When Zheng Boyuan returned for lunch, Xu Zhi happily told him about her visit to the Feng family that morning, where she met Ping Shi and her three charming girls.

Zheng Boyuan listened to Xu Zhi with a smile. Xu Zhi was a little embarrassed and said, "Brother Boyuan, am I being too noisy?"

Zheng Boyuan waved his hands repeatedly and said, "No, no, no, I think it's great that you're like this. We've come all this way from home, and to have a neighbor you get along with and a few girls you like around you is wonderful. Even your parents-in-law would be happy for you if they knew."

Thinking of her parents, Xu Zhi smiled and said, "I wrote a letter home a few days ago and had someone send it to the capital. I was thinking that once we're all settled here, if my mother feels too bored at home, she can come and stay with us for a while."

“That would be perfect. I think the scenery around Miaozhou is quite nice. When my mother-in-law comes, I can take her around to see it all. By the way, I heard that there is a large medicinal herb market in Miaozhou. I think my mother-in-law would be very interested in that.” Zheng Boyuan remembered something when he mentioned the medicinal herb market.

"Ah Jiu, your maternal grandfather's family runs a medicinal herb business. Do they have a shop here in Miaozhou?" Zheng Boyuan asked Xu Zhi.

Xu Zhi shook her head and said, "I really don't know about that. I don't know much about my maternal grandfather's family affairs, but my eldest brother should know. Back then, he followed the head manager of the pharmacy all the way from the Northwest to the Qiongzhou Peninsula. He must know where my maternal grandfather's pharmacy is in this Daliang region." After Xu Zhi finished speaking, she asked curiously, "Brother Boyuan, why are you asking this?"

Zheng Boyuan didn't want to tell Xu Zhi anything bad. When Xu Zhi asked him, he subconsciously said, "It's nothing. I just heard the constables in the yamen talking about the medicinal herb market and asked about it."

Seeing that it was getting late, Zheng Boyuan quickly put down his chopsticks and prepared to go to the yamen. Xu Zhi saw him off to the second gate, and only after watching Zheng Boyuan walk away did she turn around and go back to the backyard.

Xu Zhi sat on a bamboo chair in the courtyard, pondering Zheng Boyuan's expression just now. She was a little confused about what he was so unwilling to tell her, but she also felt that he must have a reason for not telling her. Once he felt it was time to tell her, would he still not tell her?

Xu Zhi pondered anxiously for a while. Bai Ying, seeing that it was getting late, called out to her, "Miss, it's getting late, come and rest for the afternoon."

Xu Zhi agreed and went to the corner room to wash up quickly. Lying on the bed, she looked at the sky-blue bed curtains embroidered with various gourds hanging on the canopy bed, letting her thoughts wander, and she didn't even know when she fell asleep.

When she woke up again, she saw that the sunlight outside was much gentler, and the wind even carried a hint of coolness. Bai Ying and the others were eating watermelon in the yard. When they saw that Xu Zhi had woken up, they helped her wash up and then took her to the yard to eat watermelon.

Thinking of the three girls she met at the Feng family's house that morning, Xu Zhi said to Bai Ying, "Find out all the dried goods we brought with us. Eat them quickly so they don't spoil in June. Tomorrow we've invited Madam Feng and the three girls over, so we should prepare a proper feast."

Shiliu, who loves to eat, nodded quickly after hearing Xu Zhi's words and said, "Sister Baiying, I saw that Sister Baiguo put the things away a few days ago. Sister Baiying, let's go find Sister Baiguo and ask her to find the things. Once we find them, we'll go find the cook and see what delicious food we can make tomorrow."

Watching Shiliu happily pulling Bai Ying towards the backyard, Hong Gu ate a slice of watermelon while laughing and said, "When it comes to food, our Shiliu always insists on being the first to eat. Miss, I've noticed you haven't been eating much these past few days. Is the food here not to your liking?"

Xu Zhi shook her head, took Hong Gu's hand, and said, "Hong Gu, do you think those people from the capital will come to Miaozhou? Yuan Yuan is still in the capital, I don't know how she is doing. I'm just leaving like this, I don't know if Sister Ming Wan is very busy."

Hong Gu knew that Xu Zhi had started to worry about those who remained in the capital after settling down.

Actually, after Xu Zhi and Zheng Boyuan left, the people left in the capital didn't need to worry about their safety. Although there were undercurrents in the capital, Zheng Boyuan's affairs were in the open. No matter what kind of grudge they had, they wouldn't choose this time to take action against the people who used to be around Xu Zhi and Zheng Boyuan.

Hong Gu patted Xu Zhi's hand and gently comforted her, "Good girl, now that you're here, settle down and live your own little life behind closed doors. Don't worry about things that are so far away from us."

Xu Zhi sighed softly, thinking that it wasn't so easy to just abandon her, but seeing how much older Hong Gu looked, Xu Zhi didn't say anything. She simply held Hong Gu's hand and quietly enjoyed the cool evening breeze blowing from afar.

Shiliu went to Baiguo to get the key to the storeroom, and turned the several boxes and cages containing dried goods that she had brought over upside down. Finally, Baiguo chased after her in a fit of rage, carrying a cloth bag full of things and running all over the yard. Honggu laughed and scolded her a few times, and the yard finally became quiet.

Bai Guo's fair face was flushed. She reached for the white cloth bag in Shi Liu's hand, but Shi Liu wouldn't let her. Bai Guo said, "This is sea cucumber that the old man specially left for our girls to nourish their bodies. There's only a little left. How could I bear to let you take it all and eat it? You can take two to make porridge. Why take so many?"

Shi Liu then sheepishly returned the cloth bag to Bai Guo. Xu Zhi smiled and said, "Never mind, let's eat it quickly since it's edible. It's almost June, and the weather here is much more humid than in the capital. These things will get soggy and won't taste good if left out for June. After June, I'll have my brother find some more and send them over."

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