The Exiled Life of the Noble Girl

After meeting Li Yi, Wang Chunhua and Dong Shan felt more at ease. This old gentleman, with books all over the house, was clearly a man of culture, and must be a formidable teacher.

They had no objections to Li Mingwei's arrangement, and they settled down at the Liu Manor, waiting for Dong Lei and the teachers and classmates at the academy to become more familiar before returning home, and also waiting for Li Mingwei to recover.

Come to think of it, they hadn't seen Liu Yizhu for many years, and it would be a rare opportunity to make a detour and visit him.

Li Mingwei instructed, "Ah Xiu, take the sister and brother-in-law out for a stroll these days. They rarely come, they shouldn't be cooped up in the manor all the time."

She still needed to rest and recover, so there was no need to delay them.

"Yes."

Ah Xiu had always been a lively person, and she got along well with Wang Chunhua. The two of them became quite close, and went out to play almost every day, returning very late, which Li Mingwei didn't even know about, as there were so many places to explore in the Capital City.

She called out to the group who had just returned, "Where did you go today? Have you had your meal?"

"We've had it, we've had it!" Wang Chunhua eagerly approached, "Today we went to see the dancing, it was so beautiful, the girls were prettier and prettier, and the music was lovely too."

Li Mingwei's face darkened. Where had Ah Xiu taken them!

Ah Xiu quickly explained, "The music bureau, the music bureau."

Seeing Li Mingwei's expression relax, Ah Xiu guiltily patted her chest. Sister Chunhua's words were a bit misleading, with Elder Brother Dong still here, how could she dare take them to such a place.

Tao Jue covered his mouth nearby, he had also misunderstood at first.

Wang Chunhua suddenly slapped her forehead, "Brother Tao, your father asked us to pass on a message to you before he came, asking what you've been busy with and why you haven't sent a letter home."

"I did write one." Tao Jue looked at the Tang Housekeeper, could it be that they had lost it on the way and it didn't reach his father's hands?

The Tang Housekeeper bowed, "Young Master, every time we send a letter back, the Master always replies."

It must have been received then.

Tao Jue scratched his head, he had written too few letters, and his father was not satisfied. He looked at Li Mingwei, "Sister-in-law, how often does Yizhu send a letter?"

Li Mingwei thought for a moment, "About ten days?"

It took eight or nine days to travel from the Capital City to Yunzhou, and with the time to receive and reply to the letter, it would be around ten days.

"Oh." Tao Jue felt embarrassed, he only wrote one every two or three months, which was a bit too little.

"It's alright, Brother Tao, write a few more when we return, and we'll bring them for you."

"No need, no need." Tao Jue politely declined, "One is enough."

Where would he have so much to say to his father? Normally he just chatted nonsense with his mother in the letters.

The group would soon be setting off for Yunzhou, and Wang Chunhua and Dong Shan wouldn't go out either, spending the day preparing things for Dong Lei, and keeping him company in the evenings.

"How's it going at the academy? Is anyone bullying you?"

Dong Lei shook his head, "No, the teacher is quite caring. It's just that what we learned before is a bit different, and I'm having trouble keeping up. Aunt said she'll ask the teacher to stay after class and give me some extra tutoring."

"Okay, the Capital City is different from our hometown, and your parents don't understand, so you just listen to your Aunt."

Wang Chunhua patted his head and sighed, "Even if you don't get along well with people, don't get into fights and cause trouble for your Aunt.

"You're not a child anymore, there are some things you should know. If you make a mistake out there, your Aunt will definitely help you. Her family has an official, a high-ranking one, and if it spreads, people might think we're abusing our power and it won't be good for their reputation."

This Capital City was unlike their hometown, with wealthy families everywhere. If they ran into someone even more powerful than the Li family, it would be a big problem.

Wang Chunhua spoke with tears in her eyes. She had some regrets, the child was still young and didn't understand, if something happened, they wouldn't be able to get there in time.

Seeing his wife in this state, Dong Shan became a little displeased, "When we sent him back to study, wasn't it so he could go out? Now that he's out, why are you like this? He's been studying for so many years, we can't just let him stay home."

Wang Chunhua wiped her tears, she had just hoped the child could pass the civil service exam and go to the county, never imagining he'd go this far.

Even if Dong Lei was a bit slow, he could sense something was off. He put down his chopsticks and looked up at them, "Dad, Mom, are you going to take Sister back home?"

"We..."

Dong Shan didn't want to hide it from him, and nodded directly, "We're going to Yunzhou with your Aunt to see your Uncle, and we'll leave in a few days, then go back home from Yunzhou, it won't be until after autumn that we come back again."

Dong Lei lowered his head without saying a word, but the tears dripped down one by one, soaking his clothes.

Wang Chunhua was even more heartbroken at this sight. She hugged Dong Lei and looked at Dong Shan, "Should we go back first, and send him again when he's older?"

Dong Shan furrowed his brows, but before he could speak, Dong Lei firmly refused, choking back sobs, "Mom, I don't want to go back, I want to stay in the Capital City to study."

The teacher here was much more knowledgeable than Mr. Jin's, and could teach him much more. Although he was having some trouble keeping up with his classmates, he still wanted to stay. He would eventually catch up.

"You..." Wang Chunhua didn't expect him to refuse, she bit her lip, since he had this desire, she could only indulge it. "Okay, you stay then, just be sure to listen to your Aunt."

"Yes, these days you just listen to Sister Ah Xiu. Your Aunt is going to Yunzhou with us for a while, and will be back soon."

Dong Lei agreed.

Li Mingwei only planned to go to Yunzhou to accompany Liu Yizhu for a month or so, and there wasn't much to prepare. She gathered all the children together and painted a small portrait for them to take to him. When she went to Yunzhou, she would also paint one to bring back and hang up, as he had been away for nearly half a year, and the children might not recognize him when he returned.

Old Lady Wang gently soothed the Third Child, and peeked at the portrait Li Mingwei had just finished, praising, "It's quite a good likeness."

"Good, so Yizhu can see what the children look like."

Li Mingwei heard her leisurely tone and smiled, "Mother, are you coming with me?"

"I'm not going." Old Lady Wang shook her head, hugging the child and not letting go. "I still have to take care of the children. Miss Simo is quite tired from teaching Xiao Bing, I'd better stay and help her."

Well, the mother-in-law had turned against her too.

Li Mingwei snorted lightly, "Alright then, step over here and I'll paint you in as well."

"Me?" Old Lady Wang hesitated for a moment, but still stepped beside her grandchildren.

Liu Simo was starting to have trouble standing, leaning against her mother's feet. "Mother, how much longer? I'm a bit tired."

"You're tired already, and it's only been a while?" Li Mingwei looked up at him listlessly, unable to help but glance at the nanny beside him.

The nanny attending to him quickly stepped forward and bowed, explaining, "Miss, the young master started reading early this morning, so he may be a bit sleepy."

"Early this morning? How early?" Li Mingwei frowned, she had said the child could be educated, but shouldn't be pushed too hard.