Zhao Ruyu

It's true, you can't rely on others; you have to rely on yourself. If he had a salary, would he need to ask his son for money?

Thinking of this, Zhao Yuanliang shook his head and made up his mind to send Zhao Ruyu fewer things in the future.

She chose this path herself; whether she lives it well or not is entirely up to fate. They're too busy taking care of themselves to help her.

The old woman went to the kitchen to make some pastries, and then took them to the Prince Jingping's Estate to request an audience with the fourth young master's concubine, Concubine Zhao.

"Go away, go away! My aunt doesn't allow anyone to visit her." The people from the Prince Jingping's Estate wanted to drive this old woman away as soon as they saw her.

Because of this Concubine Zhao, the Princess Consort of the Prince of Jingping had a huge outburst at the Fourth Young Master, and the Fourth Young Mistress cried until her eyes were swollen and she fell ill that very day. The Princess Consort even had to apologize to her family, which made the Prince Jingping's Estate lose all face.

Unfortunately, the Zhao Family was oblivious to the situation and kept sending the Prince's mansion cheap, worthless pastries, as if their daughter were some kind of precious treasure.

If she were truly so precious, why would she go to such lengths to become someone's concubine?

Everyone in the Prince Jingping's Estate's Mansion is extremely dissatisfied with the new Concubine Zhao.

"Young master, it's like this. My fifth daughter has been betrothed to Prince of Qi Consort of the Prince of Qi. So the family wants me to send a message to the sixth daughter so that she can share in Gao Xing Gao Xing," the old woman said with a forced smile.

Last time she came to deliver something, she spent two hundred coins to bribe the master, and then reported the expense to the eldest young master. This time, she asked the master for five qian of silver, but she didn't intend to use the money for bribes. She knew that the fifth young lady was promising and would become a princess consort in the future, a position even higher than that of the princess consort of the Prince Jingping's Estate's Mansion.

Upon hearing her words, the Prince Jingping's Estate would have no choice but to invite her in politely; there was no need to spend money on bribes.

Fifth Sister is truly admirable. Fourth and Sixth Sisters, on the other hand, willingly accept their lowly status.

Sure enough, after the old woman said that, the young gatekeeper of the Prince Jingping's Estate dared not reprimand her anymore. He looked at the old woman with suspicion and said, "Is what you said true? Let me tell you, if you lie about an imperial edict, you'll be beheaded. Not only you, but your entire mansion of masters and servants will be finished."

"No, no, I wouldn't dare to lie about an imperial edict even if I had the guts of a bear and the gall of a leopard. Everything I said is true. Just before I came here, a palace eunuch went to the Earl of Suiping's Residence to deliver the edict. If you don't believe me, go in and ask your master." the old woman said.

Seeing that the old woman was so confident and didn't seem flustered at all, the gatekeeper believed her to some extent.

If that's the case, that annoying Concubine Zhao might have a chance to turn the tables.

The Princess Consort's status was even a rank lower than that of the Consort of the Prince of Qi, not to mention that the Fourth Young Mistress's family was far inferior to that of the Prince Jingping's Estate. Once Concubine Zhao's cousin became the Consort of the Prince of Qi, Concubine Zhao's status, even if not as high as the Fourth Young Mistress's, wouldn't be much lower. How could the Princess Consort and the Fourth Young Mistress dare to treat Concubine Zhao with disrespect?

"Wait," he said, then ran inside.

The remaining gatekeepers dared not neglect her and invited the old woman into the hall to sit down, even serving her a cup of tea.

At this moment, Consort of Prince of Jingping was listening to her husband, who had just finished court, mention this matter, her face filled with complex emotions.

"Are we just going to let this little brat run wild in the mansion?" she said unwillingly.

If Zhao Ruyu had been chosen by her son and brought into the household after consulting her, she wouldn't have had such a strong opinion of Zhao Ruyu. But Zhao Ruyu willingly stooped to such lowliness, actually using her beauty to seduce her son, who then secretly carried her into the household in a sedan chair that evening.

When she received the news that evening, she rushed over and asked her son to take Zhao Ruyu back. Her usually obedient son actually defied her under Zhao Ruyu's tearful onslaught and insisted on keeping Zhao Ruyu.

This made Consort of Prince of Jingping feel no goodwill towards Zhao Ruyu whatsoever. Adding to this, her newlywed daughter-in-law fell ill because of it, and she had to send someone to her in-laws' house to apologize. She truly hated Zhao Ruyu.

She had originally planned to use tricks to torment Zhao Ruyu, but now that Zhao Ruyu's cousin had been betrothed to the Consort of the Prince of Qi, she couldn't bring herself to harm Zhao Ruyu no matter what.

"You said she was also a student at the Capital Women's Academy, and before the Earl of Suiping's Residence's family was demoted and divided, she was at least a well-bred young lady raised in a Marquis's household. How could she willingly follow Brother Jie without any status or title? Is this woman really born lowly, just like her background?" Consort of Prince of Jingping said.

"Don't think about these things. Just treat her politely from now on. As long as we don't waste time, no one can say anything about us going," Prince of Jingping comforted his wife.

Consort of Prince of Jingping's eyes flickered, but she remained silent.

She had investigated and found that Zhao Ruyu and the future Consort of the Prince of Qi, Zhao Ruxi, did not have a good relationship, whether it was due to a swap of identities or something else. After the family split up, they had even less contact.

Zhao Ruyu has willingly fallen so low as to come here as a concubine. Even if Zhao Ruxi hears that she is not doing well, she probably won't stand up for her.

Of course, Consort of Prince of Jingping wouldn't be so foolish as to punish a concubine in a way that would be noticed and give others ammunition to criticize her.

Upon hearing the report from the servant, Consort of Prince of Jingping said, "Have someone properly escort that old woman to see Concubine Zhao. Be polite to her. In the future, if the Zhao Family sends anyone to deliver things or messages, you only need to inform me, and they can pass through. Don't make things difficult for them."

Prince of Jingping nodded in satisfaction upon hearing his wife's actions.

When the old woman entered Zhao Ruyu's courtyard, she was playing the zither.

She used to play the piano so much that she almost threw up because she wanted the Beauty Pill, but after getting Beauty Pill, she refused to touch the piano again.

Xiao Sijie now enjoys listening to her piano playing. She can't go to school or run around here, and staying in this small courtyard is really unbearable. To relieve her boredom, she's playing the piano again.

"This old servant has come to congratulate the Sixth Miss." The old woman bowed as soon as she entered, her face beaming with joy.

Zhao Ruyu was taken aback and asked the old woman, "What's the good news?" She secretly hoped that Zhao Jingli had been promoted again, or that the second wife had received some great benefit.

"The fifth daughter of the Earl's family has been betrothed to Prince of Qi by the Emperor and will become his Consort of the Prince of Qi. Congratulations, sixth daughter!"

Zhao Ruyu stood there stunned. "What did you say? Say it again."

The old woman repeated what she had just said.

Zhao Ruyu: "..."

When the old woman saw Zhao Ruyu's expression change drastically, and that instead of showing any joy, she looked as if she had been dealt a blow, she immediately curled her lip.

Seeing how impatient you were, hastily getting married; seeing how you willingly degraded yourself to become someone's concubine. Now you realize how terribly wrong you were, don't you?

Whether it's the fourth or sixth daughter, if they had just made it this far, thanks to the fifth daughter, they would definitely have found good marriages. Now that they've both become concubines, no matter how powerful their families are, they won't get much benefit. Do you think their husbands' families will actually elevate them to the status of legitimate wives?

"Sixth Miss," she called out.

Zhao Ruyu, looked at the old woman with a complicated expression, and uttered a few words with difficulty. "Congratulations to Fifth Miss for me."