So Much Money
The First Madam was momentarily stunned, then gave a bitter smile. Clearly, she had also thought about her own marriage.
After her bitter smile, she looked at Zhao Ruxi as if she were looking at an ignorant child.
"What marriage in this world is perfect in every way? You yourself said that the heir of the Duke of Ying made vows of eternal love to the County Princess of Qingyang. But now this has happened. It shows that people's hearts can change. How long can such ephemeral things as affection and respect last? Grasping what is real and tangible is the right thing to do."
She took Zhao Ruxi's hand and said gently, "At your age, you naturally value affection more than anything else. But once you get married, you'll realize that affection is nothing more than sweet words from a man. Only status, wealth, and family background matter."
Seeing that Zhao Ruxi still didn't take it seriously, she said, "Take you and your four sisters, Ruxin, Rurui, Ruyu, for example. Because of the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children, you are the most honored in your family. But if you only listen to a man's sweet words and marry without considering family background or status, when you attend a banquet or return home for your parents' visit, you'll find that your sisters, who were once less fortunate than you, are adorned with gold and silver, enjoy high status, and are flattered everywhere; while you are disheveled, struggling to even afford new clothes, and are looked down upon everywhere. What will you do then? In this world, it is the clothes that are respected first, then the person."
Zhao Ruxi was speechless.
"That's why when I'm choosing marriage partners for your eldest and second eldest sisters, I'm not only looking at their substance, but also their reputation. At the very least, their social status can't be too low, their family traditions must be upright, and secondly, the sons-in-law must be of good character, reasonable, and ambitious."
"Such a perfect marriage is hard to come by, isn't it? There are so many noble ladies in the capital, who wouldn't want such a good match?" Zhao Ruxi muttered.
"It's difficult. So from the age of eleven or twelve, I started to keep my eyes peeled and look around. I'm a woman myself, how could I not know the difficulties women face in marriage? Naturally, I had to carefully consider what kind of marriage would be most suitable for my own daughter."
Zhao Ruxi originally intended to persuade her mother, but after Lady Zhu's words, she was actually persuaded by her mother.
She wasn't really a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl; inside, she had the soul of someone almost thirty. In her past life, she had not only read countless posts on forums complaining about marriage, but she had also witnessed the marital lives of her own classmates, friends, and best friends.
She had to admit that what Lady Zhu said made a lot of sense.
She sighed heavily, "If that's the case, then why get married? Isn't it better to live alone?"
"Living alone?" Lady Zhu couldn't help but laugh.
She stood up, no longer wanting to pay attention to her innocent youngest daughter. "What you're saying is just childish talk. Alright, from now on, I'll listen to your opinion on your marriage and won't make decisions for you on my own; and you shouldn't make decisions on your own either. Just know one thing: I won't harm you. Go to sleep now, don't think so much."
Once again, Zhao Ruxi was treated like a child, leaving her feeling helpless.
"Mother, wait a moment. I have something to tell you." Zhao Ruxi called out to Lady Zhu and took out the box that Kang Shilin had given her from the wardrobe.
"What is this?" Lady Zhu turned back, sat down in a chair, and opened the box.
Upon seeing what was inside the box, she gasped in shock.
He took out the silver note and examined it, finding it to be genuine. After counting it, he found it totaled thirty-six thousand taels of silver.
"Where did you come from?" she asked her daughter, looking up at her with a slightly nervous expression.
Zhao Ruxi couldn't help but laugh, "Mother, you were there when Master Kang and Madam Cui were discussing this yesterday, didn't you? This is the tuition fee that Master collected for me today, three thousand taels per person."
She took out nine thousand taels of silver notes. "This belongs to my master and two senior brothers. My master insisted on giving it to me, and I couldn't refuse at the time, so I accepted it. I can't keep this money; I have to return it, or buy appropriate gifts in return."
She pushed the remaining banknotes aside. "This is the money I earned this time."
The First Madam was taken aback, as if she had touched something hot, and pushed the silver note back to Zhao Ruxi: "Why are you giving it to me? Take it yourself."
She said solemnly, "Child, because of your mother's negligence, you have suffered a lot over the years." As she spoke, her nose tingled with emotion. "Your parents don't know how to make it up to you, how could we possibly take the money you worked so hard to earn? Supporting the family is your parents' responsibility, you keep your own money."
Last night, after Zhao Yuanxun brought Zhao Ruxi back, he was so excited that he didn't stay in the outer courtyard but went straight back to the inner courtyard and stayed in the First Madam's room, talking with her for half the night.
Zhao Ruxi gave Wu Huaisi a perfunctory answer, saying that because her family was poor and she didn't have brushes, ink, paper, or inkstones, she used charcoal to draw. Zhao Yuanxun told his wife these words verbatim.
As he said this, even this grown man's eyes reddened, let alone Lady Zhu, who had the heart of a loving mother.
With tears in their eyes, the couple discussed how to treat Zhao Ruxi well in the future and never let her suffer the slightest grievance. They also agreed that when she got married, the family would do their best to provide her with a dowry. As for the money she earned, they would naturally not take a single penny.
They already felt guilty towards her; how could they possibly have the audacity to take money that their child had worked so hard to earn?
In other words, children from wealthy families, such as Zhao Jingli, Zhao Jing'an, Zhao Ruxin, and Zhao Ruyu, regardless of whether they are legitimate or illegitimate, or whether they are adopted, do not think about making money. Because they have no worries about food and clothing, they simply do not have this need.
But what about Zhao Ruxi? First, she went to draw jewelry designs for the County Princess of Qingyang to earn money. Even though she knew that her background was suspicious and that she was very likely the legitimate daughter of the Marquis's family, she still worked hard every day until late at night just to earn some money.
This time, disregarding reputation and status, he even wanted to charge three thousand taels per person as a tuition fee while teaching painting, which shows that this child wants to earn some money.
Why does she want to make money? Because she's terrified of being poor.
She had no money and felt insecure. It was all because of poverty.
Faced with such a child, the parents are too overwhelmed with guilt to even consider taking the money their child worked so hard to earn.
"Mother, if the family is struggling to make ends meet, it's already very hard for you to manage the household. Why don't you take some money to buy some shops or land? If I can't make money, that's fine, but since I can, I certainly can't watch you work so hard," Zhao Ruxi said.
She's not a saint. She's actually quite selfish. If she lived in modern times, she would definitely buy a house or shop herself, or make investments, and only occasionally give some money or buy things for her parents to show her respect.
However, this was in ancient times, and women did not have property rights. Even if she got married, her dowry list would be registered with the government office for future division of property in case of divorce.
If she conceals these tens of thousands of taels of silver now, it will be impossible to keep it secret, whether before or after her marriage. Moreover, because the amount is so large, she won't be able to use it openly.