Protecting You
Besides red jadeite, she also made a set each of violet and green jadeite, specifically for her concubines.
Flawless white jade was admired by the ancients for its purity and nobility. However, one can grow tired of looking at white jade after a while.
Feicui comes in a variety of vibrant colors, and when crafted into jewelry, it becomes dazzling. Whenever a concubine sets the trend, it inevitably sparks a Feicui craze in the capital.
The most prized color for modern Feicui is imperial green, because Empress Dowager Cixi revered Feicui, especially loved green jade. At that time, Xianfeng Emperor had passed away, and Empress Dowager Cixi had become the most respected person. If she wanted to wear something green in her hair, naturally no one could stop her.
Xiao Ge is still alive and well, and the concubines are not of high status and have no right to be willful. Even if they like green, they would not dare to wear green on their heads and cause trouble for Xiao Ge.
Therefore, Zhao Ruxi's first choice was red jadeite. Consort Jin's favorite color was purple, so that extremely beautiful violet jewelry set was ranked second. As for the classic green jadeite, she naturally didn't want to miss out, so she also made it, and then it would depend on whether there was a market for it.
"Naturally, it will be auctioned." Xiao Lingyan. "The red jade will be auctioned tomorrow."
The two had already discussed the marketing plan. However, the three jade craftsmen were very diligent and had produced a lot of Feicui jewelry recently, which was all stored in Zhao Ruxi's safe, hence her question.
The two shared their recent situations and the intelligence they had gathered, as well as their plans for the near future.
Upon learning that Zhao Ruxi had also offended Consort Jin, Xiao Lingyan said, "You will be taking the preliminary examinations in the spring. I will try my best to have Xiao Lingzhe's people handle the county-level examinations in the capital. For the autumn examinations, I will arrange for my people and my second brother's people to take the exams. We will not allow the Crown Prince's and the Third Prince's people to interfere."
Xiao Lingzhe is the Fourth Prince.
Among the adult princes, the crown prince naturally had the advantage; the Third Prince, Xiao Lingheng, was favored by the emperor because of his mother's status.
The mother of the Second Prince and the Fifth Prince was a Consort, and the two brothers were of one mind. Even though Noble Consort Cen was out of favor, they were able to stand against the faction of the Crown Prince and the Third Prince.
The Fourth Prince was the least powerful, and he was more low-key than his brothers. But all princes have ambition, and Xiao Lingzhe's ambition was no less than that of the first, second, third, and Fifth Prince.
The imperial examination was the way to select officials, and the emperor never allowed princes to interfere. However, the ministers in the court all had their own factions, and whoever was appointed as the chief examiner would have factional biases.
Therefore, the emperor would have his own considerations when dispatching officials. For example, if he wanted to favor and promote the Third Prince, the chief examiner of the imperial examination might be someone from the Third Prince's faction, and the deputy chief examiner would be the crown prince and neutral officials, so as to check and balance each other.
Originally, Xiao Lingyan didn't want to compete for these things; whoever was the chief examiner wouldn't affect the plot. But since Zhao Ruxi wanted to participate in the imperial examination, he had no choice but to get involved.
Zhao Ruxi had just offended Consort Jin, and earlier she had also offended the Crown Prince because of the Jia Family's affairs. If the Crown Prince and the Third Prince were to cause her any trouble, she might fail the county-level examination. The same would be true for the provincial-level examination.
Therefore, in these two exams, he would try his best to exclude the Crown Prince and the Third Prince's people, arrange for the Fourth Prince's people to take the exams first, and then arrange for their faction to take the exams.
As for the provincial and palace examinations, the emperor himself is in charge of overseeing them.
The Emperor has just declared that he will protect Zhao Zhiwei, so he probably won't let the Crown Prince and the Third Prince trip her up in the provincial and imperial examinations. Of course, this is on the condition that Zhao Ruxi can pass the county and provincial examinations and be qualified to participate in the provincial and imperial examinations.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Ruxi felt relieved.
"As expected, having connections in court makes things much easier. In that case, thank you for your trouble Fifth Prince." She raised her hand and cupped her hands in a respectful gesture towards Xiao Lingyan. Her posture was casual and lacked sincerity, and her words were devoid of any respectful address.
Xiao Lingyan glanced at her helplessly.
He brought up another topic. "I've already opened a textile workshop in Jiangnan, and the cloth weaves there is indeed fast and of high quality. I also plan to open a few more workshops in cotton-producing areas. The parts of the textile machine are quite large, making transportation a bit troublesome. Why don't you just give me the blueprints, and I'll have someone make them locally for direct use?"
"I was going to bring this up even if you hadn't," Zhao Ruxi said. "I have limited manpower here, and I really can't provide you with a large number of textile machines."
When she initially improved the textile machine, her real intention was to use a variety of machine parts to confuse and confuse the craftsmen, in order to prevent leaks. She didn't really expect to make much money from the textile machine.
The capital city is neither a major producer of cotton nor silk, so setting up a textile workshop there would be conspicuous and not very profitable. After seeing the silk that Xiao Lingyan advertised at the auction, she simply had Xiao Lingyan transport the textile machine parts to Jiangnan for assembly and use.
"Why don't you have your people make the Feicui and the clock in the south? That way, there'll be no need to transport them all the way here and there. It's troublesome, increases costs, and makes it easy for leaks to get out," Zhao Ruxi added.
These are all landmines; keeping them around could cause them to explode at any moment. If she could just hand them over, her life would be much easier.
Xiao Lingyan shrugged. "If it were feasible, we would have done it directly in the south. The problem is that we don't have anyone trustworthy, capable, and knowledgeable. It's too far away, and we can't be there to help if anything happens. Besides, the Feicui designs depend on you, and after making a few clocks, we have to change the style and add functions. Do you think the workshop can function without you?"
Zhao Ruxi shrugged, having no choice but to abandon the idea.
"You have at most another year. Hang in there. Once you pass the imperial examination and become a Juren, I'll have someone send you to Jiangnan," Xiao Lingyan.
He also didn't want Zhao Ruxi to risk her life in the capital. A man should shoulder his responsibilities. Besides, as a prince, he couldn't leave even if he wanted to. It was better for Zhao Ruxi to leave the capital, a place of trouble, as soon as possible.
Despite being a top student, Zhao Ruxi maintained her dignity. "No, if I can pass the provincial examination, I also want to participate in the metropolitan examination and the palace examination."
Now that she's come to ancient times and has the opportunity to participate in the imperial examinations, she naturally wants to give it a try.
In any case, the political upheaval didn't begin until the winter of the year after next. After the Fu Family father and son, along with 100,000 soldiers, froze and starved to death in the harsh winter at the border, the political situation in the capital was turbulent, and the struggle for the throne reached a fever pitch within six months. She could leave the capital after participating in the imperial examination the spring of the year after next, which would be more than enough time.
Xiao Lingyan was also a top student, so he could understand Zhao Ruxi's thoughts.
He said, "Alright, we'll see how things go. If you can, you can take the provincial and palace examinations before you leave; if not, you can leave earlier."
Zhao Ruxi nodded. "Alright. Let's work hard to make money during this time. You need to exchange the money you earn for supplies and stockpile them at the border, but you can't let the people from the imperial court Fu Dayong find out. The task is quite difficult. As for the workshop, I'll take on as much as I can."
Xiao Lingyan gave Zhao Ruxi a deep look, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but after a few throat movements, he still said nothing.
Before fate changes, some things are better left unsaid.
Zhao Ruxi waved her hand dismissively, "Don't be so sentimental. I'm not doing this for you, I'm doing it for myself. I don't want to be cannon fodder, I want to be a high-ranking official. We've got a deal, so don't renege on your promise when the time comes."