Surprise

"You're reluctant to part with her, but that puts your elder brother in a difficult position. He can't control Zhao Ruyu, and he'll have to worry about her dowry. Your family doesn't have much wealth to begin with; you don't know the cost of living until you're in charge."

"It was already difficult enough that your fourth sister was getting married and you two brothers were getting married; the family simply couldn't afford it. We couldn't possibly sell the little bit of land we had to make a living from and then starve, could we? Now you're asking your eldest brother to raise another dowry for Zhao Ruyu. I don't know whether to call you sentimental or heartless."

The old lady picked up her teacup and took a sip. Seeing Zhao Jing'an standing there in a daze, not saying a word, she continued, "Of course, I'm not someone who doesn't consider feelings. What I mean by saying this isn't that you should send her back. But since you've kept her, you should keep her in check and not let her cause any scandals or harm others. I've said so much; you can decide for yourself what to do."

Madam Xie frequently visited the Earl of Suiping's Residence. Especially after Lady Zhu was transferred to another post by Zhao Yuanxun, Madam Xie visit every few days, fearing that if anything happened to the old lady or Zhao Ruxi, there would be no one to take care of them.

Xu Xue would come along whenever she had free time.

The old lady already had a good impression of Madam Xie and Xu Xue, and after spending time with them, she liked the mother and daughter even more. She didn't want to bring trouble to the Xu Family. But Zhao Ruyu couldn't be left undisciplined.

She believed that even if Zhao Jing'an didn't do anything, as long as these words reached Zhao Ruyu's ears, Zhao Ruyu would definitely restrain herself.

"I..." Zhao Jing'an felt like he had a lot to say, but now he couldn't utter a single word.

Because the old lady's words were all reasonable, he had no way to refute them.

He subconsciously looked at Zhao Jingli, wanting his elder brother to speak up for him and smooth things over, but remembering what the old lady had just said, he lowered his head in shame.

Zhao Jingli also harbored resentment towards Zhao Ruyu during this period.

Zhao Ruyu's entanglement with Fu Yunlang occurred before the family division, and after the division, he couldn't interfere much in Zhao Ruyu's affairs. After all, it's reasonable for a woman to want to marry into a good family. As long as Zhao Ruyu came home on time and didn't go too far in her interactions with Fu Yunlang, he would turn a blind eye.

Now that Zhao Ruyu's marriage to Fu Yunlang has fallen through, she'll focus on her studies, and he, like Zhao Rurui, will arrange a marriage for her. He'll provide a dowry, which will be difficult, but he'll give more if his family has enough, and less if they don't; at least she'll receive something.

But now Zhao Ruyu has stopped going to school and spends all her time dressing up and going out, I don't know what she's doing, so naturally he's unhappy about it.

But he was a boy, neither a girl nor an elder, so there were some things that were really difficult to say to Zhao Ruyu.

Now that the old lady has pointed this out, allowing Zhao Jing'an to properly discipline Zhao Ruyu, he felt that couldn't be better.

Zhao Jingli immediately took charge of the household, but in the end, he was only a boy under sixteen years old. The heavy burden of the family rested on his shoulders, while his younger brother Zhao Jing'an, who was born on the same day as him, did not have to worry about anything. He was not without complaints.

Therefore, he kept his head down, not even glancing at Zhao Jing'an, and did not say anything to smooth things over for him.

Seeing everyone fall silent and the atmosphere become awkward, and considering that the two brothers would be entertaining guests for Zhao Ruxi later, Zhu Lady Zhu spoke up, "Jing'an, your grandmother doesn't want you to kick Miss Yu out. It's just that she's the one you want to keep, so you have to take responsibility for disciplining her. You can't just ignore everything and dump all the responsibilities on your older brother. Your older brother is only a short time older than you; can you really bear to see him worrying like an old man every day?"

Zhao Jing'an looked up at Zhao Jingli, and seeing that Zhao Jingli was keeping his head down and not speaking, he replied with shame, "Yes, Aunt, I remember."

He bowed to the old lady again. "Grandmother's words are wise. Jing'an was ignorant before, but after Grandmother's guidance, Jing'an will definitely correct his ways."

The old lady nodded. "It's good that you can reflect on your mistakes and correct them. Don't worry, we'll keep an eye out for your marriages. We hope you can marry good wives."

Although the family had separated, and even signed a severance document with the third branch of the family, the second and third branches were not doing well, so Zhao Yuanxun, as their uncle, was obligated to take care of them.

Therefore, it's crucial to find these two brothers virtuous and capable wives. Otherwise, a whole host of problems will arise.

"Alright, you two go to the front yard first. Judging by the time, the two gentlemen should be arriving soon," Lady Zhu said with a smile.

The two then said their goodbyes and left.

Walking silently towards the front yard, Zhao Jing'an thought about everything that had happened in the family since his mother's death, and the life of the second branch of the family after the division of property. The more he thought about it, the more ashamed he felt. He couldn't help but say to Zhao Jingli, "Brother, have I caused you a lot of trouble?"

Zhao Jingli sighed and patted Zhao Jing'an on the shoulder, "Putting everything else aside, you'll have to worry about Sixth Sister's matter. There's something Grandmother said that's very true. Because of you, I really can't interfere too much in Sixth Sister's affairs, otherwise you and she will both feel that I can't tolerate her. It's not easy for me to manage this family, and her situation makes it even more difficult for me."

Although he was the eldest brother, and his personality was very much like Zhao Yuanxun in his youth, he always took his younger siblings as his responsibility. But he was still a young man at heart, not yet at the point of being able to tolerate everything. His spirit was still there, and he would still say what needed to be said.

"Yes, I'll talk to her about it when we get back," Zhao Jing'an said.

The two went to the library in the front yard and saw Zhao Ruxi sitting there practicing calligraphy.

Hearing Qingfeng's greeting, Zhao Ruxi looked up and smiled, "You two should continue reading. I wonder when Lord Qi and Master Gan will arrive."

Qi Xugu is the Minister of Ministry of Revenue. He has a lot of work to do in the government office and is usually very busy. He often can't leave the office immediately after finishing his work, so his arrival time is unpredictable.

"Alright, let's read. Fifth Sister, please do as you please," Zhao Jingli said.

Zhao Ruxi nodded and then focused on practicing her calligraphy without saying anything more.

After she finished writing a passage, took two steps back, and began to summarize what was good and what was bad about her calligraphy, she heard Zhao Jing'an exclaim "Ah!"

She turned her head and looked in the direction of the sound, and saw Zhao Jing'an standing not far behind her, staring intently at the calligraphy she was writing.

"This... you wrote it?" Zhao Jing'an murmured.

Zhao Jingli walked over with a book in his hand and said, "Nonsense, weren't you reading what Fifth Sister wrote?"

He walked closer, leaned in to take a look at Zhao Ruxi's handwriting, and a look of surprise appeared on his face. "Oh, it's been a while, Fifth Sister, your handwriting is completely different from before."

From the provincial examination to the metropolitan examination, Zhao Ruxi spent most of her time reading and less time practicing calligraphy and painting. When Zhao Jingli occasionally came over, he always saw her reading and hadn't seen her practice calligraphy in a long time. It could be said that Zhao Jingli hadn't seen her handwriting since Zhao Ruxi Xiao Ruotong gave him that calligraphy lesson.

That's why he was so surprised at that moment.