Dad, open the door. I'll bring your mistress back for you.

"You can see that Princess Nanyan is interested in you, right?"

"Cough... cough cough..." Bai Yu choked on a mouthful of water and started coughing violently, "What does a child know? Don't talk nonsense."

Shen Chuning understood, it seemed like he had known about it for a long time.

"Sister Nan Yan has been practicing the piano at noon, just to hear your praise in class."

Bai Yu: "That's because she's diligent and studious, and has a sense of shame. Unlike you, who knows you can't play well but still refuses to practice."

Shen Chuning: "Sister Nan Yan always wants to talk to you in class."

Bai Yu rolled his eyes. "You call answering questions proactively trying to strike up a conversation with me? Then I'll call on you to answer questions in the next class. If you can't, you'll be punished."

Before Bai Yu could finish, Shen Chuning hurriedly said, "Sister Nan Yan blushes when she sees you, and she always steals glances at you."

Bai Yu knocked Shen Chuning's head and said, "You don't listen carefully in class, you just observe others. No wonder you can't learn anything."

Shen Chuning shrank her neck and said, "If you can't win the argument, I'll change the subject."

Bai Yu said sternly, "Don't tell anyone else about these things from now on. It will damage the princess's reputation if it gets out."

Shen Chuning asked persistently, "Do you like Princess Nan Yan?"

At noon, Shen Chuning was deeply touched after hearing Concubine Hui say that if you obey your elders and choose someone you don't like, you will be unhappy for the rest of your life.

If they really love each other, she would be happy to do her part to make this beautiful thing happen.

Bai Yu: "She is the young princess of the Ruyang Palace, and I am just a commoner. Comparing us is an insult to Princess Nanyan's status."

Shen Chuning was about to refute Bai Yu's words when he continued, "Master already has a lover."

When Bai Yu said this, his eyes were gentle and tender, but with a hint of helplessness.

If it weren't for the look in his eyes, Shen Chuning almost thought that his words "having a lover" were an excuse to shirk responsibility.

Shen Chuning wanted to continue gossiping about which family the girl came from, but Bai Yu drove her out with the excuse, "It's getting late, go back early."

Shen Chuning stood at the door, looking at the slightly setting sun, and shook her head helplessly.

……

In Shoukang Palace, Nanny Jian was massaging the empress dowager's shoulders. The empress dowager was holding a royal blue brocade headband embroidered with auspicious cloud patterns and inlaid with pearls. She looked at it carefully, a satisfied smile on her face.

Nanny Jian glanced at Shen Chuning, who was still kneeling below, and said, "Empress Dowager, this headband is so beautiful. The color suits you, and the stitching is so fine. It's obvious that Miss Nine put a lot of thought into it. Seeing how you can't let it go, how could this headband slip away? Look, Miss Nine is still kneeling on the ground, isn't she..."

The Queen Mother seemed to have just discovered Shen Chuning kneeling. "Look at this child, why doesn't he get up? Jian Xin, you too, why didn't you remind me earlier?"

Nanny Jian winked at the little maid next to her and said, "It's my fault."

The little maid quickly helped Shen Chuning up.

The Queen Mother took a peanut and slowly peeled it. "Today is your first day of school. Are you getting used to it?"

"To answer the Empress Dowager, it's a habit. The teacher taught very well, and the princesses and young ladies were very friendly to Chu Ning. I went to pay my respects to Concubine Hui at noon, and she even invited me to dinner."

"Concubine Hui is a good person. Jinyu is now being raised by her. It is reasonable for me to go and visit her." The Queen Mother put down the peanuts in her hand, picked up the teacup, and blew gently. "I heard that you had a lively day today."

Shen Chuning stuck out her tongue, "I really can't hide anything from you."

"Tell me, what happened? I only heard from the servants that there was a conflict with the girl from the An family."

Shen Chuning knelt on the ground again, stiffening her neck and speaking, "I hadn't intended to start a fight. Miss An said that Aning was uneducated and unskillful, and Aning had tolerated it. But then she said that my brother's top scorer was obtained by cheating through connections, and even accused you of meddling in government affairs. How could Aning let such dirty water be thrown on you? So I argued with her for a few words."

Shen Chuning lowered her head and sighed, "A Ning knows she is wrong. Please punish me, Her Majesty the Queen Mother."

The queen became interested, "Oh? Then tell me where you went wrong?"

"A Ning shouldn't have argued with Miss An. She should have accepted what Miss An said about her and her brother. But if it happens again and Miss An criticizes the Empress Dowager, she will still refute it."

The Queen Mother was so angry that she laughed, "Jian Xin, look at this girl, or say she is lovable."

"I'm angry not because you had a conflict with Miss An, but because you didn't make your attitude clear from the beginning."

"I want to ask you, your grandfather has been teaching you since you were three years old. You have received the same education as the men of the Shen family since you were young. Are you really that unlearned?"

"of course not."

"Then why do you keep silent when you are called unlearned and unskillful?"

When asked this, Shen Chuning was speechless and didn't know how to answer. She couldn't say that she entered the palace to build connections, so she thought it was better to have less trouble than more.

Seeing Shen Chuning remained silent, the Queen Mother continued, "When you interact with others, you represent the reputation of the Shen family, and also the reputation of my family. Your silence today means that my Shen family is easy to bully. If you tolerate it today, and tomorrow, if this continues, our Shen family will collapse. Once it collapses, it will be difficult to stand up again."

"From now on, no matter if she's Miss An, Miss Zhang, or Miss Li, you should refute her if necessary. As long as you're right, I'll support you if anything goes wrong."

"Really?" Shen Chuning raised her head happily.

The Queen Mother looked at her impatient expression and laughed out loud, "Really, but there's one thing you can't do: you can't be unreasonable, and you can't be overbearing. If one day you get into trouble because of your rudeness, and someone reports you to me, not only will I not care, I'll be the first to punish you."

"Yes, Aning will follow the teachings of the Empress Dowager." Shen Chuning kowtowed to express her gratitude.

"One more thing. Ah Ning became Mr. Bai Yu's disciple today."

"Oh? Isn't Bai Yu the zither teacher invited by Concubine Hui to teach zither? Why does he need to become a disciple separately?" the Queen Mother asked curiously.

Hearing the Empress Dowager ask this, Shen Chuning guessed that there was no one watching her all the time, otherwise the Empress Dowager would have known about it after such a long time.

"When Aning was little, she didn't learn to play the musical instrument because she couldn't bear the hardship. Mr. Bai Yu said that one must master an instrument. Seeing that Aning had some talent in playing the dongxiao, he accepted Aning as his apprentice." Shen Chuning explained.

The Queen Mother pondered for a moment. "Bai Yu is known as the Sage of the Qin in the martial arts world. I didn't know he was also proficient in the dongxiao. Now that you've become his disciple, please study hard and don't bring shame upon me."

"I heard that you went to the prince's residence today?"