After being reborn, I became the apple of my enemy's eye.

Upon hearing the sound, Yan Yun ran away without even looking behind him.

As she ran frantically, the old man behind her kept reminding her, "Be careful, don't fall."

Yan Yun didn't listen. Right at the corner, he bumped into a group of men dressed in white robes.

"Be careful."

A hand touched her forehead.

Yan Yun felt a chill run down his spine from the cold, icy hand.

She looked up at the people in front of her, and all the boys were staring at her.

"Whose daughter is this, barging around here like this?"

Because that hand was supporting her forehead, she didn't bump into them, but her furtive appearance drew extra attention from those around her.

When Yan Yun looked up, the hand that had been supporting her had already withdrawn, and the person stood aside, looking elsewhere.

Yan Yun couldn't see his face clearly.

It was the boys standing nearby who spoke up: "Make way, make way, little girl, don't block the way."

Yan Yun immediately stepped aside to let them go first.

After the boys entered the academy, she arrived at the back gate of the academy.

The boys who entered the academy shouted, "Wasn't that little girl the one who was eavesdropping outside the academy?"

"You've seen them before too?"

When everyone mentioned it, they all remembered that there was such a girl. It was rare for someone so young to come to the academy, so everyone remembered her.

However, these were just casual conversations, and I forgot about them afterward.

The boy who had stopped Yan Yun glanced at the person in the backyard from afar. Their eyes met, and the boy looked away.

He doesn't care about other people's business.

It wasn't until sunset that Yan Yun returned to his residence.

Granny Zhu stood guard at the back door.

Seeing Yan Yun return at the usual time, she had her maid grab her and said, "Take Miss to the Old Madam's room."

Yan Yun was led by a maid to the old lady.

There was no warmth between the two.

Yan Yun did not look at the old lady.

The old lady went along with her and told her what she had seen: "The steward said that you go to the academy to listen to lectures every day and stay there all day long."

Yan Yun did not respond.

The old lady wasn't angry, as she was used to it, but she still spoke in a harsh tone: "A woman should learn embroidery and remember the three obediences and four virtues, but you're not good at embroidery. Even though Granny Zhu taught you things for women in their boudoirs, you didn't want to learn. Now you run out and show your face in public every day. Although it's not a bad thing, you are still the eldest daughter of the Zheng family. I asked Granny Zhu to find you a tutor to teach you in the mansion."

Yan Yun disliked staying in the mansion; she preferred the outside world.

Yes, she is a woman, but so what?

She wanted to be completely different from before, and she now understood one thing: Zheng Jihua cared about her. Yes, it seemed ridiculous, but it was absolutely true.

As long as she didn't want to see the old lady, Zheng Jihua would protect her and prevent Zhu Mama from getting close to her, so she wouldn't have to pay her respects to the old lady.

After Zheng Jihua left, the old lady also punished Yan Yun by locking her in a dark room. But a person can be locked up for a day, but not for three days.

When the people were released again, things went back to normal.

She knew that the old lady also understood that she wouldn't submit to her discipline, so she was trying to find a way.

As for the old lady, inviting the tutor to the mansion served two purposes. First, it was for the sake of the Zheng family's reputation. If the mute young lady went out and showed her face in public too often, the fact that she was mute would eventually spread and make them a laughingstock. Second, the old lady wanted to restrain Yan Yun, as she could not raise an unruly maid.

The old lady felt she had backed down.

"Just stay here at home and wait for the master to come, do you understand?"

Yan Yun pretended to nod, and the old lady lost her desire to lecture him.

"It's cold, let's go back."

Yan Yun got the chance to leave, and she was grateful that the old lady was impatient with her and did not doubt the truth of whether she would do what she said.

Yan Yun now understands that pretending to be obedient will actually make neither of them feel more tired.

Back in his room, Yan Yun wasn't particularly interested in the tutor the old lady had hired. She knew the tutors she found certainly wouldn't teach what she'd overheard at the school.

indeed.

The old lady was much faster than Yan Yunxiang.

Just the day before, before dawn, Granny Zhu was already waiting outside the door and knocked.

"Miss, the master has arrived. Please get up and do your hair."

Yan Yun was pushed out of bed by her maid. She looked outside and saw that it was still dark. She hadn't slept well yesterday because she was thinking about things. After being fussed over by her maid, she was rushed to see this gentleman.

Granny Zhu told her that the old lady had found her a tutor, Mr. Shu, who was famous in the city and whose tutors at the academy were not necessarily as good as him.

Yan Yun thought, how could such a powerful person come to the Zheng family? Little did she know that the Zheng family was no longer what it used to be. Even literary figures and refined guests had to give the Zheng family face.

Outside Zheng Jihua's study.

Yan Yun met his first teacher who enlightened him.

The old lady may not have put much effort into finding a teacher, but her relationship with Yan Yun was a happy accident.

Mr. Shu was an elderly man over one hundred years old. When Yan Yun saw him from afar, he was sitting outside the study, holding a paper book with trembling hands. Only when Granny Zhu called him did he put the book away and slowly get up.

"Mr. Shu."

Granny Zhu was the first to speak.

His gaze fell on Yan Yun, and he asked, "This must be Miss Zheng?"

Granny Zhu nodded.

"This is our young lady."

As he looked at Yan Yun, Yan Yun was also looking at him.

Seeing his gray hair, she knew he must be quite old. For such an elderly man, she bowed slightly and nodded as a greeting.

When Granny Zhu saw this from the side, she noticed that her young mistress was being polite to Mr. Shu, and immediately felt that she had discovered something else.

Mr. Shu glanced at Yan Yun and then sat down.

"My legs are weak, so I won't stand."

Granny Zhu expressed her gratitude on behalf of the old lady, and then asked the maid to follow her to stand guard outside. After all, there were many women in the household now, and even the old gentleman should avoid suspicion.

Mr. Shu glanced at Yan Yun and pointed to the small stool next to him.

"Miss Zheng, please sit down next to me."

When he arrived, someone had already told Mr. Shu about the young lady's situation. Although teaching a little girl to read and write was a bit of a waste of her talents, it was at the request of an old friend, so he came to take a look.

"Let's start by learning from the Hundred Family Surnames."

Mr. Shu is a gentle person. Although he looks stern, he is very meticulous about Yan Yun's studies.

Yan Yun dipped his brush in ink and wrote his own words on the paper.

The first character she learned was "宴" (yàn), which she copied from her previous memory. However, because she wrote it too heavily and the ink was too thick, the character was ultimately unrecognizable.

Mr. Shu rarely joked with Yan Yun.

"If my student's first word is like this, then we'll have to start from scratch."

Upon hearing this, Yan Yun changed the paper and prepared to start writing again.

Mr. Shu used a book to block his hand from writing.

"Reduce the ink, and apply the brush lightly."

Yan Yun tried a second time, but she used too much force, and the paper was still covered in ink.

Mr. Shu still tried to stop her, but this time Yan Yun didn't persist. She held the pen, looked at Mr. Shu, and handed him her hand.

Mr. Shu asked her, "Do you have any words you want to write in your mind?"

Yan Yun nodded.

"But I don't know."

Mr. Shu said that he wasn't a mind reader, so how could he possibly guess which character she wanted to write?

Yan Yun turned around and started flipping through the book, trying to find the character, but he couldn't find it no matter how hard he looked.

Mr. Shu could tell she was anxious, but being anxious was useless.

"If you want to know where that word is, you have to learn it carefully from the beginning. It's not that if you want to learn that word, you can just learn that word."

Yan Yun nodded and continued listening to Mr. Shu.

Granny Zhu peeked through the crack in the door and saw that Yan Yun was obediently listening to Mr. Shu and had someone keep watch over him. She then went to the old lady's courtyard to report.

The old lady wasn't too pleased with what Granny Zhu said.

The only pity is that Yan Yun is a woman, but after meeting Lu Yan, she felt that this pity was no longer important. She liked Lu Yan more and more the more she looked at him, and she would put this matter on the agenda when Zheng Jihua returned at the end of the year.

"Just let Mr. Shu teach her some words. As long as a woman can protect her home, that's enough."

"Yes."

Mr. Shu taught until the afternoon before being sent back by the Zheng family's carriage.

Yan Yun looked at the paper that had been smeared with ink and carefully put it away. What she wanted was to hang the words she had rewritten on the former Yan residence.

The banquet hall will not disappear.

After Mr. Shu finished his teaching.

Granny Zhu came forward and told the maid to tidy up. Yan Yun picked up the things she wanted and left.

Seeing that the young lady was becoming increasingly distant, Granny Zhu quickly realized that she was simply fulfilling her duty.

Just like the first day, Mr. Shu arrived on time the next day.

By then, Yan Yun was already sitting comfortably and did not need the maid's help to get up.

Mr. Shu never taught a word twice after teaching it to Yan Yun, a quality that earned his praise. However, he didn't say it aloud, fearing it might make her arrogant.

Yan Yun learned the Hundred Family Surnames in just three days, which shows that he is more talented than his previous student.

Mr. Shu was amazed, but it was a pity that her handwriting was not good. However, he said, "If your handwriting is not good, you can practice. As long as you study hard, it is not impossible for you to become a great talent one day."