Shang Mingyuan was delighted to welcome Lin Qingyu and her niece outside the side door, "Aunt Lin has finally brought her niece along, I'm sure Old Madam is thrilled."

  Lin Qingwan got out of the car and smiled, "Yubin also thinks that her grandmother is very good, but she is considerate, knowing that I am busy with spring farming, so she took over the family affairs on her own initiative. Otherwise, I may not have been able to get away yet."

  "His cousin is so capable now, can actually manage the household?" Shang Mingyuan was surprised in his heart. Lin Yuhui is only thirteen this year, and several sisters in her family are about the same age as her, but they are still messing around.

  The old lady was also amazed at Lin Yuhong's ability, but she was half praising and half opposing, "You know that being filial to your aunt is good, but don't neglect your studies either."

  She turned to ask Lin Qingwan, "Auntie, have you invited Mr. Yu Bin? Although household chores need to be learned, girls can relax a bit in the boudoir for these few years. Once married, they won't have that much freedom, so don't restrain her too much. Let her learn what she should, but also let her have fun."

  Lin Qingwan nodded in agreement, "Exactly, I think so too. That's why I often tell her not to be restrained and take advantage of her youth to play all the games she likes, otherwise when she gets married and has a family, even if she wants to, she won't have the chance."

  An old and a young exchanged a glance, both seeing "soulmates" in each other. Lin Qingwen said: "I also wanted to invite a teacher for her, but it's hard to find a female teacher, and male teachers often have shortcomings, so I've been putting it off until now. If the old lady has any good candidates, please let Qingwen know."

  Nowadays, few scholars read books, let alone women; which woman who can read books is not from a wealthy family?

  Apart from their own children, few women would come out to teach outsiders, but some fallen ladies might do so to make a living, though very rarely.

  As soon as they appear, they are often snapped up immediately.

  The three girls of the Shang family also studied, but they were taught by their father. In addition to the Book of Songs and Analects, they also learned zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting. However, their father's teaching was limited, and among the four arts, he emphasized chess and calligraphy more, while the zither and painting were just average.

  Before that, Wan Jie's studies were also taught by Fu Zi, but with the help of her brother Lin Jiang, when it came to Lin Yu Bin, Lin Qing Wan naturally did not want her to suffer.

  She would have liked a female tutor, but since that was impossible, she wanted at least a rather better male one; her requirements were high, and it was naturally some time before a suitable one could be found.

  The old lady also had a headache, "Why don't we let her come home and read with Danlan first, and then talk about it when we find someone suitable."

  Lin Qingwan was about to decline when she heard Shang Mingjie's voice outside the door, saying: "Grandma, I know where there is a good doctor."

  Shang Mingjie ran in hastily, excitedly saying: "Grandmother, you forgot! Mr. Shi is going to teach at the Lu family school and has sent us a notice. As long as we pass the exam, we can go to the Lu family school to study."

  "What nonsense," Old Lady Shang frowned and said: "The Lu family's school still has a group of male students, how can your sisters go there to study?"

  "How can't, Sun Er has been there to see, Shi Xiansheng had someone separate a yard, and the female students have another door in and out, which is not related to the male students." Shang Mingjie said again: "Moreover, the students who study at Lushi's family school are all from big families, don't think of people as being mean."

  The old lady glared at him, "How dare you speak nonsense! How could I think of people in such a despicable way? Doesn't the Lu family also have poor scholars?"

  "Since Na Lu's daughter dared to go, why can't sisters go?"

  Beside him, Zhao heard this and was moved, asking: "Is it true that Lu's daughter went to the Lu family school to study?"

  "It's not just the Lu family's daughters who are going, I've also heard that the Shi family has sent a few girls over to study at the Lu family's school as well."

  Lin Qingwan bowed her head to sip tea, and suddenly thought of the relationship chart that Lin Jiang had drawn for her. After searching for half a day, she finally remembered and asked, "Isn't Mr. Shi that Mingjie mentioned Mrs. Lu's husband?"

  "It was she," Old Lady Shang turned her head to explain, "You don't know, last year the Shi family had a big incident. Madame Lu has an elder sister who married into the Boiling Cui family, but for some reason, that Madame Shi left a divorce letter with the Cui family and took their two children back to her maiden home."

  Everyone in the house was stunned, and Old Lady Shang became even more excited: "This is nothing, it's just a domestic quarrel between husband and wife. Which couple doesn't fight? But when the Cui family came to take their son back, the Shi family actually drove him out. The Shi brothers also went to the Cui house, and somehow they really got divorced. The twin children were separated, with the Cui family getting the boy and Lady Shi taking the girl. However, now both children are living with Lady Shi, and the Cui family just sends over some silver for their upbringing every month."

  "When the matter came to light, it was almost New Year's. At the beginning of this year, Mrs. Shi brought her two children to seek refuge with Mrs. Lu. The Shi family is a renowned scholarly family, and their talent goes without saying. So, Mrs. Lu asked Mrs. Shi and Mrs. Lu to teach the girls in the clan together. It was probably because of this that the two women thought of opening a separate school for girls in the Lu family, not only teaching their own daughters but also those from other families who could pass the exam." Old Lady Shang sighed: "But that Mrs. Shi has a bad reputation..."

  Lin Qing smiled faintly and said, "It's just a separation, what's wrong with that? A thief steals something, but the one who gets a bad reputation is the victim? There's no such logic in this world."

  The old lady suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

  Zhao asked his son, "Besides the daughters of Lu and Shi families, whose family decided to send them off?"

  "Not a few families, I heard Brother Zhou say when I came back that his family also wants to send his sisters over."

  "Zhou's family, Jiangdu Zhou's family, or Governor Zhou's family?"

  "It's naturally Jiangdu's Zhou family," Shang Mingjie said with a smile. "Mother, does Governor Zhou have a daughter?"

  The five major families in Jiangnan, Lin Shang Zhou Zhao Xie. Unfortunately, the Zhou family happens to be ranked before the Zhao family. Even more unfortunately, both the Zhou and Zhao families are from Jiangdu, one from the north of the city and the other from the south.

  One mountain cannot contain two tigers, let alone two families?

  Although they seemed to get along well on the surface, and had even intermarried, in reality the relationship between the two families was not good. If the Zhous were willing to send someone over, then the Zhaos couldn't fall behind either.

  Moreover, the Lu family has a number of young and talented individuals, and their family background is not to be compared with that of the Shang or Lin families.

  "Zhao looked at her daughter Danzhu and couldn't help but persuade Old Lady Shang in a low voice, 'Old lady, Lin's words are not wrong. Since the Cui family can only divorce and not abandon Shi Furen, it is clear that they are in the wrong. In this case, Shi Furen's character is not flawed, she is just a bit fierce. But Lu Furen is famous for her gentleness, one rigid and one gentle, which complements each other.'"

  "In this world, when it comes to reading books, apart from the Lu and Cui families, there's only the Shi family," said Zhao quietly: "Old lady, although the tutors we've hired at home are good, they're still not as good as the two Shi sisters."

  The elderly lady looked solemn and didn't speak, she still wasn't too pleased that the children were going out to read books.

  Lin Qingwan put down her teacup and waved at several girls who were staring at them with wide eyes, saying: "You kids go play first, we adults have something to talk about."

  Dan Zhu and several others looked at Lin Qingwan, who was only three years older than them, and quietly got up and retreated.

  Danlan didn't need to be said, she was of the same age as Lin Qingyu, only a few months younger, and at this time, looking at this "adult", she could only swallow her words silently.

  The girls all went down, and the servants in the house also retreated quietly, leaving only three people, except for their own confidants.

  Zhao silently glanced at Lin Qingyu, actually she also wanted Lin Qingyu to step down, some private words were not good to say in front of her.

  Lin Qingwan, however, seemed to have not seen her gaze, and raised her head to smile at Old Lady Shang: "Old lady, I want to go take a look at the Lu family's school. If it's really good, I plan on sending Yu Bin over."

  The old lady frowned, "There are so many male students there..."

  "As the British county master is still on the border defending his home and country, old lady, the Lu family's tradition is there, you should trust them more."

  The old lady remained silent.

  Lin Qingwan got up and said: "I'll go take a look at the few kids."

  After finishing speaking, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law talked about private matters.

  "Will Old Lady Shang agree, madam?" Bai Feng asked in a low voice.

  "Mrs. Shang will persuade her."

  "You can take charge, why bother explaining it to her?" Bai Feng was very displeased with Shang Lao's wife giving their own daughter a dirty look.

  "After all, she is Yuhai's maternal grandmother. If she agrees, it would be better. Most importantly, if the three girls of the Shang family can also go to school, then Yuhai will have companions in school. However, it's still too early to talk about these things now. Let's go back and visit Qingfeng Mountain, take a look at the Lu family's learning."

  In the main house, Mrs. Zhao was persuading Old Lady Shang in a low voice, "Old lady, several girls are not young anymore, it's time to talk about marriage, but these years Master has been in Beijing and we have been in Suzhou, we can't get in touch with people in Beijing, and there is little socializing here in Suzhou. Can't let the children delay any longer. This time is an opportunity, not to mention others, even studying together with girls from Lu and Shi families is also a personal connection, isn't it?"

  The old lady's heart moved, and Zhao Shi saw that she was even more urgent in her advice: "Our family's title still has one generation, but whether the next generation can smoothly inherit the title is not certain. Having more connections will also have someone to speak for us in court later. Otherwise, relying only on Master and my elder brother, I'm afraid..."

  The old lady sighed and said: "Let the children prepare then, after all, they have to take the exam."

  "Rest assured, I will make sure they study hard. If you're still worried, why not let Ming Jie go to the Lu's house to study as well? The school in our mansion can't compare to the one at the Lu's."

  The old lady said uncomfortably, "When Ming Jie went to the Imperial Academy, the reputation of the Lu family's school was not yet prominent... Never mind, never mind, since you have a good intention, let's do it your way. But I've heard that the Lu family's school examination is very strict, so Ming Jie must be careful."

  Lin Qingwan found them in the garden, where Shang Mingjie was telling them about the Lu family's academic achievements. Lin Qingwan couldn't help but ask curiously, "Mingjie, I remember you were studying at the Imperial Academy, how are you so familiar with the Lu family's academic affairs?"

  Shang Mingjie said with a big smile: "My grandmother had thought of sending me to the Lu family's school, and several of my friends were also at the Lu family's school, so I knew it clearly."

  "If you want to go, why don't you just go?"

  Shang Mingjie chuckled and scratched his head, saying: "My grandmother found a copy of the Lu family's study notes for me to do, but I didn't do well. My grandmother probably thought my chances of passing were slim, so she didn't send me there, instead sending me to the prefectural school."

  The sisters couldn't help but burst out laughing, "You're not even good at it and you still have the nerve to say that. Hurry back home and study, you can't play with us anymore."