At noon, Chen Dayi and his wife arrived.
As a student of Old Master Hua, he performed the full ceremony as soon as he arrived, including three kneelings and nine kowtows without any hesitation. When Hua Zhi and others returned the gifts, he avoided accepting them.
"I should have come earlier. Today is a grand court meeting. Although I am not qualified to attend the court, I have been strictly ordered not to leave the government office." Chen Dayi's face was full of guilt. He motioned for his wife to come forward. "I can't ask for leave now. It will be difficult to ask for leave later. It's better to wait until the day of the funeral. Let my wife help here for the next few days. I will come after the court is dismissed."
Hua Zhi did not refuse, she was not qualified.
Chen Dayi's wife's surname is Liu. She has a good surname but is not a weak person. She does things in an organized manner. With her and Wu cooperating with her, Hua Zhi was able to completely get rid of those trivial matters.
Not long after Chen Dayi left, Mu Qing arrived, bringing his wife and children with him.
Hua Zhi returned the gift solemnly.
Mu Qing took out the gift money and said, "Some people are not convenient to come, so I brought the gift money. Miss, I know you are a person who does not care about the present, but the world is not black and white. It took me many years to understand this truth. I don't want you to suffer a loss before you understand it."
Hua Zhi was silent for a moment, and then she answered with a voice of blessing.
Everyone in their family knows their own business. She knows best how stubborn she is and how much she cannot tolerate any grain of sand in her eyes. She has suffered a lot because of this, but she still has never changed. It's not that she doesn't know that this is not good, but that she has no motivation to change.
She would rather solve a difficult problem than face the mess at home.
But the Hua family now is no longer the Hua family of the previous life. They may each have their own selfish desires, but they have no intention of harming her. Although her mother is weak, she protects and cherishes her. Although her brother is young, he already knows to keep her behind him. She also has a grandfather who trusts her and a fourth uncle who has prepared her dowry for more than ten years. For them, she is willing to change.
Mu Qing didn't expect that she would be understood so easily. She just thought that she was just agreeing casually and signaled the servants to take the gift money to the reception desk to pay the gift money.
Madam Mu was a gentle woman. She took Hua Zhi's hand and whispered a few words to comfort her. Hua Bailin took the master's family to the side room to rest while she paused.
No one came until the evening. Wu had secretly wiped away her tears several times. Hua Zhi could only pretend she didn't know. She was unable to comfort her.
On the morning of the second day after the funeral, Zhu Bowen came with his children and grandchildren.
Hua Zhi was very surprised. She thought that the arrival of her grandmother and second uncle was the limit of the Zhu family's expression. She didn't expect that her grandfather would also come, and bring all the men in the Zhu family with him.
"Grandfather..."
Zhu Bowen patted Bolin's shoulder, turned around and said to his children and grandchildren, "You guys burn more paper for me here. Zhi'er, you walk with grandpa."
"yes."
Hua Zhi was about to take her grandfather to the corridor, a good place to talk, when she heard her grandfather say, "I heard you opened a clan school. Take me to have a look."
The clan school has been closed since the old lady fell into a coma. The yard looks a little lonely, and the faint sounds outside heard through the wall seem a little unreal.
Zhu Bowen looked around and finally sat down in the small octagonal pavilion. He looked at his granddaughter, who seemed to be a completely different person after not seeing her for a long time, and asked, "Is there anything you want to ask?"
"I'm surprised that Grandfather came today."
"Are you worried that the Zhu family will be implicated?" Zhu Bowen laughed twice. "The Zhu and Hua families have known each other for decades, and they are also relatives. If His Majesty wanted to implicate them, he would have implicated them long ago. But in fact, His Majesty has not touched anyone related to the Hua family. What does this mean? I usually avoid you just because I don't want His Majesty to always worry about you. It's better to get you out of His Majesty's sight as soon as possible. If I didn't come today, His Majesty might still say that my Zhu family is heartless. Now that I am here, no matter what His Majesty thinks, those evil spirits will always be restrained and not make trouble at this time."
Hua Zhi frowned slightly, "Someone wants to deal with the Hua family?"
"You must be careful of the Feng family and the Wei family. The daughter of the Feng family took a fancy to a student who had just passed the imperial examination. She forced him to write a letter of divorce and marry into the Feng family, regardless of the fact that he already had a beautiful wife. The student was also very stubborn and would rather die than agree. A young man with high spirits was almost forced to death by them. It was Yi Zheng who couldn't bear it and used a trick to rescue him. The Feng family has been holding a grudge for many years and has made trouble in the court. They are not particular about what they do. They will not show mercy just because the Hua family has only women and children. Who knows, they will become even more unscrupulous. You should be careful. As for the Wei family, it is purely because of political differences. Wei Jing behaved improperly, but he has been favored by the emperor in recent years, and the Wei family's descendants have taken on his temperament. You should keep your family members under control and try not to run into them."
"Yes, Zhier will remember this."
"After your grandmother is buried, I will ask your uncle to come and talk to you about the distribution of power in the capital. You have been confined to the inner house for many years and have not seen what is happening outside, but you must know these things as the head of the family, so as not to suffer a great loss and not know why."
Hua Zhi stood up and bowed solemnly, "Zhi'er thanks grandpa."
"We are family, so we don't care about these things." Zhu Bowen motioned her to sit down. "The water in the capital has been too muddy these past two years. If the crown prince is not settled, there will be no peace. I have to think three steps ahead, for fear that I might get into trouble. You have to be more careful too. I am worried that someone is planning to attack the Hua family."
Hua Zhi has been following along, and has already understood something. "Someone wants to borrow the name of the Hua family? Isn't he afraid that this name will break his leg?"
"Zhi'er, you underestimate the reputation of the Hua family, which has been in place for more than a hundred years. Do you know what kind of reputation your grandfather has among the students? If they were not worried that Yi Zheng would be given a reputation of winning people's hearts, those students would have made a fuss long ago. When Bolin and the others gradually leave the mansion, you will find out how powerful that is. This power is useless to ordinary people, but it is of great use to some people."
Zhu Bowen pointed to the sky, and Hua Zhi confirmed her guess. After all, those princes were restless. Not only did they cause his grandfather to be exiled, but they also wanted to use his good reputation for their own benefit.
Really, that’s a nice thought.
Hua Zhi sneered in her heart. She would never let others use her reputation even if it was ruined!
"But you don't have to worry too much. It shouldn't happen for the time being. They will have to wait until there are fewer people watching the Hua family before they dare to take any action. Zhi'er, grandpa knows that you have a plan in mind. Think about it carefully and let me know if you need the Zhu family to do anything."
"Yes, Zhier remembers it." If they negotiated well, she might give it to him voluntarily, but if he wanted to take it by force, he would have to be prepared to lose a layer of skin.
No one in this world is invincible, even there are more than one prince.
She learned in her previous life that the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
PS: Girls, be good and don’t rush us. The second half of the chapter is the main plot and sets the stage for the future.