Just like the two before her now, the Eighth Princess and the Seventh Prince, with whom she had once shared a plate of pastries and two pieces of candy, did not return to their own palaces for the midday meal but stayed to dine.
The two of them first greeted Yue Fuguang very politely and, after receiving her permission, sat down beside her.
The Eighth Princess said, "Are you settling in here alright, Grand Tutor?"
She had, after all, heard the Grand Tutor's inner thoughts crying out about boredom and was truly afraid this esteemed person might later stop coming to class altogether.
Yesterday, their father had summoned all of them who could hear the inner thoughts and instructed them to take good care of this person in the academy, making sure she didn't grow to dislike studying.
The Eighth Princess, Xie Zhiyin, though small in stature, had big, unanswerable questions. If she had such an awe-inspiring status, had seen a different world, and tasted so many extraordinary things,
she would also grow weary of this dull and tedious studying. She greatly admired the fact that the Grand Tutor was willing to come at all.
Yue Fuguang didn't avoid the topic either, replying, "No, I'm not used to it. This place is extremely boring."
She was just an ordinary person, utterly incapable of stirring up a thirst for knowledge or transforming into a sponge that absorbs it.
The Seventh Prince's face lit up with the delighted expression of someone finding a kindred spirit. "So the Grand Tutor also finds schooling boring? I knew it! I'm not the only one who thinks so!"
The Eighth Princess, looking at her overly excited seventh brother, hurriedly said, "Seventh Brother, sit down quickly. If you don't eat properly and Father finds out, you'll be punished again."
Most importantly, if he led the Grand Tutor to dislike studying, his backside wouldn't fare much better than Fourth Brother's.
Remembering Fourth Brother, Xie Zhiwei, who had been beaten so severely yesterday he was barely breathing, the Eighth Princess couldn't help but shiver.
The Seventh Prince, clearly also recalling Xie Zhiwei's bloody and mangled rear end, sat down to eat but couldn't resist forcefully steering the conversation back.
"Grand Tutor, the morning lessons were indeed rather dull, but in the afternoon we have equestrian class! We can go horseback riding!"
At the mention of horseback riding, the eyes of both the Seventh Prince and Eighth Princess sparkled brightly.
[Master, horse riding in this season... that's truly the horse running and the wind chasing. One lap down and someone will freeze to death.]
"This season really isn't suitable for being a wind-like woman! Little Pearl, remember to put a protective shield around me then."
When one has the means, there's no need to suffer hardships unnecessarily!
The two siblings, envious, poked at the rice in their bowls, silently channeling their envy into appetite, and buried their heads in their meal.
After the midday meal, the Seventh Princess led Yue Fuguang and the other two towards the rear courtyard of the Hongwen Academy. They exited through a small gate, walked for another seven or eight minutes, and arrived at a side hall that resembled a Taoist temple.
It had clearly been recently renovated, with painted beams and carved pillars depicting elements like immortal herbs and elixirs. Its layout was also different from other palace halls.
Seeing Yue Fuguang's puzzled expression, the Seventh Princess explained, "This place was originally renovated by Father to serve as an alchemy room for the Taoist priests.
But for some unknown reason, construction halted before the building was even finished.
Later, because it's closest to the Hongwen Academy, the Ministry of Works converted it into a resting room."
Yue Fuguang thought to herself, What other reason could there be? It must be because the Crown Prince told Emperor Mingxi that elixirs are poisonous, so he dared not take them anymore!
I just wonder if they started researching gunpowder based on my hint.
As for converting it into a resting room, the Emperor must have planned to send her and the system to study at the Hongwen Academy since the beginning of the year.
"System, you better study hard. Look at you misusing words, you made the Emperor so angry he sent us to the Hongwen Academy for advanced studies!"
[Host, this world's books are among the many in the system's database. I am a cultured system! What I said about the Emperor was deliberate!]
Yue Fuguang lay on the soft, comfortable large bed. Next door were her second and fourth sisters.
She was a bit particular about beds and couldn't fall asleep immediately. Her sisters seemed asleep, but judging by their breathing, they likely weren't either.
"Little Pearl, play me some soothing music to help me sleep."
[Master, wait a moment. Little Pearl has lots of beautiful mortal tunes here.]
The system first played "Moonlight" for her. As the soothing, ethereal music began, Yue Fuguang's brain, stuffed full of classical texts and maxims, gradually relaxed.
She fell asleep, never imagining that Yu Ningxin next door, a passionate music lover, would toss and turn, unable to sleep upon hearing this music.
The instruments used in this piece were completely different from those in Dayan. The timbre was pure, the high notes crisp like water droplets, the mid-range warm and rich. Yu Ningxin seemed to see a high-hanging moon casting its gentle light upon the earth.
Yu Ningxin turned and looked at Yue Fuguang, sleeping on the intricately carved canopy bed, as unique and lofty as that high-hanging moon. This seventh sister usually seemed easy to get along with,
but always maintained a certain distance from the family. She hadn't understood why before, but one day, after suddenly hearing her inner thoughts, she realized that she and they were fundamentally different.
The reason she, rather than third sister Yu Ningzi, had become the seventh sister's study companion was also because Ningzi's birth mother was the personal maid who accompanied Third Aunt when she married.
Back when Third Aunt was giving birth, besides Nanny Liu, the one who cared for her and the child was her own birth mother...
After finishing the afternoon equestrian class, by the time school was out, Yue Fuguang had completely collapsed in the carriage, like a large, flat cat pancake.
"System, what kind of life am I living? Court sessions and school, school and court sessions... when will it ever end?"
[Host, more exposés/revelations, more points earned. We can buy traditional knowledge infusion, and you won't have to kill yourself learning it all.]
Yue Fuguang instantly became alert. "This 'infusion'... how many points?"
The system replied obsequiously, [Host, not many, not many at all. Just 98,888 points. You won't be cheated, you won't be fooled, you...]
"Stop!" Before it could continue its sales pitch, Yue Fuguang ruthlessly cut it off. "By the time I save up enough points to be willing to buy that, I'll have learned it all myself!"
The system said, [You can pay in installments, up to ten years to clear it.]
Yue Fuguang remained unmoved. She hadn't had a mortgage in her past life; was she supposed to saddle herself with a 'knowledge loan' in this one?
"With the points to buy that, I might as well spend 108,000 on a martial arts manual infusion, or even 188,000 on a cultivation technique infusion!"
Hearing this, the system perked up again. [Really, Host? You really want to buy that?]
"Fake! I'm not even using my own body right now. If I practice a cultivation technique and then leave this place, won't I just be back to square one?"
It was then that Yue Fuguang also noticed something off about the system. "System, be honest. Are you hiding something from me? The mall is still closed right now, yet you're urging me to buy tutorials. Where would I even buy them?"
The system's data stalled for a moment; even the little ball of light in the system space glitched with garbled code. It panicked a little. Had the host discovered its desire to earn her points so quickly?
It was nervous but answered honestly, [Host, this system... this system has a way to smuggle some non-physical items through the mall's backdoor. It works even when the mall is closed.]
"Smuggle? Aren't you afraid the main system will find out and format you?"
