Making Inquiries

The second wife was immediately intrigued by the image. After a moment's thought, she stood up and said, "Alright, I'll have your father inquire about it. I'll let you know if I find out."

"Okay, okay, hurry up and go." Qi Xuan pushed her mother out the door.

Even the second master of the Duke of Wei's Residence was reluctant to give up the opportunity to become the Prince of Qi's father-in-law. If his daughter married the Prince of Qi, and the Prince of Prince of Qi happened to ascend the throne, wouldn't he become the Emperor's father-in-law?

This wonderful idea made him particularly enthusiastic. Without even consulting the Duke of Wei, he went out to inquire about it.

Only then did Qi Xuan's maid dare to step forward and tell Qi Xuan about Zhao Ruyu's maid's visit.

If it were anyone else, the maid would never dare to do that. Even if her mistress was throwing a tantrum, she wouldn't dare to delay if an important guest was visiting.

But Zhao Ruyu had long since fallen into the status of a girl from a humble family, and was even an adopted daughter. Usually, she was the kind of girl who could not speak when she was with her mistress, so the maids naturally treated her with disdain.

Qi Xuan understood what the maid was trying to convey, and waved her hand dismissively, saying, "It's good that you remember this. Bring her things back tomorrow."

She used to hang out with Zhao Ruyu partly because they were relatives, and partly because Zhao Ruyu might marry the second young master of the Marquis of Pingnan's Residence.

But now that Fu Er is preparing to get engaged to Tenth Miss Cen, Zhao Ruyu's status has plummeted again, and she won't be able to find a good match even if she tries to arrange a marriage in the future, so she naturally can't be bothered with it anymore.

She only helped reluctantly because she was worried that people would say she was snobbish if word got out that she was ignoring them. It was just bringing back some commonly used small items, nothing serious, a small matter that could be left to the maid.

Seeing that she had said this and had no further instructions, the maidservant withdrew and relayed the words to Fushu.

Fushu sat at the gatehouse for almost half an hour before finally receiving Qi Xuan's response. Although she dared not be angry, she truly felt sad and melancholy for her young lady.

What will happen to the girl now?

Back home, before she could even speak, Zhao Ruyu asked, "Were you ignored?"

It was just a matter of passing on a message, but Fushu took so long to return; it's obvious that Qi Xuan ignored her.

Fushu, fearing that Zhao Ruyu would be upset, told her about the unusual situation at the Duke of Wei's Residence, saying, "I overheard the old woman mentioning that it seems Sixth Miss Qi's marriage is not going well. I guess she's in a bad mood and doesn't have time to think about it, which is why she didn't reply to me in time."

Zhao Ruyu seemed to be deep in thought after hearing this.

In her past life, Qi Xuan also arranged her marriage around this time.

The Duke of Wei's Residence's family was a loving family, and the family they chose for Qi Xuan was slightly less prestigious than the Duke of Wei's Residence's, with a smaller household and a decent character. Both sides were very satisfied with the marriage proposal, so Qi Xuan's marriage was quickly arranged, and she married six months later. After her marriage, Qi Xuan lived a very good life.

Zhao Ruyu had attended Qi Xuan's engagement ceremony, so she remembered it very clearly.

Why is it that not only have other things changed in this life, but even Qi Xuan's marriage has changed?

Over the past six months, not only Zhao Ruxi has been closely monitoring the movements of the court, but Zhao Ruyu has also been paying attention. In order to save points, she always asks Fu Yunlang for information. Generally speaking, Fu Yunlang will tell her about any political matters that he can talk about.

After half a year, Zhao Ruyu also summarized the pattern of the changes in the situation - anything related to Zhao Ruxi, or anything that Zhao Ruxi was determined to change, no matter how she did it, would eventually develop in an unknown direction, such as the fate of the two princes and the Fu Family family father and son, and the fate of Zhao Rurui and her, Zhao Yuanxun and other close relatives.

As for people and things that have no connection with Zhao Ruxi, as long as they are not affected, they will continue to develop according to their original fate.

Qi Xuan and Zhao Ruxi had no connection whatsoever. Last time, Qi Xuan tried to invite Zhao Ruxi to a banquet, but Zhao Ruxi refused outright. Qi Xuan was also a very proud person, so naturally she wouldn't invite her again. Therefore, Qi Xuan and Zhao Ruxi had no real relationship.

But why has Qi Xuan's fate changed now?

Although Zhao Ruyu's system gathers information for her, it's extremely expensive. Information like Qi Xuan's marriage requires a thousand points. Zhao Ruyu's abilities aren't enough either; even if she diligently practices the piano for half a year, her skill level might not improve much, so earning points is very difficult, and she's unwilling to spend a single point.

She thought for a moment, then summoned her usual servant and instructed him, "Go and stay near the Duke of Wei's Residence, and find out what's going on with Sixth Miss Qi's marriage. If she goes out in the next couple of days, follow her."

The servant agreed.

"Alright, go and rest."

After sending Fushu away, Zhao Ruyu thought for a moment and began counting her savings.

Ever since she got the system, she felt that her life might change, and she needed some money. She thought for a long time but couldn't think of a way to make money, so she simply started helping people with their homework at the academy to earn some hard-earned money.

Those noble ladies were generous with their money; she did her homework well and spoke in a pleasing manner, so she received quite a bit of reward money.

Therefore, she earned about three hundred taels of silver during this period.

Zhao Jingli gave her and Zhao Rurui a fixed monthly allowance and annual allowance for clothes and jewelry, which was only enough for her to buy one very ordinary piece of clothing each season; and for jewelry, she could only buy some inexpensive silver jewelry.

As the saying goes, clothes make the man, and a saddle makes the horse; if she wants to carry out her plan, she needs to get some new clothes.

With these three hundred taels of silver, plus the savings she had accumulated while at the Earl of Suiping's Residence, she could make two nice spring dresses and buy two pieces of jewelry that were unique in style but not expensive.

Back at the Duke of Wei's Residence, Second Master Qi was trying every means to find out news about Xiao Lingyan.

When he returned home that evening, he told his wife, "I didn't see Prince of Qi getting close to any noble ladies. He has very few maids serving him, let alone concubines. I heard that he doesn't even have a personal maid to teach him about human affairs. When he came of age, Noble Consort Cen wanted to arrange one for him, but he refused outright."

Upon hearing this, the second wife felt no Gao Xing, but rather a growing worry. "Could he... have that kind of problem?"

The second master was taken aback and frowned as well.

Leaving aside the princes in the palace, even the sons of noble families would be assigned concubines by their families when they reached a certain age to teach them about human affairs, so that they wouldn't be ignorant and be lured to places like brothels, where they would be blinded and their family reputation would be ruined.

So His Highness Prince of Qi doesn't even arrange for a personal maid? Could it be that he really has that kind of problem?

After thinking for a moment, he shook his head. "That shouldn't be the case. If he really had that kind of problem, the Imperial Concubine would probably have arranged for him to have a concubine long ago to cover it up. Why would she let people suspect him like this?"

The second wife thought about it and agreed, but then she couldn't come up with a solution.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" she asked.