Chapter 31

Zong Jincheng was already in a rage, and upon hearing this, he completely lost his cool!

He stomped around in fury, yelling, "Pfft! Fine, if he doesn't want to be friends, then so be it! Who even cares about being friends with him! My roof was beautifully repaired, and he just had to go and ruin it with a single slap! I haven't even settled that score with him yet!"

"And he even dared to ask me for my prized blood-sweating horse worth five hundred taels! Only someone with a donkey-kicked brain would give that away!"

"Steward Liu! Where's Steward Liu? Listen, if Zhai Yao ever shows up at Marquis Manor again, you're to beat him out with three sticks!"

Steward Liu hurried over and immediately memorized his young master's instructions, saying, "I assure you, from now on, not even a bird with the last name Zhai will be able to fly into our Marquis Manor!"

Zong Jincheng: "..."

What kind of bird has a last name, you idiot!

"Your dinner is placed in your room. You don't need to go to the front hall tonight. Get some rest." Xu Wan stood up, ready to leave.

"Hey!" The little troublemaker called out awkwardly, his tone stiff.

Xu Wan stopped behind him, the corner of her mouth slightly lifting.

"What is it, young master?"

Hearing this mocking title, Zong Jincheng glared angrily at her back, "The monthly allowance of twenty taels is too little! I want fifty taels!"

Xu Wan turned around, amused, "You know the normal prices outside, so why do you still think it's too little?"

Zong Jincheng struggled for a moment, then grumbled, "It's still too little!"

He added, "It's not even enough to raise two people until adulthood!"

Xu Wan immediately understood his hidden meaning.

The boy wanted to give all the money to Jing Zhe and his sister.

She agreed, "Alright."

Zong Jincheng's eyes lit up, surprised that she agreed so easily.

He thought she would definitely use Zong Wenxiu's allowance to block him!

Apparently, she also knew the difference between legitimate and illegitimate children, and that this household ultimately was his to decide!

However, the little troublemaker's beautiful fantasy didn't last three seconds before he heard Xu Wan say, "Equivalent exchange. If you can understand the meaning and write the essence of the books you've memorized, I'll give you fifty taels a month, considering your hard work."

Zong Jincheng: "!!!"Nôv(el)B\\jnn

That's what I get for thinking there'd be an easy deal!

"You...!"

"You...!"

The little troublemaker pointed at her in anguish, feeling utterly deceived.

But he knew his options were all blocked, and to get money from her, he had to meet her demands!

He was furious!

Xu Wan smiled and slapped away his finger, educating, "Pointing at someone is very rude. Young master, you should rest well tonight. Tomorrow, I'll have someone prepare the translated texts for you in the study. Shunzi will read them to you, sentence by sentence, according to your memorization habits. Good luck!"

Zong Jincheng: "..."

If the cold wind could talk, it would be playing a mournful erhu right now.

Shunzi saw Xu Wan off and closed the courtyard gate, then hurried back.

He brought the dishes out and placed them on the small stone table in the courtyard, calling, "Master, please eat first. No matter how big the problem is, you can't go hungry. Today, we have your favorite steamed jade duck."

Hearing this, Zong Jincheng channeled his anger into appetite, tearing off a duck leg and stuffing it into his mouth, muttering, "Eat! I'll eat back all the suffering!"

"Oh, and," the little troublemaker suddenly remembered something, "have someone buy some cotton quilts, clothes, and medicine for wounds, and whatever money is left, send it all to Jing Zhe."

"Ah?" Shunzi was puzzled, "All... all of it? The twenty taels of monthly allowance?"

The little troublemaker firmly said, "Yes, all of it!"

...

Xu Wan went back and immediately arranged for the preparation of translated texts for the little troublemaker.

There were over a hundred maids and servants in the manor, and many of them could read and write, but when it came to translating classical Chinese, it was better to leave it to professional tutors.

That night, Marquis Manor, under Xu Wan's orders, quickly invited over a dozen tutors who translated and transcribed all the over a hundred books Zong Jincheng had memorized onto paper.

The next morning, Zong Wenxiu saw the hundreds of translated texts and was completely stunned.

"This... can actually be translated and compiled into books?"

Didn't classical texts usually involve memorizing them and then listening to the tutor explain while taking notes on key points?

How did this turn into a full word-for-word translation, made so... so formal?!

Zong Wenxiu was amazed.

Not only did he admire Xu Wan's method for being considerate and efficient, but he also admired how such a massive copying task was completed overnight.

The mistress is so devoted to her brother.

Whether Zong Jincheng was touched or not, Zong Wenxiu was already moved on his behalf.

When Zong Jincheng yawned and arrived, seeing the scene, he was shocked. He took a big step back, horrified, "Why so many? There were only over a hundred books, right?"

"Did Xu Wan sneak in other books without me knowing?

"How despicable!!!"

Zong Wenxiu: "..."

Brother, your imagination doesn't need to be that rich.

Shunzi, who knew the situation, explained, "Young master, you're mistaken. The translated text naturally has more words than the original, so there are so many."

Although seeing the hundreds of books filled him with immense pressure...

But thinking that he only had to read them, while his master had to memorize them, Shunzi felt he could handle it.

Better the master than me.

Zong Jincheng pouted, "That seems like it can't be finished in a month."

He was very confident in his memory, but there wasn't enough time.

"It can be done," Zong Wenxiu said.

He was very familiar with his brother's abilities. If his brother tried hard, he really could finish.

"Ah? How?"

Zong Wenxiu took a deep breath and said, "If you increase your study time from one hour to two hours a day, you'll definitely be able to finish."

Heaven knows how envious he was when saying this.

His brother only studied for one hour a day, yet remembered more than he did in six hours. It was an inhuman blow!

Zong Jincheng immediately bristled, his pride stung, and retorted, "I spend several hours in the study every day!!!"

"You fall asleep at least eight times while memorizing," Zong Wenxiu made an eight gesture and then counted on his fingers, "The rest of the time, you're either kicking the desk, throwing books, or tossing pens, fiddling with the inkstone, or picking at the desk corners..."

With each thing Zong Wenxiu mentioned, Zong Jincheng's face darkened a bit, until it was as black as a pot.

The little troublemaker started throwing a tantrum, "Aren't you supposed to be studying seriously? Why are you observing me so closely!!!"

"I didn't want to..." Zong Wenxiu said helplessly, "You kept interrupting my study thoughts, so I had to stop and look at you."

Zong Jincheng: "..."

How come it's always my fault when we count it all up?

So infuriating!