The Second Branch
In general, for a marriage decree, regardless of whether the head of the Earl of Suiping's Residence was at home, the imperial eunuch would simply go to the mansion to read the imperial decree aloud. The servants in the mansion would then send messages to Nanyang and Gusu.
However, in order to save face for Zhao Ruxi and Zhao Yuanxun, Xiao Ge specially ordered eunuchs to go to Nanyang and Gusu to convey imperial decrees.
The next day, before the eunuch set off, Xiao Lingyan personally gave him a generous reward and asked him to make a trip to the Earl of Suiping's Residence.
Thus, the Earl of Suiping's Residence, which had no master, suddenly received an imperial eunuch who learned that his daughter had been betrothed to the Prince of Qi of Qi. The entire mansion was overjoyed. The servants who remained gave the eunuch a reward and sent people to deliver the good news to the second and third branches of the household. After thinking for a while, they also sent the good news to the Duke of Wei's Residence and the homes of several young ladies.
When Lady Su learned of this news, she was naturally Gao Xing for Zhao Ruxi.
She is now a widow and orphan, with young children, and has to rely on the Earl of Suiping's Residence for survival. The better the Earl of Suiping's Residence is, the better her life will be.
The second wife's family had very mixed feelings upon hearing the news of the arranged marriage.
It wasn't that they weren't Gao Xing for Zhao Ruxi; everyone was Gao Xing. It was just that when they thought of the two sisters, Zhao Rurui and Zhao Ruyu, the father and his two sons felt a mix of emotions.
"It's so good that my fifth sister is like this," Zhao Jing'an murmured.
He hadn't reached that level, so he wouldn't have considered the political situation. He felt that marrying a prince and becoming a princess was the highest honor for a woman, hence his sentiments.
"Yes." Zhao Yuanliang recalled the first time he met Zhao Ruxi in Little Banyan Village. At that time, he thought she was his daughter and felt guilty and wanted to make amends to her.
Unexpectedly, in just over two years, she became the top scholar in the imperial examination and was to marry a prince and become his princess, reaching a height that he could only look up to.
The imperial eunuch was going to Nanyang, so he arrived at the Earl of Suiping's Residence to deliver the decree relatively early. Zhao Jingli was just a minor official in the Ministry of Revenue, so he naturally didn't have the qualifications to attend court. At this time, he was still at home and hadn't gone to the yamen yet.
He sighed, "So whether you're a man or a woman, you should all strive for your own success and not always rely on others. Look at Fifth Sister, then look at Fourth Sister and Sixth Sister. Their starting points aren't just similar, they're vastly different. Fifth Sister used to have to be frugal with her writing materials in the countryside, and she didn't have many books to read. Fourth Sister and Sixth Sister, on the other hand, had specially hired female tutors to teach them."
"But look at their achievements today and the paths each of them has chosen..." He shook his head and didn't continue.
Zhao Yuanliang looked somewhat embarrassed.
He knew his son didn't mean any sarcasm, but he still felt as if an arrow had pierced his chest.
Zhao Jing'an was silent for a moment, then nodded, stood up and said, "Although Fifth Sister is very smart, her success today is mainly due to her hard work. She is always reading and practicing calligraphy. Whenever we visit, she is either reading or practicing calligraphy, rarely taking a break, let alone playing."
"Such a person is worthy of His Highness Prince of Qi's marriage proposal. Unlike Fourth Sister and Sixth Sister, who do nothing but think about how to marry into a good family all day long. In the end, they end up as someone's concubine. It's truly a cruel twist of fate."
He stood up and said, "I'm going to study. Next spring, I will definitely pass the imperial examination."
His actual goal was to become a Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations). However, he worried that his father and brother would say he was being unrealistic, so he lowered his expectations. After all, he had failed the Tongsheng (a lower-level imperial examination) this spring and had no right to boast.
"I'm going to the yamen too." Zhao Jingli was also full of fighting spirit, determined to study mathematics even harder and become an indispensable official in the Ministry of Revenue.
Watching his two sons' retreating figures, Zhao Yuanliang asked, "Should we send someone to tell your fourth and sixth sisters about this?"
Zhao Jingli paused, glancing at Zhao Jing'an.
Zhao Jing'an nodded with his head down. "Alright, tell them, let them know what ambitious women can achieve."
To be honest, when Zhao Jing'an learned that Zhao Ruyu had also become someone's concubine and saw the letters she left behind, Zhao Jing'an was the one who was most shocked.
He always believed that Zhao Ruyu was his twin sister, and that they had grown up together and were very close. Even after he learned that Zhao Ruyu was not a child of the Zhao Family, he was still willing to do everything he could to protect her.
Despite his disappointment with Zhao Ruyu after the family split, his feelings for her over the years could not be erased.
He never expected Zhao Ruyu to choose this path.
Zhao Ruyu is different from Zhao Rurui. Although she is not a biological daughter of the Zhao Family, she is more beautiful and has a better personality than Zhao Rurui. She is also a student at the Capital Women's Academy and has excellent musical skills. Given the personalities of the second branch of the family, she will naturally have a dowry when she gets married. If she is willing, she can definitely marry into a relatively good family.
But she insisted on becoming someone's concubine.
What makes a man who takes a concubine after only one month of marriage worth her sacrificing her dignity to spend her life with?
Zhao Jing'an couldn't understand it.
Seeing that one of his sons had returned to his own courtyard and the other had left through the gate, Zhao Yuanliang summoned the old woman in the house and said, "Tell the kitchen to make some pastries that the Sixth Miss likes and send them to the Prince Jingping's Estate. Also, tell her about the Fifth Miss's arranged marriage."
The old woman said reluctantly, "Master, the people from the Prince Jingping's Estate said that the Sixth Miss is just a concubine. They said they don't know what the rules are in our mansion, but concubines in their mansion are not allowed to deliver things to the outside all day long. They told us not to send anything to their mansion anymore. Although their mansion may not be a place of luxury, at least the concubine won't go hungry."
"Last time, this old servant spent half a tael of silver to bribe the gatekeeper, and even wore myself out trying, before finally managing to get the things in. And yet, I haven't received a single response."
"Since the Fifth Miss is in the Prince's residence, the Sixth Miss will find out about the Fifth Miss's good news sooner or later. In my opinion, let's just let it go for now."
Zhao Yuanliang's face darkened. "What, you think I can't order you around? Do I need your permission to send things or messages to my daughter?"
"I wouldn't dare," the old woman quickly knelt down. "This old servant will do as Master orders. But the money for this favor is just too little; I only have a small monthly allowance, and I have to support my family. I really can't afford it."
Zhao Yuanliang glared at her, angry for a long while, before finally pulling out a small piece of silver from his pocket and throwing it in front of the old woman. "Go quickly."
"Yes." The old woman picked up the silver, bowed, and then withdrew.
Zhao Yuanliang spat at her retreating figure, then touched the silver in his pocket, looking pained.
The eldest son was in charge of the household, and he was given a monthly allowance of ten taels of silver. He usually didn't dare to go to restaurants to drink with his group of cronies, for fear of having to reciprocate their hospitality. Besides his own expenses, he sometimes had to use his ten taels of silver to appease his concubine with a cheap piece of jewelry, so he was really strapped for cash.