Forced to marry, I picked up a young powerful official

"Father, please calm down." Shen Nankui bent his knees.

"How can I not be angry when you do something so unorthodox?"

Shen Nankui said slowly: "My daughter feels that she has done nothing wrong."

"I didn't do anything wrong?"

Father Shen snorted coldly, "As a woman, since you are married, you should stay at home and take care of your husband and children. But you don't do your job properly, but want to be a female teacher. Let me ask you, what qualifications do you have to teach students?"

"My qualification is the knowledge in my belly."

"What a joke! Just because you know a few words and can recite a few poems, does that mean you can give lectures? Where do you put those scholars who have achieved great success?"

"The so-called scholars study nothing more than the Four Books and Five Classics, and the classics of Confucius and Mencius. I have studied all of these, so why can't I teach my students?"

"Here's nonsense!"

Father Shen looked at her with a sullen face, "Since you have such great abilities, why don't you take part in the imperial examination?"

"Father, you are joking. This dynasty has a rule that women cannot take the imperial examinations."

"Since you know this, why do you want to do the opposite? Do you want the Shen family to be laughed at?"

Shen Nankui raised her head and looked directly at her father. "Father, the law stipulates that women cannot take the imperial examinations, but it does not say that they cannot be teachers. Besides, I am not the only female teacher in the world. There are so many powerful people in the capital. Aren't there enough female teachers in their family schools and women's schools?"

Father Shen laughed angrily, "You also said that it is a family school and a girls' school, and that the students are either all girls or all from the same clan, but what about you?"

He looked disdainful and said, "I heard that you even let men and women live together. This is even more ridiculous!"

"Father, this is inappropriate, but what's wrong with me letting a girl study? Didn't you teach me personally when I was a child?"

Father Shen said coldly: "I taught you to read, not to embarrass you in public now!"

"Father," Shen Nankui said with a hint of stubbornness in his calm eyes, "I know you must think that I am overestimating my own abilities, but at the beginning, when the private school was unable to continue, none of the scholars you mentioned stepped forward. If I didn't respond, would I have to watch the children go without a school and no books to read?"

Father Shen slammed his palm on the table.

"What a big tone! Since you want to be a teacher, what can you bring to them?"

Shen Nankui was silent for a moment before answering, "Actually, I don't have much ambition. I also know that as a girl from the boudoir, it's impossible for me to have many students like those famous teachers and scholars."

"My daughter knows that her abilities are limited. The reason she took over the private school is that she wants to teach the children everything she has learned. She wants to send them to further places through her own efforts. At least, she wants them to pass the entrance exam for the academy, so that they can go to school and have a future. This is all my daughter wants."

Seeing her determined expression, Father Shen couldn't help but be moved, but he still sighed.

"But your actions are unacceptable to the world!"

Shen Nankui suddenly smiled faintly, "Father, do you care about the reputation of the Shen family?"

Father Shen did not refute, but frowned and said: "Whether you are an official or a person, your reputation cannot be lost. Even if you have married, you still have the Shen family's surname, so you should also consider the Shen family. How can you just ignore it like this?"

Shen Nankui said, "Since you have heard the rumors, I guess there must be some good and some bad in the rumors. If someone says that I am not doing my job properly and misleading students, then there must be scholars like Yichuan who support me. The Analects of Confucius says that there is no permanent teacher. Even though I am a woman, I am leading the children in the village to enlighten them and teach them. Isn't this also a good deed?"

Father Shen glanced at her and said, "No wonder Gu Yichuan didn't stop you. You two seem to be in cahoots with each other."

"It's not because we are husband and wife that Yichuan supports me. Father, you didn't refute it. Is it possible that there are still people who agree with my approach among the rumors? Although there are many different opinions at the moment, as long as I stand upright, I believe that in time, the world will understand the significance of what I am doing. By then, won't the Shen family still benefit in terms of reputation?"

Father Shen looked at her deeply, with a complicated look in his eyes.

This was the daughter he had personally taught. Even he, who had initially opposed her, was gradually convinced by what she said. He couldn't help but feel a little proud.

But this is not his daughter.

She took the love and upbringing that originally belonged to his daughter. Thinking of Wan'er's current temperament, Father Shen couldn't help but sigh.

"You are so eloquent, I think you haven't forgotten what I taught you."

His tone softened a bit, but his expression still didn't look very good.

Shen Nankui knew that he had agreed, so she smiled and said, "Father's teachings, I will never forget them. A gentleman knows the difficulty of learning and knows its good and bad, and then he can make broad analogies. Only when he can make broad analogies can he be a teacher. I always take this as a lesson when I teach my students."

"That's fine."

Father Shen sighed, with a hint of relief in his eyes.

"It's good that you don't forget your roots, but - if things don't develop in a good direction as you said, once it affects the reputation of the Shen family, I will show no mercy!"

"My daughter obeys your command." Shen Nankui nodded.

Father Shen picked up the book that he had just thrown away and said, "If you want to be a teacher, then do it. But don't forget to assist Yichuan and take care of the household affairs. Only when he is well, your life will be better in the future."

"Yes."

"That's all, go ahead."

Father Shen turned the book to the page he had just read and continued reading.

Shen Nankui bowed and said, "Take care, father. I'm leaving now."

After bidding farewell to Shen's father, Shen Nankui and Gu Yichuan left the Shen family. Before leaving the city, Shen Nankui wanted to ask the coachman to take a detour to Lanfangzhai.

Before coming to Beijing, she promised Ayuan and Aqiao that she would bring them some delicious snacks.

But when the driver picked them up and they were almost at the alley where Lanfangzhai was located, he suddenly said he had a stomachache, apologized, and hurriedly went to find a toilet.

People have three urgent needs. Shen Nankui was helpless but had no choice but to wait in the car with Gu Yichuan.

After a while, no one came back.

Gu Yichuan said, "Nan Kui, I don't know how long it will take for the driver to come back. If we are late leaving the city, we will miss the place to stay tonight. Why don't you stay here to guard the carriage while I go to Lan Fang Zhai to buy some snacks? I think the driver will have almost finished his work by the time I come back. This way, we won't waste time."

Shen Nankui smiled and nodded, "Thank you for the trip."

Gu Yichuan was helpless, "Why do you have to spoil them like this? If you ask me, they wouldn't be able to tell the difference even if they just bought some snacks on the street."

Hearing this, Shen Nankui rolled his eyes at him.

"How can you treat your uncle like this? How can you fool people like this? Besides, I am their aunt and teacher, how can I break my promise so easily?"

"You, just go now."

Shen Nankui smiled and pushed him.

Gu Yichuan also smiled, cupped his hands and said, "Okay, my lady, please wait a moment. I will be right back."

But this time he didn't come back for half an hour.