Fang He regretted it, especially not listening to her friend, the top student, in her past life and learning traditional characters .
In her previous life, she indeed worked hard, but that was merely for survival.
Her friend, the top student, was the type who truly put in effort, learning quickly.
She considered herself not as bright, with a mindset closer to that of a slacker, more adept at appearing to be as diligent as others while… sneaking in some leisure time.
Moreover, she had a bit of a stubborn streak when it came to learning.
For instance, she excelled in Chinese as a child, but during her school years, she often annotated her English with Chinese just to grasp it.
Later, after becoming familiar with English, she painstakingly corrected this habit, determined to secure a good life in her later years, and pushed herself hard to reach level six in English, which finally satisfied her.
In the hotel, she would encounter various scripts and languages, but there would always be Chinese or English annotations.
Invitations and manuals in traditional characters would also have English explanations.
Later, she pushed herself even further and learned to understand Cantonese.
She thought she had become incredibly well-rounded and was determined not to waste any more effort learning.
Ah!
Now, she found herself in the unfortunate position of having to learn kindergarten-level introductory courses at the age of twenty-two.
It was easy to imagine how many people would be waiting to laugh at her, regretting her past choices.
Kangxi didn’t need her to serve him when he got up; he ordered Fang He to rise at the hour of the tiger (3 AM) every day to learn characters with the Fifth Prince, and only come to serve him at the hour of the snake (9AM).
When Chunlai found out, she was particularly envious, “From now on, the young lady can rest three more hours every day!”
Fang He:
..” Getting up early to read for six hours is called resting?
She understood why people in ancient times had shorter lifespans.
But no matter how much she grumbled, Fang He still had to get up fifteen minutes early, clutching a brand new “Three Character Classic,” and sneak to the small study on the far right of the second floor of the dragon boat to attend class.
Even the eunuchs and palace maids she encountered on the way knew that the only one holding a book at this hour was Fang He, and she didn’t forget to cover her face with the book.
Having a sense of shame was like the chest pain experienced by the women in the palace; it was quite flexible.
As long as she couldn’t see it, it was roughly equivalent to not losing face.
She thought she had arrived early, but as soon as she got close to the small study where the Fifth Prince was, she heard a crisp reprimand coming from inside.
“I told you to sleep early; did you sneak out to fish last night without telling your mother? The teacher saw you yawning repeatedly; what kind of image is that?”
“Sit properly. Did I remind you to practice writing big characters? Did you memorize the selected passages from ‘Youxue Qionglin’? Did you read ‘Shengly Qiming’?”
“I’m not saying this to scold you, but you need to pay attention to tidying up your desk. It’s a mess; do you think it looks good like this…” Fang He paused outside, good heavens, with that hurried tone that barely allowed for a breath, she didn’t need to guess who it was.
What could she do? After all, she had a friend who idolized Yongzheng as a career model.
Hearing the young version of Yongzheng reprimanding his younger brother, Fang He felt her soul leave her body outside.
This was not like a brother at all; it was clearly more like having an extra father!
Although her scalp tingled, a smile involuntarily appeared at the corners of Fang He’s lips.
Compared to the seemingly gentle and good-tempered Kangxi, Fang He actually had a better impression of Yongzheng.
Historically, Yongzheng was often described as cold and harsh, but after hearing Geng Shuning mention him repeatedly, she understood that he was someone who valued efficiency and was more lenient towards those who matched his temperament, making him much easier to understand than his father.
Just as she was smiling, the seven-year-old Yin Zhen’s tone shifted, becoming more serious—
“Who’s outside? Sneaking around for what? Come in!”
Fang He quickly wiped the smile off her face, adjusted her mindset, and respectfully walked in with both hands holding the “Three Character Classic,” bowing to the two of them.
“Servant Fang He, greetings to Fourth Prince, greetings to Fifth Prince.”
The Fifth Prince, Yin Qi, who had been scolded for nearly a tea’s worth of time, suddenly jumped up, shaking his head and clapping his hands. “Ah, my student sent by Father Emperor has arrived! Fourth Brother, I won’t take up your time!”
He was practically about to stamp “get lost” on his forehead.
But Yin Zhen didn’t take it to heart; his slender frame sat upright and still.
He looked Fang He up and down, one hand behind his back, the other tapping the low table like Kangxi.
“How old are you? What are you learning from Little Five? Do you have a foundation?”
Fang He replied succinctly, “Replying to Fourth Prince, I am twenty-two years old, learning ‘Three Character Classic’ from Little Five… I can only read the first line.”
Originally, she wanted to say she could recite some sentences, as many people in later generations often quoted them.
But recalling the humiliation she faced yesterday in front of the emperor, she kept her head down and remained humble.
She would rather be thought of as illiterate than drop the ball again; the more humble she was, the more she might surprise others with her intelligence later on.
Unexpectedly, Yin Zhen did not entertain the thought that Fang He was illiterate.
He even widened his eyes, resembling Kangxi’s phoenix eyes, showing a hint of the demeanor a seven-year-old should have, staring blankly for a moment.
Come?
After a while, he stood up, hesitated, glanced at Yin Qi, and walked out without saying a word, clearly feeling that even sighing would be a waste of saliva.
A palace maid who only learned one line of the “Three Character Classic” at twenty-two, learning from the barely coherent Yin Qi… what could these two possibly learn?
His silence was more insulting than any scolding.
As soon as Fang He closed the door, Yin Qi suddenly realized the implications, jumping off the stool, his face trembling with indignation.
“Does Fourth Brother look down on me, thinking I’m a rotten wood that can’t be carved, too lazy to waste words with me?”
Fang He: *…………” You’re quite perceptive.
Yin Qi stormed out like a bull.
“No way, I need to have a serious talk with Fourth Brother. It’s not my fault you can’t read at your age; I can’t stand this humiliation!” Fang He: “
…”Are you being polite?
It was almost time for the morning reading as mandated by Kangxi.
If the teacher came in and saw the Fifth Prince causing such a ruckus, she might also get punished.
She quickly blocked the still-unruly little prince, speaking very gently to persuade him.
“Fourth Prince cares so much for Fifth Prince; he definitely wouldn’t humiliate you. It’s just that he values the teacher-student relationship, and you should go back to read before the teacher arrives.”
“The teacher is coming soon; why don’t you read first? When the teacher praises you later, Fifth Prince can speak with facts and impress Fourth Prince.”
Yin Qi scratched his head, pouting as he sat back down.
“Why impress him? I’m not a girl. When I return to the capital and start learning archery, there will be plenty of chances to humiliate him, humph!” Fang He subtly glanced at his little belly bumping against the table, fine, as long as you’re happy.
Though she was supposed to be learning characters with the Fifth Prince, she didn’t dare delay his studies and only planned to consult the teacher while the Fifth Prince was reading to go through the “Three Character Classic.”
Later, she could compare it herself to learn the characters and remember the traditional writing.
It shouldn’t take too long, but she also couldn’t let people overestimate her intelligence; the time used for procrastination could be well spent resting, hey~~
But Yin Qi didn’t think so.
He had received news before dinner yesterday that his homework hadn’t been memorized at all, nor had he gone fishing at night; he had spent the whole night excitedly thinking about how to impress the teacher.
Early in the morning, he instructed the little eunuch beside him to tell the teacher that Father Emperor had given orders and was waiting for Fang He to arrive.
The teacher was already worried that if they had class on the way, it would make the Fifth Prince, who had just learned the “Three Character Classic,” lose interest, so he deliberately slowed down the teaching pace.
Now, he didn’t stop him from playing around with his authority; instead, he recognized the emperor’s idea of reviewing and learning anew, and didn’t come to the small study at all.
So, just as Fang He was about to sit in the corner with her book, she saw Yin Qi strutting over to the teacher’s usual spot, slapping the ruler down with a loud bang, startling her.
Yin Qi looked at her with dissatisfaction, “What are you dawdling for? Aren’t you coming to pay your respects to your teacher?”
Fang He: “
..”Are you serious?!
“Hurry up, you said it yourself, Little Master needs Fourth Brother’s guidance, and we can’t have someone who doesn’t respect their teacher. If you don’t come over, I’ll punish you…”
He paused, remembering that Fang He didn’t have any beads, and changed his tone, “I’ll just hit your palm!”
Fang He didn’t mind kneeling for a child; after all, they were in this era, and if necessary, even a baby would have to kneel.
But she didn’t want to go out and say she had become the Fifth Prince’s student.
The Fifth Prince was only six; how crazy would one have to be to be so sycophantic?
She thought for a moment, feeling a bit awkward, “Replying to Fifth Prince, it’s not that the servant doesn’t know how to respect the teacher, but to formally become a student, one must prepare a gift, and the teacher also needs to prepare a meeting gift…”
Let’s just say, are you ready to spend a lot?
Yin Qi was taken aback; he was only thinking about enjoying the teacher’s indulgence.
Fang He continued, “Moreover, after becoming a student, there’s the saying that a teacher is like a father for life. With my status, you…”
Let’s be honest, do you want to call a palace maid of a certain age your father?
Yin Qi puffed up his cheeks, clearly understanding the difficulty of life and the courage to give up, and reluctantly tapped the ruler.
“Then you open the book, and listen to the teacher read it once; you read it yourself a hundred and twenty times!”
“I’ll check later; if you dare to be perfunctory, I won’t let you off lightly!”
Yin Qi had wanted to throw this line at someone else when he heard the teacher’s stern voice before, and he had thought about it countless times.
Perhaps saying this felt too good, and after finishing, Yin Qi couldn’t help but show off his two rows of little white teeth.
Fang He had always liked children and was well-versed in the art of coaxing them.
Who doesn’t like a little one who takes charge?
Since she had to learn anyway, she quickly caught on to the key points and adjusted her posture.
“Replying to the teacher, the servant is not as wise as the teacher; could you please explain it to me sentence by sentence…” Seeing Yin Qi’s expression hinting at annoyance, she stifled a laugh and changed her tone.
“I’m truly dull and afraid I won’t learn it well; how about we just learn the first five sentences today?”
There are a total of three hundred and fifty-two sentences, and if she finishes in seventy days, she would probably be back in the capital.
Master Kang would be busy dealing with the backlog of state affairs and wouldn’t have time to pay attention to her, allowing her to fish more openly!
Yin Qi couldn’t count the days, but he clearly breathed a sigh of relief.
He could still explain the meaning of the first five sentences, but the rest… well, he could temporarily set aside the humiliation and slowly ask Fourth Brother.
After finally convincing the Fifth Prince, Fang He controlled the pace to satisfy him while not delaying his show of authority, managing to finish the first five sentences just before the hour of the snake.
When she stepped out, she let out a heavy sigh of relief.
Don’t be fooled by how little children seem to understand; if your attitude is even slightly perfunctory, they are more sensitive than adults, especially those royal children who are precocious; she didn’t dare be careless at all.
It seemed she would have to wait until she became more skilled before she could relax a bit.
Once she entered the cabin to serve, Fang He saw Kangxi talking and laughing with the bright and charming Yifei.
Fang He still remembered how casually she had mentioned that Qiaowen had died in the Xinzhiku, and her steps faltered as she approached with her heart in her throat.
“Servant greets Your Majesty, may you be well, and greetings to Yifei Niangniang.”
Yifei was not as sharp as she had been in front of the Qianqing Palace; instead, she smiled and spoke, “Oh, is this the Fang He who was promoted from the tea room to serve in front of the emperor? She looks like someone who knows how to serve.”