Xu Zhi pondered the embroidery she had put away and said, "I prepared a headband for my grandmother. It's made of fox fur, and I embroidered flowers on it. It'll be perfect for wearing when it's cold."
Granny Lu smiled and said, "The old lady will probably be very happy. She loves it when the younger generation makes these little things for her."
Over the past few years, Xu Zhi has learned many skills from Granny Lu. Although her embroidery skills are not very good, she can still make a purse, embroider a handkerchief, or a headband quite well.
Zhang Zhaoci put Xu Bai on her lap and said, "The old lady used to like you the most. Among all the great-grandchildren in our family, the old lady liked you and your brother the most."
Xu Zhi was somewhat surprised upon hearing this. Since the old lady favored her and her brother the most, why didn't she help them when the family suffered misfortune? Even if she had just taken her in and raised her, she would have had a chance to survive.
Yes, not long after the incident, I heard from the servants in the mansion that the old lady had suffered a stroke and had been bedridden for several years. When I was about to get married, I went to kowtow to her. Xu Zhi still remembers that the old lady lying on the bed had tears in her eyes, stretched out her hands towards me, but could not say a word.
Xu Zhi still felt a little sad when she thought about those things from the past.
Seeing Xu Zhi's sad expression, Zhang Zhaoci sighed and said, "These are all things of the older generation. You children don't know much about them. Back then, my marriage to your father was arranged by the old lady and my grandfather. The old lady watched me grow up and knew that our family had suffered a disaster. She discussed with my father that afterward, I would marry into the Xu family first, and then the Zhang family members would go to the south. Your father and I were able to live so comfortably in the mansion thanks to the old lady. Otherwise, with your father being an illegitimate son, and an illegitimate son whose concubine was not favored, and your father being focused on the imperial examinations, could we have survived in the mansion without the old lady's help?"
Xu Zhi asked, "Mother, do you have any idea who did what happened when you, my father, and my brother went to burn incense outside the city?"
Zhang Zhaoci shook his head and said, "I don't have any plans or clues. Logically speaking, your father, a son of a concubine in a marquis's family, although he passed the imperial examination, his influence is limited. I really can't think of anyone who has such a big grudge against us. According to those people's plan, we are doomed to die."
Granny Lu asked, "Then how did you escape?"
Zhang Zhaoci said, "We were lucky. The place where we fell was a bit far from the river. After we woke up, we realized things were bad, so we ran away. We hadn't gone far when we saw men in black carrying weapons coming over to investigate. If we had run a little too late, we probably would have been their victims. Fortunately, we ended up at the estate of the Wei family's heir. I treated the heir's injuries, and they escorted us back to the Marquis's residence."
After listening, Granny Lu frowned and thought for a long time before saying, "In that case, things probably won't be peaceful when we go back this time. We must keep a close eye on him, especially our Seventh Young Master. He's such a small child; if we don't look at him for a moment, he might be taken away by someone."
Zhang Zhaoci looked at the child, who sat quietly in her lap like a little dumpling, and said, "Of course, this is the apple of our family's eye. We can't afford any mishaps. Once we return to the manor, we'll stay here and help Di Ge'er prepare for the imperial examinations. We should try not to visit relatives and friends. Even in our own courtyard, we need to arrange for our own people to be trusted. We only have a few people who can enter the inner courtyard. My idea is that when we get to the capital, we'll go to the Zhang family and see if they have any suitable people there. We'll bring them into the manor. It's always more reassuring to use our own people."
Granny Lu said, "If you don't mind, I'll find you a few. I have a few old friends in the capital who help tutor children in other people's homes to make a living. We pay them high prices, so why wouldn't they come?"
Zhang Zhaoci naturally understood what kind of person Granny Lu was referring to. Granny Lu hadn't said it explicitly, but she had hinted to Zhang Zhaoci several times that the guards Granny Lu brought were from the palace, there to protect the Xu family's safety. The reason for protecting the Xu family was that the Xu family still had some vegetable seeds and planting methods that hadn't been widely adopted. Although vegetables weren't as important as grains, some vegetables could still be eaten as a meal.
Zhang Zhaoci quickly said, "Oh, Granny, that's wonderful! I was just worried that they wouldn't like our family and wouldn't want to come."
Granny Lu glanced at the guards outside the carriage and said, "Don't worry about that. My old face can still be of some use sometimes. Once we get back and settle our things, I'll go find someone. But we need to make things clear to the old lady and the ladies and mistresses in the mansion first, so they won't refuse to let these people into the backyard."
Zhang Zhaoci said with a smile, "We pay them their own monthly allowance, and they serve us in our own yard. Whether they want to or not is none of our business, and they don't have to spend any money."
Granny Lu said, "We're all family after all; it's not good to make a scene."
Zhang Zhaoci said, "Granny, the Marquis's mansion is so big. Although we all live under one roof now, how many small families are there? With a big family and many people, there are naturally many things to do. If we keep worrying about this and that, how can we live our own lives? Just be upright and live with your own conscience. There's no need to worry about so many things."
Granny Lu sighed and said, "That's true. When a family business grows big and there are many descendants, most people are just looking out for themselves. As long as things are going well on the surface, that's enough."
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