Chaos Brews

She's old and can't withstand the torment of illness. If something were to happen to her, she wouldn't care; she'd lived a long and fulfilling life. But Zhao Ruxi would have to observe a year of mourning, and her son would have to observe a three-year mourning period.

Won't that cause delays?

"Didn't Miss Xi Zhu say that Lady Zhu is capable and has earned so much money? Her existing estates, shops, and houses already constitute a substantial dowry. We can add another estate and a shop for her, along with some jewelry, clothes, furniture, and utensils, and that will be enough."

"Miss Xi said that everyone knows what kind of family fortune our Earl of Suiping's Residence used to have. Giving her too much as a dowry would easily cause trouble. It's better to keep things hidden. She even plans to keep some of her private property hidden. Miss Xi is smarter than anyone else. We just need to do as she says."

"Sigh, I know. We definitely have to listen to Miss Xi," the old lady sighed. "I'm just worried that people will laugh at her and us, saying we're poor and stingy."

"Who dares to laugh at us?" Zhao Yuanxun was more confident than anyone else at this moment. "What family's daughter can become the top scholar in the imperial examination? What family's daughter can sell a painting or a piece of calligraphy for thousands or tens of thousands of taels of silver? What we brought as a dowry was not a dowry, but talent. With this talent, not only will our children be exceptionally intelligent, but the money they earn from selling a couple of paintings will be enough to cover their dowry from their parents. Anyone who dares to laugh at us is only bringing shame upon themselves."

The old lady. "..." That makes a lot of sense.

only...

She glanced at her son.

Although as a mother, she views her son with a filter thicker than the bottom of a bottle, at this moment she feels nothing but disgust for him.

It's one thing for him to get an official position through his daughter, but now that she's getting married, he can't afford a large dowry, so he's letting her marry with her talents. Her son used to seem alright, but compared to his capable granddaughter, he seems like a good-for-nothing.

"Alright, Miss Xi knows what she's doing, we'll listen to her. But you're currently an official in Gusu and can't leave your post. What if you can't attend Miss Xi's wedding?" She looked regretful. "That would be such an honor!"

Thinking about how those who used to look down on her and her son are now shamelessly flattering them, she felt as refreshed as drinking ice water in June. But her son couldn't see this glorious moment, and not only was he disappointed, but she was too.

Zhao Yuanxun, however, said, "I have a feeling that before Miss Xi gets married, the Emperor will transfer me back to the capital."

The old lady's face lit up with surprise. "Really?"

Zhao Yuanxun glanced around the room to make sure no one else was there, and said smugly, "Now I'm practically related to the Emperor by marriage. Surely he won't let me miss my daughter's wedding, will he?"

His family isn't from Gusu. Even if Zhao Ruxi had resigned her official post and returned home to prepare for her marriage, she couldn't have married from Gusu; she should have married from the Earl of Suiping's Residence. Officials cannot leave their place of office without authorization; this is a rule of the court. The emperor can neither break the rule nor prevent him from attending his daughter's wedding, so he can only transfer him back to the capital.

"That's wonderful!" the old lady exclaimed happily.

Although Gusu is a nice place, the old lady has lived in the capital all her life and always felt that the Earl of Suiping's Residence was her true home.

Because of this, the old lady eagerly awaited the transfer document every day. She didn't expect her son to be promoted. With this incompetent and foolish son, this was the best he could do. The fact that he didn't cause any trouble in Gusu was only because Zhang Shun wanted to curry favor with her daughter, Miss Xi, and protected her son in everything.

If he's to be transferred back to the capital and expected to perform his duties well, without making mistakes or hindering Miss Xi, he'll only be able to hold a minor official position. She understands the principle of "you get what you're capable of" perfectly well.

All she wanted was to return to the capital.

But as the weather grew colder and the end of the year approached, Zhao Yuanxun's transfer documents still hadn't arrived, while Zhao Ruxi's wedding date was fast approaching.

She couldn't help but send someone to ask Zhao Ruxi.

Zhao Ruxi replied: Don't wait, it won't happen this year. Her father won't be transferred before next spring.

It wasn't that the Emperor refused, nor that her senior brother wasn't helpful; it was that Xiao Lingyan was putting pressure on her.

Because the chaos in the capital is becoming increasingly apparent.

The plot was already in chaos. Xiao Lingpu wasn't dead, and Xiao Lingyan was alive and well. They both thought the Third Prince wouldn't be so crazy as to dare to use such a drastic measure to kill the Crown Prince. However, due to the mutual framing over the assassination of Zhao Ruxi, the Crown Prince and the Third Prince's factions had been fighting fiercely for the past six months. Naturally, their faction wouldn't let the Second Prince and the Fourth Prince reap the benefits, so they dragged them into the fray as well.

Therefore, although the capital city appears to be fine on the surface, it is actually in a state of great chaos.

Not long after their engagement, Xiao Lingyan discussed the wedding date with Zhao Ruxi, wanting to postpone it until at least March or April, when the chaotic situation in the original story would have stabilized, thus ensuring Zhao Ruxi's safety to some extent.

But Zhao Ruxi disagreed.

With her around, Xiao Lingyan could rely on her special abilities to help him when he was in danger. She also wanted to save Xiao Ge's life.

She told Xiao Lingyan that the conflict between the Crown Prince and the Third Prince was caused by a frame-up attempt to assassinate her, and that the two must hate her terribly. If they sent someone to kill her before they went crazy, even with the guards sent by Xiao Lingyan and the two Imperial Guards given by the Emperor, they probably wouldn't be able to stop them.

Xiao Lingyan was worried about her, so he sent his most powerful guards to protect her, which weakened his own forces. It would be better for them to get married now, with her moving into the Prince of Qi's Residence, and their guards combined for greater security.

Regardless of their thoughts, the wedding date was not chosen by them, but by the Imperial Astronomical Bureau. After Xiao Lingyan told Xiao Ge about the approximate wedding date, the Imperial Astronomical Bureau finally selected February 16th as the wedding day.

Although February 16th is after the New Year, Zhao Ruxi had to return to the capital before the New Year to prepare for her wedding.

Zhao Ruxi didn't want her family to be in danger, so she asked Xiao Lingyan to persuade Xiao Ge to issue an imperial decree allowing Zhao Yuanxun to return for half a month to attend her wedding. After the wedding, Zhao Yuanxun would return to Gusu to continue his official duties. As for herself, she would not return to the capital until December 20th.

She was originally appointed as the prefectural magistrate by a parachute, so her departure has no impact. She can simply hand over the responsibilities she previously managed to Cai Yaozong and Li Li, which will not affect her official duties.

In the original book, the coup took place on the sixth day of the first lunar month, which was plenty of time.

That day, Xiao Lingyan came to persuade Zhao Ruxi: "Why don't you go to Gusu for the New Year? It's a big holiday, so your parents can have a reunion. You can return to the capital on the eighth day of the new year. No one says you have to go back to the capital to prepare for your wedding; going to Gusu to prepare for your wedding is the same."

"But I really don't want to see the Emperor die," Zhao Ruxi said. "Your father is a good emperor, and I hope he lives a long and healthy life."

Xiao Lingyan remained silent.

He had also developed feelings for Xiao Ge, so naturally he didn't want him to die. But he couldn't bear to let Zhao Ruxi take the risk.