The Mute Wife Who Brings Prosperity-Chapter 536 - 503: The Unusual Teacher (Part 2)

Xu Dengke and his servant were taken to the guest parlor of Qingteng Residence by Song Wei, who then asked Yun Cai to invite the young master over.

When Wen Wan arrived, Jinbao had just come from the neighboring courtyard, the mother and son entered the door one after the other.

Xu Dengke was holding a teacup, moving in an unbelievably slow motion to bring it to his lips, then taking a sip in the same slow motion, and finally placing it back on the table.

Song Wei, who had seen this outside the door earlier, remained composed, seemingly used to it, whereas Wen Wan and her son stood on either side of the door, both dumbfounded.

Jinbao looked at Song Wei, "Dad, he..."

Song Wei said, "This is Mr. Xu, the tutor I invited for you."

Upon hearing the voice, Xu Dengke slowly raised his eyes to look at Jinbao, "Song..."

Ah Gui quickly finished his sentence, "Greetings, Young Master Song, my young master is Xu Dengke from Qingzhou Prefecture. It’s an honor to become your tutor."

Jinbao asked, "He can’t speak?"

"He can, he can," Ah Gui replied, "it’s just that he’s a bit slow."

Jinbao glanced at Xu Dengke’s slow motion as he reached for the teacup again, feeling that this "bit slow" seemed to be very different from his understanding of "a bit slow"!

Seeing him rooted to the spot, Song Wei said, "Hurry and greet your tutor."

Jinbao dared not disobey Song Wei, pouting, he walked forward, knelt before the tutor, and gave a proper kowtow, "Student Jinbao greets the tutor."

His voice was lethargic.

Xu Dengke tried to stand up to support Jinbao but was held down by Ah Gui, so he could only speak, "No..."

Jinbao: "?"

Xu Dengke: "Need..."

Jinbao: "?"

Xu Dengke: "So..."

Jinbao: "?"

Xu Dengke: "Formal."

Jinbao: "..."

The little guy nearly blacked out and almost fell over.

Wen Wan’s mouth twitched hard, "This..."

What kind of tutor is this?

Song Wei asked her to sit down and whispered, "Jinbao is different from Yuanbao; he might not listen to what a normal tutor teaches, so we need someone different."

Wen Wan still couldn’t accept it, "But he’s unbelievably slow, is it natural or deliberate?"

Song Wei said, "I asked Wei Qian to inquire, it’s natural, he’s known for his slowness in Qingzhou Prefecture."

Wen Wan was truly convinced.

What was her husband thinking, inviting someone so slow that she herself wanted to go crazy teaching Jinbao? At this speed, what could be learned in a day?

Song Wei pointed to Ah Gui next to Xu Dengke, "Mr. Xu is only here to provoke Jinbao; the real tutor will be him."

"A servant?" Wen Wan looked skeptical.

"Mr. Xu has extraordinary literary talent," Song Wei nodded, "his personal servant, exposed to it for years, naturally picked up some talent; more than enough to tutor Jinbao."

Wen Wan asked him, "Aren’t you afraid Jinbao will be led astray by them?"

Song Wei smiled, "How he learns is not up to me; it’ll be obvious after a try."

...

After paying respects to the tutor, Song Wei arranged for a meal. After dinner, Ah Gui carried his master back to the room for a bath and rest, and the next day officially started tutoring Jinbao.

Sitting in the study, Jinbao, frustrated by the tutor’s slow reading speed, scratched his head anxiously. He got up and walked to the tutor’s side, thinking about kicking him a couple of times, but didn’t dare, barely holding back, he went directly to ask Ah Gui who was cracking melon seeds.

For the beginner’s readings, Ah Gui, the only servant in the Xu family who hadn’t been driven to madness by Xu Manman, had already mastered them. As Jinbao asked, he explained while spitting out melon seed shells, speaking even better than Xu Dengke, the official tutor.

By the time Xu Dengke finished reading one sentence, Jinbao had already learned the next section.

Wen Wan and Song Jiao were crouching outside the window, secretly watching.

Song Jiao exclaimed, "It’s strange, Jinbao falls asleep every time I read to him, but this tutor can make him jump with anxiety, truly extraordinary!"

Wen Wan asked her, "What do you think listening to Mr. Xu’s lessons?"

Song Jiao said seriously, "I really want to invite him down so I can read to him."

Wen Wan: "It seems he’s truly extraordinary."

...

At dinner, Jinbao complained at the table, saying the new tutor was too frustrating, asking if his father could replace him.

Song Wei nodded, saying he could change, "Once you thoroughly learn the introductory books, you won’t need this tutor anymore. I’ll invite a knowledgeable and normal teacher for you instead, or if you’re capable, you can attend the Imperial College based on your skills."

Song Wei completely ignored Jinbao’s teary-eyed look, bluntly stating, "A lazy person is cured by laziness; the lazier you are, the longer the tutor will stay at our house to teach you. You’ll have to figure out what to do on your own."

The little guy was on the verge of tears, so the next day he obediently sat in the study on time. Xu Manman taught him to read again, and Jinbao put two lumps of cotton in his ears, glanced at Ah Gui sitting in the corner with his legs crossed still cracking melon seeds, and leaned towards him with a pitiful look, asking why he wasn’t anxious.

Ah Gui spat out a melon seed shell, raised his eyebrows, and said with a smile, "It’s simple, once you figure out what he wants to say or do, I don’t get anxious."

Jinbao: "Wow!"

Ah Gui said, "I know all the stuff he’s going to teach you. If you don’t understand something, just come and ask me. Figure it out yourself first. It doesn’t matter what he says anyway, since his brain doesn’t turn as fast as yours."

Jinbao let out another "wow" and asked Ah Gui if he could be his servant.

Ah Gui spat a sunflower seed shell and said their servants also have dignity. Once they follow someone, they stick with them. They can’t change allegiance like a fickle lover.

The little guy looked confused, not understanding what he was saying, just genuinely thinking this person was amazing. Every time Ah Gui said something, he just wanted to go "wow wow wow."

Over there, Xu Dengke was still reciting the Thousand Family Poems to Jinbao, reading a five-character quatrain.

"Reflecting..."

...

...

"Gate..."

...

...

"Spring..."

...

...

"Water..."

Just as the word "green" was about to come out, Ah Gui suddenly played a prank and threw a wooden wedge that hit his master, his voice as piercing as ever, "Young Master, can you read properly or not?"

Interrupted, Xu Dengke indeed forgot where he had left off, and he cleared his throat to start over.

"..."

Jinbao was so anxious he felt like vomiting blood, banging his forehead twice on the desk.

...

Wen Wan eavesdropped a few times and each time saw Xu Dengke reciting one thing and Jinbao learning another. He had no idea what the teacher was teaching and only asked Ah Gui if he didn’t understand something.

Wen Wan secretly clicked her tongue, thinking her husband really had an eye for people.

Initially, she just thought Ah Gui, as a servant, was pleasing to the eye with his refined looks. She didn’t expect Song Wei to be right—it was indeed Ah Gui who truly enlightened Jinbao.

His own handsome but slow-to-respond master was just there as a backdrop.

Wen Wan heard from Wei Qian that the entire Xu Family, even Xu Dengke’s own parents, couldn’t stand his slow temperament. Only Ah Gui followed Xu Dengke for many years, complained a lot but never thought of finding another path, taking care of Xu Dengke’s daily life single-handedly.

There are many loyal servants in this world, but to be loyal to this extent, he must be one of the top loyal ones.

Wen Wan had to admit admiration.

——

Song Yuanbao heard that his father had invited a teacher from Qingzhou for Jinbao, so he specially took leave from Zhao Xi to accompany Jinbao for a class.

Jinbao didn’t let his parents, grandparents, or the household staff tell his brother about the teacher and just silly-smiled at his brother.

Song Yuanbao looked at him, "It’s just an enlightenment class, look how happy you are."

Jinbao said, "Happy."

Song Yuanbao asked, "What makes you happy?"

"The teacher is nice," Jinbao answered.

Song Yuanbao thought that being able to make his father reject the offer from the court scholar to go all the way to Qingzhou to invite this teacher naturally required some real skills, making him increasingly curious about this yet-to-meet teacher.

The next day, he accompanied his brother to class. Halfway through, he almost flipped the desk.

At this pace, even Zhao Xi might not be able to endure it, right?

Song Yuanbao glanced at Jinbao beside him. The little guy was completely unaffected, laying paper, grinding ink, and practicing writing, practicing the Thousand-Character Essay.

Upon listening closer to the teacher’s lecture, it was the Three-Character Classic.

Song Yuanbao: "..."

...

"Dad, the teacher you’ve invited is really subpar." When Song Wei came back from the Lower Court, Song Yuanbao complained to him, "At that snail’s pace, what can he teach Jinbao?"

Song Wei said, "If Mr. Xu leaves, no one can keep Jinbao in line. When the little guy gets lazy, neither your mother nor I can manage him, besides, hasn’t Jinbao been learning well?"

Song Yuanbao knew Jinbao was lazy, but using this method to motivate him to study was a bit harsh.

"You might as well just whip him to make him study hard," Song Yuanbao said.

"I don’t believe in hitting children," Song Wei said. "If there’s a way to make him learn well, why would I need to do it myself? Just like you stayed by His Highness’s side for two years, through subtle influence, you learned discipline, and your perspective and knowledge expanded beyond ordinary students, so you could easily stand out in the exams. If I beat you, do you think you’d have the same result?"

Song Yuanbao thought about it and shook his head.

"In the same way, for Jinbao to get rid of this slow teacher, he has to work hard to finish all the enlightenment readings. If I beat him, he would only resent me, not rack his brains studying."

Song Yuanbao clicked his tongue, "Truly, a father is a father. I am completely convinced."