He Can Enter the Clan School

Besides, this matter can't be kept secret at all. Last night, they mentioned the three thousand taels of silver as tuition in front of Zhao Yuanxun and Lady Zhu. If she accepts the money and keeps it to herself without saying a word, what will the old lady and Zhao Yuanxun and his wife think of her? The family will inevitably drift apart.

She is a modern person with independent emotions, and she doesn't feel very safe in this ancient world, nor can she fully trust anyone.

The old lady, Zhao Yuanxun, and others also had their own selfish motives, showing favoritism towards her and Zhao Jingtai. Compared to Zhao Jingtai, she was not only a latecomer but also someone who would eventually be discarded. A few hundred taels of silver might not bother the elders, but this was tens of thousands of taels.

Therefore, she took out the money to test the three elders and even Zhao Jingtai.

If they wanted to split the money in two, keeping the Datou for Zhao Jingtai and giving her a smaller portion as dowry, then her relationship with these people would only be superficial. Every penny she earned afterward would be firmly in her own hands.

She doesn't deny that she's suspicious, selfish, and cold-hearted. She can't dedicate everything to the Earl of Suiping's Residence; she needs to plan for herself.

Hearing Lady Zhu say this now, Zhao Ruxi felt a warm glow in her heart.

She said, "You should discuss this with Grandma and Father. It's such a large sum of money; perhaps Grandma and Father have other ideas."

"No need," Lady Zhu waved her hand and said, "I already discussed it with your father last night. We don't want a single penny you earn. When you get married, we will do our best to prepare a dowry for you."

"As for your grandmother..." Lady Zhu reached out and stroked Zhao Ruxi's hair, "She's getting old, and she doesn't need to worry about everything at home. Don't tell her about this. Just make sure she eats well, drinks well, and takes good care of herself."

Zhao Ruxi nodded. "Okay."

This was the outcome she had anticipated.

Both Zhao Yuanxun and Lady Zhu loved their children. Lady Zhu might be worried about letting her keep the money, so she might take it over for safekeeping or help her convert it into fixed assets. However, when she needed the money or got married, she would return the vast majority to her.

But the old lady might not think so. After all, older people value their children and grandchildren more.

"As for your younger brother, there's no need to tell him. Young Master Tai doesn't understand money; he won't have any ideas. But he's not good with his mouth. If he accidentally lets something slip one day, especially if it's someone from the second or third wife's family, that wouldn't be good."

Zhao Ruxi nodded.

The eldest and third branches of the family are not close, and Zhao Jingtai wouldn't tell them that. But it's a different story with Zhao Jingli and Zhao Jing'an. One of these two older brothers used to be his biological elder brother, and the other was someone he had known since childhood.

Upon learning of the existence of these tens of thousands of taels of silver, Zhao Jingli and Zhao Jing'an might not have any objections, but Zhao Yuanliang, Zhao Ruyu, and Zhao Rurui might. These three are all planning for themselves. They might simply claim that the eldest son's family has embezzled public property and demand that these tens of thousands of taels be taken out and divided equally. Although this could be explained clearly, it would involve too much trouble and make it known to everyone.

"Mother, I understand."

She looked up at Lady Zhu: "Mother, since I can earn money, I naturally have the ability to keep it safe. I won't just leave it there; I'll invest it in assets or do what I want to do. What should I do with these shops and houses then?"

"Put it in my name first, along with my dowry."

As Lady Zhu was speaking, she wanted to mention the estates and shops that Wei Qiu had sold off, but then she thought about all the wealthy and powerful families in the capital and realized that they had no connection with such things, so she swallowed her words.

Zhao Ruxi knew her mother's character. Besides, her mother had previously said she would entrust the money to Lady Zhu for safekeeping, which showed her trust in her. Hearing that it would be placed together with Lady Zhu's dowry, she naturally agreed, "Okay."

Seeing that Lady Zhu was about to get up, Zhao Ruxi quickly stopped her. "There's something else I need to discuss with you, Mother."

"You say."

"The Xu Family, that is, my uncle and aunt. Because I suddenly stopped going to the academy, and then they heard about what happened to our Earl's Mansion, they were extremely anxious and worried. My aunt looked much thinner, and she had blisters on her lips. My uncle hired a carriage and drove to the capital for several days, trying to find out about us. When I heard about it today, I felt incredibly guilty."

"When you invited them to the Marquis's residence, they were worried that their attire and behavior would be inappropriate and that the servants would laugh at me, so they refused to come. They were also worried that you would misunderstand them as coming to freeload and treat me badly, so they didn't even come to the capital to find our place. This time, they didn't even know where we lived, so they wandered all over the city."

She looked up at her mother, her eyes full of earnestness. "Mom, shall we formally invite Uncle and Aunt over for a visit? I originally wanted to bring Uncle over tonight just to introduce us, but I felt that wouldn't be respectful enough. It would be better if you, Father and Mother, formally invited them. They don't want anything from us; they genuinely love me."

Upon hearing this, tears welled up in Lady Zhu's eyes.

She wiped away her tears with a handkerchief before saying, "Your Xu Family and Aunt Xu truly love you. I am very grateful to them. It's just that back then, you weren't my daughter, and the Wei Family Lady Wei didn't show any appreciation. I sent them money, but they refused it. I understand their pride, so I didn't force them. Later, with all the things happening with the Wei Residence, one thing after another, until this matter was settled, your father and I couldn't very well go out and thank the Xu Family. Now that everything is settled, I was discussing with your father last night about inviting your Xu Family and Aunt Xu, and I didn't expect you to bring it up today."

She patted her daughter's head. "I am so grateful to them. Not only did they not mistreat you, but they also raised you with great care and didn't let you suffer at all. Look at you now, whether it's your temperament or your knowledge, you are much better than the children I raised myself. This is all thanks to your adoptive parents and adoptive uncle and aunt. I can never thank them enough."

Hearing this, Zhao Ruxi felt very comforted.

"Your father and I have discussed it. Your uncle and aunt definitely won't accept money. They may be poor, but they have a lot of pride and are afraid of being looked down upon or perceived as begging. Forcing them to accept money would be an insult to them. So we've decided to find Xu Chongwen a good school."

Seeing her daughter's bright eyes looking at her, Lady Zhu reached out and stroked her head. "Jingli and Jing'an didn't go to school because they want to pursue military careers. You might not know about our Zhao Family's clan school. It's funded by the income from the ancestral lands left by our patriarch, and we've hired a retired scholar who passed the imperial examination and two other scholars from the clan as teachers. Although the school is funded by the ancestral lands, the expenses are still not enough, so our household subsidizes the school with an additional five hundred taels of silver every year. For so many years, we've only given money but never enjoyed any benefits from the school. Getting someone in to study is no problem."