The Marquise: I Earn My Own Worship

"Mother, Master Chen..."

Song Shengfu glanced at Lu who seemed to be hesitant to speak, lowered her head and lightly touched the tea bowl before speaking slowly.

"What do you think of Master Chen?"

Lu was startled, as if she had not expected Song Shengfu to ask this suddenly. After thinking it over, she replied carefully:

"Master Chen is an upright person, unlike those other masters who are serious and old-fashioned. Most importantly, Kang Ge'er likes him."

Song Shengfu felt that this eldest daughter-in-law was a little naive, but it was true. Not to mention Lu's past life in her natal family, the Earl's Mansion had a simple population. After marrying here for so many years, her mother-in-law was kind, her brothers and sisters-in-law were friendly, and she had no troubles or worries. She could not understand the evil in people's hearts.

Song Shengfu felt a little disappointed and snorted.

"If Kang Ge'er likes it, then why does he ask for leave from time to time?"

Lu choked, turned around and thought that this seemed to be the truth, raised her eyebrows and said:

"Maybe Kang Ge'er is still young and hasn't settled down yet. He'll be fine when he's older."

Seeing her mother-in-law's unhappy expression, Mrs. Lu fell silent.

"Older, how old? Other children have finished reading the Thousand Character Classic at the age of five. Look at Kang Ge'er!"

"He's only eight years old now and can't even recognize all the words. You're such a generous mother."

Song Shengfu pretended to be angry and said:

"Now my family has hired a teacher. I'm afraid I'll be laughed at by my classmates if I go to academy after I turn ten."

There were four Yang counties in the Great Chu Dynasty. Each county had three states, and each state had seven counties. Students in the Great Chu Dynasty had to be over ten years old before they could enter the academy.

During the Great Chu Dynasty, academies were boarding schools, with three days of work and one day of rest. Students were not allowed to bring servants with them. At the age of ten, they had a certain degree of self-care ability, so it was stipulated that only those who were ten years old could enter the academy to study.

In his previous life, Duan Chengkang naturally went to the academy, but he couldn't stand the constraints and refused to go to the academy every day. Later, he had no choice but to invite Master Chen back.

Of course, this situation is common. In addition to formal academies, many people invited famous teachers to teach their children and grandchildren at home. Therefore, many famous family schools emerged, such as the Nanyang Li Family School and the Princess's Nanxiang Women's School.

The Earl's Mansion, now in a precarious position, naturally had no way to attend other people's private schools, so they could only invite a teacher to come back and teach them.

When Mrs. Lu heard her mother-in-law talking about the future of the academy, she became a little anxious. Since ancient times, parents have hoped that their children would become successful. According to their family's current situation, hiring a tutor was naturally the worst option. The best option was to go to the academy to study.

Mrs. Lu was upset and looked at her mother-in-law.

"But where can I find a better teacher now? I think Master Chen is doing okay in teaching Kang Ge'er, so why not..."

"Nonsense!" Song Shengfu slammed the table.

Mrs. Lu was startled. Seeing that Mrs. Lu had not given up, Song Shengfu said to her directly:

"Master Chen always obeys Kang Ge'er. He agrees to take leave as soon as Kang Ge'er asks for it, but then turns around and cries in front of you, his mother."

"If he had been so tough in front of you, Kang Ge'er would never have treated the study as a garden where he could go in and out as he pleased."

"Think carefully about Master Tang and Master Liu. Although Kang Ge'er cried all day long about the masters' strictness, did he ever ask for leave without a reason?"

When Lu thought about it carefully, she was shocked. In the past, Kang Ge'er had hired a teacher when he was about five years old. The first teacher was Teacher Tang. At that time, Kang Ge'er only said that the teacher was strict and that it was too painful to study because of crying.

Later, Master Liu took over. Kang Ge'er also complained every day that studying was too boring. He had thought about not going, but both masters disagreed. Even when Mrs. Lu and the old lady went to invite him, the masters refused to let him go.

Unless Kang Ge'er was too sick to get up, he had to go to the front yard to study regardless of whether the weather was sunny or rainy. Children were the most sensitive. He saw that the first teacher dismissed after he talked to him, and the second teacher Liu did the same. He pestered the original body and Lu all day long, saying that he didn't want to study.

In this way, Master Liu was also persuaded to leave, and finally it was Master Chen's turn. Mrs. Lu was not stupid, and she understood what was wrong after hearing what her mother said.

Since Master Chen came home, Kang Ge'er has had very little time to study. He basically just wanders around the front yard and then leaves. Whenever Kang Ge'er is asked how Master Chen is, he always answers that he is very good but just lazy, and then he pretends to complain.

Lu figured out the lawsuit and his face darkened.

How could she be so stupid to be fooled?

"This...this is simply unworthy of being a teacher!!"

Song Shengfu knew from Lu's expression that she understood, but it takes two to tango. Ultimately, it was their dereliction of duty as parents, and it was their indulgence that led to such a result.

Song Shengfu looked towards the west room and continued patiently:

"In the final analysis, it's our fault. Children are always sensitive to adults' expressions. If we hadn't indulged him repeatedly, Kang Ge'er wouldn't have been so bold."

"Master Chen saw that we were acting this way, so he just let Kangge do what he wanted."

Mrs. Lu thought about how every time Master Chen came to resign, she had humbly tried to keep him and how much silver he had taken. Although she didn't care about the money, she felt very uncomfortable when she thought about it.

"The mother was teaching the daughter-in-law a lesson, but it was the daughter-in-law who was negligent."

Mrs. Lu quickly admitted her mistake. She knew that she had spoiled Kang Ge'er too much, but this was her only child. Uncle's health was so good, and there would definitely be only this one in the future. She held him in her hands for fear that he would melt, and she wanted to give him the best in the world.

Song Shengfu sighed.

"A loving mother often spoils her son. Don't indulge him blindly. If he continues like this, he will suffer greatly in the future."

Lu repeatedly agreed and said that he would discipline the child strictly in the future.

Seeing her sincere attitude, Song Shengfu softened her tone a little.

"Kang Ge'er is not a bad kid by nature. With proper guidance, he will become a great man in the future. As his mother, you naturally have to make plans for him."

Mrs. Lu quickly said, "I understand. Thank you for your guidance, mother."

"Mother, what should we do now? It's all because of my incompetence as a mother that I harmed the child."

Mrs. Lu's face was pale, and her voice was choked with sobs as she spoke.

Song Shengfu thought to herself that this year was the sixteenth year of Mingde, and next year would be the triennial imperial examination. Many students would go to Beijing to take the exam, and some candidates who failed would find a job in Beijing to prepare for the next imperial examination.

If you are lucky enough to be hired as a teacher by a wealthy family, you can teach students while preparing for exams.

Duan Chengkang will only be eight years old next year, so it's not too late. Thinking of this, Song Shengfu said directly to Lu:

"Let's wait until next year's examination is over before looking for it."

As soon as Mrs. Lu heard this, she understood what her mother-in-law meant. She thought about it and realized that it was only more than four months away from that time.

With her heart made up, Mrs. Lu's eyes lit up and her face flushed. She stood up and bowed respectfully to Song Shengfu, saying with an admiring look:

"A mother is a person of great wisdom. A daughter-in-law is far less insightful than her mother. A daughter-in-law is truly fortunate to have the guidance of her mother-in-law."

Well, you start flattering me again.

Song Shengfu looked at Lu, who was in front of her with a stern expression. Her cheap daughter-in-law was good in every way. She could immediately detect if any of the managers deceived her.

But when it comes to Kang Ge'er's affairs, she feels as if she has been bewitched and is not in a clear mind. In her previous life, she always heard the little sisters around her talk about how great their descendants were. Song Shengfu finally understands their feelings.

Alas, Song Shengfu sighed deeply in her heart, waved her hand and said unhappily:

"You better stand up. Don't treat Kang Ge'er like a clay figurine. He's such a fat kid, but he's as healthy as a bull. He deserves a beating and a scolding. He just deserves to be punished."

"Look at him now. He's been raised like a spoiled girl. He's changed his temperament."

？ ！！

Lu was so frightened that her heart stopped for a moment. She thought about Kang Ge'er's previous behavior and went over it carefully in her mind. She breathed a sigh of relief when she found nothing unusual.

In this era, some people like male homosexuality. Prince Cheng’s palace has some male favorites, especially in Nanyang, where there is a building that specializes in training male concubines.

Although Mrs. Lu dotes on her child, she only has this one child and will have to rely on him to carry on the family line in the future. She doesn't want Kang'er to become a effeminate man who is not presentable.

Song Shengfu knew from her previous memories that Kang Ge'er was not like that and was just trying to scare Lu.

She had to slowly change Lu's mindset. After all, if the mistress of a family couldn't establish herself, how could she talk about the prosperity of the family in the future?

Once she has trained them well, she can enjoy the life of an old lady. Otherwise, this trip would be in vain. Seeing Lu's face change when she heard what she just said, Song Shengfu had an idea in her mind.