Chapter 58 – When the Copying is Finished, Then Come to Pay Respects!

Shen Nian was about to take office, and Xia Tian was happy for him.

In the evening, she specifically went to the kitchen, where Ning Xiang and Ning Xue assisted her. She personally made a large spread of dishes and set them up at Lingyun Pavilion to celebrate Shen Nian’s promotion.

After having a little bit of wine that evening, she, as expected, slept in the next day.

When she hurriedly rushed to Old Madam’s courtyard to pay her respects, she was stopped by the senior maid, Mulan, outside the door.

“Old Madam said that since Madam doesn’t understand the rules, you should learn them properly and come back after that.” Mulan handed her a book, “Old Madam also said that to learn the rules, you need to memorize the Nu Jie (Book of Women’s Precepts). Please copy it one hundred times. When you finish, you may come back to pay your respects.”

“Did Old Madam really ask me to copy it one hundred times? And if I don’t finish, I can’t come to pay respects?” Xia Tian raised her voice, confirming with Mulan.

“Yes, that’s exactly what Old Madam said.” Mulan nodded.

“Alright, I understand.” Xia Tian respectfully took the book and, with Ning Xue, turned to leave.

Inside the Old Madam’s room, Shen Lan was holding the Old Madam’s arm and asked in confusion, “Grandmother, she’s just a country girl. Does she even know how to read? Why does she have to copy a book?”

“Hmph! Even better if she doesn’t know how to read! Does she think anyone, even a stray dog or cat, can be my Wu’an Marquis’ wife?” Old Madam snorted disdainfully.

“Oh, I see, Grandmother wants her to back off, right?” Shen Lan shook the Old Madam’s arm affectionately, complimenting her.

“You’re a clever girl.” Old Madam stroked Shen Lan’s forehead with a finger.

The others in the room, seeing the happy interaction between grandmother and granddaughter, covered their mouths and chuckled. The atmosphere in the room was peaceful.

Meanwhile, Xia Tian returned directly to Jinglan Courtyard with Ning Xue.

Ning Xiang, seeing them return so quickly, was puzzled. “Madam, why are you back so soon?” She thought that since Madam had been late in paying her respects, Old Madam might have made things difficult for her, but she returned so soon.

“Mulan stopped us outside Ruixuan Hall and didn’t let us in.” Ning Xue whispered.

“Has Old Madam gotten angry?” Ning Xiang asked quietly.

“Hmm, Old Madam punished me to copy the Nu Jie one hundred times,” Xia Tian answered.

“One hundred times?!” Ning Xiang turned around sympathetically to look at Xia Tian. “How long will that take?”

Xia Tian shrugged, looking quite cheerful as she glanced at the two maids. “What’s there to worry about? Old Madam didn’t say when I must finish, she just said I can pay my respects again once I’m done copying.”

“But one hundred times, when will that be finished?” Ning Xiang was still worried, seeing that Madam didn’t seem at all anxious.

“Isn’t this a good thing? If I don’t finish copying, I don’t have to go pay my respects. If I don’t go to pay respects, I don’t have to wake up early.” The weather was getting colder and getting up at 5 AM was really exhausting.

“But… will Old Madam get even angrier?” Ning Xiang asked anxiously.

“No problem! I’m just a rural girl who never learned to read, and I don’t know how to write. So, of course, I’ll be slow. Old Madam will understand.” Xia Tian smiled confidently.

“Well, that’s true. Madam, you’re clever,” Ning Xiang said admiringly.

“Alright, it’s fine now. I’ll go take a nap.” Xia Tian covered her mouth with her hand, yawned widely, and walked toward her bedroom.

Ning Xue placed the book on the heated table in the warm room before calling Ning Xiang and both quietly left the room.

In the afternoon, Xia Tian stayed inside, spending the entire afternoon painting in the study.

It wasn’t until dinnertime that Shen Nian came back from his duties. When he came to Jinglan Courtyard to find her, she put down her brush and left the study.

“I heard that Old Madam punished you today?” Shen Nian sat at the heated table in the warm room, flipping through the Nu Jie in his hand.

“Mm, I was late to pay my respects, so Old Madam punished me to copy the Nu Jie.” Xia Tian was drying her hands and pointed with her mouth. “That book, the one you’re holding.”

“Should I go speak to Old Madam…” Shen Nian began, but Xia Tian interrupted him with a laugh.

“No need to plead. I think this punishment is fine.”

Shen Nian looked puzzled. Xia Tian walked over and sat on the other side of the heated table, repeating the reasoning she’d shared with Ning Xiang and Ning Xue.

Shen Nian couldn’t help but laugh silently. This girl’s thinking was just so different from everyone else’s!

“I don’t know how to write. Even if I copy one page a day, it will take at least three months to finish the whole book. Right?” Xia Tian’s eyes twinkled mischievously as she smiled at Shen Nian.

“Right!” Shen Nian smiled back.

Yes, this way, she would have a legitimate excuse not to pay respects for three months! Perfect!

Shen Nian was about to offer to help her with the copying, but as soon as she brought up her reasoning, he dropped the idea. Let her handle it on her own, after all, she had plenty of time. A little daily writing would be good practice!

For three consecutive days, Xia Tian hardly left the house. Aside from eating and sleeping, she spent most of her time painting in the study.

The seal she ordered last time was brought back by Ning Xue after running an errand to pick it up.

When Mulan reported that the Young Mistress hadn’t left her room for three days, and had been locked up in the study all day, Old Madam’s expression softened a little, and she snorted, “At least she knows what’s good for her. She thought she could do whatever she wanted just because she has the Young Master’s backing, but the Marquis’ residence would never tolerate that.”

“Go tell her again, she must copy the book herself. No one else can do it for her. If she doesn’t listen, throw her out of the Marquis’ residence.”

“Yes, Old Madam,” Mulan answered and withdrew.

Inside Jinglan Courtyard, Xia Tian was a bit confused when Ning Xiang pulled her out of the study. She had stayed indoors for the last few days and hadn’t caused any trouble. She hadn’t even left the courtyard, so why had Old Madam sent someone to find her?

When she saw Mulan, although still puzzled, she smiled and asked, “Mulan, did Old Madam have more instructions for me?”

“Old Madam sent me to tell the Young Mistress that only you can copy the book. No one else is allowed to do it for you. If you don’t comply, you’ll be kicked out of the Marquis’ residence.”

“Don’t worry, although I copy slowly, I will definitely do it all by myself,” Xia Tian said with confidence.

“Good, then I’ll take my leave.” Mulan said, turning and leaving.

“Hey, you…” Xia Tian started to speak, but before she could finish, Mulan had already turned and left. She rubbed her nose, then went back to the study.

She had thought Old Madam might have changed her mind about the copying, but it turned out it was just a warning.

In any case, she had no intention of letting anyone else help her with the copying.

In the past few days, she had finished her first painting and was just about to frame it before sending it to Yayi Studio for consignment.

Her first painting was of a tiger descending the mountain, with the tiger looking mighty and lifelike, almost as if it were about to leap out of the frame.

After admiring it for a while, she covered the painting with a white cloth, locked the study door, and returned to the warm room.

Sitting on the heated platform in the warm room, she drank a cup of tea, ate some snacks, and then spread out paper to start copying the book.

To her surprise, the hardest part of copying now was hiding her skills. Because she had studied Chinese painting, her calligraphy was already quite good. When Shen Nian had taught her, he thought she had an extraordinary talent and was able to write decently right from the start.

Now, she had decided to define herself as someone who couldn’t write, so she had to write badly on purpose, at least for the initial pages.

As a result, after a long time, she had only managed to write one page of barely legible characters.