Chapter 192 – The Old Madam is from a Scholarly Family (part 6)

After Li Su came back, she bought a lot of books, along with pens, ink, paper, and inkstones. Li Yu was very distressed when he saw them in the room. It would have been nice to spend the money to buy him some books.

“Prepare well and start teaching them tomorrow. Teach well, and let people know that your talent is not just for the sake of vanity. In the future, if you repeatedly fail the imperial exam, then you can open a private school to teach. Some people will be willing to pay for it,” Li Su said rudely.

Li Yu felt that he had been severely hit, and he simply asked, “Are you really my mother?”

Next to him, Liu Yingniang was startled. She was speechless.

Li Yuan frowned. Li Ru was timid and jumped off the stool to hide behind Li Yuan. She showed half of her head timidly.

Li Su thought it was a little funny. “If I’m not your mother, do you think you can stay here well? I have too much money and nowhere to spend it, right? I not only raised you, but also your entire family, so my brain must be broken, right?! I have raised you for over twenty years, but now I just want you to teach well, open a private school in the future, and make some money to support the family. But look at you! You even suspect that I am not your biological mother! What kind of sin did I commit in my past life for me to give birth to such an unfilial beast!” Li Su said, getting increasingly more angry. She looked around to find something that she could get her hands on.

Then, she saw the feather duster stuck in the vase on the table and took it out.

Liu Yingniang was so frightened that her face turned pale. She stood in front of Li Yu, knelt down, and begged. “Mother, Husband Yu is confused. He didn’t mean to disobey you. Don’t be angry. If you want to hit someone, then hit me. His injuries haven’t healed yet!”

Li Yuan and Li Ru also knelt down. “Grandma, don’t be angry. Dad is still injured. It’s not too late to hit dad after his injury has healed.”

Li Yu listened to his mother’s familiar words and actions and most of the doubts in his heart disappeared. When he saw Yingniang kneeling in front of him despite her being pregnant, he was a little moved. Then he heard his son’s words and felt helpless. “Mother, I was wrong. Don’t be angry.”

Li Su sneered and squinted at Li Yu. “You’re wrong? You know you’re wrong?”

Li Yu looked at his mother’s mean appearance. It was the same as when she quarreled with his father before and he sighed. “It’s because I shouldn’t be lazy. I should work and accomplish something. Mother, don’t be angry. It’s this son who is useless.”

“Son!” Li Su put the feather duster away when she heard his words. She walked by Liu Yingniang, who was kneeling on the ground, and sat beside the bed to hold Li Yu’s hand. “Son, when your father was here, mother treated you as a child. You have been smart since you were a child, and your teacher who taught you praised you. Your father and I saved money to let you study. But now with your father gone, and you are also the father to three children, it’s time to grow up. Everything your mother has, including this home, will be yours sooner or later. But, if you don’t stand up by yourself, if your mother gives you a golden mountain, can you keep it? What about your children? Yuan’er is getting older, and it is time for him to go to school. Although Ru’er is a girl, you will also need to prepare a dowry for her in the future. There is another child in Yingniang’s belly. As a father, you must leave something for the children. It’s not that mother doesn’t want you to continue the imperial examinations, mother just wants you to teach classes in your spare time. It doesn’t matter how much money you can earn, but you at least need to know that life is not easy!”

Li Yu sighed. “Mother, I know what you said, but as long as I pass the imperial examination, all this won’t matter.”

“You have already missed the provincial exam this time. The next provincial exam will be three years later, but what if you don’t pass it then? Will you still fail after three more years? Are you going to keep going like this? There will come a day when the money at home runs out. What are you going to do then? Are you going to sell your wife and daughter?” Li Su asked.

Li Yu’s face turned red. “Mother, what are you talking about? Do you think our family will reach that point?”

“If there was not a so-called family heirloom, don’t you think it would have reached this point now?” Li Su said with a dark face.

Li Yu thought about it for a moment. If his mother had no family heirloom, the family would have still owed debts. He had been injured, so the family had no income and could not continue. Maybe…

“The so-called cultivation of one’s character in order to regulate the family and rule the state is important. You should think about what mother said. Yingniang, Yuan’er, Ru’er, you should all go out and let him think about this.” Li Su stood up.

Liu Yingniang was a little worried. She looked back at Li Yu, then left obediently.

Li Yuan looked thoughtful. “Grandma, I think what you said makes sense. Younger sister, don’t you agree?”

Li Ru nodded, but halfway through, she felt that it was not good. She was afraid that her father would be angry, so she turned her head and glanced over. Li Ru then sighed in relief.

Nobody knew what Li Yu was thinking. When Li Su saw him again, Li Yu’s expression was sincere. “Mother, your son was wrong. Don’t worry, your son will listen to you in the future. Your son will do whatever you say!”

Li Su rolled her eyes. “What’s the use of listening to me? You are the head of the family, so you have to be assertive. I am old. Who knows when I will go and find your father?!”

Li Yu smiled slightly. “Mother, don’t talk nonsense. You will live a long life. Just wait for your son to give you an official title.”

Li Su snorted coldly. “I’ll wait!”

After that, Li Yu was almost ready to start teaching.

Li Su asked Zuo Kui and Ling Er around to talk. The next day, class started. They were to drop off their children at around 7-9 am, then pick up their kids before noon as there would be no class in the afternoon.

Early the next morning, Ling Er brought his two sons and carried two chickens in his hand. He tossed them without saying a word, then ran away.

Li Su had no choice but to accept them. Then, she glanced at Li Yu. People also adhered to social niceties. So, they should accept these chickens.

Li Yu smiled slightly, but did not speak.

On the first day of class, Li Yu first gave Li Yuan homework to practice calligraphy. Out of the other four, one was given the ‘Three Character Classic’. He then started the class. “In the early records of humans, it is said that humans are inherently virtuous, and their natures are similar…”

A few children followed along with a confused look. Their thoughts were in disorder.

Li Su watched from the side and couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “Stop, stop! Is this what your class is like?”

Li Yu looked at Li Su blankly. How else should it be?

Li Su sighed. “Shouldn’t we start with recognising the characters first? You just gave them the Three Character Classic. Do they know what it means?”

Li Yu blinked. He was enlightened by his father at that time, and then he went to a private school. That was how the teacher taught him!

Li Su thought for a while. “For today, go back and prepare a few sandboxes so you can first teach them to learn their own names. Then, you can start teaching the Three Character Classic, but it should first be about recognising the characters, and then they should recite them from memory.”

Li Yu had other plans in mind. He didn’t want to worry too much about these little things with his mother, so he agreed. “Alright. So, memorise the first four sentences today. Then, I’ll teach you how to write these words tomorrow.”

The children looked up at Li Yu with an expression of trust.

The eyes of the children were the most innocent. Li Yu felt a little strange when he saw it. Then, he began to teach the children to memorise the characters, sentence by sentence, “In the early records of humans…”

“In the early records of humans.” The childish voices of the children filled the room.

“It is said that humans are inherently virtuous.”

“It is said that humans are inherently virtuous!”

Next door, Ling Er’s family leaned against the corner and listened. When they heard Langlang, their son, reading aloud, they were very happy. Ling Er wiped his eyes, turned his head, and left.

“Head of the family, where are you going?” Ling Er’s wife asked.

“Didn’t you hear that auntie say to prepare a sand table? I’ll make a sand table. You go to the river to get some fine sand and come back to sieve it a few more times.” Ling Er said. He had seen the sand table used by A-Yuan of the Li family and knew how to make one.

Ling Er’s wife nodded. “Okay, I’ll go right away!”

Li Su was still thinking about the sand table. When Ling Er came to pick up his children at noon, he brought four sand tables and two bags of fine sand.

“Auntie, this is the sand table I made. Can you see if you can use it? This fine sand, which my wife has sifted several times. Take a look,” Ling Er scratched his head in an embarrassed manner.

“Second young master, thank you so much. I was thinking of letting Zuo Kui do it in the afternoon, but I didn’t expect you to have done so already,” Li Su said with a smile.

“It’s good if you can use it. Dalang, Erlang, come home with dad.” Ling Er said. Ling Dalang and Ling Erlang glanced at Li Yu and saw him nod. They just packed up their books and ran to their father happily.

“Wait a minute, take the book with you. There’s no need to come to class in the afternoon. Don’t forget your homework. I will check it tomorrow morning,” Li Yu said as he knocked on the table.

When Ling Er saw that each of his children had a book, he immediately shook his hand and said, “No, no, these books are very precious. I can’t take it home. What if they get damaged?” A book cost seven or eight taels, which was too expensive! He must not take them!

Li Su said with a stern face, “There’s no need to be polite. In order to study this, you need to listen to my family’s A-Yu. You and your wife are both careful people. It is just taking good care of the books.” It was only after she went to the bookstore to buy the books did she realise how expensive ancient books were. A Three Character Classic cost eight thousand coppers! This was about 300 yuan! Ha ha! Four Three Character Classics cost more than 1,000 yuan. This was impossible in the future!

It was precisely because she knew that ancient books were precious, Li Su remembered that there were so many books in the study at home. If they were sold, they would probably be worth a lot of money. But here, Li Yun would rather acquiesce that the original owner sold his wife and daughter than sell those books. Ha ha! She didn’t know whether to call him pedantic or cruel!

Ling Er held one in one hand and ran away.

Li Su didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “It’s fine if he doesn’t take it. Just leave it here. Zuo Kui, when the chicken is ready, you can send a plate to the next door.”

Zuo Kui responded in a muffled voice.

Seeing this, Li Yu smiled slightly.

But Li Su was a little puzzled. From the inside, Li Yu was scheming and ruthless. He would not be easy to change. She reckoned there were still some tricks up his sleeve, so she had to be careful. She would take her time!