Giving Gifts

To avoid alienating these people, he arranged for them to receive tutoring once a month, for one hour each time. Since there were only two months left until August, two tutoring sessions per person would be enough.

It wasn't a frequent occurrence, and it was the Emperor's decree. He figured that even if these people were unwilling, they wouldn't dare say anything.

These people didn't dare to say much, but they inevitably had opinions in private.

Someone grumbled, "So many people come to my house with lavish gifts, asking for my guidance, and I can't be bothered with them. Now I'm being forced to go out of my way to give guidance to someone, and it's a young girl no less! What's she doing taking the imperial examinations? Won't she get married in a couple of years? Just because the Emperor appreciates her paintings, she's making such a fuss, wasting public resources and manpower—it's outrageous!"

"Exactly! If you don't have the ability, don't participate in the imperial examinations; if you're going to participate, then study diligently on your own. What's the point of asking us to tutor her before the exams?"

Some kind-hearted people advised, "Oh well, it's just two classes, just bear with it."

Zhao Ruxi is such a perceptive person; seeing how things have turned out, she knew that some people would be unhappy and might even gossip. She felt helpless as well.

She wasn't aiming for a high ranking in the provincial examination; passing would be enough. Besides, she felt her essay was decent, not much worse than those of the top-ranked candidates in previous provincial examinations. She figured that as long as she performed normally, passing the provincial examination wouldn't be a problem. There was absolutely no need to make things so complicated.

If the Emperor only assigned Peng Guoan to tutor her, that wouldn't be a problem. Peng Guoan was related to her by marriage and also had a relationship with Kang Shilin, and he greatly admired her paintings. It wouldn't be a problem for her to attend a few lessons and improve her skills.

But there's no need to go to such lengths now.

The Emperor and Peng Guoan meant well, and since things had come to this point, there was nothing she could do.

After thinking for a moment, she wrote a letter to Xiao Lingyan, asking him to inquire about the preferences of those great Confucian scholars.

Xiao Lingyan is now solely focused on gathering intelligence for Xiao Lingpu, so this kind of task is effortless for him. A reply arrived in Qingfeng's hands just one day later.

After reading the letter, Zhao Ruxi made a list and asked Ma Sheng to go to the street to buy things.

So when she went to the exhibition hall of the Imperial Academy for her class, the great Confucian scholar who taught her received a gift from him—a fine piece of chicken-blood stone.

This great scholar had a passion for carving seals, and Zhao Ruxi's piece of chicken-blood stone was exactly what he wanted. The old man, who had previously held some grudges against Zhao Ruxi, could no longer put on a sour face in front of Zhao Ruxi.

In the process of guiding Zhao Ruxi, he discovered that Zhao Ruxi was exceptionally intelligent, grasping concepts instantly and never repeating a mistake after making it once. With just a little guidance, she could achieve excellent results.

He had taught at the Imperial Academy for many years and had seen many intelligent people. But those with talent were often young and arrogant. People like Zhao Ruxi, who were intelligent yet remained very humble and calm, were extremely rare.

This time, the scholar showed no more disdain and said to Zhao Ruxi, "Two lessons are not enough for you. Let me check if there are any spare times on Lord Peng's schedule. If there are, I will arrange one or two more lessons for you."

Zhao Ruxi rose with a look of delight and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Master."

The next day, the teachers at the Imperial Academy saw that the great scholar, who had been complaining the day before, had completely changed his attitude towards the extra lessons. He went to Peng Guoan and volunteered to give him extra lessons, which surprised everyone.

"Hehe, I won't say much more. You'll find out when you teach that girl." The scholar kept everyone in suspense.

The others who went to class were immediately bombarded with Zhao Ruxi's sweet talk, and then they went through the same psychological process as the first scholar who attended the class. After attending the class, they all defected to her side.

Upon discovering this change and inquiring further, Peng Guoan was somewhat amused and exasperated, but then deeply moved, saying to his second son, Peng Jinrui, "Your wife's younger sister is destined for great things."

"She's already achieved so much," Peng Jinrui said. "At such a young age, her paintings are already comparable to Mister Kumu's. Truly remarkable."

Peng Guoan nodded, suddenly feeling a sense of anticipation for his day off.

That shrewd fellow wouldn't just send gifts to a few great scholars and leave him out. He doesn't seem to have any particular preferences; I wonder what gift Zhao Zhiwei will give him.

When the day off arrived, Zhao Ruxi came as promised. She was led by a servant to the courtyard where Peng Guoan used as his study and bowed to him.

"You're here? Have a seat," Peng Guoan said, gesturing to the chair next to him.

The weather was pleasant at the time, neither too hot nor too cold, and there was no wind. To avoid suspicion, he simply had the tables and chairs moved to the porch, where he tutored the students.

Zhao Ruxi didn't sit down. Instead, she took a small box from Qingfeng and handed it to the Peng Family's maid. "Uncle Peng, Zhiwei for taking up your rest time. Therefore, I have prepared a small gift to express my gratitude. I hope Uncle Peng will not find it offensive."

Peng Guoan refused to accept it, saying, "Didn't you prepare gifts when you came to visit with your master that day?"

"That was a gift from my master, not from me," Zhao Ruxi said innocently.

That day, when they came to ask for a favor, if they had offered a generous gift and Peng Guoan had agreed, people would have thought he was only doing it out of greed, needlessly tarnishing his reputation. So that day, Zhao Ruxi had someone buy four kinds of pastries, plus a set of writing implements of medium quality, which cost a total of several dozen taels of silver. In the capital, such a gift was nothing special.

Peng Guoan couldn't help but laugh when he heard Zhao Ruxi's absurd reasoning.

He wasn't afraid of receiving gifts; after all, Zhao Ruxi was his junior, and he could simply return the favor. He was quite curious about what gift Zhao Ruxi would give him.

He nodded to the maid. "Take it."

The maid took the box, presented it to Peng Guoan, and opened the lid.

A golden, round object lay inside the brocade.

"What's this for?" Peng Guoan picked it up and found that there was a chain on it. The flat, round metal was about the size of his palm and was engraved with some patterns, making it look extremely exquisite.

"There's a button down there, Uncle, could you press it?" Zhao Ruxi said.

Peng Guoan pressed the button as instructed, and the round metal cover suddenly popped open, revealing what was inside.

"This is..." Peng Guoan stood up, his face full of surprise, and asked, "Could this be a clock?"

The first generation of clocks had already been sold throughout the capital and the Jiangnan. Families in the capital with some means would buy one to place in their homes. The Peng Family had one in their main hall.

After Zhao Ruxi wrote a letter to Xiao Lingyan last time, the second-generation Zhong also appeared at the auction.

In addition to the larger clocks that were more exquisite in appearance and featured a small bird that would pop out to chime the hour, the second generation of clocks also included smaller clocks, four feet tall and two feet wide, which were also extremely beautiful when placed in the bedroom.

Peng Guoan was a frugal man. Although he felt it was necessary to have a clock in his study or bedroom, he did not buy one because of its high price. However, he had seen it in other people's homes more than once; there was one in the main hall of the Imperial Academy.

The one he had in his hand was one he had never seen before.