That night, the family was rushing to make spring clothes. A family like the Ruan family did not have the money to make clothes at a tailor shop. This had been the case for the past few days, especially since Second Mistress Ding had asked them and Mi Niang to hurry and make spring clothes.

Normally, Mi Niang would practice calligraphy at this time, but these days she has also been doing it with them.

"When the young lady's clothes are ready, you can each cut a set for yourself." Second Madam Ding said to Mrs. Zhong and the others with a smile.

Haopo and Zhong both said in unison: "Grandma is so thoughtful."

Mi Niang knew that Xiao Niang was afraid that she would embarrass herself among her classmates, so she made a new dress for her. The servants were given coarse linen, but the material used for her was the best satin. This piece of satin was given to her father by someone else when he won the first place in the exam, and there was only half a piece in total.

She also pulled Mrs. Ding's second wife and said, "Thank you, mother, for making clothes for me."

Mrs. Ding stroked her daughter's smooth hair and said, "This is not worth anything. I just regret that I can't give you anything good now."

"It's good enough." Mi Niang didn't feel it was hard at all, nor did she feel that she was inferior to others.

Of course, when she went to the private school the next day, she yawned a few times because she had stayed up too long the night before. Luo Qiujun asked her concernedly, "Mi Niang, what's wrong with you? Didn't you sleep well last night?"

Mi Niang said indifferently, "Everyone at home has been doing needlework these days, and I helped with it, so I stayed up late."

When she said this, there was no shame or embarrassment at all. Everyone knew that although Xiao Mi Niang came from the wealthy Ruan family, she lived a very poor life. Other people had snacks for lunch, but she never brought any. Instead, she ate up all the simple meals in the private school and still felt unsatisfied.

After hearing this, Ji Chunfang looked at her with new eyes. She didn't come to the academy just to study, but to make connections. Her previous targets were of course the daughters of officials like the Guo sisters and Luo Qiujun, but she didn't expect that Ruan Mi Niang was quite extraordinary.

Therefore, Ji Chunfang turned around and praised Mi Niang: "Sister Ruan, your spring dress is well made, especially the willow leaf embroidered on the collar. It shows that spring has come at a glance."

Unexpectedly, the first person to praise her clothes was Ji Chunfang. I remember that she mocked Wang Sumin for eating for free at Guo's house a few days ago! Mi Niang thought that Ji Chunfang had ignored her before, but now she treated her differently.

Mi Niang was a bit flattered and surprised: "This is hand-embroidered by my mother. Sister, this dress with peony flowers is also very beautiful."

After she finished speaking, she took another sip of water and took out a few chapters from "Wei Feng" that she had learned yesterday. They were no different from before, and Ji Chunfang was secretly impressed after reading them.

You have to know how bad Mi Niang was when she first entered the private school. She couldn't even hold a pen. Now she can write neatly in both large and small characters, and completes her daily homework very well. Although she is young, her ability should not be underestimated. Thinking of this, Ji Chunfang secretly thought that it was not good. The quarterly exam would be in a few days, and she couldn't even recite those few chapters of "Bei Feng", so she quickly buried her head in her studies.

However, looking at Zhou Furou again, she regained her confidence. No matter what, she would not be the last one.

The quarterly exam came very quickly. When Mi Niang was having breakfast, Second Mistress Ding prepared an extra bowl of egg tea for her. Mi Niang laughed and said, "Mother, I have already eaten an egg, why do I need another bowl of egg tea?"

But Mrs. Ding said seriously, "That's different. I'm feeding the chickens at home now. Come, have one more bowl. This way you won't be afraid of the exam."

Even Wang Wu, who was sending her to the private school, said earnestly, "Miss, I wish you immediate success."

Mi Niang didn't expect that they had such high expectations of her.

This quarterly exam mainly tested "The Book of Songs", "The Story of a Filial Daughter" and two large characters and one small character. Mi Niang had already memorized the content she had learned. However, when she entered the room and saw that all the classmates had arrived so early and were all buried in their studies, she was actually infected by the tense atmosphere.

Sometimes I would hear Tao Chun'er and Ji Chunfang complaining, "What should I do? I have forgotten a lot of what I learned before."

"Everyone is the same."

Mr. Xue also invited Caixia to supervise the examination, which can be said to be not strict at all.

She also said, "This time, in addition to the knowledge in the books, at the request of you students and adults, we will also have a needlework test. It will be an on-the-spot test, so that I can see how good your level is."

"If there are people who cheat, I, Shu Zhai Ning, would rather not accept this gift, and I definitely don't want such people who have no integrity."

The female students were all shocked when they heard this.

Zhou Furou tugged at Tao Chun'er's sleeve, like a young swallow that couldn't find its mother, and said aggrievedly: "Sister Tao, I... I don't know what to do?"

It's not that she really doesn't want to study, but there is no scholar in the family to ask for advice, and she is at her aunt's house. Recently, her aunt's family has given the orchard and bamboo forest to Ruan Mi Niang's parents, and there is limited potential in the fields, so the income has dropped sharply. Fortunately, she has the relationship with Mrs. Zhang, otherwise she might not be able to continue her studies in the girls' school.

Not to mention practicing calligraphy, although her aunt loved her, she didn't have the spare money to buy her paper and pen.

Because of her frugality, she only had a bowl of porridge for dinner every day, not to mention practicing calligraphy by candlelight. The dress she was wearing was made by her aunt last year, and it was too short this year. The sisters in the academy privately criticized Ruan Mi's family for being poor, but in fact, she was even worse off.

Tao Chun'er was a kind person. Seeing that Zhou Furou was so anxious that she was about to cry, she hurriedly said, "It's okay. Even if you did poorly on the test, the teacher would only say a few words. It won't be a big deal."

"Then sister, can you let me take a look when the time comes?" Zhou Furou pleaded.

"This..." Tao Chun'er hesitated.

You have to know that although Tao Chun'er is kind, she is also very upright. She thinks it is impossible for Luo Qiujun to learn needlework by taking shortcuts, let alone cheating for others.

Besides, Wang Sumin was also a little nervous. She had been ill for several months. Mrs. Guo usually restricted her to rest because she was afraid that reading would make her think too much. In recent days, she had been arguing with Guo Yaoyu, so she had no mind to study.

But she had some basic knowledge, which was much better than Zhou Furou. Wang Sumin didn't want to say a word now. She was desperately memorizing the contents of the book, remembering as much as she could.

Only Luo Qiujun and Guo Yaoyu were somewhat calmer. Even Guo Yaoxian could not help flipping through the book and taking notes frantically, for fear of missing any poem.

Just when the students were panicking, Xue Xian ordered Caixia to collect all the books from everyone, distanced everyone from each other, and emphasized: "Hand in your jackets now, I won't mind, but if I find out, I will just treat it as cheating."

No one dared to move.

After Mr. Xue lit a stick of incense, he said solemnly, "The exam will begin."

The papers were handed out one by one. After Mi Niang got one, she wrote her name carefully and thought to herself, this is the first chance of my life to become famous, I will never let it go.