Earnest Counsel
"Aunt, I know you are kind and generous, please have pity on me and help me."
"What are you doing? Get up right now." Lady Zhu's expression was very unpleasant.
Whether she wanted to help or not, she felt uncomfortable being pressured by a younger person to arrange a marriage.
Zhao Ruyu had been standing silently to the side. Seeing Lady Zhu's expression, she quickly advised Zhao Rurui, "Fourth Sister, don't be like this. Didn't Aunt just say that she wasn't refusing, but because Grandmother is ill, she can't attend the banquet?"
Who knew that Zhao Rurui would fling Zhao Ruyu's hand away and yell at her, "You want me to pretend to be a good person? You don't need to be in such a hurry. But I..." As she yelled, tears fell from her eyes.
Previously, Zhao Ruyu was the legitimate daughter of the second wife, while she was an illegitimate daughter, so she had to be subservient to Zhao Ruyu.
But now that Zhao Ruyu has become the adopted daughter of the second wife, while she herself is Zhao Yuanliang's biological daughter, and Concubine Xue is still in charge of the household, Zhao Rurui's arrogance has suddenly risen. However, in the second wife's household, Zhao Jingli keeps her in check, and Zhao Jing'an also protects Zhao Ruyu, so Zhao Rurui doesn't dare to do anything to Zhao Ruyu.
But now, seeing that Lady Zhu was refusing to agree no matter what, and Zhao Ruyu was just standing by talking without any sense of responsibility, Zhao Rurui finally couldn't hold back and lost her temper with Zhao Ruyu.
Zhao Ruyu stared at Zhao Rurui, her fists clenched so tightly that her knuckles turned white. She bit her lip, forcing herself to remain silent.
Looking at the two of them, Lady Zhu's expression already showed impatience. "I've already said that the old lady is not in good health, and I don't plan to attend any banquets this year. If I'm not going myself, how can I take you with me?"
She had just spoken those words that Zhao Yuanxun had said to Zhao Yuanliang to Zhao Rurui, but the girl was too ambitious and always dreamed of marrying a rich man like Zhao Ruyu, so she wanted to try her luck at the banquet.
She said, "Those sons of noble families may look good on the outside, but who knows what they're really like inside? They have many family members, and many conflicts. If they take concubines, life will become chaotic. I think it would be better to choose a newly promoted scholar or a successful candidate in the imperial examinations, someone from a wealthy family with few family members. As long as you two are diligent and capable, you'll definitely have a good life."
"These newly appointed Jinshi or young Juren will not attend the banquet. Your father will have to find out by asking around. Instead of bothering me here thinking about attending that damn banquet, you should ask your father."
Having said that, Lady Zhu no longer wanted to stay there. She stood up and said, "I'm going to see the old lady. You may leave as you see fit." With that, she walked out.
Zhao Rurui didn't believe Lady Zhu's words at all. She hurriedly chased after her, calling out to Lady Zhu's retreating figure, "Fifth Sister is all grown up now, doesn't Aunt think about Fifth Sister's future?"
Lady Zhu paused, turned around, and looked at Zhao Rurui with increasingly cold eyes.
She said, "She has suffered a lot in the past, and I want her to stay at home for a couple more years to live a comfortable life. I won't discuss marriage for now." With that, she didn't linger and went straight into the old lady's room.
Zhao Ruyu and Zhao Rurui exchanged a glance, then both turned their heads away.
After thinking for a moment, Zhao Rurui simply left the side hall, asked the maid in the corridor about Zhao Ruxi's residence, and led the maid straight to Slender Bamboo Courtyard.
Seeing this, Fushu couldn't help but call out to Zhao Ruyu, "Miss, shall we... go find Fifth Miss as well?"
Zhao Ruyu hesitated and did not move.
If even the easygoing Lady Zhu is acting this way, how could Zhao Ruxi, who is always indifferent to them, possibly grant her request? Why should she go looking for trouble?
"Didn't you say you wanted to make a better impression on the Wife of the Marquis of Pingnan at the banquet?" Fushu asked again.
The biggest obstacle for Zhao Ruyu and Fu Yunlang is the Wife of the Marquis of Pingnan. If she can make a good impression on the Wife of the Marquis of Pingnan at the banquet, or even win her favor, then her marriage will be no problem.
Based on the years she spent with the Wife of the Marquis of Pingnan in her previous life, she believed she understood the Wife of the Marquis of Pingnan quite well. She figured that catering to her tastes and pleasing her was something she could do if she was willing.
But if she can't even attend the banquet, how can she win the favor of Wife of the Marquis of Pingnan?
Therefore, Zhao Ruyu is determined to attend these banquets at the end of this year.
Even though Lady Zhu wasn't going, she was more anxious than Zhao Rurui, but she just didn't show it on her face.
Zhao Ruyu didn't actually need to ask Lady Zhu for help; she could easily attend the banquet if she wanted to. After all, she was a student at the Capital Women's Academy and had made the acquaintance of several noble ladies.
These noble ladies' families are going to hold banquets, so it would be reasonable for her to attend as a classmate.
However, Wife of the Marquis of Pingnan was never well-liked. Although the ladies of noble families and noble ladies might not say it on the surface, who among them didn't look down on Wife of the Marquis of Pingnan?
If Zhao Ruyu uses the excuse of attending a banquet with her classmates to ingratiate herself with the Wife of the Marquis of Pingnan, and her classmates find out, she will likely be ostracized in the academy in the future.
In addition, since the old lady is ill, Lady Zhu and Zhao Ruxi will not attend the banquet. Even if Zhao Ruyu goes, people will gossip about her.
Even though the family has separated, she is still considered the old lady's granddaughter. Zhao Ruxi stayed home to take care of the ailing Zhao Ruxi, while she went to attend the banquet; this is unfilial no matter how you look at it.
Now that Lady Zhu refuses to budge, Zhao Ruyu is at a loss.
She finally went to Zhao Ruxi's courtyard.
Zhao Ruxi was painting when Zhao Rurui came in and started showering her with compliments as if they were free, which gave her a headache.
"Fourth Sister, please don't say anymore. Grandmother is ill, and my mother and I really can't attend the banquet." Zhao Ruxi sighed.
Because they weren't attending the banquet, the marriages of the four children from the second wife's family had been brought up by the three elders after dinner these past two days. Regarding Zhao Rurui's marriage, everyone agreed that it would be best for her to marry a newly promoted scholar.
Zhao Ruxi was quick-witted and guessed that Zhao Rurui, unable to win over the Lady Zhu and unwilling to marry the newly promoted scholar, thought of coming to her to find a breakthrough.
She was impatient with trying to get information out of Zhao Rurui and said directly, "Fourth Sister, I think Mother has already told you everything that needed to be said. If you still won't listen, there's nothing I can do."
"Let me be frank with you. I don't want to discuss marriage for the time being, so I don't plan to attend this year's banquet. My grandmother is ill, so my mother won't be going either. Begging me won't help."
Zhao Rurui was quite taken aback by her words.
Seeing Zhao Ruyu enter, Zhao Ruxi said again, "Ruyu, instead of wandering around like a headless fly, why don't you participate in the piano skills competition at the end of the year? If you can win a prize, wouldn't that be better than anything else?"
She glanced at Zhao Rurui: "In the end, a woman still has to stand on her own two feet. Look at me, what do I have that I'm better than you? If I didn't have painting skills, I'd be stuck at home like you, unable to do anything."
"But what about now? I've secured a job with the imperial court using my self-created painting style, earned some money, and gained a certain status and position. I don't need to rely on others, and I can live quite well."
"If you blossom, butterflies will come; if you are wonderful, heaven will arrange it. To think you can marry into a wealthy family when you lack the necessary qualities yourself is just wishful thinking."