After hearing Xu Rao's words, Lord Li was finally relieved. When he returned home and told his wife about it, she said with some exasperation, "You know, Lord Xu has already laid a solid foundation for you. You don't need to worry about anything anymore. Just continue doing what you always do. Why are you still afraid? When Lord Xu first came, we had such a hard time. Think about the past and look at the present. You are a blessed person."

After hearing his wife's words and thinking about it carefully, Lord Li realized that it was true and was relieved.

Wei Lang was very reluctant for Xu Rao to leave, not for any other reason than that Wei Lang's entanglement with the Xu family was too deep. There was the business they did together in Yanmen Pass and Hexi County, and the restaurant and tavern that Wei Lang's sisters ran with Xu Di. The relationship between people who meet frequently and those who only see each other a few times a year is different.

However, since it was the Emperor himself who issued the decree, Wei Lang could not say anything. After handing over the matters at hand with Xu Rao, he sent some gifts to the Xu family as a formality.

When Xu Rao was about to take up his post in Ganzhou, the people of Hexi were reluctant to see him go. They even spontaneously made a "Ten Thousand People Umbrella" for Xu Rao and sent several elders to deliver it to the county government.

Xu Rao personally received them. The elders said, "Lord Xu, we people in Hexi have been living for a long time. We owe our lives today entirely to you. We are reluctant to see you leave, but you are going to a better place to benefit more people. We have nothing else to give you, so we made you a 'Ten Thousand People Umbrella'. Please accept it with a smile."

After Xu Rao thanked him, he said, "Old man, I can't take this umbrella with me. How about this, I'll turn that room in front of the county government office into an exhibition hall, and we'll put this 'Ten Thousand People Umbrella' in the exhibition hall. It will inspire future officials and let them know that we ordinary people know how to be grateful. What do you say?"

Several elders nodded in approval. Xu Rao then cleaned out the room in the county government office that was closest to the main street and turned it into an exhibition room. He also specially made a black sign with gold lettering that read "Hall of Honor of Hexi County Government Office" and placed the "Ten Thousand People Umbrella" at the entrance.

Upon seeing this, Lord Li felt a surge of excitement, especially since the wall was covered with information about Xu Rao's various initiatives and achievements since taking office. Lord Li felt he had to do his job well so that when he left, he could also have a place in this room.

After Xu Rao spent two days handing over his affairs, he was accompanied by the eunuch who delivered the imperial edict and an official specially sent by the Ministry of Personnel to Ganzhou Prefecture.

In the back courtyard of the county government, Zhang Zhaoci and Granny Lu, along with a group of servants, cleaned the five-courtyard house spotlessly. When Madam Li came to help, Zhang Zhaoci took Madam Li's hand and said, "Mother-in-law, this courtyard is for you to live in. You know the rest of the place, except for the bedroom in the main courtyard. Xu Di designed a secret room for you back then. Let me show you."

The entire courtyard was connected by underground tunnels, and this secret room in the master bedroom was used to hide things.

Madam Li followed Zhang Zhaoci into the secret room through the side of the wardrobe. The secret room, which was about ten square meters in size, contained some wooden shelves for storing things, but they had all been cleaned up.

Madam Li said, "Our Di-ge is so clever; he can think of everything."

Zhang Zhaoci said, "He just likes to mess around. You know this place is fine. If there's anything he doesn't want others to know, he can hide it in the folding box. That makes him feel at ease. Also, there's that greenhouse that Di Ge'er built in the backyard. We can hire someone to take good care of it. At least we can get cheaper vegetables in winter."

The two families walked around the house, and then went to sit down in Zhang Zhaoci's reception room. After several servants served tea, they went outside to stand at attention.

After hesitating for a long time, Madam Li asked, "I've wanted to ask this several times, but I haven't had the nerve to. What are your and Lord Xu's plans for the marriage of our Di'er and Xi'er?"

Zhang Zhaoci said, "Even if you didn't ask, I still have to tell you. Dige is sixteen years old now, and Xijie is thirteen. My husband and I are thinking that when Xijie turns sixteen, we'll get them married. You know, I'm not good at managing the household. All the big things in the house are handled by Granny Lu. I'm really looking forward to Xijie joining the family and managing the household soon." At this point, Zhang Zhaoci felt a little embarrassed.

Madam Li laughed and said, "Only you would do that. Go and see, which mother-in-law doesn't put the new daughter-in-law through a two-year trial period before handing over the management of the household to her?"

Zhang Zhaoci said, "We're our own children, why would I bother with her? I watched my daughter-in-law grow up, I know her temperament perfectly, why would I bother with her? We don't need to be so polite to each other anymore. I'll call you sister-in-law, and you can call me sister-in-law. Anyway, we're family now."

As for Zhang Zhaoci, Madam Li truly felt that the Li family had been blessed to find such a family member. Especially after her eldest daughter got married, although her eldest daughter's mother-in-law was a reasonable person, she was still a mother-in-law and always had to act like one. After her eldest daughter got married, she was also put through the wringer by her mother-in-law before she finally gave her daughter the power to manage the household.

The eldest daughter, Li Yuelin, had come back crying before, but all new brides have gone through this phase. What could her mother say? She could only comfort her daughter, telling her not to take things to heart, to get along well with her in-laws, and that over time, everyone would recognize her good qualities and treat her well in return.

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