After figuring all this out, Yu Youyao felt relieved that the matter of the “mentor-disciple deal” was unlikely to be exposed.

Yu Shuangbai changed the topic and asked, “Since you’re learning the rules from Nanny Xu, does it mean that you won’t have to attend home school classes anymore? Yesterday, Ms. Ye asked about you too.”

Yu Youyao pursed her lips. “I’ll be attending tomorrow. Father wants me to attend classes every morning and learn from Nanny Xu in the afternoons.”

Previously, the teacher’s lessons were all about rules and principles, which she didn’t have the patience to listen or learn. Her grandmother felt that Nanny Xu could also teach her these instead, so she allowed her to stop attending those classes at home.

Yu Shuangbai looked surprised and nodded. “Eldest Uncle is being reasonable for once.”

Seeing how she spoke so bluntly without thinking, Yu Youyao was a little speechless, but she did not say anything. After all, it was true that her father had always been very harsh and unkind towards her. Everyone in the Yu Residence knew that.

At this moment, Xia Tao brought over a small porcelain bowl. Yu Shuangbai received it and ate a mouthful. There was a faint milky taste, along with the fragrance of roasted almonds, and the sweetness of papaya. It was a fresh and sweet sensation in her mouth. “What’s this?”

Yu Youyao put down her bowl. “Almond papaya milk, made by Nanny Xu.”

“No wonder you say that Nanny Xu is great. I’d gladly have even ten of such a nanny.” Yu Shuangbai glanced at Yu Youyao enviously and couldn’t help eating another bowl of the dessert.

Yu Youyao instructed Xia Tao to go and learn how to make almond papaya milk from Nanny Xu, and to bring Zhen Zhu along.

All of a sudden, Yu Shuangbai smiled with glee. “Ms. Ye has always been very strict. Since you haven’t been to her classes for so long, you better hope that she won’t make things difficult for you tomorrow.”

The next morning, Yu Youyao woke up an hour earlier than usual.

Chun Xiao’s heart ached for her young mistress who had to wake up that early. “Young Mistress, you’ve been waking up earlier and earlier these past two days. Why don’t you sleep a little longer?”

Yu Youyao yawned, feeling a little sleepy. “I have to go for the home classes later. I want to get up early and finish my etiquette session with Nanny so that I can go over for classes earlier.”

Chun Xiao had no choice but to help her up.

In about the time it took to burn an incense stick, Yu Youyao had finished washing and combing. She was wearing an elaborate and exquisite nine-layer outfit as she practiced etiquette with Nanny Xu.

The number of books placed on Yu Youyao’s head had increased from one to three. With each step, her movements looked gentle and elegant.

Neither coy nor coquettish, but she had a supple posture which accentuated her grace. Nanny Xu nodded in satisfaction. Before two hours was even up, she called for a stop. “Young Mistress, you have to go to class. From tomorrow onwards, the duration for etiquette learning and practice will be reduced to an hour. From now on, you need to pay more attention and be more conscious of your posture and manners wherever you go.”

In the past few days, Yu Youyao had changed from her usual lazy self to being proactive in learning. Every morning, she could get up on her own without needing constant urging. A few days ago, she had still looked a little stiff when practicing, but today, she was already moving naturally and flexibly. Clearly, she had put in a lot of effort.

This made Nanny Xu feel very heartened, but she felt that waking up before dawn was indeed a little too early. Yao Yao was still growing, so she had to get enough sleep.

Yu Youyao threw herself into Nanny Xu’s arms and cooed, “Nanny dotes on me the most!”

Nanny Xu smiled and stroked her hair. Her tone became much gentler. “The medicinal bath is ready. You’re drenched in sweat. Hurry, go and wash up.”

After taking a shower, Yu Youyao returned to her room. Nanny Xu personally picked out a snow-green dress with dark patterns and matched it with a light green outer shirt patterned with green willow branches.

Yu Youyao recognized it at a glance. Dong Mei had previously helped her pick out this outfit when she was preparing to head to the Precious Peace Temple. However, Nanny Xu had found the material too thin and the outfit too dull, so she had picked out a new outfit.

Thinking about how Ms. Ye usually dressed in green too, Yu Youyao understood Nanny Xu’s efforts and good intentions.

Chun Xiao helped Yu Youyao change her clothes while Dong Mei picked out some jewelry. Nanny Xu took the opportunity to teach the two maidservants. “Ms. Ye is from a scholarly family in the Linjiang Prefecture. She’s good at chess, calligraphy, painting, and playing the zither. She’s also great at poetry and singing. She’s an extremely renowned talented woman. She had been married to the second son of the first wife of the Earl of Changning’s Residence, but because he favored his concubine over her—his wife—they ended up agreeing to have a divorce. Divorced daughters were supposed to return to their maiden homes, but Ms. Ye adopted a distant orphaned nephew from the Ye family clan instead. Then, she started teaching young mistresses of big, prominent families, and has established a good reputation for herself in the capital.”

Yu Youyao also knew a little about all of this.

Nanny Xu continued, “Ms. Ye is a woman who values literature and talent, and is also a divorcée, having a calm and refined disposition. This green dress has a more elegant style, so it’s likely that she’ll be pleased with the outfit.”

Chun Xiao and Dong Mei were enlightened.

Nanny Xu turned to look at Yu Youyao. “You haven’t been attending these classes for a long time. When you’re there, apologize to Ms. Ye first. As a disciple, you should show respect to your teacher.”

Yu Youyao nodded to show agreement.

At this moment, Xia Tao and Qiu Xing brought breakfast over.

In addition to the shrimp dumplings and crystal dumplings that Yu Youyao liked, there was also a small bowl of medicinal cuisine that Nanny Xu had personally cooked, some simple porridge, sweet and sour pickled plum meat, and a dozen other dishes. Each and every dish was exquisite.

When Yu Youyao saw the food, her eyes lit up.

Spring was a good season for cleansing and nourishing the lungs. Yu Youyao asked Xia Tao to send a stack of pear juice dessert that had her spiritual dew to The Green House, and Qiu Xing to send a bowl to An Shou Hall. “Tell Grandmother that from today onwards, I’ll be going to my home classes, so I won’t be able to have breakfast with her. But I’ll have dinner with her every night.”

Nanny Xu nodded with approval.

It was no wonder that the Old Madam favored her. Ever since she moved into the Jade Courtyard, she accompanied the Old Madam for breakfast every morning, and even made arrangements to visit at night now that she no longer had the time to go over in the mornings.

No one in the Yu Residence could match her sense of filial piety.

As for Young Master Zhou from The Green House, a flash flickered across Nanny Xu’s eyes.

She had seen all kinds of nobles in the palace.

However, Young Master Zhou’s elegance and air of nobility was extraordinary, and in no way inferior to even the most blue-blooded descendants of the palace. His aura was truly intense and unfathomable.

In the past, when seeing how close Yu Youyao was to her cousin, Nanny Xu had always maintained a wary and vigilant attitude of observation.

However, over the past few days, she could tell that Young Master Zhou was also becoming quite thoughtful of Yu Youyao, so she gradually let down her guard.

She thought about how Yu Youyao seemed to have it all in the Yu Residence, but actually had no brothers she could rely on, and no fatherly love from her cold and biased father. Meanwhile, her stepmother was scheming, and Concubine He was also often stirring up trouble. Furthermore, her sisters were all ambitious and only wanted to defeat her.

Young Master Zhou did not seem like an ordinary person. If she developed a close relationship with him, she would at least have someone to rely on in the future, no matter what happened.

Old Madam Yu must have thought the same, which was why she valued Young Master Zhou so much.

Meanwhile, at the An Shou Hall, Old Madam Yu’s expression did not look too good when she heard that Yu Youyao was going to attend her home classes today. “Yao Yao’s face hasn’t even recovered completely yet, so why is she in a hurry to attend classes again? I’m afraid her father has really shaken her up with his slap this time.”

Nanny Liu agreed, but she couldn’t say anything. She only said, “It’s a good thing too. Reading and studying more will increase knowledge and understanding.”

Yao Yao was learning from Nanny Xu, which was as good as attending her home classes. Old Madam Yu didn’t have much expectations for Yao Yao regarding her academic studies.

Of course, she was happy that Yao Yao was willing to take the initiative to study hard, but she couldn’t help feeling a little upset as well, as she still had an inkling that Yao Yao’s decision had been forced by her father.