Upon reaching the ridge, Xu Zhi lifted the carriage curtain and looked down. Zhengjia Town lay quietly at the foot of the mountain. It was dinnertime, and wisps of smoke rose slowly under the setting sun, making this small town appear so silent and desolate.

Back in Anping County, that very night, two fast horses took advantage of the darkness and headed towards the capital.

Xu Zhi didn't care about any of this. She had already done what she needed to do. The rest of the time was to arrive in Yuezhou safely, meet up with Zheng Boyuan, and then learn how to do business from her third uncle, Zhang Zhaozhi.

Zhang Zhaozhi has been in Yuezhou for some time now, waiting for Xu Zhi to come and learn how to do business. There is a lot to learn, and Zhang Zhaozhi will also take Xu Zhi to various places, not only within Daliang, but also to Yan and Beidi. This is something Xu Zhi has been looking forward to for a long time.

It only takes three days for a fast horse to travel from Jizhou to the capital. After the two horses separated in the capital, one letter was sent to the Yongning Marquis's residence and the other to the Pingxi Marquis's residence.

The Yongning Marquis's residence was naturally handed over to the Marquis, while the Pingxi Marquis's residence was to be handed over to the Old Madam.

Upon receiving the letter, the old lady of the Marquis of Pingxi immediately sent someone to invite the Marquis of Pingxi to her courtyard. The Marquis of Pingxi was shocked when he saw the contents of the letter.

The old lady said, "My lord, these are our clansmen. These are the clansmen who have earned this supreme glory by risking their lives at Yanmen Pass, with more than a dozen members of our family."

Marquis Pingxi said, "Mother, there must be some misunderstanding here."

The old lady sneered and said, "Misunderstanding? You're telling me it's a misunderstanding? My lord, you know what kind of person Yuan's wife is, and I know her too. She hasn't even entered the house yet, and she's being blocked at the gate by a servant. Is that servant's home or ours? My lord, this is the kind of servant our Pingxi Marquis's mansion keeps."

As the old lady spoke, tears welled up in her eyes. When Marquis Pingxi saw this, he felt very bad and said, "Mother, please rest assured, your son will definitely give you an explanation and give Yuan Ge's wife an explanation."

The old lady said, "And Qingchun, he is the clan leader, but there are also the third and fifth brothers in the clan. What is he trying to do? Does he want to control everything? Prepare a carriage for me. I want to go to Jizhou. I want to see if that is still my home."

Marquis Pingxi quickly advised, "Mother, you are getting on in years. How can you endure the long journey? Please rest assured, I will arrange for someone to go back to our hometown to see what is going on."

Upon hearing this, the old lady glanced at her son, sneered twice, and said, "My lord, you still want to send people back to your hometown? Haven't you been deceived enough? Since you can send a message to our mansion, you can naturally send a message to the Yongning Marquis's mansion. Just wait and see how the Yongning Marquis will settle accounts with you."

When the old lady got angry, her constant "you" and "you" made the Marquis of Pingxi very uncomfortable. Although he and the old lady were mother and son, he had never lived with his mother since childhood, and his relationship with his mother had always been quite distant. It was only because of Zheng Boyuan's marriage that the relationship between the mother and son improved a lot.

Marquis Pingxi wanted to calm his mother down, but he didn't know how to say it. He thought about getting up and leaving, but he was afraid that his mother would be even angrier if he left. He stood up and clenched his fists, not knowing what to say for a moment.

Fortunately, at this moment, Granny Gui came in and said, "My lord, the servant who serves you in your study in the front courtyard has come over and said that the Marquis of Yongning has sent you an invitation to go to Deyue Tower for drinks."

Upon hearing this, Marquis Pingxi was first taken aback, then felt a chill run down his spine. His mother, however, sneered twice after hearing what Granny Gui said and said, "Go ahead and see how you're going to explain this to your in-law."

Marquis Pingxi had no choice but to bow to the old lady and say, "Mother, please calm down. I will go and deal with Marquis Yongning first, and then I will explain everything to you in detail when I return."

Seeing the Marquis of Pingxi leave the courtyard, Granny Gui said with a smile, "Old Madam, why are you pressuring the Marquis like this?"

The old lady sighed and said, "Our Marquis only cares about enjoying himself and nothing else. For so many years, his stepmother has been in charge of everything in the household. Now we have to let him know how his beloved stepmother has been doing those things behind his back."

Granny Gui said, "Madam, it's rare that the Marquis has changed his mind now, you should treat him better."

The old lady didn't say anything more. After a while, she asked, "How is the second young lady now?"

Zheng Yunyun is still recuperating at Dafosi Temple, and Xiao Chenshi is staying with her there.

Granny Gui said, "The second young lady is still at the Great Buddha Temple. The doctor said she needs to rest there for more than ten days before she can move home to recuperate."

The old lady nodded and said, "Keep an eye on the movements of that mother and daughter. If they continue to have contact with the people in the Third Prince's residence, create more trouble for them. What era are we in? How can they still want to get close to the Prince's residence? A concubine's offspring is a concubine's offspring. Can't they even see this simple principle?"

The old lady spoke very softly after that, and Gui Mama had to get close to hear her clearly. Gui Mama understood the old lady's thoughts perfectly well, and could only sigh in response.

After leaving the old lady's courtyard, Marquis Pingxi breathed a long sigh of relief, but then he thought of Marquis Yongning waiting for him at Deyue Tower, and his heart jumped.

Just as they reached the second gate, a messenger came to report that the lady had brought a letter from the Great Buddha Temple to the Marquis. The Marquis of Pingxi took the letter, read it, and said to the messenger, "Go back and tell the lady that whatever it is, we can discuss it slowly when she returns with the young lady. Also, where is your young master now? I heard from the teacher at the academy that your young master has been busy organizing a poetry gathering recently. He is coming back soon. Have him come to my study. I want to test your young master's knowledge."

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