The Exiled Life of the Noble Girl

Wang Chunhua followed Ah Xiu deeper inside, growing increasingly alarmed. She gripped Dong Shan's hand tighter, astonished by the size of her sister's house - the garden, the lake... her heart ached a little.

"There are fish in the lake!" She tugged Dong Shan to the bridge, peering down. "The red and yellow ones, what kind of fish are they? They look so beautiful."

Dong Shan gave her hand a light squeeze and cleared his throat, smiling apologetically at Ah Xiu. "We should get going, your sister is waiting for us."

Wang Chunhua's cheeks flushed slightly as she averted her gaze.

Ah Xiu smiled. "They're just ordinary goldfish. Madam Dong can come take a closer look after lunch, if you'd like."

"Okay, okay."

The family of four followed Ah Xiu into Li Mingwei's courtyard. Wang Chunhua immediately spotted Li Mingwei sitting at the table, her expression a bit troubled. She walked up to her quickly.

"What's wrong?"

"Aunt!"

Li Mingwei looked up, rising to her feet. "Sister, brother-in-law!"

She reached out to pat the excited Dong Lei, then gently ruffled little Xiao Yan's hair.

"Oh!" Wang Chunhua guided Li Mingwei back to her seat. Her eyes were slightly reddened. "You shouldn't be sitting here being so formal with us. You need to rest."

"Sister, I'm fine." It was just that too many people had come today, each wanting a word with her, and it was so tiring.

"Xiao Lei, Xiao Yan, you must be hungry. Hurry and sit down, we'll talk after you've eaten."

It was well past noon, and they had rushed into the city without having lunch, so they were indeed hungry. With no one else in the courtyard, they began eating freely.

Li Mingwei picked up a dumpling for Xiao Yan. "It's sweet and sour. Try it, do you like it?"

"Mm-hm!"

Dong Lei gave her a disgruntled look, and Li Mingwei immediately picked one up for him too, asking Ah Xiu to bring it over. She smiled, "You're so grown up now, still fighting with your little sister over these things."

"I'm not." Dong Lei stubbornly insisted, "I just couldn't reach them."

Wang Chunhua nodded in agreement. The table in her sister's house was indeed too large, and she couldn't reach the dishes on the other side either. She glanced at Dong Shan, but he didn't seem inclined to get up, since they weren't at their own home.

Li Mingwei noticed, and discreetly signaled to Ah Xiu to help serve the dishes.

Old Lady Wang heard they had arrived and hurried over, calling out loudly, "Big brother-in-law, big sister-in-law!"

She immediately realized her mistake and glanced nervously at Li Mingwei.

"It's fine, just call us that."

Old Lady Wang sighed in relief and sat down at the table, greeting them warmly. She hadn't seen anyone from her hometown since coming to the Capital City, and seeing them now, she was overjoyed.

Wang Chunhua looked at Old Lady Wang's attire, so different from before, and smiled. "Are you doing well in the Capital City? You look much healthier."

"Very well, very well." She was eating well, dressing well, and had no other needs.

"I heard your son-in-law got another promotion?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Old Lady Wang's face broke into a wide smile, and her posture straightened. "He got promoted last year, but he's been stationed outside the city, so he didn't even come back for New Year's. The third child is already born, but he hasn't even come to see him."

"Is the third child a boy or a girl?"

"A boy, a boy!" Old Lady Wang beamed at Li Mingwei. "A boy is good, so Mingwei doesn't have to keep having children."

"Huh?"

"Mingwei is an only child, so the third child will take her surname."

Seeing Old Lady Wang's amiable smile, Wang Chunhua's expression didn't change, but she was inwardly astonished. When did she become so easygoing?

She exchanged a knowing glance with Li Mingwei, who explained discreetly, "This estate has to have an heir, you see."

Wang Chunhua immediately understood. If taking the Li surname meant inheriting such a large property, she would be willing to change her own name. Old Lady Wang, with her grandson as the heir, was even more eager.

Li Mingwei smiled, then remembered. "Ah Xiu, didn't Yizhu send something back for the third child? Where is it?"

"In the room." Of course Ah Xiu had kept the young master's gift separate from the others. She said, "Does the young miss want to look at it now?"

"Yes."

Ah Xiu went inside and brought out a small gift box, handing it to Li Mingwei. Li Mingwei opened it and looked at the contents for a while before pulling out the bracelet inside, double-checking that there was nothing else.

However...

This bracelet was so large, for a baby boy?

And the third child was indeed a boy!

Wang Chunhua quickly slipped the bracelet onto Li Mingwei's wrist, smiling. "It's lovely, it fits you perfectly. Your son-in-law has good taste."

Li Mingwei puffed out her cheeks a little, admiring the bracelet. "Well, it's alright, I guess."

"Sister, when are you going back? I'll go with you."

"Go back? Why?"

"No, I'm going to Yunzhou. I can accompany you part of the way, or you could come to Yunzhou for a visit?"

Ah Xiu frowned slightly, advising, "Miss, you just had your confinement. It's better to wait a few more months before traveling."

"That's right, your complexion is still a bit pale."

"But a few months from now!" Li Mingwei insisted matter-of-factly. "Sister, brother-in-law, surely you won't just come and leave right away? You have to stay for a few months to help Xiao Lei adjust, and then you can go."

"Well..."

"I've already found a school for him. Tomorrow, or the day after, take him to have a look, since the others have already started. We can't fall behind."

Wang Chunhua had just been about to speak when Li Mingwei cut her off. Hearing that the other children had already begun their studies, she dared not delay. "Tomorrow, then. Tomorrow we'll go, we can't miss any more lessons."

The school Li Mingwei had found for Dong Lei was near the Liu Family Residence, since she would be moving back there soon, making it more convenient to supervise him.

Since they were going tomorrow, after dinner Li Mingwei had Ah Xiu take them to the Liu Family Residence to rest. She instructed, "In addition to the school, also take them to see the academy outside the city. As the ones bringing their child, they'll want to be reassured."

Ah Xiu acknowledged the request.

Parting ways with Li Mingwei, Wang Chunhua's expression became somewhat troubled. She had always thought her grandfather was just a teacher, not the owner of such a large academy. She took a deep breath, nearly fainting.

"Sister, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." Wang Chunhua sat down beside Li Mingwei, blinking at her. "How many students does your academy enroll each year?"

"A few hundred, I suppose."

"And how much do you charge per student?"

"Not much, just twenty taels."

"Twenty taels..." That wasn't much?

Wang Chunhua narrowed her eyes, trying to calculate, but the figure was beyond her capabilities, so after a long silence, she looked at Li Mingwei dejectedly.

"You're charging as much as a renowned scholar teaching ten students."

"Mm, but it's not the same."

With the family's prestige in the Capital City, their tuition was already quite affordable.

Li Mingwei thought for a moment and said, "Sister, you have to understand that my grandfather passed the imperial examination as a top scholar. He's produced many such scholars himself."

Top scholar!

Wang Chunhua's eyes lit up. Her son was going to make it big!