You are unlucky and I am tough

Chapter 270 The Masters Don’t Like Me

"Mrs. Cheng is absolutely right."

Just as Madam Sun finished her outcry, an old man's voice could be heard from outside. He Shanzhang of Chongwen Hall, dressed in a long gown, entered the courtyard and said, "If a person is upright, he will obey without being told. If a person is not upright, he will not obey even if he is told. Elders should behave uprightly and set an example for their children."

"Our Chongwen Academy has always been committed to the principle of cultivating virtue and pursuing goodness, teaching our students not to commit any evil, no matter how small, and not to refrain from any good, no matter how small. Regarding today's matter, I have already made a fair judgment in my mind as to what is right and what is wrong."

"Headmaster, I am Sun Hong's mother. My son has been beaten like this. You must take charge of this for us."

Madam Sun didn't understand the flowery words and pretended to wipe her tears. "Tell them to apologize to my son, or else we'll fire them. Chongwen Hall can't have such vicious and poor people."

Cheng Shuang rolled her eyes, stepped forward and bowed, "Headmaster He, it's wrong for the children to fight, but there are reasons. I apologize to the academy on behalf of my brothers and will teach them a lesson. But regarding the matter of Young Master Sun destroying the painting today, I only ask for justice."

Headmaster He returned the greeting and asked both parents to sit down first. Then he walked over to the armchair opposite and sat down, saying slowly, "I have already investigated this matter. It was Sun Hong who was at fault first..."

"impossible!"

Madam Sun jumped up and interrupted He Shanchang. "My son is the victim. He Shanchang is wrongly accusing my son. Could it be that he accepted some favor from this woman and is deliberately biased?"

Shanzhang He's face darkened. "Madam Sun, please be mindful of your words. Chongwen Academy has been established for forty years, never fearing power, always seeking to determine right and wrong. I have thoroughly investigated today's incident, and it was your son who was at fault. If you insist on misrepresenting right and wrong, then I will have no choice but to return your son's academic records to your residence."

This meant that she was going to expel her son. Madam Sun's face suddenly changed and she froze in place.

He Shanzhang stroked his beard and continued, "As for the fight, both parties are at fault. They should be taken home and disciplined. Once their injuries have healed, they can return to class."

Cheng Shuang stood up and bowed, "Thank you, Headmaster, for your justice. I will teach my two younger brothers well when I return."

Mrs. Sun's face turned pale. Seeing that the situation was not favorable, she suddenly pulled her son over and said, "Hong'er, let's go!" As she said that, she was about to rush out.

"Wait a minute."

Cheng Shuang shouted, and Wei Nanxing rushed forward to stop them.

"Mrs. Sun, you can leave if you want, but you must apologize to my brother first."

Madam Sun was so angry that she was shaking all over, but she had nothing to say. Everyone in the courtyard was glaring at her, and even the old maid she brought with her shrank her neck.

After a brief stalemate, He Shanzhang finally spoke: "Madam Sun, the Chongwen Hall is too small to accommodate a large Buddha like your son. Tomorrow..."

"We apologize."

Mrs. Sun gritted her teeth. For the past two months, she had been showing off to everyone she met that her precious son was studying at Chongwenguan. She even exaggerated his last-place ranking in the admissions exam as if he had won first place, and boasted about how much her son was appreciated by the teacher.

If she was fired, she would lose face.

Mrs. Sun angrily pushed her son and said, "Why don't you apologize now?"

Sun Hong was also frightened at this time. He looked at the floor reluctantly and muttered, "I'm sorry."

Cheng Shuang shook her head. "The voice is too soft, and who are you apologizing to when you look at the ground?"

Madam Sun tugged at the handkerchief in her hand and pinched her son, "Louder."

Sun Hong burst into tears and looked at Cheng Xu. "I'm sorry, Cheng Xu. I shouldn't have deliberately destroyed your painting. Please forgive me."

Cheng Xu, who was hugging Wei Nanxing's waist from behind, poked his head out and whispered, "I...I forgive you. Don't do this again in the future."

Seeing this, Principal He nodded with satisfaction: "The children have all admitted their mistakes, and this matter is over."

"Madam Cheng, Mr. Lu, and Madam Sun, please take the children back and properly educate them. Each of them should write a self-reflection letter and hand it in when you return to class."

Mrs. Sun snorted indignantly, grabbed her son hard, and ran away.

Cheng Shuang and Mr. Lu thanked him again and left with their children.

When they got outside, Cheng Shuang checked the injuries on Yuanbao and his little servant, and after confirming that they were not serious, she gave Mr. Lu a box of ointment.

Then she said to Yuanbao, "Yuanbao, you are a kind and brave child. Thank you very much for today, but fighting is wrong, don't you know?"

Yuan Bao nodded, "I understand. I should go find the Master to seek justice instead of bringing the servant to join the fight."

Mr. Lu patted his head and said, "Now you know it. I was scared to death. I thought you were causing trouble for me."

Yuanbao touched his head and muttered, "When Brother Chen and the others couldn't beat them, I didn't think too much about it."

The two younger brothers also came over to thank Yuanbao. Cheng Xu rushed over and hugged him, "Yuanbao, you will be my best brother from now on."

While waiting for the carriage to arrive, Mr. Lu said that his father had lost more than 30 pounds in the past two months. He seemed to have become a different person both physically and mentally recently. When he had nothing to do, he liked to go out for a bird walk and listen to operas.

He also said that he would find time to thank Cheng Shuang properly.

Cheng Shuang looked at Mr. Lu's big belly and told him to lose weight according to the recipe and method, which would be good for his health.

Mr. Lu patted his belly and laughed, saying that his wife had already copied a copy and was preparing to supervise him.

However, he usually has a lot of business social engagements, and whenever he discusses business, he inevitably has to eat and drink, which makes it difficult to execute.

The carriage came over quickly and both sides got on their horses.

Wei Nanxing drove out of the city. In the car, Cheng Shuang applied medicine to the three children and taught them that fighting was wrong. They should go back and write a letter of self-reflection. If such a thing happened again in the future, they should not act impulsively and they can ask the teacher for justice.

Cheng Xu looked at her, "But the teachers don't like me. Will they really help me?"

Cheng Shuang was stunned. "Why do you say that? I thought the teachers in the academy were all quite reasonable. Today, Shanzhang He is here to investigate the matter and give you justice."

Cheng Xu lowered his head and picked at his fingers.

Cheng Shuang turned around, "Chen'er, go ahead."

Cheng Chen glanced at his younger brother. "Xiao Si is either distracted or drawing in class. When the teacher gets angry, he makes him recite. If he can't recite, he's punished by standing. Xiao Si never recites well, so he often gets scolded. The teachers say he's unteachable."

"Xiao Si, why aren't you paying attention in class?" Cheng Shuang said with a stern face. "If you want to draw, can't you draw during your free time?"

"But we have to attend classes all day every day, and calligraphy and painting classes only come once in a long time." Cheng Xu looked aggrieved. "The teachers in the academy don't like me because they think I'm not good at studying. They even get angry when they see me painting or practicing calligraphy."

He lowered his head and whispered, "Master Shen clearly liked me in the past. He never scolded me when I couldn't memorize the text or did poorly on the exams. He said that if I couldn't memorize the text, I would understand the truth when I grew up. He also taught me calligraphy and painting every day."

"I don't like Chongwenguan. The teachers only like those who are good at studying. They are very nice to my brother and he will praise me for everything he does. But when they see me, they have a stern face."

Cheng Shuang frowned as she heard this. She hadn't asked much about her two younger brothers' situation in the academy in the past two months.

They didn't tell her when they got home, and she thought everything was fine.

"Master Shen?"

Cheng Shuang sighed softly, "But Master Shen is now far away in Qushan County. Not all masters are like Master Shen."

Cheng Xu lowered his head and said nothing, his eyes red with grievance.

He was so angry about his painting being ruined today because he hadn't painted a good picture for many days. He was also very happy to receive praise from his classmates.

Usually, when the teachers saw him painting, they would just blame him for not studying properly and then take away his half-finished paintings.

Cheng Shuang pondered for a moment, then asked seriously, "Then tell me, do you... not want to study at Chongwenguan?"

The little guy nodded without hesitation.

Cheng Shuang was worried. In this era, 99% of people studied for the purpose of imperial examinations. The teachers in the academies were even more old-fashioned. It was rare to find someone like Master Shen who could teach students according to their aptitude.

Master Shen also said that Xiao Si was not cut out for studying and could not take the imperial examination. The teaching methods and intensity of Chongwenguan might not be suitable for him.

If Xiao Si continued to stay in Chongwenguan, she was worried that such a lively and cheerful child would develop personality problems in this long-term repressive and oppressive environment.