Chapter 54 Corporal Punishment (430)

  Thank you to Little Night Saya for the reward, 321, Piwa doll, and Yu N14. This story will feature various types of women. Drunken tomorrow will try to update two chapters.

  It was only natural that Shu Yao would be asked, "How is your horsemanship and archery?" Not understanding poetry or literature didn't matter, as they were a family of the Eight Banners nobility, being skilled in riding and shooting was enough. The old master looked down on Zhiyuan's shaking head while reciting from memory.

  "Riding is fine, but archery won't do." Shu Yao was very honest, and the old man wanted to figure out what she meant by "fine". His granddaughter not being able to ride or shoot was more infuriating to him than not being able to read. Without using her special abilities, Shu Yao could sense that the old man was very angry. She remembered that he wasn't in good health and getting angry would be bad for him, so she took responsibility and said: "The weather is lovely, Mafa, I won't disturb you from admiring the flowers."

  Shu Yao took advantage of the situation and tried to slip away, but Lao Ye Zi grabbed her shoulder again. "Tell me clearly, can you ride a horse?"

  "Ma Fa, don't get angry."

  "I'm not angry."

  The old man tried his best to calm down and comfort her, but Shu Yao muttered, "It's really strange, I'm clearly still angry."

  "My mother said I was young and rode a gentle little horse. I've ridden twice and can be considered able to ride a horse."

  The old man was furious and gritted his teeth: "You can't even read or ride a horse, how did Zhiyuan and the others raise you?"

  "I was raised on rice, and also ate meat, vegetables, and fruit. My mother even made me take tonics until I returned to the capital..."

  Xiuyao stumbled along, being pulled by Old Master, "Mafa, where are you taking me? Mother said I can only take a half-hour stroll and then I'll have sesame seed cakes to eat when I get back."

  The old man was out of breath, his whiskers trembling with rage. "Zhiyuan that rascal can't teach a good daughter, I'll do it myself." The old man couldn't bear the thought of his granddaughter being as "useless" as Shuyao, getting lost in the crowd and unable to be found. Shuyao should be bright and charming, lively and carefree.

  Shu Yao couldn't get away, and although he was clearly angry with him, he still insisted on keeping himself in front of him. Shu Yao suspected that the old man had a masochistic tendency. Shu Yao was dragged by the old man to his courtyard, and after releasing Shu Yao, the old man pointed to the west wing with great momentum: "Go, go to the study to find a collection of poems about peach blossoms."

  "Xiu Yao's face turned bitter, 'Ma Fa, can't you be more lenient?'"

  The old man was furious and shouted loudly: "I told you to find a collection of poems, not to go and get yourself killed. Are you still trying to be lenient? Go quickly, go quickly!"

  Shu Yao saw the old man's resolute attitude, Shu Yao was afraid of death, and if she died, she would not be able to enjoy fine clothes and delicious food, nor see her mother and two brothers. But searching for poetry collections would make Shu Yao miserable. Shu Yao walked into the west wing house used as a study, and the smell of moldy books filled her nostrils. Several shelves were stacked with books, and Shu Yao's face became even more bitter. How long would it take her to find the poetry collection about Hawthorn flowers? Why did China have so many poets?

  Shu Yao pushed open the window, and the smell in the study faded. Shu Yao closed her eyes and randomly pulled out a book, hoping it was "Blind Cat Meets Dead Mouse", but unfortunately, she drew out a poetry collection instead. After opening her eyes, she was very disappointed to find that it was a travelogue. Shu Yao flipped through two pages, and the dust made her cough. She couldn't help but think of her older brother's clean and bright study, and how he would say that Marfa didn't know how to take care of books. As Shu Yao randomly pulled out another book, she thought to herself, should she let her older brother educate Marfa once?

  With the eloquence of Da Ge, Ma Fa was no match, let alone that Da Ge not only loved books but also enjoyed reading them. The courtyard was stacked with so many books that as soon as Da Ge found out, Ma Fa's courtyard would never be peaceful again. Shu Yao smiled slyly and would tell Da Ge in a moment.

  Shu Yao endured for about the time it took to drink a cup of tea, then her patience disappeared. She let out a sigh and found that reading traditional Chinese characters without punctuation was making her very tired and sleepy. Shu Yao had never been one to force herself, so she pulled out a book, brushed off the dust from its pages, and found a spot where sunlight could shine in. She sat down on a cushion, leaned against the wall with her knees bent, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.

  The old man waited on the left for Shu Yao, but there was no movement. He waited on the right, but still didn't see Shu Yao. He couldn't hold back anymore. Could it be that Shu Yao didn't recognize characters? No, Zhiyuan and his daughter-in-law Guajia wouldn't have taught their daughter to not recognize big characters. The old man drank a bowl of tea to calm down, thinking that she must have been engrossed in reading. He remembered that when Zhiyuan was young, he would easily become engrossed in reading. His Ama had... The old man sighed, no wonder she didn't care about herself. If only she knew that Zhiyuan had suffered hardships since childhood, "You come and beat me up for a while, I'd love it if you scolded me for a while, then I could see you again."

  The old man muttered to himself, since she left and returned to Mongolia, the old man never left the capital again. The emperor's tour of the northern border to meet with Mongolian nobles was clearly a summons for the Duke of Zhongyong, but the old man had never been summoned to accompany him. The old man touched the whip scar on his eye corner, apart from Zhiyuan, this scar was the only thing she left for him to think about. Shu Mu Lu Ji Ha, don't let me see you again on the Mongolian grasslands.

  Because of this, he was confined to the Duke's mansion in Beijing. The old master got up and went to the west wing to read books, it wouldn't be good if he didn't have a timing. The old master remembered that when Zhiyuan was young, he used to read books under the moonlight because the candles and oil lamps on his monthly allowance were used up. The old master felt heartbroken and had a big quarrel with the old lady. The old master did not dare to pay too much attention to Zhiyuan, and indeed, as she said, he was a useless man.

  After the old man pushed open the door of the study, he found Shu Yao sleeping soundly after searching for half a day. The old man was stunned, with two or three books scattered on the ground. Shu Yao slept sweetly, and the old man became angry, "Shu Mu Lu Shu Yao, are you Zhiyuan's daughter?"

  Shu Yao tilted her head and rubbed her ears, as if she wasn't fully awake. The old man pointed at Shu Yao and said, "Wake up for me."

  Although the voice was loud and clear, it had no effect on Shu Yao. The old man circled around in his study, pulled out a book and threw it at Shu Yao's head, see if you wake up or not. He was disappointed, Shu Yao really didn't wake up, if he threw another book, would he break Shu Yao? The old man tried his luck again, "Shu Yao, get up."

  The peach blossom said in a low voice: "You can't wake up the girl like this."

  The old man waved his hand and said, "Go wake up Shu Yao."

  "Yes."

  The old man was curious how she would wake Shuyao, so he didn't leave the study. Tiantian squatted in front of Shuyao and said softly: "Madam asked me to call the young lady back."

  Can these words wake up Shu Yao? The old man didn't believe it... Shu Yao moved slightly, closed her eyes and asked: "Going back? Did Mother allow it?"

  "Madam has prepared sesame cake, miss, it's time for you to get up."

  Shu Yao opened her eyes, not seeing the daze in Shu Yao's eyes. The old man thought Shu Yao was intentionally angry with him, but knowing that Shu Yao wasn't doing it on purpose, the old man got even angrier. What's going on? Zhiyuan treasured books like they were precious, while his daughter treated them like trash, not as important as a piece of cloud cake. The old man was indignant. "Clean up the study before you go back."

  "Mother."

  The old man turned and left with a flick of his sleeve. Shu Yao looked around, this was corporal punishment, it was immoral corporal punishment.