Meeting

He stopped trying to persuade her and stood up, "Mother, please rest early. On your birthday, I will personally ask Father and Mister Kumu to let that Miss Zhao come to the palace to paint your portrait."

"Good." Noble Consort Cen was very Gao Xing to see her son's filial piety.

She instructed a palace maid to wrap up the clothes she had made for her son and hand them to Xiao Liuzi before watching him leave.

Xiao Lingyan returned to the Prince's residence, sent someone to inform Xiao Lingpu, and then entered his own residence, Concealed Splendor Palace.

"My lord." Imperial Guards Wang Tong stepped forward and bowed.

Xiao Lingyan's eyes lit up as soon as he saw him, and he asked, "You're back? Did you find out what happened?"

"Yes," Wang Tong. "The fifth daughter of the Zhao Family was switched by Lady Wei and raised by a scholar surnamed Xu. The scholar named her Xu Xi."

"Xu Xi?" Xiao Lingyan jumped up, almost knocking over the things in front of him.

Cen Song's explanation was vague; he only said that the Zhao Family girl had been switched at birth, but he didn't say that her adoptive parents' surname was Xu, nor did he say that her name was Xu Xi.

"Sir, are you alright?" Xiao Liuzi, who was standing to the side, quickly stepped forward and asked.

Xiao Lingyan ignored him and stared intently at Wang Tong, asking, "What's her name? Say it again?"

Wang Tong didn't understand what his master meant, but he repeated, "Xu Xi."

"Xu Xi, Xu Xi..." Xiao Lingyan murmured the name, trying his best to suppress himself, but a look of mixed sorrow and joy still appeared on his face.

He paced back and forth in the room a couple of times to calm himself down before saying to Wang Tong, "Alright, continue."

Wang Tong then recounted the successive deaths of Xu Yongzeng and his wife, the story of Xu Xi being taken back to the village by Xu Yongyi, and continued to the recent incident of Zhao Ruxi being taken as an apprentice by Kang Shilin, explaining everything in detail.

When Gathered Treasures Studio heard that Xiao Lingyan's business had suffered because of Zhao Ruxi's design drawings, which had squeezed out Fu Yunlang's Abundant and Prosperous Pavilion, his expression suddenly became unpredictable.

He knew about this; he had even visited Abundant and Prosperous Pavilion at the time. However...

He gazed at the doorway, now plunged into darkness, and let out a long sigh.

"Are you sure? Fifth Miss Zhao will be painting at Court of Judicial Review tomorrow morning?" he confirmed.

"Yes."

"Do you know exactly where it is?" Xiao Lingyan asked again.

"I am incompetent and failed to inquire at the Court of Judicial Review," Wang Tong said, bowing.

Xiao Lingyan waved his hand. "Go to the Earl of Suiping's Residence and keep an eye on things. Tomorrow morning, as soon as Fifth Miss Zhao goes to the Court of Judicial Review, have someone send me a message. Then you can find out exactly where she is painting."

"Yes."

"Alright, go back and rest."

After Wang Tong left, Xiao Lingyan was not sleepy. He paced back and forth in the room a few times, then went out to the corridor and stood in front of the hall, staring at the dark night sky for a long time. He only went back to his room to rest when the second watch gong sounded.

Meanwhile, the Earl of Suiping's Residence was brightly lit. Zhao Yuanxun held the imperial edict that the angel had just delivered, staring at the few lines of text on it, his fingers trembling slightly.

The old lady was overjoyed and wept, grasping Zhao Ruxi's hand and saying, "Miss Xi, Grandmother is so Gao Xing." As she spoke, she wiped away her tears again.

Zhao Ruxi was quite helpless.

It's just an imperial edict, isn't it? It's not like I haven't received them before. Although the last one was an edict about demotion and punishment, which is a bit different from this one, it's still an imperial edict, right?

She wasn't given an official title or any reward. Although the imperial edict said she would receive 1,500 taels of silver for each person she taught, wasn't that what she was supposed to do? She even received 3,000 taels of silver per person from Zhou Wenbai and the others.

"Miss Xi, you don't know, apart from the last time, when your grandfather was young, our Earl of Suiping's Residence received such an imperial edict. It's been twenty or thirty years since we've received one. If it weren't for Wei Qiu last time, the Emperor would probably have forgotten about our family," the old lady said.

The mention of Wei Qiu caused both the old lady and Zhao Yuanxun to look displeased.

Having not received an imperial edict for twenty or thirty years, Zhao Yuanxun received an edict that demoted his rank after taking over the family, which was truly a disgrace to his ancestors.

Compared to the old lady and Zhao Yuanxun, Lady Zhu cared more about her own children.

She asked Zhao Ruxi, "What's going on? Why would the Emperor let you teach the officials to paint?"

Zhao Ruxi then explained Zhang Changshen Zhang Changshen's plans, mentioning that he wanted her to take a position at the Court of Judicial Review. She didn't mention a word about the Marquis of Pingnan's Residence Marquis's family seizing the estate.

Zhao Yuanxun is a military general. Zhang Changshen, Wu Zong, and her master set a trap for the Marquis of Pingnan's Residence for her sake. I wonder how Zhao Yuanxun will feel when he hears this. Anyway, the matter is over, and there is no need to cause any more trouble and make Zhao Yuanxun have a bad impression of her master and senior brother.

Zhao Yuanxun felt conflicted when he heard that Zhang Changshen had asked his daughter to take a position at the Court of Judicial Review.

He went to great lengths and pulled countless strings to secure a sinecure at the Five Cities Military Command. In the end, he was dismissed because of Li Mu's affair and became a nobody. Now, his daughter doesn't spend a penny, and people are begging her to take a position at the Court of Judicial Review. How can the difference between people be so vast?

He said to Zhao Jingtai with a sigh, "Young Master Tai, did you hear that? This is the difference between having ability and not having ability."

Zhao Jingtai nodded vigorously, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Zhao Ruxi, filled with admiration.

My sister is amazing!

Thinking of her child's best interests, Lady Zhu agreed with Zhao Ruxi's decision, "You're right to refuse. What's the point of a young girl like you going to the Court of Judicial Review and dealing with murderers all day? You should stay home. Although our family isn't wealthy, we don't need you to earn this kind of hard and dangerous money."

"If only Young Master Tai had learned to paint, he would be a few years older by now," the old lady said with great regret.

"If Young Master Tai is going to be an official in the future, he should be an official with a rank. What kind of skill is it to be a lowly, menial official?" Zhao Ruxi patted Zhao Jingtai's head. "Starting tomorrow night, I'll teach you to paint."

"That's great!" Zhao Jingtai said Gao Xing.

The next day, Zhao Ruxi got up early, had breakfast, and went to the Court of Judicial Review.

Perhaps she arrived too early, or perhaps it was a day off, but compared to the bustling crowds of yesterday, Court of Judicial Review was unusually quiet.

Zhong Shengrong arrived at the yamen ahead of time, just as Zhao Ruxi had told him. When Zhao Ruxi arrived, he was already waiting inside.

Wu Zong had specifically instructed that, for Zhao Ruxi's safety, Zhong Shengrong did not send her to the courtyard closer to the prison, but instead arranged for tea and refreshments to be served before going about his own business.

Thinking about picking someone up in Beining, Zhao Ruxi didn't even bother with tea or snacks. Using the portraits she had drawn yesterday as a model, she quickly started drawing. She finished one in no time.

She tucked the finished portrait behind her, pulled out a blank sheet of paper, and continued drawing.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded outside the courtyard, as if many people were walking towards them.

She subconsciously looked up and saw a young man in a blue brocade robe stepping across the threshold.