Hearing this, Xu Zhi's eyes reddened. She took Chen Zhaoci's hand and said, "Mother, is there any way to stop Grandmother from doing this?"

Chen Zhaoci sighed and said, "Children, your grandmother is getting old."

Upon hearing Chen Zhaoci's words, tears welled up in Xu Zhi's eyes. She remembered that her great-grandmother had also been like this, bedridden at a young age. She would secretly visit her, and when her grandmother held her hand, she couldn't say a word and just kept crying.

Seeing Xu Zhi standing there crying, Chen Zhaoci put his arm around Xu Zhi's shoulder and led her forward, saying as they walked, "Child, birth, aging, sickness, and death are all inevitable experiences. Your grandmother is getting old and her mind is a little confused; these are unavoidable. When you have time, come back and spend more time with her. She really loves you and you great-grandchildren very much. She has already divided up everything in her private treasury. She even told me to advise you not to work too hard. Girls should live a more relaxed life."

Xu Zhi kept nodding until she returned to her room, sat on the bed and wiped away her tears for a while before she finally calmed down and went to Chen Zhaoci's room.

Chen Zhaoci was reading a medical book when he saw Xu Zhi come in and said, "What would you like to eat for lunch? I'll have the kitchen make it for you."

Xu Zhi shook her head and said, "I'm leaving soon. I'm still worried about things in the south of the city. I don't know how Father will help me. My aunt went to the estate to help me find people, and I need to make arrangements for those people as well. There's a lot to do. I can't just stay at home like this forever."

Chen Zhaoci nodded and said, "In that case, pack your things and leave. Will you be back tonight?"

Xu Zhi thought for a moment and said, "It's hard to say. Don't wait for me if I don't come back. My timing is uncertain."

Leaving home and sitting in the carriage heading south of the city, Xu Zhi sighed softly. Although birth, aging, sickness, and death are the natural order of life and cannot be resisted, Xu Zhi still felt very sad. Her grandmother was such a good person, and she had watched her grow old day by day. She could understand it logically, but she couldn't accept it emotionally.

The streets were bustling with activity, with shops and stalls lining the streets, people buying and selling things. A lively atmosphere filled the air as Xu Zhi listened to the sounds outside, but her thoughts drifted further and further away. She felt that a person's life was just like that of flowers, plants, and trees, starting from sprouting, growing, and then gradually declining, in a continuous cycle. People lived their lives like this, and although she felt a pang of sadness, she had to accept it.

Through such trials, her mind gradually broadened. After Xu Zhi figured these things out, she felt that things seemed much brighter. She once heard her older brother say something like, "A person's life is like a blade of grass in autumn. After the grass and trees wither, no one remembers the bright bloom they once had. But a person can leave their name in this world and be praised for all eternity. So, people should live a more meaningful life."

Xu Zhi went to the courtyard in the south of the city, where work had already begun.

Zheng Yuanyuan was helping to check the finished cotton-padded clothes in the yard when she saw Xu Zhi coming over. She quickly got up, walked over to Xu Zhi, and happily called out, "Sister-in-law!"

Xu Zhi said to Zheng Yuanyuan, "Yuanyuan, come with me to find a house nearby. My aunt has found some people from her estate in the suburbs of Beijing to help us. We need to find them a place to stay."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Yuanyuan exclaimed happily, "Really? Oh, sister-in-law, that's wonderful! I'll take you there. There's a kind old woman named Wang over here. She's very warm and generous and knows exactly what houses around here look like and which houses haven't been rented out yet. Our courtyard was found with the help of that old woman Wang."

After Zheng Yuanyuan led Xu Zhi out of the courtyard, they walked to a nearby alley.

As Xu Zhi walked, she quietly observed the environment of these alleys.

It is often said that the place where ordinary people live is the most down-to-earth expression of a place. The capital city faces south, and the east and west of the city are inhabited by high-ranking officials, wealthy merchants and gentry, while the south of the city is inhabited by relatively poor families.

The alley was very narrow, only about the width of a horse-drawn carriage. Few people would bring their carriages here quickly. If another carriage came, the two carriages would block the alley. Some alleys would have a designated space at the entrance for carriages. Xu Zhi's carriage was parked at the entrance of the alley.

Fortunately, these places were planned in earlier years. Although the alleys are narrow, they are straight. There are small doors on both sides of the alleys, with white walls and black tiles. There are also special sewers in the alleys. After the sewage from each household flows out of the sewer in the courtyard, it flows through these planned sewers to a place, and then flows out of the city.

The surrounding area is full of courtyards with similar buildings. Because of the biennial imperial examinations, many families converted the houses in their courtyards into small rooms and rented them out to candidates from other places.

Next year is the year of the grand examination, and many candidates from other places have already rented rooms in this area. As Xu Zhi and Zheng Yuanyuan walked through the alley, they could still see many candidates wearing long gowns with paper and pen boxes tucked under their arms.

Zheng Yuanyuan knocked on the gate of a courtyard in the next alley. The woman who opened the door was a woman in her fifties. When she saw Zheng Yuanyuan, she smiled and said, "Oh, it's Miss Zheng. Come in, please come in."

Zheng Yuanyuan smiled and said, "Aunt Wang, we're bothering you again. Let me introduce you. This is my sister-in-law. We've come today to ask Aunt Wang for your help with something."

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