This Miss Luo can do things that others cannot. It seems the rumors about her are true.

When the piece ended, the King of Chu praised Tao Sheng with tears in his eyes: “I have heard that Miss Luo is very talented, and her zither playing is like music from the heavens. Now that I see her today, I realize how truly talented she is. It’s amazing.”

Hearing this changed Tao Sheng’s impression of the King of Chu. Although he seemed average in intelligence, his emotional intelligence was excellent. What seemed like a simple compliment felt sincere and genuine.

If the emperor is old and easily influenced by others, he might be swayed by this.

When the emperor favored literature and pushed for academic studies, the King of Chu invited a scholar specializing in poetry and prose to his palace. During the emperor’s focus on martial skills, the King of Chu had a teacher for riding and shooting. Now that the emperor wanted to promote music, the King of Chu looked for many teachers in music but found their skills lacking.

After meeting Tao Sheng, the King of Chu had a new idea: he wanted her to teach him how to play the zither.

Tao Sheng knew this wasn’t her specialty and was worried she would miss the chance to impress the King of Chu for the birthday celebration. “I’m not good at playing the zither, and there’s a big difference between me and the masters at the Imperial Music Bureau. For such an important event, it would be safer for Your Highness to invite a master from there.”

The King of Chu felt that every word Tao Sheng said was meant for him.

He agreed, feeling grateful.

Tao Sheng successfully completed her task and took her leave from the King of Chu, who generously rewarded her and signaled Ji Yanming to escort her out.

As they walked out of the Prince of Chu’s Mansion, Tao Sheng turned to Ji Yanming, and they both saw helplessness in each other’s eyes.

Tao Sheng spoke first: “Your Highness the Prince of Chu does seem to have character and unique ideas.” 

To be precise, his ideas differ from most.

Ji Yanming added: “Li Daxueshi ^[1]is a title for a great scholar. of the Hanlin Academy also said that His Royal Highness the King of Chu treats people well and is open to advice.”

But it can be hard to tell good advice from bad, and accepting too much can be harmful.

Tao Sheng continued: “And Your Highness is very filial. You work hard for his father’s birthday. No wonder he likes you.”

They both agreed that even though the Prince of Chu may not be as smart as other princes, he was obedient and knew how to please the emperor. From this perspective, getting promoted wasn’t entirely hopeless.

_

The next big event in the capital was the appointment of new Jinshi ^[2]is the highest and most prestigious degree in the imperial examination system. and some Juren ^[3]is the title for those who pass the provincial examination..

As expected, Ji Yanming was not appointed as a local official but served as a scholar in the Hanlin Academy, which is a prestigious position.

When Tao Sheng heard that Xie Huaian, from a prominent family in Jinling, was also a scholar, she realized Ji Yanming’s future looked good.

The King of Chu had done his best, and it was worth her effort to play the zither and change the music.

Ji Yanming’s position was settled, which brought joy to both Su Jia and Tao Sheng.

Su Jia organized a small banquet at home to celebrate and invited many relatives and friends.

Tao Sheng’s maternal uncle and Ji Yanming’s uncles were not in the capital, so there were not many guests, and even fewer needed her help to receive them.

Besides her best friend Zhang Xinyue, there was also Tang Yizi from the Wenyuan Marquis Mansion.

Tang Yizi came on behalf of the Marquis’s Mansion and Luo Xin, apologizing to Tao Sheng.

Since Luo Xin as preparing for Ruojin’s engagement, she could not attend, so she sent gifts with Tang Yizi. She hoped Tao Sheng wouldn’t mind.

Tao Sheng frowned: “Has Miss Shen’s marriage been decided now?”

“It’s settled,” Tang Yizi replied. “I heard the Changxing Marquis family is looking forward to the wedding soon. Since they are recently engaged, the wedding might happen in a few months.”

Tao Sheng sighed softly and asked more about the details.

Tang Yizi patiently answered all her questions, feeling somewhat puzzled.

Tao Sheng was not familiar with the affairs in the Marquis’s Mansion, especially Ruojin, whom she kept her distance from. It was surprising that she showed such interest in Ruojin’s engagement.

Perhaps after the exhaustion of preparing for Shen Ruojin’s engagement, Luo Xin fell ill again as spring turned to summer.

Luo Xin was depressed during her illness, and seeing Shen Yu made her condition worse. So, like before, she moved to the manor to recuperate and escape the gossip at the marquis’s mansion.

After hearing about this, Tao Sheng visited Luo Xin at Zhuangzi’s house.

Luo Xin was very happy to see her daughter. She had nearly recovered from her illness. After talking with Tao Sheng for an afternoon, she invited her to stay a few more days.

Tao Sheng felt a bit embarrassed, thinking about how she hadn’t told her aunt she would stay overnight.

Luo Xin immediately sent someone to inform Su Jia at their home and encouraged Tao Sheng to stay: “Last year, I had this house renovated. I wanted to bring you here to escape the summer heat. Since you’re here now, it’s a good chance to take a look. If you don’t like it, I can ask someone to modify it.”

Tao Sheng couldn’t resist her mother’s enthusiasm and finally agreed to stay.

The housekeeper smiled and took Tao Sheng to her room as ordered by the Marquis’s wife.

Just as Luo Xin said, the house was newly renovated last year. All the furniture and decorations were brand new and perfectly suited to Tao Sheng’s style.

On the wall hangs a painting called “The Fairy Banquet in Yaochi” by a well-known painter. The most eye-catching thing is the peach tree. The calligraphy reads “Taoyao” written by a famous calligrapher. Additionally, there are fairy peach bonsai made of pink crystal, green jade, and tourmaline for birthday celebrations. New peach trees have also been planted in the yard outside.

Tao Sheng found it very interesting.

The housekeeper brought Tao Sheng into the house, and as they walked, she sighed, “Madam must like Miss Luo very much. This is the best courtyard in the whole manor. In the past, only the second lady lived here for a while when she was young, and there were no other courtyards. Now this whole courtyard has been renovated for the girl.”

Since this courtyard was renovated specifically for her, Tao Sheng felt comfortable living there.

After supper, Qing Xing came over and said that she found a box in the tea room. The box was well hidden, in the gap between the wall and the tea cabinet. It might have fallen there before the renovation. Qing Xing heard an unusual noise from the cabinet when she was looking for tea, so she took it out.

This box looked quite old, and the carved Ganoderma lucidum ^[4]refers to a type of fungus often used in traditional Chinese medicine. pattern on it was a craft popular in Beijing ten years ago.

Tao Sheng opened the box and found some paper materials inside. The maps and texts all had markings of the same county.

This county town is Si County, where Luo Xin was from.

Tao Sheng had read Ruojin’s personal extra story back then, but the serialization of the novel “A Life of Glory” was nearing its end at that time. Tao Sheng had also found a new love and followed the work of another great writer, so she never took it to heart.

Looking at the box now, Tao Sheng remembered that in Ruojin’s personal extra story, she mentioned that when she was seven years old, she accidentally learned about the error reporting from the drunk Sang Mama.

Mother Sang drank a lot of wine and was quite drunk. When she saw Ruojin, she pulled her and muttered to her. In fact, the person Miss Ruojin should thank the most was herself. If she hadn’t drunk too much and lost the lady’s real daughter, Miss Ruojin might be suffering in some village in Si County.

Mother Sang was very drunk that day, and after she sobered up, she did not remember saying anything about this.

However, Ruojin took it to heart and secretly collected information without anyone knowing. After thinking about what Mama Sang had said, she compared her appearance with Luo Xin and Shen Yu and asked about the circumstances of Luo Xin’s childbirth. She felt more and more that this was not Mama Sang’s drunken nonsense, but really the case.

No wonder Ruojin has always had a sense of urgency. Her flattery towards the old lady and Shen Yushi exceeds that of a normal young person. As the second legitimate daughter of the Shen family, she is more fawning and obedient than the children of relatives who come to live with the Shen family. This likely relates to the words she heard when she was young.

Ruojin in the novel is gentle and determined. Once she sets a goal, she uses various means and methods to achieve it. Her life goal has always been very relevant to the word “glory” in “A Life of Glory,” pursuing the absolute right to be the housekeeper of the Duke’s Mansion and the status of her son as the crown prince.

Living under such high pressure since childhood, it is not surprising that Ruojin developed such a character.

The original text repeatedly emphasizes that Ruojin is not a good person in the conventional sense and will do anything to achieve her goals. Now it seems there is a basis for this.

Although there was this previous incident, the target of the other party’s unscrupulous means was herself…

Tao Sheng said she still cares very much about it.