Xu Zhi sighed and said, "Yuanyuan, your sister-in-law thinks it's best if you don't go there right now."

Zheng Yuanyuan looked at Wang Mama, who nodded and said, "Miss, what the eldest madam said is right. After all, we are no longer under the same roof. If you go to see the old lady now, those who know will say that you care about the elderly, but those who don't will think that you are going to make a fool of the eldest son's family. Don't cause any trouble."

Zheng Yuanyuan nodded and said, "Then I'll listen to my sister-in-law and the nanny."

Granny Wang said with a smile, "The kitchen said they were having dumplings for dinner. I went to check, and they're pork, white pork, and scallion dumplings. Isn't that your favorite filling, Miss? How about I accompany you to make a few myself?"

Zheng Yuanyuan knew that Granny Wang was just trying to make her happy. Seeing that Xu Zhi and Shen Mingwan still had things to talk about, she followed Granny Wang to the kitchen.

After Zheng Yuanyuan left, Shen Mingwan said to Xu Zhi, "Although you are not under the same roof as them, you are still all under the same Zheng name. Sometimes, you should lend a hand."

Xu Zhi smiled bitterly and said, "I understand this principle, but this is no ordinary matter. At such a young age, to have your leg broken for a prostitute is not only bad for your reputation now, but it will also make it difficult to find a decent marriage partner in the future."

Shen Mingwan smiled and said, "That depends on what your family plans. Such scandalous matters are just something people talk about after the incident. Send the person away to another place, and after two or three years, the people here will forget about it. Then they can come back, get married, and do whatever business they want. Isn't that good?"

Xu Zhi sighed softly and said, "That makes sense, but I don't know if the other person's mother is willing or not. Our eldest daughter's aunt is someone who loves children very much."

Shen Mingwan smiled and said, "Even if you're unwilling, aren't there still the Marquis and the Old Madam above you? They've made their decision, so what can they do if you're still unwilling?"

Xu Zhi simply smiled when she heard this.

Early the next morning, Xu Zhi, accompanied by her servants, went to the Yongning Marquis's residence. Upon arrival, she saw that Ning Shi had already arrived with several sturdy old women, carrying several red lacquer boxes, preparing to go to the Yongping Marquis's residence.

After smiling and bowing to her aunts and uncles, Xu Zhi noticed that everyone was dressed in their everyday clothes and knew they were all going to the Yongping Marquis's residence.

The Xu family is Zhao Sixing's maternal family, and they are very close relatives. His marriage is a big event, and his maternal relatives will often bring some gifts to his home the day before the wedding to help with the preparations.

Seeing Xu Zhi with Bai Ying, Chen Zhaoci took her hand and said, "You'll come with me later."

Xu Zhi is now a married woman, and whenever her family needs her to handle something, she always goes with her mother, and this time is no exception.

Seeing that preparations were almost complete, Ning said to everyone, "Everyone is ready, so let's set off."

Walking along the road, Xu Zhi secretly asked Chen Zhaoci, "Mother, why didn't Grandmother and Auntie go? Auntie is Grandmother's favorite child."

Chen Zhaoci said, "It seems to be the Marquis's idea. The Marquis said that today is not the main day. In principle, we aunts should help with the work when we go. Your grandmother and great-aunt are both grandchildren and are considered elders in the family. How can we go and help with the work?"

Xu Zhi leaned close to Chen Zhaoci's ear and whispered, "Grandfather doesn't want Grandmother to go and make a face for Aunt's mother-in-law."

Chen Zhaoci gently patted her shoulder and said reproachfully, "What nonsense are you talking about, child?"

Xu Zhi made a face at Chen Zhaoci and said in a low voice, "In this huge capital city, who doesn't know that my aunt has found a difficult mother-in-law? It's right that Grandmother and Aunt didn't go today. They didn't go, so they saved face for their family but didn't get anything good in return."

Chen Zhaoci laughed and said, "You child, you're getting more and more naughty. How can you talk to your elders like that?"

Xu Zhi smiled and leaned against Chen Zhaoci's chest, saying, "Does that mean we can't say what others do? Mother, I think my eldest aunt's mother-in-law is really not easy to get along with. She still manages the family affairs. When my eldest cousin got married, I guess she used a lot of tricks."

Chen Zhaoci said, "Who cares about them? Let's just do what we have to do. That Zhou girl isn't made of clay. If things really get out of hand, all that pretense of benevolence and morality probably won't last two moves against her."

Upon hearing this, Xu Zhi thought of the unpleasant experience the Yongping Marquis's family had suffered a few days ago, and laughed until her stomach hurt. Since she couldn't laugh out loud in the carriage, she covered her mouth, grabbed Chen Zhaoci's sleeve, and laughed to her heart's content.

The two houses were not far apart. After several carriages arrived, the threshold of the side gate had been lowered, and the carriages drove into the Marquis's residence one by one. After passing through the alley, they stopped in an open space.

Because tomorrow is the wedding day of the eldest son of the manor, the manor has been thoroughly cleaned, and red and green ribbons have been tied to the branches of trees that have lost all their leaves in many places.

Led by a capable nanny of Xu Shao, the group got off the carriage and entered the back garden of the Yongping Marquis's mansion through a moon gate.

Since Ning Shi and Chen Zhaoci were considered juniors of Lady Yongping, they naturally had to pay their respects first when they arrived at her home. The nanny led Ning Shi and the others from a path in the back garden toward Lady Jiang's courtyard.

Compared to the previous residence, the Yongping Marquis's residence was much more magnificent, and much of it had been renovated in recent years. As Ning walked, she looked at the surrounding scenery and secretly curled her lip. Others might not know the details of the Yongping Marquis's residence, but Ning knew quite well. After all, when Xu Shao got married, Ning was busy with preparations. At that time, the Yongping Marquis's residence was already showing signs of decline, but thanks to the huge dowry that Xu Shao brought, the Yongping Marquis's residence had actually lived quite comfortably over the years.

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