Seizing the Chance to Stir Up Trouble

Although Xu Xi did not know that Zhao Ruyu had been reborn, she was the heroine, with an aura all her own. And Xu Xi, as a cannon-fodder female supporting character, would be reduced to dust in an instant by the heroine's aura.

Stay away from the heroine and cherish her life: that was Xu Xi's first priority after transmigrating into the book. Because of that, she would not stay at the marquis's residence for long, and she was especially on guard against Zhao Ruyu.

"Second Uncle Xu is a peddler. He often traveled between the capital and the county, and he heard people say that the Women's Academy was very good, and that those who studied there went on to great things. So he decided to send my cousin Xu Xue and me there to study. He signed us up long before Matron Ruan went to Little Banyan Village."

Xu Xi smiled. "We kept hearing how hard the exam was. But it wasn't hard at all. Was it just a rumor that grew in the telling? Xu Xue and I both passed on our first try. There really wasn't anything difficult about it."

She really wasn't showing off. She was telling the truth.

"How is that possible?" Zhao Ruyu was so startled that she failed to keep her voice down. Lady Wei, who had slowed her pace at some point and was walking just ahead of them, stopped at once. She turned around and scolded them, "Why are you making such a fuss? Don't you know I frighten easily?"

"I'm sorry, Mother. I didn't mean to." Zhao Ruyu quickly lowered her head and admitted her fault.

Lady Wei cast Xu Xi an unfriendly glance, then frowned and said to her, "It was one thing when you were in Little Banyan Village, a poor backwater where no one taught you. Now that you've returned to the residence, you must learn proper manners from the matron. Just now, for instance, I was walking fast, but you should have kept up no matter what. Surely you don't expect me, your elder, to stop and wait for you?"

With that, she called out, "Matron Li."

"This old servant is here."

"For the time being, stay with Fifth Miss and properly correct her every word and action. Don't let her go out and make people laugh at our marquis's residence and the second branch for having no manners."

"Yes."

Lady Wei then said to Matron Yuan, Qingfeng, and the others, "Now that you serve Fifth Miss, you can be considered servants of our second branch from now on. Once you enter the second branch, you must follow its rules. As her mother, I intend to discipline my daughter. I trust Matron Yuan and Miss Qingfeng won't interfere?"

Matron Yuan and Qingfeng were both very displeased.

But Lady Wei's words left them no way to object. The two could only lower their heads and say, "Yes."

Xu Xi thought Lady Wei was a madwoman. She had not returned to the marquis's residence intending to live under Lady Wei's control. She had been looking for a chance to clash with Lady Wei so she could use it to break away from the second branch's little circle.

She knew that Lady Wei's word was law in the second branch, and that even Zhao Yuanliang did his best not to come into conflict with her. Within the larger circle of the marquis's residence, for the sake of Lady Wei's father, whose official career was gradually advancing, and because Lady Wei had borne a son, the Old Madam and First Madam turned a blind eye as long as she did not go too far.

That had also nurtured Lady Wei's increasingly overbearing temperament.

Lady Wei felt not the slightest affection for her, only utter loathing, and very much did not want her to return to the marquis's residence. As soon as she showed the slightest sign of disobedience, Lady Wei would surely seize the chance to deal with her and vent her discontent.

But she had not expected the chance to come so soon.

She was delighted inwardly, but an impatient expression appeared on her face. "There's no need to trouble Matron Li. I'm going to the academy tomorrow. Servants aren't allowed there. Besides, the female teachers at the academy all come from distinguished, eminent families and are highly respected. They've taught the young ladies of royal and noble houses. With their dedicated instruction, I don't think there will be any need to trouble Matron Li."

As she spoke, she also glanced at Matron Li.

She showed no contempt on her face, and there was no particular emotion in her eyes. It was just a simple glance. But to Lady Wei and Matron Li, who were especially sensitive about such things, that glance was full of disdain.

Although Lady Wei's father had become a fourth-rank official, there was no denying that he came from a humble family; Lady Wei's own mother was likewise of humble birth. Before Lady Wei married into the marquis's residence, her family had been so poor that they had only a few servants, and they lived in a rented little two-courtyard house. Lady Wei had not been qualified to attend any of the flower-viewing banquets held each year by the capital's upper class. As for the etiquette of eminent families, neither Lady Wei nor her parents had ever paid any attention to such things.

After Lady Wei married into the marquis's residence, the Old Marchioness had sent a matron to instruct her before she finally became presentable.

That was even more true of Matron Li, who had been poor both before and after her marriage. If her family had not been so impoverished that they had no food to eat, she could not have sold herself into servitude as a wet nurse in the household of a minor official like the Wei family. Even though she later followed Lady Wei into the marquis's residence, some things were deeply rooted, and habits ingrained from childhood were carved into the bone, difficult to change in adulthood. After entering the marquis's residence, mistress and servant had often been laughed at behind their backs for their lack of manners.

When Zhao Ruyu saw that Xu Xi, who had been meek and submissive in her previous life, actually dared speak to Lady Wei like that, she was astonished once again and stared at Xu Xi with wide eyes.

Was this really Xu Xi?

"You, you... you dare speak to me like that?" Lady Wei trembled all over with rage.

For so many years, no one had dared speak to her like that, much less expose her past and tear open her old wounds. It was simply outrageous.

She pointed at Xu Xi and shouted, "Someone, come here! Slap her mouth!"