Arranging a Meeting

Therefore, both brothers and their spouses from the second branch of the Zhao Family are now pursuing their own paths.

After Zhao Jingtai returned from the academy in Gusu, Zhao Ruxi tested him twice and found that he had made great progress in his studies.

After entering the Imperial Academy after the New Year, Zhao Jingtai was subjected to loving torment by his teachers, who, out of affection for him, made even faster progress.

In the spring, he and his cousin Zhao Jing'an participated in the imperial examinations and successfully passed the preliminary and county examinations, becoming a young scholar.

When Zhao Ruyu visited Zhao Ruxi, she specifically relayed her father-in-law Peng Guoan's words, saying that if Zhao Jingtai studied for another year and improved his writing skills, he would have no problem passing the imperial examination this autumn.

"Now that's great, seeing my brothers all have their own careers and my two sisters-in-law have their own children, I'm truly Gao Xing," Zhao Ruxi said with a smile.

Even if she became empress, she wouldn't force her incompetent brothers into government positions where they could do nothing.

Now that Zhao Jingli, Zhao Jing'an, and Zhao Jingtai have established themselves and are living good lives through their own abilities, it brings honor to Zhao Ruxi.

"Sigh." He Yuqi sighed, "The better our lives are, the more upset your older brother is. He can't sleep whenever he thinks of Ruyu and Rurui."

Xu Xue glanced at He Yuqi, then at Zhao Ruxi, and lowered her head to eat fruit without saying a word.

Zhao Ruxi glanced at He Yuqi: "What does sister-in-law want to say? We're family, so just say it. If brother wants me to help them, I hope you can say so; whether I help or not, you can also explain your reasons, instead of guessing like this."

He Yuqi quickly waved her hand. "No, no, your older brother never said anything about asking you to help them."

In fact, Zhao Jingli had this thought in private.

He didn't tell Zhao Ruxi to speak to Consort of Prince of Jingping about making Zhao Ruyu the official wife. He only said he wanted Zhao Ruxi to send some gifts to them as a way of showing that she cared about her two cousins.

Therefore, out of respect for Zhao Ruxi, the Prince Jingping's Estate Marquis of Pingnan's Residence dared not be too harsh on the two of them and were able to make their lives a little easier. If they could give birth to a son or daughter, they would have someone to rely on for the rest of their lives, and he would feel more at ease.

However, when he mentioned this idea to He Yuqi, she stopped He Yuqi.

At that time, she said to Zhao Jingli, "If Concubine Wang's sisters gain power and send people to use their influence to force Concubine Wang to become the official wife, or insist that Concubine Wang have a child, how would you feel? Wouldn't you feel disgusted? Is this something a human being would do?"

Initially, Concubine Wang, taking advantage of her pregnancy, stirred up trouble in the second branch of the Zhao Family. However, she miscarried during a conflict with Concubine Peng and was sent to the estate by Zhao Yuanliang. After that, Zhao Yuanliang not only never mentioned remarrying, but also prevented his concubine from getting pregnant again.

Zhao Jingli was very satisfied with his father's approach.

Without the money he painstakingly earned by managing the family business, in the end he would not only have to support his stepmother and stepsisters, but also have to take a share of the family property and dowry when the family property was divided.

So when he heard He Yuqi's words, he felt somewhat ashamed.

He Yuqi then said, "Ruxi suffered so much in the countryside because of Zhao Ruyu. When she returned to the manor Zhao Ruyu and Zhao Rurui not only showed her no kindness, but were full of malice. It was only Ruxi was smart and capable that she wasn't bullied by them. It was Zhao Ruyu and Zhao Rurui's own choice to become concubines. What did Ruxi owe them that she had to swallow her pride and plead for them?"

"If the Prince Jingping's Estate's Mansion were to promote Zhao Ruyu, whom they despise, to the position of the Fu Family because of Ruxi, and Ruxi family were to treat Zhao Rurui, who is constantly causing trouble, well because of Ruxi, what would the people of the Prince Jingping's Estate Marquis of Pingnan's Residence think of Ruxi? What would others think of Ruxi and your Zhao Family? Have you thought about that? Are you asking Ruxi to gain a reputation for bullying others for their sake?"

These words left Zhao Jingli speechless.

He smiled wryly and said, "It was my fault, I was really wrong. I didn't think that far ahead. Let's not bring this up again. If they're kicked out and can't survive, we'll help them out. Let's forget about everything else."

"You're now a government official and Ruxi's older brother. You need to think more comprehensively and not let others use you to smear Ruxi's reputation." He Yuqi added a final warning to Zhao Jingli.

However, He Yuqi did not want to tell Zhao Ruxi about these things.

Seeing He Yuqi's repeated denials, Zhao Ruxi then looked at Xu Xue: "Did Second Brother ask me to help Zhao Ruyu?"

Xu Xue quickly waved her hand. "No. Back then, Zhao Ruyu insisted on becoming someone's concubine, and my husband was completely disappointed in her. He said he would no longer concern himself with Zhao Ruyu's affairs."

Zhao Ruxi nodded and didn't bring up the topic again.

But Zhao Ruxi didn't bring up the topic, and Zhao Ruyu didn't disappear from her life. Just a few days after He Yuqi and Xu Xue came to visit, Zhao Ruyu sent a letter saying that she wanted to see Zhao Ruxi.

Perhaps fearing that Zhao Ruxi wouldn't see her, she even mentioned in her letter that she had become more beautiful because she had taken a medicine called the Beauty Pill; this medicine not only made people more beautiful, but also slowed down aging. And she had bought this pill from an old Daoist priest.

If Zhao Ruxi wants the Beauty Pill, she should meet with him; the location and time will be decided by Zhao Ruxi.

Before Zhao Ruxi could even speak while looking at the letter, the system scoffed in her mind.

Back then, she tried to lure Zhao Ruxi with Beauty Pill, but unfortunately, she didn't need them at all. It's ridiculous that Zhao Ruyu would use this to tempt Zhao Ruxi.

Zhao Ruxi took a tinderbox and burned the letter, then asked the system, "Do you think this person is stupid? If I were ruthless and had the Prince Jingping's Estate force her to hand over the Beauty Pill instead of agreeing to her demands, wouldn't she have dug her own grave?"

The system said lazily, "She's so sure you're not a bad person. Host, the hardest thing to be in this world is being a good person."

Zhao Ruxi: "..." You're a system, where do you get so many feelings?

"What do you plan to do now?" the system asked Zhao Ruxi with great interest.

"Ignore her," Zhao Ruxi said.

She didn't need the Beauty Pill. Besides, she knew what Zhao Yu wanted: the position of the Prince of Jingping.

Zhao Ruxi would never back her up and let her sit in that position.

To reiterate, if Zhao Ruyu is lucky or capable enough to take that position herself, she won't stop her; but there's absolutely no way she'll help Zhao Ruyu out of it.

Inside the Prince Jingping's Estate, Zhao Ruyu had been anxiously waiting ever since she sent someone to deliver the letter to Zhao Ruxi.

She waited and waited, one day, two days, three days, until five days later, before she finally realized that Zhao Ruxi was ignoring her.

That shouldn't be the case.

She was puzzled.

Zhao Ruxi married the Crown Prince and will become Empress. However, Crown Prince Xiao Lingyan cannot have only one woman; he will definitely take concubines in the future.

Although Zhao Ruxi was quite pretty, there were plenty of women prettier than her. Wasn't she afraid the Crown Prince would favor his new concubine and neglect her? Did she really have that much faith in her husband?