Renewing a Doomed Entanglement

"Xu Xi, can't we be reasonable?" Xiao Lingyan glared at him. "You were the one who walked there, you were the one who didn't look where you were going. I tried to pull you up but we were both hit and thrown into the air. I haven't even complained yet, and you're blaming me? Don't you have any conscience?"

"No, you've lost all your conscience," Zhao Ruxi replied crisply, pointing at him, "You, you bastard."

Xiao Lingyan stared at her, speechless for a long time.

"Alright, I'm not arguing with you." He wiped his face. "I'm asking you, what's going on between us? How did we end up here together?"

"Let's rekindle our past relationship." Zhao Ruxi said with a stern face, "A tragic fate!"

Xiao Lingyan was so angry he laughed.

"Little Miss, can we not argue?" he said, raising his eyebrows with a helpless expression.

"It's not impossible." Zhao Ruxi rolled her eyes, finally looking at him with her beautiful eyes. "You want to know what's going on?"

"I want to." Xiao Lingyan nodded vigorously, but he was on high alert.

That woman's eyes darted around, and she was always up to something wicked, the kind that was really cunning. He'd fallen for her tricks countless times back in modern times. He'd only learned his lesson and gotten his revenge later.

She's the woman who seems innocent and adorable on the surface, but is actually full of wicked schemes.

"We've somehow transmigrated into a novel, a sweet romance novel at that." Zhao Ruxi Xiao Lingyan a sweet smile, a smile that looked utterly harmless.

She pointed at Xiao Lingyan with her fair, delicate fingers. "You're like cannon fodder in the book, the kind who won't survive past the third episode."

Xiao Lingyan's tightly clenched expression suddenly cracked. "What?"

"Want to know the inside story? Name your price." Zhao Ruxi raised her eyebrows smugly and stretched out her wicked little hand in front of Xiao Lingyan.

Xiao Lingyan looked at her fair and beautiful hands, then glanced at Zhao Ruxi's sweet smile, and asked through gritted teeth, "What do you want?"

Just as Zhao Ruxi was about to speak, she suddenly heard a noise outside the courtyard gate, and then the gate was pushed open.

She quickly said to Xiao Lingyan, "See you at Beining Gathered Treasures Studio at 2 PM."

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhang Changshen walked in angrily, followed by Xiao Lingyan's Xiao Liuzi and Wang Tong. Zhong Shengrong, Qingfeng, and Ma Sheng also followed behind.

Zhang Changshen, his face dark, cupped his hands to Xiao Lingyan and said, "Fifth Highness, this is the Court of Judicial Review, a place where serious criminals and death row inmates are imprisoned. Your Highness is of noble birth; how can you venture into such a dangerous place? In my opinion, Your Highness should return to the palace. Otherwise, if the Emperor asks, I will not be able to cover for Your Highness."

Xiao Lingyan slowly stood up, just in time to meet Zhao Ruxi's teasing gaze.

He turned his face expressionlessly and said leisurely to Zhang Changshen, "I've only come to ask Miss Zhao for some confirmation regarding the painting. Lord Zhang, there's no need to be nervous."

He turned to Zhao Ruxi and solemnly instructed, "Then Miss Zhao, prepare yourself and learn some manners. When my mother summons you to the palace to paint her portrait, you won't need to offend any noble ladies in the palace because you don't know the rules."

With that, he cupped his hands in Zhang Changshen and led his men out.

Zhang Changshen saw him to the door, then turned back and asked Zhao Ruxi, "Miss Zhao, are you alright?"

"It's alright." Zhao Ruxi smiled at him, feeling touched.

Not every minister would be willing to confront a prince face-to-face for an ordinary woman. Lord Zhang Changshen is truly a great man.

Zhang Changshen, unaware that he had been given a "friend zone" card, asked again, "Did the Fifth Prince really come to ask you to paint a portrait of Noble Consort Cen?"

Zhao Ruxi nodded. "Exactly. He probably came to verify something. He glanced at my painting and then brought this up. He probably wants to give Noble Consort Cen a surprise."

Zhang Changshen was relieved and didn't bring up the matter again. He asked, "Did you receive the imperial decree last night? When will the group you're teaching be finished? When will our Court of Judicial Review's painting class begin?"

Zhao Ruxi thought for a moment.

Learning to draw is different from other forms of education; it doesn't require a teacher to be there constantly. A teacher only needs to provide appropriate guidance, and students can draw independently the rest of the time. She could easily combine two or three groups of students into one teaching session.

Moreover, those who come to learn painting all have a certain foundation in painting. She only needs to instill the concept of three-dimensionality in them and let them paint using three-dimensional techniques, and that's basically it.

"Where are you planning to hold the lectures?" she asked.

"This..." Zhang Changshen didn't have much of a clue either. "What are your requirements?"

"Ideally, there should be a large house with three or four courtyards. Groups of students can be taught together," Zhao Ruxi said.

Zhang Changshen then asked, "What about the location? Does it need to be close to the Court of Judicial Review? Or in Beining?"

Zhao Ruxi shook her head. "That's not necessary. But if people from the provincial governments come to learn painting, it's best to live close to where they reside, or even better, in the courtyard where they learn to paint. That way, they won't have to travel back and forth, and they can paint whenever they have time in the morning or evening. Learning this kind of painting requires them to put in the effort and figure things out on their own."

She thought for a moment and said, "It will probably take about a month to learn. We can have three groups of people learning at the same time, in different courtyards. It would be better if each group was separated by about ten days."

Those with talent and quick learning abilities can learn from the previous batch of people, which will speed up their progress. The sooner they finish learning, the sooner they can go back, and it won't interfere with the affairs of the government office too much.

"That's not difficult," Zhang Changshen said with a smile.

Putting aside other factors, just considering his own home, he already had such a villa. If the emperor valued his reputation and didn't want to be burdened with personal favors, where couldn't he find several courtyards in places like the Imperial Academy?

"I'll discuss it with the others and come up with a set of rules," he said.

"Thank you for your trouble, sir."

Zhang Changshen waved his hand. "Alright, take your time drawing, I won't bother you anymore."

With Zhang Changshen gone, Zhao Ruxi had no time to think about Xiao Ke.

Today is the Earl of Suiping's Residence is hosting a dinner for the Xu Family. After she finishes her painting, she still has to go to Beining to pick up the Xu Family. Before that, she has to make a deal with that Xiao Ke.

Fortunately, considering that Xu Yongyi needed to prepare, sell, and deliver vegetables to various restaurants in the morning, the invitation specifically requested a time in the afternoon. Even though Xiao Ke delayed him a bit, there was still plenty of time.

She spent the whole morning drawing the portrait and handed it to Zhong Shengrong. She didn't go back to the Earl of Suiping's Residence, but went directly to Beining by carriage. She only ate some snacks and tea prepared by Qingfeng on the way.

"Young lady, you're so busy, you can't even eat properly." Qingfeng felt quite sorry for his young lady.

"It's nothing." Zhao Ruxi also felt she was very busy.

If it weren't for her promise to Madam Cui, and the fact that Beining Academy had solved many problems for her and given her many opportunities, she wouldn't have wanted to study at the academy at all.

There are too many things to handle.

But there's no turning back now; we just have to figure out how to manage our time effectively.