Chapter 29

"Chapter 29: She Must Be a Young Lady from a Wealthy Family"

"The two young scholars were startled."

"They rushed over in a panic, exclaiming, 'Master! What's wrong, Master!'"

"Hearing the commotion, other students nearby crowded around."

"However, being young, they were at a loss about what to do."

"But Shen Ningning understood the situation perfectly!"

"Last summer, when Aunt Qin had thrown her into the fields to till, she had almost fainted as well."

"Grandma had said it was heatstroke!"

"The little girl quickly asked the two scholars for help."

"'Lay him down flat!' she instructed."

"Then, she took off the water flask hanging from her body."

"Using her small body, she supported Master Zheng's head, keeping it slightly raised."

"Next, she carefully poured the clear, cool spring water from the flask into his mouth."

"Shen Ningning then opened her own package of books."

She took out the refreshing sachet the pharmacy shopkeeper had given her earlier and placed it under Master Zheng's nose.

The sachet contained mint and honeysuckle, known for their cooling and revitalizing properties.

The scent was refreshing.

Finally, she picked up her book and gently fanned Master Zheng.

After a while, Master Zheng slowly regained consciousness.

Learning that it was Shen Ningning who had saved him, he weakly expressed his gratitude.

The surrounding students gasped in amazement, looking at Shen Ningning with admiring eyes.

Some even whispered among themselves —

"Whose daughter is she?"

"Don't know, haven’t seen her before!"

At this moment, two other masters from the private school hurried over upon hearing the news, and quickly helped Master Zheng up.

"Return to the classroom for your lessons, we'll take Master Zheng to see the doctor!"

Everyone then dispersed.

Two young attendants escorted Shen Ningning to the Nanyuan where her classes were held.

Upon entering the classroom, she saw over twenty classmates already seated in their places.

They were about the same age as Shen Ningning, ranging from five to seven years old.

Master Huang entered the classroom and glanced at Shen Ningning.

"Miss Shen, please take a seat," he said, pointing to a position at the front.

"Just as Shen Ningning was about to walk over,"

"a little girl in a blue dress stood up and said, 'Teacher, isn’t that Lu Shaoyuan’s seat? If she sits there, where will Lu Shaoyuan sit when he comes back?'"

"Shen Ningning, holding her books, blinked her round eyes, somewhat at a loss."

"Teacher Huang, however, remained quite composed."

"'When Lu Shaoyuan returns, we will arrange another seat for him.'"

"The little girl stared at Shen Ningning, her gaze somewhat unfriendly."

"It was as if she wanted to intimidate her into giving up the seat."

"But Shen Ningning paid no mind and, urged by Teacher Huang, obediently took her seat."

"As the class began,"

"Shen Ningning realized she understood everything Teacher Huang was teaching."

"The mad scholar had already taught her in a concise and clear manner."

"However, Shen Ningning cherished this hard-earned opportunity to learn, and listened attentively throughout the morning."

"Until midday, when Teacher Huang announced the end of the class."

"Before leaving, he told Shen Ningning, 'The school provides meals in the north garden morning, noon, and evening. You can go there if you'd like to eat.'"

"The little girl nodded, indicating she remembered."

"As soon as Teacher Huang left, the classmates eagerly gathered around Shen Ningning."

"They chattered with curiosity—"

"'I heard you were recommended by the County Magistrate to study here. Are you a distant relative of the Fu family?'"

"'What was in the sachet you gave to Teacher Zheng? How did he wake up so quickly after smelling it?'"

"'Did you understand the lesson just now? Ask me if you have any questions!'"

"Shen Ningning's round, chubby face broke into a lovely smile, warmed by everyone's enthusiasm."

"She was about to answer each question in turn."

"Unexpectedly, a figure walked past her and abruptly kicked her desk."

"Instantly, all her classmates fell silent."

"Shen Ningning lifted her moist eyes to see who it was."

"It was the same little girl in blue from earlier."

"She appeared to be only about two years older than Shen Ningning, and her face was filled with displeasure."

"'You can only sit here temporarily. When Lu Shaoyuan comes back, you must give the seat back to him!' she said in a bossy tone."

"Shen Ningning sat calmly on her cushion, her long, thick eyelashes fluttering twice."

"'And what if I don’t?' she asked earnestly."

"The little girl bore no malice; she genuinely wanted to know. After all, it was just a seat. If it was so important, Teacher Huang wouldn’t have arranged it so casually."

"So, why was this little girl insisting that she give it back?"

"Shen Ningning was even willing to give up the seat voluntarily."

"But, she needed a clear explanation first."

"However, to the little girl, Shen Ningning's question sounded like a direct challenge!"

"'You are so rude, taking someone else's seat and then having the nerve to ask what will happen if you don't give it back!' the girl in the blue dress scolded, hands on her hips."

"Shen Ningning refused to accept this unfair treatment."

"Her voice was naturally soft and sweet: 'The seat was arranged by Teacher Huang. If you think he is ill-mannered, you should talk to him about it!'"

"'You—!' The girl in the blue dress was at a loss for words."

"Unable to win the argument, she simply turned and left in a huff."

"After she left, Shen Ningning's classmates began to comfort her."

"'Don’t mind her! She's just trying to ingratiate herself with the Lu family, that’s why she's so concerned about Lu Shaoyuan’s matters.'"

"'Yeah, and Lan Qian is just a concubine's daughter of the Lan family, I don’t know why she’s so proud.'"

"'I heard from my mother that Lan Qian’s mother is a favored concubine, very much doted on!'"

"The classmates discussed animatedly, but Shen Ningning didn’t take their words to heart."

"She just smiled sweetly, her charming dimples showing."

"'I'm not angry, let’s go have a meal!'"

"After a whole day of classes, she was starving!"

"Shen Ningning and her classmates went to the dining hall together."

"Many students sat at the tables, and aproned matrons came to serve the meals."

"Shen Ningning also sat obediently, waiting for her meal."

"Her classmates had told her that the food at the school was exceptionally good!"

"Every day, there were various kinds of meat to eat!"

"The little girl was filled with joyful anticipation."

"However, when the meal was served, Shen Ningning’s smile froze."

"In the plate on the right, there was a small bowl of thin porridge, and a bowl of bean sprout soup with only two lonely sprouts floating on top."

"On the left was half a bun and a small dish of meat."

"Could this really be filling?"

"She looked around; her classmates had already started eating heartily."

"One girl, noticing her hesitance, laughed and said, 'Are you surprised by how good the food is? Shocking, isn’t it?'"

"Another chimed in, 'Our school is famous for its generosity. This soup and meat would cost quite a bit of silver outside.'"

"'Ningning, eat up. If it’s not enough, you can get more porridge.'"

"Seeing everyone enjoying their meal, Shen Ningning reluctantly picked up her chopsticks."

"She tasted the porridge, finding the rice coarse and hard."

"The bean sprouts in the soup were gone in one bite."

"Shen Ningning, used to the delicious meals her grandmother made, hadn’t tasted such hardship in a long time."

"It was truly hard to swallow..."

"She stood up quietly and said, 'I’ll go get something.'"

"With that, the little girl trotted back to the classroom."

"Carrying her own food box, she quickly returned to the dining hall."

"'Eat mine! My grandma made it by hand to share with everyone.'"

"As Shen Ningning spoke, she opened the food box."

"The array of dishes inside made the eyes of her classmates widen in amazement."

"There were stir-fried pork with chili, two roast chickens, scrambled eggs with garlic sprouts, chilled wood ear mushroom salad, and a large plate of fish-flavored shredded pork."

"Fearing that there might not be enough to share, Grandma Qin had also packed more than a dozen scallion oil pancakes at the bottom of the box."

"'Ningning...' her classmates asked in surprise, 'Did you buy all these dishes?'"

"Such an array of dishes would cost at least twenty taels at a restaurant!"

"Shen Ningning nodded: 'Yes.'"

"She then pulled out red berries from her pocket and handed one to each of her classmates nearby."

"The appearance of the red berries left all her classmates astonished."

"'Your family's fruit trees can actually bear fruit like this?' And so big and round!"

"Almost forgot, Ningning is currently in a PK, so everyone, please give her your votes! Actually, Ningning started the PK two days ago, but I just remembered to ask you for votes now... I'm ashamed, Ningning, mommy is sorry!"