May this scumbag husband, who favored his concubine over his wife, rest in peace.

Back in the main courtyard, Wen Yuanshu had someone wash her hands with warm water before saying, "When we send Bai Tong away in the future, we really need to give him a lot of money."

Chunhua nodded in deep agreement.

If Bai Tong hadn't come to the rescue today, Wen Yuanshu would probably have turned hostile on the spot.

The next day, Pei Zhicheng and Pei Xi went straight to the study in the front yard after school.

Pei Zeyu was already sitting in the study. When the two arrived, he even pretended to be holding a book.

"Zhicheng, Xi'er is here."

Pei Zeyu put down the book and asked the two men to bring up the large characters they had written that day.

Pei Zhicheng's calligraphy has not improved much. Each stroke is straight and even, but that's about it. It's not even good-looking.

However, it's normal for someone his age to write like this.

Pei Zeyu picked up Pei Xi's calligraphy without making a sound.

The handwriting is elegant, though it is clearly immature, but it is far better than Pei Zhicheng's handwriting.

Upon looking at it, Pei Zeyu showed a hint of surprise: "Xi'er, did you write this yourself?"

Pei Xi nodded: "Yes, Father."

Upon hearing this, Pei Zeyu couldn't help but scrutinize Pei Xi carefully.

This was the first time he had ever looked at his nominal son properly.

Pei Xi was slender and graceful like bamboo, possessing the charm of bamboo itself, strong and resilient, quite eye-catching.

In comparison, Pei Zhicheng, who is as round as a meatball, is not comparable at all.

Pei Zeyu's gaze swept back and forth between the two of them. He sighed, put the two large calligraphy scrolls back in their places, and began to test their lessons.

Yesterday, Wen Yuanshu said that Pei Xi had started learning the "Shuowen Jiezi" (a dictionary of Chinese characters). Pei Zeyu asked him a few simple questions, and Pei Xi answered them fluently, which pleased Pei Zeyu greatly.

When it was Pei Zhicheng's turn, he stammered and couldn't give a coherent answer for a long time, completely outshone by Pei Xi.

Pei Zeyu felt utterly exhausted.

Pei Zhicheng is, after all, his own son. How could he be inferior to an outsider in every way?

Both of them had only been by Wen Yuanshu's side for a short time, yet the difference was already so obvious; what would happen in the future...?

Pei Zeyu sighed with worry just thinking about it.

"Zhicheng, is it because your teacher is bad?" Pei Zeyu pressed his temples. "If that doesn't work, why don't you ask your mother to think of a way to send you to the Wen family school again?"

Anyway, the enlightenment is almost complete now. Sending Pei Zhicheng over should be enough to catch up with the progress.

With the guidance of a great Confucian scholar, presumably in time, the contrast will not be so... tragic.

This was supposed to be a good thing, but Pei Zhicheng was startled and subconsciously refused: "Father, I'm doing quite well at Xue Lu. My teachers are good, and I have like-minded friends, so... I won't trouble Mother."

He had finally gained a foothold in Xue Lu, so how could he leave so easily?

Hearing him say that, Pei Zeyu had no choice but to give up.

Pei Zeyu sighed and waved for the two to go back.

-

From that day on, the two of them would go to the study in the front yard after school every day, and after Pei Zeyu had finished checking their homework, they would return to the back yard.

At first, Pei Zeyu would always wait in the study early in the morning, but as time went on, he gradually became lax, and the two of them would have to wait in the study for a while before they could see each other.

Pei Zhicheng was restless, and since this was his own father's study, he was curious about everything and wanted to touch everything.

On the table were the Four Treasures of the Study, all exquisitely crafted and rarely seen even in the capital. In Pei Zhicheng's eyes, they were naturally even more precious.

Pei Zhicheng then picked them up one by one out of curiosity.

Pei Xi sat quietly to the side, watching Pei Zhicheng's every move.

Pei Zhicheng held the jade inkstone in his hands, his eyes shining.

Pei Xi opened her mouth, wanting to remind him that the inkstone was fragile, but thinking of Wen Yuanshu's attitude towards Pei Zhicheng, she swallowed back the words that were about to come out.

"lay down!"

A sound suddenly rang out, Pei Zhicheng's hand trembled, and with a muffled thud, the inkstone fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.