Hearing the words "versed in both civil and martial arts," Gu Jinghui couldn’t help but laugh.

Gu Baoshu also buried her head in Old Madam Gu’s arms and laughed.

Old Madam Gu feigned displeasure and spat at Gu Jinghui, "Your father-in-law hopes you will become a Confucian General, so why can’t our Treasure Bead become a talented woman skilled in both arts and martial prowess? Baoshu, you just go to White Crane Academy to study. Once you’re done with your studies, if you wish to marry, your mother will arrange a good marriage for you. If you don’t wish to marry, your Third Brother has said you can help manage the Gu Family Army."

Gu Baoshu shivered and immediately stuck her head out to ask, "What if I recruit a husband at home?"

"That can be done too; recruiting a husband is even better, then their children will be descendants of the Gu Family."

Old Madam Gu made the decision.

Gu Baoshu then looked at Gu Jinghui.

Gu Jinghui nodded and said, "Yes, whoever has good martial arts and high strategy will inherit the Marquis Mansion in the future."

Gu Baoshu laughed heartily and said, "Even if I am loved, I can’t disrupt the rules. I am not greedy; it’s enough if you all keep your promises. Since that’s the case, I’ll go to White Crane Academy to study, just..."

"Just what?"

Gu Baoshu said, "At least let me leave after the Mid-Autumn Festival, right?"

"What leave!"

Old Madam Gu scolded her lightly, tapping her on the forehead.

"That’s called ’going on a journey’. You really need to read more books; it’s all your mother’s fault for raising you with a skewed perspective. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, let it be, if you ask me, it’s better for you to go, or else next year’s Qixi Festival, your Third Brother will be expecting you to compete in embroidery."

Speaking of embroidery, Gu Baoshu felt a little guilty; she hadn’t touched needlework lately.

"White Crane Academy won’t teach those feminine skills, right?"

Gu Baoshu frowned.

"If it did, I think Feng Niang teaches quite well and suits my temperament, why bother going far?"

Old Madam Gu naturally knew her little plan.

"A well-established academy wouldn’t teach the Four Books for Women or feminine skills. Rest assured, daughters from Jiangnan’s renowned families go there as boarding students and are separated from the male students."

Gu Baoshu felt even more pleased and said, "Then I will go."

"Not going would be foolish." Gu Jinghui said, "If it weren’t for Mr. Songshan’s help, we wouldn’t have found this opportunity for you. Do you know what kind of place White Crane Academy is, and how hard it is to get in? Go ask your Third Sister-in-law."

Gu Baoshu sat up, smiling sweetly, and said, "Then I’ll go talk to Sixth Brother and Third Sister-in-law."

"Yes, go ahead."

Perhaps because she is going out to study, Gu Jinghui was particularly lenient with her.

Gu Baoshu left the upper room and said to Gu Shiliu, who was still lazily leaning against a pillar, "Sixteen, I’m going to White Crane Academy to study for two years, why not come with me?"

Gu Shiliu turned his head and looked at her without speaking.

Gu Baoshu said, "Come with me to the academy, study too, so you don’t have to endure hardships with Third Brother. When we have free time, we can spar with each other. Otherwise, when I return from White Crane Academy, I’m afraid my martial skills will be neglected."

Gu Shiliu’s eyes filled with laughter, and he nodded.

Gu Baoshu was overjoyed and asked, "Sixteenth Brother, you agreed?" 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Gu Shiliu nodded again.

Gu Baoshu made a funny face at the window and smiled, "Third Brother, don’t blame me for poaching your people. It’s your fault as the master for being unable to retain them."

Gu Jinghui coldly laughed and said, "If he is willing to follow you, then let him follow you."

Gu Baoshu was surprised and asked, "Really? Third Brother, you really agreed."

"A man’s word cannot be taken back," Gu Jinghui said indifferently, "From now on, he will follow you. Take him with you to White Crane Academy, and he will continue working for me for now."

"Alright," Gu Baoshu, though puzzled, agreed immediately.

Only a fool doesn’t take advantage!

After Gu Baoshu left, Old Madam Gu sighed, "Baoshu has never left her mother since she grew up..."

Gu Jinghui, with dark circles under his eyes, still forced himself to comfort her, "Mother, now the situation in the Capital City is uncertain. Baoshu staying here, she would easily become a target. And the Crown Prince’s selection of a wife has been delayed; if it’s as Prince Qi said, choosing Baoshu for the Eastern Palace, it would be troublesome."

Old Madam Gu spat, "Does the Lin Family truly think our Dingbei Marquis Mansion is like clay to be molded as they wish? Even a clay figurine has its temper."

Gu Jinghui said, "The Crown Prince is weak, and the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers are unwilling to offer their legitimate daughters to the court. Empress Lin and the Emperor wish to draw support for the Crown Prince but failed. Hence, they ordered me to oversee the Capital Inspection to reclaim their standing. Now I am seen as a favored by the Emperor; the Lin Family seeks support from military generals. They will inevitably target Baoshu. I only have one sister, how can I let her enter the Eastern Palace as a living widow?"

Who knows how long the Crown Prince will live?

Baoshu is still young and obviously can’t become the Crown Princess Consort; she might be dismissed with the concubine title, and before she consummates the marriage, the Crown Prince might be gone, even if there is an Imperial Grandson, what does it have to do with the Gu Family?

He would not tie the Gu Family to the Crown Prince’s fate, nor sacrifice his sister.

Old Madam Gu closed her eyes, turning the prayer beads in her hand, and after a long sigh said, "Three hundred sixty days a year, never a moment of peace. It’s good for this young monkey to receive some education, so she doesn’t cause trouble here. Her martial arts have improved slightly, and she keeps shouting about going out to practice chivalry, influencing Sister Lan and others, making them hard to control, truly following her lead. It’s better she leaves, so I don’t have to worry about her targeting Mr. Qin and causing another Xu Zhen incident. It’s becoming difficult to maintain family relations."

Gu Jinghui was both amused and annoyed, and said, "Didn’t she say living in a civil servant’s family is uncomfortable?"

Old Madam Gu rolled her eyes at her son and joked, "Do you believe her? She changes her mind every day, one day it’s this, the next it’s that. Whatever she does has a reason for it. If by chance she suddenly finds them agreeable again, stubbornly insists on it, then sending her far away keeps my mind at ease."

Gu Jinghui sighed and said, "Then I’ll have to worry about the scholars at White Crane Academy."

Nanny Rong couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

Old Madam Gu chided, "Where is there a brother like this, always making fun of your sister."

Gu Jinghui laughed, "I’m merely expressing my thoughts; hopefully, Baoshu can focus on her studies at White Crane Academy, and if she becomes skilled in both arts and martial prowess, that would be wonderful."

Old Madam Gu’s lips quivered, but she eventually said nothing.

Gu Jinghui accompanied his mother for a few words before returning to Wutong Garden to wash and change. After he left, Old Madam Gu asked Nanny Rong, "Do you think it’s good for Baoshu to go to White Crane Academy?"

Nanny Rong comforted, "Who knows, maybe she’ll find clarity and focus on her studies. As the proverb goes, ’A hero’s child becomes a brave man’, her father is clever and skilled in archery and horseback riding, and well-read in military strategy. Seventh Miss is also excellent."