My IQ Is High, So Listen to Me
The room fell silent.
Those who were slower on the uptake still hadn't worked it out, and thought Xu Xi made perfect sense: exactly, how could you just go with someone who showed up out of nowhere and claimed you were their child?
Madam Xie's expression was exceedingly complicated.
Matron Ruan, however, was red in the face with anger.
She called after Xu Xi, "Are you saying we're swindlers, miss? The Marquis of Suiping's Residence has imperial blood in its veins. Our ancestor and the founding emperor were cousins; though the family's title has since been reduced, it remains one of the capital's great noble houses. What could a mere farm girl like you have that's worth us going to such lengths to deceive you? What you're saying makes no sense at all, miss."
They had condescended to come and acknowledge their kin. With such a windfall falling from the heavens, even if Xu Xi wasn't overawed and trembling with gratitude, she should have happily gone back with them without asking a single question. How could life in the marquis's residence compare to this place in the countryside? Even if they had mistaken her for someone else, as long as she could become a young lady of the marquis's residence, anyone would fight for the chance to go.
Yet this girl had actually called them swindlers!
She was utterly unreasonable! Outrageous!
Xu Xi could no longer hear what she was saying. The system in her head was yelling loud enough to pierce the heavens, making her brain ache.
"Shut up, you idiot," she shouted inwardly as she entered her room.
"I'm the Wisdom Leads You to a Happy Life (Partial Obstacle) System, not an idiot!" After its customary protest, the system asked her, "Why aren't you going with them? You know perfectly well that everything she said is true."
"And you still won't admit you're an idiot," Xu Xi said with disdain. "Think about the original owner in the book. She did go back with them, but did she have a good life?"
That second madam had acted as if she had a grudge against her own daughter. She treated her fairly well in front of others, but behind her back, she kept digging traps for her. Otherwise, with her own mother's love, even if the original owner hadn't been outstanding enough, she wouldn't have ended up being mocked and bullied by everyone, and finally married off to a thing like that.
The system was stumped.
But it refused to give up. "If you don't go back, how will you use your wisdom to slap their faces and set foot on the road to a happy life? What's the point of us coming here?"
Xu Xi thought there was plenty of point. At least she was the one living her life. As long as she lived it with relish, her life would have plenty of meaning.
But the system was stubborn, and telling it any of this would be a complete waste of breath.
She coaxed it, "As long as I use my own wisdom to set foot on the road to a happy life, isn't that enough? Why do I have to go back to the marquis's residence? Didn't you send me here so the original owner could live her life over again? If I follow the same old road, go into the residence and get bullied, then get married off to some scumbag they pick at random, unable to beat them or resist them, unable to control my own fate, what's the point of doing it all over again? Do you think Xu Xi's fate can be changed just by excelling at the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting?"
"N-no, it can't?" the system asked weakly.
"No!" Xu Xi answered with utter conviction.
"But..." The system still wasn't persuaded. "If you mastered the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and your talents stood out, those young masters from noble families would surely come flocking to ask for your hand. With good choices available, presumably the people at the marquis's residence wouldn't deliberately pick a scumbag for you, would they?"
"Let me ask you this: did you bind yourself to me and bring me here because you valued my IQ?" Xu Xi asked instead of answering.
"...Yes." The system really wanted to deny it. This woman would argue three points even when she had no case, let alone when it was the truth. It might as well admit it honestly.
"Since you valued my IQ, you should listen to me!" Xu Xi said. "Otherwise, you can destroy me and go bind yourself to another host."
"..."
The world was finally quiet.
In the main room, the worldly-wise village head hurriedly smiled and smoothed things over after Xu Xi left. "Oh, Miss Xi is still a child. Hearing that she was switched at birth and it only came to light after more than ten years, she surely can't accept it. It's perfectly normal for her to say a few things in anger. Steward Liu, Matron Ruan, please be magnanimous and don't hold it against a child."
With that, he turned to Madam Xie. "Go talk to her. The marquis's residence has come to take her back. How can she just say she won't go? Can they let their own child remain out there away from home?"
Madam Xie's lips moved, and her expression was exceedingly complicated.
She rose and took a couple of steps, but in the end she couldn't hold back. Turning, she asked Matron Ruan, "Since Miss Xi isn't a child of our Xu family, what about my own niece?"
Matron Ruan also knew that if she didn't take Xu Xi back with her today, she wouldn't be able to report back at the residence. She still needed Madam Xie to persuade Xu Xi.
She said, "Fifth Miss has grown up in the lap of luxury at the marquis's residence. The old madam and the madam both dote on her. They intend for her to stay at the residence and still be considered one of its young ladies. When she marries, her dowry will be the same as the other young ladies'. You may also visit her and keep in touch with her as relatives would."
"That's good, that's good," Madam Xie said repeatedly.
As long as the child was well, leaving her at the marquis's residence would fulfill her late sister-in-law's wish, and she should be able to rest easy in the afterlife. If they brought the child back, presumably her sister-in-law wouldn't have wanted that either.
Besides, could a farming family like theirs afford to raise a child brought up in such a household? If they brought her back, where would she find a good match for the young lady?
Madam Xie left the main room and went to Xu Xi's room. She saw Xu Xi grinding ink, apparently intending to practice her calligraphy.
"Miss Xi," she called.
Xu Xi turned and glanced at her. "Are you here to persuade me to go to the marquis's residence?"
Madam Xie opened her mouth, but couldn't say a word.
She walked over to a chair and sat down, silently watching Xu Xi grind the ink with a placid expression. After quite a while, she finally asked, "Why don't you want to go? Your birth parents are there. If you act out of anger now, and Matron Ruan and the others leave, it'll be too late if you regret it later."
Xu Xi put down the ink stick and came over to sit beside Madam Xie. "I won't go to the marquis's residence," she said earnestly. "If you and Uncle don't want me, I'll move back to the city and live on my own."
Xu Yongzeng, the eldest son of the Xu family, had been only twenty when he passed the examination for the scholar degree, and naturally he hadn't been content to stop at that modest distinction. To make it easier to study at the county school and earn a living for his family by copying books and writing letters, he had divided the family property with his younger brother when their parents died. He sold his share of the house to his brother, borrowed a little money, and added it to his savings to buy a small courtyard house in the city.
After the couple died, Xu Xi was brought back to the village, and the house was rented out.
Afraid Madam Xie might take it the wrong way, Xu Xi added, "That house belongs to your Xu family. I won't take it. Give me half a year. Once I've earned enough to support myself, I'll vacate it for you."
"Miss Xi, you know perfectly well that's not what Auntie meant." Madam Xie looked embarrassed and annoyed at being misunderstood. "Even if you aren't your uncle and aunt's biological daughter, they raised you for so many years that you're still our family's adopted daughter. This is your home. You can stay as long as you like, and the house in the city is yours too. Auntie won't think anything of it."