Xu Zhi got dressed, and Bai Ying and Bai Guo tidied up Xu Zhi's bedding. They drew back the curtains, and the room was brightly lit. Because the kang (heated brick bed) had been heated in the middle of the night, the room felt quite warm thanks to the residual heat from the kang.
Bai Ying rummaged through the bundle she had brought and took out a cotton-padded jacket and trousers. She said to Xu Zhi, "Ninth Miss, it's cold today, wear this."
Xu Zhi naturally had nothing to say. Xu Zhi didn't care much about food and clothing. She would wear whatever Bai Ying, who was in charge of her clothes, told her to wear.
Xu Zhi looked at Shi Liu, who was still wearing thick cotton clothes, and asked Bai Ying, "Sister Bai Ying, has Sister Shi Liu's cotton clothes been made yet?"
Bai Ying replied with a smile, "Miss, don't worry about these little things. I've asked people to take care of not only Sister Shiliu's, but also Aunt Hong's, Qinglian's, and Honglian's."
Xu Zhi nodded. At this moment, Granny Lin came over to invite Xu Zhi to have breakfast there. When Xu Zhi arrived, she found that they were having hand-pulled noodles for breakfast.
There are mushrooms on the mountain. In the summer, we picked them and dried them. Now we soaked them in water and stewed them with chicken. They said they stewed them all night. The taste of the chicken soup made Xu Zhi feel that her stomach was suddenly much emptier.
While setting out the bowls and chopsticks for Xu Zhi and Shen Mingwan, Granny Lin said, "Our young lady has a sensitive stomach, so I told the kitchen to roll the noodles very thin. They'll be thin and soft when cooked. Ninth Miss, I don't know if you'll like them. If you don't like this mushroom and chicken soup, the kitchen also has beef bone soup."
Because we had several guards with us, the kitchen prepared a large amount of food. In order to cater to everyone's tastes, they not only made chicken soup with mushrooms, but also soup made with pork bones and beef bones, which tasted very good.
Xu Zhi quickly waved her hand and said with a smile, "Granny Lin, I'll just eat the same thing as Sister Mingwan. I really like this mushroom soup."
Granny Lin took out several side dishes from the food box. They were all pickled vegetables grown on the estate. They were pickled in the autumn and then taken out at this time. They were either washed and served as a cold dish, or sliced and stir-fried with oil. They were perfect to eat with noodles.
After breakfast, because of the rain last night, the mountain road was difficult to travel, so Xu Zhi, who originally wanted to return to the capital, had to stay here again.
Although the sun was shining brightly, the temperature dropped after sunset. Xu Zhi, wearing a padded coat and a thick cloak, still felt a bit cold, so she simply stayed in her room, turned on the lamp, took out a book and read, listening to the wind outside. She found the night quite pleasant.
Just as she was about to wash up and rest, she heard a noise in the front yard. Seeing that it was so late, Xu Zhi quickly asked Bai Ying to go and see what was going on.
Bai Ying returned after a while, saying that several people had come to the front yard, saying that their carriage had broken down on the mountain road and they had come to stay overnight. The steward of the estate had informed Granny Lin and arranged for them to stay in the guest rooms in the front yard.
The front yard and the back yard are actually connected, but even with several guards with her, Xu Zhi was still worried.
This estate was acquired by Madam Feng. The people who stayed here were brought from the Shen family. The estate is a five-courtyard complex. The front courtyard was used as guest rooms. Shen Mingwan lived in the third courtyard, and Xu Zhi lived in the fourth courtyard. As for the other people on the estate, they lived in several side courtyards.
Xu Zhi had met the head of this village before. He was a somewhat dull middle-aged man who was skilled in farming, but if those bad guys really came, he probably wouldn't be able to help defend against them.
Xu Zhi now felt that danger was all around her, so she naturally had to find out who the person was.
Just then, the manager of the front yard came over and said that a guest who had come to stay was injured and asked if he should help to go outside to fetch a doctor.
Xu Zhi had already led her people to Shen Mingwan's room. When she heard the steward come to ask for instructions, she quickly said, "Our Bai Shu only has some medical knowledge. It's getting late and the road is difficult to travel. Let Bai Shu go and take a look first."
Shen Mingwan naturally had no objections. Xu Zhi specifically instructed Hong Gu to accompany Bai Shu to find out the background of those people.
Hong Gu and Bai Shu were gone for a long time. When they returned, they told Xu Zhi that the person who came was the same person they met yesterday on the back mountain of Dafosi Temple. They heard that he was called Mr. Chu. For some reason, they did not go down the mountain yesterday, but stayed on the mountain overnight. They were heading back this evening, but the road was bad and the carriage broke down halfway. Mr. Chu, who was sitting in the carriage, was thrown off the carriage and fractured his leg bone.
Because of her broken bones, she couldn't move easily and would have to stay at the estate for a few more days. Xu Zhi, who originally planned to set off for the capital tomorrow, decided not to leave. She thought she would leave after Mr. Chu left. Xu Zhi was really worried about leaving Shen Mingwan at the estate.
Everyone slept late that night, and Xu Zhi woke up late the next day. The weather was still sunny, and the temperature was slightly higher than the day before.
After breakfast, with nothing much to do, Xu Zhi leaned against the kang (a heated brick bed) and read a book. Over there, she overheard the steward in the front yard saying that the young master who was injured last night was coming to thank Shen Mingwan for taking him in, and also for Xu Zhi's kindness in treating him.
Xu Zhi didn't pay any attention and just told Hong Gu to say there was no need for formalities. Who knew that Hong Gu would return quickly after leaving and say that the young master's attitude was very firm. Xu Zhi had no choice but to get dressed and go to Shen Mingwan's room.
Shen Mingwan greeted the young master Chu, who was being helped in, in the outer room. Upon seeing him, Xu Zhi became even more certain that this was the same young master Chu she had met years ago. However, Xu Zhi harbored deep suspicions about his intentions and was also very wary of him.
Young Master Chu was in his early twenties, handsome and dashing. Even though he was injured, he showed no signs of being disheveled, and instead appeared to be a refined and gentle young man.
Supported by someone, Young Master Chu bowed and said with a smile, "I am extremely grateful to the two young ladies for their help."
Xu Zhi glanced at Shen Mingwan, who smiled and said, "It was just a small matter, Young Master Chu need not worry about it. If you don't mind the humble abode, please feel free to rest and recover here."
After exchanging a few polite words, seeing that Young Master Chu's expression was somewhat unpleasant, Shen Mingwan said, "Young Master Chu, just focus on recovering from your injuries. There are some medicinal herbs prepared on the estate. If you need anything, just ask the steward."
After Young Master Chu left, Shen Mingwan frowned and said to Xu Zhi, "This Young Master Chu is too deliberate in his actions."
Xu Zhi didn't expect that Shen Mingwan had already sensed it. She herself felt a little strange, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what was strange. Now, Shen Mingwan's words seemed somewhat deliberate.
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