You're Not Zhao Ruxi!
The old lady and the first lady had never cared about the students sent from various places, since no one in their family had been admitted to the Women's Academy.
Now that Xu Xi was here, the First Madam asked with concern, "Are there many students sent from all over the country? What are the requirements for being admitted to the Capital Women's Academy?"
Zhao Ruyu smiled and said, "I heard that you need to be exceptionally outstanding, achieving first grade in all subjects, to even be eligible to take the exam. Once you come to the capital, you'll have to take two more exams, and only the best of the best will be selected, with only ten chosen in the end."
She raised her head, her gaze sweeping over Xu Xi's face subtly before lowering her eyes and continuing, "This is also to prevent some people from taking a roundabout approach, thinking that the Capital Women's Academy is too difficult to get into, so they try to study at lower-level Capital Women's Academy and then advance through the process. The increased difficulty of advancement has prohibited this practice."
At this point, she smiled gently at Xu Xi: "Sister, don't take it to heart, I wasn't talking about you. You're certainly not in that situation."
"Ah, thank goodness you explained, otherwise I would have thought you were being sarcastic." Xu Xi patted her chest, looking frightened. "It's good that you didn't, otherwise I would have felt really bad. I grew up in the countryside, my family was poor, it was difficult to even buy a pen or ink, let alone music or chess. Now I'm already incredibly lucky to have been admitted to the county Women's Academy, I don't even dare to dream of the Capital Women's Academy. Without several thousand taels of silver to hire a teacher, I probably wouldn't even be able to get through the door."
Zhao Ruyu choked, her smile freezing on her face.
The old lady glanced at Zhao Ruyu, then at Xu Xi, but said nothing.
The First Madam remained silent, but she already harbored resentment towards Zhao Ruyu.
Zhao Ruyu wasn't a daughter of a marquis's family; she was adopted and raised in luxury by a twist of fate, essentially stealing Xu Xi's good life and resources. Not only did she feel no remorse, but she even openly mocked Xu Xi to his face—it was truly unethical.
This is purely the result of a petty person gaining power.
She said to the old lady, "Mother, it's getting late, it's time for dinner. I imagine my sister-in-law is waiting for the two children to go home. Why don't you let them go back, and I'll serve you the meal?"
Because Zhao Ruyu's admission to the Capital Women's Academy was a joyous occasion, the mansion was not only decorated with lanterns and streamers, but also planned to hold a family banquet that evening to celebrate. After a few days of rest, when everyone was free, the mansion would host another banquet for relatives and friends. This would serve two purposes: first, to publicly acknowledge Xu Xi's status and let everyone know that the Marquis's second branch had such a legitimate daughter; and second, to inform everyone that Zhao Ruyu and Xu Xi had been admitted to the Women's Academy. Once the news spread, good families would consider arranging marriages with the Marquis's family.
Seeing Zhao Ruyu's condition, the First Madam decided to cancel the family banquet. The food prepared in the kitchen could be distributed directly to each room, so there would be no waste.
In truth, the First Madam is the mistress of the Marquis's mansion, and the Old Madam and she get along well. Since Lady Zhu has already spoken, the Old Madam naturally won't refuse her request.
"Alright, you should go quickly, lest your mother wait anxiously for you," the old lady said with a smile.
Zhao Ruyu was quite surprised by their attitude.
She had always felt that the Old Madam and the First Madam were opportunistic and only concerned with the future of the Marquis's mansion. She had been admitted to the Capital Women's Academy, and even the eldest daughter of the First Madam, let alone Xu Xi, a concubine's daughter, would likely be ranked below her in the Old Madam and the First Madam's eyes. She believed that even if she had done something more egregious, the Old Madam and the First Madam would have turned a blind eye because of the immense benefits she brought to the Marquis's mansion, let alone her minor offense to Xu Xi.
But the situation was completely different from what she expected.
After bowing to Xu Xi and leaving the main courtyard, she couldn't help but turn around and take a good look at Xu Xi.
Xu Xi raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile, "What's wrong?"
Seeing that the old woman guarding the gate was not there, and that Fushu and Qingfeng were quite far away, Zhao Ruyu suddenly took a step closer, looked directly into Xu Xi's eyes, and asked in a low voice, "Who are you? You are not Zhao Ruxi!" Her tone was very certain.
Xu Xi tilted her head, looking at her with a puzzled expression, and asked, "I'm not Zhao Ruxi?" Then she smiled brightly, "That's right, I'm not Zhao Ruxi, I'm Xu Xi. You like the surname Zhao, so here you go."
Without waiting for Zhao Ruyu's reaction, she turned and walked towards the Tea Tasting Residence.
Zhao Ruyu stood there, her expression unreadable, and remained motionless for a long time.
Although Xu Xi didn't admit it, Zhao Ruyu was certain that this person was not the Zhao Ruxi she knew in her previous life. She had either been reborn like herself, or her soul had been replaced.
Because she assumed Zhao Ruxi's identity, in the entire Marquis's mansion in her previous life, no one cared about Zhao Ruxi more than her. She knew Zhao Ruxi's expressions, manners, and way of doing things very clearly.
Even if a person is reborn, their personality won't undergo a complete transformation; there will always be some trace of it. But she couldn't see a single trace of Zhao Ruxi from her previous life in Xu Xi.
Therefore, the probability of it being a different soul is higher.
Seeing Zhao Ruyu in a daze, Fushu assumed she had been bullied by Xu Xi, so she stepped forward to support Zhao Ruyu and comforted her, saying, "Miss, you've been admitted to the Capital Women's Academy, so even the Old Madam and the First Madam wouldn't dare to mistreat you. If Fifth Miss does anything excessive, don't hold back; just stand up for her. In the future, she might even need you to support her."
Zhao Ruyu snapped out of her daze and smiled proudly.
Of course! So what if Zhao Ruxi isn't the same Zhao Ruxi from her past life? She's not Zhao Ruyu from her past life either. In her past life, she lived a better life than Zhao Ruxi; in this life, she's starting from a higher point. Even if Zhao Ruxi is replaced by someone else, she still can't compare to her. What's there to fear?
"Let's go." She turned and walked towards the second room.
Fushu turned her head and asked Zhao Ruyu in confusion, "Isn't Fifth Miss going back to the second house for dinner?"
Tea Tasting Residence, Matron Yuan asked the same question.
Xu Xi waved his hand and said to Dianjiang, "Go get the food."
Dianjiang glanced at Matron Yuan, agreed, and turned to leave the room.
"Young lady, we can't be willful. No matter what, the Second Madam is still your biological mother. If you fall out with her, people will only say you are unfilial," Matron Yuan advised earnestly.
"No need to persuade me anymore, I know what I'm doing," Xu Xi said calmly.
If it were anyone else, Xu Xi said that, even if the servant had a lot to say, they wouldn't keep nagging, lest they annoy their master.
However, Matron Yuan, relying on being sent by the old lady and having the responsibility to teach and discipline Xu Xi, did not truly regard Xu Xi as her master, and her attitude was inevitably somewhat disrespectful.
She didn't shut up, continuing to ramble on, "This isn't called having any sense of propriety. Fifth Miss, it's not that this old servant is trying to criticize you. Every family has its own rules. Not only our Marquis's mansion, but people throughout the entire capital value filial piety highly. If someone doesn't even respect their parents, how can you expect them to respect the emperor or their teachers? There are no parents who are always wrong..."