Chapter 90 – I’m Afraid I Can’t Learn It

When Xia Tian followed Mu Jin to Ruixuan Hall, the room was already full of people.

It was just shortly after breakfast, and Mrs. Liu, Second Madam Zheng, and Third Madam Ye were all present.

Shen Lan, Shen Yi, Shen Ning, and a few other older girls were also there.

From the scene, it seemed like a tribunal was about to take place.

After Xia Tian greeted the elders, she obediently stood aside.

The old madam then glanced at her, “Where’s the book I asked you to copy?”

“Here.” Xia Tian respectfully offered the book with both hands.

The old madam motioned for Mu Jin to take it, placing it on the table.

The old madam casually flipped through a few pages before saying to Mu Jin, “Count and see if it’s the right number.”

“Yes, old madam.” Mu Jin quickly counted and then said, “Old madam, the number is correct. But… this character…” Mu Jin hesitated.

“What’s wrong with the character?” The old madam frowned. “If there’s an issue, speak up.”

“It’s just that the characters towards the back don’t seem like something Madam Xizi would write.” Mu Jin said hesitantly.

“What?” The old madam slammed the book onto the table. “Did someone else write it?”

“I don’t know, but the writing looks so different from the beginning.” Mu Jin respectfully replied.

“Let me see.” The old madam took the paper from Mu Jin’s hands and flipped through it carefully. “It really looks like two different people wrote this.”

She then turned to Xia Tian and shouted angrily, “Speak! Did you have someone else write it?”

“No, I wrote it all myself.” Xia Tian quickly replied.

“Didn’t you say you couldn’t read? How did you write so well?” The old madam didn’t believe her.

“Old madam, I really didn’t know how to read before. But since you asked me to copy the book, I had Madam Xizi teach me how to read and write.” Xia Tian answered clearly.

“You’re telling me that in such a short time you could write like this?” The old madam was still unconvinced.

“Yes, ever since you asked me to copy the book, I practiced every day. That’s why it got better and better. If you don’t believe me, you can take a look. The first part is what I wrote at the beginning, and the further down it goes, the more skillful it becomes.”

The old madam, suspicious, flipped through it again. Based on the writing style, it did seem like one person wrote it, and the handwriting had indeed improved from clumsy to more skilled as it progressed.

However, still half-doubting, when she saw that the old madam might let Xia Tian off the hook, Shen Lan quickly stepped forward to join in. “Grandmother, let me take a look.”

She moved forward to the old madam’s side, who handed her the book. Shen Lan flipped through it and feigned surprise. “Is this really written by someone who couldn’t write? I’ve been studying since I was little, and I’ve never written this well. I didn’t know my sister-in-law was so clever!”

She shouldn’t have said anything. The more she spoke, the less the old madam believed it.

“Mu Jin, bring paper and a pen. Let her write again in front of us.”

“Yes, old madam.”

Mu Jin quickly went to get paper and a pen from the back.

“Sister-in-law, you must write well now. If it doesn’t match the handwriting, grandmother will get angry,” Shen Lan said, pretending to care.

Xia Tian ignored her, picked up the pen, and began writing directly.

After filling a page, she handed it to Mu Jin.

Mu Jin was secretly amazed. She didn’t expect Madam Xizi to actually know how to write!

Originally, she had wanted to find a way to sabotage this, but now she had no choice but to give the paper to the old madam. The old madam took it and compared it to the original writing. It was exactly as Xia Tian said—it was indeed her own handwriting.

Finally, with a stern face, the old madam spoke, “Alright, you’ve passed. Starting tomorrow, you can come to pay your respects.”

With a look of disdain, the old madam’s tone made Xia Tian feel as though she had just swallowed a fly.

But she had no choice but to comply. “Yes, thank you, old madam.”

“Since you’re recovering from an illness, Xia Tian should start learning from you about managing the household. You can’t do everything by yourself; it will be good for her to learn, and she can be of help in the future,” Mrs. Liu, who had been quiet until now, suddenly spoke up.

“Sister-in-law, are you confused? Why would you let a wild girl learn to manage a household? If you need help, you could have my Yi’er learn. Isn’t she better than this wild girl?” Third Madam Ye interjected.

“Yi’er is still young; no need to rush her learning. But Xia Tian is Madam Xizi, and she will be the one to manage the Marquis’s estate. She needs to learn more.” Mrs. Liu explained to Ye, but her tone seemed to provoke.

“Hmph! A wild girl has no right to manage the Marquis’s estate! How ridiculous!” Ye sneered.

“Mrs. Liu, you handle this yourself.” The old madam finally spoke.

“I think Third Aunt is right. Let Yi’er learn, I can only recognize a few characters, and I probably wouldn’t be able to learn it.” Xia Tian refused. She didn’t want to spend every day looking at Mrs. Liu’s fake kind face.

Moreover, she suspected Mrs. Liu didn’t have good intentions in wanting to teach her how to manage the household—she must have some ulterior motive!

If this turned into a scheme to torment her, she’d have no place to argue.

But Mrs. Liu thought differently. When the old madam said to handle it herself, she smiled and told Xia Tian, “Then it’s settled. Starting tomorrow, after the morning respects, you’ll come and learn with me. I’m planning to arrange Ning’er’s wedding soon, so there’s plenty to learn.”

Xia Tian wasn’t happy, but couldn’t refuse. She could only agree for now. “Alright, thank you, mother.”

“Good. Now you may leave. Don’t forget to come on time tomorrow,” Mrs. Liu reminded her.

“Yes, I understand.” Xia Tian answered obediently and then left.

After leaving Ruixuan Hall, Ning Xiang looked worried and quietly asked, “Madam, are you really going to learn how to manage the household starting tomorrow?”

“Yes. It looks like it.”

“Should we tell Madam Xizi? She surely has a way to get out of this.”

“We’ll wait until evening. Madam Xizi hasn’t finished her shift yet. If it’s necessary, we’ll tell her. But I’ll see how things go first.”

Ning Xiang nodded, knowing that Mrs. Liu probably didn’t have sincere intentions in teaching Xia Tian how to manage the household.

Naturally, she was worried.

When they returned to Jinglan Courtyard, Ning Xue noticed their troubled expressions and asked in confusion, “What happened? Why do you both look so down?”

“Madam has decided that Xia Tian will learn to manage the household with Mrs. Liu,” Ning Xiang said quietly, frowning.

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Ning Xue was surprised. Why would they be upset about learning to manage the household?

“You fool! Don’t you know the relationship between Madam and Madam Xizi?” Ning Xiang smacked Ning Xue’s arm in frustration.

“Oh, right. But I believe Madam will handle it fine.” Ning Xue said optimistically, “Madam is so clever, don’t worry. And if she can’t handle it, isn’t there Madam Xizi?”

Ning Xiang thought about it too. After all, there was Madam Xizi, so surely things would be fine!

Xia Tian overheard the conversation between the two girls but didn’t say much. She’d wait and see how things went. If it became too difficult to handle, she’d just ask Shen Nian for help.

And she was sure Mrs. Liu wouldn’t make things difficult for her on the surface. As long as she was careful, she wouldn’t fall for any tricks.