Teaching

Liu Quan agreed and left.

After Zhao Yuanxun and Lady Zhu finished their meal, Liu Quan returned, took out a document from his pocket, and handed it to Zhao Yuanxun: "The clan elder has already signed and sealed the document. He asked if we needed to find a few more people, but I said no."

Zhao Yuanxun nodded.

Lady Zhu instructed Caidie, "Go to Fifth Miss's place and tell her about this."

Zhao Yuanxun nodded in agreement. "Yes."

Liu Quan was deeply moved upon hearing this.

Back when it was discovered that the Fifth Miss was the girl switched at birth in the Earl of Suiping's Residence, the mansion only sent him and Matron Ruan to Little Banyan Village to pick her up; none of the masters went. This shows how little importance the Fifth Miss was placed on her.

In a short time, although the Marquis of Suiping's Residence had become the Earl of Suiping's Residence and the family had split up, the Fifth Miss had risen from an unappreciated concubine's daughter to the eldest daughter of the main branch. She was valued by the old lady, the earl, and the lady, and her status was even higher than that of the heir Zhao Jingtai.

Zhao Ruxi nodded after hearing Caidie's account.

This was expected.

The clan chief initially refused to sign because Zhao Yuankun was unaware of the matter, and he was worried about offending Zhao Yuankun. Now that Zhao Yuankun has signed, he has no more reservations and will naturally do Zhao Yuanxun a favor.

She made a stroke on the drawing paper and said to Zhao Jingtai, who was stunned by what she had heard, "What are you daydreaming about? Focus on your drawing."

"Sister, have we severed ties with Uncle San's side?" Zhao Jingtai asked.

Zhao Ruxi glanced at him. "What's wrong? You're reluctant to part with your fourth brother?"

"No way," Zhao Jingtai turned his head arrogantly, "I usually play with my older brothers."

Children naturally prefer to play with older children. Furthermore, Zhao Yuankun harbored resentment towards the eldest son's family, and Lady Su worried that the eldest son's family would harm her son. Consequently, their children were not close to the eldest son's children. Therefore, Zhao Jingtai rarely played with his cousin.

"Come, let me tell you what happened."

Zhao Ruxi told him to put down his paintbrush and recounted the whole story, then asked, "Do you think what your parents did was right?"

Zhao Jingtai hesitated for a moment.

"To tell you the truth," Zhao Ruxi glanced at him.

"I think that although you, sister, are innocent, it's true that Uncle was punished and lost his position because of you. Aunt's handling of the situation was wrong; she shouldn't have gone to the street to beat you and ruin your reputation. But there were extenuating circumstances. Is it really appropriate for us to use this incident to sever ties with him?"

After Zhao Jingtai finished speaking, he secretly glanced at Zhao Ruxi, worried that his sister would be angry if she heard it.

Zhao Ruxi laughed and patted his head lightly, saying, "That's right, your analysis is reasonable and fair."

Zhao Jingtai was stunned for a moment, then stared intently at Zhao Ruxi's face with wide eyes.

Why are you looking at me like that?

I think you're being sarcastic.

Zhao Ruxi was both amused and exasperated.

Do you think my parents and I are unreasonable people?

Zhao Jingtai immediately shook his head. "No, absolutely not."

"Don't you ever think about why we did this?" Zhao Ruxi asked again.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Jingtai frowned and began to ponder.

Finally, he shook his head. "I can't figure it out. But there must be a reason why you did this."

"Come inside with me, and I'll explain everything to you in detail." Zhao Ruxi got up and went inside.

Zhao Jingtai followed her inside, and Zhao Ruxi told him about some of the disputes in the court and what Zhao Yuankun had done.

She felt that Zhao Jingtai was old enough to be taught and disciplined; she couldn't treat him like a child anymore and never talk to him about anything.

Previously, because of Zhao Jingli, Zhao Yuanxun and Lady Zhu had different ways of educating Zhao Jingtai. They were strict in terms of academics and martial arts training, and did not tolerate any mistakes in his conduct, but they did not make any other demands.

Now that Zhao Jingli is no longer the heir apparent, Zhao Yuanxun and Lady Zhu have become even stricter with Zhao Jingtai, but they still can't get over it for a while and always treat him like a naughty brat.

Zhao Ruxi believes that whether a child is naughty or not depends entirely on whether parents are willing to let them take on some responsibility and think about some issues. A carefree child who doesn't worry about anything will naturally be naughty as much as they want. If parents are willing to let them share some household chores, the child will mature and naturally stop being naughty.

Encouraging Zhao Jingtai to think things through more will only benefit him, not harm him.

Zhao Jingtai was shocked to hear that his third uncle might be executed along with his entire family for his involvement in the struggle for the throne.

Zhao Ruxi said, "Although my uncle lost his official position by mistake because of me, in the long run, it may not be a bad thing. We are severing ties with him to protect ourselves. We are afraid that he will be too eager for quick success and always want to become a high-ranking official, which will lead him to make a big mistake and implicate our family."

To make her story more convincing, she also mentioned the Lady Tang family, the old lady's family.

Zhao Jingtai had heard his grandmother talk about the Tang Family before. Now, hearing Zhao Ruxi's words, he deeply felt the horror of the struggle for the throne and understood his parents' actions.

"Sister, you're amazing, you know so much." He admired Zhao Ruxi even more.

Zhao Ruxi smiled and patted his head, "Alright, go draw."

In the second room, Zhao Jingli sat in the hall, listening to the second room's steward Song Fang, report the news he had gathered.

After Zhao Jingli vented his frustrations to Zhao Ruxi while drunk last time, he was scolded and brought back to his senses by Zhao Ruxi. The day after he returned, he had a serious talk with Zhao Yuanliang.

At the time, he thought it would be difficult to persuade Zhao Yuanliang to take control of the second wife's family, and he even prepared several plans.

Unexpectedly, when he expressed to Zhao Yuanliang that he wanted to take over the management of the second branch of the family's affairs, Zhao Yuanliang readily handed over the power to manage the household.

This decisive and efficient manner startled Zhao Jingli, who wondered if Zhao Yuanliang had set a trap for him.

"Son, your father has never interfered in these household affairs. Before the marriage, the old lady sent a servant to manage things for me; after the marriage, it was your mother who took care of them. You've seen for yourself how chaotic the house is lately. If you hadn't been struggling to recover recently, and Jing'an hadn't been sick, I would have asked you to take charge long ago."

Zhao Yuanliang patted Zhao Jingli on the shoulder. "Since you took the initiative to ask to take charge of the concubines of our second branch, you should have figured it out and accepted your fate. Son, you weren't born into the womb of the first wife, but into the womb of your mother. It's all fate."

He shook his head and gave a self-deprecating laugh, "Back then, I used to lament that I wasn't born into the old lady's womb, that I was born a concubine's child, born inferior, and had to live at the mercy of others. But later I came to terms with it. I was born a master, not a servant, much less a beggar on the street, not even born as a beast of burden. It's not bad. One should be content, understand?"

"Now you're a young master, at least, with a house, land, and shops. Although your father isn't capable, I'm not forcing you to take the imperial examinations to become a high-ranking official. I'm even willing to give you the power to manage the household. The most important thing for a person is to be content and happy. Being able to live a relaxed and happy life is a blessing. Cherish it."

He patted Zhao Jingli on the shoulder, humming a little tune as he went back to his room.

At that moment, Zhao Jingli watched Zhao Yuanliang's retreating figure, his feelings quite complicated.