Chapter 27

Chapter 27 – To Become Famous (1)

Teacher Shan gave a slight nod in Ye Zhen’s direction before she set her gaze towards the flaming Princess Liu Hua. She looked at her with indifference, Princes Liu Hua was even more frustrated.

She was also a student at the Academy for Women. So why then hadn’t she heard of Teacher Shan? Even if she felt angry, she was able to resist lashing out, for the sake of the reputation she had to look after.

Teacher Shan curtsied to the ladies. “Ladies, you are all looking well! After years of absence, you have become even more elegant and young.”

Blazing faces of young and old were soon hidden behind their fancy fans.

“When did you come back, Teacher Shan?” Madam Wu asked coquettishly.

“I’ve been back for some days now and I wanted to come to meet the ladies. I send you many thanks for your generous hospitality.” Teacher Shan replied before her eyes rested on Ye Zhen’s calm face.

Just now, she saw the scene under the bamboo shed. Somehow, she felt more and more inclined towards the fact that Lu Yaoyao was very much like her former student. But another part of her told her that the third miss would not deliberately imitate Ye Zhen in both manner and appearance. Besides, Lu Yaoyao had never seen Ye Zhen before as she had lived her whole life in the border town.

Is there really such a coincidence in this world, for both people to seem so alike?

“It is said that Teacher Shan has a reputation for being very prestigious and never takes in students quite easily. Unexpectedly, she accepted a merchant’s daughter as her student. It seems that the rumors about her are not true.”

Princess Liu Hua was unwilling to see the Lu Family being held in regard like this, and her being thrown in pits of defeat!

“Perhaps Teacher Shan has lowered her standards or maybe she has decided to come in their favor after their status differed?” She didn’t hold back as she took a jab.

Teacher Shan lightly looked at the haughty royalty. “If Princess Liu Hua knows that the Lu Family is different now, why should you make remarks to provoke them?”

Princess Liu Hua pointed to Ye Zhen and asked, “The princess of this country would like to know how a merchant’s daughter can be at par with the late Wang Fei Ye Zhen and Zhao Yang? And how can she be deemed eligible in Teacher Shan’s eyes to be your student?”

When Ye Zhen heard Princess Liu Hua mention her, her eyes flashed slightly with gloom and she looked up silently. Teacher Shan appeared to be contemplating her next words, she soon gave a soft smile before speaking.

“I accept students when I see the potential I want. It’s true, Yaoyao is incomparable to the other two students, she has only read The Thousand Character Classic¹, but when she enters the academy, you will know why she became my student.”

Princess Liu Hua smiled condescendingly. “Are you telling me that she wants to enter the academy after reading only The Thousand Character Classic? Teacher Shan, are you jesting? “

The moment she had accepted Ye Zhen in answer to her master’s whim, Teacher Shan had decided that she was taking it upon herself to prove that her reputation of having an eye for great students and being sought after by those who aspired to be her students was not for naught.

“She will be training for half a month. After that, we’ll know if I am wrong or not.”

“That’s really something to look forward to.” Princess Liu Hua looked at Ye Zhen contemptuously and thought: how talented is this woman really to have caught Teacher Shan’s eye?

It was ridiculous to think that she had only learned The Thousand Character Classic and nothing more! Princess Liu Hua learned it just shortly after she left the crib! And now, Lu Yaoyao stood unaffected before everyone, thinking that the Academy for Women was a place where she belonged.

Truly, all the Lu Girls were too ambitious for their own good, Princess Liu thought with disgust.

By this time, Ye Zhen felt anxious and her heart was in distress. If she had doubted before, now she was certain that Teacher Shan was not a person who wanted to argue with those who questioned her judgement. But today, she was uncharacteristically trying to make her famous in the capital.

But why was she doing this? Why did Teacher Shan want to make Lu Yaoyao a thorn in the side of all these reputable people?

To do so in such a way was unthinkable, didn’t she know that if Lu Yaoyao were to fail at entering the Academy for Women, she would lose face?

Teacher Shan would lose her reputation and might even be unable to gain a foothold in the capital!

It seemed to everyone that Teacher Shan had gambled with her own reputation.