The Xu Family's Worries

Upon seeing Zhao Ruxi, Xu Xue called out, "Sister!" and then burst into tears, rushing over to hug Zhao Ruxi tightly.

"What's wrong? What happened?" Zhao Ruxi was startled.

"Your family... Waaah, such a terrible thing happened, why didn't you send me a message? My parents and brother were so worried they couldn't sleep. They wanted to go to the capital to find out what was going on, but they couldn't get any information. If it weren't for Madam Cui saying you were alright, we would have searched the whole city for you."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ruxi felt extremely guilty.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think of that."

The main reason was that Zhao Yuanxun and Lady Zhu kept the matter in Wei Qiu too secret; even she herself was unaware of it. Later, when she guessed it, she couldn't say anything. She was afraid of ruining things, and even more afraid of implicating the Xu Family.

What if Lady Wei knew how much she valued the Xu Family, and then used them as Xu Family to blackmail her after getting wind of the situation? Zhao Yuanxun and Lady Zhu had orchestrated such a massive scheme, involving countless officials; she couldn't stop it, nor could she stop it. But if she didn't stop it, who knew what crazy things Lady Wei might do to the Xu Family in order to get revenge on her?

So when she realized that Lady Wei was after her, she moved into the academy and didn't even dare to say a few words to Xu Xue. She just said that she was too busy with her studies and that she had to draw jewelry designs for Madam Xiao.

Xu Xue was simple-minded and always considerate of others, so she didn't bother her any further after hearing what she said. Later, when Zhao Yuanxun came to pick her up in person, she only had time to ask for leave from Madam Cui, who lived in the academy, before she hurriedly left. She didn't have time to, and didn't dare to, leave any words for Xu Xue.

"How did you know about the accident at my house?" she asked.

"Zhang Lu said that. She heard it from someone in Class B."

Zhao Ruxi nodded.

Zhang Lu is shrewd and loves to build connections. Some of the students in the academy are also from prominent families and have relatives in the capital. It's quite normal for this to reach Zhang Lu's ears when they talk about it—which is why she was initially unwilling to mention her family to Xu Xue.

This girl is too naive; she wears her heart on her sleeve. She can't hide anything from anyone who says a few words. However, the students in the academy are quite curious about Zhao Ruxi's background and always try to find out more indirectly.

Therefore, Zhao Ruxi never told Xu Xue about her doubts about her origins, her conflict with Lady Wei, or what was happening in the Hou Mansion. She always said that everything was fine and that her family treated her very well.

"It's alright, it's all in the past. I've reconnected with my biological parents, and the Earl's mansion has split up. Now I only live with my grandmother, my parents, and my younger brother; everyone else has moved out."

Xu Xue only heard the gist of the story; even the person from Class B didn't know the details. She only knew that something had happened at the Marquis's residence, and that some people were supposed to be beheaded, which terrified her. That was all she knew.

Zhao Ruxi gave a brief account of what had happened.

Xu Xue was relieved. "It's good that you're alright."

Remembering that she had to go to Master Kang's art class after school in the evening and wouldn't have time to go to the Xu Family, Zhao Ruxi thought for a moment and said, "I'll go home with you at noon. That way, Uncle and Aunt won't worry."

"Okay." Xu Xue nodded.

The two sisters actually had a lot more to say, but seeing someone enter the classroom, Zhao Ruxi, who was now the center of attention, Lady Wei's child-swapping incident, which was even more bizarre than before and was being widely discussed, didn't want to be surrounded by people asking her all sorts of questions. So she told Xu Xue and hurriedly went out through the back door.

Back in the North Academy, she was still surrounded and talked about for quite a while until the teacher came to give the lesson, at which point she was finally free.

The lunch break is short, so everything needs to be done quickly. Moreover, the academy has a rule that you cannot leave the academy without someone from home to pick you up.

Fortunately, Zhao Ruxi stayed at the academy for a few days. She was good at handling things and had connections with Madam Xiao, so she got along well with the old women on duty at the academy.

During the break between classes, he asked an old woman who wasn't on duty to hire a mule cart, and at noon when school was over, the old woman accompanied him to the Xu Family.

Because she was worried about Zhao Ruxi, Madam Xie had developed blisters on her lips for the past two days. When she saw Zhao Ruxi come home, she hugged her and cried bitterly. Zhao Ruxi comforted her and she finally stopped crying.

"Your uncle went to the capital to inquire about news," Madam Xie said, wiping away her tears. "You've been back at the Marquis's residence for so long, and we were worried that the Zhao Family would misunderstand and think we were freeloading, so we didn't go to acknowledge the family. Tonight after school, we absolutely have to have your uncle go back with you, just in case something happens and we can't find you."

She looked up at Zhao Ruxi with tearful eyes again. "Tell me what exactly happened."

It wasn't appropriate to discuss this at the academy, and since there were no outsiders in the Xu Family besides Madam Xie and her daughter, Zhao Ruxi told them about what had happened recently.

Of course, she only told the well-known version; she naturally wouldn't reveal the intricacies of the story.

"How could this woman be so cruel? No wonder she insisted on recognizing Xiaoxue as her daughter when she came to pick you up. We felt something was off then. Sure enough, there's something fishy going on here."

After the mother and daughter had finished their indignant rant against Lady Wei, Zhao Ruxi finally asked, "How's Uncle's business going?"

Speaking of this, Madam Xie's face lit up with a smile, "It's going very well. Business is booming in the county. Besides those few stalls, some other people have also come looking to buy. After considering it, your uncle sold to them as well, at the same price as the stalls. We've also reached agreements with several restaurants, and after delivering for a few days, the response has been good; they're increasing the quantity every day. Your uncle has also gone to check out the capital, and he plans to start doing that too."

In fact, after being spurred on that day, Xu Yongyi decided to work hard and visited several restaurants in the county the next day. In the afternoon, he went to the capital, intending to set up some stalls in the same way as in the county and then promote his products to the restaurants.

However, after Zhao Ruxi's incident, he lost interest in all of this. He stayed home for two days, worried but Zhao Ruxi didn't send any messages, so he hired a mule cart to go to the capital to inquire about the situation. Therefore, the plan in the capital has not yet been implemented.

However, Madam Xie did not intend to tell Zhao Ruxi any of this.

Even if she didn't say it, Zhao Ruxi could guess it.

Her uncle and aunt truly loved her like their own daughter.

"That's wonderful." She affectionately took Madam Xie's arm. "Our family's life is getting better and better."

"However, making chili oil is quite hard work. It's okay when the business is small, as the amount used is not large. But now that the business is expanding, it's probably too much for you and your uncle to handle alone."

"Isn't that right?" Madam Xie sighed. "Your uncle and I are really worried about this. Right now, what about the work in the county? What will we do when things get going in the capital? I certainly don't want your brother and sister to come back to do this work. But we don't trust outsiders to do it."

"Buy people," Zhao Ruxi, who had already fallen into the ranks of the exploiting class, offered a solution without hesitation.