Nanny Wang blushed, speechless for a moment. Her eyes suddenly caught sight of Su Jinli's smooth wrist, and she felt a surge of joy, like a hawk finding its prey. Her voice suddenly became shrill, "Young lady, why aren't you wearing the jade bracelet Madam gave you?" She took a step forward, her eyes filled with defiance and pride. "Do you dislike it?"
"Oh, that bracelet?" Su Jinli raised her hand in feigned surprise, a faint mark on her wrist visible, like the mark of time. "The other day, I tripped in the garden and cracked the bracelet. Thinking of my stepmother's kindness, I kept it in my dressing table." She suddenly turned to look at the silent Madam Zhou beside her, a sly smile on her face, like a cat stealing fish. "Madam Zhou, isn't that right? You helped me find a jade craftsman in the south of the city to take a look at it the other day." Su Jinli's eyes flashed a cold light, shooting directly at Madam Zhou, as if warning her not to speak carelessly.
Nanny Zhou's face turned pale with fear, her legs trembling slightly. Liu had sent her to monitor Su Jinli, but now Su Jinli had outmaneuvered her. She saw the chilling glint in Su Jinli's eyes, and recalled Liu's current imprisonment and precarious situation, and a wave of panic washed over her. After a moment's hesitation, she nodded repeatedly, her voice trembling like a leaf trembling in the autumn wind. "Yes, yes... Young lady, you are right..." Nanny Zhou's voice was as weak as a mosquito's, as if she feared being overheard.
At that moment, a steady, powerful sound of footsteps approached from afar. The soles of the boots tapped on the blue bricks, making a crisp and rhythmic sound. Each sound seemed to strike Wang Ma's heart. Su Xiang strode into the front hall. He saw Wang Ma's angry expression, and then looked at the account book tightly grasped in Su Jinli's hand. His brows knitted into a knot, and his eyes revealed a hint of confusion and worry: "What's going on?"
"Master!" Nanny Wang, as if grasping at a lifeline, rushed forward to complain, her voice tinged with grievance and anger. "Miss Su refuses to learn needlework, and even contradicts this old servant, saying that women should learn arithmetic..." Nanny Wang exaggerated her story, trying to arouse Prime Minister Su's dissatisfaction.
"My daughter thinks," Su Jinli said quickly, interrupting her father. She spread the account book out in front of him, pointing at the figures with a determined, bright look. "For a woman managing a household, arithmetic is more important than needlework. Otherwise, like Wang Erlang, who couldn't settle a gambling debt of three thousand taels, wouldn't he lose all his family wealth?" She blinked slightly, a hint of cunning in her eyes, like a clever little fox.
Su Xiang looked at the glint in his daughter's eyes, and thought of Liu's previous chilling calculations, and felt a headache. But what his daughter said was indeed reasonable. The incident of Wang Erlang was a living lesson. He sighed helplessly, took out a blue cloth purse from his sleeve, and gently stuffed it into Su Jinli's hand. The fabric of the purse was a little worn, and the edges were even a little frayed, but it exuded a familiar and friendly atmosphere. "Forget it, it doesn't matter what you learn, just don't cause trouble. This is your mother's arithmetic notes from the past, take a look." Su Xiang's voice was a little tired, with a hint of pampering and expectations for his daughter.
Su Jinli took the purse, it was warm to the touch, and a faint scent of ink wafted into her nose, as if carrying her mother's body temperature and breath. She gently opened the purse, and inside was a yellowed booklet. The paper was already a little fragile, as if it would break if it was flipped lightly. The handwriting on the booklet was beautiful and elegant, with a gentleness and tenacity between the strokes. It was exactly her mother's handwriting. In the corner of a certain page, there was a crooked abacus drawn, and next to it was written "Jinli is a beginner and often makes mistakes when counting beads." Looking at the familiar handwriting and the cute notes, Su Jinli's eyes instantly became hot, her nose suddenly felt sore, a warm current surged into her heart, and tears welled up in her eyes. She quickly lowered her head to prevent her father from seeing the moisture in her eyes, fearing that her emotions would make her father worry.
Nanny Wang watched this scene of affectionate father and daughter, knowing she wouldn't gain anything. She could only bow sullenly, a hint of resignation in her tone: "This old servant will take his leave." Nanny Zhou, like a child who had done something wrong, lowered her head and followed behind Nanny Wang, looking back every few steps, wondering: "Why is Miss Su so different? She used to avoid Liu, but now she can leave Nanny Wang speechless?" Her eyes were filled with confusion and puzzlement, as if Su Jinli before her was a stranger she had never met before.
The door curtain of Suiyuxuan slowly fell, isolating the noise from the outside world. Su Jinli gently opened her mother's notebook, her fingertips slowly running across the familiar and kind handwriting, as if her mother was sitting next to her, gently holding her hand, and patiently teaching her how to use the abacus. The sunlight shone through the gaps in the window lattice onto the account book, casting mottled light and shadows. Those densely packed numbers that once made her feel hideous and terrifying, now suddenly no longer seemed as daunting as they did in her previous life under this warm sunlight. She knew that this arithmetic notebook was not just a book that recorded knowledge, but also the armor her mother left her, giving her the courage and strength to overcome obstacles and move forward in this deep courtyard. From now on, she will carry her mother's expectations and love, and forge her own path in this complicated life of house fighting.
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