Who Should Defer to Whom?

No matter how well the old lady and the first lady got along, even mothers and daughters have their conflicts, let alone mothers and daughters-in-law. As for the affairs between the two, Matron Jin always tried to smooth things over and didn't want to get involved. After all, the old lady would eventually pass away before the first lady, and Matron Jin was a few years younger than the old lady; she might have to rely on the first lady for support in the future, so she didn't want to offend her.

Seeing the old lady complaining, she smiled and said, "Old Madam, you should try to understand the First Madam. The Fifth Miss might actually be the First Madam's biological daughter, so naturally she treats her differently from the Sixth Miss. If that's true, the Fifth Miss is the eldest legitimate daughter of the Marquis and his wife. Compared to that, what is the Sixth Miss? She's just an adopted daughter from a concubine's branch of the Marquis's household. She's not even a member of the Marquis's bloodline; why should an outsider like her choose things with the Fifth Miss?"

She glanced at the old lady's expression and continued, "What if they both like the same thing? Wouldn't Fifth Miss have to suffer the injustice of giving the better things to Sixth Miss? If she doesn't, she'll be branded as disrespectful to her younger sister, a legitimate daughter bullying an adopted daughter. First Madam is just trying to be fair to Fifth Miss. Old Madam, think about it, Sixth Miss stole all the good things from Fifth Miss for the past ten years. Now that she's finally back in the manor, she still has to let Sixth Miss choose the better things first and defer to her. Does she owe Sixth Miss something? Not to mention First Madam, even this old servant feels sorry for Fifth Miss and thinks she's being wronged."

The old lady didn't think too much about it at the time. She just felt that Zhao Ruyu had been admitted to the Capital Women's Academy and had caught the eye of the Marquis of Pingnan's Residence. Even if her background was somewhat lacking, she could make up for it with her ability and honor. If she married into a good family in the future, the Marquis's family would still have to rely on her for help. Therefore, she now treated Zhao Ruyu the same as Xu Xi, thinking that she should treat them equally and not let Zhao Ruyu feel disheartened by letting Xu Xi choose things first.

Unexpectedly, her actions Gao Xing the First Madam.

She rubbed her temples and sighed, "I'm getting old and senile. I always try to make everyone Gao Xing, but I end up making everyone Gao Xing. Sigh."

She looked up at Matron Jin: "A-Jin, what do you suggest I do? Should I send someone to tell Lady Zhu to let her take Xi'er to choose things first?"

Just as Matron Jin was about to speak, Liuli came in and reported, "Madam, the Sixth Miss has returned and said she has come to pay her respects."

Okay, I'd better shut up.

Seeing that Matron Jin remained silent, the old lady glanced outside with a troubled expression, then thought for a moment and said, "Let her in." She's already outside; we can't just leave her hanging, can we?

Zhao Ruyu greeted them and, as expected, began to talk about the things the academy needed.

Now that things have come to this point, the old lady can no longer just brush Zhao Ruyu off and let Xu Xi choose first, and then let Zhao Ruyu choose later.

There are many people and gossips in the inner quarters, so it's impossible to keep anything a secret. Whenever the First Madam leads people to open the storeroom, someone will inevitably see her. Zhao Ruyu is now a student at the Capital Women's Academy, and the maids and servants in the mansion will no longer treat her with the same disdain as they did not before, treating her like an adopted daughter of a marquis. If she just sends someone to inquire, she will find out about these things sooner or later.

Rather than pleasing neither side, it's better to stick to the original plan.

"Go back and eat first. Come over after you've eaten, and I'll have the First Madam take you and Ruxi to pick out some things. She needs similar things from the academy, and she just told me. So I've asked her to wait for you to go pick them out together."

"Thank you, Madam." Zhao Ruyu showed little emotion upon hearing this.

Ever since she was admitted to the Capital Women's Academy, she knew that compared to Zhao Ruxi, the old lady, who valued profit more, would still value her more.

After the meal, the First Madam arrived at the Rongxi Hall. Zhao Ruyu had already sent a maid to wait for her, who rushed over upon receiving the news. Xu Xi, who lived nearby, arrived at the Rongxi Hall before Zhao Ruyu did.

When Zhao Ruyu arrived, the three of them went to the Marquis's mansion storeroom together.

The First Madam gestured for Caidie to open the door and said to the two of them, "Take a look at these zithers and see if there's one you like."

Before the two could speak, she looked at Zhao Ruyu, "Ruxi wants to learn the guzheng, Ruyu you, Ruyu?"

Zhao Ruyu glanced at Xu Xi and smiled, "Then let your sister choose first. I also learn the guzheng. It's just that my old guzheng isn't very good anymore, so I want to choose a new one."

As daughters of the Marquis's family, the old lady also hired teachers to instruct them. Zhao Ruyu originally studied the guzheng, and after entering the Marquis of Pingnan's Residence in her previous life, she made great progress in this area.

But once she entered the Capital Women's Academy, she realized that there were many people with expertise in this area. Her combined skill level from both lifetimes was only above average among her classmates, not outstanding. Therefore, she naturally dared not abandon her less advantageous position to learn another musical instrument for Xu Xi.

Having lived two lifetimes, she had seen countless fine things, so she didn't find the items in the Marquis's mansion's storeroom particularly special. Therefore, she didn't insist on being the first to choose and was happy to let Xu Xi pick first, maintaining a haughty demeanor.

"Sister, you should choose first." Xu Xi was more shrewd than most people, and naturally she wouldn't choose first. "I'm the older sister, I have to let my younger sister have her way. My younger sister can't let me get a bad reputation for not being considerate of her, can she?"

Meeting Xu Xi's ambiguous smile, Zhao Ruyu didn't insist any further. Xu Xi had already made her point so clearly; if she insisted on letting Xu Xi choose, she would appear to be a wicked woman.

She smiled and said, "Then I thank you, elder sister." With that, she stepped into the storeroom.

"Matron Ruan, Caidie, you two go in and keep Sixth Miss company," the First Madam instructed.

Matron Ruan and Caidie Die agreed and went into the storeroom, while the First Madam Xu Xi, and Qingfeng remained outside.

"How are you doing at the academy? Has anyone bullied you? Who are your teachers? Can you understand what they are saying?" the First Madam asked Xu Xi.

Xu Xi answered them one by one.

The two chatted for less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea before Zhao Ruyu came out and said to the First Madam, "Aunt, I've made my selection."

The First Madam looked at the guzheng that Fushu was holding and then turned to Zhao Ruyu in surprise. "Why did you choose this one?"

The First Madam also came from a noble family and had studied music, chess, calligraphy, and painting since childhood. Moreover, the eldest daughter of the Marquis's mansion Zhao Ruzhu, and the second daughter, Zhao Ruyu, were both born to the First Madam. When they were learning to play the zither, the First Madam accompanied them through all the musical instruments in the storeroom and had some impression of them.

In her memory, the guzheng that Fushu was holding was not considered good among the several guzheng in the storeroom; its sound quality was only average.

"My sister let me choose first, how could I take the best one? Of course I should leave the best for my sister," Zhao Ruyu said.