After being reborn, her aloof ex-husband and her crazy deceased husband got into a fight.

They had a good dinner, and an even better one in the evening. The satisfaction of body and mind made Lan Tingzhou exceptionally happy, and he became remarkably easy to talk to. Therefore, Du Ke's apprenticeship ceremony proceeded extremely smoothly.

Du Ke became Lan Tingzhou's first student.

Thinking that Lan Tingzhou would become Emperor Jinghe's teacher in the future, Gan Cai'er suddenly felt that the generational order seemed a bit messed up.

Du Ke was a good student; he was never late for his assigned time and never did his homework half-heartedly. He was extremely serious about his studies, but he was also introverted, didn't talk much, and was somewhat timid.

With such little courage, how dare she take the initiative to attack Du Xuan? Gan Cai'er couldn't help but be very curious.

"Madam, don't underestimate the Eighth Young Master just because he's young. He's actually quite shrewd."

“He grew up in the Du family as a son of a concubine and suffered a lot of mistreatment. Now that he has left the family and seen a wider world, he would never be willing to go back to the Du family and live the same old life.”

"The Ninth Prince destroyed his painting and caused Lord Lu to refuse him entry, thus extinguishing his hope. He was filled with anger and despair; what fear could he possibly have?"

"That's why he cherishes the opportunity to learn from Young Master Lan even more," Granny Huang explained in detail.

"Actually, His Majesty thinks highly of Young Master Lan, and it was his insistence that allowed Eighth Young Master to study under him. Originally, the Old Madam planned to find another famous teacher for Eighth Young Master." Granny Huang winked at Gan Cai'er and said meaningfully, "Young Master Lan's good fortune is yet to come."

Even without Granny Huang saying it, Gan Cai'er knew that the Lanting Boat was carrying immense good fortune. However, this great fortune had nothing to do with her.

Although Granny Huang said that Du Ke's apprenticeship with Lan Tingzhou was only a temporary measure, and that he could merely hold the title, Lan Tingzhou did not think so. Since he had accepted Du Ke's apprenticeship ceremony, he should do his best to teach him.

Lantingzhou was a very responsible teacher. In addition to teaching for a full two days, he also took Du Ke to many poetry gatherings, literary gatherings, and leisure gatherings of scholars from all over the country. He even took Du Ke to travel around the capital when the weather was fine.

He told Du Ke that reading ten thousand books is not enough; one must also travel ten thousand miles. All things in the world are constantly evolving, and there is much to learn from them. Du Ke followed him closely, step by step.

Winter days always fly by. In the blink of an eye, Gan Cai'er has been in Kyoto for almost two months, and before she knew it, the end of the year was approaching.

Gan Cai'er sighed repeatedly as she looked at the drafty house. The patchwork repairs had barely kept it afloat for over a month, and now it was almost at its breaking point. This old house was constantly in disrepair; as soon as one section was repaired, another would break down, and before she could even reinforce that section, another piece of the backyard wall would collapse…

Moving is becoming increasingly urgent.

However, over the past month, Gan Cai'er had visited many houses with the help of the carpenter's shop assistants, but none of them were quite to her liking, which annoyed her.

This was another day when Du Ke came to the Lan residence, accompanied by Granny Huang. Du Ke went to the study to see Lan Tingzhou, while Granny Huang went to the main room to chat with Gan Cai'er.

Seeing Gan Cai'er's worried expression, she couldn't help but ask what was wrong.

Gan Cai'er didn't hide anything and told the truth. Then she pointed to the potholes and bumps everywhere and said, "Look, nanny, this is leaking, and there's a piece missing there... These were all repaired not long ago."

"Sigh, it will snow soon. This place is drafty and leaky, and there are hardly any rooms that are habitable."

"Kyoto is such a big city, and there are so many houses for sale. Hasn't Madam Lan found one she likes?" asked Granny Huang.

"There are some I like, but they're too expensive for me. And the ones I can afford aren't quite right in terms of everything. So, I've been putting it off until now and haven't been able to buy them."

Gan Cai'er stared intently at Granny Huang.

Granny Huang understood the implied meaning from the song, not to mention that Gan Cai'er's little schemes were written all over her face, so it was hard for her not to know.

She sighed softly and said, "Madam Lan, if you have something to say, please speak frankly."

Gan Cai'er hesitated for a moment, seemingly a little embarrassed: "I just want to buy a house that's both cheap and nice. But I'm not very familiar with Kyoto, and I haven't found one after searching for so long. So I wanted to ask you, my lord, to help me find one. My requirements aren't high; I just need a house with three courtyards and two side courtyards, and the price is around three thousand taels. What do you think?"

Good heavens, three courtyards in and out, plus two side courtyards! Even the families of high-ranking officials in the court are not this extravagant!

However, at least this time it wasn't an outrageous demand. Although three thousand taels wasn't much, it wasn't ridiculously small either. It was different from outright robbery.

"This old servant will send someone to look for it. If there is any definite news, I will inform the madam immediately."

"Then I'll thank you in advance, Granny." Gan Cai'er smiled, her eyes crinkling.

Wish list item #2 completed!

Granny Huang was infected by her joy and couldn't help but shake her head with a smile. This child really wears her heart on her sleeve.

Granny Huang was very efficient. In just five days, she gave Gan Cai'er the addresses of three residences, saying that each of them was priced at 2,800 taels of silver. She told her to go and take a look, and if she liked any of them, she could buy it.

Gan Cai'er took the address and happily went to find Lan Tingzhou, asking him to come along and take a look.

Lan Tingzhou frowned slightly.

"Didn't you have your eye on a house in the East District?"

Gan Cai'er was startled by his words and was stunned for a moment, unable to speak. After a long while, she covered her eyes and said guiltily, "What's the use of me liking it if they won't sell it?"

"Business deals are always negotiated. The more you talk, the more likely you are to succeed," Lan Tingzhou said with a faint smile.

"Since you like that place, why don't we invite the owner out and have a proper discussion? We can always pay more money if necessary."

Upon hearing this, Gan Cai'er immediately became agitated and exclaimed, "There are more than just one good house in the capital. If he's not selling, I don't care to buy it either! Who wants to talk to him?!"

“These three houses were found by Granny Huang, so they are all good. Why don’t we go and take a look?”

Lan Tingzhou looked at Gan Cai'er's angry face and her hand tightly gripping the address letter, and his expression turned indifferent.

“Alright, then I’ll go take a look another day,” he said slowly.