Shen Qiuran’s words made Shen Ci and the others lower their heads.

From then on, Shen Yue was more careful around Tao Sheng. Shen Huan moved his seat farther away from her. Seeing this, Shen Ci also restrained himself.

Shen Ruojin had a stronger mindset. After hearing these words, her eyes turned red, but she held back and didn’t say anything bad about Tao Sheng.

Just then, there was a lot of noise ahead. It sounded like Shen Yu, the head of the Marquis’s Mansion, had arrived to wish his mother, aunts, and sisters-in-law a happy new year. He also played a few card games with Old Madam Shen to entertain his parents.

After playing cards, Shen Yu signaled Ruojin to bring Tao Sheng to the main courtyard.

Ruo Jin understood that Shen Yu probably wanted her to call Tao Sheng over away from others, but he didn’t give her specific instructions.

Thinking this made Ruojin uneasy. She didn’t know what her father would say if he asked Tao Sheng to go alone. However, since her father didn’t forbid her to follow him, she took Tao Sheng to the main courtyard.

Luo Xin had been feeling unwell lately and hadn’t come to play cards with the old lady. She was now waiting for Tao Sheng in the main courtyard.

When she saw her two daughters, Luo Xin invited Tao Sheng and Ruo Jin to sit down.

Tao Sheng sat down, watching Luo Xin’s hands.

Luo Xin’s fingers were white and slender, making them perfect for playing musical instruments. Although Tao Sheng had some success in composing in her previous life, she was always mediocre at playing. She believed that her late start and the condition of her fingers held her back.

Tao Sheng admired Luo Xin’s hands, but when she saw Shen Yu’s stubby fingers with a big green ring, she felt her hands were less beautiful than Luo Xin’s, lowering her self-esteem. She mentally deducted points from her father’s character.

Shen Yu met Tao Sheng again and thought it was time to teach his unruly daughter a lesson.

Shen Yu had just sat down and said a few words when Shen Ci came over with his homework.

After Tao Sheng and Ruo Jin left, the brothers went outside to play tossing pots ^[1]refers to a traditional game where players toss pots to win prizes. and then went to the study to enjoy calligraphy and paintings.

A cousin who had just passed the exam to become a government stipend student saw Shen Ci’s homework and praised one of his essays, saying it was extremely well written and even better than others.

Shen Ci did put a lot of effort into this article. While it wasn’t as good as his cousin said, there was clear progress.

Feeling proud after being praised, Shen Ci thought about bringing his homework to his father to show off. He also wanted more praise and good luck for the new year.

After reading Shen Ci’s homework, Shen Yu felt it was a significant improvement compared to his previous work and praised him.

After praising Shen Ci, Shen Yu turned to Tao Sheng and asked, “I heard your cousin is preparing for the exam, and your aunt is very busy. I guess your family doesn’t have much time to prepare for the New Year this time?”

Shen Ci was curious and asked, “How did Third Sister spend the New Year? Mother has been thinking about you; why don’t you tell us?”

Then, he asked about the New Year’s Eve dinner, festive decorations at home, and other related topics.

They learned that Tao Sheng had a simple New Year’s Eve dinner at the Su’s house, which didn’t include any expensive ingredients or a famous chef; the house was small, with only three small courtyards, and had no decorations. The decorative lanterns were from an ordinary shop.

Since Su Jia had no other relatives in Beijing, the only New Year money Tao Sheng received were two red envelopes from her aunt and cousin, which likely contained little money.

Shen Yu shook his head repeatedly upon hearing this.

Tao Sheng would rather live in such a poor family than return to the Marquis’s Mansion. He thought she was very stubborn.

He even started to suspect that perhaps Mother Sang had become foolish after her fall when she lost the child; he always felt she wasn’t thinking clearly.

At this point, his patience was almost gone, and he coldly asked Tao Sheng, “If you’ve thought it over and are willing to come back, after the first month of the lunar year, I can consider helping you register your household at home.” 

Tao Sheng was used to this topic: “My aunt plans to open an idle shop in Beijing after the first month. At that time, the family will be short on help, so I probably won’t have much free time to come to the mansion.”

Shen Yu felt slapped in the face by Tao Sheng’s words. He sat aside with a gloomy face, no longer paying attention to his unreasonable daughter. He was too lazy to even say the words he wanted to teach her.

Shen Ci scoffed at Tao Sheng, saying, “If you keep giving up on yourself like this, you and Ruo Jin will be completely different in the future.” He added, “Do you know what it means to be as different as clouds and mud? The gap is huge, like the clouds in the sky compared to the mud on the ground.”

Noticing Tao Sheng staring at his homework, Shen Ci quickly hid it behind him and said, annoyed, “People who work hard and those who don’t will have very different futures. Don’t you agree?” 

Tao Sheng thought about her cousin Ji Yanming’s homework she saw before and understood the saying “the difference between heaven and earth” more clearly. She nodded and replied, “You’re right. I think so too. We’ll see the results after the autumn exam in six months.”