A Heart-to-Heart in the Pavilion

But to marry Zhao Ruxi off like this, to a man who is inferior to her in every way, those men are like children who haven't been weaned, always going to their parents to beg for money, they are not even a fraction as good as her Miss Xi, and that makes her uncomfortable.

"Let Miss Xi decide on this matter," the old lady said. "If she wants to marry, she can. If she doesn't want to, we shouldn't force her. Knowing that life after marriage is not as good as at home, why does she want to get married?"

"But if we do that, what will happen when Miss Xi gets older and can't find a suitable marriage? Won't she blame us?" Lady Zhu hesitated.

Her words made the old lady hesitate.

Finally, the old lady made the decision. "This is Miss Xi's own choice, she won't blame us. Besides, even if it's a year or two later, with Miss Xi being so outstanding, she won't have trouble getting married. At worst, we can choose a newly appointed scholar. Miss Xi is capable, even if that person doesn't have much of a family fortune, Miss Xi can still support the family. Besides, we're here for her. After she gets married, Miss Xi will still be part of our family, how can we let her suffer any injustice?"

Upon hearing this, Lady Zhu's eyes lit up.

Many men from poor families delayed marriage in order to study and find better marriage prospects after passing the imperial examinations. There were quite a few scholars who passed the imperial examinations at the age of nineteen, twenty, or even their twenties who were still unmarried.

They carefully select the best one, someone with a small family and no mother-in-law to serve.

Firstly, such a family lacks the power to do anything to Miss Xi; secondly, the rules are not so strict, and there won't be too many restrictions on Miss Xi. It is more suitable for Miss Xi than the Prince Jingping's Estate and those aristocratic families.

"Good, that's a good idea." Lady Zhu felt a great weight lifted from her heart and flattered her mother-in-law, "Mother, you're so thoughtful. You've certainly lived longer than I have; your idea is excellent."

The old lady laughed.

After discussing their options, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law then discussed how to refuse the marriage proposal from the Prince Jingping's Estate.

Although the marriage arrangement still needs to be decided by Zhao Ruxi, based on their understanding of Zhao Ruxi, they know that Zhao Ruxi will definitely not agree to the marriage, so they should make preparations as soon as possible.

While the Earl of Suiping's Residence was busy with Zhao Ruxi's marriage arrangements, Zhao Ruxi sat in a house in Beining, drinking tea face to face with Xiao Lingyan.

Yesterday she received a letter from Xiao Lingyan requesting a meeting. She thought about how the two of them hadn't seen each other in so long, and the first political storm was about to break. In the original book, Fu Dayong and Fu Yunkai would both die on the battlefield this winter. The Second Prince, Xiao Lingpu, was sent to provide relief and also died at the border.

As a young prince who had never been to the battlefield, Xiao Lingyan was not sent, but he fell ill and died when news of Xiao Lingpu's death arrived.

Although they were all prepared, Fu Dayong and Fu Yunkai's 100,000 soldiers would not suffer from hunger and cold due to lack of food and clothing at the border, and they would not be annihilated by the enemy because of the weapons provided by Xiao Lingyan; Xiao Lingpu would try to avoid risks because of Xiao Lingyan's reminder; and Xiao Lingyan, as a time traveler, did not have such deep feelings for Xiao Lingpu and would not fall ill because of Xiao Lingpu's death.

But how the wheels of fate turn, and whether they can reverse their destiny, is anyone's guess.

If things can't be reversed, she might never have the chance to see Xiao Lingyan again.

With that thought in mind, she immediately agreed to meet with Xiao Lingyan.

Xiao Lingyan had somehow found an empty house. The house even had a pond, and the scenery was quite nice. With a cool autumn breeze, the two of them sat in the pavilion in the middle of the pond, drinking tea, which was quite pleasant.

"Are the provisions ready? Are the catapults and crossbows ready?" Zhao Ruxi asked.

"Yes." Xiao Lingyan nodded. "Everything is ready and has been shipped over."

While Zhao Ruxi was busy with the imperial examinations, he was also almost never idle.

He had his men disguise as traveling merchants, who purchased large quantities of rice in batches from different regions in the south. They then secretly transported the crossbows and catapults they had made to the border by hiding them among the grain.

Because he was worried that there were spies around Xiao Lingpu and Fu Yunkai, he didn't tell them, but instead sent his own trusted lieutenants to do the job. The supplies were also hidden in a secret place, waiting to be used at the crucial moment.

He planted spies around Guo Jitong and several other Ministry of Revenue he suspected, and had assassins secretly keep an eye on them.

He had people keeping an eye on the Crown Prince, the Third Prince, and the Fourth Prince. If they made any moves, he would use a counter-strategy to expose them to Xiao Ge and kick them out of the pool of candidates for Crown Prince.

Although Xiao Ge wasn't exactly a good father, he was at least a reasonably wise ruler. If a prince were to risk the lives of 100,000 soldiers and the safety of the border to seize the throne, he would absolutely not allow it. He would immediately blacklist such a prince.

The pavilion where Zhao Ruxi and Xiao Lingyan were located was surrounded by water, with no buildings or tall trees. The only entrance was a winding wooden bridge. The surrounding scenery was completely visible, and anyone who approached them could be identified at a glance.

Because the pond was quite wide and the pavilion was far from the shore, they didn't have to worry about their conversation being overheard.

Xiao Lingyan, "My only worry right now is next year. Next year's coup will be a scenario where, apart from my second brother and me, the other princes kill each other, and Xiao Lingheng reaps the benefits. But if we eliminate one of them this year, next year's coup will not happen. If Xiao Lingheng hadn't instigated this year and had been allowed to stay, without the crown prince as a scapegoat, he would have turned his attention to us, and the situation would have been much more complicated."

Zhao Ruxi had also considered this.

She sighed, "There's nothing we can do. You and your second brother can't sacrifice your lives for the sake of the plot. Even if it's a pretense, a clever escape, there's still the Fu Family father and son and 100,000 soldiers involved. There's no way to get around this. You'll just have to deal with what happens next carefully."

She looked at Xiao Lingyan earnestly. "I've been thinking about this issue for you guys lately. I think that after you get through this, instead of passively taking a beating, you should take the initiative and fight fire with fire. By being prepared and taking advantage of the situation, you can always gain the upper hand and achieve your desired goals."

"Haha, that's what I was planning to do too." Xiao Lingyan laughed.

He said that only to gain Zhao Ruxi's sympathy. But this woman was too clever; she had to think the same way he did, so his act of pitifulness wouldn't work.

Zhao Ruxi rolled her eyes at him. "You already have a plan, why are you still playing the victim? Really!"

"Who knows if it will succeed? In this kind of thing, it's all or nothing; there's no third way," Xiao Lingyan sighed.

He looked at Zhao Ruxi: "What are your plans? Xiao Ge said that as long as you pass the provincial examination, he will appoint you to an official position. Now that you have become the top scholar in the provincial examination, if you want to be an official, he will definitely grant your wish. Are you planning to take office now and leave, or do you plan to participate in the metropolitan examination and the palace examination before leaving?"