Hong Gu was a slender woman in her thirties with a married woman's hairstyle. Xu Zhi had heard Xu Di introduce her to Hong Gu. After Hong Gu got married, her husband died of a sudden illness. Hong Gu had no children and did not have a good life in her husband's family, so her brothers from her own family took her back.
The people on the estate practiced martial arts from a young age, and Hong Gu was also talented. After returning home, she focused on practicing martial arts. Some people wanted to find Hong Gu another husband, but she refused. At that time, Li Yanxia was taken away from the estate by the old lady, and Hong Gu also had this idea. She felt that she did not want to get married and wanted to be able to go out and do things on her own, just like Li Yanxia.
In order to find a suitable person for Xu Zhi, the old lady considered many things. She was afraid that someone too old would not be able to get along with Xu Zhi, and someone too young would be too inexperienced and easily panicked if something happened.
When the head of the estate introduced Hong Gu to the old lady, the old lady initially thought that Hong Gu had been married before, and if she had any thoughts of remarrying, it would be difficult for her to find a replacement. It was only after Hong Gu asked the head of the estate to give the old lady a guarantee that the old lady agreed.
Honglian and Qinglian are cousins. They learned martial arts together with their father and brothers since they were young. At that innocent and carefree age, they were naturally very happy to learn that they were to be sent to protect the old lady's granddaughter and that they could go to the capital and then to Yuezhou together.
After arriving in Ganzhou, the three of them didn't even open their luggage. They simply carried it on their backs and followed Xu Zhi south to the capital. Although the journey was tough, with them sleeping outdoors in the wind and rain, the three of them were still quite excited.
Hong Gu was not only skilled in close combat, but also had been practicing horsemanship and archery since childhood. Back then, the Princess had a women's army under her command, whose fighting power was no less than that of the men. They made great contributions to the Liang Dynasty. After the Princess retired, the whereabouts of this women's army became a mystery. It turned out that the Princess had hidden them in her manor so that these girls who had followed her to fight in various places could have a good home.
As descendants of those people, riding and archery skills were also essential to practice. Seeing how diligently Xu Zhi studied, Hong Gu taught her diligently as well. Soon, Xu Zhi was able to ride horses with Hong Gu, running back and forth between the two ends of the group.
The government has already sent people to the post station to welcome them.
It was a steward and a head maid in the manor. When they saw Xu Zhi riding a horse, the head maid smiled and said, "Our Ninth Miss really has the demeanor of the old lady back then."
Xu Zhi smiled and said, "Grandma Lao is too kind. How can I compare to my grandmother back then?"
The old lady said, "The old lady instructed that after Ninth Miss returns to the Zheng family to tidy up, she will return to our Marquis's mansion. The old lady and her sisters have been waiting at home for a long time."
Xu Zhi is now a member of the Zheng family, so naturally she should go back to the Zheng family first after returning from afar. Although she doesn't have any proper elders, there is an old lady in the main branch of the family, so she should go there to kowtow first.
After thanking the nanny and the steward with a smile, Xu Zhi led her people into the capital and headed towards the Pingxi Marquis's residence.
Xu Zhi didn't see anyone from the Pingxi Marquis's residence to greet her along the way, but she didn't care. Since she didn't need to go through the main gate of the Pingxi Marquis's residence to enter her home, it didn't really matter whether she was greeted or not.
The steward and nanny of the Yongning Marquis's residence naturally accompanied Xu Zhi all the way home. The closer they got to the back gate of the Pingxi Marquis's residence, the more unpleasant their expressions became. Although they had already separated into different rooms and households, it was not unreasonable for them to send someone to greet their niece-in-law and nephew who had come from afar.
The courtyards that the Marquis of Pingxi's residence had allocated to Zheng Boyuan had already been prepared by Zheng Boyuan's men. The main gate faced north, and a plaque with the words "Zheng Residence" hung above the gate. The gate was opened even before we got close.
The people left to watch over the courtyard were hired by the Chen family. Naturally, they were at Zheng Boyuan's beck and call. Knowing that Zheng Boyuan's newlywed wife had returned, they knew that the mistress of the house had returned. The matron who stayed behind to manage the household affairs had already led the people to clean the courtyard, just waiting for the mistress of the house to return.
As Xu Zhi stepped down from the carriage, the head maid and several others were about to kneel down and kowtow to her. Xu Zhi quickly stopped them, smiling and saying, "Grannies, you've worked so hard. While we're away, you've taken care of everything at home. We should be the ones thanking you properly."
The head nanny, surnamed Zhao, was a woman in her fifties who seemed very kind. Upon hearing Xu Zhi's words, she smiled and said, "Grandma's return is naturally a major event in the family. We are all following the instructions of the master to guard the house. It is only right that we kowtow to Grandma."
When the old women of the Yongning Marquis's mansion saw the way the Zheng family's left-behind women behaved, they couldn't help but nod in approval. At least there were still some sensible people in this family.
Granny Zhao led Xu Zhi and the others into the courtyard through the main gate. The side gate was open, and the steward of the manor led the carriages into the courtyard one by one.
Granny Zhao said, "Just now, the old lady from the main house sent her maid to ask when you would arrive, madam."
Upon hearing this, Xu Zhi smiled and said, "My sister and I will freshen up first. I'll trouble Granny Zhao to send someone over to inform the old lady that my sister and I are going to kowtow to her."
Zhao Mama smiled and agreed, then led Xu Zhi toward the main courtyard.
The courtyard has five sections. After entering the second gate, you will find the main house where Xu Zhi will live. The small courtyard behind the main house is for Zheng Yuanyuan. Both courtyards have been cleaned up. After a quick wash and change of clothes, Xu Zhi will take Zheng Yuanyuan to kowtow to the old lady of the Pingxi Marquis's mansion.
Just as she reached the moon gate, an old nanny sent by the old lady came over. After bowing to Xu Zhi, she said, "Grandma, the Marquis heard that you were going to kowtow to the old lady, so he has already gone over."
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