It turned out that Qiao Xin wasn’t joking with them—they really couldn’t compare!

By the end of the afternoon, the students and teachers of the elementary class were utterly shaken.

Mo Jiaquan walked into his room, dazed.

His father, Old Mo, noticed his absent-minded expression and asked, “What’s wrong with you?”

“Father, do people with a photographic memory really exist?”

“What kind of question is that? Of course, they do. Just because we can’t do it doesn’t mean others can’t. I’ve seen such people in my youth. Why are you asking? Does the Qiao family have one?”

Mo Jiaquan nodded solemnly.

“Who? Which young master of the Qiao family?”

Mo Jiaquan shook his head. “None of them. It’s Grandma Qiao”

Old Mo thought he had misheard. “Who? The Qiao family’s old lady?”

Mo Jiaquan, still in shock, looked at his father.

If it had been one of the young Qiao children, he wouldn’t have been too surprised.

But this was their grandmother!

Old Mo opened his mouth but couldn’t find the words to comfort his son.

“Father, I want to stay here!”

Was the boy out of his mind?

If he stayed as a servant, how could he ever restore the Mo family’s honor?

How could their ordinary family ever help him avenge his past grievances?

“Jiaquan, let’s wait a little longer. The Qiao family might not be able to protect us forever. No matter how smart the old lady is, she can’t hold an official position…”

But Mo Jiaquan wasn’t listening.

After just one afternoon of lessons, he discovered that not only did the old lady learn characters at an incredible speed, but all of the Qiao grandchildren were also extraordinary.

Qiao Dalang and Qiao Sanlang clearly had prior education, with a solid foundation.

Qiao Erlang was lively but intelligent—what his older brothers learned in one pass, he could grasp in two.

As for Silang and Wulang, they were still young, so it was hard to judge their abilities, but even at such a young age, they could sit quietly for an entire afternoon.

Every member of this family was remarkable!

Seeing that his son was so obsessed that he wouldn’t listen to reason, Old Mo could only let him be for now.

The ones suffering the most, however, were the younger generation of the Qiao family.

Ever since they began their studies, Qiao Sanlang and Qiao Dalang had been praised by Qiao Yunqing as promising scholars.

They had been quite confident—until today.

Just half a day as classmates with their grandmother, and their youthful pride had been utterly shattered.

When the three older Qiao brothers returned home after their lessons, they found the younger boys slumped in their chairs, completely dejected.

Curious, they asked, “What’s wrong with you all? Where’s Grandma?”

Qiao Wulang, looking dispirited, replied, “Grandma said she was going to catch some rabbits to see if she could make calligraphy brushes.”

He then sighed, “Father, Grandma is amazing! In just one afternoon, she learned over two hundred characters and memorized Mengqiu!”

Qiao Yunting felt a chill down his spine.

Here we go again!

Mother had spent the morning humiliating her sons, and now she had spent the afternoon crushing her grandsons.

Did she want them to live or not?

Qiao Yunqing, knowing his mother’s background, had somewhat expected this outcome.

Still, he didn’t want the younger ones to lose heart.

He consoled them, “There’s no need to feel bad. We can’t match your grandmother in physical strength either. You’re still young—you have plenty of time to learn. She wasn’t born knowing everything; she worked hard for it.”

Qiao Sanlang asked dejectedly, “Then when will I surpass Grandma?”

Qiao Yunqing patted his son’s shoulder in silent comfort.

Keep working hard, kid—your father has no clue either!

Meanwhile, the two daughters-in-law, Xu Shi and Zhang Shi, were questioning their own intelligence. Compared to this family of geniuses, their confidence was completely shattered.

In one afternoon, they had only managed to learn ten characters—nowhere near their mother-in-law’s level!

Exchanging glances, they silently agreed: they had to tell Qiao Xin they wanted to quit.

Qiao Xin noticed their discomfort and had no strong feelings about it.

However, as their mother-in-law, she felt a responsibility to guide them.

These two daughters-in-law had no strong backing from their own families. If, in the future, their marriages hit rough waters, they would have nowhere to turn.

That would be no different from a death sentence.

“My eldest and second daughters-in-law, do you think I’m making you learn just to torment you?”

Xu Shi quickly denied it, “No, Mother. We just feel too slow and are afraid we won’t be able to learn.”

She genuinely believed she wasn’t cut out for studying. Besides, it wasn’t common for daughters-in-law to be learning to read and write.

“Are you really unable to learn, or are you just embarrassed to be studying at this age, afraid of being laughed at? There’s no such thing as being too dumb to learn. I’m not asking you to take the imperial exams—just to learn enough so that managing the household and bookkeeping won’t be a struggle.”

Qiao Xin spoke seriously. “Let me be honest with you. Whether it’s the eldest or the second son, they will have to go out and earn merits in the future. When that happens, the household will need more servants. As the mistresses of this home, will you not even know how to read account books? Do you want them to take a concubine just to manage the household?”

“Absolutely not!” Zhang Shi immediately rejected the idea.

Just thinking about it made her uncomfortable—if that day ever came, what would be left for her?

“That’s not for me to decide,” Qiao Xin said. “It depends on whether you can manage things properly. The biggest problem in a marriage is when one spouse keeps moving forward while the other stays stagnant—or worse, falls behind.”

“You’ve all heard stories in operas about men who pass the imperial exam and abandon their wives for a noble lady. While some men are simply ungrateful, the truth is that their original wives often can’t keep up with them anymore.”

“At first, all they talked about was putting food on the table and raising children. But once a man becomes an official, those worries disappear. He starts thinking about politics, and you can’t expect him to come home after a long day dealing with the court and face a chaotic household. A competent second wife would be a tempting solution.”

“Daring to bet everything on a man’s conscience is foolish. A woman should rely on her own abilities. Servants can betray you. Trusted maids can deceive you. But if you have knowledge and skills, no one can take that away.”

“Don’t compare yourselves to others. Just take it slow. Learning ten characters a day is better than nothing. Stick with it for six months and see what happens.”

Hearing this, Xu Shi and Zhang Shi felt deeply ashamed.

They had never imagined that their mother-in-law was thinking so far ahead for them.

They had never considered the possibility of their husbands abandoning them—but they had heard of it happening to others.

“Mother, we’ll listen to you from now on. We’ll study hard!”

Qiao Xin waved them off. “I don’t need you to listen to me. Just don’t blame me later for meddling in your affairs!”

They repeatedly assured her they wouldn’t and left, smiling.

They understood now—Qiao Xin might have a sharp tongue, but she had a soft heart for her own people.