Fearing Meng Shuping might continue to brood and Meng Shuyang might throw another tantrum, Meng Shuchun quickly interjected, "How about this? Let's play a drinking game!"
Everyone immediately cheered in agreement. "Great idea! Let's play an arrow-toss game!"
"No, no—matching verses would be better."
"Then how about guessing riddles?"
Considering everyone had different strengths, and any choice might lead to objections, Meng Shuchun finally proposed, "Let's play *chouling*!"
This time, there were no objections. After all, the game relied mostly on luck, and everyone started on equal footing. Of course, if someone was particularly unlucky, that was another story.
So, the lively drinking game began, and Meng Shuping breathed a sigh of relief. At last, he was no longer the center of attention as he had been earlier.
When the banquet finally concluded, Meng Shuping seized the opportunity to slip away unnoticed along a secluded path. He felt that attending this banquet had been even more exhausting than pulling an all-night shift.
After a night's rest, the next day arrived—Meng Shuping's first day at school.
Meng Shuping gathered his books, brushes, ink, and other supplies and headed out. The study hall was located in a courtyard within the outer compound, requiring him to pass through the second gate. Along the way, he inevitably encountered others.
He greeted them with a calm exterior, though inwardly he felt awkward, and did his best to minimize his presence. There was no avoiding it—he and his younger brothers were heading to the same place and would be walking together. If he wanted to avoid forced socializing, this was his only option.
The two attendants, Xing Lai and Jia Yue, were waiting at the second gate. When they saw Meng Shuping, they rushed over to help carry his belongings. After walking a short distance, they arrived at the study courtyard.
Not everyone had arrived yet. Meng Shuping followed the others inside, asked which desk was unoccupied, and then took a seat behind it.
He was relieved to find his spot was at the back—perfectly inconspicuous.
Just then, Meng Shuyang entered the room. The moment he saw Meng Shuping, he strode over arrogantly. Meng Shuping assumed Meng Shuyang was heading to his own seat, but to his surprise, Meng Shuyang stopped right in front of his desk and spat directly onto it.
Meng Shuping never expected Meng Shuyang to act so childishly. For a moment, he was stunned. Then, anger welled up inside him. *What's wrong with him? Is he asking for a beating?*
Meng Shuyang looked at Meng Shuping smugly, without a trace of apology. "Oops, sorry, Fifth Brother. I accidentally spat on your desk. You won't hold it against me, will you?"
Provoked repeatedly by Meng Shuyang, Meng Shuping was genuinely irritated. He paused briefly, then replied sternly, "How can you relieve yourself wherever you please?"
The other younger brothers, who had been watching from the start, burst into laughter. "Hahaha, Sixth Brother, you're relieving yourself wherever you please!"
Meng Shuyang's face flushed red with rage. He immediately threw a punch at Meng Shuping. "You're asking for death!"
Meng Shuping dodged nimbly and quickly ducked behind the others. *Well, he's begging to be insulted! If I didn't say anything, wouldn't that be doing him a disservice?*
Hearing this, Meng Shuyang grew even angrier. He chased after him furiously. "Stop! Don't you dare hide!"
Meng Shuping weaved through the other children while quipping, *Sigh, I have to hide. He's so weak—he couldn't take a single punch from me. What if he tries to blame me again?*
After failing to catch Meng Shuping for a while, Meng Shuyang fumed and shouted at two other brothers, "What are you standing around for? Help me block him!"
Meng Shuping couldn't resist mocking him. *Oh ho, he really is too weak—he needs helpers!*
Enraged, Meng Shuyang grabbed a book and hurled it at him. "Stop right there! I'll beat you to death!"
The two ran around the room—one chasing, the other fleeing—while the other children cheered them on, creating utter chaos. Before Dai Fan even entered the room, he could hear the uproar inside, loud enough to shake the heavens. His face darkened, and he strode to the doorway. "Stop this at once!"
The room instantly fell silent. Except for Meng Shuping and Meng Shuyang, everyone else scrambled back to their seats.
Seeing only one unfamiliar face, Dai Fan guessed this must be the recently found illegitimate son. A flicker of disgust flashed in his eyes before he composed himself and marched sternly over to Meng Shuping and Meng Shuyang. "What are you two doing?"
Meng Shuyang hurriedly spoke up. "Sir, it wasn't intentional. He insulted me, and that's why I got angry!"
Dai Fan gave Meng Shuping a disapproving look up and down. "So you're Meng Shuping?"
For some reason, Meng Shuping sensed dislike in Dai Fan's gaze. He lowered his head slightly and replied somewhat timidly, "Yes."
Seeing that Meng Shuping was as troublesome as rumored, Dai Fan's expression turned colder. "Hmph, causing trouble the moment you return. Truly a vulgar rustic—uncouth and ill-mannered! Today, you won't be sitting. Stand at the back and listen to the lecture!"
Hearing this, Meng Shuyang was delighted. He looked at Meng Shuping triumphantly. *Hahaha, serves you right! How satisfying!*
Meng Shuping, however, was completely baffled. *What's wrong with him? He didn't even ask what happened and already decided it was my fault. Is he biased or just confused?*
Dai Fan was startled. Was that Meng Shuping speaking? But he hadn't seen him open his mouth. Just as doubt filled his mind, he heard the voice again. *I really doubt he can be a good teacher like this. Thankfully, he didn't go into officialdom. Otherwise, even if he became an official, he'd surely be an incompetent bureaucrat.*
Furious, Dai Fan glared at Meng Shuping. "What? You still refuse to accept it?"
He waited for Meng Shuping to argue back so he could reprimand him harshly, but to his surprise, Meng Shuping simply turned and walked to the back, leaving Dai Fan's next words stuck in his throat.
Left hanging and embarrassed, Dai Fan's face flushed red.
Meng Shuping was no fool. His current status was Dai Fan's student, putting him at a natural disadvantage. Arguing now would be pointless and might only give Dai Fan more grounds to scold him.
Besides, he remembered a saying: *"Don't argue with a donkey…"*
Dai Fan was furious. How dare this Meng Shuping compare him to a donkey? No respect for his teacher! But when he glanced at the others, he realized they didn't seem to have heard the voice at all. So he could only suppress his anger and walk to the front of the class.
With nothing to do while standing, Meng Shuping quietly observed Dai Fan. He appeared to be in his forties, with a small goatee—fitting the image of a scholar. Yet his deep nasolabial folds made him seem somewhat unfriendly.
After watching for a while, Meng Shuping roughly understood Dai Fan's teaching method: he would recite a line while bobbing his head, and the students would follow suit, reciting and bobbing. After repeating several times, once most had memorized it, they moved on to the next passage.
Meng Shuping couldn't help but wonder, *Always bobbing his head like that—isn't he afraid all the water in his brain will slosh out?*
Dai Fan's recitation paused briefly before quickly resuming. Even so, he was seething inwardly at Meng Shuping. This brat, even after being punished, still wouldn't behave! The most infuriating part was that he hadn't actually spoken aloud, making it hard to confront him.
Meng Shuping had initially thought that even if Dai Fan wasn't a good person, his teaching skills might be decent. Otherwise, why would the Earl's household hire him?
But after listening for a while, he was astounded. *And this is the teacher the Earl's household hired? At this level? Not to boast, but his teaching method is so rigid—utterly inefficient and a waste of time. Those who know might say he's teaching; those who don't would think he's hypnotizing. With him around, kids will never have trouble falling asleep again.*
Dai Fan was seething with anger but couldn't vent it on Meng Shuping. Instead, he slammed his hand on the table and shouted, "You're here to study, not to sleep! Do none of you have any energy?"
The drowsy students below jolted awake and immediately perked up. Meng Shuping was also startled by Dai Fan's outburst. *Whoa, why is he so irritable? Did his wife run off with someone?*
*Can't he be more patient with his students? Besides, if his teaching is boring, how can he blame others for not paying attention? Instead of reflecting on his own methods, he just criticizes others. Is this how he teaches?*
Dai Fan was extremely annoyed, almost wanting to retort, *"If you're so capable, you do it!"* Isn't this how everyone teaches? If students don't learn well, it's because they aren't diligent—what does that have to do with the teacher?
After mentally rebutting Meng Shuping, Dai Fan collected himself and resumed teaching. But he had barely recited a few lines when he heard Meng Shuping's voice again. *Ah, I get it now!*
*Those seriously preparing for the imperial exams would definitely hire good teachers. But the Earl's household descendants don't need to take the exams, so they just hire someone mediocre.*
*So he came to the Earl's household because he couldn't find a good job elsewhere!*
Dai Fan was livid. Who was mediocre? If his knowledge were lacking, would he have been hired by the Earl's household?
Unable to bear it any longer, he hurriedly finished the recitation with the students and then let them study independently. He strode from the front of the room over to Meng Shuping. "Now, recite after me."
Meng Shuping was baffled. Recite what?
Dai Fan began reciting rigidly, "Ren zhi chu, xing ben shan. (People at birth are naturally good.)"
Meng Shuping was speechless. *Ah, this… Shouldn't he check where I am in my studies before teaching? He didn't even ask. How presumptuous! Wouldn't the Earl's household be wasting everyone's time by hiring him?*
Hearing Meng Shuping say he was wasting everyone's time, Dai Fan grew even angrier. He glared sternly at Meng Shuping. "What are you waiting for? Recite after me!"
What was there to assess? He'd already heard that this Meng Shuping was brought back from the countryside—illiterate, uncouth, and rude. And he actually had the nerve to say that only a *jinshi* (imperial scholar) could teach him? How ignorant and arrogant!
If Meng Shuping weren't also a descendant of the Earl's household, Dai Fan wouldn't even bother with such a student!