Chapter 277: Chapter 277 Grandma, Help Us Skip a Class
"Madam, Third Miss and Fourth Young Master have come to pay their respects to you," Hong You said with a smile.
Song Ci’s eyes curved into a smile: "Let the children in."
Song Ruwei walked in holding her younger brother’s hand, and in a muffled voice, performed a kowtow ceremony for Song Ci.
"No need for formalities, rise," Song Ci instructed them with a smile. "You don’t go to the clan school, so why come to pay your respects now? Didn’t I tell you that you only need to come on the first and fifteenth days?"
The two looked up after getting off the floor, and Song Ci exclaimed teasingly, "The Autumn Festival hasn’t even passed yet, so it’s not fully autumn, but why do you siblings look as wilted as eggplants after autumn?"
Song Lingzhou stepped forward with a tearful voice: "Grandmother, can you have someone give us leave from the clan school today? We don’t want to attend lessons."
Song Ci was taken aback: "Why is that? You want to skip school and have your grandmother help cover it up?"
"No, it’s just that my mother seemed to have argued with father, and she’s been crying very hard. Grandmother, I want to stay with her," Song Lingzhou said, pouting, his eyes also red.
An argument?
Song Ci exchanged a glance with Nanny, puzzled over why there’d be an argument from miles apart.
Nanny quietly stepped out to gather information.
Song Ci then brought Song Lingzhou closer, holding him, and said: "You don’t want to go to the clan school and want to stay with your mother — has she agreed to it? And what about Wei’er, does she not want to go too?"
Song Ruwei bit her lip gently and said, "Grandmother, I worry about mother."
Just now Madame Lu really scared her; since she was born, she had never seen her mother cry so bitterly, or understood what her father wrote in the letter about something burdened?
Song Ruwei’s heart tightened, was it referring to father? Did father wrong mother?
"You are all good children who respect your parents. But your mother hasn’t said she wants you to keep her company, so there’s no need to ask for leave on her behalf. If you want to make her happy, wouldn’t it be better to study well what the teacher teaches today? Zhou’er can try writing a poem or two and practice calligraphy for her to see. As for Wei’er, she can play a few tunes on the zither for her."
Among the daughters-in-law of the family, when it comes to strict parenting, Madame Lu is the best. She’s particularly rigorous with these two children’s education, determined to mold them into academic prodigies, aiming for Song Ruwei to become a versatile young lady skilled in the arts, so how would she tolerate them cutting classes?
"Grandmother, Zhou’er finds poetry the most difficult," Song Lingzhou said with a troubled expression, "it’s not my strength, you’re really putting me on the spot here."
"Precisely because it’s not your strength, it becomes all the more commendable, imagine if you could achieve success in an area that’s not your forte, wouldn’t your mother be overjoyed?"
Song Lingzhou fell silent, seemingly convinced, although he still felt perhaps Grandmother was coaxing him.
"But my mother she..."
"Your mother, she is just emotional now, she’ll be better in a while," Song Ci said with a smile, "You guys don’t need to concern yourselves with adult matters; just focus on fulfilling your roles as children. Colorful clothes and joyful expressions are good, but I think your mother would prefer some solitude right now."
Knowing Madame Lu’s strong character, she would hardly want her children to see her so vulnerable and in distress.
"Moreover, if you skip the clan school just to stay with her, what can you actually do? You can’t help your mother scold your father, nor truly empathize with her — you’re still too young. One person being sad is one thing, but several being sad together, wouldn’t that be a loss?"
Song Ruwei: "..."
Grandmother’s consolation somehow didn’t seem so clear.