The Aftermath
"Your master is very worried about you. Write him a letter and let me take it back," Xiao Lingyan said again.
"Good."
Qingfeng prepared paper and pen, Zhao Ruxi got up, wrote a letter, sealed it, and handed it to Xiao Lingyan: "Thank you for your trouble, Your Highness."
The two exchanged a glance, then lowered their heads, dutifully playing the roles of an awkward, unfamiliar engaged couple, making Qingfeng and Xiao Liuzi's lips twitch.
Xiao Lingyan and the imperial physician stayed in Nanyang for half an hour, ate a meal, rested for a while, and then took their leave.
Originally, this was Lady Zhu's first time meeting Xiao Lingyan as his future mother-in-law, and she should have been Gao Xing and enthusiastic. However, because of Zhao Ruxi's assassination, Lady Zhu was still angry and did not give Xiao Lingyan a friendly look.
Xiao Lingyan, however, was very respectful to Lady Zhu and sincerely apologized, promising that such a thing would never happen again. He gave two of his maids, who were skilled in martial arts, to Zhao Ruxi. Lady Zhu was quite satisfied with his performance.
Two days after Xiao Lingyan returned to the capital, he sent a letter to Zhao Ruxi, informing her of the subsequent developments of the matter.
As expected, Xiao Ge, based on the child's testimony, concluded that the Third Prince was the instigator. He directly dismissed several officials who were subordinate to the Third Prince, clipping his wings, and canceled the duties originally assigned to the Third Prince, ordering him to stay at home and reflect on his mistakes.
The Crown Prince deeply resented the Third Prince for trying to frame him for this matter and secretly sabotaged several of the Third Prince Third Prince's businesses, causing him heavy financial losses.
The Third Prince wasn't originally responsible for this, but with witnesses and physical evidence to prove it, and the Emperor not believing him, the Third Prince felt that the Crown Prince, the Second Prince, and the Fourth Prince were all suspected of framing him. So he simply implicated whoever he could, dragging down many court officials. The capital was in chaos. Xiao Ge then used the Third Prince to remove many of the Crown Prince, the Second Prince, and the Fourth Prince's subordinates and promote the royalists.
Suddenly, all the ministers were in a state of fear, afraid to take sides. Those who had already taken sides cowered and dared not move; those who had not taken sides dared not take sides anymore. The atmosphere in the entire capital was cleaned up and rectified.
Zhao Ruxi spent ten days recuperating at home.
The reason she cut her left arm instead of her right was because she was worried that she wouldn't be able to write or draw during her recovery. Now, taking advantage of these ten days of free time, she has completed half of the drawing task that Kang Shilin assigned her, racked up a lot of points, and also asked the system to retrieve a lot of information on agricultural machinery from the modern era.
"Miss, all the ingredients for making wine have been gathered." Zhou Chun only dared to report this after Zhao Ruxi's injuries had almost healed.
Actually, these things had already been prepared and transported back when Zhao Ruxi was injured. However, Zhou Chun was worried that Zhao Ruxi, being a workaholic, would not rest and that her wound would take a long time to heal, so he delayed reporting it for several days.
Sure enough, as soon as she heard that the food was ready, Zhao Ruxi's eyes lit up, and she was eager to try it out. "Come on, take me to see it."
"Well... young lady, you need to ask Madam's permission before you can go out," Qingfeng reminded her.
Zhao Ruxi had no choice but to go to Lady Zhu and plead with her until Lady Zhu finally relented, "Then bring all the guards from your household, and have Nanny Lin accompany you."
Xiao Lingyan not only sent two maids who knew martial arts, but also kept Nanny Lin here.
Nanny Lin was no ordinary palace maid, but a female physician. She had spent her entire life in the palace assisting the imperial physicians, and could treat some simple illnesses, especially external injuries. If the concubines or princesses had injuries that were not convenient for outsiders to see, these female physicians would step in.
There aren't many skilled female physicians in the palace, so once Zhao Ruxi recovers, Nanny Lin will have to return to the capital.
This reminded Zhao Ruxi that she should train one or two maids who knew medicine. Even if they couldn't cure serious illnesses, they could still help with minor ailments or identify medicines, which would also prevent others from poisoning her.
Dianjiang understood Zhao Ruxi's meaning and volunteered to study medicine.
Xiao Lingyan sent a lot of servants to Zhao Ruxi's side, first three guards, then two maids and Nanny Lin. Zhao Ruxi's original servants were all in danger, fearing that they would no longer have a place to stand by their young lady's side.
Qingfeng was alright; her ability to check and prepare accounts was irreplaceable, and she also enjoyed the young lady's deep trust. But the others were not so good.
Without a specialized skill, it's not easy to make a living working for a girl.
Dianjiang is quick-witted and extremely intelligent. Zhao Ruxi thought it would be good for her to study medicine, as it would be safer than randomly finding someone knowledgeable in medicine to have by her side. So she planned to ask Xiao Lingyan to find a teacher for Dianjiang and send her to study for two or three years, to give her a quick training and learn the basics first.
Zhao Ruxi led a large group of more than a dozen servants out of the city to the place where the winery was to be built.
The place is no longer desolate; instead, a large courtyard has been built, surrounded by high walls. The prepared and delivered goods are stored in an empty room the size of a factory.
Zhao Ruxi directed everyone to collect the materials, tested them, and found no problems. Then she had people start brewing wine according to the brewing procedure.
For the next two days, Zhao Ruxi stayed here. After her injuries healed and she went to work at the yamen, she would still come here after work, always in a large and noisy procession. The people at the yamen found out about it within two days.
"What kind of workshop did you set up in the suburbs, Lord Zhao?" Liu Hongyu couldn't help but ask curiously.
Cai Yaozong also pricked up his ears to listen.
He used to rely on being the Crown Prince's man and didn't even put Liu Hongyu in the eyes of the government. Now he's keeping a low profile.
If Liu Hongyu or anyone in the government office disliked him, they could send someone to submit a memorial, and regardless of whether the matter was big or small, if it reached the Emperor, they would be finished.
So as soon as Zhao Ruxi arrived at the yamen, he came to her, wanting to hand over the salt affairs to her as well.
Zhao Ruxi's status is different now, but she is unwilling to touch such a lucrative position as salt administration. Therefore, she did not take it over, but only gave Cai Yaozong a warning, telling him to be less selfish in these matters and not to be too greedy. At that time, Cai Yaozong was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat and became as attentive to Zhao Ruxi as Zhou Chun.
"It's a winery," Zhao Ruxi said. "I think Nanyang glutinous rice is quite good, and I'd like to try and brew some good wine. If we can, it would be considered a specialty of Nanyang. Dong's's wine is still a bit lacking."
In the past, several officials would have certainly objected and tried to stop Zhao Ruxi.
It's worth noting that Dong's's distillery was given to Liu Hongyu, Cai Yaozong, and Chen Kang as shares. Zhao Ruxi disliked the wine, but it was still famous in Nanyang and the surrounding areas, and made a lot of money.
Zhao Ruxi's plan to build a new winery is encroaching on their profit margins.
Seeing the bloodshed and chaos in the capital over Zhao Ruxi's minor arm injury, who would dare to cause Zhao Ruxi any more trouble? Everyone put on a smiling face and said they were looking forward to the new wine being brewed.