After getting ready, Juimin made his way to class, ignoring all the looks from the scholars and teachers. He could hear their whispers and it looks like Rucheng was right. All their whispers were about how bad she was and how she’d ruin his reputation, not to mention that what would his parents say?

Walking into the lecture hall, he looked around and found his group. Making his way up the steps, he saw how heads were turning.

When he sat down, Lan Jue asked, “Eh? Where’s your robe? You never leave it at home.”

“It’s not at home. I just didn’t feel like wearing it,” he answered simply.

Lan Jue was in the space beside him and as he spoke, then he suddenly remembered, “Could it be that she made it dirty with her makeup? Oh, do you remember when Qin Rucheng wore so much makeup on the day of the festival and when she was smacked by Wol Ryeong’s sister, her makeup was all over An Xue’s gloves?”

Lan Jue started laughing, and so did the others around them. 

Juimin released a sigh as he realised that Rucheng really had a poor reputation. He never paid attention before and he would’ve thought twice about it, but the Rucheng his brother was bragging about sounded so different from the one whom he used to complain about.

He didn’t find out much about her as they spent their time together, but she was more peaceful than the rumours.

Could they all just be fake?

But then again, he did witness a few times how rough around the edges she was and not to mention the incidents from last month.

“No, she didn’t make it dirty with her makeup. She wasn’t wearing any,” he said.

Lan Jue placed his arm around his shoulder, asking, “How do you know?”

How did he know? Didn’t he rub his thumb over her cheek? And her face looked so smooth when he stared at her.

“I just do, and why are you so interested in her?” Juimin asked.

They picked up on the annoyance in his voice. Lan Jue backed off from him, holding his hands in surrender.

Chao Feng sat forward and asked from behind him, “We should be asking you that question.”

Juimin turned around to look at him. He and Lan Jue shared a bench with another student who was present but silent, while Xuan Shang, Chao Feng, and Qing Heng shared a bench.

“There’s nothing going on between us. I went to the Library Pavilion last night, and she was there. We were there together the whole night going over books, then we went to the cafeteria,” he said, trying to clear up the rumours by speaking loud enough.

Chao Feng didn’t believe him and asked, “Then why did we hear her call your father, father-in-law?”

“She was teasing me,” he answered.

“Why would she tease you like that? Don’t fall for her tricks, Juimin, and I’m saying this for your own good. A girl like her will cause trouble wherever she goes,” Qing Heng warned him.

Lan Jue was staring at his friend. He knew Juimin the best and for this man to be irritated about a woman was new AND he was going to get answers whether Juimin liked it or not, but now was not the right time.

*

“Do you think it would be a good idea to move into one of these homes?” Rucheng asked Gwanliin, who was on the floor meditating beside the bath with his back facing her.

She was washing in milk water that had rose petals floating around in it. 

He opened his eyes and sighed. “It’s not practical in your case, but it will be convenient. You and Mrs Qin won’t have to wake up early to get you here at work.”

“I was thinking of my mother, but I’ve lived without her for so long in my previous life and I don’t think I want to be separated from her again.”

He turned around to look at her and asked, “Why don’t you buy a house near the university or just on the border of the capital?”

Rucheng nodded her head slowly as she looked at him, then splashed him with water.

As she was getting dressed, she looked at Juimin’s robe on the bed and sighed. Placing her robe over the red dress she was wearing, she tried to cover it, but it was too short, or was her dress just too long?

Sighing, ‘Whatever, I’ll just explain when I’m asked.’

Leaving the building, she shoved Juimin’s robe against her stomach, sending it into her domain and said, “Wash it for me and make it smell like roses. I’ll make him regret teasing me like that this morning.”

“Okay,” Gwanliin answered.

“And when you’re done, help me look for a place to stay,” she said with a smirk.

*

Stopping in front of her classroom, she could hear someone already teaching in her class. She narrowed her eyes, recognising the voice but calmed her anger. “New me, new me. I won’t cause any trouble anymore.”

She pushed the door open and all the heads in the room turned to her. When the children saw their teacher, who they were sure they wouldn’t see again, they wanted to cry.

One of the girls squealed with glee but immediately covered her mouth when she saw the frown on Rucheng’s face. 

“Lady Qin!” Lady Hong called out in surprise.

Rucheng raised a brow, surprised as she turned to look at her and saw the vice headmaster’s goddaughter beside her, Lady Yang. As she remembered, he had two, the whore and this person…

She sighed and forced a smile. “Yes?”

“You aren’t supposed to be here. Didn’t you resign?” Lady Yang asked sassily.

Rucheng tilted her head to the side and said, “My personal affairs aren’t for everyone to understand. And don’t mind me, you can continue teaching. I’ll be sitting at the back of the class.”

As she made her way to the last row and sat down, Lady Yang and Lady Hong looked at each other.

‘Do you know about this?’ Lady Hong asked.

Lady Yang shook her head.

‘Wasn’t it your godfather that told you she resigned?’ She asked.

‘He did, but why she’s here? I wouldn’t know,’ she said.

They looked at her and shuddered when they saw how she was just sitting there and staring at them.

Lady Hong cleared her throat. She had just told them to get used to her because Rucheng wasn’t returning, making her look like a fool.

She waved her hand and brushes and parchment flew to each of the children, landing in front of them.

She started her lecture speaking about literature and then recited a poem. She went on to teaching the children how to write basic words. 

Rucheng was surprised. She wasn’t as rogue as before.

The children were also at a loss. Their teacher was here, but she was letting this horrible woman teach them. Was she angry at them?

Lady Hong could see that the children were upset and ignored it, but it became overwhelming, especially since she didn’t want to get beaten up by Rucheng if she yelled at them.

She looked back at Rucheng and saw that she was sitting with her eyes closed.

Turning back to the girl that was whimpering, she asked, “Suihe, why are you crying?”

Suihe didn’t answer her. Instead, she put the brush down and started rubbing her eyes and cried.

The boy sitting next to her, Lee Myung, had been keeping his tears in the whole time but after she cried, he couldn’t help himself and let his tears fall as he cried too. Not long after, the children started crying one by one, joining the two who started it all.

Lady Yang slammed her hand down on the desk in front, yelling, “Enough! All of you. This is not how you behave at school.”

The children stopped crying when they heard the noise, but after she spoke they burst out crying and the noise was even louder than before. So loud that one of the other teachers left her class to come see what was going on.

Lady Song Yuanji from the Taller than Grass Pavilion burst through the doors with a loud noise but the crying didn’t stop.

She looked around for the teachers and the first one she saw was Lady Yang. “What in the world is going on here? What did you do to these children?”

“It wasn’t me!” She yelled.

Lady Yuanji looked at Lady Hong for answers, but she just shrugged her shoulders at a loss. Ever since Rucheng’s return, these children have changed, and she was unable to get control of them worse when Rucheng appeared today.

“They just started crying one after the other,” she said timidly.

Lady Yuanji walked up to one of the children and knelt down, asking, “Darling, why are you and your friends crying?”

The boy looked at her and shook his head. He pushed her away and jumped out of his seat, running back to the class to Rucheng. He pulled on Rucheng’s robe, making her open her eyes as she listened to him, “Teacher, I don’t like them.”

Lady Yuanji was upset that she was pushed by a little child and was surprised when he ran to Rucheng.

She didn’t even see her sitting in the back; it was almost as though she had no presence.

Rucheng had resigned. Everyone knew about this, so why was she here? 

‘So she is behind this mess again!’