Something to Say

"Go and call Nanny Zhang over," she instructed the maid.

Ever since Zhao Ruxi was betrothed, Consort of Prince of Jingping has no longer treated her harshly. Therefore, the courtyard she now lives in is quite nice, she has many servants around her, and her food, clothing, and daily necessities are a level higher than those of ordinary concubines.

But Zhao Ruyu came to the Prince Jingping's Estate not for food, clothing, or daily necessities. What she wanted was the position of the Prince of Jingping Princess.

Nanny Zhang arrived quickly.

"Nanny Zhang, did you deliver the letter to the Crown Princess after you entered the palace?" Zhao Ruyu asked eagerly as soon as she saw her.

After Xiao Lingyan was named Crown Prince, he moved into the Eastern Palace with his wife and son.

Nanny Zhang was originally a palace maid, but she came to the Prince Jingping's Estate as a governess in her old age, and also to live out her retirement.

She had some old friends in the palace, so every month when Consort of Prince of Jingping went to the palace to pay her respects to Noble Consort Cen, she would go along and chat with her old friends.

Consort of Prince of Jingping needed her to gather information from her sisters, so after she entered the palace, she wasn't restricted and was allowed to be free.

This time, Zhao Ruyu asked her to deliver a letter to Zhao Ruxi.

When Nanny Zhang returned with the letter, she reported the situation to Zhao Ruyu. Unexpectedly, Zhao Ruyu came to inquire again a few days later.

She was impatient, but considering the kinship between the Crown Princess and Concubine Zhao, she suppressed her temper.

She said, "It has been sent. I have some old acquaintances in the East Palace, and I asked them to take me in. When I got there, I introduced myself and said that I was the Crown Princess's cousin bringing her a message. They then led me to the inner courtyard to report. The Crown Princess's maid personally came out to take the message and went inside."

"Auntie, you asked me to wait there for a while. I waited for the time it takes to eat a meal. I was worried that the Princess Consort would return, so I left the East Palace. When I left, I didn't see the Crown Princess's maidservant come out again."

At this point, she felt a deep sense of disdain.

What wife would associate with a cousin who's married off as a concubine? Especially not the Crown Princess. It's bad enough that you've brought shame to the Zhao Family, but to actually dare write a letter trying to curry favor and even expect the Crown Princess to reply—how dare this Concubine Zhao have such audacity!

Zhao Ruyu asked for more details, but couldn't get any more information, so she gave Nanny Zhang some silver to send her away.

"Fushu, tell me, why is she ignoring me?" Zhao Ruyu Fushu, gazing in the direction of the palace.

Fushu remained silent.

She knew that Zhao Ruyu didn't need her answer.

Fushu is half a year older than Zhao Ruyu, and is now almost twenty. But she is the person Zhao Ruyu trusts the most, and Zhao Ruyu is reluctant to let her leave, so she has never arranged a marriage for Fushu.

"System, please investigate what's going on with Zhao Ruxi for me." Zhao Ruyu simply turned to the system for help.

"A message of royal caliber costs 30,000 points." The system's cold voice rang out.

Zhao Ruyu: "..."

She glanced at the score on the screen, then finally gave up. "Never mind."

She had finally managed to accumulate 100,000 points, which she planned to use to redeem Beauty Pill.

She knew that taking out the Beauty Pill would bring her trouble, but she didn't care anymore.

Recently, Consort of Prince of Jingping has been frequently looking for a wife for Xiao Sijie. If she doesn't reveal her true colors soon, all her plans will fail.

If it were someone else, she might worry about attracting trouble. But Zhao Ruxi wasn't worried at all.

Zhao Ruxi was shrewd and calculating, unwilling and disdainful of using underhanded tactics against her. If Zhao Ruxi wanted the Beauty Pill, she would certainly exchange them openly and honestly.

"Now that the Crown Princess has finished her confinement period, she won't stay in the palace all the time. She will definitely go to the Ministry of Works. Fushu, send people to keep watch over her. If the Crown Princess leaves the palace, have them report to me immediately," she said.

For various reasons, Fushu was no longer as loyal to Zhao Ruyu. There were some things she simply didn't want to say.

But she couldn't help herself and said, "Miss, why bother? You know the Crown Princess's temper. She doesn't want to talk to anyone. If you go over there, you'll only annoy her. She won't change her mind because of that."

"But I have something I want to say to her," Zhao Ruyu said.

Seeing her plans about to fall apart and her life destined to be spent in obscurity in this inner quarters, Zhao Ruyu has been thinking a lot lately.

She wondered if she had listened to Zhao Ruxi's advice, worked hard to improve her zither skills, become a teacher at a Women's Academy, and married a man from a humble background who was upright and talented. Would she be living a happy life now?

Is climbing to a high position and becoming a person of high status really that important?

Like Zhao Ruxi, her husband was willing to give up being the crown prince rather than take a concubine for her sake, which suggests he loved her very much. But how long will this affection last after he becomes the crown prince and then the emperor, when he has countless young and beautiful women to choose from?

Given Zhao Ruxi's personality, she would probably prefer Xiao Lingyan to be just a prince with nothing to do, or even just an ordinary person, right?

Just as Zhao Ruyu had predicted, Zhao Ruxi couldn't stay at home after her postpartum confinement period ended.

The baby was attended to by a wet nurse and a group of maids and servants, protected by Xiao Ge's Imperial Guards, and watched over by Xiao Lingyan's secret guards, so she was quite at ease.

So after staying home for two more days, she decided to go to the Ministry of Works to take a look.

She had someone inform Gong Cheng beforehand, and then led Lu Yun and Xiang Ming to the Ministry of Works.

"How are the harvester sales going?" she asked Zuo Tang, an official in charge of harvesters.

Zuo Tang reported a number.

Zhao Ruxi was fairly satisfied with the data.

She then asked, "Did you compile the statistics on the purchase of harvesters by the prominent families in the capital when I asked you to do so?"

Zuo Tang quickly flipped through the papers in his hand, took out a stack of papers, and handed them to Zhao Ruxi: "I have recorded the details of the wealthy families in the capital purchasing harvesters here."

Zhao Ruxi flipped through the document and found that the statistics were very detailed. It not only included the number and date of the harvester purchases, but also the acreage of land owned by this aristocratic family and the number of farm slaves.

She looked up and glanced at Zuo Tang with admiration.

Zuo Tang was in his thirties and was a second-class Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) one year earlier than Zhao Ruxi. When Zhao Ruxi handed over the harvester to the Ministry of Works, he casually mentioned that someone should do a statistical analysis, Zuo Tang, who was meticulous in his work, was assigned this task.

"Are you now the deputy director of the Construction Office the Ministry of Works?" she asked.

"Yes, Your Highness," Zuo Tang replied.

Zhao Ruxi turned to Gong Cheng and said, "I will continue to make farm tools, and it's inconvenient to run around every day. It's also inappropriate to have maids or guards relay messages. Sir, do you think I should find someone in the Ministry of Works to be my assistant, so I can give them instructions when needed?"

Gong Cheng smiled and said, "This humble official also had the same idea and was just planning to discuss this matter with Her Majesty."