Xu Zhi went to Zheng Yuanyuan's room to see her.
Zheng Yuanyuan had a fever for two days, felt extremely weak, and had a poor appetite. She hadn't eaten much in the past two days, only drinking some easily digestible porridge.
Granny Wang urged Zheng Yuanyuan to eat more, as a person needs to eat to stay healthy. Zheng Yuanyuan was frightened and felt uneasy because her brother had gone to Yuezhou. When she saw Xu Zhi arrive, she quickly tried to sit up.
Xu Zhi helped her sit up and said, "Sister, my parents just told me that once you're better, we'll go back to the capital first, and then from there go to Yuezhou."
Upon hearing this, Zheng Yuanyuan asked, "Are we still going back to the capital?"
Xu Zhi said, "Yes, now that I'm married into our family, I always have to go back to pay respects to our ancestors in the ancestral hall and kowtow to my great-aunt. I've asked around, and we can take a boat from the capital to Yuezhou. Taking a boat is better than taking a carriage. We can travel south along the canal, and once we reach Qiantang, we can take a carriage, which will save us a lot of time."
Zheng Yuanyuan was quite interested when she heard that she would be taking a boat, but she was still somewhat reluctant to return to the capital.
Zheng Yuanyuan said, "Sister-in-law, but my brother isn't here. Are we just going back to the capital by ourselves?"
Xu Zhi said, "Yes, it's just the two of us. Don't be afraid, little sister. We have a house in the capital. When we get there, we'll stay in our own house. I heard that our mansion is connected to the main house by a gate. We'll go through that gate to the main house to kowtow to our great-aunt. After I pay my respects at the ancestral hall, we'll set off for Yuezhou. That will be March or April, which I heard is the best time to visit Jiangnan."
Zheng Yuanyuan seemed a bit unwell. Xu Zhi said a few more words and then left. Zheng Yuanyuan, on the other hand, was uneasy when she heard that she was going back to the capital.
Granny Wang asked her, "Miss, what's wrong?"
Zheng Yuanyuan said, "Granny, I don't want to go back to that Marquis's mansion. It's supposed to be our own house, but it's just a few courtyards separated from the main house by a wall. Granny, I really don't want to see anyone from that family."
The old woman sighed and said, "Miss, let's not talk about anything else, but the old lady has taken care of you for so many years, you should go back and visit her."
Zheng Yuanyuan said, "Granny, I know that the old lady has been taking care of me all these years, but even the old lady herself, how many people in the whole courtyard are truly close to her? They are all people sent by that stepmother. To put it bluntly, even if I ate a few less bites at dinner, that stepmother would know."
Granny Wang said, "Every family has its own troubles. Miss, the old lady is only doing this for the sake of the Marquis's mansion. The second wife in the mansion is not a good person, but she is the person the Marquis likes. The old lady is getting old, and if she wants to take good care of you and the young master, she has to give up some things. Miss, think about it, if the old lady hadn't made concessions to the second wife, would you and the young master still be able to stay in the Marquis's mansion peacefully?"
Hearing this, Zheng Yuanyuan couldn't help but fall into deep thought. Indeed, that was the case. Back then, the old lady was in charge of the Hou family. Even after her mother's half-sister married into the family, the old lady was still in charge. It was only later, when her brother got a little older, that the old lady gave the power of managing the family to Xiao Chenshi.
Zheng Yuanyuan wasn't some naive and clueless girl; she naturally knew the bloody battles that raged in the inner quarters. Although she wasn't very free living in the old lady's courtyard, she was able to grow up safely, which was quite an achievement.
Granny Wang said, "Miss, the fact that you and the young master were able to grow up smoothly is all thanks to the old lady of the manor's mediation. The old lady is the Marquis's biological mother, but as far as I know, the Marquis is not very filial to the old lady. Later, the Marquis married this second wife, and the old lady herself has had a rather difficult life."
Zheng Yuanyuan said, "Granny, please stop talking. I know all this. My grandmother never leaves the courtyard even after she has lived a full life. She stays in the small Buddhist hall. Sometimes the food in our courtyard is not as exquisite as that of the stewards in the mansion."
Granny Wang sighed and said, "If you, young lady, can understand the old lady's difficulties, you will naturally understand. Although the old lady was reluctant to let you and the young master be adopted into the second branch, she had no choice but to do so for your future. As for the young master's marriage, without the old lady's efforts to mediate, could the Marquis have arranged it so smoothly on his own?"
Zheng Yuanyuan nodded. Wang Mama lowered her voice and whispered, "Moreover, the reason the eldest young mistress entered the family was because the third prince wanted to bring her into his mansion as a concubine. The eldest young mistress was unwilling, which led to the marriage between the eldest young mistress and the eldest young master."
Upon hearing this, Zheng Yuanyuan's face turned pale. Granny Wang felt sorry for her, but her daughter could only rely on her sister-in-law Xu Zhi. She had to listen to Xu Zhi no matter what, even if she was unwilling. Wherever Xu Zhi went, her sister-in-law Zheng Yuanyuan would follow.
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