The Imperial Decree

Before the Lady Wei affair came to light, the old lady and Zhao Jing'an were not close. Lady Wei always seemed to be wary of her harming her son, so the old lady didn't bother with the people from the second branch of the family.

After the Lady Wei incident came to light, although Zhao Jing'an did not show any hostility, he harbored animosity towards the old lady and the eldest son's family. The old lady felt even less concern for this grandson who was not related to her by blood.

Upon hearing that Zhao Jing'an had failed the exam, the old lady asked a couple of questions and then dropped the matter, but was actually Gao Xing for the Xu Family.

She said, "Xu Family's son has passed the exam. I wonder how Gao Xing Mr. and Mrs. Madam Xie are. Both of their children are good kids."

"That's right. I really like that girl Xu Xue," Lady Zhu chimed in.

The group chatted for a while when a servant came to report, "The young lady has returned."

"Quickly, call her over." Lady Zhu stood up immediately.

A short while later, Zhao Ruxi entered and recounted how the Prefect of the Capital had set a trap for Grand Princess Shangde, waiting for her to cause trouble. She said, "I managed to persuade the Princess to stay. However, she couldn't swallow her anger and went to the palace."

Lady Zhu was terrified, not expecting such a conspiracy. Even the old lady and Zhao Yuanxun were frightened.

"Luckily, Matron Ruan went to inform you, otherwise I would have been in real trouble," Lady Zhu said, patting her chest.

"Mother, in the future, please consult with us more often when you encounter problems. Every step we take forward could be a pitfall. If we can't see clearly, we might fall into one," Zhao Ruxi said.

"Don't worry, Mother will never dare to do it again," Lady Zhu assured her repeatedly.

She really wouldn't dare to do it again.

Not only her, but Zhao Yuanxun was also Youyu.

Fortunately, he no longer works in the government office. Otherwise, he wouldn't even know if someone set a trap for him. It's fine if he can take responsibility for his own mistakes, but it would be terrible if he implicated Zhao Ruxi.

Their Earl of Suiping's Residence has finally produced such a promising child; they can't let him drag them down.

The old lady, however, remained composed.

Ever since the family split up, she realized she was getting old. She felt that not only now, but even when she was young, she was far inferior to Zhao Ruxi in terms of vision and methods. So, she simply stopped caring about anything, obediently played the role of an old feudal lord, and enjoyed a leisurely and carefree life.

She doesn't go out, she doesn't talk nonsense or interfere, so she can't possibly make a mistake.

"Madam, Lord, Madam, Miss, someone from the palace has come with an imperial decree, ordering everyone to go to the front hall to receive it." Suddenly, a maid rushed in, speaking very quickly.

"Receive the imperial decree?" The three elders were startled and turned to look at Zhao Ruxi.

Lady Zhu, in particular, instinctively felt that she had caused trouble and that the Emperor was issuing an edict to reprimand them, and she turned pale with fright.

"Mother, don't worry, it's something else." Zhao Ruxi knew what had happened.

When Grand Princess Shangde entered the palace, Zhao Ruxi did not immediately return to the Marquis's residence. Instead, she stayed in Beining for a while, reviewed the account books of the workshops, estates, and shops during this period, and handled some miscellaneous matters. It took her about half an hour to return.

Considering the time spent assembling, demonstrating, and disassembling the machine, Grand Princess Shangde must have only recently left the palace.

The emperor's decree might have originated from the spinning machine; it was probably a reward or something similar.

"Something else?" the old lady asked. "Good news or bad news?"

"That's good news," Zhao Ruxi said with a smile.

She asked the maid, "Do you know who has come?"

"He was a middle-aged eunuch, who introduced himself as surnamed Xie," the maid said.

Zhao Ruxi became increasingly reassured.

Her painting was bought at auction by Eunuch Xie. This eunuch must have had a favorable impression of the Earl of Suiping's Residence.

To reassure her family, she told her elders what she had said.

Everyone was relieved. Zhao Yuanxun quickly went to greet Eunuch Xie, while the old lady and Lady Zhu went back to change into their everyday clothes before hurrying to the front hall.

Sure enough, when he met the people from the Earl of Suiping's Residence, Eunuch Xie was very polite, speaking with a smile on his face, and showing great respect to the old lady.

Zhao Jingtai was at the clan school and not at home. Since he was just a child, Eunuch Xie stopped Zhao Yuanxun from sending someone to fetch him. Now that everyone had arrived, he opened the imperial edict and began to read it aloud.

The imperial edict began with praise for Zhao Yuanxun, and concluded. "... Zhao Yuanxun is hereby appointed as the Left Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, to assume office immediately. This is the imperial decree."

After Eunuch Xie finished reading the imperial edict, he waited for Zhao Yuanxun to receive it. He saw Zhao Yuanxun kneeling there in a daze, his face full of disbelief. He couldn't help but cough.

The old lady and Lady Zhu simultaneously nudged Zhao Yuanxun, Zhao Yuanxun then realized what was happening, quickly kowtowed to express his gratitude, and accepted the imperial edict from Eunuch Xie's hand.

After delivering the imperial decree, Eunuch Xie turned to return to the palace, but Zhao Yuanxun quickly saw him off and slipped a purse into his hand, containing a fine jade pendant.

With Lady Zhu's case as a precedent, Zhao Yuanxun dared not inquire with Eunuch Xie about how he obtained his official position, fearing that saying too much would lead to making a mistake.

However, Eunuch Xie, Layperson Zhiwei, was extremely concerned for his idol. Fearing Zhao Yuanxun might not know the origin of the official title, he couldn't help but remark, "Your Excellency has truly raised a fine daughter."

Zhao Yuanxun then realized that he had obtained this official position because of Zhao Ruxi.

After seeing Eunuch Xie off, he returned and asked Zhao Ruxi, Zhao Ruxi replied, "Last year, didn't I ask Mother to collect several spinning machines for me to study? I improved them a bit. Just now, when Grand Princess Shangde entered the palace, she brought the spinning machines with her. I suppose that's why the Emperor couldn't reward me, so he bestowed an official position upon Father instead."

Only then did the old lady and Lady Zhu learn the origin of this official title.

"People say raising a son brings honor to the family. But I think raising a daughter is what truly matters," the old lady remarked. "Our Miss Xi, at such a young age, not only became a renowned scholar herself, but also helped your father get this official position. The good days of our Earl of Suiping's Residence are all thanks to Miss Xi."

"That's right!" Lady Zhu chimed in happily.

Zhao Ruxi said, "Father, His Majesty's bestowal of this official position upon you is truly thoughtful. Lord Zhang of the Court of Judicial Review is an extremely upright man; my third senior brother also works there. I feel at ease knowing you will be working at Court of Judicial Review of Judicial Review. I will write a letter to my third senior brother later, asking him to inform his colleagues at the Court of Court of Judicial Review to take care of you. If you have any questions, you can go and ask him after court tomorrow."

Zhao Yuanxun was both Gao Xing and apprehensive. Gao Xing because he had been granted a Subordinate Sixth Rank official position; he was apprehensive because he was worried that he would not do a good job.

He used to hold a military post, dealing with rough men. Now he was going to work as an official in a government office like the Court of Judicial Review, and at a Subordinate Sixth Rank at that. He worried that he wasn't capable enough, that he wouldn't do a good job, and that he would embarrass his daughter. He also worried that others would be jealous and try to sabotage him. He didn't care if he suffered some losses himself, but he was afraid of implicating his daughter.

Upon hearing Zhao Ruxi's words, Zhao Yuanxun's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, immediately settled down.