Meeting

Then, she introduced Zhao Ruxi, "This is the Wife of the Earl of Zhongqin."

Upon hearing the words "Earl of Zhongqin," Zhao Ruxi's polite smile vanished, and her gaze toward the Wife of the Earl of Zhongqin turned unusually cold.

The Heir of the Earl of Zhongqin was the same playboy whom the original owner married in the book, the one with homosexual tendencies. After the original owner got married, she not only suffered torment from her husband and was ridiculed by others when she went out, but the Wife of the Earl of Zhongqin also often harassed her.

Later, when the Marquis of Suiping's Residence was raided, this lady, taking advantage of the fact that the original owner no longer had her family to support her, seized the original owner's dowry, which, although not abundant, was enough to support herself. She then had her son write a letter of divorce, driving the penniless original owner out of the house, leaving her to freeze and starve to death.

Although it was a novel, the old lady, Lady Zhu, Zhao Ruyu, and others described in the novel lived vividly before her eyes, with flesh and blood. Zhao Ruxi couldn't treat the original owner of this body as a paper doll. Thinking that this Wife of the Earl of Zhongqin and her homosexual son owed the original owner a life, Zhao Ruxi couldn't bring herself to treat her kindly. Given the chance in the future, she would definitely seek justice for the original owner.

When Wife of the Earl of Zhongqin first heard that Zhao Ruxi was a daughter of the Earl of Suiping's Residence, her expression turned cold. But after hearing the second half of the sentence, her face lit up with a smile again, and she said warmly, "So you are Miss Zhao, the esteemed student of Mister Kumu. In a few days, our household will be holding a chrysanthemum appreciation banquet. I will send Miss Zhao an invitation then, and I would like to invite Miss Zhao to join your matriarch and mistress."

"No, thank you for your kindness, Zhao Ruxi. However, I am very busy and I'm afraid I won't have the time. I apologize for not being able to attend the banquet hosted by your esteemed residence."

Although both the Earl of Zhongqin's Residence and the Earl of Suiping's Residence were marquisates, the Earl of Zhongqin was a fourth-rank general. The Wife of the Earl of Zhongqin looked down on the people of the Earl of Suiping's Residence. She only gave Zhao Ruxi was Kang Shilin's top student. She never expected Zhao Ruxi to directly refuse her invitation.

Xiaoru, Xiaoru broke out in a cold sweat and quickly said before Wife of the Earl of Zhongqin could speak, "My princess is waiting for Miss Zhao. I'll take her there first, and you can talk again later."

As she spoke, she pulled Zhao Ruxi away. Qingfeng quickly followed.

"You, you all..." Wife of the Earl of Zhongqin pointed at the three people's backs, trembling with anger.

"Pfft." Someone nearby couldn't help but laugh when they saw this.

Wife of the Earl of Zhongqin suddenly turned around and saw that the one covering her mouth and laughing was the wife of the Lord Peng, the Imperial Academy. She knew that this was not someone she could afford to offend, so she could only glare at them fiercely before turning around and leaving with her maid.

Lady Peng patted Zhao Ruyu's hand and smiled, "Was that your younger sister just now? She's quite capable."

Zhao Ruyu smiled awkwardly, "I heard from my mother that my sister is a very reasonable and tactful person. Just now, it must have been something that the Wife of the Earl of Zhongqin did that made her look down on her, which is why she acted that way."

"No need to explain," Lady Peng said. "I know that lady's character better than you do. The mistake just now certainly didn't lie with your sister."

At this time, Zhao Ruxi had already followed Xiaoru to the Princess of Zhennan's place.

Princess of Zhennan sat in the hall with the old princess. Also present were Grand Princess Shangde and several other ladies.

The old lady of the Earl of Suiping's Residence and Lady Zhu were not here.

Upon seeing Zhao Ruxi arrive, the Princess of Zhennan jokingly smiled and said to Grand Princess Shangde, "Your student has arrived."

As she spoke, she stood up and personally introduced Zhao Ruxi to the old princess.

Zhao Ruxi bowed respectfully to the old princess and presented her gift: a small Guanyin sculpture.

This was designed by her and then carved by craftsmen from Gathered Treasures Studio.

She had heard Xiao Ruotong mention that the old princess had a habit of eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist scriptures, so she figured she must be a Buddhist, and that's why she gave her this gift.

Originally, Zhao Ruxi was a girl from the Earl of Suiping's Residence. Since she was attending the banquet with her grandmother and mother, she did not need to prepare a separate gift.

But she didn't come with her grandmother and mother; she came alone, and it wouldn't be right not to bring a gift. Anyway, Xiao Ruotong had been very good to her, and the jade of this Guanyin wasn't of high quality and wasn't worth much money, so it was just a token of her goodwill.

Their Earl of Suiping's Residence's reputation for decline was already well-known. If she were to send something of considerable value, it would be a thankless task and would be seen as sycophancy. Sending something of modest value but showing her good intentions would be most appropriate.

The old princess was delighted with the jade carving, examining it for a long time before turning to Zhao Ruxi and smiling, "This Guanyin image is full of Guanyin, unlike any I've seen before. I wonder which master craftsman it was?"

"It's Master Chen from Gathered Treasures Studio," Zhao Ruxi said.

Princess of Zhennan laughed.

She asked Zhao Ruxi, "This must have been drawn by Xiaoxi and carved by a craftsman, right?"

Zhao Ruxi nodded.

The old princess then realized what was happening.

She said that judging from the lifelike appearance of this Guanyin, it must have been made by a famous artist. But why would a famous artist use ordinary jade instead of the finest mutton-fat jade when carving a Buddha statue? So that's how it is.

Princess of Zhennan said to the old princess, "Mother, you don't know, do you? This child not only created a new style of painting, but the Emperor also ordered all officials in the Great Jin Dynasty who knew how to paint to learn from her in order to catch fugitives. She was also chosen by Mister Kumu to be his last disciple. She also painted many jewelry designs for Gathered Treasures Studio. The jewelry that Sister Tong presented to you the other day was all made by her."

"Oh?" The old princess looked at Zhao Ruxi in surprise.

Gathered Treasures Studio was a jewelry store run by Xiao Ruotong, and she knew that her granddaughter only cared about calligraphy and knew nothing else. But she never expected that the jewelry store she set up on a whim would become so successful. Many noblewomen in the capital knew about it and would specially take a carriage to Beining to buy from her.

At the time, her daughter-in-law told her that the reason Gathered Treasures Studio was doing so well was not because Sister Tong was so good at business, but because they had hired a particularly talented girl who could draw jewelry designs, and the jewelry they made was more innovative than that of other jewelry stores.

She never expected that the girl her daughter-in-law was talking about was the little girl in front of her who looked only fourteen or fifteen years old.

And to make matters worse, she was very beautiful, and they even gave her this compassionate-looking Guanyin.

Someone like the old princess, who had enjoyed wealth and honor her whole life and held a high status, was surrounded by people of higher rank in the palace, such as the Empress Dowager, the Empress, and the concubines, who couldn't leave the palace. There were very few people outside who would give her a hard time, so she had few scruples in her words and actions.

She took a string of Buddhist prayer beads from around her neck, beckoned Zhao Ruxi to come closer, and personally put them on her, smiling kindly, "Good child, may Buddha bless you, and may you have a smooth and peaceful life, free from illness and disaster."