A Difficult Choice
As the year drew to a close, all three senior brothers were busy, Zhao Ruxi had no chance to see Wu Zong again; Xiao Ruotong was also busy attending banquets with the Princess of Zhennan and did not come to the Earl of Suiping's Residence again.
"We received even more invitations this year than last year; several princely residences sent them out."
That day, Lady Zhu brought a large stack of invitations to Zhao Ruxi: "Take a look and see if you want to attend selectively, or not at all. If you don't go, you need a reason. You can't use last year's reason again."
Last year, due to the conflict between Consort Jin and Grand Princess Shangde, Zhao Ruxi didn't want to cause trouble and was too lazy to socialize. At that time, the old lady told her to use the excuse of attending to an ill person to decline all invitations.
It wouldn't be good to use this excuse again this year. First, it wouldn't be good for the old lady, and second, the excuse sounds fake.
"I know, I wouldn't have used last year's excuse even if you hadn't said anything," Zhao Ruxi said. "It's unlucky."
She frowned as she spoke, "But I can't think of any other good excuse."
She disliked trouble and didn't want to accept any of these invitations, nor was she in the mood to. But to avoid offending anyone, she needed a good excuse. But what excuse could she come up with?
Lady Zhu pulled out an invitation card. "Do you want to attend the banquet at the Prince of Zhennan's Residence's Mansion? If you attend the banquet at the Prince of Zhennan's Residence's Mansion, you must attend the banquet at the Prince Jingping's Estate's Mansion. Otherwise, it really wouldn't be right."
Both Prince of Zhennan and Prince of Jingping are princes of the same rank. Zhao Ruxi went to attend the banquet at Prince of Zhennan's Residence but refused to attend Prince of Jingping. This was an insult to Prince Jingping's Estate's residence and would make her very unpopular.
However, Zhao Ruxi had no interest in the fourth son of Prince of Jingping, so she definitely couldn't attend this banquet.
However, it wouldn't be right for Princess of Zhennan and Xiao Ruotong not to keep their appointment at the Prince of Zhennan's Residence.
Over the past year, Princess of Zhennan had been extremely kind to Zhao Ruxi, frequently sending Zhao Ruxi silks and food. Whenever she encountered fine jewelry, she would also send her a piece or two. The gifts weren't particularly valuable, but they conveyed a sense of warmth and respect. Although Zhao Ruxi returned the gifts, she was obliged to attend the banquets hosted by Princess Zhennan.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Ruxi frowned even more deeply.
"Mother, let me think about this," she said.
Lady Zhu nodded, left the invitation with Zhao Ruxi, and then returned to the main courtyard.
As soon as Lady Zhu left, Zhao Ruxi asked in her mind, "System, what's the situation at the border? Has it become more critical?"
The system initially quoted. "One thousand points."
Zhao Ruxi had originally asked it to inquire about the situation at the border, and it had already received 3,000 points. Now, with some additional information, it dared not quote a high price. 1,000 points would be more reasonable.
"Okay," Zhao Ruxi agreed readily.
The system knew that the host had agreed so readily because its price was reasonable. If it had quoted a higher price, it definitely wouldn't have earned even a thousand points.
"Wait a moment," the system instructed, then fell silent.
Zhao Ruxi began practicing calligraphy.
That day, Xiao Ruotong guided her and helped her develop her own style of calligraphy. She also discovered that writing forty or fifty characters earned her 156 points. After Xiao Ruotong left, she tried it herself and found that she could indeed earn over 150 points by practicing a piece of thirty characters.
She was incredibly surprised at the time.
Master Mingcang's calligraphy, even if it's 100% similar to the original, only gets 100 points; how come her own piece gets such a high score?
The system explained to her, "No matter how well you imitate Master Mingcang's calligraphy, it's still someone else's work; you're just copying what he wrote. You'll never become a master. But if you add your own style and make it your own, that's innovation, just like your unique painting method. As long as you practice your calligraphy to a higher level, you can become a master. Your points will naturally be different."
"Then why do I only earn 100 points per painting now?" she said indignantly.
"That's because the techniques used in that painting are mostly from other artists; you've simply mixed and matched them."
Zhao Ruxi: "..." Okay.
She had always thought the limit was one hundred points, but now she realized that as long as she was innovative, there was no limit. So she practiced even more diligently. She also tried to incorporate more of her own drawing style into her paintings, and her points began to rise.
This time, the system didn't make her wait long. Just as Zhao Ruxi finished practicing calligraphy three times and was about to stop and read for a while, the system's voice sounded in her mind, "Host, our army's grain supplies at the border have been burned, and the grain reserves in nearby cities have also been completely destroyed."
Zhao Ruxi was startled: it had finally come to this.
She asked, "Have they sent someone to ask for help?"
The system continued, "The messenger sent by the Fu Family for help was ambushed halfway there. Fortunately, the Fifth Prince sent men to rescue him, saving his life, though he was seriously injured. The Fu Family has sent another cavalry unit for help, but this one also faced extreme danger. Of the twenty men sent, only five remain. They should arrive in the capital tomorrow."
Although Zhao Ruxi was waiting for this news, she also knew that once it was announced in court the next day, the peaceful and prosperous situation in the capital would change—the soldiers on the frontier were fighting bloody battles and suffering from hunger, while the wealthy families in the capital were still holding lavish banquets, indulging in wine and meat. Not only would Xiao Ge be furious enough to chop off people's heads, but the common people would probably also be very dissatisfied.
Therefore, she no longer needs to worry about whether or not to attend the banquet.
But she just couldn't feel Gao Xing.
She also knew that those who achieve great things do not concern themselves with trifles, and that temporary sacrifices are for the final victory.
If she and Xiao Lingyan hadn't known the plot, 100,000 soldiers would have perished that winter; if Xiao Lingpu and Xiao Lingyan hadn't taken this opportunity to frame the Crown Prince and the Third Prince, when the Third Prince ascended the throne, most of the aristocratic families in the capital would have been purged, and the subsequent politics might not have been so clear-cut.
Therefore, these necessary procedures must be followed, and some sacrifices are unavoidable. Moreover, these people were sent by the Third Prince to deliver messages to the enemy, leading them to send people to kill them; it's all the Third Prince's fault. She shouldn't take on these lives herself and Xiao Lingyan.
But seeing things develop to this point, she still felt bad.
"Are the provisions and winter clothes prepared by the Fifth Prince still in good condition?" she asked again.
"Yes, no one noticed," the system said.
Zhao Ruxi's mood finally eased a little.
"Okay, keep an eye on these things for me, and deduct points if necessary," Zhao Ruxi said.
Before the system could even entertain any wicked thoughts, she dismissed it. "Don't try to deduct points randomly. I know exactly how many points are needed for every piece of information. I haven't been too fussy with you lately because it's easier for me to earn points than before, and I wanted to be nice to you. If you're not honest, I won't buy any more information. You should know that all of this is under Xiao Lingyan's control, and I have complete confidence in his intelligence. Asking about things is just about showing interest in national affairs and gossiping a bit."
"Okay, alright." The system had just been scolded for trying to have some wicked thoughts, and felt very guilty, repeatedly promising not to deduct points unnecessarily. Only then did Zhao Ruxi let it go.