Seeking an Audience
Seeing that both of them had no objections, Xu Xi took his leave and went to the academy.
When she got off the carriage, she told Uncle Lu and Qingfeng to pick her up 25 minutes later that evening, and that the pick-up location would be changed to the teahouse next to the Abundant and Prosperous Pavilion.
After school that day, she and Xu Xue went to the jewelry store. Xiaoru and the guards from the Prince of Zhennan's Residence specially met them at the entrance of the academy.
Xu Xi originally planned to come by herself and have Xu Xue go home after school, but Xu Xue refused. She said she wanted to see Xu Xi design jewelry so she could broaden her horizons and learn something herself. She had already made arrangements with Madam Xie.
After she said that, Xu Xi stopped talking. She actually wanted to keep Xu Xue by her side to broaden her horizons.
Upon hearing of her arrival, Shopkeeper Wang personally went downstairs to greet her, explaining with a smile, "My young lady was originally going to come, but I told her that with her here, you might not be able to concentrate on your work, so she went back."
Whether or not this was true, Xu Xi was very satisfied with Xiao Ruotong's absence and thanked Shopkeeper Wang repeatedly.
Xiao Ruotong is not only her teacher, but also her boss now. The two are not familiar with each other. If Xiao Ruotong were here, she would have to spend time and energy on socializing. In these two quarters of an hour, she hopes to draw a jewelry design as much as possible.
Following Xu Xi's instructions, Shopkeeper Wang had someone bring over a box containing all sorts of jade and gemstones, then said, "Miss Xu, please continue with your work. I'll go and see how they're setting up the room."
"Please proceed, Shopkeeper Wang."
After Shopkeeper Wang left, Xu Xi looked through all the ingredients, pondered for a moment, and then picked up his brush to start drawing.
She had already seen the jewelry catalog of the Prosperous and Bright Pavilion before, and last night she looked at the one that Shopkeeper Wang had given her again, so she already had a good understanding of the jewelry styles of this era. Now she just needed to take out the jewelry styles that she had seen in her previous life that were different from those of this era from her mind, combine them with the raw materials, and design and draw them.
She had drawn countless design drafts in her previous life, and had a plan in mind. Half an hour later, she had completed a design draft. In addition to the full drawing, it also included dimension annotations and detailed drawings.
Looking at the dripping water in the room, she put down her pen, rubbed her neck, stood up, circled the design, put it into the drawing tube, and handed it to the maid and servant who were serving her tea and water. "Tell Shopkeeper Wang to prepare some thick paper next time, as well as some charcoal sticks and half a steamed bun. It's more convenient for me to draw jewelry designs with this. However, it's a bit troublesome for me to buy this, so I'll have to trouble Shopkeeper Wang to prepare it."
As she spoke, she pointed to what she had left. "The paper can be as thick as possible, it doesn't need to be the same as this; prepare the charcoal sticks like this."
She couldn't keep asking the First Madam for things to earn extra income; she didn't have the time or know where to buy that special kind of paper herself. So she simply asked the jewelry store to prepare it.
Anyway, apart from the paper, these things are worthless. The jewelry store must be rich and powerful, so they don't care about this.
The old woman agreed, then smiled and said, "Miss Xu, would you like to wait a little longer? This old servant will go and inform Shopkeeper Wang."
"No need," Xu Xi said to Xu Xue, and the two went out the door.
Seeing this, the old woman could only instruct the maid to keep an eye on the things in the room, and then she saw Xu Xi out.
Upon returning to the Marquis's residence, Xu Xi encountered a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law who seemed distracted, each counting the grains of rice in their bowls as they looked at the food on the table.
Xu Xi had no choice but to ask Qingfeng to bring her food from the kitchen so she could eat with the two of them. She advised, "If you keep doing this, the Second Madam will become suspicious before your eldest uncle even returns."
She then looked at the First Madam: "Aunt, have you given anything away to the Eldest Young Master? If the Second Madam becomes suspicious and takes precautions, she can easily suppress the matter. It will be difficult for you to seek justice then."
She didn't know how the First Madam would deal with Lady Wei and the Second Branch of the family once she confirmed the matter. She wouldn't interfere or ask about it, but she still needed to offer some necessary reminders.
The Wei Family is now in power. Wei's father doesn't hold a high official position, but he wields considerable power. The Marquis's family has only a title, but no real support. Even if the Zhu Family were to intervene, they could only manage a stalemate with the Wei Family.
If Lady Wei were to run to the old lady and cry and beg, promising some benefits, perhaps the old lady, for the sake of the Marquis's mansion, would tell the eldest wife to swallow her anger.
The First Madam had no appetite to begin with, but hearing how considerate Xu Xi was, she felt extremely comforted. She simply put down her chopsticks and said to Xu Xi, "Don't worry, I'm not that foolish. I'll only act this way in front of you and the Old Madam. At other times, I'll make up excuses so no one will suspect anything."
Xu Xi was finally relieved.
She used serving chopsticks to put two pieces of food on their plates. "Eat more. When your uncle comes back, who knows what kind of chaos will ensue at home. If you don't eat and sleep properly, how will you have the energy to deal with it?"
These words truly reminded the First Madam.
Yes, once things are confirmed, she'll have a big battle to fight. So before that, she needs to eat well, sleep well, and be in good spirits, while also figuring out how to strike decisively.
"Mother, Miss Xi is right. You must get enough rest. The Marquis and I are counting on you." The First Madam looked at the Old Madam expectantly.
The old lady nodded. "Don't worry. Yuanxun is my only son. If I don't help you, who else would I help?"
Xu Xi served the two of them two more bites of food, and seeing them eat with renewed energy, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
After the three finished their meal, Xu Xi was about to take her leave when a maid came to report, "Madam, the Second Madam has arrived."
The old lady was taking the teacup handed to her by the maid when she heard this and almost burned herself.
She withdrew her hand, exchanged a glance with the First Madam, and asked somewhat nervously, "She didn't notice anything, did she?" Otherwise, why would she have suddenly come over?
"Probably not." The First Madam shook her head.
Normally, the old lady wouldn't want to see them unless there was something wrong. So, the people from the second and third branches of the family would only come to pay their respects on the mornings of the first and fifteenth of the lunar month, and otherwise they wouldn't see the old lady at all.
Unless the second and third wives needed something from her, they rarely saw each other.
Xu Xi comforted the old lady, "If she could tell, she probably wouldn't have come to see you."
The two women were taken aback. The old lady relaxed and said to the first wife with a self-deprecating smile, "I've eaten rice for so many years, and I can't even see as clearly as a little maid." She instructed the maid, "Let her in." She regained her usual composure.
The First Madam gave Xu Xi an approving look.
When Lady Wei entered, she didn't seem surprised that Xu Xi was with the old lady; in fact, she seemed quite Gao Xing.
She bowed to the old lady, then called out to the First Madam, before looking at Xu Xi as if waiting for Xu Xi to greet her in return.
The First Madam had long regarded Xu Xi as her own child. Now, seeing Lady Wei waiting for Xu Xi to call her "Mother" and bow to her, while she herself could do nothing in order not to alert the enemy, she felt extremely anxious and uncomfortable.