Refusal

Upon entering Rongxi Hall, Zhao Jingli and Zhao Ruyu were indeed sitting inside, chatting and laughing with the old lady.

Because of Lady Wei's matter, Zhao Jing'an had a grudge and was reluctant to come to the Earl of Suiping's Residence.

Ever since Zhao Jingli was scolded awake by Zhao Ruxi last time, and now he has managed the second branch of the family in an orderly manner, he feels that he has completed the task that Zhao Ruxi assigned him last time. So, under the pretext of paying his respects to the old lady, he would occasionally come to the Earl of Suiping's Residence to wander around.

Zhao Ruxi didn't make things difficult for him. When he came a second time, she told him to learn painting from Zhao Jingtai.

Despite his young age, Zhao Jingtai has a remarkable talent for painting and has already reached the point where he can paint portraits. He Youyu of teaching a novice like Zhao Jingli.

However, Zhao Jingli didn't seem to have any talent for painting. He studied with Zhao Jingtai for a while, and Zhao Ruxi also took time to teach him, but even he himself couldn't stand the paintings he produced.

Zhao Jingli himself knew he had no talent for painting, and he had been very frustrated lately. He stopped coming to learn painting five days ago.

Zhao Yuanxun and Lady Zhu witnessed everything and were worried for him. They each spoke with him separately, but neither could offer any good advice. Zhao Yuanxun then encouraged Zhao Jingli to talk to Zhao Ruxi.

Zhao Ruxi is now in contact with many people and is quick-witted; perhaps she can come up with a good idea for Zhao Jingli.

Therefore, Zhao Jingli came here specifically to wait for Zhao Ruxi today.

Upon seeing Zhao Ruxi return, Zhao Jingli and Zhao Ruyu stood up and greeted her.

It was still early before lunchtime, so Zhao Ruxi greeted the old lady and then planned to return to her own courtyard. Although she knew the purpose of Zhao Jingli and Zhao Ruyu's visit, she did not intend to speak first.

They came under the guise of paying their respects to the old lady.

Zhao Ruyu hesitated, glanced at the old lady, and said with an awkward smile, "Grandmother, may I go and talk to Fifth Sister?"

"Go on, go on." The old lady was also tired, and she knew that the two of them had probably come to wait for Zhao Ruxi.

Zhao Jingli was alright; at least he was still able to keep his composure. Zhao Ruyu kept glancing towards the door as she spoke, but she couldn't tell what was going on with her.

Zhao Jingli hesitated upon hearing Zhao Ruyu's words.

If the two girls are having a private conversation, it's not convenient for him to listen, so it wouldn't be good for him to go over there like this.

"Brother, come along too," Zhao Ruxi said with a smile. "I have something to tell you."

The separation of men and women in the Great Jin Dynasty was not so strict, and the two were cousins by blood. Usually, Zhao Jingtai taught Zhao Jingli to paint, and in order to give them some pointers when Zhao Ruxi returned, they would go to her Slender Bamboo Courtyard to paint.

Upon hearing Zhao Ruxi speak, Zhao Jingli immediately agreed.

Seeing Zhao Ruyu knew that she probably wouldn't have a chance to speak to Zhao Ruxi alone.

Zhao Ruxi had never been kind to her, so if she asked to speak to her alone, Zhao Ruxi might just refuse her outright.

As the group left the courtyard and headed towards Slender Bamboo Courtyard, Zhao Ruyu hesitated before speaking, "Fifth Sister, I heard there's an auction in the capital tomorrow, with many novel items on display for people to bid on. Are you going tomorrow? If so, could you take me with you? I don't need you to send an invitation; I can get one myself. If you need one, I can get two or three."

Zhao Ruxi detests indecisive and hesitant behavior.

Zhao Ruyu got straight to the point, and Zhao Ruxi gave her a smile, but her refusal was unequivocal. "No, I can't take you."

Before Zhao Ruyu could even shed a tear, she continued, "I went with my master. I was sitting in my master's private box. There were some painters from the painting academy going together, and we also had to accommodate the Kang Family. There weren't enough seats in the private box, so where would you get a seat? Should I ask Master Kang not to go, or should I ask Mr. Zhou Wenbai not to go, so that I can give you a seat?"

Zhao Jingli was unaware that Zhao Ruyu had come with this intention.

Although he didn't know what kind of venue this auction was, from what Zhao Ruxi said, he knew it was a place that only those with a certain level of power could enter.

Not to mention Zhao Ruyu, even Zhao Yuanxun couldn't find an opportunity to go. Zhao Ruxi was able to go thanks to Kang Shilin. Even so, Zhao Ruyu still dared to ask; her ambition is truly bigger than the sky.

Upon hearing this, he immediately rebuked, "What nonsense are you talking about? How dare you ask such a question? I'm ashamed for you. Is this something you should be meddling in? What does it have to do with you?"

When Zhao Jingli was the heir apparent, Zhao Ruyu was Zhao Jing'an's beloved twin sister, and Zhao Ruyu was also very good at interpersonal relationships, so his attitude towards Zhao Ruyu was also quite good.

However, after getting to know Zhao Ruyu more closely recently, he discovered that she was not very capable and had an incredibly arrogant attitude. He didn't have a good impression of Zhao Ruyu and sometimes spoke to her rather bluntly.

Zhao Ruyu could naturally sense the change in Zhao Jingli's attitude. She had become increasingly cautious lately.

Although Zhao Yuanliang was incompetent, he was kind-hearted and good to children. No matter what happened, if you asked him for help, the matter would be resolved.

However, Zhao Jingli was a very principled person. If he insisted on sending her back to the Xu Family, Zhao Yuanliang would not go against the eldest son who was in charge of the family for her sake.

Besides, Zhao Ruxi had confronted her many times before, and she knew Zhao Ruxi's temper very well; they were practically two different people. She directly refused. If she continued to pester her, Zhao Ruxi would not only refuse to budge, but would also give her a good dressing down.

Now everyone in both mansions is fawning over her. If I Gao Xing her, I don't know what kind of trouble I'll suffer.

So when Zhao Jingli scolded her, she didn't dare to talk back, lowered her head and stammered, "Then, then I won't go."

All she wanted to do was check on how his items were selling and show her some concern for him; why was that so difficult?

Zhao Ruxi ignored her and turned to Zhao Jingli, saying, "I've thought about your problem. Since you have no talent for painting, it's useless to stubbornly persist on this path. Why not try a different direction?"

She looked at him and asked, "How are you at math?"

Zhao Jingli was stunned for a moment, then stammered, "It... it seems... okay."

"Come inside, I'll give you some math problems to solve." Zhao Ruxi went inside.

After entering the room, she paused for a moment and said to Zhao Ruyu, "If you want to learn, you can come along too."

Zhao Ruyu glanced at Zhao Jingli and shook her head. "I... I think I'll pass. Mathematics gives me a headache."

Zhao Ruxi, noticing that Zhao Ruyu seemed to have focused all her skill points on music, said, "You can also improve your zither playing. In this world, having a skill to make a living is always good, no matter what. Study hard at the academy and try to impress the teacher."

Zhao Ruxi had said this to Zhao Ruyu before, and Zhao Ruyu had also thought about this issue.

But with her skill level, even if she tried to make a living on her own, there really wasn't much of a future besides teaching music at the Women's Academy in remote counties. So she gave up on that idea.

Wouldn't it be better to stay in the capital, marry a nobleman like Fu Yunlang, and live a life of luxury? Why deliberately seek out suffering?