Xu Zhi thanked Chen Zhaoci, who couldn't help but sigh, "Xiao Jiu, you've done so much for your sister-in-law."
Xu Zhi gently shook her head and said, "Mother, Xiao Jiu is helping Young Master Zong not only for Yuan Yuan, but more importantly, she can't bear to see Zong Chengping continue to sink in that quagmire. Since he is determined to jump out of there, I should help him as much as I can. Mother, if I help him like this, I won't feel guilty in the future."
Chen Zhaoci naturally understood what Xu Zhi meant. She had heard Xu Di talk about the days Xu Zhi lived in her previous life. Chen Zhaoci had raised this daughter for more than ten years. She was a very positive and motivated child. However, Chen Zhaoci could sense in recent years that Xu Zhi actually had some regrets. If someone had been able to help her back then, would she have lived such a miserable life in her previous life?
Therefore, when Xu Zhi met Zong Chengping, who had a similar experience, she wanted to lend a helping hand, and Chen Zhaoci did her best to help her do so.
Zong Chengping was placed in a carriage, accompanied by Bai Mi, and went back to Lin Zhining's hometown in Gaoqing County. After seeing Zong Chengping off, Xu Zhi turned her attention to Zheng Yuanyuan. After receiving news of Zong Chengping's death, Zheng Yuanyuan lay in bed for a few days, then acted as if nothing had happened. She was either following Xu Zhi around, helping her with the bamboo paper shop or the orphanage. Xu Zhi asked Granny Wang about it, and Granny Wang only said that this time her young lady had truly given her heart to the young master of the Zong family, but it was a pity that the young master Zong did not have a good reward and left so early.
Xu Zhi knew that Zheng Yuanyuan's emotional wounds needed time to heal. She only hoped that Zheng Yuanyuan could continue her life well and not lose hope for the future because of this blow. Xu Zhi didn't want to tell her about Zong Chengping's faked death right now. This was also Zong Chengping's own idea. Zong Chengping said that he was now a stray dog, with nothing but an identity. He wanted to rely on this identity and wait until he was successful in his career so that he could stand openly by Zheng Yuanyuan's side.
It was already August, and Xu Zhi was busy with her own affairs as well as preparing Mid-Autumn Festival gifts for her relatives. When she saw Zheng Yuanyuan return from outside, Xu Zhi asked her to help draft a gift list. Zheng Yuanyuan looked at it and said with a smile, "Sister-in-law, let's take out the lists from previous years and draft them accordingly. For some relatives we don't visit often, we can just prepare according to the list."
Xu Zhi smiled and said, "Yuanyuan, I really didn't realize you'd become so skilled at these things."
Zheng Yuanyuan smiled nonchalantly and said, "I always prepared the gift lists for the four seasons and eight festivals in previous years, so of course I know them. Sister-in-law, you see, for some relatives in our hometown, we'll just give them some ordinary gifts."
Xu Zhi suddenly remembered that when she went to Jizhou to pay respects to her ancestors, she received a lot of help from her third and fifth uncles. She said, "I will prepare two separate gifts for my third and fifth uncles back in my hometown. I will ask the clan chief to help deliver them."
Zheng Yuanyuan naturally knew about the help Xu Zhi received from these two elders back in her hometown. She nodded and said, "That's only natural. In previous years, I also gave these two families 20% more than other families."
When Xu Zhi returned to the Zheng family ancestral home to pay respects to her ancestors and register her name in the family genealogy, she was bullied by the wicked servants guarding the ancestral home. The Marquis of Yongning forced the Marquis of Pingxi to thoroughly clean up the Zheng family's clan members, especially those who had bullied their neighbors by abusing their power. The Marquis of Pingxi personally sent them to the authorities and replaced Zheng Qingchun as the clan head. The new clan head, knowing the importance of the matter, now properly restrains the clan members. The output of the clan's sacrificial fields is used for the Zheng clan's benefit. This includes not only repairing the ancestral hall but also renovating the school, hiring renowned teachers to guide the clan's children in their studies. In recent years, the Zheng clan has produced many successful candidates in the imperial examinations. Those with exceptional talent are even sent by the Marquis of Pingxi to the prefectural school in Jizhou to prepare for the provincial examinations and seek the title of Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examinations).
The Zheng family's ancestral home was thriving, but it cut off one of Xiao Chen's sources of income. Xiao Chen colluded with Zheng Qingchun, taking a share of the clan's sacrificial land's produce, while Zheng Qingchun got the rest. Now, Zheng Qingchun not only lost his position as clan leader, but his family property was also confiscated by the clan members. Originally, they wanted to be expelled from the clan, but it was only after the third and fifth uncles pleaded for them that they were allowed to remain in the Zheng family group.
When Marquis Pingxi learned of what Lady Chen had done, he was furious and wanted her to return the money she had embezzled over the years. However, Lady Chen turned out to be a woman who valued money over her life and refused to return the money even at the cost of her life. Only then did Marquis Pingxi realize that his seemingly gentle and considerate wife was actually a scoundrel, and he had no choice but to take money from his own private treasury to repay the debt.
Suddenly, Zheng Yuanyuan burst out laughing, and Xu Zhi put down her calligraphy brush and asked her curiously, "What are you laughing at?"
If Zheng Yuanyuan can act as cheerful and talkative as usual, Xu Zhi can feel somewhat relieved.
Zheng Yuanyuan leaned close to Xu Zhi's ear and whispered, "Sister-in-law, I just remembered what our aunt did. I heard from the servants in our great-aunt's courtyard that a few years ago, because of the big fuss back home, my uncle wanted our aunt to pay back the money she had embezzled. But she insisted she had no money. Even when my uncle threatened to divorce her, she still said she had no money. She knew exactly what my uncle was thinking. She knew he wouldn't divorce her because of this. He had no choice but to swallow his pride and pay the money himself. I heard that he was so angry he didn't go into the backyard for months."
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