Ma Pingting waved her hand and said, "Ninth Miss, I'm feeling sad right now. Please let me say what's on my mind. If I keep it all inside, I'm afraid I'll suffocate."

Xu Zhi had no choice but to nod and say, "Sister Ma, then just tell me, I'm listening."

Ma Pingting's earlier surge of courage and reckless spirit had somewhat dissipated. She sighed and said, "Ninth Miss, you don't know, when your brother helped our family out of our predicament, I was truly overjoyed. At that moment, I thought, this is the person I've been looking for. I have to follow him, and follow him forever. Even though I knew he was already engaged, I still followed your brother without a second thought. I told him I didn't want any titles or anything else, as long as I could be with him."

Recalling the recklessness and embarrassment of that time, even after so much time had passed, Ma Pingting still felt sad, her eyes red. She took a deep breath, composed herself, and said, "Your brother told me that I am a girl and should respect myself. He also said that your family does not have the custom of taking concubines. He told me to help my mother with her work and to take good care of my younger brother. At that time, my brother was in poor health. Everyone knew that he was seriously poisoned and would not live much longer. But my mother did not give up. Your brother also said that anything is possible and told me to take good care of my brother so that one day he could live like a normal person."

Seeing that tears were finally falling from Ma Pingting's eyes, Xu Zhi quickly handed her a handkerchief. Ma Pingting thanked her softly and said, "Actually, I'm very grateful to your brother. He didn't want me to belittle myself. Because of this, he talked to me seriously several times. Later, I figured it out. If we can't be together, then we can't be together. We'll be best friends. No matter what difficulties either of us faces, the other will do everything in their power to help us solve them. Ninth Miss, I grew up with my mother. We are people of the martial arts world, with outgoing personalities. We say what's on our minds. If I say something unpleasant, please don't take offense, Ninth Miss."

Xu Zhi said repeatedly, "No, no, I'm really happy that Sister Ma can speak to me so frankly."

Ma Pingting nodded and said, "In that case, don't worry about the money for now. I asked the manager of the trading company, and the invoice hasn't come out yet. Once the invoice is ready, I'll send someone to deliver it to you."

On the way home, Xu Zhi sat in the carriage, listening to the hustle and bustle outside, but in her heart she was thinking about what Ma Pingting had said to her. Girls are all like this. She is like this, and aren't I the same?

Why did she fall in love with Zheng Boyuan at first sight? Wasn't it because Zheng Boyuan helped her when she needed it most?

Xu Zhi recalled the jokes Xu Di had once made to her, saying that when girls are most easily moved is when a man appears out of nowhere when they need help. Even if the man isn't good-looking at the time, he will be portrayed in the girl's mind as a handsome, elegant, and peerless hero.

Thinking of this, Xu Zhi couldn't help but smile, then gently shook her head. It was all because of the Xu family's ninth daughter. She was so young yet so mature. In fact, no one knew that the Xu family's ninth daughter had lived two lives. The loneliness and hardship of her previous life had forged the Xu family's ninth daughter into a resilient person. It was also because of this resilient person that the Xu family's ninth daughter cherished the kinship given by her family, the friendship given by her friends, and even the most sincere and passionate love between her lovers.

Xu Zhi sent someone to the estate to invite Shen Mingwan over. When Xu Zhi told Shen Mingwan what Shen Shi had said verbatim, Shen Mingwan didn't say anything, but just sighed softly.

Xu Zhi felt anxious thinking about the still unclear situation in Wuzhou, and about Shen's obvious attitude that she was determined to live and die with Feng Zhongyi.

Feng Zhongyi is a very upright man. When something happens in Wuzhou, he will definitely live and die with the city he is guarding. If something happens to Lord Feng, can Lady Shen still survive alone?

Over the years, both Feng Zhongyi and Shen Shi, who clearly loved their children very much, placed them in the Feng family in the capital and asked the old lady to help take care of them. Xu Zhi knew very well why. Thinking about this, Xu Zhi felt very sad, just like when her family went to Hexi. She knew that they were facing an army several times their size, and she knew that they would have to take a great risk to have even a slight chance of success. If it weren't for the problems within the Northern Di, Xu Zhi felt that it would be hard to say who would win or lose.

At the time, both Xu Rao and Chen Zhaoci wanted to send her away, but Xu Zhi insisted on not letting her. Looking back at herself now, Xu Zhi probably thought that even if she were sent away, a child without parents would be worse than a blade of grass by the roadside. Rather than being defiled while alive, it would be better to die with her parents and brothers, so that the whole family would be together on the road to the underworld, which would be quite lively.

The letter from the Shen family had already been given to Shen Mingwan. Xu Zhi didn't know what was written in the letter, but seeing Shen Mingwan's expression after hearing what she said, she didn't react at all, which Xu Zhi found very strange.

After a long pause, Shen Mingwan said with red eyes, "Ajiu, aren't you wondering why, after hearing what you said, I'm neither surprised by my mother's choice nor making a fuss about going to them?"

Xu Zhi nodded, and Madam Shen let out a long sigh of relief, saying, "My brother and I have known since we were little that my father was an honest man, and my mother not only supported my father's honesty, but her plan was always that she would be there for him in life, and she would also be there for him when he was about to sacrifice his life because of his honesty."

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