Chapter 27 – To Become Famous (1)
Mister Shan gave a slight nod towards Ye Zhen’s direction before he set his gaze towards the flaming Princess Liu Hua. He looked at her with indifference which made Princes Liu Hua more frustrated.
She was also a student of the Women’s College. So why then hasn’t she heard of Mister Shan’s name? Even if she felt angry, she was able to resist lashing out, for the sake of reputation she had to look after.
Mister Shan gave a courtesy to the ladies. “Ladies, you are all looking well! After years of absence, you have become even more elegant and young.”
Flaming faces of the ladies, young and old, were soon hidden behind their fancy fans.
“When did you come back, Mister Shan?” Madam Wu asked coquettishly.
“I’ve been back for some days now and I wanted to come meet the ladies. I send you many thanks for your generous hospitality.” Mister Shan replied before his eyes fell on Ye Zhen’s calm face.
Just now, he saw the scene under the bamboo shed. Somehow, he felt more and more inclined to the fact that Lu Yaoyao was very much like his former student. But another part of him told him that the third miss would not deliberately imitate Ye Zhen in both manner and appearance.
Besides, Lu Yaoyao had never seen Ye Zhen before for she 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 Mister Shan has a reputation of being very prestigious and never takes in students quite easily. I didn’t expect to receive a merchant’s daughter today. It seems that the rumors about him are not true.” Princess Liu Hua was unwilling to see Lu family being held in regard like this, and her being thrown in pits of defeat!
“Perhaps Mister Shan has lowered his standards or maybe he had decided to come in their favor after their status differed?”
Mister Shan looked at her lightly. “If the Princess Liu Hua knows that the Lu family is different now, why should she 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 late Wang Fei Ye Zhen and Zhao Yang? And how can she be deemed eligible in Mister Shan’s eyes to be his student?”
When Ye Zhen heard her name in the words of Princess Liu Hua, her eyes flashed slightly with gloom and she looked up silently. Mister Shan appeared to be contemplating his next words, but he soon gave a soft smile before speaking.
“I accept students when I see the potential I wanted. It’s true, Yaoyao is incomparable to the other two students, she has only read **Thousand Character Classic, but when she enters the college, you will know why she became my student.”
**T/N : Thousand Character Classic – is a Chinese poem that has been used as a primer for teaching Chinese characters to children from the sixth century onward.
Princess Liu Hua smiled condescendingly, “Are you telling me that she wants to enter the college after reading only A thousand Character Classic? Mister Shan, are you kidding me? ”
The moment he accepted Ye Zhen in answer to his master’s whim, Mister Shan decided that he was taking it upon himself to prove that his reputation of having an eye for great students and being sought after by those who aspired to be his students were 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.” The Princess of Liu Hua looked at Ye Zhen contemptuously and thought, how talented this woman really was to have caught Mister Shan’s eye?
It was a ridiculous to think that she had only learned A thousand Character Classic and nothing more! Princess Liu Hua learned it just short after she left the crib! And now, Lu Yaoyao stood unaffected before everyone, thinking that the women’s college was a place where she belonged.
Truly, all the Lu girls are too ambitious for their own good, Princess Liu said in her mind with disgust.
By this time, Ye Zhen felt anxious and her heart was in distress. If she doubted before, now she is certain that Mister Shan was not a person who wanted to argue with others who questioned his judgement.
But today, he was uncharacteristically trying to make her famous in the capital.
But why was he doing this? Why did Mister Shan want to make Lu Yaoyao as a thorn in the side of all these reputable people?
To do so in a such a way is unthinkable, didn’t he know that if Lu Yao were to fail in entering the women’s college, then he will lose face?
Mister Shan would lose his reputation and might even be unable to gain a foothold in the capital!
It seemed to everyone that Mister Shan had gambled with his own reputation.