"Decision? What decision?"

Before Jiang Shuwan could speak, Old Madam Pei shot her a sharp glare and reprimanded the head maid and the storeroom maid, "It's one thing for you to be the mistress, but who are you to question her before she's even said a word?"

"Do you even have the right to question her?"

The two old women were immediately embarrassed and blushed, unable to utter a single word.

"Wan, come here."

Madam Pei ignored them completely and directly called Jiang Shuwan forward to speak.

"Wan, is what your mistress said true? Did you really find a female tutor for the maid in your room?"

"Reporting to the old lady, your granddaughter-in-law has indeed recently hired a woman to teach the maids to read, but she is just an ordinary peasant girl, not a female teacher!"

She dared not recognize the words "Ms."

Scholars are respected and hold a high status. Anyone who is addressed with the title "Master" is almost always associated with the classics.

Slaves belong to the lowest social class. Hiring a "teacher" to teach a slave to read is considered extremely unconventional and conspicuous in today's society.

Even if this man were a woman, it would still draw countless criticisms.

If someone is ruthless, they'll label them as someone who has disgraced the classics.

At that time, not only her, but even the old Marquis will be impeached.

Madam Pei hurriedly invited her over, surely thinking of this reason.

"Grandma, this lady's ancestors have been farmers for generations."

"Her family was once wealthy when she was young, and her father was a scholar, but he never even passed the county-level imperial examination."

"She was just an ordinary peasant woman, how could she be given such an honorable and respectful title as 'sir'?"

As Jiang Shuwan spoke, she silently apologized to Zhang Niangzi in her heart.

It wasn't that she was disparaging Zhang Niangzi; it was that Zhang Niangzi had to distance herself from words like "teacher" and "the classics."

"How could that be? She was clearly brought by an old scholar."

"Yes, she is clearly the wife of a scholar."

The head maid and the storeroom maid couldn't help but speak up.

They sent people to inquire beforehand; they didn't just come to complain without asking any questions.

"Young mistress, I advise you not to make excuses. What kind of image would it be if word got out that the scholar's wife was giving a lecture to a bunch of servants?"

"A bunch of lowly slaves, what will the scholars outside think of our Marquis's mansion?"

"It's best to kick her out before things get out of hand and cover this up."

The third and fourth wives, who were just passing by, all made their orders upon hearing this, and looked at Jiang Shuwan with the same disapproving gaze, thinking that she was too ignorant.

Madam Wen immediately stood up and said enthusiastically, "If the old lady trusts me, and entrusts this matter to me, I will definitely..."

"Grandma, please look!"

Jiang Shuwan interrupted Wen Shi directly. Without saying a word, she immediately took out two pieces of paper.

One of them was an investigation report on Zhang Niangzi's ancestors for eight generations, written very clearly in every word, that she was not the wife of a scholar.

She was just an ordinary woman who had read a few books.

She also asked Zhang Niangzi to bring over a copy of her lesson plan.

The text is full of words like "table," "chair," and "vase," and has absolutely nothing to do with classical texts.

"My daughter-in-law just hired a peasant woman who knows a few words to teach the servants in the house to read a few words."

"I don't know where the madam heard those slanderous words, but she actually thought that her daughter-in-law had hired a scholar's wife to teach the servants to read the classics, which is an insult to all scholars in the world."

Don't even think about trying to label her!

As she spoke, Jiang Shuwan asked Granny Tao to bring over a board and some charcoal, presenting them to Old Madam Pei while explaining her situation.

“Grandma, as you know, the maids in my room, apart from Granny Tao and Qingxing, are all illiterate.”

“Qingxing serves me closely and has no free time. Now that Granny Tao is in charge of my dowry, she has to do everything herself, from taking things out to keeping records.”

"If she's on vacation or sick, all the maids and servants in the house will be at a loss."

"In that case, it would be fine if I lived in another family, but now that I've married into the Marquis's household and the heir, the maids are still so useless. I'm going to be laughed at to death."

"To be honest, I envy Madam. Whether it's the head maid or the storeroom maid, they are all literate and good at math."

"Of course, I also know that talents like the two nannies are something I could never hope to obtain, so I asked Madam Zhang to teach the maids a few words."

"I don't ask for much. I just hope that when Granny Tao isn't around, they can fill in and occasionally read me a letter."

Jiang Shuwan smiled and spoke while observing the expressions of Old Madam Pei and the two wives.

Sure enough, their expressions softened after hearing what she said.

The Marquis's mansion has hundreds or even thousands of servants, and the affairs are numerous and complicated. Jiang Shuwan will be the mistress of the house in the future, so she will definitely need a few literate and capable maids to help her.

Asking a female tutor to teach a servant girl to read would definitely be going too far.

But she didn't invite him!

The woman she hired, Zhang Niangzi, was just an ordinary farmer, and she didn't teach any sacred texts.

They weren't even given pen and ink; all they had was a board and some coal, so it had nothing to do with disrespecting scholars.

The Wen family's lawsuit is completely unreasonable.

Immediately, the way the two ladies looked at Madam Wen changed.

How could my sister-in-law do this? She didn't even investigate properly before suing her nephew's wife.

If my niece-in-law can't explain it clearly, she might be wrongly accusing someone.

"Impossible! She's clearly the scholar's wife!"

Feeling uncomfortable under their gazes, Madam Wen snatched Zhang Niangzi's household registration documents in disbelief.

Upon seeing it, his entire face turned green.

Then he glared fiercely at the head maid and the storeroom maid.

The two old women were dumbfounded.

"How is this possible..."

"I clearly sent someone to ask the old scholar..."

She abruptly stopped talking, staring at Jiang Shuwan with disbelief, her gaze filled with fear and dread, as if she were looking at a ghost.

Jiang Shuwan smiled faintly, dignified and gentle.

The head maid sent people to keep an eye on her courtyard every day.

Just as she was about to invite Madam Zhang to give a lesson, she casually reminded Madam Zhang and the old scholar that if anyone asked her identity, she should say that she was the scholar's wife.

To be honest, this wasn't something she deliberately plotted against the head maid.

She was just taking a chance, so she set a small trap.

Who knew that the head maid would rush inside so impatiently.

That head maid is really something. She's been so busy these past few days, yet we still have to listen to her every little thing.

Finding fault with her, they came to complain to Old Madam Pei.

It's always better to be kind.

Otherwise, if you're always thinking about messing with others, you can easily get yourself into trouble!

At this moment, the head maid who had gotten herself into trouble was in a very passive position.

She first apologized to Madam Pei, saying that she had been negligent and that Madam Pei had fined her three months' worth of silver.

Wen Shi also felt ashamed and fined her three months' worth of silver.