Song Chaoyu nodded, her heart growing more certain that this item probably wasn't from the Crown Princess.
For the Crown Princess to entrust it to her so preciously at this opportunity, and it being a rare South Sea Jade, it was likely from Prince Chang, wasn't it?
Was he... really Han Xi Gege?
Seeing Song Chaoyu lost in thought, the old lady smiled and returned the Red Plum Pendant to her: "Even the Sea Jade among the tribute items isn't this fine, but most people in the Great Yue Dynasty don't recognize the value of Sea Jade. Even your mother probably thought this was just an ordinary Sea Jade pendant. So, take it with you, there's no need to give it to your mother."
Indeed, the old lady knew everything about the family's affairs.
She also praised Song Chaoyu and then gave her some pastries before letting Song Chaoyu return to the Painting and Book Academy.
Although Song Chaoyu was now "famous" in the capital, once other interesting matters arose in a couple of days, it would likely no longer be her turn.
Moreover, at the palace banquet yesterday, she had been so focused on the Crown Princess that she hadn't paid attention to Song Yanjiao.
She wondered if this life would be the same as the last, with Prince Ning and Lin Muyang both falling in love with Song Yanjiao.
Song Chaoyu couldn't afford to worry about much else now; she had more important things to do – starting tomorrow, she would be attending the Song family's girls' academy.
—
The things taught at the Song family's academy were mostly things Song Chaoyu already knew.
In her previous life, the long three years were accompanied only by zither, chess, poetry, and calligraphy.
However, she couldn't be too outstanding, so she simply pretended to be ignorant.
Song Chaoyu had initially thought that at the girls' academy, her status as an "illegitimate daughter" would lead to her being neglected.
To her surprise, when she entered the academy the next morning, girls from various families came to chat with her about saving the Crown Princess yesterday. For a moment, she became a sought-after person.
This continued until Song Yanrou entered, sneering, "My fourth sister is just lucky to have saved the Crown Princess. What are you all fawning over her for? Be careful, the female teacher will come in soon and scold you for being noisy!"
This morning's lesson was on female etiquette and virtue, taught by the strictest female teacher, Madam Jin, a former attendant to the Empress Dowager in the palace.
Madam Jin, in her early forties, had injured her leg while picking flowers for the Empress Dowager and could no longer serve in the palace, so the Empress Dowager allowed her to leave the palace to recuperate.
Her appearance was exceptionally stern, as if she were always frowning.
Song Chaoyu's mind was not on the lesson. She only felt that the eldest legitimate daughter of the Kyoto Prefecture Governor's family, who was sitting beside her, harbored a strong hostility towards her.
As soon as she sat down, the girl had muttered, "How unlucky to be sitting with her! It's beneath my dignity!"
Then, she placed her book chest on Song Chaoyu's side, leaving no space for Song Chaoyu, forcing Song Chaoyu to place her book chest under the desk.
Song Chaoyu remembered that this eldest legitimate daughter was named "Zhang Qiuhe," and she was Song Yanrou's close friend.
Her disdain for Song Chaoyu was likely at Song Yanrou's behest.
In her previous life, Song Chaoyu hadn't had the qualifications to enter the girls' academy. She only knew that Song Yanrou often colluded with her close friends to bully girls of less fortunate families, such as splashing ink on them or secretly tearing up their assignments.
Usually, Song Yanrou would hide behind the scenes as the "mastermind," while Zhang Qiuhe and others would act as the front-runners.
Therefore, when Madam Jin said they should take out their inkstones and taught them the correct method of grinding ink, Song Chaoyu became even more cautious of her surroundings.
She sat in the back corner, so she didn't need to worry about her back or her left side. Behind her was the wall, and to her left was the window.
In front of her sat the illegitimate sister of the Imperial Guard General, a straightforward and capable person, and not part of Song Yanrou's faction.
Only Zhang Qiuhe, to her right, was constantly being observed from the corner of her eye.
Madam Jin said that they were daughters of officials and would marry into noble families in the future. Even at home, they would have to serve their fathers and brothers, so they must learn the method of grinding ink to be proper in the future.
Grinding ink, though seemingly simple, actually involved many subtleties.
For example, different inkstones from different regions and with different textures required different grinding techniques.
There were also different inkstones that required different water, or when to add water, all of which had their own methods.
Song Chaoyu had no interest in grinding ink and didn't want to be too outstanding: her principle was to appear mediocre, neither outstanding nor falling behind, just not attracting too much attention.
Moreover, her peripheral vision was constantly watching Zhang Qiuhe beside her. As expected, she saw her slowly moving the inkstone and water towards her own side.
They all ground ink with their right hand, yet Zhang Qiuhe's inkstone, after adding water twice, had already been moved to her left side.
Song Chaoyu subtly tucked up her sleeves, slowed down the speed of her right hand grinding ink, and picked up the round fan placed beside her with her left hand.
Until she felt Zhang Qiuhe beside her move.
Song Chaoyu suddenly stood up, then turned to shield Zhang Qiuhe's direction—
"Bang—"
Zhang Qiuhe's inkstone was aimed precisely at Song Chaoyu's side, but it was blocked by Song Chaoyu's fan and flew back!
"Ah!"
Because Song Chaoyu had already stood up, the inkstone changed direction and landed directly on Zhang Qiuhe's cheek!
In an instant, not only did the inkstone smash Zhang Qiuhe, causing her nose to bleed, but the black ink also slid down Zhang Qiuhe's cheek, soiling all her clothes.
What's more, because Zhang Qiuhe hadn't realized what Song Chaoyu was doing, she cried out after being hit, and the ink fell into her mouth, staining her lips and teeth, along with the congealed nosebleed, a mix of red and black.
As for Song Chaoyu, apart from some ink stains on her fan and a few scattered ink spots on the floor that soiled her book chest, she suffered no other harm.
And that book chest was originally Song Chaoyu's, but now it was occupied by Zhang Qiuhe, so it was Zhang Qiuhe's own book chest that was soiled!
"What happened?!"
Everyone stared in astonishment at Zhang Qiuhe's face, stained with red and black. Madam Jin was the first to speak: "What are you two quarreling about?"
Zhang Qiuhe, with ink in her mouth, couldn't speak.
Song Chaoyu quickly explained with a wronged expression, "Madam, I was just about to stand up and ask why my ink wasn't grinding evenly. I didn't expect Sister Zhang's inkstone to touch my fan."
"Aren't you doing this on purpose?"
Naturally, another person from Song Yanrou's "clique" questioned Song Chaoyu, "You want to embarrass Sister Zhang, so you knocked the inkstone onto her face!"