Refusal

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ruxi frowned.

Originally, these two were ranked first and fifth in the provincial examination, respectively, and were very likely to become top-ranking scholars. They were on par with Zhao Ruxi, who ranked second in the provincial examination. It would have been excellent for them to get to know each other and become friends.

Furthermore, ancient scholars who passed the imperial examinations placed particular emphasis on camaraderie among those who passed in the same year. Those who passed the examinations in the same year were considered "fellow graduates."

Since we all entered officialdom together, starting from roughly the same point, this is fate, and also a very important network of connections, completely different from previous classmates and friends.

That same year, since we were both going to take up official positions, we had a lot in common. When we encountered problems in office, we could write to each other to discuss them, or confide our frustrations and worries. Moreover, no one was sure if the other would become successful in the future, so we tried our best to befriend each other, support one another, share information, and make progress together.

Therefore, if Zhao Ruxi were a man, befriending these two would be entirely beneficial.

But Zhao Ruxi is a woman, so the situation is different.

She didn't know what kind of person Lu Shanchu was, but she knew that Duan Chen was a young and handsome man. Although she didn't know whether he was married or engaged, Zhao Ruxi always suspected that his motives for coming to her door were impure.

She had no intention of getting involved with these people in matters of the heart or marriage, so it was best to avoid contact to prevent people from overthinking and causing unnecessary trouble. Besides, she also cared about her reputation.

Zhao Ruxi handed the invitation to Dianjiang: "Don't go out today. Reply to all these invitations. Tell them I'm busy, there are no men in the house, and it's inconvenient for me to receive their visits. I also don't have time to attend the literary gathering."

Because of her cleverness, Dianjiang has been given special attention by Zhao Ruxi. In the past two years, she has been working hard to learn to read, write, and do arithmetic, and now she can handle things on her own.

However, such matters were usually handled by Qingfeng. Now that Qingfeng is going out with Zhao Ruxi, this task has been handed over to Dianjiang.

Dianjiang blushed with excitement, took the invitation, and bowed respectfully to Zhao Ruxi: "Yes, this servant will certainly handle this matter well."

Zhao Ruxi turned to the gatekeeper and said, "I'm going to the Kang Residence. If someone from the Ministry of Rites comes looking for me while I'm not home, you should go to the Kang Residence to find me."

"Yes, miss." The gatekeeper didn't know why the people from the Ministry of Rites had come to see his young lady, but he still agreed and kept it firmly in mind.

After a meal, in a two-courtyard house in the south of the city, a servant hurriedly entered a courtyard, stood at the door, and called out, "Young Master."

"Come in." A clear, melodious voice rang out from inside the room.

A servant went in and handed over what he was carrying. "A reply from the Earl of Suiping's Residence."

Duan Chen was holding a book when he heard this. He was delighted, quickly took the reply, and opened it to read.

His face immediately fell in disappointment.

He asked, "Wen Yue, are you sure you've found out? Is it true that Zhao Zhiwei isn't engaged to anyone?"

A servant who had been inside the room quickly stepped forward and said, "I've found out. This Zhao Zhiwei is a celebrity in the capital, she's caused quite a stir, and her life story is quite legendary, so people in the capital's teahouses are talking about her with great interest. I've inquired around these past few days and I'm certain she's not engaged."

Duan Chen pointed to the reply on the table and said sullenly, "But she directly rejected my visit."

"Her father is an official in another region, and her younger brother has gone with him to his post. There's no male head of the household, so it's indeed inconvenient to receive male guests," the servant quickly offered an excuse. "It's not that we look down on you, young master."

Duan Chen's ancestors were considered to be from a middle-class family in Jiangnan. His father passed the imperial examination and became a magistrate in a wealthy county in Anzhou Province. Duan Chen was intelligent from a young age. He became a student of a famous teacher in Jiangnan at the age of seven. He became the top scholar in the provincial examination at sixteen and the top scholar in the metropolitan examination at seventeen. In addition, he ranked first in the county examination and the prefectural examination. He was not only a sure-fire "minor tri-crown" (a top scholar in the imperial examination), but also about to achieve the "major tri-crown" (a top scholar in the imperial examination).

Having achieved so much at such a young age, Duan Chen has very high standards; he looks down on most people. His family arranged marriages for him with women of all kinds, such as the most talented woman in Jiangnan and the most beautiful woman in Jiangnan, but he rejected them all.

Upon arriving in the capital, he heard about Zhao Zhiwei's many achievements and deeds, and learned that she was unmarried, so he included her in his consideration. When he met her yesterday, he found that Zhao Zhiwei was extremely beautiful, and that she was exactly his type. He felt that she was his destined one. Today, he couldn't wait to send her a visiting card, and to show his sincerity, he even went to see her in person.

I was surprised to be rejected.

Although he was arrogant, he wasn't immune to advice. He didn't believe Zhao Zhiwei meant she didn't like him. The reason she refused was definitely the one the servant had mentioned.

He nodded and said, "What you say makes sense. Here's what we'll do: you take two people and, starting tomorrow afternoon, stay at the entrance of the alley where the Earl of Suiping's Residence is located, and find out where Miss Zhiwei is. Then we'll bump into her outside and express our feelings."

"Young Master really has a way," Wen Yue quickly flattered him.

The same situation played out in a small courtyard in the west of the city that Lu Shanchu had rented.

They were inquiring about Zhao Ruxi, and many young ladies in the capital were also inquiring about them.

Princess Xiangyang Xiao Ruoyu of Xiangyang was the most outstanding among them.

Consort Jin truly loved this daughter and had been looking for a husband for her for several years. Unfortunately, Xiao Ge always said that Xiangyang was too young and not settled yet, so it was not appropriate for her to get engaged so early. Recently, when Xiao Ruoyu came of age, Consort Jin asked Xiao Ge, Xiao Ge told her to choose a husband from among the newly appointed scholars.

As Xiao Ge's favored concubine for over a decade, Consort Jin understood Xiao Ge very well. Born into a minor noble family and having spent many years in the palace, she also had some understanding of politics.

Starting with the previous emperor's generation, there was a growing fear of powerful clans, who felt that their power was being usurped by them, making them feel constrained in everything they did and forced to consider the interests of these powerful clans. Therefore, the husbands of Grand Princess Shangde and the other princesses were all from minor aristocratic families or even commoners.

For example, Grand Princess Shangde's husband was from a humble background, but he was brave and skilled in battle and made great contributions at a young age. The late emperor saw that he was handsome, intelligent, literate, and loved to study military books. After Grand Princess Shangde met him once, she did not object and married her daughter to him.

Grand Princess Shangde's husband is currently stationed in the Southern Frontier.

The Great Jin imposed many restrictions on military power. Although the imperial son-in-law commanded troops, it was not easy for him to mobilize soldiers from a large army. The imperial family would also not allow the imperial son-in-law to hold great power in the army, and would send other generals to check and balance him. Therefore, the Great Jin did not have a rule to make the imperial son-in-law a useless figurehead.