The Little Brat

The First Madam ignored her and turned to instruct Caidie, "Go and bring out the guzheng with the mountain and water pattern carved on its box."

The Caidie responded and went off, returning shortly with a long, narrow wooden box.

The First Madam gestured for her to open it and said to Zhao Ruyu, "The Capital Women's Academy full of classmates from prestigious families, who use either famous or very valuable zithers. Although our Marquis's mansion is not what it used to be, it's not so poor that we can't even afford a decent zither, which would make us a laughingstock. Your behavior of deferring to your sister is right, but you still lacked consideration in your actions."

She gestured for Caidie to close the box. "Fushu, give that guzheng to Nanny Liu, and take the box Caidie is carrying back for your young lady."

Nanny Liu was the old woman who managed the storeroom.

Fushu glanced at Zhao Ruyu, agreed, and changed to the guzheng as instructed.

Zhao Ruyu looked uneasy. "Aunt, what you said makes sense, but what about my sister if I take this guzheng?"

This box contains the finest guzheng in the storeroom. Could it be that the First Madam dislikes her and wants to tarnish her reputation?

"I insisted you change it, so no one can gossip about it," the First Madam said. "As for your sister, I still have old zithers used by the eldest and second young ladies in my private treasury. I'll let her go to my private treasury and choose one."

Without waiting for Zhao Ruyu to say anything, she said gently to Xu Xi, "Don't worry about the zither for now. First, go with Ruyu to look at the brushes, paper, and paints. Later, go with your aunt to the main house and see if you're satisfied with the zithers your eldest and second sisters used."

Xu Xi naturally knew that Lady Zhu's actions were biased towards her. She quickly smiled and said, "Alright, then I'll wait to see the good stuff Auntie has hidden away."

The First Madam laughed and said, "What good stuff? It's just old stuff that your two older sisters used. I can't have any more daughters, so rather than letting it sit and get moldy, I'd rather you use it. Just don't mind that it's old stuff."

"How could that be? I'm afraid I'll ruin it." Xu Xi laughed.

The two chatted and laughed as they walked to another storeroom. This storeroom contained small and delicate items, each packaged in a box and displayed on shelves.

The First Madam gestured for Caidie to open the items one by one for Xu Xi and Zhao Ruyu to see, so they could choose.

There were multiple sets of pens, paper, and paints available, so this time there was no need to be modest; just choose what you needed.

The two women brought not only their Daya but also their two junior maids. After choosing their items, they had the maids carry them; once they were done, they were sent back to put their things away before returning.

After selecting these books, the First Madam said, "Although the manor has the books you need, they are all old books used by the men and are not suitable for you. Tomorrow I will have someone go to a bookstore outside to buy new ones and deliver them to your courtyard."

"Thank you, Aunt." Zhao Ruyu bowed to her. "In that case, I'll take the maid and go back now."

"Go ahead." The First Madam waved her hand, watched Zhao Ruyu leave, and then called to Xu Xi, "Come on, Miss Xi, haven't you been to our main house's courtyard yet? Go and play with your aunt."

Xu Xi didn't move, but said, "Aunt, I think I'll just choose a guzheng from the storeroom. My classmates there all come from ordinary backgrounds, so having an ordinary instrument is fine. No one will laugh at me for not having a famous one."

Before the Madam could speak, she continued, "The main problem is that I'm a beginner, and my hands are too heavy; I'd ruin a good zither. I'll just choose an ordinary one from the storeroom. Later, when I've improved, Aunt, how about you give me a better one? Consider it as me keeping it safe in your storeroom for now."

"Oh, you child," the First Madam said, giving Xu Xi a reproachful look. "You're too obedient."

She understood what Xu Xi meant.

She's currently protecting Xu Xi and treating Xu Xi differently. Xu Xi thinks this is because of her suspicion that Xu Xi might be her child, hence her special kindness. But if that suspicion turns out to be wrong, wouldn't the things she gave Xu Xi become a hot potato?

"Your aunt gave you these things not for any other reason than because you like my personality. Your aunt likes your straightforwardness, so she's willing to give you these things. It's that simple, just accept them."

She thought for a moment and said, "But what you said makes sense. Anyway, there's a guzheng in the Hou Mansion's storeroom that belongs to you, so go and pick one out. As for the things your aunt gave you, they're from her private treasury and have nothing to do with your allowance, so just take them all. You can use them when you've learned them well. You don't need to ask me for them again; I don't want to keep them for you."

Xu Xi felt that what her aunt said made perfect sense, so she did not refuse. She went to the storeroom and picked out a set that she liked, and asked Yicui and Dianjiang, who was carrying paper and pens, to take it back. She then took Qingfeng to the courtyard of the main house.

"Jingtai, stop being naughty and give me the things quickly." Before even entering the courtyard, a boy's voice could be heard coming from inside.

Xu Xi had a good memory and recognized Zhao Jingli's voice.

"No, no, I won't give it!" A child's voice rang out, and just from the tone, you could tell this kid was incredibly naughty and deserved a good spanking.

The First Madam quickened her pace, and Xu Xi followed her into the courtyard. She saw Zhao Jingtai running ahead with something in his hand, and Zhao Jingli chasing closely behind.

The old woman guarding the gate, seeing the First Madam enter, was overjoyed as if she had seen a savior, and hurriedly called out, "First Madam, you're back?"

Zhao Jingli was startled, turned around, and saw Lady Zhu enter. He quickly stopped and called back to Zhao Jingtai, "Jingtai, Mother is back."

"You're using this trick again. Don't think you can fool me."

Zhao Jingtai didn't believe him at all. He put the thing in his mouth and, with the agility of a monkey, climbed up a tree. He climbed until he was about a person's height and stood still. When he thought Zhao Jingli couldn't catch him, he turned around and made a face at him. "Come on up, come on up."

Seeing this, the First Madam rubbed her forehead, her face full of helplessness. "This brat, if I don't discipline him for a day, he'll be climbing on the roof and tearing off the tiles. He's got no limits."

Looking at the mischievous child standing on the tree branch striking various poses, Xu Xi finally understood what the First Madam had said on the way to pick her up from the Marquis's residence.

Because the leaves obscured his view, Zhao Jingtai didn't see the First Madam and Xu Xi. He took the object he was chewing on, opened it, and began to read aloud the words on it, "She lowered her head, her face full of shyness. After a long while, she came over and, with trembling hands, loosened the Second Young Master Lin's belt, saying, 'Master, let me serve you to bed.'"

"Don't read it! Don't read it!" Zhao Jingli was startled when he heard him read it aloud. His face turned bright red as he ran over, lifted his clothes, and started climbing the tree, threatening, "If you read it again, I'll tell everyone in the mansion about you wetting the bed a while ago!"