This winter was exceptionally cold. The Xu family still followed the original plan, arranging manpower in the mansion and hiring a team from the escort agency outside, along with more than a dozen guards, to send the things that the Xu family and the Zheng family had prepared together to Ganzhou.
The Zheng family's belongings were moved out of the front yard, box by box, filling more than a dozen carriages. Granny Li explained the details to Madam Chen in detail. Madam Chen was so angry that she almost tore the handkerchief in her hand to shreds, but unfortunately, she couldn't fight against the powerful.
At the Yongning Marquis's residence, the old lady finally got some rest after the carriages had all left. She had been busy planning all sorts of things these past few days, and she was exhausted and fell ill.
Lord Yongning took his visiting card and invited the chief physician of the Imperial Medical Academy. After examining the lady, the physician said to the lord, "The old lady is advanced in years and has been overworked recently. I will prescribe some medicine for her to recuperate properly."
Holding the pills prepared by Zhang Zhaoci, Granny Shen asked the Imperial Physician, "Sir, our matriarch has been taking these pills, which were made by our Third Mistress herself. Should she continue taking them while she is taking your medicine?"
The judge looked at the pills, which were about the size of mung beans. He picked one up and put it under his nose, and a fresh and pleasant medicinal fragrance filled his lungs.
The court judge knew that this third mistress of the Xu family was a descendant of Physician Zhang from back then. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Did you leave behind a prescription for this pill?"
Granny Shen said, "When our Third Madam left the pills, she said that the Old Madam was getting old and her health was not as good as in previous years. If she fell ill, and other doctors were called to see her, they would need to know what medicine the Old Madam usually took. Leaving the prescription would also allow the doctor to carefully consider whether the prescription he gave would conflict with the ingredients in these pills. You see, this is the prescription that Third Madam left behind before she passed away."
The judge carefully examined the paper with the prescription written on it and said, "Your family's third mistress is truly skilled in medicine, and this prescription is also wonderful. You can brew my medicine for the old lady, and she can continue taking this pill."
When the old lady was taking her medicine, she said to Granny Shen, "I'm just tired. I'll be fine after a couple of days of rest. I even invited people from the Imperial Hospital. I didn't want them to think I was in any trouble."
Granny Shen said, "The Marquis is worried about your health."
The old lady said, "I'm still holding on to my life. My children are all getting married. If I, an old woman, don't live a good life, what if I pass away and it delays their marriages? I know what I'm doing."
Granny Shen said, "Madam, what will the Marquis think if you say that?"
The old lady smiled and said, "I've endured so much in my life, raised so many children and grandchildren, and I haven't even had enough of their blessings yet. How could I possibly leave like this? Don't worry, and let the Marquis and the others rest assured. Just do what you need to do. I have you loyal servants by my side. They don't need to be filial to me at my bedside. I remember how filial you've always been to me. It's not about this one moment."
Granny Shen agreed and went outside to tell the Marquis. The Marquis and the Second Master of the manor, along with their wives and children, were waiting. Hearing Granny Shen's words, Madam Wu felt a little embarrassed. She had a granddaughter-in-law herself, and in the past two years, she felt that she was being a rather inappropriate daughter-in-law. She said to Granny Shen, "Granny, I'd better stay here with my mother. I don't feel at ease going back."
With a smile, Granny Shen comforted her, "Madam, the Old Madam forbids anyone from serving you at your bedside. If anything happens, I'll send someone to fetch her."
The Marquis said, "In that case, we'll head back now."
Having no other choice, Madam Wu followed the Marquis back. Halfway there, Madam Wu said to the Marquis, "My lord, is the old lady complaining that I haven't taken good care of her?"
The Marquis was puzzled by Wu's words and asked in confusion, "Mother is ill, but she just doesn't want us to serve her. Why would she resent you?"
Ms. Wu said, "As her daughter-in-law, I neglected to pay my respects to my mother-in-law and did not take good care of her. Now that I think about it, I realize that I did not do enough."
The Marquis said, "You've been married into this family for decades, and it's always been like this, hasn't it? Besides, your second sister-in-law treats you the same way. Why are you suddenly thinking like this today?"
Ms. Wu sighed and said, "My mother is my mother-in-law, and I also have two daughters-in-law. I've been thinking about this a lot these past few days, and I feel that if I don't set a good example as both a daughter-in-law and a mother-in-law, my daughters-in-law won't be very filial to me in the future."
Upon hearing this, the Marquis smiled and said, "Don't worry, the children are all filial. Although our household has a large number of people, it is very simple. The children are all filial. As parents, as long as we don't interfere with the children's lives or cause them trouble, how could the children not be filial? Don't think too much about it in the future."
Madam Wu said, "When Mu Yue came back this time, he gave me a lot of advice. I used to think that what Mu Yue said was a bit exaggerated, but now that so much time has passed, I think about what Mu Yue said again and I think it makes a lot of sense. Although I have been married into this family for decades, everything has always gone smoothly. Although I have fallen out with you for many years because of Aunt Zhu's matter, this matter was intentional but unintentional. If Sister Zhu hadn't found someone to scheme against her, she would have suffered a lot more. I was unhappy and sometimes resented the wrong things you did. But now that Sister Zhu is gone, I realize that I have been living a really mess all these years."
For once, his stubborn wife admitted her mistake, and the Marquis stood beside her on the garden path, listening attentively.
The Marquis said, “We are all over fifty years old. We don’t know how many more years we have left to live. Life is not easy. We can’t always be bothered by the past. We’re seeing our grandchildren get married and soon we’ll have great-grandchildren. Wouldn’t it be great to enjoy our grandchildren in the future?”
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