Transmigrated Genius: Fragile Heiress Reigns Supreme-Chapter 521 - 524: Attitude (1)

After seeing off Ruan Jingliu, Xiqiu sat quietly alone in the room for a long time.

Chunliu and Bihuai were anxious but couldn’t figure out what Xiqiu was thinking. Chunliu glanced at the cold dishes on the table and wanted to knock on the door nervously, but Bihuai whispered, "Let’s wait a bit longer. Madam may be thinking about something now. Let’s take the dishes away and heat them up."

"Alright!" Chunliu thought for a moment, then the two of them took the food box to the kitchen to have Nanny Cen reheat the dishes.

When they entered, Xiqiu’s door was already open, but the room was empty.

Chunliu grabbed a young maid named Wenyu in the yard and asked, "Where did Madam go?"

Wenyu, who was seven or eight years old, was usually responsible for cleaning the yard. Seeing Chunliu ask, she pointed towards the study room and said, "Madam went to the study room alone."

Chunliu relaxed upon hearing this and went to the study room, leaving the food box behind.

Xiqiu was standing in front of the tall bookshelf searching for something. Chunliu walked in and asked, "What is Madam looking for? Let me help you find it." Xiqiu glanced book by book without looking back and said, "I’m looking for a book called ’Five Character Mirror.’" She pointed to the other side of the bookshelf and said, "You search over there."

The books in Fourth Master Xiao’s study were not many, but ’Five Character Mirror’ was not rare, it should be there.

Chunliu listened and tiptoed to search. The master and servant spent quite some time around the bookshelf and finally found the book.

"Why is Madam looking for this book?" Chunliu peered over and asked, puzzled since she didn’t know many characters, while looking at Xiqiu. Xiqiu sat at the desk, casually flipping through the pages, and replied, "...It’s an educational book." She stopped at one page, frowned, and looked up at Chunliu, saying, "Take this book to Mr. Song tomorrow." She tapped on the page in Volume Three of ’Taotang Chronicles’ and said, "No need to say more."

Chunliu seemed to understand vaguely, took the book, carefully remembered the page Xiqiu had flipped to, and nodded, "I’ll send Young Master Min to school tomorrow and bring the book to the teacher."

Xiqiu smiled and nodded, feeling Chunliu was becoming more clever.

Xiqiu further instructed, "Have Biwu keep an eye on Qiuping for the next few days. If there’s anything unusual, report it to me."

She was worried Qiuping might do something extreme. No matter what Second Madam intends, any action against her would be futile, not only failing but also having the opposite effect.

"I understand." Chunliu nodded in agreement.

"Madam, Fourth Master is back." Bihuai called softly at the door.

Xiqiu walked out of the study room; Fourth Master Xiao was already in the yard waiting. Xiqiu greeted him with a smile, saying, "If Fourth Master doesn’t mind, I’d like to take the books out of the study to air them when the weather clears in the next couple of days."

Xiao was momentarily surprised and replied, "Alright." He walked alongside Xiqiu into the room, "You can have the servants do it; the books have been there for many years, and probably have gathered a lot of dust."

"I know." This was the courtyard where Fourth Master Xiao lived as a child, filled with introductory books like ’University’ and ’Zhongyong,’ some even untouched. She recalled Grand Dowager talking about Fourth Master Xiao’s studies: "The teacher assigned homework, asking him to copy the Three Character Classic when he returned, but he secretly molded his third brother’s copy instead. When the teacher found out, he confidently claimed he neither copied nor had someone write it for him, and the teacher didn’t forbid molding."

Xiao turned to look at Xiqiu, seeing a hint of a smile between her brows. He raised his eyebrows and asked, "What are you thinking about, smiling so happily?"

"Nothing!" She waved her hand, laughed, and went inside with Xiao, then turned back to instruct Bihuai, "Invite Min over; let’s have dinner."

Bihuai complied and brought Young Master Min over.

The family of three had dinner, Young Master Min returned to his room to do homework, while Xiqiu and Xiao sat drinking tea in the adjacent room. Xiqiu shared Grand Dowager’s suggestion with Xiao: "Mother said Second Sister-in-law is pregnant and shouldn’t be overworked, so I should temporarily take over the household affairs."

Xiao paused in his tea drinking, contemplating for a moment before looking at Xiqiu, "There are many and complicated matters in the residence; if you don’t want to, go tell mother. If it’s inconvenient, I’ll speak tomorrow morning!" 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"No need, no need." Xiqiu was really afraid he might speak to Grand Dowager, such matters between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law should be resolved between them. If Xiao really brought it up, Grand Dowager would think she was cowardly and not generous. Whether rejecting or accepting, having him speak was not the solution: "I’m not unwilling. After all, mother is right; Second Sister-in-law has always managed household affairs, now that she’s pregnant, she shouldn’t be burdened anymore. First Sister-in-law is usually aloof and indifferent, if maids constantly bother her, she won’t have peace. As for mother, she’s old and cannot be troubled with these matters. As part of the family, I should try my best to contribute."

Currently, she really was the most suitable!

"Alright. If that’s the case, you should do it." Xiao listened and said nothing more, but added, "Are there enough staff?"

"Mother says she’ll send Nanny Li, who’s competent in management beside Second Sister-in-law, to help me. Staff should be sufficient, Fourth Master needn’t worry!" Xiqiu intended to inform him but then changed the topic to yesterday’s palace affairs involving Xiao, "How did the Emperor deal with it?"

Xiao smiled and recounted the palace events to her. Yesterday, after discussing with the Empress Dowager, the Emperor mentioned the Mei Bottle, though acquired recently, was familiar and soothing in its place on the table. The Emperor comforted the Empress Dowager, ordering the Ministry of Internal Affairs to find an identical one. The Empress Dowager deliberately broke the Mei Bottle, knowing the Ministry couldn’t find another identical one, and indeed, after much searching in and out of the palace, none was found.

The Empress Dowager pulled the Emperor aside, weeping from the bottle event to the late Emperor and the deceased Crown Prince, soaking two handkerchiefs with tears...

The Emperor spent hours at Cian Palace before returning to the Imperial Study Room, summoning Count Dongchang Qian Zhong from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, commanding him to find an identical Mei Bottle within a day.

Qian Zhong took the fragments handed from the Empress Dowager’s palace and searched through the night, finding two similar ones, which the Empress Dowager naturally rejected, insisting on an identical one.

The Emperor then instructed Qian Zhong to seek First Master Teng asking them to send a Mei Bottle to the palace; the Teng Family seized the opportunity, submitting another proposal. The Emperor suppressed the proposal but sent the Mei Bottle to Cian Palace, delighting the Empress Dowager in recovering her loss. She also summoned Qian Zhong to ask where the bottle originated, and upon learning, rewarded First Young Madam of the Teng Family with rolls of silk, a pair of Jade Ruyi gold thread and green feather hairpins, and a Mutton Fat Jade bracelet...

First Master Teng, representing First Young Madam, received the decree and kowtowed three times outside Cian Palace.