Treat Me as Your Son

She stroked her chin, frowning as she tried hard to recall the descriptions of Fu Yunkai in the novel, but no matter how hard she tried, she could only think of a few places where he was mentioned. His name appeared more often in the memories of the male protagonist Fu Yunlang. The novel also made no mention of Fu Yunkai ever having any dealings with the Earl of Suiping's Residence.

Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore.

Zhao Ruxi snapped out of her thoughts and saw Zhao Yuanxun still excitedly telling Lady Zhu about his dinner and drinks with Fu Yunkai that evening. She shrugged helplessly.

"He said he was also invited to the birthday banquet of the former princess of the Prince of Zhennan's Residence. He'll be drinking with me again at the Prince of Zhennan's Residence tomorrow," Zhao Yuanxun said.

Lady Zhu glanced at Zhao Ruxi helplessly, then stood up and said, "Let's go, Miss Xi needs to rest. Let's talk about it when we get back."

Zhao Yuanxun first returned to the main courtyard but couldn't find his wife. He heard that his wife was in Zhao Ruxi's courtyard. Then he thought that Fu Yunkai was only able to invite him to drink because his daughter was successful. So he took advantage of his drunken state to come looking for her.

He didn't linger and stood up to leave.

Zhao Ruxi was about to report the purchase of people to Lady Zhu when Zhao Yuanxun interrupted her. Seeing that although he was slightly drunk, he was still quite lucid, so she took advantage of the fact that both of them were present and told them what had happened.

She urged, "Father, Mother, I have something to tell you. Please sit down."

The two had no choice but to sit down again.

Zhao Ruxi hesitated for a moment, considering her words carefully, before speaking, "Father, Mother, you know that the estate in Wei Qiu is now registered in my name, right?"

After finishing this task, she instructed Ma Sheng to report to Zhao Yuanxun, presumably because Zhao Yuanxun already knew about it.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Zhao Yuanxun and Lady Zhu exchanged a glance and nodded, "We know."

They would definitely be Gao Xing if their daughter applied to register the estate in her own name.

They never intended to seize their daughter's property, and had already told her that these things were all hers and that she could take them with her as part of her dowry when she got married. If Zhao Ruxi was still wary of them after all this, they would naturally feel uncomfortable.

However, Ma Sheng reported the details of that day to Zhao Yuanxun, and knowing that it was Wu Zong's idea, the two of them didn't think much of it.

"Do you know that the day the Marquis of Pingnan's Residence's family seized my estate, it Gao Xing my master. My master went to the palace to argue with the Emperor, and to appease him, the Emperor gave me a shop?"

Zhao Yuanxun hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

This was something Ma Sheng had told him.

"Ma Sheng told me. Ma Sheng said, 'You made him tell me.'" he said.

He didn't want his daughter to misunderstand that he had sent Ma Sheng to monitor her movements.

"I've already spoken to Ma Sheng. Now that I've put him under your command, he's your personal servant, and so is his entire family. From now on, if anything happens, unless you specifically asked him to do it, he doesn't need to report to me."

Zhao Yuanxun hadn't thought that much about it at first. He felt that Zhao Ruxi was his daughter, and all the money and property she had acquired should be kept at home.

He and Lady Zhu shared the same thought: they felt indebted to their daughter. So when their daughter got married, they wanted her to take all this property with her. He didn't intend to take advantage of his daughter financially. But they were worried about leaving such a large sum of money and assets in Zhao Ruxi's hands, and wanted to keep an eye on it for their daughter, fearing that she might squander it or be cheated out of it.

But Wu Zong's words were relayed to him verbatim by Ma Sheng, which immediately woke him up.

How did my daughter acquire all this money, these estates, and these shops? It was all planned by the old master Kang Shilin for his disciple—the painting training class was set up under the name of Mister Kumu, and he even helped collect the silver notes; the estate in Wei Qiu was also obtained by Mister Kumu's third apprentices at his behest, who even swallowed his pride and went to the Zhao Ruxi to argue with him; the shops were also acquired in the same way.

The old man, Mister Kumu, wasn't trying to secure money and goods for his disciple; he wasn't doing it for the benefit of the Earl of Suiping's Residence. If he were to keep all these things under his own name, preventing Zhao Ruxi from using them at will, what kind of person would that be?

Moreover, it wasn't just him and his wife in the mansion; the old lady and Zhao Jingtai were also there.

The old lady values her children and grandchildren more. Now that all the money and land have gone to the Earl's mansion, will she feel that it all belongs to the Earl's mansion? When Zhao Ruxi gets married, will she feel that compared to the wealth Zhao Ruxi took with her, the money left for her grandson is only a small amount? Will the old lady do something to hurt Zhao Ruxi's feelings?

And what about Zhao Jingtai? Does he take it for granted that all of this is his property?

Thinking about it this way, he broke out in a cold sweat.

Now that Zhao Ruxi has brought up this issue, he is also glad that he has figured it out and can make things clear to his daughter so that she won't misunderstand them.

Their daughter was only brought back home halfway through their lives, so they weren't very close. If this creates a rift in their relationship, no amount of money can salvage it.

Zhao Ruxi was very satisfied with Zhao Yuanxun's statement.

Ultimately, although she was related to Zhao Yuanxun and Lady Zhu by blood, her soul belonged to the modern-day Xu Xi, and she had no connection with them whatsoever. Their ages were also not far apart. Although she called them Father and Mother, if she was dissatisfied with their conduct, she would protect them from the political upheavals of two or three years later, safeguarding their lives and property; anything more, she shouldn't expect.

This is also the fundamental reason why she didn't want Zhao Yuanxun to get involved in her business and why she used people from the Earl of Suiping's Residence to do business.

In her past life, she was independent and self-reliant in her studies and career, used to being free and unrestrained. She could bear the consequences of her own actions. She didn't want anyone using her parents' name to point fingers at her. Especially in ancient times, when filial piety was the foundation of governance and everyone believed that parents were the best parents, she didn't want that at all.

"Dad, Mom, I have my own aspirations and plans for my life. I want to be a free person who can use my own abilities, instead of having to ask others for every penny I spend and having to be subservient to them for every meal."

Upon hearing this, both Zhao Yuanxun and Lady Zhu trembled slightly.

Zhao Ruxi continued, "Currently, I own a shop, an estate, and money from teaching painting. I'll also receive tuition fees from the Court of Judicial Review. So, I plan to buy some houses and servants. I intend to open my own jewelry store and also engage in other businesses."

"I don't want a single penny from your household, nor do I need your help. If I earn money, I will support my grandmother and parents. If I lose, I can support myself by selling paintings, and you still don't need to worry about me. So I implore you to allow me to freely develop my abilities and ambitions. I believe I am no less capable than some men, and I am sure I can earn more money so that you can live a better life."