Chapter 338 - 326: Education

Chapter 338: Chapter 326: Education

After Jiang Nanyue went into seclusion, Chen Li returned to the old family residence.

He had intended to look for his wife, Song Ying. As he neared the side room of the main courtyard, he heard a woman’s voice from within—high-pitched with agitation, despite her efforts to suppress her anger.

"...This is what you’ve learned after eight or nine months of study?! You’re... going to be the death of me!"

It was Song Ying’s voice.

Chen Li paused, a slight arch to his eyebrow.

His wife had always been gentle and agreeable. She was magnanimous toward others and typically used patient reasoning when teaching their children. He had rarely seen her this angry.

’What happened today?’

He walked to the side room and saw that the door was ajar.

Inside, his wife Song Ying’s chest rose and fell faintly. Her usually gentle face was flushed red; she was clearly fuming.

Before the desk stood three small figures, side-by-side, their little heads bowed. They were Shoujing, Shouyue, and Shoucheng.

Shoujing stood in the middle. Though his head was also lowered, his small frame was ramrod straight, and his lips were pressed into a tight line.

Shouyue stole a glance at Song Ying’s expression before quickly looking down again, her small hands nervously twisting the hem of her robes.

As for Shoucheng, he had practically buried his head in his chest.

Chen Li pushed the door open and entered. A soft CREAK shattered the tense atmosphere in the room.

Song Ying looked up at the sound. Seeing Chen Li, the anger on her face eased slightly. "Husband? When did you get back?"

"I just got home."

Chen Li walked over, glanced at the three trembling little ones, and asked, "What’s all this? What has made you so angry?"

His question seemed to reignite Song Ying’s anger. She pointed at the papers on the desk. "See for yourself, Husband! Just what have these three been learning for the past eight or nine months!"

Chen Li picked up the papers from the desk.

The characters on them were truly painful to behold.

The strokes were twisted like crawling worms, the characters were of varying sizes, and the pages were dotted with ink blots. He could barely decipher the sentences.

The content consisted of transcriptions and interpretations of a few simple lines from the classics.

At the beginning of the year, Chen Li had noticed that his three youngest—Shoujing, Shouyue, and Shoucheng—were becoming rather lawless. As the family’s fortunes improved and they were constantly surrounded by servants, the maids and nannies dared not, and could not, control them.

Chen Li saw this and knew that if things continued, he risked raising a few hedonistic wastrels who knew only how to eat, drink, and play.

So, he made the decision: the three children would begin their formal education.

He had originally asked Shouye to invite Liu Wende’s son, Liu Yuejin, to serve as a private tutor.

Although Liu Yuejin was only a Scholar who had failed to pass the provincial exams for years, and his scholarship wasn’t exactly top-tier, he was more than qualified to teach a few young children to read and explain some basic principles.

Chen Li didn’t expect them to truly pursue a scholarly path anyway. In this world, martial arts was the righteous path.

It was enough for them to be literate, understand reason, and not grow up to be complete fools.

Liu Yuejin had readily agreed at the time and taught them with dedication for three months.

Unfortunately, Liu Wende was growing old, and his health was not what it used to be. He began to consider retiring from his position as Head of the Revenue Division at the County Magistrate’s Office.

With age comes cunning, and he naturally had to plan for his son’s future.

Liu Wende spent some silver coins and, leveraging the Chen Family’s name, finally managed to place Liu Yuejin in the Household Department of the Jingshan County Magistrate’s Office. He would start as a clerk to gain experience, waiting only for his father’s complete retirement to maneuver his son into inheriting the position of Chief Steward.

Once Liu Yuejin started working at the County Magistrate’s Office, he left early and returned late every day. Naturally, he no longer had the leisure to serve as a tutor for the Chen Family.

For a time, Chen Li couldn’t find a suitable and trustworthy replacement, so the matter was put on hold.

He could only rely on his wife Song Ying, or whichever of his older children—Shouheng, Shouye, or Shouyue—was free to offer the younger ones some guidance.

But for the better part of the last year, everyone in the Chen Family had been occupied with their own duties: sericulture, weaving, martial affairs, external business... Which of these didn’t demand their constant attention?

The three children’s education became sporadic at best, a classic case of "three days of fishing and two months of drying the nets." They were essentially left to their own devices.

After the ninth month, all the family’s cocoons had been reeled into raw silk and stored away properly.

As for weaving the silk, that was not something that could be accomplished overnight.

For one, the number of looms was limited. For another, the ten master craftsmen had to teach their apprentices personally and methodically.

Therefore, Song Ying, the mistress of the household, was finally able to catch her breath after several months of relentless work.

Finding herself with some free time today, she decided to test the three children on their schoolwork.

It would have been better if she hadn’t. The results of the test left her utterly furious.

She could overlook the chicken-scratch handwriting; after all, they were young and lacked the wrist strength for proper calligraphy.

For children of five or six, the main focus was recitation. As long as they could memorize the texts and grasp their general meaning, that was already quite an achievement.

But when she tested them on lines from the classics and asked for their interpretations, the answers she received nearly made her faint from rage.

Chen Li’s gaze followed his wife’s slender finger to the so-called "interpretations."

The first line was: *To hear the Way in the morning is to be content to die in the evening.*

Beside it was Shoujing’s crooked annotation: "Find the way to your house in the morning, go kill you in the evening."

The corner of Chen Li’s mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.

The second was the idiom: *A monkey with a cap on.*

Beside it, in Shouyue’s slightly neater but equally unformed script, was the explanation: "Wash a monkey, then wear it as a hat."

Chen Li’s eyelid twitched.

The third line: *Your servant secretly speaks; your servant risks perilous offense.*

And beside it, in Shoucheng’s blotchy, illegible scrawl: "I’m secretly telling you, I’m going to provoke you."

Even with his steady temperament, Chen Li was rendered speechless. The sense of relaxation he had felt upon returning home instantly vanished, replaced by a ludicrous absurdity that was both hilarious and distressing, and a deep sense of worry.

He set the papers down, his gaze slowly sweeping over the three children.

When Shouyue and Shoucheng met their father’s gaze, they shrank back in fright, almost hiding completely behind Shoujing.

Shoujing, however, puffed out his little chest, though his eyes were also evasive.

Chen Li walked to the desk, picked up Shoujing’s paper, and asked in a calm voice, "Shoujing, tell Father, how did you conclude that this was the meaning of the phrase?"

Shoujing’s little face was tense. Seeing that Chen Li didn’t seem immediately furious, he stole a glance at him and mumbled, "Well, the book says... ’morning’ is ’morning,’ ’to hear’ can also mean ’to find out,’ the ’Way’ is a ’road,’ ’evening’ is ’evening,’ and ’to die’ means... you’re dead... So, if you connect them..."

Chen Li was silent.

’Excellent,’ he thought. ’He recognizes every word, but stringing them together, he’s created an entirely new masterpiece of interpretation.’

He then turned to Shouyue and Shoucheng. "And what about you two? ’*A monkey with a cap on*’ means you wash a monkey and wear it as a hat? And ’*Your servant risks perilous offense*’ means ’I’m secretly telling you, I’m going to provoke you’?"

Shouyue wrung her fingers, her voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz. "’Bathe’... means to wash, ’monkey’ is a monkey, ’cap’ is a hat... Father, I... I was wrong..."

Shoucheng simply buried his face behind Shoujing’s arm, not daring to utter a peep.

Just then, Shoujing, who had been standing ramrod straight, stepped in front of his younger siblings. He tilted his small face upward. "Father, it has nothing to do with Fifth Sister and Sixth Brother. It... It was me who taught them this. If you must punish someone, then punish me alone."

Chen Li looked at Shoujing.

The little boy’s cheeks were puffed out, his eyes filled with stubbornness and a hint of forced composure.

He glanced at Shouyue and Shoucheng hiding behind their brother and guessed what had happened. ’It seems this boy, Shoujing, came up with these wild interpretations on his own, then played the little teacher and taught his younger siblings incorrectly.’

"Alright."

Chen Li turned to the still-fuming Song Ying and said gently, "The children are still young. It’s not easy for them to even recognize all these words. If they’ve misunderstood the meanings, we can just teach them slowly."

Song Ying was a mix of exasperation and helplessness. "Husband, you haven’t seen how mischievous they are every day..."

Chen Li took his wife’s hand and patted it gently, signaling for her to calm down.

How could he not understand his wife’s worries?

But getting angry at young children would not solve the root of the problem.

He turned back to the three children, his expression growing stern. "As for what happened today, all three of you are at fault. For your punishment, starting today, you are confined to this courtyard for three days. You will do nothing but read and copy your texts, leaving only for meals and sleep. If this happens again, the punishment will be doubled. Do you understand?"

Their little faces looking utterly miserable, the three of them replied dejectedly, "Yes, Father, we understand..."

"Start copying now."

Chen Li waved a dismissive hand.

Once the children had started on their work, Chen Li led his wife, Song Ying, out of the room.

「Back in the main hall.」

Chen Li pulled over a stool and sat down. "Ying’Er, this is my fault as well. I’ve been too neglectful. They’re still little; there’s no need to be so harsh."

Song Ying sighed. "I know they’re young, but the family’s fortunes are better than ever. I’m afraid of spoiling these little ones. If they grow up to be worthless, they’ll only disgrace the Chen Family name."

"I understand your concerns."

Chen Li knew this as well. When the three older siblings—Shouheng, Shouye, and Shouyue—were young, the family had little more than two hundred mu of mediocre farmland. While their situation was decent, they couldn’t be considered truly rich or powerful.

From a young age, they had worked in the fields, fed the pigs, and herded the cattle; they understood the hardships of life.

But Shoujing, Shouyue, and Shoucheng had been born into a completely different family situation. They were surrounded by luxury and swarms of servants, having everything handed to them on a silver platter.

If they weren’t disciplined strictly and taught to understand reason and appreciate hardship, it was very likely they would grow into arrogant, spoiled brats who didn’t know their place in the world.

By then, it would be too late for regrets.

Song Ying said, "I think we should formally hire another Scholar to set up a classroom in our home and teach them properly. We can simply offer a generous gift as payment."

But Chen Li slowly shook his head. "Hiring someone to teach them here at home is not the right approach."

"Why not?"

Song Ying was perplexed. "Our home is quiet, and the teacher would be well-fed and housed. They could teach with peace of mind. What could be wrong with that?"

Chen Li explained, "A teacher brought into our home is an employee of the Chen Family. Faced with the children of his employers, would he dare to discipline them strictly? Even if he dared, would the children ever truly hold him in high regard?"

"They would just think of him as someone their parents hired, as a subordinate. It would be difficult for them to feel any genuine respect for him as a teacher. The moment he considered any punishment, the teacher himself would be the one feeling anxious. How could they learn anything under such conditions?"

He paused before continuing, "Even if we didn’t hire a tutor for our home and instead established a clan school for all the clan’s children to attend together, it would still be a problem. The Chen Family is powerful now. The other clan children would likely be more inclined to fear and flatter Shoujing and his siblings than to treat them as equals. Growing up in that kind of environment would only foster their arrogance and teach them to use their status to bully others."

Song Ying listened and had to admit her husband had a point, but she still felt a pang of worry. "Then what is it you’re suggesting, Husband?"

"We send them out."

Chen Li’s voice was firm. "We send them to a private academy. We’ll find one with a reputation for rigor and a strict master. Let them leave home, leave this familiar environment, and live and learn alongside classmates who know nothing of their background."

"They will have to abide by the rules, and they will have to endure the ruler when they break them. Only then will they finally put aside their childishness. Their academic learning is secondary; the main priority is to temper their personalities and instill some discipline and resilience in them."

Upon hearing this, Song Ying grew anxious again. "Shouheng and Shouye were both ten when they started at the martial arts academy. Shouldn’t we wait a few more years?"

Though she understood her husband’s far-sighted planning, her heart ached at the thought of her young children leaving home.

Chen Li smiled reassuringly. "Don’t worry. I have a plan."

He immediately called for a servant waiting in the courtyard and told him to fetch Shouyue.

"Father, you were looking for me?"

Chen Shouyue’s voice was bright and clear.

Chen Li looked at his daughter and said, "I have a task for you. Go to Liyang County and inquire about the private academies there. Find out which ones have good reputations and are known for their strict discipline. Be thorough in your investigation and report back to me."

Chen Shouyue was stunned for a moment but quickly gave a crisp reply, "Yes, Father. I’ll go at once."

"Have Shouyi go with you. Be careful."

Chen Li added as a final reminder.

"I know, Father!"

Chen Shouyue acknowledged his words and turned to leave.