Xu Di said, "Let's not. If I put this medicine on, my mom will laugh at me again."
The two men talked as they entered the inner room, where Zhang Zhaoci had already found a red brocade box containing a box full of round pearls. The remarkable thing was that each pearl was uniformly round and of uniform size. When they picked one up and held it under the light, they could see the soft luster it emitted, indicating that it was of considerable value.
Zhang Zhaoci let Xu Zhi hold the box and play with it. Xu Zhi hugged the brocade box and looked at the pearls inside. Although pearls are not as valuable as gold, it is not easy to collect such a large box of pearls that are all round and of average size. Therefore, if this box of pearls were used to make a piece of jewelry, the price would definitely be very high.
Zhang Zhaoci gave the pearl to Xu Zhi so that Xu Zhi could play with it, and then dragged out a large carved sandalwood box from under the bed.
Upon seeing this, Xu Rao laughed and said, "Oh my, are you preparing to sort out your dowry?"
Zhang Zhaoci said, "Let's sort it out. We'll take out what's suitable and use it. We'll sell what's not suitable, or keep it for our Xiao Jiu. If all else fails, we'll melt it down and start over."
Xu Di said, "It's not worth it to refinance and rebuild; it's more appropriate to buy a new one."
After Zhang Zhaoci opened the box, there were several sandalwood dressing boxes inside. He took them all out and placed them on the bed, opening them one by one. Xu Zhi felt her eyes were getting blurry.
Boxes upon boxes of gold jewelry, boxes upon boxes of gemstones yet to be made into jewelry, red gemstones, blue gemstones, and even jade with excellent translucency.
Seeing these things only deepened Xu Zhi's doubts. Who had taken all of her mother's belongings back then? Judging from her brother Xu Di's expression, he clearly knew about these things, but the two siblings had never lived a wealthy life in this mansion. When she was escorted to Lingnan, Xu Di came to see her off and only gave her a little bit of silver. Moreover, Xu Di was poorly dressed at that time, clearly a penniless person.
Zhang Zhaoci said to Xu Zhi, "How about we leave all these things to Xiao Jiu as her dowry?"
Xu Zhi said, "Give it to my brother."
Zhang Zhaoci said with a smile, "Your brother is a boy, so he will have to earn money to support the family in the future. All of Mother's things will be left to our Xiao Jiu as dowry. That way, after you marry into your husband's family, they will not dare to look down on you. If anyone bullies you, just throw money at them until they dare not look down on you."
Xu Di looked at Xu Zhi, whose big, bright eyes were fixed on Zhang Zhaoci, and said with some concern, "Mother, are we educating Xiao Jiu the wrong way?"
Zhang Zhaoci said, "Girls should be raised in luxury. We don't lack money, so let our Xiao Jiu spend as she pleases. This will prevent someone from trying to win her over with a few small favors or a couple of sentimental poems."
Xu Rao stroked his chin and said, "In that case, I think we should ask the old lady to help us find an old nanny when we go to Hexi County this time."
Zhang Zhaoci said, "Why do we need to ask the old lady to help us find the old nanny? Can't we find her ourselves?"
Xu Rao said, "The old lady comes from a noble family and was acquainted with the Empress Dowager in the palace back then. Let's ask the old lady to help us find an old nanny from the palace to come with us and be Xiao Jiu's tutor. Raising a girl well is not just about letting her play with money. Having money is not as good as raising her well. If she is well-mannered, that will give her confidence. If she is well-mannered, why worry about her being bullied in the future?"
Zhang Zhaoci said, "That makes sense. Once our Xiao Jiu has mastered his skills, all those battles will be a piece of cake. In that case, I'll go ask the old lady for help tomorrow. It's just that we left in such a hurry that we don't know if it will be easy to find someone."
Xu Rao said, "There's no need to do it right now. We can leave now and wait until we find a suitable candidate, then have someone deliver him to Hexi County."
Nothing happened that night, and the next morning Zhang Zhaoci went to the old lady's courtyard.
After Zhang Zhaoci explained his purpose, the old lady pondered for a long time and said, "Since you have come to me for help, I will naturally do my best to satisfy you. It's also good that you came at the right time. I have an old acquaintance here. She used to serve in the Empress Dowager's palace. Her manners were impeccable. After she reached the age to leave the palace, she got married, but unfortunately, she was unlucky. Her husband passed away before she could have children. For many years, she has been working as a governess in various families. Originally, I was thinking of inviting her to our home to teach the girls in our family some manners. Since you have brought this up, I will invite her over for you. You can have a good talk with her. Whether it works out or not is up to you two. What do you think?"
Zhang Zhaoci naturally agreed. To receive the old lady's praise, one must be a good person. After thanking her repeatedly, Zhang Zhaoci returned to her own courtyard. However, before she had even had lunch, the old lady invited the third mistress over, saying that the person had arrived.
The old lady doesn't usually receive many guests. Even the wives of the marquises and heirs in the mansion don't come over often. The old lady is getting old and prefers peace and quiet. But in the past few days, the third mistress of the mansion has been visiting frequently, which has made some people in the mansion think a lot.
When Zhang Zhaoci took Xu Zhi to the old lady's courtyard, the old lady was entertaining an old lady who looked to be in her fifties in the banquet area. The old lady was wearing a dark green silk jacket, and her hair was neatly tied back. She looked very dignified and upright.
The old lady smiled and said, "This is our family's third grandmother, and this is Granny Lu."
Zhang Zhaoci bowed very seriously to Granny Lu. Granny Lu stood up and said, "No need to bow to me. This must be our Ninth Miss."
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