CHAPTER 163 - CLASSES WILL BE FARM FROM BORING
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Scholar Wu was the person Prince Baiyu had recommended. Fengying and I met her at the gate. I was expecting a nerdy type since she was a scholar, but she was a tall, powerful-looking clan member who reminded me of Shuye. Her figure was ample and a cascade of silvery blonde hair framed her square face. Her eyes were a deep, dark blue.
“Welcome to Emberstone Farm!” I cupped my hands and bowed deeply. “This is my housekeeper, Fengying.”
“It’s an honor to meet the famous Baroness Violet.” She returned the bow and introduced her staff to us.
With her was a lady’s maid, a butler, two housemaids, two footmen, and three other assorted staff members whose roles weren’t readily apparent. All of them were Prince Baiyu’s people. I mentally thanked my lucky stars that I had a housekeeper who would take care of all staff matters, including coordinating with the other household and seeing to their needs.
Fengying led the staff to the third courtyard while I brought Scholar Wu to the second courtyard where I had furnished a large, airy room with study tables and comfortable chairs along with a good assortment of scrolls, books, paper, inkstones, brushes, and so forth.
Tea had already been set up for us.
“These are my three apprentices, Lari, Kharli, and Mo. Children, this is your new tutor, Scholar Wu.”
The three of them cupped their hands and bowed from the waist, just as I had.
“Let’s sit down,” I said to the scholar.
My apprentices all kowtowed and said, “Thank you for agreeing to teach us, Scholar Wu.”
“It’s my pleasure,” said Scholar Wu.
With that, the ritual was finished, and we all had tea. I was extremely surprised to see that Scholar Wu ate and drank with us, since clan members normally refused to eat. Was this also part of the ritual?
We made small talk about the weather until Lari suddenly blurted out a startling question. “Scholar Wu, you’re from Wu village. Are you part of the Wu family? The one whose ancestor created the Celestial Harmony Arts.”
“I am.”
“Wow!” Kharli’s eyes sparkled. “Esteemed Scholar, could you teach us martial arts forms?”
Scholar Wu hid her smile with her cup. “Certainly.”
“Yes!” Kharli embraced Mo. “We’re going to be taught by a real martial artist.”
Hey, wait a minute, are you saying you’re not satisfied with my teaching?
I pouted a little, thinking of all the time I had spent teaching them archery using the beginner equipment from the System. “Great, but don’t slack off learning your letters and numbers, okay?”
“You can rest assured I’ll get them ready to manage their finances,” said Scholar Wu.
I pushed a plate of food nearer to her. “Have some more of these green bean cakes; they’re to die for.”
When we finished our tea, I took her to the third courtyard.
Gray tiled roofs with upturned eaves contrasted nicely with the white walls. In the center was a large space open to the sky with a pocket garden that featured a valuable Shanshui-style penjing. This was the sort of thing my mother liked, though I thought it was lame to make things smaller instead of bigger. Penjing was the precursor of the more well-known bonsai art of Japan. In this world, these miniature landscapes were called “pearl gardens” after a folktale about a cultivator who had shrunk a mountain range until it was small enough to fit inside a hollowed pearl.
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As expected, Scholar Wu stopped in front of it and spent quite a long time admiring the intricate miniature landscape within the shallow tray. Small but interesting moss-covered scholar’s rocks formed the bulk of the penjing, with dwarf trees and shrubs precisely placed here and there. The whole composition mimicked a mountain range in compact form.
Scholar Wu was almost too overcome to say anything at first, but managed to contain her delight eventually to say, “This is one of the best I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been to the Garden of Seven-Colored Flowers in the Western Palace.”
I smiled proudly. “You like it? I would give it to you, but items from my bloodline inheritance are mostly impossible to take away from the farm.”
Scholar Wu smiled warmly, her eyes crinkling at the corners as her lips curved upwards. The hint of laugh lines around her mouth suggested a lifetime of smiles and joyous expressions.
"I wouldn't dream of taking this penjing. Which expert is tending it?" she asked, her gaze drifting back to admiringly study the intricately arranged miniature landscape.
“Well… it actually tends to itself, believe it or not.”
“I believe it. People say that your house is full of magical treasures. I feel extremely lucky to be able to stay here.”
I gave her a tour of the third courtyard, showing her all the common areas and then the guest rooms I had prepared for her. Before I left, she asked to have a private word with me, so I joined her in her room for a chat. I waited patiently while her maid prepared a plate of cookies and tea for us.
“Thank you, we’ll serve ourselves,” said Scholar Wu to her maid.
The maid bowed to us and left.
“Lady Violet, I need to discuss a somewhat delicate matter with you.” She took a sip of tea. “I know that you’re a foreigner, but you’ve had some contact with clan members, so you know that we typically refrain from eating.”
“Yes, I’m aware.” What was she getting at?
“There is, of course, a permanent exception for children and elderly.”
I nodded. “That makes sense.”
“What you perhaps don’t know is that there is a temporary exception for those who take care of children. This means parents, nannies, teachers, and anyone else who looks after minors.”
“Um, okay.”
Seeing my confusion, she elaborated. “Kids and even adult students learn by example. Eating with students helps train them in manners and socialization.”
“Oh! I get it.” Yeah, I remembered there were schools I had attended where mealtime was considered part of the curriculum where we were taught social skills and healthy eating habits. Due to my dad’s globe-trotting ways, I had gone to many schools in many countries.
“Also, it helps in forming a closer bond between the teacher and students.”
I tilted my head to show my agreement. “It sure does!”
“In addition… the taboo is not as all-encompassing as you might think.” She looked away and sighed. “I ask for your understanding if you see food being cooked and eaten by the clan members here. You see, not everyone has a strong enough inner qi to completely refrain from eating.”
My mouth fell open.
She continued explaining. “The butler will be telling your housekeeper about this. Many lower-ranked clan members do eat every day. We ask that you and your household turn a blind eye to it. Since the ability to fast for long periods is limited to the strong, it would be humiliating if someone pointed it out, especially publicly.”
Uncertainty tinged my voice as I asked, "Doesn't this mean I should have prepared supplies for the new staff?"
“No, don’t worry, we’re not helpless! We can arrange for our own food.” She chuckled. “Because of the taboo, this is the only time we can discuss it. From now on, please never make any sign that you know about the staff eating regular meals.”
“Okay,” I said, even as I made a mental note to tell Fengying to sneak food supplies into the third courtyard’s kitchen. Since talking about it was taboo, that meant they wouldn’t be able to reject it. A thought struck me. “Wait, what about the spirit rice? I thought only kids were eating it. Does this mean adults also want my rice?”
She pursed her lips. “You know that the original taboo was because there was a famine?”
“Yes.”
“Spirit rice is rare and there’s not enough for everyone. The taboo is precisely for such an occasion. Right now, only children and the sick or elderly are eating it.”
“So if I harvest enough, everyone will eat it…”
“I look forward to that time.”
We ate the cookies and drank the tea in silence for a few minutes. When we finished, I got up and bowed.
“One last thing.” Scholar Wu handed me a small package wrapped in decorative silk cloth. “This is from Prince Baiyu.”