ould elope with someone else, leaving Ayao heartbroken. In the end, Ayao ended up marrying her betrothed's father. These past few days, Song Xining had been so worried that she couldn't sleep.The mome...So-called "stealing half a day of leisure from life," Gu Jingxi shut himself indoors for half a month, during which he did nothing. He just accompanied his young wife, or the couple went to Shou'an Hall to accompany their mother. Even when Qi Yunwen had a case to consult him, he directly refused, saying that he wanted to think things over at home and letting the other party figure it out themselves.

Over the past two weeks, Gu Jingxi and Meng Jin Yao truly did all the things they had mentioned earlier. They gambled over books, splashed tea, discussed poetry while making tea, played music together, played chess, and painted. Life was pleasant and carefree.

Although Meng Jinyao wasn't favored in her family, the Meng family had a tradition of scholarship and a library. As a daughter of the Meng family, she could go to the library to borrow books. She rarely went out; she spent most of her time reading and practicing calligraphy.

She wrote in a graceful and elegant cursive script, though she wasn't considered a talented woman, she had read many books and possessed some knowledge. When it came to poetry, song lyrics, and prose, she could hold her own in conversation and even engage in poetry duels with Gu Jingxi.

She's good at playing chess too. She used to practice by herself in her room and has quite the skill for it.

Although she played the zither and painted, Lady Sun did not have a female teacher to instruct her. Therefore, she was unfamiliar with musical theory and could only listen to Gu Jingxi play the zither, appreciating it in its simplicity.

She had never received any formal training in painting, but after admiring Gu Jingxi's masterful brushstrokes, she suddenly felt a surge of inspiration and became interested in painting. She then begged Gu Jingxi to teach her.

Gu Jingxi wouldn't refuse such a small request, would he

How wonderful the elegance between a husband and wife who teach each other!

But precisely because of this, he took on a problem student. Before, he was more inclined to the view that "there are no untaught students, only inattentive teachers; as long as students learn earnestly, they will definitely be taught."

Now that he has someone in his arms, he's overturned his perception. No matter how hard the husband tries, he can't teach a student who lacks talent. This little daughter-in-law is truly untalented, she only makes her husband so angry he can't speak.

For example, when something was not drawn well, the young daughter-in-law would say something that made him doubt his life: "Husband, are you really capable You can't even teach this simple thing properly"

It's better to believe he didn't teach me well than to believe I lack talent.

Gu Jingxi looked at the pair of Mandarin ducks on the rice paper. They didn't look like Mandarin ducks, white geese didn't look like white geese, and ducks didn't look like ducks. They even looked a bit like chickens. He fell silent. The painting was simply unbearable to look at, but it was her best work.

As a husband, Gu Jingxi didn't want to admit that this student was taught by him.

Gu Jingxi looked at her paintings for a moment before making up his mind to tentatively suggest, "Ayao, why don't I teach you how to play the piano It's rather boring to just stare at paintings all day. It's good to have some hobbies."

Meng Jin Yao put down her paintbrush. Although she was looking at her own painting, feeling frustrated and almost giving up, she still wanted to struggle a little more. Hearing her husband's words, she gave up struggling directly, but still said with difficulty: "Alright then, playing the piano doesn't seem so bad either."

Gu Jingxi finally let out a breath and glanced at her ink painting. With a dangerous glint in his eyes, he tentatively asked, "Ai Yao's embroidery skills are quite good. How did you come up with those patterns"

Hearing this, Meng Jinyao understood what he meant. She looked at him with a strange expression and replied, “I can’t paint flowers myself. Besides, there are maidservants for that. They do the painting, and I stitch them up, isn't it still my embroidery”

Gu Jingxi: "..."

However, Gu Jingxi didn't expect that just as he had crawled out of one big pit, he fell into another. He heard that familiar sentence again, the one that made him question his life: "Husband, how is your teaching ability"

It's obvious that this young daughter-in-law has no talent for playing the piano. The sound is like nails on a chalkboard, giving people a headache.

Meng Jinyo had learned for a few days. At first, she thought Gu Jingxi wasn't good, but later her own playing sounded jarring to her ears. Gradually, she gained some self-awareness and felt that it was herself who wasn't good at it. She really had no talent for playing the piano. The more she learned, the less interested she became. It was better to draw instead.

She looked at her own hands, then at the ancient qin before her. Such a fine instrument in her hands was being treated so poorly by her clumsy touch, it was truly a waste, like a beautiful flower stuck in manure.

After a moment of silence, she slowly raised her head and looked at Gu Jingxi who was sitting opposite her.

Their eyes met, and Meng Jin Yao's gaze held a mixture of defeat and resentment. The atmosphere became subtly tense for a moment.

Gu Jingxi probably knew her thoughts, and he carefully chose his words, tactfully offering her a way out: "Ayao, learning the piano is hard work. After a long time, your fingers will become calloused. Seeing you practice so diligently, I feel sorry for you. Why don't we just stop"

This struck a chord with Meng Jinyang, but she still insisted, "One should see things through to the end. It's not good to give up halfway."

Gu Jingxi was very understanding and continued to try to smooth things over for her, saying: "This kind of thing only needs one person from a couple to know how to do it. If you want to hear it again in the future, I'll play it for you."

Meng Jinyo feigned deep thought for a moment, then reluctantly replied: "Alright then, since my husband worries about me studying so hard, I'll temporarily stop learning. I don't want my husband to worry either."

Gu Jingxi immediately changed the subject: "Ayao, let's go for a walk in the courtyard and relax."

Meng Jiny Yao didn't want to face the piano anymore, so she immediately agreed to his proposal and went for a walk with him in the backyard.

After this incident, Gu Jingxi no longer dared to easily try to teach her anything. Otherwise, the teacher would question their life, and the student would also question their life. Sometimes, it's not that the teacher is serious in teaching or the student is serious in learning that makes one learn well.

The weather in February has become much warmer, and the snow has stopped, but it rains a lot. It's a gentle spring rain.

In spring, everything revives. Even the back garden is no longer as desolate as in winter. Looking around, it's lush green, and many flowers blooming in spring are vying to open.

Meng Jin Yao walked beside him, and suddenly said, "Husband, I think all scholars are quite hard-working. Take Second Sister-in-law's Xiu Hong for example, he goes back home and locks himself in the study to continue his studies, because he wants to take this year's Chunwei exam, he has been even more diligent, almost forgetting to sleep and eat.

Gu Jingxi nodded lightly: "Reading is indeed hard work. Now the Chunwei exam has begun, and tomorrow will be the end of the Hui exam. If nothing unexpected happens, Xiu Hong should be able to get a good ranking."

Meng Jinyao then said, "But I see that you are proficient in everything from qin, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, songs and even astronomy and geography. If you used to study hard for the imperial examinations, how did you have time to learn so many things"

Gu Jingxi smiled faintly: "Reading all day is also boring. When I was young, I wasn't as steady as I am now. I would secretly run out with Mo Bai and the others to drink, hunt, and race horses behind my parents' backs. I couldn't stand such a monotonous life. When I was confined at home, I would find myself something to do to distract myself, half the time reading, half the time doing other things.des-to-be, had looked forward to a harmonious and sweet married life. She may have been both confused and hopeful about married life, but the outcome wasn't quite what she had expected.To ensure she...