A Wake-Up Call

If they continue to fawn over Zhao Jingli, it will not only hurt the feelings of his newly reunited biological daughter and his newly appointed heir, but it will also cause Zhao Jingli to develop unrealistic expectations, thinking that his parents are still the same parents and that he can still rely on them for anything. This is not conducive to Zhao Jingli's growth.

He used to be the heir apparent, always learning how to support a noble family. Now that he's the eldest son of the second wife and is almost an adult, he should shoulder all the responsibilities of the second wife's family without hesitation.

He should stand up for himself, keep his unreliable father in check, cut expenses to increase revenue, take care of his deeply affected younger brother, and arrange all the funeral arrangements for his mother. While Lady Wei is disliked, only Zhao Jingli and Zhao Jing'an have no right to dislike their mother.

Although Zhao Ruxi was very busy leaving early and returning late, and had no time to take care of the second and third wives, she could still tell from Lady Zhu's few words that Lady Zhu was expecting something.

However, Zhao Jingli's performance during this period was disappointing to them.

Aside from taking care of Zhao Jing'an, he ignored everything else, immersing himself in his own pain. He barely spoke a few words all day, remaining silent and dejected. After helping Zhao Yuanliang handle Lady Wei's funeral arrangements, he also learned to drown his sorrows in alcohol.

Seeing the distress Lady Zhu felt when she mentioned him, Zhao Ruxi had originally intended to find an opportunity to remind Zhao Jingli. But after hearing his words just now, she didn't want to say another word.

You can never wake someone who is pretending to be asleep!

If Zhao Jingli felt that she had stolen everything from him, and that Zhao Yuanxun and Lady Zhu's feelings for him were fake, then every word she said would be interpreted by him as boasting and ill intent. In that case, why should she waste her breath?

Zhao Jingli, fueled by alcohol, stopped Zhao Ruxi's carriage today, wanting to ask her for a favor. However, in a moment of excitement, he vented his resentment.

Seeing her about to leave, he panicked and shouted at Zhao Ruxi's retreating figure, "I know you look down on me, I know I'm incompetent, I want to change, but I really don't understand anything, sob sob sob..."

As he spoke, he plopped down on the ground, covered his face, and burst into tears again.

Ma Sheng watched Zhao Jingli grow up and even taught him a few kung fu moves before.

Seeing him like this, he felt a pang of pity and couldn't help but look at Zhao Ruxi and call out, "Miss..." with a hint of pleas in his eyes.

Having followed Zhao Ruxi for so long, he knew that his young lady was extremely capable, even more capable than the Earl. If she could lend Zhao Jingli a hand, Zhao Jingli wouldn't have become so despondent and ruined himself.

Zhao Ruxi stopped, sighed, and walked over to Zhao Jingli, coldly saying, "Do you really think I stole everything from you?"

Zhao Jingli probably felt very ashamed, and the alcohol had mostly worn off. His crying subsided, leaving only sobs.

He shook his head and whispered, "I... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. If it weren't for the Lady Wei, you wouldn't have had to endure over a decade of hardship in the countryside. Those fourteen years, I stole from you. I'm sorry."

"Did you return it?" Zhao Ruxi asked.

"Huh?" Zhao Jingli looked up in surprise. "Still... still what?"

"Didn't you say you stole mine? You stole it, and you know you were wrong, so give it back."

"H-How come?" Zhao Jingli's eyes widened.

He is actually an honest child, and he also has the ability to distinguish right from wrong.

Some people experience severe reactions to setbacks, such as fainting or falling seriously ill, like Zhao Jing'an. But they recover after a while.

Some people appear fine, but in reality, they are unable to accept reality. As a result, they slowly succumb to despair, becoming silent and depressed.

Zhao Jingli was the latter. For a while, he seemed fine and silently accepted the fact, but in reality, he couldn't handle the blow at all.

Adding to the chaos was the division of the family property and the second branch of the household, which was constantly being disrupted by several concubines. Zhao Jing'an was also preoccupied with his mother's illness, and Lady Wei was executed and beheaded, and then there was the collection and burial of her body. All these events left Zhao Jingli with no time to process his emotions.

With Zhao Yuanxun and Lady Zhu as examples, he simply could not accept Zhao Yuanliang, his muddle-headed, incompetent, and completely irresponsible father, nor could he accept his mother, who seemed to love him deeply and hoped that he could inherit the title and the family property, but was morally depraved.

After Zhao Jing'an's high fever subsided and he finally pulled through, he indulged himself and, seeing in a book that one could "drown one's sorrows in alcohol," decided to give it a try.

But when he was really into his drink, he overheard the maids talking about how capable Zhao Ruxi was. She had become a student of Mister Kumu and had even been ordered by the Emperor to teach painting to the officials of the Court of Judicial Review and below. He immediately rushed out and waited for Zhao Ruxi by the roadside.

Now that he was sober and his mind was clear, regret welled up inside him.

"My parents are my parents, but you stole them away for fourteen years. During those fourteen years, they raised you with great care, while their own daughter was left in the countryside. Don't you owe them that? Now you should use all the skills you've learned over the years to manage the second wife. As long as you manage the second wife well and stop my parents from worrying about you, that will repay their kindness and make their years of teaching you worthwhile. Can you do that?"

Zhao Jingli remained silent. Just as Zhao Ruxi was about to provoke him, he nodded. "Yes."

He spoke that word with such conviction, clearly the result of careful consideration.

Zhao Ruxi was actually quite satisfied with his reaction.

Ultimately, this is just a fourteen-year-old child. Because he hasn't experienced hardship, he's still immature. It's understandable that he might be a little extreme in his emotions when faced with sudden changes.

Worried that she might not be able to grasp the key point if she didn't give him a proper reminder, she simply squatted down in front of him and lowered her voice, saying, "Don't let your own father daydream all day long. Don't let him become a pawn in your third uncle's hands, causing trouble for the whole family. I advise Jing'an to work with you to manage the manor, and also to keep an eye on the ambitious Zhao Ruyu and the troublemaking Zhao Rurui. In addition, get rid of those troublesome concubines in the manor, send one or two to the estate. This will make the manor much quieter and reduce a lot of expenses."

"Once you've settled things at home, you should go check on your family's shop. It's the breadwinner for your family, and you can't afford to lose it. Those managers and employees that Lady Wei has assigned poorly should be fired. If the shop's business thrives, your lives won't be too difficult."

Wu Zong had told her that the two shops that came with Lady Wei's dowry did not belong to the Wei Family but to the Zhao Family, so it could be accommodating. Zhao Yuanliang spent money to bribe officials, and the Court of Judicial Review returned the shops to him.