Xu Zhi never expected that she would actually be able to latch onto such a powerful figure. Having experienced many hardships since childhood, she had an innate ability to read people's expressions.
Following the old lady to her courtyard, the old lady said to Li Mama, "Clean up the gauze-covered cabinet in my room and let Xiao Jiu stay there. This child, once separated from his parents, is like a weed."
Granny Li agreed and quickly organized people to pack things up. Xu Zhi saw the old lady sitting on the daybed with a sullen expression, so she walked over with her short legs, climbed onto the daybed, and sat down next to the old lady.
When the old lady saw this, she sighed and said, "Poor child, settle down here with me for now. I'm an old woman who's not afraid of offending anyone. I don't know what will happen to you if I leave you there alone."
Upon hearing this, Xu Zhi pursed her lips and nodded, holding back her tears.
The old lady had already asked Sister Wu and learned that Xu Zhi had overheard others saying that her parents could no longer come back. The old lady felt that the child had done nothing wrong. She was already in her seventies, how many more years could she live?
The old lady knew that the people on the Marquis's side could not be relied upon, so she left this child there. Although she could not be too harsh on him, he was still not living a good life.
While I'm still healthy, I'll help out for as many years as I can. In another two years, I'll see which family has a suitable boy and arrange a marriage for Xu Zhi. That way, even if I'm gone soon, the child will still have someone to rely on, right?
The old lady patted Xu Zhi's head and said, "Little Jiu, study hard from now on. Once you've learned something, it will all be yours. If you master your skills, you won't be afraid of anything, understand?"
Xu Zhi nodded repeatedly. When Old Madam Xu saw this, she couldn't help but laugh and said, "You little rascal, do you really know?"
Xu Zhi didn't argue, but stared at the old lady with her big, watery almond-shaped eyes. The old lady felt her heart soften like a pool of clear water, sighed, and said nothing more. She pulled Xu Zhi into her arms, and the two sat quietly on the daybed.
Meanwhile, the Xu family of three was still guarding the estate of the Dowager Lady of Jingbei.
The Marquis of Jingbei's heir didn't wake up until the night after his surgery. Zhang Zhaoci would either go back to the room where the three of them were staying temporarily or come to the room where the Marquis of Jingbei's heir was staying to keep watch. After the Marquis of Jingbei's heir woke up and was carefully examined, he was found to be fine. Then they discussed returning to the manor.
As soon as the heir of the Marquis of Jingbei returned, Shen Bo arranged for someone to inform the Marquis of Jingbei. The Marquis's residence sent someone over the next day to stay with the heir until he woke up. Only then did the people from the Marquis's residence send someone to reply to the Marquis's residence. Xu Rao, Zhang Zhaoci, and Xu Di were not naive and knew that this was not a contest between one or two people.
The Great Liang Dynasty has existed for over a hundred years. Aside from Emperors Taizu and Taizong, the current emperor is the third, Emperor Cheng of Liang, Xiao Yan. He ascended the throne at a young age and has been reigning for over forty years.
Emperor Liang Cheng has been on the throne for many years. In addition to the three sons and two daughters born to the Empress, his other consorts also have their own children. There are now six princes who have come of age and are living in their own households, and there are also several princes in the harem who have not yet come of age.
It is said that a tree grows tall and branches out, and a family splits up as people grow up. Sons all have their own thoughts when they grow up, let alone the royal family. The eldest prince born to the empress was made crown prince at a young age and has been living in the East Palace. However, the other princes are also quite capable, and each of them feels that they are capable of inheriting the throne.
In recent years, Emperor Liang Cheng's health has deteriorated, and many people, from the court to the harem, have developed all sorts of ulterior motives.
Xu Rao naturally knew about these things. Although the Yongning Marquis's Mansion was no longer the original Yongning Marquis's Mansion, the Yongning Marquis was Emperor Liang Cheng's study companion back then. Now the Yongning Marquis still had to attend the Grand Court. Several princes had tried to win over the Yongning Marquis, but the Yongning Marquis was a staunch royalist and didn't care much about these attempts to win him over.
The Marquis of Jingbei is from the Crown Princess's maternal family. The Crown Princess is the eldest daughter of the current Marquis of Jingbei and the elder sister of the Marquis of Jingbei's heir. Because of this, the Marquis of Jingbei naturally stands on the side of the Crown Prince. As a result, the Marquis of Jingbei, who holds a large army, has become a thorn in the side of many people. This time, the Marquis of Jingbei's heir, who was stationed on the border, returned to the capital with a secret edict from Emperor Liang Cheng. After the news was leaked, the Marquis of Jingbei encountered several assassination attempts along the way.
After receiving the letter sent back by Shen Bo, the Marquis of Jingbei's residence immediately relayed the news to the palace. One group of people went to Emperor Liang Cheng's study, while another group went to the Eastern Palace.
After Wei Lang, the heir of the Marquis of Jingbei, woke up, the Wei family prepared to take him back to the Marquis of Jingbei's residence.
Uncle Shen came specifically to consult Chen Zhaoci about what kind of care was needed afterward. Chen Zhaoci was very generous and explained everything in detail. At the end, she said that if there was anything he didn't understand, he should come to her.
Uncle Shen has already made arrangements to send the Xu family of three home first thing tomorrow morning.
The family of three sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), with an oil lamp on the kang table beside them. Xu Rao said, "I'm a little nervous about going home."
Zhang Zhaoci said, "What's there to be nervous about? Aren't we going back to our own home? Just thinking about seeing my daughter makes me quite excited."
Now that we're here, we should take care of the rest of our lives. We don't even know how we got here in the first place, and even if we wanted to go back, we probably couldn't.
Xu Di said, "After we go back, my father will probably be selected to take up his post after only a few days. At that time, we will ask the old ancestor of the family to let our whole family go together."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhaoci realized that many people nowadays go to take up new posts in other places without their wives. They usually bring a concubine from their family, while the wife stays at home to fulfill filial duties in place of the husband.
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