A Matter to Discuss

During this period, many people came to inquire about the Earl of Suiping's Residence, and they received a lot of reward money for it, more than they would earn working hard in the shop for a month.

After they handed over a certain percentage of copper coins, the boss didn't stop them from making money. He just told them that the Earl of Suiping's Residence was about to rise to prominence, and that they could make money by selling information, but they must not cause trouble for themselves. They had to think carefully about what to say and what not to say. More importantly, they must not fabricate rumors, otherwise they might earn that money but not live to spend it.

The thinner guy rolled his eyes at his companion. "Never mind how I found out, the news is absolutely true."

Chang'an thought for a moment, then took out a handful of copper coins and gave them to the fat shop assistant. "Go to the Earl of Suiping's Residence now and ask the gatekeeper if this news is true. Since they're going to spread this news, they certainly won't hide it."

Anyway, there was no business in the shop at this time. Even if Chang'an didn't pay, the fat shop assistant would still have to inquire about it later, since it was information that could be sold for money. However, he didn't dare to go directly to the gatekeeper of the Earl of Suiping's Residence to ask, so he could only inquire around.

Now that Qian Zhuang had become bolder, he wasn't afraid anymore. He agreed and ran out.

Chang'an gave some copper coins to the skinny guy. "The news you just shared was very important; this is a reward for you."

The skinny guy wasn't jealous of his companion.

After receiving their reward, they had to give a portion to the boss and share the rest with their companions. The fat fellow also received a share. Now, to appease him, Chang'an gave him another portion, making his and his companions' earnings for the day quite substantial.

A short while later, the portly man returned and said to Chang'an, "The gatekeeper said the news was correct; it's indeed not advisable for their daughter to be engaged so early."

Upon receiving this news, Chang'an did not linger and hurried back to the Marquis of Pingnan's Residence to report to his master.

Fu Yunkai was both happy and worried when he received the news.

He was naturally delighted because Fifth Miss Zhao was not yet betrothed, so he still had hope.

His worry was that his marriage could no longer be delayed.

Not to mention his parents' repeated urging for him to get married, even the Emperor himself inquired about his marriage the other day. After all, if his marriage isn't settled, he can't stay at the border in peace, and constantly running back and forth between the border and the capital isn't a good thing.

In addition, he had another concern.

Previously, the Earl of Suiping's Residence was inconspicuous, and it was not easy for them to find a good match. Even so, due to concerns about soldiers, the elders of the Earl of Suiping's Residence were still unwilling to betroth Fifth Miss Zhao to him.

Now that he has more and better options, he probably has even less hope, right?

He paced back and forth in the room twice, then said to Chang'an, "Send someone to keep watch near the Earl of Suiping's Residence. Notify me as soon as Fifth Miss Zhao comes out. I want to see her."

Chang'an immediately went to make the arrangements.

But even until the New Year, and even after the tenth day of the first lunar month, Fifth Miss Zhao did not go out, nor did she attend any banquets. Not only did she not go, but none of the other masters of the Earl of Suiping's Residence attended any banquets either.

Apart from servants going out to buy things every day, several married aunts returning to their parents' home on the second day of the lunar new year, and the eldest son of the second branch, Zhao Jingli, and the Xu Family and young lady of the Xu family visiting a few times, the Earl of Suiping's Residence was almost devoid of any masters coming and going.

This made Fu Yunkai very anxious.

On the contrary, Xiao Lingyan was not bothered by these external conditions at all, nor was he affected by the phrase "What's it to you?" He would write a letter to Zhao Ruxi every few days, telling her all the interesting things that had happened in the capital recently.

Zhao Ruxi was used to being busy, so the sudden quiet and being confined at home for half a month without being able to go out was extremely boring.

Xiao Lingyan's letters were extremely interesting, and he always managed to capture her interest by writing about topics that she found fascinating. Therefore, she was initially very opposed to Xiao Lingyan's subordinate treating the guards of their Earl of Suiping's Residence as nothing, coming and going as he pleased, and had even Xiao Lingyan twice in her letters.

But as time went on, she got used to receiving letters from Xiao Lingyan and reading his various news reports and interesting stories about the capital, which helped her pass the time.

Besides Xiao Lingyan's letters, Zhao Ruxi also received letters from Xiao Ruotong from time to time.

This year, Zhao Ruxi was overwhelmed by all the marriage proposals, and Xiao Ruotong was no exception.

Although she was divorced, her family was prominent, she was of excellent character and appearance, and a renowned woman of great talent. Apart from her inability to have children, there was really nothing wrong with her.

Those widowers who doted on their children took advantage of her inability to have children.

Since she doesn't have any children of her own, doesn't that mean she can raise her children from her first marriage and those born out of wedlock as if they were her own?

Even her divorce is seen as an advantage by some.

If she were still a virgin, some men would know they were not good enough for her and wouldn't dare to even dream of marrying her. But now that she's a discarded woman, some people think they can finally get their hands on her.

Furthermore, if the Heir Apparent of the Duke of Ying hadn't remarried, some people worried that Xiao Ruotong might still be attached to her ex-husband, maintaining a lingering relationship and potentially cheating on her. But now that the Heir Apparent of the Duke of Ying is married, this worry has been dispelled.

Therefore, the number of people seeking marriage with Xiao Ruotong at the Prince of Zhennan's Residence was no less than that at Zhao Ruxi's place.

Xiao Ruotong was extremely annoyed and couldn't help but write a letter to Zhao Ruxi to confide her troubles.

It's said that "one is influenced by one's company"; and also that "it takes three years to learn good things, but only three days to learn bad things." The naive Xiao Ruotong exchanged letters with Zhao Ruxi a few times, and after being amused by her witty and humorous writing, she also learned to complain. Now, her letter-writing style is very much in Zhao Ruxi's style.

Once the Lantern Festival (January 15th of the lunar calendar) is over, the New Year celebrations are considered finished. Everyone, from court officials and bureaucrats to ordinary people struggling to make a living, gets busy.

The officials of the Ministry of Rites of Rites were the busiest.

In February, the Second Prince will get married; in March, the Third Prince will get married. After their marriages, the two princes will move out of the palace to build their own residences. Although preparations for this matter began as early as last year, the officials of the Ministry of Rites are still extremely busy.

However, none of this concerns Zhao Ruxi.

After the Lantern Festival, she will return to the Beining Academy for classes.

The officials in the training program would not depart until after the New Year, and the journey was long, taking at least half a month to reach the capital. Zhao Ruxi decided to take this opportunity to study diligently at the academy and ask the teachers for guidance on anything she did not understand.

So, after waiting anxiously from before the New Year to after, Fu Yunkai finally received news of Zhao Ruxi's departure.

That noon, Zhao Ruxi came out of the academy and had just sat down in the Green Plantain Courtyard when she received a letter from Zhaoming.

"The messenger said this was written to the young lady by General Who Proclaims Martial Might, the Young General Fu Heir of the Marquis of Pingnan," Zhaoming said. "I examined the man carefully; he seems to have fought on the battlefield, unlike ordinary people."

Fu Yunkai?

Zhao Ruxi looked at the bold, powerful handwriting on the envelope. She recognized it as Fu Yunkai's own handwriting.