Chapter 29: Chapter 29: She Must Be a Young Lady from a Wealthy Family

The two little book boys jumped in fright.

They rushed over in a panic. "Teacher! What’s wrong, Teacher!"

The students nearby heard the commotion and gathered around.

But they were all too young and didn’t know what to do.

But Shen Ningning knew what was happening!

Last summer, when Aunt Qin had thrown her into the fields to clear land, she had nearly fainted as well.

Grandma Qin had said it was heatstroke!

The little girl quickly asked the two little book boys for help.

"Lay him down flat!"

Then, the little girl untied the waterskin hanging from her body.

She used her small body to prop up Mr. Zheng’s head, keeping it slightly raised.

Then, she slowly poured the clear, ice-cold Spiritual Spring Water she had brought with her into his mouth.

Shen Ningning opened the bundle she used to carry her books.

She took out the cooling sachet the pharmacy manager had given her and placed it under Mr. Zheng’s nose.

The sachet contained mint, honeysuckle, and other ingredients meant to relieve heat and clear the mind.

It had a sweet, sharp scent.

Finally, she picked up one of her books and gently fanned Mr. Zheng.

A moment later, Mr. Zheng slowly regained consciousness.

When he learned that Shen Ningning had saved him, he thanked her repeatedly in a weak voice.

The surrounding students gasped in amazement, looking at Shen Ningning with admiration.

Some even began to whisper—

"Which family’s young miss is she?"

"I don’t know, I’ve never seen her before!"

Just then, two other teachers from the academy heard the news and rushed over, hastily helping Mr. Zheng to his feet.

"All of you, return to your classrooms. We’re taking Mr. Zheng to see a doctor!"

Only then did everyone disperse.

The two little book boys escorted Shen Ningning to the South Garden, where her class was held.

As soon as she entered the classroom, she saw more than twenty classmates already in their seats.

They were all around the same age as Shen Ningning, between five and seven years old.

The teacher for the class, Mr. Huang, entered and glanced at Shen Ningning.

"Miss Shen, please take your seat." He pointed to a spot at the very front.

Shen Ningning was about to walk over.

A little girl in a blue dress stood up. "Teacher, isn’t that Lu Shaoyuan’s spot? If she sits there, where will Lu Shaoyuan sit when he comes back?"

Clutching her books, Shen Ningning blinked her round eyes, a little unsure of what to do.

Mr. Huang’s tone, however, was quite calm.

"When Lu Scholar returns, we will arrange another seat for him."

The little girl stared at Shen Ningning, her gaze unfriendly.

It was as if she wanted to intimidate the little girl with her glare, hoping she would back down.

But Shen Ningning paid her no mind and, at Mr. Huang’s urging, obediently sat down.

After class began, Shen Ningning discovered she could understand everything Mr. Huang was teaching.

The mad scholar had already taught her the material concisely.

However, Shen Ningning cherished this hard-won opportunity to study and listened attentively the entire morning.

It wasn’t until noon that Mr. Huang announced the end of class.

Before leaving, he told Shen Ningning, "The academy provides meals in the morning, noon, and evening at the North Garden. You can go there if you want to eat."

The little girl nodded to show she understood.

As soon as Mr. Huang left, the classmates eagerly gathered around Shen Ningning.

They chattered away, asking—

"I heard you were recommended by Magistrate Fu. Are you a cousin from the Fu Family?"

"What was in that sachet you gave Mr. Zheng? How did he wake up right after smelling it?"

"Did you understand the lesson just now? You can ask me if you didn’t!"

Their enthusiasm brought a sweet smile to Shen Ningning’s round, chubby face.

She was just about to answer their questions one by one.

But unexpectedly, a figure walked past her and violently kicked her desk.

All the classmates instantly fell silent.

Shen Ningning lifted her dewy eyes to look.

It was the same little girl in blue from before.

She looked to be only about two years older than Shen Ningning and was currently wearing a displeased expression.

"You can only sit here temporarily. When Lu Shaoyuan comes back, you have to give him his seat back!" she said in a domineering tone.

Shen Ningning remained seated calmly on her cattail cushion, her long, thick black lashes fluttering twice.

"And what will happen if I don’t?" she asked earnestly.

The little girl meant no harm. She just wanted to understand—it was only a seat. If it were important, Mr. Huang wouldn’t have assigned it so casually.

’So, why is this little girl so insistent that I return it?’

Shen Ningning was even willing to give it up voluntarily.

But first, she needed a clear explanation.

To the other girl, however, her question sounded utterly provocative!

"You’re so ill-mannered! You stole someone’s seat and now you have the nerve to brazenly ask me what will happen if you don’t?" the girl in the blue dress scolded, hands on her hips.

Shen Ningning wasn’t about to accept this unfair treatment.

Her voice was naturally soft and sweet. "Mr. Huang assigned me this seat. If you think he’s ill-mannered, you should just tell him that!"

"You—!" The girl in the blue dress was speechless.

Unable to win the argument, she simply flicked her sleeves and stormed off.

After she left, the other classmates comforted Shen Ningning.

"Don’t mind her! She’s just trying to curry favor with the Lu family, that’s why she’s so concerned about anything related to Lu Shaoyuan."

"Yeah, Lan Qian is just a concubine’s daughter from the Lan Family herself. I really don’t know what she has to be so proud of."

"My mom said Lan Qian’s mother is a concubine, and a very favored one at that!"

As everyone chattered on, Shen Ningning didn’t take any of it to heart.

She just smiled sweetly, revealing an adorable dimple.

"I’m not mad. Let’s go eat!"

After a morning of classes, she was hungry!

The classmates went with Shen Ningning to the dining hall.

Many students were sitting at the tables, and old women in aprons would come to serve the meals.

Shen Ningning also sat obediently and waited.

A classmate had just told her that the academy’s food was exceptionally good!

They had all sorts of meat every day!

The little girl waited with joyful anticipation.

However, when the food arrived, Shen Ningning’s smile froze.

On the right side of the tray was a small bowl of thin congee and a bowl of bean sprout soup with only two pathetic-looking sprouts floating on top.

On the left was half a steamed bun and a small saucer with a meat dish.

’Can anyone really get full on this?’

She looked left and right; her classmates were already digging in with gusto.

A girl noticed she hadn’t touched her chopsticks and said with a smile, "Did you not expect the food to be this good? Are you surprised?"

Another chimed in, "Our academy is famously generous. This soup and meat would cost quite a bit of silver outside."

"Hurry and eat, Ningning. If it’s not enough, you can get more congee."

Seeing how heartily everyone else was eating, Shen Ningning had no choice but to pick up her chopsticks.

She tasted a spoonful of the congee; the rice was coarse and hard.

The bean sprouts in the soup were gone in a single bite.

Shen Ningning, who ate her grandma’s delicious cooking every day, hadn’t endured such hardship in a long time.

It was truly hard to swallow...

She stood up quietly. "I’m going to go get something."

With that, the little girl turned and ran back to her classroom, her footsteps a quick PITTER-PATTER.

She returned quickly to the dining hall, carrying her food box with both hands.

"Eat mine! My grandma made it herself and told me to share it with everyone."

As Shen Ningning spoke, she opened the food box.

The dazzling array of dishes made the surrounding classmates’ eyes go wide.

Stir-fried pork with chili peppers, two roasted chickens, scrambled eggs with garlic shoots, cold-dressed wood ear mushroom slivers, and a large plate of fish-fragrant shredded pork.

Grandma Qin, afraid there wouldn’t be enough to share, had also placed over a dozen scallion pancakes at the very bottom of the food box.

"Ningning..." a classmate said in astonishment. "Did your family buy all this food?"

A spread like this would cost at least twenty taels at a restaurant!

Shen Ningning nodded. "Yup."

She then took out the red fruits from her pouch and gave one to each of the classmates around her.

The appearance of the red fruits left all the classmates completely dumbfounded.

"Your family’s fruit tree can still bear fruit?" ’And they’re so big and round!’