Xie Qiao's reputation had risen not only in the Orchid Courtyard, but in the entire academy.
She was the disciple that Master Xiao had begged but could not get. In the eyes of others, she was much more powerful than Chu Jian, the official disciple.
After all, Chu Jian could only acknowledge a master with a piece of jade! It was completely different from Xie Qiao!
Initially, no one thought that Xie Pinghuai would succeed in acknowledging a master.
However, it was different now. Almost everyone could not help but encourage Xie Pinghuai when they saw him.
"Second Young Master Xie, you and Xie Qiao are blood-related siblings. I believe that your talent should be about the same. As long as you settle down and work hard, Master Xiao will definitely agree to accept you as his disciple!"
Xie Pinghuai had heard such encouragement countless times today.
He was so scared that he did not dare to go to the academy.
Something was wrong with his schoolmates!
The good and the bad, they had told him all!
Previously, they were the ones who said that he was useless. Now, they were the ones who praised his intelligence!
What was worse was that even the old geezer, Master Xiao, actually called him over. With a face full of persuasion, he asked, "Have you received any pointers from your sister at home?"
Xie Pinghuai was dumbfounded, and then he shook his head hard.
"That sister of yours is extremely intelligent. You should learn more from her." Master Xiao's tone was calm. "You've been grinding ink for me for some time now. What do you think about that?"
Xie Pinghuai was dumb, and he was very confused.
What else could he think about grinding the ink? He just wanted to chop this Master Xiao to death, nothing else…
"Well..." Xie Pinghuai met Master Xiao's expectant gaze and gulped. After thinking for a moment, he said hesitantly, "Grinding ink... is very tiring? You can't rush it. You have to grind it slowly, or else... it will get dirty..."
He was nervous.
This master would not take out that thorny ferule to hit him again, right?!
This vicious scholar deserved to not be an official!
"You are right." Master Xiao finally said, "Although it is a simple task, it's a great practice. I hope that you will do things like grinding ink in the future. Don't be impatient and rash. Do it slowly."
Xie Pinghuai thought Xiao Yurong was a little scary today.
Master Xiao looked at him.
Then he was a little speechless.
If it was Chu Jian's brain, he would have immediately grasped the meaning and knelt to acknowledge him as his master. However, this kid... did not understand at all?
There were benefits to being silly and naive. It was not entirely useless!
"Pick a day to acknowledge me as your master. Your Father isn't around, and your Eldest Brother is busy. There's no need to be too fussy about the ceremony. Just kneel and pass me a cup of tea whenever you see fit," Master Xiao sighed.
"Ah? Acknowledge you as my master?" Xie Pinghuai subconsciously replied. After he reacted, he quickly ran to the table and immediately brought over a cup of tea. With a thud, he knelt on the ground and said, "Master, drink the tea!"
He had to be quick. What if this Master Xiao went back on his word?!
The veins on Master Xiao's forehead twitched.
He controlled his temper and drank the tea.
"Don't show off. In the future, you have to respect your master and treat your fellow disciples with kindness. If you make a mistake, your master will be even stricter than before!" Master Xiao added.
Xie Pinghuai curled his lips and nodded with an unwilling expression.
He had been sullen for so long. Now that he had acknowledged him as his master, how could he not let him show off?
Forget it. Even if he showed off, others would think that it was because of his eldest sister's blessing that he was able to achieve his dreams…
However…
It was his eldest sister's credit to begin with!
His eldest sister was really his lucky star. Although it was very painful to acknowledge him as his master, it still looked good on his dignity!