Tang Ning's mind suddenly changed when he heard Xiao Yan mention Master Rong. He held the teacup and muttered with a puffy face, "Of course he is strict. My grandfather was my teacher when I was a child, and I learned to read and study mostly from him. My grandfather was very strict in academics, and he treated others the same way as himself."
Rong Qian'an was the most talented person in the Wei Dynasty. He served in three dynasties and taught two generations of emperors. Many of his students became pillars of the court.
Back then, he was implicated in the case of the Crown Prince and took the initiative to retire. After leaving the court, he was not idle. There were many people in the capital who were eager to learn. If Rong Qian'an was satisfied with the candidates after the examination, he would keep them in the private school in the mansion to study.
Those students included children of court officials and dignitaries as well as students from poor backgrounds. Rong Qian'an only considered their talents and virtues without regard to anything else. In his eyes, he treated everyone equally, regardless of their background.
There was a small table in the Rong family's private school. It was the table for the young Tang Ning at that time. She had been attending classes since she was a toddler. From being ignorant and confused at first to being able to recite poems by imitating a parrot later, she was "influenced" at an early age.
Her grandfather would always give her homework on her own. Even though he loved her the most, he would still hit her on the palm with a ruler if she didn't finish her homework.
"My mother and father were busy at that time, and they often left me at the Rong family. When the disciples taught by my grandfather saw me , they would always smile and call me "little sister". My grandfather didn't stop them and even asked me to call them "senior brothers".
"Brother, you don't know that at that time there was a senior brother who was not much younger than my father. He would tease me every time he saw me. He was untidy and unkempt. Although he was obviously very old, he always liked to pinch his throat to call me "little junior sister" and secretly snatched my candies and cakes to eat."
Although Tang Ning grumbled with dissatisfaction, there was a smile in her eyes when she talked about the things that happened in the Rong family. Those past events were happy and nostalgic for her.
Xiao Yan sat aside and said, "Has Master Rong ever accepted a student like this?"
"Yes, his name is Wu Ziji, and he has a very bad temper. He was the one that my grandfather punished the most. But my grandfather also said that he was the most capable and would definitely achieve something if he entered the court. But later, for some reason, he had a big quarrel with my grandfather and left the capital."
Tang Ning still remembers that she was secretly hiding outside the door at that time and saw Wu Ziji arguing with his grandfather. The two quarreled so fiercely that Wu Ziji, who had always been strong-willed, had red eyes.
No one knew what he said, but Master Rong slapped him in the face and told him to get out. He threw his things and ran away, and never came back.
"When did that happen?" Xiao Yan asked casually.
"A long time ago."
Tang Ning bent her legs and placed the teacup on her knees: "I think I was only four or five years old at that time. It happened to be my birthday before they quarreled. Wu Ziji also gave me an ugly clay sculpture, saying that it was made in the image of me..."
But she remembered that the clay figure had a face like a gong, a thin body, its face was painted in various colors, and one of its ears was missing.
What she gave Wu Ziji in return was a bowl of chicken soup with croton powder in it, which made him want to live in a toilet. Then, she and Wu Ziji were punished by their grandfather and made to squat in the yard with books on their heads.
She was still very young at that time and could not stand steadily. She staggered and sat down in the mud puddle in the corner. The last impression she had was Wu Ziji's bearded face laughing.
Xiao Yan whispered, "At the age of four or five, you still remember things from that long ago?"
Tang Ning said: "I remember things early, and my grandfather often praised me for my precocity, saying that I was smarter than my mother and father, but I don't remember everything."
She had only vague memories of many things that happened before she was three or four years old, but she remembered them more clearly after she was five or six. The incident with Wu Ziji was particularly vivid in her memory because it happened on her birthday and the clay figurine was later broken.
She boasted with some pride: "I still remember many of my grandfather's students in the Rong family private school. Although I can't remember their faces clearly, I still remember their names."
Her grandfather also praised her for her good memory and loved teaching her to recite books.
Xiao Yan listened quietly to her talking about the past. Seeing her talk endlessly about her childhood, his heart sank a little. It turned out that she just didn't remember those things.
His eyes were somewhat dark, and he tried to speak nonchalantly: "What about Mr. Song and the others? Do you remember them?"
"Of course I remember." Tang Ning sighed: "Dad and Mom loved me the most. If they were still alive, the Song family would definitely not dare to bully me."
"Did they have an accident that year?"
"Well, Daddy went out of the capital on business, and Mom went to see him off. Who would have thought that they would run into the traitor king and join the rebellion? Daddy and the others didn't escape when the capital was in chaos. By the time people in the capital found them, Daddy and Mom had already been killed."
Tang Ning's voice was a little low when he spoke, but after all it had happened many years ago, and the sadness had long passed its peak.
She hid her depression in an instant and looked up at Xiao Yan: "Brother, why did you suddenly remember to ask me about my childhood?"
Xiao Yan said: "I'm a little curious."
Tang Ning didn't think much about it, she just tilted her head and said, "I'm also curious about brother's childhood." Thinking of the rumors outside , she pursed her lips and said hesitantly, "Are those rumors true? Brother had a hard time when he was a child?"
Xiao Yan saw that she looked uneasy after asking, and then looked a little regretful. He suddenly realized that she was asking about "Xiao Yan's" past, and he said casually:
"Not really. I had a good life when I was young. My parents loved me, I had fine clothes and delicious food, and I had servants to serve me. I was much richer than other people."
The little girl looked stunned and surprised.
He laughed: "Why do you look like that?"
Tang Ning opened his mouth: "But people outside say that my brother is treated harshly by his father and brothers..."
"It's not harsh."
Seeing Tang Ning's doubts, Xiao Yan, who rarely talked about the past, spoke up: "Those things outside are not entirely true. Some of them are also fabricated rumors."
"My father was once a very wise man. He was highly regarded by my great-grandfather. He showed his talent at a very young age and was chosen by my great-grandfather to inherit the family business."
"My grandfather liked him originally, but it was probably because my father was too ambitious. When my great-grandfather passed away, he passed on some of his connections to my father instead of my grandfather, making him popular. He even showed signs of surpassing my grandfather's prestige. As a result, my grandfather gradually distanced himself from him, and the rift between father and son began."
He seemed to be talking about someone else, his tone was light.
"My grandfather had many sons, but my father was the legitimate son. He should have cherished him, but this legitimate son didn't listen to him very much, and his outstanding performance made people feel uneasy."
"My grandfather favored my uncles who were born out of wedlock, and he wanted to support them so that they could compete with my father. However, he could not find any fault with my father, and his status had long been recognized by the clan. Even my grandfather could not easily replace him."
One is jealous of the eldest son's prominence and afraid that he will surpass himself.
One of them was completely unguarded, and sincerely believed that his father valued him and only wanted to clean up the court and make the Wei Dynasty stronger. When his prestige overshadowed someone who shouldn't have been overshadowed.
Even the superficial relationship between father and son cannot be maintained.
Tang Ning had no idea who Xiao Yan was referring to, she just thought he was talking about the Xiao family.
She had heard the rumors about the Xiao family before and knew that people outside had spoken very badly of the head of the Xiao family. Moreover, after Xiao Yan came to power, the Xiao family was almost wiped out.
People outside said that Xiao Yan suffered a lot at home when he was young and was bullied by his father and brothers. The first thing he did after he came to power was to kill his father, brothers, and uncles who had bullied him in the past with his own hands.
This is also the source of Xiao Yan's bad reputation.
But who could have thought that the "father" who was rumored to have died in his hands would be evaluated in this way by him.
Tang Ning listened in fascination: "What happened next?"
"later..."
Xiao Yan lowered his eyelids slightly to hide the coldness in his eyes: "Of course, they turned against each other later."