Everyone chuckled and chatted for a while in the old lady's room. When Xu Di yawned twice, the old lady urged him to go back to sleep.
After Li Yuexi helped Xu Di to sleep, she sat at the kang table with needle and thread, busying herself. She arranged for the servants in the courtyard to go to the backyard, not to stay in the front yard, for fear of making any noise that might wake Xu Di.
Xu Di slept until evening, and when he woke up, it was just in time for dinner. He ate in his own yard. Li Yuexi made him hand-pulled noodles with chicken broth, two poached eggs, finely chopped scallions, and a few drops of sesame oil. Xu Di ate it all, soup and all.
After Xu Di finished eating, he strolled around the yard twice. Seeing Li Yuexi busy in the inner room, he wandered over to Chen Zhaoci's yard.
Xu Bai and Xu Zhi were sitting and talking with Chen Zhaoci. These past few days, the two of them had gotten into the habit of coming over in the evenings to keep their mother company and chat for a while, which also helped Chen Zhaoci to distract herself.
When Xu Di arrived, Xu Bai was chatting happily, laughing and joking. When he saw Xu Di coming over, Xu Bai didn't say a word. After swallowing, he choked and coughed.
Xu Di was curious about what Xu Bai was talking about. Seeing how frightened he was, he sat down next to Xu Bai on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and asked with a smile, "What are you two talking about? Why are you so happy?"
Chen Zhaoci said, "I didn't say anything, just some idle chatter."
Xu Di looked at Xu Bai, who shrank back and then told him about the trouble Xu Shao had caused a few days ago. Xu Di's brows furrowed deeper as he listened. After thinking for a moment, he said to Chen Zhaoci, "Mother, it's getting late. It's not good that you've been worried about me not eating well these past few days. Now that I'm back safe and sound, you can rest assured. Get some rest."
Xu Di saw Xu Bai and Xu Zhi and told them to go back and rest early before leaving.
After watching Xu Di walk out of the room, Xu Bai leaned on the kang table and whispered, "I bet my older brother went to Grandfather's study for the two eggs for breakfast tomorrow morning."
Xu Zhi said nonchalantly, "Do you really need to gamble on this? It's a given."
Chen Zhaoci told the two of them to go to sleep, saying, "You two are enough. Your older brother is acting like an older brother, always taking on everything himself. It's not good for you younger people like him, okay? These two good-for-nothing kids, how can you be so ungrateful? Go to sleep now."
Xu Zhi put away what she was writing, got off the kang (a heated brick bed), put on her shoes, and said to Chen Zhaoci, "Mother, I almost forgot to tell you, Granny Lu is coming to the capital soon. When she arrives, do you want her to stay here with you or go back to the Zheng family mansion with me and my sister-in-law?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Zhaoci said, "I'll just prepare a courtyard for her to live in here. Don't you still have Granny Wang over there? My sister-in-law prescribed two medicines for her to take care of herself so she can have a baby. Granny Lu can also help me if she comes."
Upon hearing this, Xu Bai exclaimed in surprise, "Mom, what's gotten into my brother? He's already planning to have a baby?"
Chen Zhaoci said, "Your sister-in-law has been married for more than two years. If she doesn't have a child soon, there will be a lot of gossip and she will feel bad. They are both at the age where they want to have children."
Xu Bai nodded and said, "Good prenatal and postnatal care is good for the next generation. My brother and sister-in-law have good genes, so their child will definitely be good too."
Although Xu Zhi didn't understand the meaning of some of the terms, she nodded when she thought of Xu Di and Li Yuexi's appearances and said, "Mom, it would be good if my brother and sister-in-law had a girl. She would definitely be both beautiful and well-behaved."
Chen Zhaoci waved his hand and said, "You two should go back to sleep. One by one, it sounds like you're saying having a baby is like buying vegetables at the market, that you can just take whichever one you want?"
Xu Bai and Xu Zhi looked at each other, smiled, bowed to Chen Zhaoci, and then went out of the house together.
Xu Di went directly to the Marquis's study in the front courtyard. When Qingfeng saw Xu Di, he quickly bowed and led Xu Di into the study.
The Marquis was looking at something in the west room when he saw Xu Di coming over. He asked, "Why aren't you resting in your own courtyard? What are you doing here so late at night?"
Xu Di bowed to the Marquis, sat down in the chair opposite the Marquis's desk, and said, "I slept too much during the day, so I'm not sleepy now. Grandfather, I heard that my eldest aunt came to our house."
The Marquis nodded and said, "Did Brother Bai tell you that?"
Xu Di nodded and said, "Grandfather, Aunt's identity is special. We can't let her cause any more trouble. The Yongping Marquis's Mansion already has a lot of problems. Many families in the capital look down on them. Aunt has caused so much trouble because of her pride. If she reveals any flaws and her true identity is exposed, it will be a disaster for our family."
The Marquis nodded and said, "In that case, do you have a solution?"
Xu Di immediately said, "On the way here, I thought about it, and the best way is to find a capable daughter-in-law for my aunt."
The Marquis was surprised that Xu Di had also come up with this solution, and asked with great interest, "Oh? Tell me what you're thinking."
Qingfeng had already poured Xu Di a cup of tea. Xu Di was a little thirsty from walking, so he picked up the teacup, took a sip, put it down, and said, "This is what I think. The Yongping Marquis's mansion is actually putting a tight rein on my aunt. My aunt's mother-in-law is constantly chanting incantations to her, and no matter what happens, she always manages to get what she wants from my aunt in the end. Therefore, the daughter-in-law that my aunt is looking for cannot be too weak-willed. After marrying into the family, she should be able to help my aunt with some schemes and not let her continue to be bullied by her mother-in-law. It would be best if she had a strong personality, and most importantly, she should be able to swallow her pride and do things. People need face, trees need bark, but people who don't care about face are invincible."
As soon as Xu Di finished speaking, he saw the Marquis spit out a mouthful of tea, followed by a deafening cough.
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