Zong Wenxiu instinctively gripped the table beside him, feeling an urge to flee in the tense atmosphere.
Was his younger brother about to attack him?
The young troublemaker leaned over, flexed his wrist, and in Zong Wenxiu's slightly panicked gaze, threatened with a cute yet fierce expression, "From today onwards, you're not allowed to study. Wait until I catch up with your progress, and then you can start reading again!"
Zong Wenxiu: "..."
Very well, as arbitrary and unreasonable as the rumors said.
But...
"When will you be able to catch up with my progress?" He had started studying later than most children, and if he had to wait for Zong Jincheng to catch up, he feared he would fall further behind.
Zong Jincheng glanced at the stack of books on the table and uncertainly replied, "A month, I guess."
What took Zong Wenxiu, a concubine's son, months to learn, he, as the clever and bright legitimate son, could surely morize in a month.
Zong Wenxiu hesitated for a few seconds, thinking of the favor he had done for his mother, and finally nodded, "Alright, I'll wait for you for a month. During this month, besides studying what Baili Fuzi teaches, I'll only review old knowledge and not learn new things."
The young troublemaker had wanted him to stop listening to the tutor as well, but he was afraid that Xu Wan, the wicked woman, would notice if he was too obvious. Reluctantly, he agreed.
"Alright, you're quite loyal. You're a brother I can count on."
Zong Wenxiu smiled, "Take a look at these books first. There are so obscure characters that might be hard to understand, and I can explain them to you sentence by sentence."
Zong Jincheng felt overwheld at the first hearing.
He waved his hand to refuse, "No need, I just need to morize these things so I can pass Baili Fuzi's questioning."
The specific anings? Whoever wants to understand them can, but he certainly didn't!
The young troublemaker's study session went quite smoothly.
Although he was mischievous, he had a sharp mind. He could read a sentence from the book, close his eyes, and recite it from mory perfectly, word for word.
Read a sentence, recite a sentence;
Open his eyes, close his eyes;
Rember, and rember again...
Zong Wenxiu was amazed!
He considered himself quite intelligent and exceptionally diligent in his studies, which was why he had managed to catch up with others' years of progress in just a few months.
But how could soone morize a sentence instantly?
Could his younger brother be a genius?
Zong Jincheng was parched from reciting and felt tired after just a few pages.
Shunzi, being very observant, imdiately poured him so tea.
While the young troublemaker drank, Zong Wenxiu finally regained his composure and praised him, "You're amazing. I've never seen anyone morize so quickly!"
At this rate, he wouldn't need a month—with a bit more effort, Zong Jincheng could catch up with his progress in just two weeks.
Zong Wenxiu suddenly felt the pressure rise!
However, the young troublemaker didn't seem to take pride in his achievent. Instead, he slumped into the chair, closed his eyes, and announced like a lord, "I don't want to look at them anymore. My eyes are tired."
Zong Wenxiu: "..."
If he rembered correctly, the young lord had only been studying for less than fifteen minutes.
Starting to feel tired already? How could soone who studied for six hours a day even begin to compare?
Shunzi, being very observant, stepped forward to massage the young troublemaker's shoulders and back, helping the little master who had tired himself out after just fifteen minutes of studying.
Zong Jincheng was so comfortable that he started humming. Thinking about the unmorized books, an ingenious idea suddenly flashed through his mind!
"Shunzi, you read the book, I'm not looking at it anymore."
After all, he could rember everything after hearing it once. Listening to soone else read was the sa as reading it himself!
Shunzi: "?!"
Could it really be done like this??
Shunzi was the only literate servant Xu Wan had left for him, which happened to be useful for the young troublemaker's unconventional thod.
Thus, Zong Wenxiu witnessed this strange way of studying between the master and servant.
Shunzi read a sentence, and the younger brother recited it.
And he...
Actually morized it!
Zong Wenxiu felt he needed so ti to think.
This went against his usual belief that hard work could make up for lack of talent, and he was deeply skeptical...
In the main courtyard.
Xu Wan, listening to Cui Liu's real-ti report, spat out her tea in one go: "That rascal thinks up all sorts of strange tricks every day. All he knows is morizing by rote. When the imperial exams co, he'll be lucky if he can even write his own na!"
Cui Liu said, "But it's still a big improvent. Young Master never morized anything before, and even Old Marquis didn't know his mory was this good."
Cui Zhi also covered her mouth and laughed, "With Young Master's cleverness, if he could study properly, he would definitely bring honor to our Marquis Manor. And Baili Fuzi's face wouldn't look so bad either."
Both she and Cui Liu were houseborn slaves, having grown up watching Zong Zhao being praised by Baili Fuzi. Now, seeing the old tutor's attitude towards Young Master, they felt like it was a world of difference.
Xu Wan humd in agreent and also acknowledged Zong Jincheng's talent, but his lazy approach to studying made it hard to believe he would put in much effort. She estimated he would give up after half an hour at most.
However, the people around the young troublemaker could be useful.
Xu Wan instructed Cui Zhi, "Later, go and privately tell Shunzi that I see how hard he works accompanying Young Master in his studies, so I'll double his monthly allowance. If Young Master catches up with Zong Wenxiu's progress, I'll triple his allowance."
Cui Zhi was even a bit tempted by this.
Although Shunzi's tripled allowance still wouldn't be as high as theirs, the idea of getting a double or triple raise on the original amount was very appealing!
Cui Zhi asked, "Madam, are you trying to win over Shunzi to our side?"
If Shunzi could be successfully won over, then everyone around Young Master would be under Xu Wan's control. In the ga of Go, this would be a dead end, making it even easier to control the little one.
However, Xu Wan frowned and said, "No need to win him over. That little rascal may be a troublemaker, but Shunzi has grown up with him. And I am not his enemy. All my plans are for him to study hard, not to leave him with no one to rely on or trust. A child's world shouldn't be that dark."
Cui Zhi and Cui Liu exchanged glances, more respectful of their new mistress's approach.
She had both cunning and strategy, but also a moral bottom line.
That said, Xu Wan still needed to carefully consider the pros and cons of the young troublemaker's unconventional thod.
Although he could only morize without understanding the characters or their anings, at least he could get the information into his head first and digest it later.
But Zong Wenxiu... couldn't just wait for the young troublemaker to catch up with his progress because of his unreasonable request.
"Bring the new pastries the manor bought, and I'll go check on them."
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