The Other Side

"Your Majesty, I plan to have Zhiwei participate in the year-end painting competition. What do you think?" Kang Shilin asked.

Even without the Pingyang incident, he had planned to go to the palace in the next couple of days to ask Xiao Ge for his opinion on the competition. Now, he's doing two things at once.

Xiao Ge nodded. "He should participate. With such talent, why hide it? If others know, I can show my support and prevent those fools from doing anything stupid."

"On behalf of Zhiwei favor." Kang Shilin bowed.

The two then admired and discussed the painting for a while before Kang Shilin took his leave.

Upon returning to the Kang Residence, he discovered that not only had Zhao Ruxi not left, but Wu Huaisi was also present.

Upon seeing him enter, both the senior and junior disciples stood up.

Zhao Ruxi asked, "Master, how did things go?"

"It's alright now." Kang Shilin walked to a chair and sat down. "The Emperor has promised to protect you. However, you must paint a picture identical to the one auctioned and present it to the Emperor."

"No problem," Zhao Ruxi said.

She has a solid foundation and is good at stimulating her creative state. It wouldn't be difficult for her to paint another satisfactory painting.

She bowed deeply to Kang Shilin: "Thank you, Master, for solving my problem. Zhiwei 've caused you trouble."

Kang Shilin gestured for the maid to help her up, glaring at her and saying, "It's not your fault, why are you causing trouble? Only mediocre people don't attract jealousy. Your senior brothers caused plenty of trouble back then. Your eldest brother..."

He pointed at Wu Huaisi: "You're twenty years old and still getting into fights, almost breaking someone's leg. I had to go to the palace and beg the late emperor to mediate and smooth things over. Compared to them, you're already very worry-free."

Wu Huaisi: "..."

Talk about your junior sister, why bring him up? He's a grandfather now, can't you give him some face?

Wu Huaisi came because he was worried that his master might be in trouble. He also knew that his master wouldn't go to the palace unless something was wrong.

He didn't want to stay there any longer, so he stood up and said, "Master, if you have nothing else, I'll take my leave."

Zhao Ruxi Kang Shilin had already heard about Zhao Ruxi's matter before Kang returned. In his opinion, it was a trivial matter. As long as his master went to the palace and pleaded with the Emperor, neither Consort Jin nor Princess Pingyang would dare to do anything more.

Although the Emperor favored Consort Jin, he did not go to the point of being completely without principles.

"Alright, it's nothing, you can go back now." Kang Shilin ruthlessly ushered them out. "Zhiwei, you go back too."

Meanwhile, Xiao Yuyue also entered the palace and told Consort Jin the story, embellishing it with exaggerated details.

"In this entire court, who doesn't give you some face? I truly didn't expect her to dare refuse; she's really got a death wish. Who does she think she is? I'd heard people say that the Jia Family was badly harmed by her, but I thought it was an exaggeration. How could a mere impoverished family dare to be so arrogant? I never imagined she would even dare to offend you. It seems ignorance is bliss; someone raised in the countryside and the marketplace is completely ignorant of the immensity of the world. There's a reason why the Earl of Suiping's Residence fell into ruin."

Xiao Yuyue huffed and puffed, then picked up the tea the maid had poured for her and drank it all in one gulp.

Consort Jin sat there quietly, holding a Persian cat, her posture languid, her beautiful face expressionless.

It wasn't until Xiao Yuyue was drinking tea and eating snacks that she petted the cat and patted its back.

The cat stretched, jumped off her, and walked leisurely toward the door. A palace maid emerged from the crowd of attendants and followed behind the cat.

Consort Jin took the hot towel handed to her by the palace maid and wiped her hands before speaking, "I only valued her talent. If she's unwilling, then so be it. It's getting late, you should go back. I understand about this matter."

Xiao Yuyue breathed a sigh of relief, stood up, and respectfully replied, "Yes."

She bowed and retreated with light steps.

Consort Jin Jin's personality, just like her title, was extremely cautious. It was impossible to hear anything bad from her. The palace was full of eyes and ears, and she never left any room for criticism with her words.

But Xiao Yuyue, who knew her well, knew that as long as Consort Jin didn't repeatedly tell her not to harm Zhao Ruxi, it meant she was tacitly allowing her to deal with the Earl of Suiping's Residence and Zhao Ruxi. If something happened in the future, or if Kang Shilin complained to the Emperor, Consort Jin would definitely protect her.

With the year-end approaching, banquets are being held everywhere. Whenever someone from the Earl of Suiping's Residence's household attends, she'll make sure Zhao Ruxi suffers.

There's no need to do anything else; just have a few scoundrels harass Zhao Ruxi and ruin her reputation. That would be the best revenge for a girl who hasn't even reached marriageable age yet.

Given Zhao Ruxi's earning power through teaching painting, and her reputation as a disciple of Mister Kumu, those dissolute sons from aristocratic families would likely be eager to get close to her.

The Earl of Suiping's Residence was already a declining household with few capable people. If Zhao Ruxi's reputation is ruined and Xiao Yuyue publicly expresses her dislike for the family, the Earl of Suiping's Residence will probably not even receive invitations to the lowest-level aristocratic banquets. At that point, they will have no chance of recovery.

After Xiao Yuyue left, Consort Jin waited for Xiao Ge to return to the palace.

But as dusk fell, the emperor, who usually returned long ago, was nowhere to be seen.

Inquiring about the Emperor's whereabouts and attempting to guess his intentions was a highly taboo matter, something Consort Jin would never do. But this time, she finally couldn't resist and ordered a palace maid, "Go and see what the Emperor is doing up ahead."

After thinking for a moment, she added, "While I'm at it, could you please inquire whether Mister Kumu came to see the Emperor earlier?"

But just as the eunuch reached the door, he heard the voice outside saying, "The Emperor has arrived!" He quickly stopped and bowed.

Consort Jin also quickly got up and went to the palace gate to greet the Emperor.

Xiao Ge, who used to outwit and outmaneuver ministers in court, no longer wanted to engage in such battles of wits once he returned to the inner palace, and he became too lazy to beat around the bush when speaking.

He entered the hall with Consort Jin, and upon sitting down, he said directly, "I was admiring paintings with my uncle in the front hall and stayed a little longer than usual, so I'm back late."

Consort Jin's heart sank.

However, she didn't show it on her face. She personally served tea to Xiao Ge and asked with a smile, "How is Mister Kumu feeling?"

"Not bad. It's just..." Xiao Ge didn't drink the tea, but handed the teacup to the eunuch and looked at Consort Jin, saying, "Did you send Pingyang to persuade his little apprentice to study at the Capital Women's Academy?"

The old man came in, just as expected, to complain.

Consort Jin looked surprised and asked, "Your Majesty?" Then she laughed, "It wasn't me who sent her; she went on her own."

"As Your Majesty knows, every year one or two outstanding students from the lower-level Women's Academy are promoted to the Capital Women's Academy. This year, Shangde said that Beining is close to the Capital Women's Academy and that they should use the same exam questions for the annual examination. Pingyang sent someone to deliver the exam papers and supervise the exam. Unexpectedly, Zhao Zhiwei actually came in first place."