Upon hearing this, Xu Di straightened his posture and sat down. Wu Muyue walked to the opposite side of Xu Di, sat down, and said seriously, "Brother Di, I suggest you ask for a favor and be assigned to a post in another place."

Xu Di was taken aback for a moment. After a long pause, he said, "Uncle, I'm staying in the capital for two reasons. First, I want to see if there are any people in the capital who can be of use to me. After all, the capital is a place where hidden talents abound. Second, Yuexi is going to give birth next year, and she'll be carrying twins. I want to be by her side and accompany her during the birth. The original plan was to take the children with us to our new posts after Yuexi gives birth."

Upon hearing this, Wu Muyue frowned and said, "In that case, find a reason, preferably to go home and reflect on your mistakes after being reprimanded."

After listening, Xu Di thought about it seriously and said to Wu Muyue, "Uncle, this is a bit too deliberate."

Wu Muyue smiled and said, "As long as you have the will, you can always find the most suitable opportunity. There are still nearly two months until the New Year. Go back and think it over carefully. Can't you find an opportunity to be sent home? It would be best if people thought that you had been rejected by the current emperor. Go home and spend a year or two with your family. By then, you can take your children with you and go to your post. Then you can find a post outside the capital and take your children with you. Wouldn't that be fine?"

Xu Di nodded and said, "Then I'll go back and think about it carefully. Uncle, when are you going to take A-Yuan with you?"

Wu Muyue was very decisive and said, "Just in the next day or two, there are some things to do at Jiangnan Academy, I need to go there. Go back and ask Abo, if he wants to go with me, then he can go with me."

Xu Di thought for a moment and said, "There's no need to ask. I'll have him pack his bags and come over to meet you when I get back. If you only take A Yuan to Jiangnan, people will inevitably see you and start thinking about it. If you take Xiao Qi with you, he can provide some cover for A Yuan."

Upon hearing this, Wu Muyue chuckled and said, "No wonder Abo always says that his brother is too harsh on him. Look at you, Abo is still young. If he goes with me, he can't spend the New Year at home. Isn't that what children look forward to—spending the New Year with their families?"

Xu Di didn't respond, but inwardly he was thinking, "That Xu Bai always tries to fool people by acting like a child. Doesn't he know how old he really is?"

Xu Di twitched the corner of his mouth and said, "Uncle, children don't know how to be treated well. Shouldn't they be properly disciplined? You don't need to worry about that. I'll arrange it when I get back. Also, I think it's best to settle Xiao Jiu and Miss Shen in the capital for now. It's not safe for them to live on this estate in the suburbs of the capital."

Wu Muyue thought of Jia San and the others and said, "The imperial guards His Majesty gave them are highly skilled in martial arts, but you can't guard against thieves forever. It would be good for them to go back to the capital to avoid trouble."

Shen Mingwan had already gotten up and dressed. When she saw Xu Zhi coming in from outside, she said somewhat apologetically, "I overslept."

Xu Zhi smiled and said, "It's alright, Sister Mingwan, my brother is here. Let's go see him later."

Upon hearing this, Shen Mingwan smiled and said, "So it's the top scholar who has come. We really should go and meet him properly."

Xu Zhi pulled Shen Mingwan into the inner room and sat her on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed). She said, "Sister Mingwan, the estate is no longer safe. We don't know when they will come back like this again. I'd like you to go to the capital for a while to avoid the storm. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Mingwan looked somewhat stunned. After a long while, she gave a wry smile and said, "Good sister, I will listen to you. When my mother married into the family, she had a house in the capital as part of her dowry. I can go and stay there first."

Xu Zhi smiled and said, "Good sister, how can I be at ease if you live alone? If you don't mind, would you like to come and stay with me at the Zheng family's house?"

It was only then that Shen Mingwan remembered that Xu Zhi was already married and was now the daughter-in-law of the Zheng family.

Shen Mingwan quickly declined, saying, "How can that be? Wouldn't going just be causing you trouble?"

Xu Zhi held Shen Mingwan's hand and said with a smile, "Sister Mingwan, you must have heard about the Pingxi Marquis's Mansion, right? After my husband and I got married, we separated from the Pingxi Marquis's Mansion. Our two families don't use the same main gate anymore. We only kept a small side gate for the convenience of visiting our great-aunt. We usually go in and out through our own main gate. Moreover, my husband has always been in Yuezhou. It's just me and my sister-in-law at home. You've met my sister-in-law before. She's a simple and kind person. I can rest assured that you're living there."

Shen Mingwan was somewhat tempted, and Xu Zhi continued to persuade her, "Actually, I really want to take you back to the Yongning Marquis's Mansion, but since our whole family lives in one house, some things are inconvenient. You can move to the Zheng residence. The Zheng residence is close to the government office, and there are always patrolling officers on the street. Even if those people want to cause trouble again, they will have to think twice."

Seeing Xu Zhi's sincere words, and considering that it wasn't good for her to contact her parents too much right now, Shen Mingwan simply agreed.

Behind her back, Lin Mama sighed to Shen Mingwan. She really wanted her daughter to live in Madam Feng's house so that the mother and daughter could see each other often, but Shen Mingwan persuaded her against it.

Shen Mingwan felt sad, but she didn't dare to show it in her words. She advised Lin Mama, "Mama, of course I understand that you are doing this for my own good, but my parents don't only have me as their child. I also have younger brothers and sisters. I have to make more plans for them, don't I?"

Lin Mama said sadly, "But young lady, we just live in the house and don't go out usually. Even when Madam comes over, we don't let her stay overnight. We just want you to see Madam more often. Isn't that good enough?"

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