On second thought, that can't be right—my master's mother is probably still in the womb right now. Then my master's mother's mother most likely hasn't even been born yet. What a tangled web of family relations.

Charles Harper put on his clothes and washed up. Little Grace brought over a bronze mirror for Charles Harper to look at himself. In the mirror, Charles Harper's sword-like brows and starry eyes were as striking as ever.

He drew the paper fan from his waist, full of confidence: "Stay here and don't wander off. This young master is going to meet your young mistress."

Little Grace nodded vigorously, encouraging him: "Young master, you must do your best. Madam and I are rooting for you."

Rooting for me to get kicked out of the house? Charles Harper grumbled inwardly.

Leaving the room, he found a young servant waiting outside, who led Charles Harper deeper into the Lu residence.

Along the way, Charles Harper pondered how he should interact with Miss Lu and how to win her favor. As all sorts of thoughts crowded his mind, a servant in the distance called out, "Master has returned! Master is back from the camp!"

Someone else said, "Should we inform Madam?"

The first replied, "Better not. Master went straight to Concubine Chen as soon as he got back."

It seemed they'd touched on a taboo topic in the household, as another person fell silent.

These voices faintly reached Charles Harper's ears, making him shake his head. When they arrived at a pavilion, the servant went in to announce him, then came out politely to say, "Mr. Feng, the young lady invites you in."

Charles Harper stepped into the pavilion, but he didn't care about the furnishings inside—what a melodrama. Still, Charles Harper had no time to worry about household affairs; what he cared about was what Miss Lu was like, what she looked like, and whether she met the standards of Mutō Ran.

And then...

As soon as he entered, Charles Harper was utterly shocked; all his expectations burst like bubbles.

The room was divided in two by a screen. He didn't see Miss Lu, but through the gap in the screen, he could vaguely make out a graceful silhouette. It seemed Miss Lu was hiding behind the screen to attend the lesson.

What left Charles Harper even more speechless was that sitting in the corner of the pavilion was none other than April, Sister Ying herself. She still wore a stern expression, sitting upright and proper. She glanced at Charles Harper, gave a slight nod, which counted as a greeting.

This... this was a tragedy.

Charles Harper had been hoping to teach Miss Lu hand-in-hand, with mutual affection, and maybe even spark a romance. Who would have thought the result would be that Miss Lu could only hear his voice, not see him, and there was even a supervisor watching over them.

He took a deep breath and told himself to stay calm and composed—setbacks were only temporary, and he couldn't get hung up on minor gains or losses.

Miss Lu, behind the screen, heard the commotion and spoke in a delicate voice: "Student Emily Bennett greets the teacher."

April half-closed her eyes, still sitting motionless to the side.

Charles Harper could only force a smile and say, "Very well, then let's begin the lesson."

Facing the screen, there was a chair. Charles Harper sat down.

Miss Lu spoke from behind the screen: "Today is the first lesson. I wonder, what will the teacher be teaching?"

Her voice was lovely, like an oriole singing.

Charles Harper gave a wry smile. Teach what? He hadn't prepared anything—he couldn't exactly talk about beautiful wives or the romantic lives of scholars.

Then he had an idea. When he applied for the job, the most common exam topic was the Four Books for Women. Since the student was a woman, it would be best to teach content from the Four Books for Women. But Charles Harper had never read them—what to do?

Got it!

Charles Harper coughed, putting on the air of a teacher, and said, "Let me start with a story."

April looked slightly surprised, her eyes opening a little, clearly feeling it was inappropriate, but at this point, it wasn't convenient to interrupt.

Miss Lu, behind the screen, was intrigued and said crisply, "Alright, alright, let's hear a story."

It seemed Miss Lu had a naive and lively side.

Charles Harper said, "Once upon a time, there was a young lady who was betrothed to a poor scholar. But later, her family thought the scholar was too poor, so..."

Charles Harper's little scheme was working perfectly. The story he told was simple: a young lady, whose parents broke off her engagement because the scholar was poor, eventually eloped with her betrothed, leaving everything behind. He decided to use this as a subtle way to brainwash Miss Lu, to tell her that breaking off an engagement was wrong.

At the end, Charles Harper sighed, "As the saying goes, 'Marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog.' Once a woman is betrothed, she should remain faithful, regardless of her husband's wealth or poverty. That is what it means to be a virtuous woman."

This story seemed to touch a nerve with Miss Lu. She couldn't help but ask, "But what if the person you were originally betrothed to is a dissolute playboy, who idles away every day, is said to be addicted to gambling, and often frequents brothels... With someone like that, should you... should you still remain faithful?"

April, sitting to the side, sensed something was off and coughed hard, trying to stop Miss Lu from saying more.