Chapter 95 – It Wouldn’t Be Right If I Didn’t Return the Favor

After two days of relaxation, Xia Tian was back at it. Madam Liu no longer used her “ill health” as an excuse and once again had her helping with household affairs.

There were only ten days left until Shen Ning’s wedding on the sixteenth of the second month, so the mansion was starting to be decorated.

Xia Tian found herself busy again—mornings were still spent learning, and now afternoons were for following Madam Liu around on inspection rounds.

Thankfully, Madam Liu no longer picked on her for petty things like eating or drinking. She even allowed Xia Tian to go back for her meals in the mornings and at noon.

Occasionally, she’d even have snacks and a pot of tea sent to her.

On the surface, it looked like Madam Liu was earnestly teaching her how to manage the household. Even the third madam, Madam Ye, began to complain to the second madam, “Has Big Sister lost her mind? She’s actually wholeheartedly teaching that wild girl how to manage the house. She can’t really be thinking of letting her take over the marquisate, right?”

The second madam wasn’t sure either. She couldn’t quite figure out what Madam Liu was playing at.

But based on her understanding of Madam Liu, there was no way she’d sincerely teach that girl anything. Though the full story behind her actions wasn’t clear, based on Shen Nian’s attitude, there was absolutely no chance that the two had reconciled.

The most likely explanation was that Madam Liu was brewing something big.

That’s what Second Madam Zheng thought, though when speaking to the third madam, she still brushed it off with a laugh. “Who knows, maybe Big Sister really is thinking that way.”

“No way,” Third Madam instantly shot back. “She would never value that wild girl.”

She couldn’t make sense of what Madam Liu was up to either, but she didn’t believe for a second that she’d seriously train that wild girl to one day take charge of the marquis household.

That said, she had grown more cautious herself. She only aired her grievances to her somewhat-friendly second sister-in-law and didn’t show any dissatisfaction in front of others.

If it had been the old her, she’d have already gone to confront Madam Liu about it in person.

While the third madam remained baffled and the second madam stayed on the fence, Madam Liu only grew more affectionate toward Xia Tian.

Not only did she keep her close by each day to teach her the ins and outs of managing the household, but she also spoke in soft tones while explaining the tangled web of familial relations within the marquisate.

This sudden change in behavior didn’t make Xia Tian let her guard down—in fact, it made her even more on edge.

As the saying goes, “Unusual behavior always means something’s off.” The more polite Madam Liu became, the more Xia Tian felt she needed to stay on high alert. She avoided touching anything in Madam Liu’s presence if she could help it.

And as for things she had to eat or drink, if she couldn’t turn them down, she’d secretly stash them away in her spatial space with the help of her wide sleeves.

Three days before Shen Ning’s wedding, relatives and friends started coming over to contribute to her dowry.

Madam Liu assigned Xia Tian to entertain Shen Ning’s visiting friends.

But “entertain” was a bit of an overstatement. All the food and drink had been arranged already—Xia Tian was basically there to guide the girls around and take down notes about the items they brought.

To avoid giving Madam Liu any excuse to trip her up, Xia Tian had every item double-checked and signed off by Qiuyue, one of Madam Liu’s close maidservants, before she put the records away.

Xia Tian had assumed Madam Liu was just looking for a chance to embarrass her over something minor—but unexpectedly, Madam Liu had been holding back for a bigger move.

The day before Shen Ning’s wedding, most of the guests who came to contribute to the dowry had already left. Xia Tian, a little tired, was sitting in the reception room chatting with Shen Ning.

The room had been specially arranged by Madam Liu for the visiting young ladies, complete with reassigned servant girls.

Since the girls were mostly close friends of Shen Ning, she had stayed here to host them throughout.

While they rested, a young maid who had been serving in the room these past few days brought in two cups of tea.

Xia Tian hadn’t thought much of it at first. But when the maid was handing the cups off the tray, her hand trembled slightly. The tea didn’t spill, but Xia Tian caught the brief flicker in the girl’s eyes as she glanced up—and Xia Tian happened to catch the look perfectly.

After setting the tea down, the maid retreated outside but kept glancing toward the room from time to time.

Xia Tian’s heart tightened, but she didn’t let it show. She lifted the teacup as if to take a sip, blowing gently on the surface while secretly watching the maid outside the door.

Seeing how visibly nervous the girl looked, Xia Tian became sure – something had been added to the tea.

She saw Shen Ning about to drink as well and quickly covered her mouth with her sleeve, lightly “coughing” as she shot Shen Ning a look.

Shen Ning’s hand paused. Without missing a beat, she put down the cup and said, “The tea’s a bit hot. Be careful, Big Sister.”

“Mhm, no worries. After talking so much, I’m thirsty. I’ll sip it slowly,” Xia Tian said as she secretly poured the tea from her cup into her spatial space.

After she “finished” her cup, she picked up Shen Ning’s.

“Is it really that hot? Let me try.” Blocking the movement with her sleeve, she transferred the tea into her space as well, then refilled the cup with some tea she had previously stored.

Lowering her hand, she said to Shen Ning, “It’s fine now. You can drink it.”

Shen Ning got the message and assumed Xia Tian wanted her to find an excuse to spill it. She lifted the cup as if to drink but instead tipped it over onto her handkerchief and sleeve.

After the “tea time,” they both left and returned to their own courtyards.

As soon as she got back to Jinglan Courtyard, Xia Tian told Ning Xue to fetch Mu Chen. Then she poured the two suspicious teas into separate porcelain vials, labeled them clearly, and handed them over for Mu Chen to take outside the mansion to a physician for testing.

It wasn’t until dusk that Mu Chen returned—this time with Shen Nian in tow.

The moment Shen Nian entered with a grim face, Xia Tian knew the results weren’t good.

Ning Xiang and Ning Xue quietly stationed themselves by the door to keep watch.

“Well? What did they find?” Xia Tian asked Mu Chen directly when Shen Nian didn’t speak.

“There was an infertility drug in the tea,” Mu Chen replied darkly.

“What?” Xia Tian’s eyes widened. “In both vials? Or just one?”

“Both.” Mu Chen practically ground his teeth.

No wonder!

Shen Ning had been worried that Madam Liu might target her because of her closeness with Xia Tian. But nothing had happened for days, so Shen Ning thought maybe Madam Liu didn’t care—or that she didn’t think much of a concubine-born daughter.

But clearly, it wasn’t that Madam Liu didn’t care—she had just been biding her time!

All that warmth and kindness over the past few days had just been to set the stage for today.

And the fact that Madam Liu would go so far as to target even a concubine-born daughter like Shen Ning proved just how vicious she really was.

In this era, if a woman couldn’t have children, it wasn’t just a matter of losing face—she could be divorced at any moment.

Worse, she could end up abandoned, dead, or left to live out her life in a temple.

Thinking about that sent a chill down Xia Tian’s spine. If she hadn’t been cautious today, the two of them might really have fallen into the trap.

While she didn’t personally care whether she could have children or not, that was her own decision to make—not something that should be taken away from her.

“If Madam Liu is going to make her move,” Xia Tian said coldly, “then it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t return the favor.”