Favored by Heaven

She witnessed firsthand how Zhao Ruxi rose from an ordinary country girl to where she is today.

She didn't know when Zhao Ruxi had been reborn. As for Zhao Ruyu's claim that she had a sudden inspiration while tending a fire, used charcoal to paint, and created a school of painting, she found it unbelievable, but she reluctantly accepted it.

If Zhao Ruxi had been reborn earlier in this life, it's not impossible that she could have secretly started practicing.

She simply couldn't believe that Zhao Ruxi could create such a magnificent and grand painting after only a few months of studying painting with Kang Shilin.

In her previous life, after Zhao Ruxi was brought back to the manor, she studied music, chess, calligraphy, and painting with the tutor hired by the manor. No one knew Zhao Ruxi's talent for painting better than her.

She herself was reborn, but that didn't make her exceptionally capable. Although she possessed the superb zither skills she learned in her previous life at the Marquis of Pingnan's Residence, she was only slightly better and more talented than before. To say there was a dramatic change was simply impossible.

She was powerless to change the status quo, nor did she have the ability to become a high-earning and capable person.

But why has Zhao Ruxi changed so much?

Not only did she use her painting skills to pave a path to success, but she also seemed to be able to influence the political situation. Her third uncle was dismissed from his post, and Princess Pingyang's management of the Capital Women's Academy was also taken away, all of which seemed to be related to Zhao Ruxi.

The person in front of her possessed such immense power that Zhao Ruyu was terrified.

"What does her removal from management have to do with me? Zhao Ruyu, you flatter me too much." Zhao Ruxi put down her pen, leaned back in her chair, and said lazily, "That was just her trying to harm me, but she got what she deserved. I was reborn, thanks to divine favor; she tried to harm me, but she was punished by heaven."

This statement was extremely perfunctory, yet Zhao Ruyu believed it.

Is being reborn truly a blessing from heaven? Was she one of them?

But she still had many questions. "How could you paint such pictures? How did you get first place in the annual exam?"

Zhao Ruxi's paintings, along with those of the top fifteen winners of the competition, have been on display these past few days. Rumors have spread that Zhao Ruxi is the artist behind the painting that sold for 25,000 taels of silver, causing a sensation throughout the city. Everyone is flocking to the exhibition, eager to see what the painting worth 25,000 taels of silver looks like.

Her paintings are so powerful that they leave everyone who sees them in awe and amazement. Everyone acknowledges her talent.

Zhao Ruxi can be said to have become famous overnight.

"Because I'm smart," Zhao Ruxi said lazily.

She was too lazy to argue with Zhao Ruyu, so she covered her mouth with her hand and coughed a few times.

Zhao Ruxi is always energetic and busy, and rarely looks so lazy.

As she started coughing, Zhao Ruyu finally realized that Zhao Ruxi was still sick.

She quickly took a few steps back and turned to the side.

Seeing this, Zhao Ruxi simply coughed a few more times.

Before becoming Zhao Ruxi's maid, Qingfeng was an extremely upright person, to the point of being somewhat rigid.

Having been by Zhao Ruxi's side for so long, she's become like the character she was raised to be.

Standing on the veranda, she could tell from Zhao Ruxi's cough coming from inside that Zhao Ruxi was getting impatient with dealing with Zhao Ruyu.

She raised her voice and said to Dianjiang, "Go quickly and see if the young lady's medicine is ready. Bring it over as soon as it's done."

Dianjiang was the most clever and mischievous of the maids.

Hearing this, she sighed and said, "Alas, the young lady has been coughing for several days, and although she has taken medicine, she hasn't gotten any better. Perhaps you should ask the Earl to invite a royal physician to take a look."

As she spoke, she suddenly coughed a few times. Realizing something, she tried to suppress it, but couldn't help coughing again. She walked outside, suppressing her coughs, until the sound gradually faded away outside the courtyard gate.

Qingfeng couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

Dianjiang's coughs were a stroke of genius; the person inside must have been terrified.

Sure enough, Zhao Ruxi Zhao Ruyu felt uncomfortable whenever Zhao Ruxi coughed; now that she heard Dianjiang coughing too, she became even more restless.

In the capital, it was a tradition that servants who fell ill had to move out to recuperate, so as not to pass on their illness to their masters.

Dianjiang had a cough but hadn't moved out yet. It must have been Zhao Ruxi who fell ill first, and Dianjiang had caught it from her. Lady Zhu hadn't yet discovered that Dianjiang was also sick, and hadn't had time to move Dianjiang out.

Thinking about it this way, she couldn't wait to leave this place.

"Since you're not feeling well, sister, you should rest well. I'll come to see you again in a few days."

Zhao Ruxi coughed a few more times before waving at her, trying to speak, but she coughed again. After a while, she managed to squeeze out a few words: "Sixth Sister, take care."

Zhao Ruyu bowed to her, stepped out of the threshold, and then, as if remembering something, turned to Zhao Ruxi and said, "By the way, Sister Qi Xuan from the Duke of Wei's Residence was amazed by your painting and greatly admires you. She wants to get to know you. In a few days, she's hosting a flower-viewing banquet at her mansion, inviting a few of her girlfriends for a small gathering. She asked me to give you an invitation. I just met with my aunt and gave her the invitation."

Before Zhao Ruxi could speak, she added, "You're sick right now, so there's no rush. We can wait until you're better. Sister Qi said that the flower viewing banquet will be held whenever you recover, so there's no hurry."

She nodded to Zhao Ruxi, then turned and walked out.

Zhao Ruxi watched her figure disappear through the door before shaking her head, picking up her pen again, and finishing the calligraphy she had just practiced.

She doesn't even have time to read, practice calligraphy, or draw; how could she possibly have time to flirt with those young girls, gossip, or scheme against them?

But in the front yard, Lady Zhu found herself in a dilemma.

She went to the old lady's courtyard and told her about it, saying with difficulty, "No matter what, the Duke of Wei's Residence has helped us a lot over the years. Now it's just asking Miss Xi to attend a banquet. If we refuse, they'll probably say we're ungrateful. But those little banquets for young girls are nothing more than eating, drinking, having fun, comparing clothes, and showing off. It's a complete waste of time."

"If it were just this once, it wouldn't be a problem. But our Miss Xi currently riding high. There are countless people in the capital who are either curious about her talent and looks, or have ill intentions and want to use her to gain fame, or genuinely want to befriend her. They might all want to invite her to a banquet. Once this starts, will Miss Xi go when others send her invitations? If she goes, not only will she attract a lot of trouble, but she will also waste Miss Xi's time."

The old lady was somewhat confused in some ways, but at this moment she was perfectly clear-headed.

She said, "This invitation was sent by Ruyu. That girl Ruyu, hmph, she's got a multitude of cunning schemes. So this invitation might have been orchestrated by those young ladies, and the adults in the Duke of Wei's Residence don't even know about it. Otherwise, they wouldn't have said things like, 'The banquet will be held when Miss Xi recovers from her illness.'"