Chen Zhaoci personally prepared all the sea cucumbers; how could she not know what they looked like? The sea cucumbers delivered to the main kitchen were switched with other sea cucumbers for three consecutive days, and Chen Zhaoci could no longer tolerate it.

Chen Zhaoci was never one to swallow her anger; she took the steamed egg custard that had just been delivered from the main kitchen directly to the old lady's room.

Fortunately, the steamed egg custard was meant to be a snack for the children, not for mealtime. Chen Zhaoci knelt down as soon as she entered the old lady's room, startling everyone inside. After listening to Chen Zhaoci's tearful complaint, the old lady was both angry and amused. It was worth all this for such a small thing. The old lady thought the Chen family wasn't the kind of family that was so easily swayed.

Chen Zhaoci naturally understood what the old lady meant. She explained that she didn't value these things, but had come to bother the old lady because the servants were deceiving and misleading the masters of the mansion. No matter what, she was still the third mistress of the mansion, their mistress. How could they be so greedy for her little things, passing off inferior items as superior ones? And this was just a small snack! What if some important items in the mansion were replaced like this in the future?

Only then did the old lady take it seriously. She found the steward's wife and insisted on replacing or dismissing the staff in the main kitchen. At that time, everyone in the Marquis's mansion knew that this Third Madam was not someone to be trifled with.

From then on, the people in the Marquis's mansion kept their distance from the unpredictable Third Mistress. Many activities involving the people in the mansion were not invited to Chen Zhaoci's participation. Chen Zhaoci was not one to join in the fun either, and felt that she was quite content to live her own quiet life in the mansion with her two children. For the past ten years or so, the Third Master and his family had not had a strong presence in the mansion. If it weren't for Xu Rao's success in the imperial examination, the people in the Marquis's mansion would have forgotten about the existence of this family of four.

Thinking of these things in her memory, Chen Zhaoci sighed and said, "So, we still need to get out of that mansion as soon as possible. Old Xu, you have to ask for a post outside the mansion, even if it's just to be a magistrate in a small county with a bad environment. We can take our son and our dear daughter and live our own little life."

Xu Rao sighed and said, "I know what you're thinking, but we're all in the same boat with the Marquis's family now. Putting aside my blood ties with the Marquis's family, let's just talk about now. It's not like modern times where you can just live your own life. In today's society, family and clan are important. Everything is about collective punishment. When the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact."

Xu Di said, "That's why my dad has to work hard and be a good official so that he can become an indispensable member of the Xu family and have a say in important matters. That's the only way."

Xu Rao nodded and said, "That's what I think too, but I'm just a professor who studies policy. I don't think I can be a local official who serves the people."

Xu Di said, "Dad, you're thinking wrong. Think about it. What are those policies for? They're meant to be implemented and benefit the people. You have so many advanced policies. When we go to a place, we can formulate them based on the local conditions and then implement them. Wouldn't that be enough?"

Xu Rao sighed and said, "That's true, but practice and theory are worlds apart."

Zhang Zhaoci said, "Now that things have come to this, what's the use of thinking about it anymore? Xu Di is right. We need to pull ourselves together and do our jobs well. If you do your jobs well, you'll naturally catch the eye of many people. Why worry that those important figures won't notice you?"

Xu Di said with a smile, "My mother sees things very clearly."

Zhang Zhaoci laughed and said, "Even if I haven't eaten pork, I've seen pigs run, haven't I? Let's discuss it again now, when is the right time to go back? Our lovely daughter is waiting for us at home. Oh, you know, God is really good to us. He knew I always wanted a daughter, and he sent her to us."

The young lady of the Marquis's mansion cried all afternoon and fell asleep when she woke up again. The lanterns were already lit. She looked at the dishes on the table in the room and saw that there was no one there. She was hungry, so she got out of bed and saw several dishes on the table and a small clay pot of rice porridge next to it. The rice porridge smelled sweet.

Growing hungrier, Xu Zhi disregarded everything else, knelt on the chair, grabbed a bowl, and began to scoop out some porridge.

Just then, Aunt Wu came in and saw the little one about to scoop out some porridge. She quickly helped him scoop it up and served him some.

After finishing her meal, Xu Zhi looked at Aunt Wu, who was clearing the dishes, and asked, "Aunt Wu, have you heard anything about my parents?"

Aunt Wu sighed inwardly. Just now, news came from the front yard that the horse and carriage had been found in the river, but the Third Master and his family of three had not been found. Everyone in the manor said that the family of three was likely to meet with bad luck this time.

Looking at the little girl with a pale face, Aunt Wu sighed and said, "Ninth Miss, Third Master and Third Mistress will be back soon. Oh, by the way, your wet nurse will be back tomorrow."

Thinking of her wet nurse, Xu Zhi felt a little more at ease. Things had already come to this point, and they couldn't let things get any worse. Xu Zhi had already thought it through. If she wanted to live well in the mansion and not be sacrificed in the future, she had to find a powerful patron. She didn't need to consider Concubine Zhu, as the Marquis's wife and Concubine Zhu were irreconcilable enemies. She could try the Old Madam's side, though.

Xu Zhi had considered that back then, when Wu Saozi served by the old lady's side, she wouldn't have dared to come over and say those things to her without the old lady's permission. What did this mean? It meant that the old lady actually did not approve of the decision made by someone in the mansion to let her marry in her place.

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