Mutual Affection

He glanced at Liu Hongyu, Cai Yaozong, and Li Li, who had just come out. "I heard you were bullied here?"

Seeing the three men's embarrassed expressions, Zhao Ruxi laughed and said, "Your junior sister is quite formidable; who can bully me? Even you gentlemen aren't that kind of person."

Hearing the last sentence, the three of them finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Liu Hongyu introduced Li Li and then invited Wu Zong into the yamen.

Next, Wu Zong acted in an official capacity, listened to the reports from Liu Hongyu and others, and then personally went to the surrounding areas to take a look around. After having dinner, he went to the Zhao Residence to pay his respects to Lady Zhu.

Lady Zhu was over forty years old, ten years older than Wu Zong. She knew the female elders of Wu Zong's family, so the two of them didn't feel awkward when they met.

After chatting for a while, Zhao Ruxi said, "Senior brother, you haven't seen my new house yet, have you? How about I show you around?"

With her keen observation skills, she hadn't forgotten the slight unease that flashed across Wu Zong's face when she saw Wu Zong that morning and mentioned their master and the others. Now, her gossipy nature was burning brightly, and she wanted to subtly probe for news about Wu Zong and Xiao Ruotong.

Wu Zong didn't have much to say to Lady Zhu; his purpose in coming to the Zhao Residence was to speak with Zhao Ruxi. Zhao Ruxi's suggestion was exactly what he wanted to hear.

He got up to say goodbye to Lady Zhu, and left the courtyard with Zhao Ruxi, where they strolled around the Zhao Residence.

"Junior Sister, this house is nicely furnished, but can you manage living here all by yourself?" Wu Zong was surprised by the spaciousness of Zhao Ruxi's house.

"My mother bought it for me, saying it would provide a place for Master and Sister Ruotong to stay when they come. I invited Master to come and visit, so I couldn't very well ask him to stay at an inn, could I? If my father and brother weren't away, I would have offered you a place to stay too, Senior Brother."

At this point, she scolded, "You should have told me beforehand, so I could have prepared a house for you."

Wu Zong waved his hand. "I'm fine staying at the post station. I'm very busy with official duties at the yamen, and I only came here on a whim after seeing my master off and realizing I had nothing to do these past two days. I won't be staying long; I'll be going back the day after tomorrow."

There are only two women in Zhao Ruxi's house now, Zhao Ruxi and Lady Zhu, so it's not appropriate for Wu Zong to stay there. He plans to stay at the post station tonight.

The post station had rooms specially arranged for officials, complete with cooks and servants, so staying there was quite convenient. It was only for two nights, so there weren't many formalities. Wu Zong had even stayed in dilapidated temples when he went to the countryside to investigate cases before.

"Did Master and the others have fun? You and Sister Ruotong..." Zhao Ruxi blinked her big eyes and looked at Wu Zong without continuing.

"You," Wu Zong pointed at her with his finger, "I'm telling you, you're not even married yet, why are you worrying so much?"

"Because you and Sister Ruotong are like family to me, that's why I care about you." Zhao Ruxi said sweetly.

Wu Zong said helplessly, "Master and the others had a lot of fun, and they even made plans to come see you and me again in the autumn. As for County Princess of Qingyang..."

He gazed at the setting sun, his eyes softening. "Don't worry, I've already made arrangements with her. Once she gets her family's approval, I'll send someone to propose marriage."

Zhao Ruxi's eyes widened.

That's incredibly fast!

Seeing his junior sister's eyes widen in a cute, kitten-like way, a stark contrast to her earlier domineering demeanor in the yamen, Wu Zong laughed and couldn't help but pat her head, "What kind of expression is that?"

"What a surprise! I'm both shocked and delighted!" Zhao Ruxi pointed to her eyes, "Look into my sincere eyes."

Wu Zong looked over and met a pair of bright eyes that seemed to be filled with gossip.

"Tell me quickly, senior brother, why did you change your mind?" Zhao Ruxi asked excitedly.

Wu Zong turned his face away uncomfortably, gazing at the lotus buds in the pond, and said, "Before I was married, I greatly admired the spirit of County Princess of Qingyang's calligraphy. Later, I met her once by chance. She was still young then, but her temperament was ethereal, perfectly matching my image of a calligrapher. At that time, I thought to myself, if I could have such a beautiful and talented woman by my side in this life, my life would be complete."

"But just as this thought crossed my mind, I saw a handsome young man talking to her, and the two seemed perfectly matched. Soon after, news came that she was engaged to the heir of the Duke of Ying. I laughed at my own wishful thinking, and since my family wanted to arrange a marriage for me, I put aside my feelings and agreed."

He glanced at Zhao Ruxi: "You know what happened next."

Zhao Ruxi asked in confusion, "But last time I said that Sister Ruotong wanted to marry you, why did you refuse?"

"I misunderstood at the time. I always felt that she still had feelings for Wei Zheng, but was only looking for a suitable person to marry because of family pressure."

At this point, Wu Zong gave a self-deprecating laugh, "You don't know, my deceased wife married someone else while she was in love with him. She was always depressed after the marriage. I'm afraid of this kind of marriage, even if the person I marry is someone I once admired."

He sighed, "Perhaps my senior brother is too cowardly."

"How could that be? People who have been hurt will naturally avoid the same kind of hurt; it's a self-preservation instinct," Zhao Ruxi comforted him. "Senior brother, you were overthinking it back then. Sister Ruotong has already let go of that person; otherwise, she wouldn't have considered marriage."

"Yes, she told me about it when she went to Linjiang this time."

Wu Zong looked at Zhao Ruxi: "I have to thank you for this. The County Princess of Qingyang said that if it were in the past, she would never have mentioned it again after being rejected. Not only would she not have mentioned it, she would have avoided me completely. She has her own pride."

"But you once told her that one should not have regrets in life. If you want something, you should try your best to get it; even if you don't get it, you will have no regrets as long as you have tried. After thinking it over, she took the opportunity of coming to Linjiang Prefecture to have a thorough talk with me."

"Did I say such a thing to her?" Zhao Ruxi was confused.

She had said so many things to Xiao Ruotong, and somehow she had instilled this kind of inspirational wisdom in her. Fortunately, Xiao Ruotong remembered it and took action to preserve her own beautiful marriage.

"Never mind, that's not important." She waved her hand dismissively, smiled, and bowed to Wu Zong. "Congratulations, Senior Brother, you've achieved your wish and won the heart of your beauty."

Wu Zong returned the greeting. "Thank you, Junior Sister. If the marriage goes through, County Princess of Qingyang and I will certainly give you a generous gift to thank the matchmaker."

"Haha, all you need to do is send me your best work, I only like that one." Zhao Ruxi took the opportunity to extort money.

"You wish," Wu Zong glanced at her sideways, "We'll just send you a big pig's head."

"No way? Senior brother, you're repaying kindness with enmity." Zhao Ruxi took a step back, her face full of horror.