"So, the Guan family is coming to apologize?"
In the warm room, after listening to Lin Sen's "request for punishment"—or rather, his claim for credit—Su Ning did not move a single eyebrow. She set down the thick book in her hands and asked softly.
On the cover, several English letters were printed in gleaming gold.
This did not arouse any suspicion.
Anyone who saw it would only marvel at Su Ning's dedication and attention to the studies of her family members. Just yesterday, she had an in-depth discussion with Shang Wenyun about the education of the Su family.
They established different teaching methods based on each person's varying aptitudes.
They talked for a full hour.
The results were quite good.
In the end, Shang Wenyun's salary was increased by half, and the Su family's study workload increased significantly. Half-Immortal Su almost quit, but his desire to take advantage of a good deal ultimately gained the upper hand.
Some jealous outsiders sourly remarked about what a woman could possibly teach students—claiming they could definitely do it better!
"Give it a rest. Miss Su doesn't want idiots who can barely open their mouths. At the very least, they need to be able to converse fluently with her. Someone like you would be eliminated the moment you spoke."
Others mocked them in return.
In short, the impression that Su Ning had very strict requirements for English was unknowingly planted in everyone's minds. Lin Sen glanced at the cover and decided to stay up an hour later when he got back to memorize vocabulary and study grammar—
You will sleep long enough after death; while alive, you must strive hard!
Multitasking, he earnestly replied:
"Eldest Young Madame Jin acts with swift and decisive resolve. I didn't expect her to be this fast. The Guan family... also moved very quickly."
His tone was complex and full of emotion.
Only those of the same ilk enter the same household.
Guan Xiunian was afraid of being implicated and having her status in her husband's family shaken, so she acted immediately. This was not unexpected.
But the Guan family!
They were, after all, a prominent family passed down from the previous dynasty. In the past, high-ranking officials and noble titles emerged from them endlessly. Yet now, they actually yielded so quickly. It was the absolute pinnacle of knowing when to bend and when to stand tall.
......
Because it wasn't them losing face.
To show their sincerity in apologizing, Second Uncle Guan enthusiastically suggested that his good nephew get out of the carriage a mile early and walk to the Beiping Grand Hotel. Miss Su would surely cool her anger upon seeing this.
Guan Jixing looked as if he had been struck by lightning.
Outside, a light snow had just fallen. To bear the birch and ask for punishment, his upper body had to be bare. And along the way, so many people would be watching...
"Isn't this... a bit too much?"
The others had no objections; only Master Guan, his biological father, whispered a word of protest. This warmed Guan Jixing's heart. At crucial moments, his own family was still the most reliable...
"What do you mean 'too much'? I think you just don't want to live in peace anymore, Father." Guan Xiunian's delicate eyebrows shot up. She turned her head, waved her hand, and directly ordered the driver to turn back, sneering:
"He is clearly too heartbroken for his son!"
"No, no."
The other Guan family members hastily stopped her. Second Uncle Guan heavily scolded his older brother:
"You don't want Jixing to suffer, but then our entire family will suffer! Big brother, my good brother, it's almost the New Year. Your nieces and nephews can't stay at their maternal family's home forever!"
"Have some pity on me, have some pity on them."
"Well... I just won't say anything then."
Master Guan felt guilty, lowered his head, and truly stopped speaking. Guan Jixing's eyes turned from hope to despair. How could his father be so easily swayed? He was his own son!
Finally, they reached a compromise. After all, Guan Xiunian didn't truly want her brother to freeze to death.
One kilometer was too long, so they settled on half a kilometer.
Thus, the people not far from the Beiping Grand Hotel witnessed a bizarre spectacle: in the dead of winter, a man was walking forward with his head bowed, his upper body bare, and thorny brambles strapped to his back.
"This is bearing the birch to ask for punishment!"
Someone rubbed their eyes, and after confirming they weren't seeing things, shouted excitedly.
This was already a bustling area with many passersby. Hearing there was a spectacle to watch, they instantly gathered around, forming a massive crowd three layers deep.
"Who is this? Does anyone recognize him?"
"I recognize him—it's that great genius from the Guan family," came a clearly mocking voice from the crowd.
Guan Jixing gnashed his teeth. He lifted his bowed head and glared fiercely in the direction of the voice.
The man wasn't afraid of his glare at all.
He even smiled back, deliberately pulling his thick fur coat tighter around himself. Looking sideways, he exhaled a puff of white breath and spoke at a volume just loud enough for Guan Jixing to hear:
"It really is freezing today. This coat is still too thin."
The circle of young nobles from the old aristocratic families of the previous dynasty, who interacted frequently with the Guan family, were uneducated and incompetent. They only loved eating, drinking, and having fun. Originally, this was nothing special; the children of family friends of the same age were all pretty much the same.
But Guan Jixing was an anomaly.
Their families often used him as an example to nag them.
For instance, "Look at Jixing." How smart and hardworking he was, how successful he had become, how he got into university on his own with good grades... Their ears were growing calluses from hearing it.
What angered them the most was that during their daily social gatherings, Guan Jixing actually put on a lofty and arrogant air, acting as if he were above associating with them.
Let's see how arrogant he can be now!
"The Guan family is considered a prominent household. Which evil star did this guy offend to end up having to bear the birch and apologize? And his family actually isn't intervening?"
"Who says they aren't intervening?" The person who replied lifted his chin:
"Look, isn't that carriage in the back bearing the Guan family crest? It's been following him the whole way."
"As for who he offended?"
"You really are ignorant and ill-informed. It's that fierce dragon crossing the river, Miss Su! These past few days, the Guan family has been tormented by Miss Su so much that they've been running around like headless chickens with nowhere to turn..."
These idle onlookers discussing gossip did not lower their voices.
Inside the carriage.
The Guan family members listened with heavy hearts. Thinking of Su Ning's various methods, a bitter taste filled their mouths. Every day they were disturbed by noise so much that they couldn't eat or sleep well, and countless big and small troubles kept knocking on their door.
It was like a dull knife grinding against flesh—incomparably painful.
"Sigh, if this were a few decades ago when our family was at its peak, how could we ever be... pushed to this extent."
Back when the previous dynasty was still around.
Scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants—merchants were at the very bottom. No matter how much money they had, they were just meat on the chopping block!
"Things were indeed good back then."
Guan Xiunian suddenly spoke up with a cold chuckle:
"I heard from Grandmother that back then, Grand Eunuch Su was highly trusted by the masters in the palace. He was illustrious and his power reached the heavens. Our family couldn't even get in line to curry favor with him."
Grand eunuchs were petty and narrow-minded to a man.
Offending the Su family decades ago would have been even more disastrous!
The Guan family resentfully shut their mouths.
Suddenly, the carriage stopped. The driver reminded his masters that they had arrived at the Beiping Grand Hotel.
......
There were too many onlookers.
Su Ning sent word for the Guan family to go to the back door. The Beiping Grand Hotel had provided excellent service over the past two months; even the car she used for daily outings belonged to them.
Although she did pay a hefty rental fee.
Still, it was a matter of courtesy.
It wouldn't be good to make their business difficult because of her private affairs.
Hearing that they were going to the back door, Guan Jixing breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a glimmer of hope. This way, there wouldn't be as many people watching... He had underestimated the enthusiasm of Beiping residents for watching a spectacle.
At the narrow little door.
Guan Jixing, bearing the birch and asking for punishment, stood at the very front. The Guan family also got down from the carriage, standing behind him in a secretive, evasive manner.
Looking further back, just seven or eight steps away, people were pressed against each other, crowded together. Those who couldn't see even stood on their tiptoes, straining to peek inside.
The crowd's voices boiled over, and the white breath they exhaled collectively condensed into a fog!
Right at that moment, a faint sound was heard from the small door.
Someone with sharp eyes shouted:
"—Miss Su has arrived!"
