An Invitation to Meet

"Don't feel guilty. These things depend on one's understanding and ability. Just because Lord Qin can't surpass his master doesn't mean he can't let others write well, right? I don't think he's that narrow-minded."

Zhao Ruxi nodded. "I hope that Lord Qin's seclusion is a moment of enlightenment, and that he can write calligraphy that surpasses his previous work."

Seeing her sincerity, Gan Lun wasn't worried that Qin Zhe's calligraphy would surpass hers after his seclusion. He nodded to himself.

This child is broad-minded and magnanimous. Truly, his calligraphy and painting reflect his personality.

"Master, besides thanking you, I've come today to learn from you how to audit accounts," Zhao Ruxi said, revealing her ultimate purpose in seeking out Gan Lun.

"As you know, I'm going to be a local official. Those old bureaucrats' accounts are so easily manipulated that you can easily fall into a trap. So could you tell me the tricks of auditing or keeping accounts?"

"Alright, no problem." Gan Lun, having received such a generous gift, naturally wouldn't refuse. "However, it can't be explained in just a few words. Have a servant go back and tell your family that not only will you be unable to return home before this evening, but you'll also have to come again tomorrow."

As he spoke, he turned and instructed his servants to send the letter home.

Zhao Ruxi also told Qingfeng to tell Ma Sheng, and added, "Go to the restaurant and order three tables of mid-range food. I'm treating the teachers from the academy to lunch."

Qingfeng accepted the order and left.

Next, Zhao Ruxi listened to Gan Lun's accounting class at the academy. As a veteran official of the Ministry of Revenue, Gan Lun was undoubtedly a leader in the field when it came to auditing accounts. He explained to Zhao Ruxi many tricks of falsifying accounts, giving examples as he spoke.

As evening approached, after enjoying the lavish dinner Zhao Ruxi had ordered at the restaurant, he said, "Explaining so much would leave most people completely confused. But you have a good memory, strong comprehension, and are good at math, so I think you should be fine. However, just explaining the theory isn't enough. Tomorrow I'll bring some account books from home, and you can practice what I taught you today to see if you truly understand."

As seasoned auditors in the Ministry of Revenue, they were always tasked with mentoring newcomers. So, when they encountered accounts that were cleverly done, they would make a copy for teaching purposes. As a result, they had quite a few of these account books at home.

Zhao Ruxi was overjoyed. "Great, thank you very much, Master Gan."

"Won't this delay your departure from Beijing?"

"It won't delay you, it won't delay you. Even if it does, it's alright. Learning your skills would make it worthwhile even if I had to wait a few days to leave the capital."

Gan Lun laughed, stood up, and said, "Alright, then we'll have class here again tomorrow."

The next day, Zhao Ruxi spent most of the day at the Beining Women's Academy. By the afternoon, she had absorbed most of the accounting knowledge that Gan Lun had learned. Only then did the two of them return to Beijing with smiles on their faces.

"Alas, although Jingli is quite talented in mathematics, he's still far inferior to Zhiwei," Gan Lun sighed to his attendant after boarding the carriage. "But Zhiwei is even better at mathematics than I am; I couldn't even take her as my apprentice. Mister Kumu is truly blessed."

"Haven't you always lamented that your vast knowledge of accounting has no one to carry it on? Although you've taken on a few apprentices, they've only learned six or seven tenths of it. Now that we have Layperson Zhiwei, you finally have a successor. I heard that after Layperson Zhiwei is transferred to another post, Mister Kumu is going to visit her. Why don't you go with Mister Kumu and relax a bit?" the attendant said.

Gan Lun's eyes lit up immediately. "That's great. I'll summarize what we missed later and explain it to Zhao Zhiwei, covering all the knowledge we didn't cover today."

As Zhao Ruxi's carriage drove out of the gate of the Beining Women's Academy, Zhao Ruyu was at home, expressionlessly opening the letter that the servant had brought in.

She recognized the handwriting on the letter; it was Fu Yunlang's.

Two months after losing contact, Fu Yunlang, for reasons unknown, sent someone to deliver this letter.

In his letter, Fu Yunlang wrote that his mother had been pressuring him to get engaged for the past two months, which he refused. As a result, he was confined to his home by his mother and unable to visit her. He had been thinking about her constantly. Now that he was finally free, he wanted to see her at the teahouse where they used to meet often, and they arranged a specific time.

After reading the letter, Zhao Ruyu sneered, threw it on the ground, and stomped on it.

If she hadn't had the system and didn't know the details of Fu Yunlang 'Fu Yunlang engagement, she might have been fooled by his sweet talk.

She even suspected that Fu Yunlang was just as shameless in her past life, completely fooling her. How could she have thought he was a good man, and even in this second life, she wanted to rekindle their past romance?

She sat there for a long time, then stood up, went inside, and carefully applied makeup to conceal some of her beauty, making her appearance closer to her original self.

She put on her best clothes, donned her veil, and said to Fushu, "Let's go to the teahouse."

"Miss..." Fushu hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.

Over the past few months, she has become increasingly unable to understand her daughter. Or rather, her daughter's various behaviors have refreshed her understanding of her daughter.

She sighed, then shut her mouth and followed Zhao Ruyu to the teahouse.

Fu Yunlang was already waiting there.

When he saw Zhao Ruyu remove the curtain, he almost didn't recognize her, his face filled with amazement. "You, you are..."

Zhao Ruyu gave a mocking smile, "Young Master Fu Er, you don't recognize me after just two months?"

"You... you are Ruyu?" Fu Yunlang exclaimed in surprise.

"Please call me Sixth Miss Zhao." Zhao Ruyu's tone was extremely cold.

"How could you..." Fu Yunlang pointed at Zhao Ruyu, utterly dejected.

"A girl changes a lot as she grows up; she was just heartbroken after being abandoned and tidied herself up a bit," Zhao Ruyu calmly.

Fu Yunlang: "..."

This is more than just tidying up; it's like becoming a completely different person.

Her eyebrows and eyes seemed to be the same as before, but they also seemed completely different; she was twice as beautiful as before.

It seems she was truly heartbroken that I didn't come to see her. She used to go out without makeup, but now she's wearing exquisite makeup and looks so beautiful.

Is she trying to win me back, or does she want me to never forget her?

Seeing Fu Yunlang's eyes darting around, Zhao Ruyu knew what he was thinking.

She walked to a chair and sat down, saying, "I came here today to tell Young Master Fu that you are already engaged, so please don't send any more letters to my residence. Don't you know that men and women shouldn't touch each other?"

Fu Yunlang: "..."

"I... I didn't do it willingly. You're the only one in my heart," he said, raising his head to look at Zhao Ruyu, his eyes filled with deep affection.

Zhao Ruyu almost felt like vomiting.

However, her purpose in coming today was not to fall out with Fu Yunlang.

Her previously indifferent and expressionless face suddenly turned sorrowful.