Xu Zhi's marriage was forced by circumstances. Both the Marquis and the Old Madam felt indebted to Xu Zhi. If they had followed the normal procedure and completed the six rites with the Zheng family, they should have waited until Xu Zhi came of age before marrying into the family. However, in order to eliminate the Third Prince's and even the other princes' ideas, they had no choice but to resort to this measure.

After Xu Rao's letter was delivered to the Marquis's residence, the old lady began to arrange for the preparation of some things that would take a long time the next day. She went to Jinxiu Pavilion to embroider her wedding dress and to Linglong Pavilion to make jewelry. The old lady also opened her own small storeroom, found several pieces of jewelry that she had used before, and arranged for Granny Shen to find a box to put them in and send them over.

When Granny Lu came in, she saw Xu Zhi sitting upright at the kang table, examining the red veil that had already been embroidered.

When Xu Zhi saw Granny Lu come in, she quickly put away her veil. Granny Lu sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and asked, "Is this finished?"

Xu Zhi poured a cup of hot tea for Granny Lu and said, "Granny, there are only a few stitches left. What are you doing here?"

Granny Lu picked up the teacup, warmed her hands first, and then took a small sip. She said, "Granny Wang from the Zheng family has come over. She said that the courtyard that the young master Zheng found has been painted and she wants to know what furniture we need to send over."

Xu Zhi said, "Things are rushed, where would we find the time to make furniture?"

Granny Lu said, "Who says otherwise? It's already this late, there's no time to make it now. There are no furniture makers during the first month of the lunar year. Madam said to bring a few everyday items from here first, and we can find a good craftsman to make them later."

After listening, Xu Zhi thought for a moment and said, "In that case, why not go to the furniture store on the street and buy some furniture that we can use? Granny, we don't know where Brother Zheng will go in the future, and I will always be going with him. If we make furniture with those expensive materials, can I take it with me everywhere? Let's wait until we are really settled before we talk about it."

Granny Lu said, "Ninth Miss, this is really unfair to you. When a daughter of a noble family in the capital gets married, who doesn't have a few pieces of furniture that can be passed down for generations as part of her dowry? We have collected some good materials, but unfortunately, the ones we needed to use were taken back to the capital last time. We didn't expect things to be so urgent this time, so there's no time to bring the materials back."

Xu Zhi smiled and advised, "Granny, whether life is good or bad can't be determined by a few pieces of fine furniture. Please listen to me this once. Granny Wang is still here, right? Let's go to Mother's place together and have a good talk."

A few days ago, there was a heavy snowfall. Fortunately, after Xu Rao took office, he sent people to repair the road from Ganzhou to Hexi. After the snow stopped, he quickly arranged for people to clear the snow from the road. This was because Hexi was an important border town, and he was afraid that if something happened, his side would not be able to provide timely assistance because of the snow on the road. Therefore, Wang Mama was able to take a carriage to Xu's family in Ganzhou.

Since Xu Zhi had already made her decision, she invited Granny Wang to Zhang Zhaoci's side hall. In front of Zhang Zhaoci and Granny Wang, Xu Zhi explained her thoughts.

Upon hearing this, Granny Wang couldn't help but look at the Ninth Miss of the Xu family in a new light.

Wang Mama will be with Zheng Boyuan until the end of his life. The character of the wife Zheng Boyuan marries is very important. Wang Mama is considered one of Zheng Boyuan's people. If the wife doesn't want to rely on Zheng Boyuan's people in the future and wants to rely on the people she brought with her, Wang Mama and the others will have to stand aside. At that time, if they can't create servants for their master, they will have a very difficult time.

Granny Wang had met Xu Zhi before. Zheng Yuanyuan and Xu Zhi corresponded frequently, and through Zheng Yuanyuan's words, Granny Wang knew that this ninth daughter of the Xu family was a good girl. However, for her, Xu Zhi marrying Zheng Boyuan meant that it wasn't enough for her to simply be a good girl. Granny Wang had asked Granny Lu about it, and Granny Lu told her to rest assured. But Granny Wang was still uneasy. This was actually the first time she had dealt with Xu Zhi, and Granny Wang wanted to see how Xu Zhi would handle the situation.

Wang Mama was naturally very satisfied with how Xu Zhi was handled.

Upon hearing Xu Zhi's words, Zhang Zhaoci took out her handkerchief and began to wipe away her tears. She wanted to scold the Third Prince, but because Wang Mama was there, she could only curse him in her heart. She took Xu Zhi's hand and said, "My child, I have said since you were very young that I would make you the happiest bride when you get married. But now, I can't even afford to buy you a few decent pieces of furniture."

Xu Zhi took out her handkerchief and wiped away Zhang Zhaoci's tears that were welling up again. She said, "Mother, look at what you're saying. There are century-old furniture stores in Ganzhou. If we take the money, how could we not buy decent furniture? Don't worry, my marriage is a major event in my life. I won't try to save you or Father money."

Seeing that Xu Zhi genuinely didn't care, Zhang Zhaoci stopped crying and said to Granny Wang, "Granny, since you brought the dimensions of the house, why don't you come with me to see what kind of things we need to buy?"

Granny Wang quickly stood up, and Xu Zhi went to the back to change her clothes. Granny Lu then led Granny Wang to wait in the front yard. On the way, Granny Wang said to Granny Lu, "I didn't expect Ninth Miss to be such a reasonable person."

Granny Lu said, "This is a child I've watched grow up since she was little. Of course she's a good child. You'll naturally know how good she is once you're with her."

Granny Wang said, "Someone like me will be the Zheng family's home from now on. I will treat my son and the Ninth Miss with utmost care. But, to be honest, I'm worried that a girl from a noble family like the Ninth Miss might be difficult to get along with."

Granny Lu said, "Just look at our master and mistress, how could the children they raised be difficult to get along with? Our Ninth Miss has been a lovable girl since she was little. She is sensible and considerate. If you treat her well, she will want to treat you ten times better. As long as you serve her well in the future, you will always benefit from it."

Granny Wang said with a smile, "With your kind words, I can finally rest assured."