Zhang Zhaoci laughed and said, "Is that why you're doing this? Even if we do nothing, can we escape? Xu Di told us that in the past few years, how many of the wealthy families in Beijing have managed to remain unscathed? Since we'll end up the same way even if we do nothing, we might as well join in the commotion. Maybe we can even find a way out for ourselves in the end."
Upon hearing this, Xu Rao laughed and said, "I'm not as open-minded as you are."
Zhang Zhaoci laughed and said, "Well, I think I have a backup plan. Why did my family members come back from Lingnan? Have you thought about it carefully?"
Xu Rao said, "I've thought about it, and I think this is probably our emperor trying to control our family."
Zhang Zhaoci sighed and said, "Yes, His Majesty wants our family to support Yuan-ge'er with all our might. My family is in the south, and we have a ship at sea. If we can't make a living here, we might as well go south and go to sea with the ship. That would be a way to survive, wouldn't it?"
Xu Rao gave a wry smile and said, "It is said that parents who love their children plan far ahead for them. Our emperor has really schemed against our family."
Zhang Zhaoci said, "Let them scheme. If it's not for anything else, we have to make sure our descendants have a stable environment. It's just about training a qualified successor and taking good care of him. He's even secretly sent so many bodyguards to us. With all of us here, how could we not take good care of a child?"
Xu Rao said, "It's easy to say, but difficult to do. You have to understand that in the future, we may have to contend with the combined power of several princes."
Zhang Zhaoci said, "If we've planned this all along, and they haven't even realized what's happening, how can we not find a way out for ourselves?"
Xu Rao said, "You're right, I was thinking too much because I was in the thick of it."
Zhang Zhaoci said, "You're right to think things through. It's a good thing that Bai Ge'er can stay with his uncle. This child is too impulsive, so he needs someone who can keep him in check."
Zhang Zhaoci said with a smile, "I heard that your uncle is also very good at martial arts. Who knows, our Brother Bai might become a person who is both literate and martial arts prodigy."
Xu Rao smiled and said, "I just don't know if your youngest son can endure hardship. These kids just didn't experience enough hardship when they were young."
Zhang Zhaoci asked, "Did you say that the uncle was going to bring the two children to teach somewhere?"
Xu Rao said, "Eunuch Chen means that my uncle should come with us, and I will soon be transferred from Ganzhou to another place."
Zhang Zhaoci asked in surprise, "Going somewhere else from Ganzhou? Where are you going?"
Xu Rao said, "It could be Liaodong."
Zhang Zhaoci said, "Why is it over there? I thought we were going to Jiangnan this time."
Xu Rao said, “I read the imperial gazette. In recent years, the weather in Jiangnan has been favorable and the people have lived peacefully. But things are not so good in Liaodong. It is surrounded by foreign enemies, and the people cannot farm normally. Their lives are not very good. Now I have become His Majesty’s firefighter. Wherever there is a fire, I have to go there.”
Zhang Zhaoci said, "So, after you go there, do you want to get a promotion?"
Xu Rao said, "I should be able to get promoted, but I don't know how. Ganzhou has not had a prefect yet, and I, as the assistant prefect, have been in charge. A prefect should be sent later, and if I raise my rank, I can go to Liaodong to be a prefect."
Zhang Zhaoci said, "Actually, it's quite nice over there. There are many precious medicinal herbs on the mountain. I went there and bought more."
Xu Rao said, "Have someone tidy up the front yard these next few days. Your uncle will bring Yuan Ge'er and Bai Ge'er over in a while."
Zhang Zhaoci agreed and sent someone to tidy up.
Meanwhile, Xu Zhi, accompanied by Granny Lu, was escorting Zheng Yuanyuan from Ganzhou to the capital by a team of镖局 (security escort agency) masters.
After traveling for about twenty days, it was already the end of March when they arrived at the post station outside the capital.
As the weather grew warmer, Xu Zhi changed out of her winter coat on the way. Sometimes she would put on riding clothes and learn to ride horses with a middle-aged woman named Hong Gu who was protecting her on her way back to the capital.
The old lady found a woman named Hong Gu, who had practiced martial arts for many years, from her estate. She brought along her two nieces, fourteen or fifteen-year-old girls named Qinglian and Honglian, and escorted them all the way from Ganzhou to the capital.
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