Chapter 37 – Spring Mosquitoes Are So Big
The Liu Clan academy wasn’t very large, with only about twenty students ranging from three or four to fourteen or fifteen. The size of the school and the ages of the students were vastly different from what Jiang Pengji had imagined… causing her to reminisce about her own days as a student.
【The Great Landlord’s Wife】: Is this what ancient classrooms look like? The conditions are so poor, and there are so few students. I wonder what the teacher is like…
【Manure Sea Mad Maggot】: This is already considered quite good, okay? Literacy rates in ancient times were low, and very few people could read. The expenses were frighteningly high. Here at the clan academy, conditions are pretty decent, with most of the learning costs covered by the clan…
After all, whether it was hiring a teacher or the cost of supplies like ink and paper, the prices were not something ordinary families could bear.
Jiang Pengji casually picked a desk to sit at and took out the bamboo paper that her maidservants, Ta Xue and Xun Mei, had cut for her, completely unbothered, and began practicing her calligraphy while the other students took this opportunity to review what they’d learned yesterday since the teacher had yet to arrive.
【Magical Girl A-Feng】: 23333 No matter the era, it seems the habit of students self-studying early is eternal.
【Pretty Soldier A-Yuan】: Yes, it feels just like self-study time!
The other students scrambled to grab the spots closest to the teacher, while Jiang Pengji sat at a desk further back, making her stand out.
Of course, what made her stand out even more wasn’t her position but the learning materials she was using.
Most students had to lug around heavy bamboo slips, while Jiang Pengji alone used the pricey bamboo paper that was hard to come by outside, yet her calligraphy was still the same as before, showing little progress. To the other students, it seemed like a wasteful extravagance.
“Ha, it’s been over a year since I’ve seen Xi Tang, yet your writing is still like this? No progress?”
Finally, someone was brave enough to voice what others were thinking.
Jiang Pengji felt a shadow loom over her, prompting her to stop writing and look up at the speaker, who turned out to be the legitimate son of Liu Father’s bastard younger brother.
Jiang Pengji had seen Liu Lanting’s memories and understood why he disliked attending the clan academy. Were it her, she wouldn’t want to go either.
To avoid gossip from the clan, Liu Lanting had gone to the clan academy until he was eight years old instead of hiring a tutor at home.
Entering the clan academy at four and staying until eight, Liu Lanting’s personality became increasingly withdrawn, his gaze towards others laced with fear, and he grew anxious about interacting with people. The root cause lay in the academy, specifically due to the bullying from those unruly kids.
Despite their young age, these kids seemed born with the skills to look down on others.
Little Liu Lanting appeared quite small and extremely shy back in the day, turning red even after speaking a few words. For some mischievous children, she was certainly the easiest target to bully, as there was little worry of getting caught for subtly ostracizing her.
Back then, Liu Lanting wore a different outfit to the academy every day, and her writing materials were always the best, greatly widening the gap between her and the other Liu Clan children, inevitably causing discontent among other less fortunate Liu kids.
What to do about the imbalance?
Of course, they sought ways to re-establish balance; kids will be kids, right? A little friction is normal.
But they weren’t foolish; they bullied Liu Lanting but kept it subtle at first—starting with soft bullying, banding together to isolate her, occasionally saying unkind things. Little Liu Lanting was like a sheltered bird under her stepmother’s protection, completely unaware of what was happening.
Her inaction only fueled those students’ aggression, escalating from exclusion to taking her supplies and culminating in verbal abuse, saying she was raised like a little lady, implying that once her stepmother had a legitimate son or daughter, she wouldn’t be needed anymore, eventually leading to a “bloody incident.”
Yes, a “bloody incident.” Eight-year-old Liu Lanting was shoved into a pond near the academy and cut her forehead.
At that time, the sickly stepmother learned of the incident; she directly confronted the teacher and the bullies’ parents, even hotly retracting the ink and paper subsidies for the academy, forcing the offending parents to apologize in person.
Indeed… While the ink the students used was purchased at the clan’s expense, most of the expensive supplies had been bulk-bought from the stepmother’s dowry, offering great quality at a good price.
It was said that children were too young to understand and didn’t intend to hurt anyone, but that couldn’t excuse their actions without remorse.
Jiang Pengji lowered her gaze; this person was merely someone she had seen a few times during festivals, one of the bullies who, back in the day, ostracized Liu Lanting.
Also… Was this guy mocking her writing?
【Stowaway Non-Money】: 2333 Streamer, your handwriting is being mocked, full of red-hot messiness.
【Lily Supreme】: The streamer looks so lost, they only practiced for a couple of hours, okay?
Jiang Pengji stole a glance at the live-stream screen, and this motion was interpreted as her being cold and dismissive, which made her feel a bit awkward.
With the intent to retaliate, he directly sat in front of her, scolding her while sporting a hint of excitement on his face.
“Since Xi Tang invited a tutor at home, you should follow the teacher’s lessons diligently instead of playing all day. If my uncle returns to check on Xi Tang’s studies, he might faint from anger,” he relentlessly pressed.
Jiang Pengji gave him a glance, then slowly replied, “No worries, having comparisons shows the highs and lows, Father won’t blame me.”
Huh? What does that mean?
Not just the cousin, but even the audience watching the live stream looked puzzled.
“Cousin…” Jiang Pengji continued in a leisurely tone, “It’s only March; the mosquitoes aren’t that big yet…”
What? The cousin initially didn’t understand, but upon seeing where Jiang Pengji’s gaze fell, he flushed deeply, awkwardly adjusting his collar while wearing an annoyed expression and glaring at Jiang Pengji.
“Cousin’s appearance is remarkably distinguished; I imagine your brother is extremely pleased with you.”
Under the gaze of the bewildered audience, Jiang Pengji blinked and then meaningfully continued, “If you’re feeling unwell, it’d be best to ask the teacher for leave early; after all, being restless in the teacher’s class is a very impolite act, not to mention sitting like that.”
After speaking, Jiang Pengji gathered her supplies and moved to another seat.
Just then, the teacher arrived late, seeing the cousin sitting on the floor in a daze, causing his beard to nearly fly off in anger.
“You kid, how rude!”
“Teacher…”
Jiang Pengji remained unaffected; instead, she opened her bamboo slips, listening to the teacher’s lecture while watching the torrent of comments on the screen.
【Lily Supreme】: Can someone explain what just happened? I just saw that cousin suddenly sit down to lecture the streamer, and then the teacher came to scold him hard, my goodness… First time I saw an ancient scholar scolding like that—so sharp and hitting home…
