An Invitation from the Ministry of Revenue

Considering that Princess Xiangyang might have harmed Zhao Ruxi because of her mathematical talent, and that his own daughter had just tricked Zhao Ruxi during the imperial examinations, now that the provincial examinations were over but the palace examinations hadn't been held yet, if Emperor Xiao Ge were to issue an edict summoning Zhao Ruxi to the Ministry of Revenue for assistance, and Zhao Ruxi didn't perform well in the palace examinations, wouldn't people criticize the imperial family behind their backs? Xiao Ge leaned back in his chair, expressionless, and looked at Qi Xugu, saying, "A few years ago, before Guo Jitong came to the Ministry of Revenue, you encountered a similar situation, didn't you? How did you calculate it then? Did you just give me a random calculation to fool me?"

"Furthermore, the results of the provincial examination haven't been released yet. How do you know Zhao Zhiwei failed? If she passed, she would still have to participate in the palace examination. At this time, you want me to issue an edict summoning her to the Ministry of Revenue to help out. What are you up to?"

Qi Xugu broke out in a cold sweat and quickly bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I dare not. Originally, all the officials in the Ministry of Revenue calculated the figures together, which took a long time. For a period of time, no one could leave the office on time, and the entire Ministry of Revenue was in chaos. Later, Guo Jitong arrived, and things improved. I am used to the situation when he was here, so I thought I would take advantage of the fact that Layperson Zhiwei is not busy at the moment and ask her to Ministry of Revenue to help out. There is not much to do. The officials have already calculated the figures, and Layperson Zhiwei will just come to help with the verification. It will only take a day or two and will not interfere with her participation in the palace examination."

"Furthermore, I did not ask Your Majesty to issue an edict. The Ministry of Revenue needs Your Majesty's approval to have someone audit the accounts, which is why I mentioned it to Your Majesty. I will naturally go to the Layperson Zhiwei to invite her. If she does not agree, then this matter will be dropped."

Xiao Ge's expression softened a bit.

He glanced at Qi Xugu: "So you've got your eye on Zhao Zhiwei, hoping to get her a job in the Ministry of Revenue?"

Qi Xugu chuckled and bowed, "Nothing can escape the Emperor's eyes."

He straightened up and said loudly, "However, the Ministry of Revenue truly needs a talent like Zhao Zhiwei. If Layperson Zhiwei passes the imperial examination and is assigned a post, I request that he be assigned to the Ministry of Revenue Zhao Zhiwei."

Xiao Ge nodded. "I understand your intentions. Go and invite Zhao Zhiwei. If she wants to come, she can; if she doesn't want to, don't force her in the slightest."

"Yes."

Qi Xugu was very dissatisfied that he did not receive the Emperor's promise regarding Zhao Zhiwei. However, he also knew that the Emperor never made promises lightly. Because Kang Shilin was involved, there was still a possibility of change, and the Emperor could not easily grant his request.

"Alright, if there's nothing else, you can leave." Xiao Ge began to shoo people away.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I take my leave." Qi Xugu simply took his leave.

After leaving the main hall, Qi Xugu wiped the sweat from his brow, sighed, and shook his head with a wry smile.

The matter wasn't handled well, and I even got frightened by the Emperor. What kind of mess is this? Serving a ruler is truly like serving a tiger.

It seems the Emperor wasn't in a good mood before he went in.

After leaving the yamen that day, Qi Xugu went to Gan Lun's house and asked Gan Lun to accompany him to the Earl of Suiping's Residence to invite Zhao Zhiwei.

"I know that the Earl of Suiping went to Gusu, and his underage son went with him. Now there are only the old lady and Miss Zhiwei in the Earl of Suiping's mansion. It would be inappropriate for two grown men like us to come over. But if we just write a letter or arrange to meet outside, it won't show our sincerity," Qi Xugu said.

"So please come with me to deliver a visiting card first. Miss Zhiwei's second uncle and cousin live nearby, so she can invite them to keep her company," he added.

"Alright." Gan Lun was very Gao Xing that his student was valued so highly by the Ministry of Revenue. "You've thought of everything so thoroughly, I'm naturally happy to oblige."

Qi Xugu and Gan Lun's visiting cards were delivered to the Earl of Suiping's Residence, and the gatekeeper handed them directly to Lady Zhu Shi.

Lady Zhu went to Gusu first to tidy up her husband's house and manage their daily life, and also to socialize with the wives of local officials and engage in some "ladies' diplomacy."

Now that things are settled there, and Zhao Jingtai has entered the local academy to study, she has returned to accompany her daughter to take the exam, intending to stay until Zhao Ruxi has finished selecting officials and is ready to take office.

She would accompany Zhao Ruxi to send the old lady to Gusu, and then accompany Zhao Ruxi to her new post. Once there, she would tidy up the house for Zhao Ruxi, conduct diplomatic relations as the lady of the house, and make sure no one dared to bully her daughter before returning to the Gusu Prefecture.

It can be said that among those sent to serve as officials by Zhao Yuanxun and Zhao Ruxi, it was Lady Zhu was the most exhausted and overworked.

Seeing the visiting cards from the Ministry of Revenue and Lord Gan, she felt incredibly fortunate to still be in the capital.

"Go to the second branch of the family and tell the eldest and second young masters that they should come over to entertain the guests tomorrow at Shenshi (3-5 PM). The eldest young master's teacher Lord Gan, and Minister of Ministry of Revenue, Lord Qi, will be visiting at that time," she instructed Caidie.

Originally, Zhao Yuanliang was Zhao Ruxi's elder and the only adult male of the Zhao Family in the capital, so it would have been appropriate for him to accompany the guests. However, he was unreliable. Lady Zhu felt that it would be better for Zhao Jingli to accompany the guests instead.

Zhao Ruxi had previously done the accounting for the Ministry of Revenue, which could be considered as doing the Ministry of Revenue a favor. Now that Qi Xugu and Gan Lun have come to visit with visiting cards, they must have something similar to trouble Zhao Ruxi with. Even if Zhao Jingli, who is accompanying them, is not very old, the two officials should not feel slighted.

However, Zhao Jing'an and Zhao Jingli live together, so it wouldn't be appropriate to invite only Zhao Jingli and not Zhao Jing'an. Since they are both their nephews, it wouldn't be good for them to promote one and neglect the other, as it would give others cause for gossip. So they decided to invite them both to join the guests.

"Go to the young lady first and tell her about this matter. Make sure she tells you that I invited the eldest and second young masters to come and entertain the guests. Just listen to the young lady's instructions," Lady Zhu said, stopping Caidie Die who was about to leave.

"Yes, madam."

Upon hearing Caidie's report, Zhao Ruxi's guess was the same as Lady Zhu's.

"Alright, let's do as you say, Madam," she said casually, continuing to write.

"Young lady, you should rest." Seeing that Zhao Ruxi didn't even look up, Granny Matron Yuan quickly said, seemingly nagging but actually reminding her, "Before, it was because of the exams; now that the exams are over, you still don't relax, and you keep writing and drawing every day. It breaks my heart to see you like this."

Matron Yuan was usually somewhat intimidated by Zhao Ruxi and had long since stopped lecturing or nagging Zhao Ruxi. The reason she was nagging her now was entirely because of Lady Zhu's instructions.

Lady Zhu felt sorry for her daughter who never got a rest, so she instructed Matron Yuan to keep a close eye on her and not let her work too hard.

Zhao Ruxi then realized what was happening, looked up at Caidie, and laughed, "Good sister, you can't go and complain to my mother. If my mother scolds me, I'll definitely come after you."

"Then don't work too hard. If Madam finds out, not only you, but we'll all get scolded too," Caidie said with a smile.

"Okay, okay, I understand." Zhao Ruxi obediently put down her pen, stood up, and said, "I'll see you out; I want to get some fresh air too."