They are lucky to have such a master.
Not to mention the bamboo leaves, Qing'er was lying on the bed rolling back and forth. She couldn't help but think about it again and again: Was the Marquis being too kind to him? If it weren't for the fact that they looked exactly the same and were two years apart in age, he would have suspected that the Marquis was his lost brother!
(End of chapter)
