Su Xiaoqi was not someone who could be easily pried open if she wanted to keep a secret.
Therefore, Du Yiyi, being sensible, didn't ask any further.
She shrugged and said she'd leave the matter to her.
At the same time, feeling a bit bored, she asked if there was anything fun happening in the capital recently.
Su Xiaoqi thought for a moment and said, "I'm not very familiar with the capital, so I honestly don't know if other places are fun or not.
However, I do have something interesting here."
Su Xiaoqi recounted how Huang Yuanxiang had come to the capital, hired a thief to target Shen Yun, and then she found a pretext to have him arrested and sent to prison.
Du Yiyi pouted and said, "Ah, was it that exciting?
Sister Xiaoqi, you're too uncool for not inviting me to such a fun event."
Su Xiaoqi pulled at the corner of her mouth and said, "It's not that I didn't want to call you, but there wasn't enough time. Things just happened one after another, all at once."
Moreover, many decisions were made on the spot, and she didn't have time to think much about it, nor did she have the time to send a letter to Du Yiyi.
"But how could Zhao Xiaohua be so prescient? How did she know that Young Master Yu would go to see that painter, what was his name..."
"Tang Bohuai," Su Xiaoqi reminded her.
"Right, right, Tang Bohuai, that's the name. I don't think I've ever heard of him before. Zhao Xiaohua has only been in the capital from out of town for a month, how did she know, and even recognize him as her brother?"
Du Yiyi rubbed her chin, pursed her lips, and looked utterly perplexed.
Su Xiaoqi really wanted to tell her how Zhao Xiaohua knew, it was because she...
Uh, that wouldn't be good, would it? If she revealed Zhao Xiaohua's secret, wouldn't that pretty much expose her secret's foundation too?
No, no.
Su Xiaoqi swallowed her words in time.
But she still gave Du Yiyi a reminder: "In short, as long as we know Zhao Xiaohua is very capable, it's best not to provoke her."
Du Yiyi said, "Alas, I'm not familiar with her, so I probably won't provoke her.
But, I'm saying, what if she provokes us first?"
"Then there's no need to say, naturally we fight back," a cold glint flashed in Su Xiaoqi's eyes.
Du Yiyi's words reminded her.
Zhao Xiaohua had been very active lately. Although it seemed like nothing was happening on the surface, there was a final goal behind it, which was directed at her.
No, that wasn't right. It should be said that it was directed at Shen Yun.
She was someone who had experienced great fortune; she must know that in her past life, she had been Shen Yun's concubine by his side.
Seeing her deep affection for Shen Yun when she was in Zhao Family Village, she would definitely want to be by Shen Yun's side again this time.
But if that were the case, would Shen Yun, as written in the original plot of the novel, become a violent, unpredictable, and ruthless person again?
Then she would be in danger.
Su Xiaoqi was doing all this to change her own destiny.
Now that her efforts were finally showing initial results, she wasn't about to give all of it up.
Therefore, she had to stop Zhao Xiaohua.
Although doing so was somewhat selfish, it was said that if a person doesn't look out for themselves, heaven and earth will destroy them.
One should know that if things went along the trajectory she had set, Shen Yun's mother, sister, brother, and others would all be fine.
If it were according to Zhao Xiaohua's plan, then it would be hard to say.
Not only would her own life be in danger, but Zhao's mother, younger sister, and Erdan might also not have a good ending.
Thinking of this, Su Xiaoqi tightened her fingers. She firmly believed that what she was doing was not wrong; she could not ruin the current beautiful situation for the sake of fulfilling Zhao Xiaohua.
Besides, she was already reluctant to give up Shen Yun now.
He was so good now, and most importantly, he was good to her. How foolish would she be to give him up?
Besides Su Xiaoqi, who was thinking of Shen Yun, there was another person who was constantly thinking of him.
In a newly renovated small courtyard, Zhao Xiaohua sat in the main seat, looking at the man in front of her with an arrogant expression, like a condescending benefactor.
"How is it? I told you to listen to me, and I would definitely help you gain the appreciation of a noble person and become famous throughout Daliang."
The man lowered his head and listened. When he looked up at Zhao Xiaohua at the right moment, he saw the fleeting expression on her face and was slightly displeased. He spoke in a low voice, arguing:
"I don't paint to gain the appreciation of a noble person, nor to become famous throughout Daliang."
He simply liked it from the bottom of his heart.
Zhao Xiaohua's face turned ugly, and she scolded in a low voice, "Tang Bohuai, how can you speak like that? You must know that your life is not just for yourself.
You live for painting, and you live for your sister."
Tang Bohuai fell silent. His entire focus was on painting, and he was somewhat dull about these matters, not knowing how to refute Zhao Xiaohua.
But he strongly disliked what she said. He lowered his head and pretended not to hear. He was not used to arguing with women.
Zhao Xiaohua's expression stiffened, and she glanced at Tang Bohuai impatiently.
Soon, she quickly regained her usual gentle and proper demeanor.
Tang Bohuai was a talented painter. His family was poor since childhood, and he had no extra money to study and learn calligraphy and painting.
But he just liked it. When he was a child, he would herd cattle for the landlord. While the cattle grazed nearby, he would use a branch to write and draw on the soft mud.
No one paid attention to him at the time. He painted for ten years. When he was fourteen, both of his parents fell ill and passed away.
The burden of life suddenly fell upon him.
Not only did he have to take care of himself, but he also had to support his ten-year-old sister, whom his parents had left behind.
Fortunately, he had a talent for painting, and a painting he drew by chance was liked by the owner of a professional painting workshop.
So he was hired to paint.
Among these, his most proficient skill was landscape painting.
Over the years, he barely made a living by painting for the workshop.
However, the income was too meager, and it was not easy to live a good life.
Zhao Xiaohua found him about two months ago.
She bought a painting titled "Winter Snow" from him for ten taels of silver.
It depicted the scene of snow-covered branches outside the city in winter.
The entire painting was clean and elegant, possessing both the purity of snow and the beauty of the scenery.
Zhao Xiaohua had specifically sought him out because she knew that this person's paintings would be appreciated by a high-ranking official in the Daliang Dynasty.
And he himself would shine and be successful in the future.
Therefore, she wanted to establish a good relationship with him in advance using her knowledge.
At the same time, she wanted to use the resources at her disposal to provide him with the resources that he would only obtain years later.
This would allow him to meet the person who appreciated him early on.
As it turned out, after Young Master Yu's critique of his painting yesterday,
his paintings immediately increased in price.
Previously, a painting could be bought for a few taels of silver, but now a painting could only be bought for a hundred taels of silver.
After selling the five paintings accumulated at home, he paid off the rent for the house he had leased in the outer city and bought a small house near the inner city gate.
Zhao Xiaohua was very proud of herself. All of this was brought to him by her.
He should be grateful to her.