Chapter 379: Just Pamper, Pamper, Pamper!

Du Shanü had once seen a certain plot in a playbook——

It was said that when the mother gave birth, she suffered a difficult labor, and so she believed someone who said the child was destined to harm the mother, and thus she deliberately treated the child a little harshly......

But, according to Du Shanü's view, it is precisely because this path is arduous that the difficulty of the mother‑child bond becomes evident.

She risked her life to give birth to him, and he clung to a breath, also wanting to wail and fall to the ground to see her......

Having shared life‑and‑death trials together, mother and son naturally ought to have a deeper affection than others.

Let alone neglect or harsh treatment, judging by how Chinu and Afang dote on this child......

I fear that in the future, even if he commits a great mistake, she will surely be unable to bear to scold him.

After all, if there were to be beating or scolding, Chinu and Afang would certainly be at the forefront, tears and voices flowing together—how could she still have any temper?

Alas!

It's no wonder that throughout history there have been so many spoiled rich youths!

All we can hope is that this child will never be spoiled rotten in the future!

Du Shanü thought left and right, and still wanted to say a word:

"...... After careful thought, providing food, clothing, and daily needs is fine, but there is one point: when Ruier grows a bit older, he must be sent to the schoolhouse for enlightenment, to read more sage books."

"I don't ask that he understand any great principles; as long as he can distinguish good from evil, that's enough."

Upon hearing these words, Chinu's motion of straightening Du Shanü's collar froze.

Even Chen Weifang's originally light steps while walking around with the child came to a halt.

The two stared at Du Shanü in unison; Du Shanü herself felt nothing, so she could only raise her hand to touch her nose and say:

"What's going on?"

Chinu: "......"

Chen Weifang: "......"

What the heck happened!

It's completely that the Wise Lord's words don't sound like human speech!

The child has only just been born not long ago, and each day he spends ten double‑hours in deep sleep; he can't understand human speech, only catching the tone......

Now planning to start the child's enlightenment—isn't that really a bit too early!

He himself has gone through enlightenment!

Even in aristocratic clans, the youngest is at least three years old, able to walk and run properly, before being sent to enlightenment, and studying takes up a whole day......

Throwing him into a group of children whose temperaments are unknown, and if he gets bullied, no one would know!

Not enough to eat, not warm enough to wear, only knowing dull, boring study; if he makes a mistake, his palms still get struck with a board!

This child is only the size of a wildcat kitten; a furrowed brow or a pout makes people want to dig out their own hearts for him—how can the Wise Lord lightly say to send the child off to enlightenment!

How could they bear to part with him!

Chinu was obviously frightened; before Chen Weifang could even speak, she flopped onto the bedside with a plop, burying her head in the covers, shoulders slightly trembling, and whispered her lament:

"Wife Master has no heart; now that the child hasn't even reached a month old, she's already thinking of tormenting the child!"

"The schoolhouse is bitter one day, cold the next—where is that a place for our child to stay!"

"Since this child has been reborn as the Wife Master's son and is the eldest, not to mention hiring a famous teacher, it is only fitting that the teacher should live at home to teach him—how could we send the child out to find some schoolhouse!"

He fears a thousand things, ten thousand things, but his only fear is that the child will have a bad life.

Even before the child was born, he worried like this, and for the next ten years, dozens of years, even a hundred‑plus years, he will continue to worry like this!

All day long, he wants to see how those three are doing.

That is because the child is sensible, knowing that only those three are his close kin!

What's wrong with not wearing anything but fine silk and satin?

Is the Wife Master's eldest son not worthy of being nurtured with honor?

This child is clearly clever, which is why he has struggled so hard for himself!

Let alone everything that belongs to his own father, everything under heaven ought by rights to belong to this child!

Now, as soon as the Wife Master opens her mouth, she says she wants to find a school for the child and send him out to suffer—how could this not break his heart?

Even the best schoolhouse or private tutorial is at most what the poor study, a mixture of fish and dragons!

Families with a bit of talent all run their own clan schools, family schools, and academies!

Even if it were someone else's academy or clan school, Chinu herself would be reluctant to part with it; if the child isn't kept under her own watch, who knows when he might suffer injustice!

How could he be willing to accept that?

Today, even if he cries his eyes dry, he will still strive for the child, to make the Wife Master abandon this idea!

Du Shanü's body had just barely improved a little; hearing her own obedient slave cry like that, her heart instantly filled with helpless tension:

"Don't cry, don't cry...... where could one possibly find such a good teacher?"

"Moreover, food, clothing, housing, and travel are not lacking—hasn't that already been enough? Ruier will also have to go out someday to see all sorts of people and broaden his horizons......"

According to Du Shanü's original idea, she could guarantee the child wouldn't suffer hardship, but given the current state of the world, if he later seeks a minor official post, or engages in livelihood with the people, empathizing with the populace, it is inevitable that he must come from the people and go to the people.

Now, if he doesn't even go to a schoolhouse, how could he know anything about the people's conditions?

Chen Weifang also hurriedly embraced the child, kneeling grievously at the foot of the bed, and spoke in a sorrowful voice:

"This child came into the world with great difficulty; clearly he has only been born a few days, and the Wise Lord already mentions enlightenment—truly it makes us reluctant......"

"I know where there is a great scholar; I will invite him, and the teacher's support will come from my stipend!"

"Before the great scholar comes to teach, the child's enlightenment will follow me; I am a jinshi of the sixteenth year of the Taizong era, triple first-place winner in the provincial, metropolitan, and palace exams—apart from that, the enlightenment is absolutely no problem, Wise Lord, just rest assured!"

Triple first-place winner—this is indeed rare!

Du Shanü had previously known that Afang had talent; when she earlier heard Chinu mention Bai Liren, she also guessed that Afang had probably passed the provincial exam once.

But she never imagined that the value of Afang's official position would be so high!

He took the exam three times in a row and each time placed first; not to mention the Dayin dynasty, even throughout history he's considered a rare talent!

Even to this day, no one has appeared who can surpass Afang in the exams.

Basically, there's a top scholar from East Confluence and a second place from West Confluence, and most of the time they shift arbitrarily according to the wishes of the top scorer in the palace examination.

Du Shanü, upon hearing this, felt somewhat moved; seeing the two kneeling and crying, she couldn't help but soften her tone:

"Alright, alright, get up, what does all this crying and whining look like?"

"Well, then, regarding that child's enlightenment, let's just settle it like this for now; we won't use Afang's salary, we'll handle it ourselves."

Although she only hopes the child understands reason, if they could also gain the glory of winning the top three ranks, that would be great too!

After all, who would deliberately hope their child turns out useless?

But it seems something's off; what was Afang's alias after entering service again......

"Seems to be called, 【Dushi】?"

Du Shanü's brain felt foggy after lying up for several days, and she momentarily felt she had forgotten something, while Chinu cheerfully climbed up and pecked her cheek.

Du Shanü saw that he indeed had no tears on his face, and couldn't help but laugh and scold:

"You pamper the child like this; who knows what you'll turn them into in the future!"

Chinu just smiled without speaking, Chen Weifang also breathed a sigh of relief and got up from the ground:

"However they turn out, they're still our own child; no harm done."

Du Shanü spat upon hearing that, and suddenly several laughs rang out inside the room.

But the laughter came and went quickly; hurried footsteps outside broke up the chatter of a few people.

Someone hurriedly came to report:

"Report to Your Majesty, someone else has come to Guangzhou Prefecture to deliver a visitation card; I don't know how to respond."

?? Yuanlong all the way until death, the most bitter moment was when he accidentally ate a lotus seed without removing the core while drinking sweet soup; the bitterness made his face fall for three days straight, and Shasha also gave him a box of southern pearls as consolation......

? Just as Xuan Feixing said, if the time of death is set, then before the Seven Stars ascend to the heavens, all of it is his time.