USWHC -Chapter 279 I Don’t Want to Take the Exam! (Part 9)

“Erhan! Erhan!” Early in the morning, loud shouts urging someone on came from outside the door.

Huaihua hurried out with her shoes in hand. When she opened the door and looked, she was startled—it was Old Madam Ji and the others.

Old Madam Ji glanced at Huaihua, stunned for a moment, but immediately broke into a smug smile. “Oh? Isn’t this the maid our Yixin hired? How rude. Don’t you know to kneel and kowtow to your masters when you see them?”

The way she said it—she really seemed to think she was some grand figure, even expecting people to kowtow to her.

Huaihua’s face instantly turned red from the ridicule. She stammered, “Auntie Ji… y-you… why are you here?”

“I came to my son’s house. Do I need permission from a little girl like you?” Old Madam Ji snapped mercilessly.

Huaihua’s face went from red to pale in an instant. She lowered her head and couldn’t speak for a long time. “N-no, that’s not what I meant…”

Seeing her like that, Old Madam Ji shoved her aside without hesitation and strode straight into the courtyard with her chest puffed out.

“Where’s your master? The sun’s already up and she’s still not out of bed!”

That push sent Huaihua straight into the door panel. Whether it was the pain from the bump or sheer fright, she immediately started crying in grievance.

When Zhu Jie came out, this was exactly the scene she saw—Old Madam Ji swaggering around arrogantly while little Huaihua crouched by the doorway, covering her mouth and sobbing timidly.

Zhu Jie couldn’t help rolling her eyes. Such weak presence—where was any sign of standing up for herself? Didn’t she know what respect meant? And even if someone didn’t respect a servant, they should at least know the saying: even when beating a dog, you have to look at its owner first.

“Oh my, what wind blew Mother over here? Forgive me for not welcoming you properly!” Zhu Jie said deliberately in a sharp, exaggerated tone.

Sure enough, the moment Old Madam Ji saw Zhu Jie come out, her shoulders instantly drooped and her imposing aura vanished. Even so, she still stiffened her neck and said, “Isn’t today the day the results are posted? Why are you still getting up so late? Aren’t you going to check the list?”

Yes, today was the day the county exam results were announced. For Zhu Jie, it was also an important day. She had originally planned to go, but hearing Old Madam Ji say it like that immediately made her unhappy.

“Oh, we don’t necessarily have to go check. We can just wait at home for the news.”

“Wait for the news? What, do you think you got first place?” Old Madam Ji sneered with disdain. “Stop dreaming!”

Alright, Zhu Jie admitted she might be boasting a bit. But losing face wasn’t an option, so she shot back without backing down.

“And how do you know it’s not possible?”

“Tch, you’re still half asleep,” Old Madam Ji rolled her eyes at her fiercely, too lazy to continue arguing.

Of course, another reason she ignored Zhu Jie was because she rarely won arguments against her anyway.

Old Madam Ji’s gaze soon shifted back to the weak and timid Huaihua. In a fight, choosing the right opponent was crucial—pick the right one and you could bully them freely; pick the wrong one and you’d be the one getting bullied.

“You, the maid, why are you still standing there? Don’t you know to prepare breakfast for us?” Old Madam Ji barked harshly.

What? They came without even eating breakfast? The whole family had come to freeload a meal?

Huaihua trembled all over when she was shouted at. She hurriedly scrambled to her feet and obediently went to prepare breakfast.

But what should she make? Just as she ran toward the kitchen, she heard Zhu Jie remind her,

“Since Mother and the others rarely come over, make something good for them. Heat up all the sweet potatoes in our house.”

What? Sweet potatoes counted as something good?

Huaihua froze for a moment, but seeing the mischievous grin on Zhu Jie’s face, she instantly understood. With a swish, she darted into the kitchen to prepare something “good” for Old Madam Ji and the others.

Perhaps she was still frightened or just eager to move quickly, but Huaihua worked surprisingly fast. By the time Ji Yi came out of the room, the food had already been placed on the table.

But when Old Madam Ji saw it, her face immediately darkened.

“Your family eats sweet potatoes too? I thought if you could afford a maid, you’d at least eat something better!”

“And they’re even rotten sweet potatoes,” Ji Mei muttered unhappily.

Looking at the plate of crooked, shriveled little sweet potatoes, Zhu Jie almost burst out laughing. These were clearly the ones the household had already discarded! Huaihua was really something—she hadn’t had the heart to throw them away before, and now she had brought them all out for Old Madam Ji and the others.