Chapter 199: Chapter 199: Princess Funing, An Exquisite Mind
Cai Ying quickly forced a smile. "It’s nothing, Your Highness. I was just a little startled."
Shen Ningning stuck out her tongue, looking mischievous and clever.
"I was startled too! But since I’m here in the Huangzi Class, I’m going to study hard with Mr. Han!"
Afternoon classes began.
Mr. Han’s teaching style was completely different from the mad scholar’s.
His approach to knowledge was also rough and precise.
Mr. Han liked to break down the knowledge in a book into one unit after another.
He would then lead the students in reading through it once, before having them extract the key points and explain them.
Although he spoke quickly, Shen Ningning listened very attentively and memorized everything.
After the two lessons ended, the maids and attendants beside the students had all taken copious notes on what Mr. Han had taught.
Only Cai Ying said apologetically to Shen Ningning, "Your Highness, I’m sorry. I’m too slow. Mr. Han spoke too quickly, and I couldn’t write anything down at all!"
The sheet of paper was completely blank.
Shen Ningning patted her shoulder with a small hand. "It’s okay! I remembered it all."
Cai Ying froze. "Remembered where?" She hadn’t seen Shen Ningning pick up a pen.
The little girl pointed to her own head. "In here."
Ever since she was young, she’d had a photographic memory. After reading something three times, she could recite it backward and forward flawlessly.
What’s more, she was very interested in the knowledge Mr. Han was teaching and had already committed it to heart.
Shen Ningning was tired from studying and also a little hungry, so she decided to go to the dining hall to eat.
As she passed Xu Jingxi’s desk, she saw he was still writing down the information Mr. Han had just taught.
He had no servants and could only rely on himself.
Shen Ningning felt sorry for him and kindly reached out a small hand, pointing to a mistake on his paper.
"You wrote it wrong. Mr. Han said, ’Greatness is sufficient to embrace the masses, and virtue is sufficient to be cherished from afar.’ It means a broad heart can accommodate everyone, and a person of high moral character is more easily remembered fondly."
Xu Jingxi looked up, watching her in surprise. The little girl waved with a smile and then pattered away.
Her fluttering, goose-yellow dress looked just like a beautiful golden leaf in autumn.
Later, when he privately asked Mr. Han, he discovered that Shen Ningning had actually been right.
In the courtyard sunlight, Shen Ningning shared the sweet soup she had just brought from the dining hall with a group of classmates. Everyone also got a skewer of grilled meatballs.
Everyone ate with great delight, discussing the knowledge they had just learned, each with their own insights.
Cai Ying stood behind a pillar not far away, her gaze somewhat sinister as she watched.
’It’s been almost a whole day, and nothing has happened to this Princess Funing.’
’If I go back to the Young Mistress, I’ll definitely be scolded!’
Cai Ying steeled herself. ’No, I have to find a chance to trip up Princess Funing.’
As dusk approached, during the last lesson of the day, Mr. Han had everyone review what they had learned previously.
He wasn’t in the classroom to supervise, hoping only that everyone would be self-disciplined.
And so, some classmates couldn’t resist and went to the dining hall for dinner.
Shen Ningning, however, sat obediently at her desk. She flipped through the entire book and had nearly memorized it all.
Just then, Cai Ying said from beside her, "Your Highness, I still think you should go apologize to Mr. Liao."
"Me, apologize?" Shen Ningning blinked her big, dark, lustrous eyes, a little confused.
"Yes," Cai Ying said. "After all, you were the one who didn’t report to him. Mr. Liao was kind enough to come looking for you and almost got hit by Mr. Han. He must be angry."
"If the teachers don’t apologize to each other, that’s one thing. But you are a student. If you don’t make amends with Mr. Liao, wouldn’t that mean you’ve forgotten the rule of respecting your teachers?"
"Besides, with Mr. Han’s personality, he’ll definitely never be the first to bow his head to Mr. Liao. If you go apologize, you can also ease the tension between the two teachers. Don’t you think?"
Shen Ningning listened quietly, her large, clear, jet-black eyes glinting with a contemplative light.
She thought for a moment and said, "Alright then. I have a bag of fruit in my book basket that my grandmother told me to bring to eat. I’ll take it to Mr. Liao."
Cai Ying was overjoyed.
"Great, great!" she said, following Shen Ningning out of the classroom.
Suddenly, Cai Ying clutched her stomach, faking a stomachache. "Oh, Your Highness, could you go on your own? I really don’t feel well."
Shen Ningning asked with concern, "Are you okay?"
"I’ll be fine after a trip to the latrine. Your Highness, you should hurry and find Mr. Liao so you don’t waste time you could be using to review."
Shen Ningning nodded. Then, carrying the heavy load, her small body swayed as she left the Huangzi Class courtyard.
After the little girl left, Cai Ying sneered. Of course she wouldn’t follow.
’Because I need to stay in the classroom, wait for Mr. Han to come back, and tattle on her at the first opportunity!’
An incense stick’s time later, Shen Ningning returned to the Huangzi Class, empty-handed.
The moment she entered, however, she found that everyone who had snuck out for dinner had also returned. They were all sitting in their seats with their heads down, none of them daring to even breathe too loudly.
Mr. Han sat at the lecturer’s platform with a dark expression, a ruler in his hand.
The atmosphere was so tense it was chilling.
"Commandery Princess, where were you just now?" Mr. Han was the first to speak, his voice gruff and heavy.
Cai Ying, who was kneeling before him, turned to Shen Ningning and said apologetically, "Your Highness, Mr. Han kept asking me where you went. I had no choice but to tell him."
Shen Ningning blinked her big eyes. "I went to deliver some fruit..."
Mr. Han slammed his hand on the desk, furious. "Commandery Princess! Why would you waste your time on such meaningless things?"
"You worked so hard to place first in the National Academy’s Grade A exam so you could come here to read and study! Not to curry favor with any teacher, and not to apologize on my behalf!"
"The conflict I have with Mr. Liao is between him and me. You’re so young; don’t get tainted by such bad habits."
Shen Ningning lowered her head, her voice soft and pitiful. "Mr. Han, please don’t be angry..."
Mr. Han looked at her, his eyes filled with deep disappointment.
He didn’t want such a promising sapling to learn how to scheme and become worldly at such a young age.
Just then, Mr. Guo came over with a chuckle. "Mr. Han! Oh, the students are all here? What happened? Why so serious?"
Mr. Han looked up with cold eyes. "I’m teaching my student. What is it, Director Guo?"
Mr. Guo looked at Shen Ningning and smiled. "I came especially on behalf of the other classes to thank you. You even had the Commandery Princess bring us fruit. It was a nice idea, but don’t let it get in the way of her studies."
Mr. Han froze.
"What fruit?"
"Han, what are you pretending for? Alright, just don’t make the Commandery Princess run around in the future. Say the word, and I’ll send someone over."
After speaking, Mr. Guo waved his hand. "You all should get back to your review. I’m heading back."
After he left, Mr. Han looked at Shen Ningning. "So you went to give fruit to everyone?"
The little girl nodded, her voice soft and sweet. "Teacher, I didn’t apologize to Mr. Liao on your behalf. I just brought a lot of fruit today and couldn’t finish it all. You taught us to be people who share, so I ran to every classroom and gave some to everyone."
As she spoke, Shen Ningning looked at the dumbfounded Cai Ying.
"I don’t know why Mr. Han would think that before. I didn’t know there was anything to apologize for at all. Cai Ying, could it be that you’re the one who said it?"
Cai Ying felt as if the blood was flowing backward in her veins, her fingers turning ice-cold.
She looked into Shen Ningning’s clear, dark eyes and was suddenly struck by a guess that sent a chill down her spine.
’Princess Funing looks young and ignorant, but she actually understands everything!’
’She watched me lay my trap but didn’t expose it, just waiting for me to reveal myself!’
’Princess Funing... what an exquisite and clever mind. How could my Young Mistress possibly compete with this little mastermind!’
Cai Ying began to feel a sense of dread toward Shen Ningning.
Comments