Seeing Xu Di's displeased expression, the old lady asked, "What happened to you?"

Xu Di then recounted the whole story, saying, "Grandmother, I think I did nothing wrong, but Grandfather thinks I was a bit too radical. I know that Grandfather is afraid that when there is a conflict between Xiao Jiu and his princes, the Emperor will side with his own child and let Xiao Jiu suffer. But Grandmother, if we don't bring these things out into the open, our Xiao Jiu will suffer even more in the future."

The old lady frowned and thought for a moment after hearing this, and said, "Di'er, as long as you think what you are doing is right, then go ahead and do it. The dozens of people in our Yongning Marquis's mansion are your greatest support. Although I am old, I am not confused. I know what is right and what is wrong. What's wrong with women? Should women stay in the backyard all day and live a leisurely life? Didn't I also go to the battlefield with my father back then?"

Xu Di smiled and said, "In our Great Liang Dynasty, only you, my grandmother, could achieve something so praiseworthy and remembered for all time."

The old lady waved her hand and said, "Di'er, as a girl, you have the ability to do things that are beneficial to the country and the people. Why don't you do them? Nothing is easy. You will definitely encounter all kinds of difficulties. When you encounter difficulties, you have to find a way to overcome and solve them. You have done very well. Xiao Jiu is now under the emperor's command. Who would dare to easily reach out?"

Xu Di was surprised that the old lady, at such an advanced age, would be so supportive of him. Feeling a pang of sadness, he leaned closer to her and hugged her. Only then did Xu Di realize that the old lady was now emaciated. He remembered that when he first met her, she had been a very well-off person.

The old lady was probably a little embarrassed because it was the first time she had been hugged like this, but she didn't mind the intimate gesture. Xu Di said to the old lady in a low voice, "Grandmother, you must live a long and healthy life. You are the pillar of our family. With you here, we have a backbone."

The old lady felt a lump in her throat, a rush of heat to her eyes, and her eyes instantly reddened. She said, "Good child, you have done so much for this family. Your grandmother knows how good you are. Don't worry, your grandmother will definitely find a way to live a long and healthy life and take good care of you good children."

Xu Di wiped his eyes as he walked out of the old lady's courtyard. It was already dinnertime, and the mansion began to distribute meals to each courtyard. When Xu Di returned to his own courtyard, Li Yuexi had already set the meal on the kang table, ready for him to eat there.

Seeing Xu Di return, Li Yuexi quickly got off the kang (a heated brick bed) to put on her shoes, but Xu Di stopped her, saying, "Don't move, I'll go wash my hands, and we'll eat together."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuexi quickly instructed her maid to have the kitchen prepare two more dishes that Xu Di liked. She told them not to go to too much trouble and to just use what was already prepared.

When Xu Di finished washing up and came out, there were already two steaming dishes on the table, both of which were his favorites. Xu Di smiled and said, "I didn't even send someone to tell you, but I made you worry."

Li Yuexi waved her hand and said, "Husband, please eat first."

Xu Di didn't want to tell Li Yuexi about these troubles. Li Yuexi was pregnant and already had a hard time, and couldn't sleep well at night. While eating, Xu Di told Li Yuexi some interesting stories that happened at the Hanlin Academy, which made Li Yuexi keep smiling.

After dinner, Xu Di saw that Li Yuexi had found some thick winter clothes and was preparing to pack them into a trunk. He looked through them and found that some of them had never even been worn.

Li Yuexi watched Xu Di rummage through the clothes and said, "My husband has grown taller recently, and these clothes seem too short. How about we take some good leather with us and remake them when we get there?"

Xu Di listened, thought for a moment, and said, "Keep those furs to make yourself a cloak. I'll make my clothes with cotton, that's warmer. I'm a grown man, why would I need fur?"

Li Yuexi disagreed, saying, "You'll be a local official someday, so you need to have some nice clothes."

Xu Di laughed and said, "Our father is a high-ranking official, right? Do you know what clothes he wears every day? I've seen him wear those official robes very few times. He's always running around with his men, covered in sweat on sunny days and mud on rainy days. Even the best clothes don't look good on him."

After Li Yuexi got married, she didn't have much contact with her father-in-law. Before the wedding, when she was learning things with Granny Lu at the Xu family, she had seen her mother-in-law leading the servants to make clothes for her father-in-law. They even used thick cotton cloth, and the color of the cotton cloth was very dark.

Li Yuexi and Xu Di have both grown taller in the past two years, so Li Yuexi doesn't dare to make too expensive clothes. Some clothes, especially capes, are often worn for several years after they are made. Li Yuexi heard that women stop growing taller after having children, so she plans to make a few more nice clothes to wear after having children.

Seeing that it was still early, Xu Di told Li Yuexi to rest first and went to Chen Zhaoci's courtyard himself.

Chen Zhaoci's courtyard looked somewhat messy, with all sorts of medicinal herbs, and some clothes that were about to be packed away in the room, clearly indicating that he was preparing his luggage.

Seeing Xu Di come over, Chen Zhaoci pulled him over and said, "Come here, look what I found. This is a good thing. I heard it's a new fine cotton cloth from the Jiangnan textile factory. It's perfect for making diapers and baby clothes. I had forgotten when I bought it. Luckily, I found it this time."

Xu Di sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), watching Chen Zhaoci busy putting the cotton cloths away separately. He said to Bai Wei, "Bai Wei, you have to help us think of where to put these things so we can take them with us when we leave."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!