Chapter 8

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"Master, Master, wake up quickly. It's time to teach Miss Lu to read. Hurry, hurry, don't keep Miss Lu waiting."

The next morning, Hao Fenglou was woken by Xiao Xiang. Hao Fenglou rallied his spirits, quickly dressed and put on his shoes, his heart full of anticipation.

What does Miss Lu look like?

Is she beautiful?

Excellent, let's see how this love guru handles it. Master, you stay in your mother's womb with peace of mind; your disciple won't disgrace you.

But then he thought, that's not right. Master's mother is probably still in her mother's womb. So, Master's grandmother is likely not even born yet. What a complicated family relationship.

Hao Fenglou got dressed, washed up, and Xiao Xiang brought a bronze mirror for him to look at. In the mirror, Hao Fenglou had arched eyebrows and bright eyes, still looking radiant.

He took out a paper fan from his waist and said confidently, "Stay here and don't run around. This young master is going to see your young lady."

Xiao Xiang nodded vigorously and encouraged him, "Master, you must do your best. Lady and I have high hopes for you."

High hopes that I'll be kicked out? Hao Fenglou thought to himself.

Leaving the room, a servant was waiting outside to lead Hao Fenglou deeper into the Lu residence.

On the way, Hao Fenglou thought about how he would interact with Miss Lu and how to win her favor. Just as these thoughts were swirling in his mind, a servant in the distance said, "Master has returned, Master has returned from the camp."

Another servant asked, "Should we inform Lady?"

The first servant replied, "It's better not to. Master just returned and went straight to Concubine Chen's quarters."

It seemed they had touched on a taboo in the household, and the other servant fell silent.

These voices faintly reached Hao Fenglou's ears, and he couldn't help but shake his head. When they arrived at a pavilion, the servant went in to announce him and then came out to politely say, "Mr. Feng, Miss invites you in."

Hao Fenglou stepped into the pavilion. He didn't care much about the interior, thinking it was too melodramatic. However, Hao Fenglou didn't have time to worry about household affairs. What he cared about was Miss Lu—what she looked like and whether she met the standards of Wuteng Lan.

Then...

As soon as he entered the pavilion, Hao Fenglou was completely shocked, and all his expectations turned to nothing.

The room was divided by a screen. Miss Lu wasn't visible, but through the gaps in the screen, he could faintly see a figure, suggesting that Miss Lu was hiding behind the screen to listen to the lesson.

What left Hao Fenglou speechless was that sitting in a corner of the pavilion was none other than Ying Chun, the head maid. Ying Chun still had a serious expression, sitting upright, and gave Hao Fenglou a slight nod as a greeting.

This... this is a tragedy.

Hao Fenglou had been looking forward to teaching Miss Lu personally, with mutual affection, and perhaps even a romantic entanglement. He never expected that he would only hear her voice and not see her, and there would be a supervisor watching over them.

Taking a deep breath, he told himself to stay calm and composed. Setbacks are temporary; don't dwell on small losses.

Behind the screen, Miss Lu heard the commotion and said in a delicate voice, "Student Lu Yan, greeting Mr. Feng."

Ying Chun's eyes slightly closed, and she remained motionless.

Hao Fenglou forced a smile and said, "Very good, let's start the lesson."

There was a chair facing the screen, and Hao Fenglou sat down.

Miss Lu said from behind the screen, "This is our first lesson. I wonder what content Mr. Feng will teach today?"

Her voice was very pleasant, like a nightingale singing.

Hao Fenglou smiled bitterly. What to teach? He hadn't prepared anything. He couldn't possibly teach her about his harem of beautiful wives and the romantic exploits of scholars.

He thought for a moment. When he applied for the job, the most common topics were the Four Books for Women. Since the student was a woman, it would be best to teach her the Four Books for Women. But Hao Fenglou hadn't read them. What should he do?

Got it!

Hao Fenglou cleared his throat, putting on a scholarly air, and said, "Let's start with a story."

Ying Chun was slightly taken aback, her eyes widening, clearly feeling it was inappropriate, but it wasn't the right time to stop him.

Miss Lu, however, was intrigued and said brightly, "Good, good, let's hear the story."

It seemed Miss Lu had a天真烂漫 (innocent and carefree) side.

Hao Fenglou said, "Once upon a time, there was a young lady who was betrothed to a poor scholar. But later, her family saw that the poor scholar was too poor, so..."

Hao Fenglou's mind was racing. The story he was telling was simple: a young lady, because her parents broke the engagement, eventually left everything behind and eloped with the poor scholar. He decided to use this story to subtly brainwash Miss Lu, telling her that breaking an engagement was wrong.

At the end, Hao Fenglou sighed, "As the saying goes, 'If you marry a chicken, follow the chicken; if you marry a dog, follow the dog.' Once a woman is betrothed, she should remain loyal to her betrothed, regardless of his wealth or poverty. That is what a virtuous woman does."

This story seemed to touch Miss Lu's heart, and she asked, "But what if the man she was betrothed to is a wastrel, idle all day, and even a compulsive gambler who frequents brothels... Should she still... remain loyal to him?"

Ying Chun sensed something amiss and coughed hard, trying to stop Miss Lu from continuing.

Hao Fenglou immediately became agitated and said sternly, "Of course, Miss Lu. People can change. As a woman, he is her future husband. A virtuous woman should not abandon him but should gradually reform him, using her great and shining maternal love to embrace and care for him. How could she abandon him or even break the engagement? I believe that if the woman gradually shows her true feelings and reforms him, her future husband will eventually return to the right path and become a pillar of the nation."

Hao Fenglou spoke with such passion that he almost wanted to clench his fists and wave them.

Miss Lu said from behind the screen, "But I heard that this future husband is also infected with venereal disease..."

Hao Fenglou almost spat out a mouthful of blood. This was a smear, a blatant smear, a defamation of his reputation. Hao Fenglou cursed the bastard who had smeared him with venereal disease, wishing his whole family would get it.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, and said, "That's just a rumor. How can others know if he has venereal disease? Even if he does, so what? Venereal disease... that..."

"..." Hao Fenglou suddenly found himself at a loss for words. He couldn't say that even with venereal disease, life is still beautiful.

Miss Lu clearly disagreed with Hao Fenglou's view and said, "What Mr. Feng said makes sense, but how can a woman entrust her life to such a man?"

Ying Chun, sitting in the corner, was becoming restless.

Hao Fenglou said, "But... doesn't Miss Lu think that if they marry and gradually reform him, living in mutual respect and harmony, isn't that a good thing?"

At this, Miss Lu seemed to pout and said, "Not necessarily. Even if a man has good character, it doesn't mean they will live in harmony... My mother..."

"Cough, cough..." Ying Chun almost coughed her lungs out.

Miss Lu realized she had spoken out of turn and quickly said, "My mother heard of a couple who were once deeply in love, but as the woman aged and lost her beauty, her husband found a new love. Even when he was busy with official duties, he preferred to spend his free time with his concubine. Is this called living in harmony?"

Hao Fenglou couldn't help but chuckle to himself. This woman is probably your mother. Miss Lu seems a bit 'cynical,' probably due to family influence. Could it be that because of her parents' experience, she no longer believes in love? No, that can't be. If you don't believe in love, how can I make a living? I'm counting on you to elope with me.

Ying Chun felt the situation was getting out of hand but didn't dare to act rashly in front of Miss Lu, almost coughing herself into a lung disease.

Hao Fenglou glanced at Ying Chun and then at Miss Lu, a thought crossing his mind.

The future mother-in-law's preferences are crucial. If he could win her favor, the matter would be half done. My future wife, let's see how I win over the future mother-in-law first.

Hao Fenglou said calmly, "Why don't I tell another story?"

Miss Lu said from behind the screen, "Go ahead, I'll listen."

Hao Fenglou's tone changed abruptly, "Once upon a time, there was an emperor who originally favored the empress, but later, because the empress aged and lost her beauty, the emperor fell in love with a beauty. This beauty, when she served the emperor, couldn't help but speak ill of the empress. The emperor gradually became more distant from the empress..."

At this point, Miss Lu seemed to be taken aback and said, "This isn't a story, it's clearly..."

She realized she had spoken out of turn and didn't continue.

Hao Fenglou glanced sideways at Ying Chun, who had stopped coughing and was listening intently to what Hao Fenglou would say next.

Gossip, gossip, nine out of ten women love gossip. Hao Fenglou thought to himself, "Listen to what your teacher has to say. The empress, seeing that she was about to be harmed by the beauty, came up with a plan. The beauty continued to speak ill of the empress, but whenever the empress had the chance, she would praise the beauty, showing concern for her. If the beauty fell ill, the empress would be so worried that she would shed tears daily. When the emperor occasionally thought of sleeping in the Phoenix Palace, the empress would always decline. The beauty, of course, knew the empress's true intentions and continued to speak ill of her. The emperor, at first, didn't take it seriously, but over time, he became increasingly annoyed with the beauty. Human psychology is very strange. When you like someone, you find everything about them adorable, but once you can't accept something about them, you become increasingly annoyed. Eventually, the emperor could no longer tolerate the beauty's endless crying and became furious, sending her to the cold palace."

Miss Lu exclaimed, "Ah... I understand..."

Hao Fenglou smiled slightly and said, "It's good that Miss Lu understands. That's all for today's lesson. I need to go back and read. Learning is a process of continuous accumulation. Even at my level, I still need to accumulate bit by bit. Miss Lu, farewell."

Miss Lu asked curiously, "What book has Mr. Feng been reading recently?"

Hao Fenglou blushed, thinking she was bringing up a sore point. But his mental fortitude was strong, and he said confidently, "I don't read frivolous books. Recently, I've been reading the Spring and Autumn Annals."

Miss Lu exclaimed, "In the plays, Guan Yu also reads the Spring and Autumn Annals. Mr. Feng is truly a refined person."

Hao Fenglou almost spat out a mouthful of blood. Last night, he was still reading erotic books, and today he had already elevated to the realm of Guan Yu.

As Hao Fenglou left, Ying Chun stood up, and Miss Lu was still behind the screen, saying, "I think this teacher is good. His lessons are quite interesting."

Ying Chun, however, wasn't easily fooled and knew Hao Fenglou's knowledge was limited. She smiled faintly and said, "If Miss likes it, that's good enough."

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