Are Marriages Predestined by Heaven?

"Lord Wu is out on business. As for Fifth Miss Zhao..." Zhang Changshen stroked his beard, unsure whether Zhao Ruxi wanted to get involved with the Marquis of Pingnan's Residence.

He and Wu Zong were civil officials, and naturally not in the same camp as the Marquis of Pingnan's Residence. But the Earl of Suiping's Residence was different.

The Duke of Sui was originally a military general. Although Zhao Yuanxun no longer held an official position, he had previously served as a military officer in the Five Cities Military Command. If Zhao Yuanxun wanted to cultivate a good relationship with the Marquis of Pingnan's Residence, or even follow Fu Yunkai's path to obtain an official position, or to secure a future for his son, then he could not stand in the way of others' good intentions.

"I'll send someone to ask her," Zhang Changshen said, turning to instruct Zhong Shengrong to go find Zhao Ruxi.

After Zhong Shengrong left, he explained to Fu Yunkai, "Fifth Miss Zhao is currently in the yamen drawing portraits of criminals for us."

Zhao Ruxi was going to teach the officials in the government office how to paint. Once the emperor issued the decree, the whole court would know. Therefore, Zhang Changshen felt there was no need to hide this matter at all.

"Is Fifth Miss Zhao's painting skill even better than Lord Wu's?" Fu Yunkai was surprised and couldn't help but ask a few more questions.

Zhang Changshen wanted all the civil and military officials to know the importance of this matter, so he took advantage of the free time to promote Zhao Ruxi's new painting method. "It's different, Fifth Miss Zhao has created a unique new painting method..."

Zhong Shengrong went to the backyard, found Zhao Ruxi, and specifically recounted what had happened that day.

"Right now, Young Master Fu Yunkai, the Young General Fu of the Marquis of Pingnan's Residence, is apologizing to Lord Zhang, and also to you, Miss Zhao. Lord Zhang asked me to ask you if you would like to go to the front to see Young General Fu and accept his apology."

Zhao Ruxi knew about Fu Yunlang's attempt to seize the estate, but she didn't know that Zhang Changshen had later gone to the emperor to sow discord, forcing Fu Yunkai to come and apologize. She listened to Zhong Shengrong's account with a stunned expression.

Upon hearing this, she waved her hands repeatedly, "No need, no need. General Fu came to apologize, not because of me, so I don't need to join in the fun. Please thank Lord Zhang for me."

She had no desire to have anything to do with the Marquis of Pingnan's Residence. She wanted to stay far away from anyone or anything related to the original male and female leads. Not to mention that Fu Yunkai was just cannon fodder, and he had even fewer episodes left to live than her.

Regardless of whether she could change the plot of the book, she didn't want to have anything to do with the Fu Family.

Zhong Shengrong had been following Zhang Changshen all day, so he naturally knew how much his master valued Zhao Ruxi. Also, because of the relationship between Kang Shilin and Wu Zong, as well as the matter of painting skills, he intended to befriend Zhao Ruxi.

He worried that Zhao Ruxi was too young to understand the intricacies of the situation, so he intentionally reminded her, "The Marquis of Pingnan now holds military power, and maintaining good relations with their household would likely benefit your father as well. If your father doesn't want to be an official, it would provide your younger brother with a way to secure a future. Miss Zhao, why don't you go over there, say hello, and exchange a few words? Lord Zhang is there too; it would be a good way to give them face."

Zhong Shengrong in his forties. He was a second-class Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) more than ten years ago and started as a Subordinate Ninth Rank official in the Dali Court of Judicial Review. Because he had no connections and his abilities were average, he was now Principal Sixth Rank and worked as a secretary for Zhang Changshen, doing odd jobs.

Zhao Ruxi was very grateful for his advice.

She bowed to Zhong Shengrong: "Thank you for your advice, sir. But I have my reasons, so I'd better not go. You only need to say that Young Master Fu Er offended Lord Zhang, Marquis of Pingnan's Residence apologizes to Lord Zhang. I'm busy painting, so I won't go out to pay my respects."

Seeing that he had made himself perfectly clear, but Zhao Ruxi still refused to go out to see Fu Yunkai, Zhong Shengrong that everyone has their own ambitions and didn't try to persuade her any further. He bid farewell to Zhao Ruxi and returned to the front.

In the front hall, after hearing Zhang Changshen praise Zhao Ruxi's paintings, Fu Yunkai became even more curious about Zhao Ruxi.

As someone who was about to discuss marriage, Fu Yunkai had a lot on his mind.

When he inquired about the day's events from Fu Yunlang, he heard many complaints from Fu Yunlang about Zhao Ruxi. In order to find out what had happened, while punishing Fu Yunlang, he also had someone inquire about Zhao Ruxi's situation and gained a general understanding of it.

Zhao Ruxi was switched at birth and lived in the countryside and the city for fourteen years. With such a life experience, after being brought back to the mansion, she was not ridiculed for her words and deeds. On the contrary, she was admitted to the Beining Women's Academy with her talent and was chosen by Mr. Kang Shilin to be his last disciple.

In addition, she was employed by jewelry stores to draw jewelry designs for them. Abundant and Prosperous Pavilion was even driven to the brink of bankruptcy because her jewelry designs were so good.

Zhang Changshen, an old fox and seasoned politician, would not easily praise someone, yet now he was praising Fifth Miss Zhao's painting to my face.

Each and every one of these incidents, from any perspective, proves that Fifth Miss Zhao is a talented, virtuous, and self-reliant young woman.

At this moment, Fu Yunkai suddenly felt that this Fifth Miss Zhao might be the person he was looking for.

After deciding to arrange his own marriage, he discovered that finding a spouse was actually a major problem, as he was neither good enough for those he wanted nor good enough for those he didn't.

He didn't want to marry a self-important, pretentious noblewoman, nor did he want to marry a shallow, illiterate woman like his mother. Unfortunately, he didn't have much time to stay home and arrange his own marriage.

He felt he would spend a long time searching, but still wouldn't find someone suitable, and would eventually have to settle for marrying someone his mother wanted him to marry.

Unexpectedly, Fifth Miss Zhao appeared right in front of him.

Could this be a case of fate or destiny in marriage?

Therefore, he is now very eager to meet this Fifth Miss Zhao. If she is indeed the person he imagines, he will immediately send someone to the Earl of Suiping's Residence to propose marriage.

Fu Yunkai was very disappointed to see Zhong Shengrong return alone.

"My lord," Zhong Shengrong Zhang Changshen, "Miss Zhao said that Young Master Fu Er offended you, Lord Zhang Lord Zhang, and that he only needs to apologize to you. She is busy painting and will not be able to come out to greet Young General Fu."

These words surprised Zhang Changshen, and his impression of Zhao Ruxi improved even more.

This little girl is quite the talker.

Fu Yunkai was initially disappointed, but upon hearing these words, his eyes suddenly lit up.

From these words, it can be seen that this Fifth Miss Zhao is a woman with a temper, knows her limits, is self-respecting, and does not curry favor with the powerful. He felt more and more that Fifth Miss Zhao suited his taste.

As long as she wasn't too ugly, he felt he could send someone to propose marriage.

"Miss Zhao is indeed busy. She has to finish painting thirty portraits by tomorrow morning. It's not that she intentionally didn't come to pay her respects to Young General Fu. Please don't take offense, Young General Fu." Zhang Changshen liked this young girl, Zhao Ruxi, so he was willing to say a few good words for her.

As he spoke, he cheerfully picked up his teacup and took a sip.

This is serving tea to see the guest off.

Fu Yunkai had no choice but to get up and take his leave.

After leaving the Court of Judicial Review, he boarded his carriage and called to the driver, "Wait a minute, I need to wait for someone."