Teaching

  Back at the Princess's mansion in Ya'an Hall, Yang Lan immediately pouted and leaned softly into her mother's arms, rubbing against her like a kitten. "Mother, I don't like Third Sister, she always picks on me. Can I study with Teacher alone?"

  She doesn't want to study with such a loafer at all! And they have to be together every day, it's really disgusting.

  He Hui, the eldest princess, hugged her daughter tightly and slowly stroked her back, tapping her forehead with her hand. "What are you thinking, little one? You think I don't know? If you want to slack off, just say so! Starting tomorrow, you'll study with them together, no fooling around! I've already asked Lin Fuzi to teach you. She's been teaching you for over two years now, and you're familiar with her. Aren't you fond of painting? She's a renowned talented woman, learn from her properly. I hear her skill in perfumery is also exceptional."

  Yang Lan nodded listlessly with her head hung low, "I know! I'll study hard."

  He Hui Chang Gong Zhu looked at her daughter and couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy, "You! We've been in Guangzhou for several years, our family has been peaceful and simple, but you should know that even if you marry down, it won't be to the point where you'll be at the bottom. There are many twists and turns in this big household, you need to learn and experience more before you can handle it well. Our estate is full of people and things, take this opportunity to observe and learn more, only then will you understand what's going on."

  Yang Lan knew her mother's loving heart, leaned into her mother's arms and nodded softly, "I know you're all for my own good! I'll study hard and won't bring shame to you!"

  He Hui Zhang Gongzhu smiled contentedly, "Of course, how could my daughter be inferior? But don't forget what I told you, in front of outsiders, you must be humble and understanding?"

  Yang Lan nodded, "I know! You've told me so many times already!"

  Because Yang Lan is an adult soul, no matter how she disguises herself, she can't be a little kid. From childhood, she has shown extraordinary cleverness and wisdom. In addition, in her previous life, she grew up with her grandparents. Her grandfather was a war veteran who had spent his whole life on the battlefield. With just one glance from him, even her father would tremble with fear. The aura of killing and violence surrounding him made it rare for anyone not to be afraid.

  Her grandmother was a real lady, who had been specially trained in various etiquette of high society since childhood, and had invited experts to teach her piano, chess, calligraphy and painting.

  However, she was most interested in calligraphy and painting. Due to her years of diligent practice, she gradually developed her own unique style. Her grandfather said that if you didn't look at the person, you would think that her writing and paintings were done by a man, and no one would suspect otherwise. Her grandfather often lamented that he wasn't born as a son, or else he would have taught her all his life's worth of martial arts skills.

  Although I only learned a third of it, I didn't learn all of my grandfather's skills, but with this third of the skill, it is enough for me to sit firmly in the position of the eldest daughter of the Marquis' manor for the rest of my life and secure a stable future for myself.

  This life, when she was three years old, her father taught her the basics and was surprised to find that she was very intelligent and learned things quickly. If there's anything that's most impressive about this life, it's probably that her brain is good at working, she doesn't forget what she sees, and she can remember everything after reading it once. She understands the meaning quickly, and if she doesn't understand something, her teacher just needs to give her a little hint and she'll get it right away.

  Also because of this, neither mother nor father let anyone know, repeatedly warning themselves to keep it secret and not tell anyone, lest they bring disaster upon themselves.

  "Today, your courtyard has been cleaned up and is located next to my mother's courtyard, Lan Ting Garden. I have arranged for all the things you like to be sent over and decorated according to your usual preferences. If you don't like it, you can change it again!" And so she reported to Princess Hui Chang one by one.

  Yang Lan smiled and said: "Are you driving me away, Dad? If I'm in the way, I'll leave!" with a mischievous expression on her face.

  He Hui couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time, giving her a white eye, "You little rascal!"

  Yang Lan suddenly remembered that her favorite embroidery master hadn't come, so she asked: "Mother, my embroidery master in Guangdong also didn't come, are you going to find another one for me?"

  He Hui nodded and said, "Don't worry about this, our family has a weaving workshop with all kinds of embroidery. There's Suzhou's double-sided embroidery, Guangxi's Guang embroidery, Sichuan's Shu embroidery, and Master Gu's ink painting embroidery. Whatever you want to learn, we have it."

  Yang Lan nodded her small head excitedly, "En en! I want to learn Suzhou double-sided embroidery, and also that Guang embroidery. I heard that the Guang embroidery needle technique is very three-dimensional and vivid, it's really interesting. Oh right, Mother, I plan to open a cosmetics shop selling rouge, powder, and incense. Lin Fuzi has a lot of experience in perfumery, but she's an unlucky person. I think about inviting her to be the perfumer for my shop, giving her 20% shares, so she can settle down in the mansion and enjoy her old age. And at the same time, I can also learn from her and practice my skills. What do you think?"

  Yang Lan said that Lin Fuzi was a Cantonese, a poor girl who was only in her early twenties. She had a good marriage arranged for her, but unexpectedly, her fiancé died of typhoid fever shortly after the engagement. The groom's family blamed her, saying she was a jinxed wife. Her father had passed away early, leaving behind only her mother and brother. After this incident, her mother fell ill with anger and soon passed away too. At first, her brother and sister-in-law took care of her, but as time went by, the family added more mouths to feed with the arrival of nephews and nieces, and life became increasingly difficult. Her sister-in-law's face was always gloomy, often scolding and beating her.

  Fortunately, Lin Fuzi was also from a family of scholars and had a strong temperament. She was skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, especially in the art of perfumery and cosmetics. She had learned some knowledge of medicinal herbs from her late mother and knew how to make fragrant powders and other beauty products for women.

  With this skill, she came out to teach etiquette to the daughters of wealthy families. As her knowledge and manners were excellent, she gradually gained a reputation and was able to make a living for herself. Later, in Guangdong, she was invited by the Empress Dowager to teach her daughter, and after observing that she had good character and was not frivolous or unrefined, she asked about her wishes and then brought her back to the capital together.

  After being together for more than two years, Yang Lan and she also had a considerable amount of affection. He pitied her future loneliness and appreciated her perfume-making skills, so he thought about opening a shop to achieve two goals at once.

  He Hui, the eldest princess, thought for a moment and considered Lin Fuzi's character to be reliable and sensible. She took this opportunity to let her daughter learn about managing the household and finances, as well as understanding how things work outside. She didn't expect her to earn money, just not to be fooled by those in charge.

  "It's okay, but it's better for you to handle this matter yourself. Let me see your ability. As for whether you can manage those clever stewards, it depends on how smart you are. If you can make money, I won't give you monthly allowance anymore. You can use the money you earn to reward the servants in your courtyard, and the money you earn will be yours too. In the future, the shop can be used as your dowry, isn't that good?"

  Yang Lan was overjoyed, never expecting her mother to be so open-minded. She nodded enthusiastically, patting her chest, "No problem, Mother just give me a few capable servants to help out and the rest you can leave to your daughter!"

  He Hui was delighted to see her daughter so confident and said, "Alright, I'll get someone to arrange it when we're back."

  "Thank you, mom!"