Granny Lu said, "These are all things the late Empress Dowager said. I wasn't even born when Princess Zhenguo passed away. I only heard that after Princess Zhenguo gave birth to her child, she plotted to avenge that captain. She devised all sorts of schemes and massacred 100,000 Northern Di cavalrymen in the valley between Pianguan and Yanmenguan. After Pianguan was recaptured, the northern frontier was completely at peace, and Princess Zhenguo went to the royal temple in the suburbs of the capital."

Xu Di said, "Is it the temple near Grandma's Hot Spring Resort?"

Granny Lu nodded and said, "Yes, that's the place. Until her death, the Princess Zhenguo never came out again and never saw the old lady in her life. The royal family always had a secret decree to treat the descendants of the Princess Zhenguo well. The late Empress Dowager once told the current emperor that if anything happens, coming to the old lady is definitely the right thing to do."

Xu Di nodded and said, "No wonder, Granny Lu, why did you tell me such an important thing today?"

Granny Lu sighed and said, "The old lady never mentions the matter of the northern and southern borders. She brought it up today, so I knew that she had let go of the knot in her heart. The old lady's life has not been easy."

Xu Di escorted Granny Lu to the courtyard, then turned and returned to his own courtyard.

After Xu Di stopped Granny Lu outside Zhang Zhaoci's courtyard and said those words, Xu Zhi asked her after Granny Lu returned, "Granny, where did you go again?"

Granny Lu said, "I'll say a few words to Di Ge'er outside the courtyard. Ninth Miss, have you packed all your luggage for the trip to Ganzhou?"

Xu Zhi said, "Granny, everything is ready."

Granny Lu thought for a moment and asked, "Ninth Miss, tell me the truth, do you have someone in your heart?"

Xu Zhi was taken aback by Lu Mama's question and said, "Mama, I just don't want to be like so many people in the capital, trapped in that small courtyard all day long, only managing household affairs and my husband's concubines. Mama, I grew up in Hexi with my father, mother, and you. The people there are straightforward, the sky is high, and the land is wide. When you walk in such a world, you feel free for no reason, and everything around you is free. Mama, I don't want to be trapped in the capital."

Upon hearing Xu Zhi's words, Granny Lu knew that the girl had someone in her heart. She just didn't know which young man the girl had taken a liking to. Granny Lu thought of all the young men she knew, but couldn't think of one she felt was suitable. She thought that she would find out when she arrived in Ganzhou in a while. Xu Zhi was already fourteen years old, which was indeed the age to get engaged. If she didn't get engaged soon, people would think that the girl had some unspeakable problem.

Granny Lu was wholeheartedly thinking of Xu Zhi's well-being, but Xu Zhi was preoccupied with what she would do after returning to Ganzhou. Xu Zhi didn't want to be like many young women who would marry and spend their lives tending a courtyard. She wanted to be like her mother, learning a skill to benefit the public, just as her brother had said. She wanted to be able to look back on her life when she was old and unable to move, and have something that others could praise and that she could be proud of. Only then could she say that she had lived a worthwhile life.

Xu Zhi pondered what she could do, but after thinking for a long time, she still had no clue. Should she follow her mother to learn medicine? Xu Zhi knew she wasn't cut out for it, but what else could she do? She couldn't be like her father and brothers, passing the imperial examinations and doing something beneficial for the people. This world restricted girls, preventing them from freely pursuing their goals.

Xu Zhi thought for a long time, not knowing what to do. Seeing that Granny Lu was already laying out quilts on the kang, she went over and asked, "Granny, what do you think I can do?"

Granny Lu said, "Why is Ninth Miss suddenly asking this?"

Xu Zhi said very seriously, "I've thought about it for a long time. I can't practice medicine and save lives like my mother, nor can I take the imperial examinations and become an official like my father and brother. But I still want to do something, something meaningful."

After pondering for a long time, Granny Lu asked her, "What does Ninth Miss like to do?"

Xu Zhi said, "I actually like to travel around like my uncles, selling goods from all over the country. But, Granny, I'm a girl. What girl does this kind of thing?"

Granny Lu said, "I think Ninth Miss should think it over carefully. If you want to do something, you should do something that you want to do and that is also useful to others. Although your uncles are merchants, I know that they use the money they earn to help various places. The uncles have specially assigned managers to regularly send money and goods to those charitable halls and charitable organizations. Although this is not comparable to the soldiers guarding the border, it is still doing something beneficial to the people."

Upon hearing this, Xu Zhi's big eyes shone even brighter, and she said happily, "Grandma, then tell me, wouldn't it be a great thing if I could earn money like my uncles and use it to support the charity, so that those destitute people in the charity would have clothes to wear and food to eat?"

Granny Lu smiled and said, "Well, we'll have to discuss this with Third Master and Third Mistress first."

Xu Zhi was so happy that she didn't fall asleep until very late. Meanwhile, Xu Rao and Zhang Zhaoci were talking about returning to Ganzhou in a few days.

There was still a need to leave people in the manor to look after the courtyard. Zhang Zhaoci was eager to return to Ganzhou. In Ganzhou, she could do whatever she wanted. In this Marquis's manor, the people there had been very lenient with her, allowing her to treat the servants and dry medicinal herbs in the backyard. But it still couldn't compare to Ganzhou, where she could practice medicine in the city if she wanted, and even go to the mountains outside the city to pick medicinal herbs and personally inspect them at the medicinal herb shops in the city. That kind of free and unrestrained life was the life Zhang Zhaoci loved.

Thinking about returning to that kind of life, Zhang Zhaoci spoke with a happy and joyful tone.