A farmer's daughter who traveled through time: Marrying a sickly man

Two days later, Xia Tian stamped the framed "Tiger Descending the Mountain" with his own seal engraved with his pen name and took it to Yayizhai for consignment. He agreed with the shopkeeper that the minimum price could not be lower than two hundred taels. The higher the price he sold it for, the more share he would get.

The shopkeeper naturally agreed.

He just didn't know if anyone would want a painting worth two hundred taels. After all, it wasn't a masterpiece by a famous artist, so he didn't know if it could be sold at a high price.

The day after tomorrow is the end of the month. There will be a family dinner at the Wu'an Marquis Mansion every ten days, and almost everyone will attend.

Usually, the masters are busy on duty or going to school, so it is difficult for them to get together for meals. Besides, everyone has different eating habits. They usually eat in their own yards and get together on holidays to demonstrate the family's unity and status.

Therefore, the family dinner time outside of holidays was arranged at noon on the ten-day holiday of the male masters.

Xiatian hadn't gone out in the past two days. He just stayed in his room drawing and copying books. Since he solved the problem with Shen Hui, no one came to pick a fight, and his life became much more relaxed.

The day for the dinner soon arrived.

When Shen Nian brought Xia Tian to the old lady's Ruixuan Hall, almost everyone except Marquis Wu'an had already arrived.

After greeting the old lady and the others, they took their seats.

"Brother, you are finally back. I missed you so much." A sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy in brocade robe came over in surprise and hugged Shen Nian's arm.

"Well, stand still." Shen Nian frowned and calmly pulled his arm out.

The young man who came was none other than Liu's eldest son, the fourth young master of the Marquis's Mansion, Shen Ke.

I am currently studying in an academy in the capital. I usually live in the academy and can only go home during the ten-day holiday.

Seeing that his elder brother was not as enthusiastic as before, Shen Ke rolled his eyes and looked at Xia Tian who was sitting next to Shen Nian. He said in a light tone, "Brother, is this my sister-in-law? I haven't met her yet."

"Yeah." When Shen Nian heard Shen Ke call her "sister-in-law", his expression softened for a moment before he said "hmm".

Seeing that his elder brother had no intention of introducing his elder sister-in-law to him, Shen Ke smiled and greeted Xia Tian, "Sister-in-law, I'm Shen Ke, the fourth child."

Don't hit a smiling person, Xia Tian also smiled and called out, "Fourth brother," and then said nothing more.

Seeing that his elder brother still had no expression on his face, Shen Ke sat back tactfully.

After waiting for a while, Marquis Wu'an arrived. Everyone stood up and bowed, then sat down in order of age.

Because it was a family dinner, there were no separate tables for men and women.

Liu turned around and told the housekeeper, "Serve the food."

After the table was filled with a dazzling array of dishes, Marquis Wu'an picked up his chopsticks and took a bite of the food, and then everyone began to eat under the service of the maids.

There are delicious foods in front of us, but unfortunately there are always people who want to show off their presence.

"Hey~ The parents-in-law haven't finished their meal yet, how can the daughter-in-law eat first? It's so rude." Mrs. Ye, the wife of the third master, who was sitting diagonally opposite Xia Tian, suddenly spoke up, staring at Xia Tian.

At the quiet dinner table, everyone suddenly turned to look at Xia Tian.

Xia Tian looked up in confusion. Is he talking about me?

Ye, who was standing opposite, looked at Xia Tian's confused expression and snorted disdainfully, "People from the countryside are like that. They don't know any rules. The elders are talking to you, and how do you react?"

Summer is really weird. It can't even let you have a meal in peace, right?

"Aunt San, are you talking about me?" Xia Tian pointed at himself.

"If not you, who else could it be? Is there anyone from the countryside who doesn't know the rules in this room?"

"What does Third Aunt want to say?" Shen Nian put down his chopsticks and asked with a cold face.

"Nian'er, you are the heir of the Marquis' Mansion, so you can't protect someone who doesn't know the rules like this."

Just as Shen Nian was about to speak, Xia Tian pulled his hand under the table. Then, with a smile and a calm expression, he asked Ye, "Aunt San, why don't I understand the rules? Please explain it to me."

"Your parents-in-law haven't finished their meal yet, and you're not waiting for them, but you're eating on your own. Don't you know how to behave?"

Seeing Ye deliberately humiliating her in public, no one in the room spoke up for her except Shen Nian who was held by her.

Xia Tian sneered in his heart, thinking, isn’t it too early to laugh at her?

Then a smile appeared on his face. "Oh, there are such rules in the Marquis' Mansion. I'm so sorry. I just came in and I'm not very clear about it. Thank you, Third Aunt, for reminding me."

As he spoke, Xia Tian stood up, walked to Liu's side, took a pair of serving chopsticks, stretched out his arm, picked up a piece of fish that was placed a little far away, and put it in Liu's bowl.

With a flattering smile on her face, she said, "Mom, please eat the fish. It was my fault that I didn't know the rules just now. I will definitely serve my parents-in-law well in the future."

Liu looked at the fish meat that suddenly fell into the bowl, and her face turned ugly. She didn't like fish meat in the first place, so the maid always placed it farther away.

Xia Tian pretended not to see it, turned around and looked at the Second Madam Zheng and the Third Madam Ye, "Second Aunt, Third Aunt, come quickly, don't keep the old lady waiting."

Before the Second and Third Madams responded, she turned and said to the Old Madam, "Grandma, how can you eat by yourself? My mother, Second Aunt, and Third Aunt haven't started serving you yet. If this gets out, they'll be accused of being ignorant."

Seeing that Ye and the other woman were sitting still, she continued to call out, "Hurry up, Second Aunt, Third Aunt, my mother is nearby, why are you two still sitting there? You can't keep Grandmother waiting. If it gets out, people will say you two are unfilial."

After saying this, without waiting for the two to react, he turned to the old lady and said, "Grandma, please don't be offended. Second and Third Aunts will be here soon to serve you dinner."

As he spoke, he did not forget to pick up a piece of braised pork with chopsticks and put it in the old lady's bowl. "Grandma, let me apologize to you on behalf of my mother. Look at my mother, she must be so happy to see that I have grown up. I don't know how to react."

After saying that, he gently pushed Liu and said, "Mom, don't just stand there. Pick up some food for grandma."

Everyone in the room stared at Xia Tian's actions with their eyes wide open, their mouths open, unable to react for a long time.

When she came to her senses, she saw Xia Tian continuing to greet her two aunts. They all lowered their heads and bit their lips hard. When she looked closely, she saw that everyone's heads were almost buried in the bowls, and their shoulders were shrugging.

Shen Nian also lowered his eyes and clenched his fists tightly to hide the upturned corners of his mouth.

Ye was also confused by Xia Tian. When she reacted, she angrily scolded, "Xia, you are so bold! Do you think you can arrange the affairs of our elders?"

"How did I frame my elders? Am I not following the rules of the Marquisate? It was just that Third Aunt said that a daughter-in-law should serve her parents-in-law at dinner, so I reminded you and Second Aunt."

Xia Tian had an innocent expression on his face, and turned to look at Wu An Hou with grievance, "Dad, isn't this the rule of our mansion? Why is Third Aunt still wrongly accusing me?"

Before Marquis Wu'an could say anything, Ye was furious. "Xia, I asked you to set the rules. Why are you bringing me and your second aunt up?"

"Third Aunt, it was you who said that a daughter-in-law should serve her parents-in-law at meals. Aren't you, my mother, and Second Aunt the daughters-in-law of my grandmother?" Xia Tian asked back aggrievedly.

"I..." Ye was speechless for a moment. She had lifted a stone and dropped it on her own foot.