The Marquise: I Earn My Own Worship

Song Shengfu was silent in her heart, staring at Duan Chengkang who was looking at her expectantly, and she made up her mind, and a smile quickly appeared on her face.

"Okay, then Brother Kang will come and spend the next few days with Grandma."

Duan Chengkang concluded that his grandmother would definitely agree with him, and he was secretly happy. He started to pester Song Shengfu again and acted coquettishly and silly, making Song Shengfu laugh.

As Song Shengfu expected, when Master Chen heard the old lady's people say that he wanted to take a few days off, he was immediately overjoyed. He straightened his clothes and rushed to the main courtyard.

When Mrs. Lu, who was looking at the account book, heard that Master Chen had come, her heart tightened. Did Kang Ge'er skip school again?

He hurried to the main house, and Master Chen, who was waiting there, stood up and bowed when he saw Lu coming out.

Lu asked with a dignified smile on her face:

"What brings you here today, Master? Is Kang Ge being naughty again?"

As usual, Master Chen first praised his elder brother for his intelligence and cleverness, and then sighed helplessly.

"Kang Ge'er is smart, but he's a bit lazy. No matter how smart he is, he still needs to be diligent in his studies."

Seeing that Lu was about to speak, Master Chen continued:

"I can no longer teach this boy. Madam, please seek help from someone else!"

After Master Chen finished speaking, he waited for Mrs. Lu to try to persuade him to stay, as usual. When Mrs. Lu heard this, she looked worried again, and with a forced smile, she said,

"Master Chen, you..."

The maid who was opening the curtain beside her bowed and said with lowered brows:

"Madam, please come see Madam Qi who is beside the old lady."

Mrs. Lu looked a little surprised at being interrupted, but when she heard it was someone close to her mother-in-law, she could only frown and say:

"Please come in quickly."

When Mother Qi came in and saw that Master Chen was sitting at the head of the guests' room, she murmured in her heart that the old lady was really amazing, as she had guessed that Master Chen was indeed with the lady.

"Greetings, Madam. The old lady said that you and Uncle will have lunch at Bisong Courtyard at noon."

Mrs. Lu looked unhappy but she only managed a smile and replied to Mother Qi:

"Thank you for the trouble. I understand. I will come with you at noon."

When Master Chen saw that it was the old lady's mother, he remembered that it was also the old lady's maid who asked for leave for Duan Chengkang, so he said coldly:

"This mother is close to the old lady. Please tell her that drowning a child is like killing him. You must not indulge my eldest brother like this."

Mother Qi's face immediately darkened. How could a mere teacher dare to lecture the Marquise?

Mrs. Lu's face looked a little bad, and Master Chen was quite bold.

Even though he was Kangger's husband, he should not have criticized her parents-in-law casually.

Thinking of what the old lady said to her, Mother Qi said to Master Chen indifferently:

"I just heard that Master Chen has come to resign. My old lady said that Master Chen has worked hard over the past two years, but fate has decided this, and our family will not delay Master Chen's advancement. I have specially sent this old servant to give Master Chen a farewell gift of one hundred taels of gold."

"this…"

Mrs. Lu suddenly stood up and looked at Mother Qi in disbelief.

Master Chen also looked incredulous. He looked stiffly at Mother Qi and then at Mrs. Lu.

Lu lost his voice and said:

"Mother, what do you mean?"

Mother Qi replied calmly:

"That's what the old lady said. I'm just a messenger. Why don't you ask the old lady in person?"

After all, scholars cannot lose face. When others have said so much, Master Chen just flicked his sleeves and said:

"A child cannot be taught!"

When he walked out of the outer room, he saw a maid holding a tray with a 100-liang silver note inside. Her face was still cold, but a trace of greed flashed in her eyes.

Su Xia happened to be standing nearby and witnessed all this. Master Chen packed up his things with the banknotes and left the house.

indoor

Mrs. Lu looked unhappy. Seeing this, Mother Qi quickly prepared to slip away and stood up to say goodbye.

Lu hummed lightly.

Mother Qi took Su Xia and walked back. When they walked a little further and saw that there were not many people around, Su Xia whispered to Mother Qi what she had just seen.

Mother Qi snorted coldly. What kind of person is this? How dare he show off in front of the old lady?

I used to think Master Chen was so great, but now I see he is just a hypocrite with a righteous appearance.

Mother Qi thought it was amazing. How did the old lady know Mr. Chen's character when she had never met him before?

Of course Song Shengfu had never met Master Chen, but she was a prophet.

Song Shengfu looked through the window in front of the couch and saw Duan Chengkang playing with a spinning top alone in the yard.

I remembered that when I was a child, I had a lot of brothers and sisters at home, and I never worried about being lonely. I thought that being a single child would be a bit lonely, and thought about what fun things I had in the past.

Then he called out loudly:

"Brother Kang, come here. Grandma will play something new with you."

When Duan Chengkang heard his grandmother calling him, he stopped, handed the whip in his hand to the servant next to him, and ran quickly to the inner room.

I saw my grandmother sitting cross-legged on the couch, with a Go board placed on the rosewood table with elephant pattern in front of her.

Duan Chengkang climbed onto the couch and sat cross-legged opposite like Song Shengfu.

"Grandma wants to play Go with her grandson."

Duan Chengkang was not interested in Go and looked disappointed, while Song Shengfu pretended to smile mysteriously.

"What's new about Go?"

Duan Chengkang became interested and asked:

"what is that?"

Seeing that his grandmother didn't say anything, Duan Chengkang started to act coquettishly with a smile on his face.

"Grandma, good grandma, please tell your grandson."

Seeing that her goal had been achieved, Song Shengfu did not hesitate.

"We play Gomoku"

(Personal note: This is a fictional era, and some things are not included for plot purposes.)

"Gobang?" Duan Chengkang looked confused. He had never heard of Gobang before.

Then Song Shengfu began to explain to Duan Chengkang how to play Gobang.

After a while, Duan Chengkang couldn't stop and he couldn't stop until it was almost time for lunch.

At this time, Duan Jingzong and Lu had just arrived at Bisongyuan. On the way, Duan Jingzong listened to Lu's account of what had happened. Lu couldn't help but complain in her words.

Mrs. Lu did not think there was anything wrong with the old lady asking for leave. She just thought that Master Chen was an excellent teacher, and it was mainly because Kang Ge'er had adapted well.

In the past few years, she has been following Master Chen, fearing that he would leave. Now, her mother-in-law directly asked Master Chen to leave, and Lu was complaining incessantly.

Duan Jingzong interrupted her, his expression calm and disapproving:

"Mother has her own reasons for doing this. I'll ask her again after the teacher leaves."

Lu was furious. How could this be the same?

If Song Shengfu saw Lu like this, she would know that Lu was being PUAed by Master Chen. As the two men talked, they walked into the yard, and Lu put away the dissatisfaction on her face.

Just kidding, you can just say these things to your husband in private, but don't dare to show your displeasure to your mother-in-law.

When the two came in, they saw their eldest son sitting upright opposite his mother, and the two were playing chess.

Play chess?!

The two of them rarely saw their son sitting down and doing things properly.

Today was a novelty, and the two of them tacitly agreed not to disturb them. Song Shengfu had naturally noticed them a long time ago, but she was also busy playing and had no time to pay attention.

Duan Chengkang was scratching his head, wondering what to do next, and didn't notice that there were two more people around him.

Duan Jingzong and Lu came closer and found that there was no order on the chessboard. They were wondering if the grandfather and grandson were joking?

But after a while, Duan Jingzong discovered the mystery in it and gradually became fascinated by it.

In the end, Song Shengfu placed a piece, connected the five hearts, and won.

Duan Chengkang looked unyielding and wanted to continue when he noticed his father and mother were beside him, so he quickly stood up and saluted.

Duan Jingan saw the two of them finish and said softly, "Mother, what kind of game are you playing? It looks quite novel."

Song Shengfu smiled faintly and gestured to Duan Chengkang to speak.

"Duan Chengkang stood next to his parents, describing in vivid detail how to play Gobang.

After hearing this, Duan Jingzong suddenly realized that the secret of Gobang lies in its simple gameplay. You only need to connect five pieces to win, but it is a bit difficult to win.

At this time, Suchun came in through the curtain to report to the masters that the meal was ready, and everyone stood up.

The meal is over.

Duan Chengkang enthusiastically pulled Song Shengfu to continue playing. In order not to undermine the child's self-confidence in the morning, Song Shengfu deliberately played with him.

But Duan Chengkang was too weak, and Song Shengfu just wanted to take a good rest since they had just finished their meal.

Song Shengfu paused when she saw her adopted eldest son drinking tea below, and whispered to Duan Chengkang:

"Go and ask your father to play with you. He doesn't know how to play either. Go and teach him."

When Duan Chengkang heard his grandmother say this, he was a little scared. Because he had little contact with his father, Duan Chengkang was a little afraid of his father.

But the desire to play reached its peak again, so I mustered up my courage and slowly walked over hesitantly, gently tugging at the corner of my father's clothes, and whispered:

"Father, can you play Gobang with me for a while?"

Duan Jingzong naturally heard what his old mother said to Kang Ge'er.

Because of his poor health, as Mr. Xu said, he should be quiet and self-disciplined, so he seldom interacted with his children. Kang Ge'er's education was mostly handled by his mother and wife, Mrs. Lu.

In the past, Kang Ge'er never liked to get close to him, but now seeing Kang Ge'er actually taking the initiative to find him, Duan Jingzong felt a bittersweet feeling in his heart, both relieved and guilty.

When Kang Ge'er saw that his father did not answer him, a trace of loneliness flashed across his eyes, and he was about to let go of the hand that was holding his father's clothes.

Suddenly, a pair of cold and thin hands grabbed his hands. Duan Chengkang looked over and saw his father's elegant and gentle face smiling at him.

Duan Chengkang was stunned, with a look of surprise and joy on his face.

Duan Jingzong felt a pain in his heart when he saw Kang Ge'er like this, and silently thought that he should spend more time with the child in the future.

Duan Jingzong took Kang Ge'er into the west room and sat on the soft couch with the chessboard. The father and son began to play chess back and forth.

Mrs. Lu watched the interaction between the father and son, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. She turned to look at her mother-in-law and thought of what happened to Master Chen in the morning.