Reunion

Inside the room, Zhao Ruxi, with her extremely sensitive ears, had already heard Wu Huaisi and Gong Cheng's voices. However, since her master was emotionally agitated, she pretended not to hear them and waited in the room for her master to calm down.

Upon hearing Wu Zong's voice, she quickly said to Kang Shilin, "Master, it seems that Third Senior Brother has arrived. I'll go out and take a look."

With that, she ran out.

"Zhiwei, what are you doing here?" Xiao Ruotong saw Zhao Ruxi and rushed over in surprise.

"I heard you were back, so I came to wait for you," Zhao Ruxi said with a smile, then looked up and greeted Wu Zong, "Third Senior Brother."

Two years have passed, and Wu Zong still looks the same, with his handsome face remaining unchanged; Xiao Ruotong, on the other hand, has gained some weight, and her eyes exude even more gentleness and warmth, showing that she is living a very happy and fulfilling life.

Zhao Ruxi's gaze fell on the little bundle in Wu Zong's arms. "Is this Yi'er? I'm your Aunt Zhiwei."

Wu Zong and Xiao Ruotong's son is already one year and eight months old. His generation name contains the radical for fire, so Wu Zong named him Wu Yi. With his parents' good looks, the little guy is naturally very cute and has a delicate, sculpted appearance.

Xiao Ruotong had intended for her son to call Zhao Ruxi "Auntie," but upon hearing this, she paused, then laughed and said to her son, "Yi'er, quickly call her Auntie."

Although Zhao Ruxi and Xiao Ruotong are as close as sisters, and she and Wu Zong are also very close fellow disciples, their kinship must be traced back to blood relations.

Xiao Ruotong is Xiao Lingyan's cousin from a different branch of the family. From this perspective, Wu Yi should indeed call Zhao Ruxi his aunt.

Xiao Ruotong was no longer the naive and innocent girl she once was. She knew that having Wu Yi address Xiao Lingyan as "uncle" and Zhao Ruxi as "aunt" would greatly benefit him. Zhao Ruxi's actions were aimed at elevating his status.

Wu Yi can already speak short sentences very well, and there's no problem with him speaking them.

He called out in a childish voice, "Auntie."

Before Zhao Ruxi arrived, she did not know that Wu Zong and Xiao Ruotong had returned to the capital, nor did she prepare a gift for Wu Yi.

However, she didn't need to worry about that. After Qingfeng heard the news, he sent someone back to the East Palace to fetch the gift. She was already waiting there, holding a brocade box.

Upon seeing Wu Yi calling for help, Qingfeng quickly stepped forward and opened the brocade box.

Zhao Ruxi glanced inside and noticed a set of precious gold jewelry and a small set of exquisite writing implements. She took the brocade box and showed it to Yi'er, saying, "Aunt wishes Little Yi'er exceptional wisdom and profound learning."

"Thank you, Aunt." Wu Yi bowed to Zhao Ruxi in a very proper manner.

"This child is truly clever," Zhao Ruxi said with a smile to Xiao Ruotong, handing the brocade box to Xiao Ruotong's maid.

"We don't have any other wishes, we just hope he can be as smart as you," Xiao Ruotong said.

Zhao Ruxi raised an eyebrow and turned to Wu Zong, saying, "Senior brother, your wife looks down on you."

"Zhao Zhiwei, why are you still so full of bad intentions? You come back and immediately try to sow discord between my husband and me," Wu Zong said with a laugh.

Everyone laughed.

Kang Shilin had already come out of the house. Seeing that Wu Zong and Zhao Ruxi were still the same as before, and had not become reserved or distant because of Zhao Ruxi's changed status, he was greatly relieved.

Upon seeing Kang Shilin, everyone greeted him and bowed. Little Yi'er was put on the ground to bow and received many gifts.

After they sat down and exchanged pleasantries, and Wu Zong inquired about Kang Shilin's health, Wu Huaisi said to him, "When you returned, Lord Zhang wanted to retire and give you his position. It was the Crown Prince and I who persuaded him otherwise."

The Court of Judicial Review is an extremely demanding place. Zhang Changshen is not in good health, and although he is not old, he already wants to retire. However, he prefers Wu Zong to take his place and has been waiting for Wu Zong to return.

Now that Wu Zong has completed his three-year term and achieved outstanding political results, it is only natural that he would succeed Zhang Changshen.

However, both Xiao Lingyan and Wu Huaisi felt that the time was not yet ripe.

Upon hearing this, Wu Zong quickly replied, "I know. The Crown Prince and my senior brother are doing this for my own good. I've been away from the Court of Judicial Review for three years, and I'm not up to the task right away. Although Lord Zhang is not very energetic, just sitting here and giving me some pointers is a great help. He doesn't need to overwork himself."

He was a smart man and naturally knew that besides this reason, there was another reason: Gong Cheng had just been promoted to Minister of Ministry of Works.

If he were to become the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, then three of the three ministers and six ministries would be his fellow disciples, which would be too conspicuous and would make Xiao Ge suspicious, which would not be good for Kang Shilin and Zhao Ruxi.

One is their master, whose kindness is immeasurable; the other is their junior sister, with whom they share a deep bond. Only when these two are on good terms can the three brothers be on good terms. Conversely, if they are not, the same applies.

Wu Zong was only in his thirties, with a long career ahead of him. He had a long-term vision and didn't care about temporary power.

Wu Huaisi knew that his third junior brother was insightful and understood things without needing to be said. Hearing Wu Zong's words, he nodded and said nothing more.

Wu Zong turned to Zhao Ruxi and changed the subject. "Junior Sister, you're amazing. Did you know that because of the agricultural implements and textile factories you set up, Linjiang Prefecture's tax revenue last year increased by 30% compared to the year before?"

"It's not just taxes!" Xiao Ruotong exclaimed excitedly. "That Women's Technical College you co-founded with Grand Princess Shangde and Madam Cui is truly wonderful. The situation of local women has greatly improved because of it. Some people have even offered you longevity tablets."