The old lady sent someone to remind her. Xu Zhi smiled and thanked the old nanny, then asked, "Nanny, is the Marquis's wife here?"
The old nanny said, "The Lady of the Marquis took the young ladies of the manor to the Great Buddha Temple outside the city to worship Buddha early this morning, and she is not at home."
Upon hearing this, Xu Zhi said to Wang Mama, who was following behind her, "Wang Mama, please go and bring back the gifts we brought to the Marquis."
After Granny Wang agreed, Xu Zhi led Zheng Yuanyuan to continue walking forward.
When Zheng Yuanyuan heard that the Marquis of Pingxi was with the old lady, her face turned pale. Xu Zhi took Zheng Yuanyuan's hand and said softly, "Sister, your sister-in-law is here for you. When you get there, just kowtow to the old lady and the Marquis."
Zheng Yuanyuan's mood improved considerably after that.
After passing through the moon gate, you will find yourself in the back garden of the Marquis of Pingxi's residence. The garden is not very large, with a pond in the middle planted with lotus flowers. It is not the season for lotus flowers to bloom, but the flowers and trees around the pond are either turning green or in full bloom, and their colorful appearance is quite eye-catching.
Following a bluestone-paved path, passing through flowers and willows, and turning past a small artificial hill, the view suddenly opens up before you.
The entrance to the back garden of the Marquis of Pingxi’s mansion is a small stone bridge by a pond. This pond is not actually a stagnant pool, but a small waterway branching off from the river that runs through the capital. This waterway not only passes through the Marquis of Pingxi’s mansion, but is also said to pass through the gardens of several other families. When the capital was undergoing a major construction boom, many families built their back gardens along this shallow waterway.
The courtyard near the small stone bridge is where the old lady of the Pingxi Marquis's mansion lived. It is a three-courtyard house, not far from the front courtyard of the Pingxi Marquis's mansion, and closer to the main gate than the five-courtyard house where the Pingxi Marquis's wife, Madam Chen, lived.
The old nanny sent by the old lady of Pingxi was surnamed Gui. Nanny Gui led the way. When they entered the old lady's courtyard, Xu Zhi heard someone running towards the main house while whispering, "The eldest mistress and Miss Yuan are here."
Somewhat embarrassed, Granny Gui said to Xu Zhi, "The old lady is usually devoted to Buddhism and doesn't really discipline her subordinates in their manners."
Upon hearing this, Xu Zhi smiled and said, "It's quite nice to have such a lively atmosphere around the old lady."
After entering the courtyard, Zheng Yuanyuan became somewhat anxious, her steps quickening, but because of Xu Zhi, she couldn't run all the way in.
Granny Gui smiled and said, "Madam and Miss Yuan, this way please."
There are covered walkways on both sides of the courtyard, but after Granny Gui led us through the courtyard gate, we walked along a bluestone path leading to the main house. At the end of the path was a passageway, and after passing through the passageway, we entered the courtyard where the main house was located.
The courtyard was paved with bluestone, and a sycamore tree stood in the middle. The curtain of the main house was already drawn, and Granny Yu, the most trusted nanny of the old lady of Pingxi, came out of the room to greet them. When she saw Xu Zhi and Zheng Yuanyuan coming hand in hand, she smiled and said, "Madam and Miss Yuanyuan have arrived. Please come in quickly."
Upon entering, there is a double-sided embroidered screen. Turning around the screen, there is an eight-immortal table against the wall, with two chairs next to it. On one of the chairs sits a kind-looking old lady with a full head of white hair.
After Xu Zhi and Zheng Yuanyuan entered the room, someone brought out two thick prayer cushions. Xu Zhi led Zheng Yuanyuan to kneel down and said loudly, "Grandmother, your niece-in-law Xu kowtows to you."
Zheng Yuanyuan was already in tears. After kowtowing to Xu Zhi, she looked up and saw that the old lady of Pingxi Marquis had tears in her eyes and was reaching out her hands to Zheng Yuanyuan.
Zheng Yuanyuan could no longer hold back. She got up, took a few steps to the old lady of Pingxi Marquis, knelt down, and buried her face in the old lady's lap, wailing loudly.
Xu Zhi also stood up and watched as Zheng Yuanyuan hugged her grandmother and cried incessantly. The old lady had tears in her eyes and gently stroked Zheng Yuanyuan's hair and back. The servants around her also watched with red eyes.
Granny Yu wiped away her tears and said, "Madam, please shut up. The eldest mistress is still here."
The old lady wiped away her tears and said, "Good child, kowtow to your uncle first, and then we can have a proper talk."
Although he was considered the eldest uncle from a different branch of the family, the Marquis of Pingxi was still the head of the household. In addition, since the eldest and second branches of the family had not explicitly stated that they had separated, Xu Zhi naturally had to kowtow to her elders upon her return from afar.
Marquis Pingxi sat to the left of the old lady. Servants placed two prayer cushions in front of him. Xu Zhi pulled Zheng Yuanyuan, who had already wiped away her tears, and together they knelt down to kowtow to Marquis Pingxi.
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