The matter between the Nie and Du families was not yet over, and Jiang Zhi was already preparing to return home.
Half a month has passed since the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. The Little New Year is just around the corner, and if we don't leave soon, we'll miss the reunion dinner.
Just as Grandpa Nie came to invite Jiang Zhi, his aunt, to a banquet at the Nie family home, Jiang Zhi took her leave.
Old Master Nie immediately urged her to stay: "Madam Jiang rarely comes to Jincheng Prefecture, and I would like to invite you to spend the New Year here so that you can experience the liveliness of the capital."
Although Jincheng Prefecture sounds like just a prefecture, with the Prince's Mansion there, it's practically a royal capital, bustling and vibrant incomparable to any other.
Jiang Zhi replied, "My son and daughter-in-law are still eagerly waiting for me. If I don't come back soon, they will be worried and won't be able to enjoy the holiday properly!"
Grandpa Nie was speechless for a moment. He understood this principle: the older one gets, the more one longs for the days when one's children and grandchildren are around one's knees.
Especially now that she recognizes her own grandson, she has only seen him once, at the teahouse that day.
After that, the elderly couple went to the Chief Secretary's residence every day, hoping to see their grandson one more time, but Nie Fantian always made excuses to avoid seeing them, saying he was busy with official business.
The old man was suffering!
He knew he had misjudged people, treating a fake as a treasure and causing his grandson to suffer, but now it was too late for regrets.
The Nie family spent money to expedite the process, getting Du Baolin imprisoned in just four days, yet his grandson still refused to forgive him.
Upon hearing that Jiang Zhi was leaving, Old Master Nie panicked. Ignoring his advanced age and status as an elder, he knelt down before Jiang Zhi with a thud: "It is my Nie family that owes your family and Xiao Tian. Please stay one more day so that Xiao Tian can have a meal with our Nie family and become acquainted with them."
Seeing the white-haired old man kneeling in front of her, Jiang Zhi couldn't bear it and quickly went forward to help him up: "Grandpa, Xiao Tian is just having trouble coming to his senses right now. He saw everything you did. He'll understand in a few more days."
Grandpa Nie shook his head: "His temperament is just like mine and his mother's. Once he's made up his mind, nothing can change it. If he leaves, I'm afraid he'll never come back to the Nie family."
He wanted a chance to make amends, because if his grandson returned to the military camp, they would never see each other again.
Jiang Zhi thought about it and realized that it was true; Nie Fantian had no intention of relying on his relatives.
The male protagonist fights his way through life, relying entirely on his own strength, though luck is also a part of that strength.
However, the Nie family were cloth merchants. Although they were not extremely wealthy, they were long-established merchants in the city with four or five shops.
Preparing a home for Nie Fantian is relatively easy, but the male lead's luck is unpredictable; one wrong move and he could be ruined.
Jiang Zhi didn't hide anything from the old man and told him about her relationship with the male lead: "Grandpa, you should have noticed that Xiao Tian and I aren't close either."
Because he grew up in a farming family and suffered a lot, he harbors such deep resentment; my words may not be of any use!
There is no such thing as wish fulfillment or perfect harmony in this world.
If a child has never eaten a single grain of rice or worn a single thread of silk from their own family since childhood, and after more than ten years of separation, they immediately want to be affectionate and close to their ancestors upon meeting them again, disregarding past grievances and recognizing them as family, then anyone who thinks this is dreaming.
Du Baolin and Xu Xiaolan deserved to be punished; what does it have to do with Nie Fantian? Nie Fantian only let the Nie family discover the truth.
Even raising cats and dogs requires petting them for several days. When I went home this time, I had to prepare a bunch of food for Peppa Pig before I could appease her.
Not to mention that they are independent and self-reliant individuals.
Because emotions are ethereal and intangible, they cannot be described with words alone; they must be shaped by tangible things to be seen and understood.
Grandpa Nie nodded: "I know it's not easy for a farming family to raise another child, and it will be a burden on your family... If Xiaotian can come home, I will talk to him properly, and I will also thank you."
As he spoke, he took out five silver notes from his pocket and placed them on the table: "Regardless of whether Xiaotian acknowledges us or not, the Nie family is grateful for your upbringing. Here are five hundred taels; I hope they can make up for my mistake!"
Old Master Nie is a businessman; he understands all these social niceties.
Moreover, the Xu family was raising a child with no blood relation to them, and their own child had died.
If Jiang Zhi hadn't come to Jincheng, Xu Xiaolan and Du Baolin would never have admitted it, and the Nie family would never have believed in their grandson, Xiaotian.
Five hundred taels!
Jiang Zhi's heart pounded. Du Baolin had said he would give her five hundred taels of silver as hush money, but she had only taken it as a perfunctory gesture. She never expected that the Nie family would actually take out five hundred taels of silver.
She quickly pushed it away, saying, "Oh, no need, no need, Xiaotian is an obedient and sensible child..."
Grandpa Nie pushed it over: "Even the most sensible boy is hard to raise. You must accept it; it's a token of our goodwill!"
Jiang Zhi pushed again, "It's just simple food... we don't need this much!"
Grandpa Nie continued, "If you won't accept it, is it because you think it's too little?"
"Oh, old man, you're wrong. How could I possibly complain about the amount? I'll just have to accept your offer."
Jiang Zhi accepted the silver note: "Although Xiao Tian is a bit stubborn, he is still reasonable. I will persuade him that no matter what, he should offer incense to his mother before he leaves!"
Nie died in Pingchuan County, but the Nie family transported her body back to Jincheng for burial. They also set up a memorial tablet in the house, and Du Jinying has been the one offering incense for her all these years.
Grandpa Nie's eyes immediately welled up with tears: "Yin'er made that poisonous woman swear an oath to protect Xiaotian. She should be at peace after receiving an incense stick's worth of thanks!"
Under duress and coercion, Xu Xiaolan confessed everything in front of the Nie family: her affair with Du Baolin, her divorce, and her pregnancy while living in Pingchuan County.
At that time, Nie was also pregnant, so Du Baolin bribed the old servant Ma Gan Niang to let Xu Xiaolan enter the household as a wet nurse.
Unexpectedly, the two were caught in bed together by Madam Nie. Madam Nie was so angry that she suffered a miscarriage, postpartum hemorrhage, and cursed the two men with poison.
The child was supposed to die as well, but Xu Xiaolan felt guilty and was afraid that her fate would actually come true.
Only then did they send Xiaotian back to the Xu family, thinking that she could be taken care of at her parents' home, but they never expected to bring trouble to their family.
Xu Xiaolan sounded extremely aggrieved as she spoke, saying that she had been deceived by Du Baolin and only found out he was married when she became pregnant.
No one believed her words. A married woman who commits adultery should be severely punished. Her husband's family had only released the divorce papers after taking money from Du Baolin, and they kept quiet about it to the Xu family. As a result, Xu Maowan, who was searching for someone everywhere, was beaten and left with health problems.
When the Nie family pressed for answers, Jiang Zhi had already left. She had heard it from Xiao Man when she returned. All she could hear was Qin Shi spitting repeatedly: "Bad luck, bad luck! Shameless!"
Now, Grandpa Nie wants Nie Fantian to go back so that he can burn paper money and incense, letting his mother know that he is still alive and under her protection.
This is easy to handle. Jiang Zhi had already planned to go to Nie Fantian. Firstly, to say goodbye and settle all past grievances.
Secondly, I wish everyone a peaceful parting and hope that you will all be the main characters in your respective fields in the future.
Now that I've taken on the task entrusted to me by Old Master Nie, I have no choice but to find a way to help Nie Fantian resolve the grudges between him and the Nie family.
Family is family; you can rely on them in the future.
Although Nie Fantian never met any members of the Nie family, everyone knew his whereabouts.
They just smashed up the Du family's courtyard, which is also the Nie family's, and even kicked out Xu Xiaolan's two children.
Jiang Zhi remained unmoved, showing no sympathy or pity whatsoever.
The sins of one's father must be repaid by one's children; what is swallowed must be vomited up. One should be satisfied if one can grow up comfortably and peacefully to one's teens.
Nie Fantian was sixteen when he left Xujia Village to make his way in the world, while Xiaoman was fifteen when she took on family pressures.
Those two children were literate from a young age, so it would be easy for them to find a job as a helper in the bustling city.
Even if all else fails, he could still get a job as a servant in a wealthy family with his pretty face. Besides, he has an uncle outside the city, and he can also rely on his aunt and uncle. He's much luckier than Nie Fantian back then.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com