"We believe in Zhier."
Trust her vision and her character.
"No matter what, our entire Hua family will support her."
If she makes a mistake this time, the Hua family will help her bear the consequences.
Gu Yanxi stood up and bowed deeply. If the Hua family insisted on using reputation as an excuse to stop the two of them, he would look down on them. Ah Zhi didn't take her reputation seriously for the sake of the Hua family. When the Hua family wanted to use her, they didn't seem to care much about Ah Zhi's reputation.
Fortunately, the Hua family, for which Azhi worked so hard, was worthy of her efforts.
With the initial recognition between the two parties, their relationship naturally became closer. Hua Yizheng stood up and said with a smile, "Zhi'er is probably still hesitant, go ahead."
Gu Yanxi lowered her head and smiled, "Yes."
The table mat had been spread out in the yard. Hua Zhi responded to Hua Baili's words and glanced towards the main hall from time to time. For some reason, she felt afraid that her partner would not be able to pass her father's test.
When she saw them coming out of the house, she hurried forward to greet them, and secretly winked at her fourth uncle while supporting her grandfather. Hua Pingyang glared at her, but still nodded slightly to her.
Hua Zhi felt relieved, seeing that she had finally passed the hurdle of meeting the parents. It seemed that the result was not bad.
Sitting down at the top table, Hua Yizheng looked at Gu Yanxi, "Mr. Lu, please take a seat."
"Just call me Yan Xi." After the fathers and their generation had sat down, Gu Yanxi tactfully sat at the very bottom. Hua Zhi glanced at her grandfather and sat down next to Yan Xi. She felt a little distressed that the leader of the Qishu Division, who was so powerful outside, was now so weak and alone.
Hua Pingyang glared at his niece whose arm was crooked again. Hua Zhi smiled at him ingratiatingly, which made him laugh and feel helpless at the same time.
Who would believe him if he said he didn't take it seriously? This was the first time he saw Zhi'er acting like a child. In the past, when he teased her about Shen Qi, she would always tease him back without showing any embarrassment, let alone protecting him like this.
Hua Yizhen actually smiled. No matter what, Zhier was happy, and that was enough. She had worked hard enough for the Hua family. If someone could make her happy, he had no reason to stop them. As for those rules that bound women, they were not so important.
To be honest, Zhier had already broken the rules by showing up in public as a woman, there was no need to wait for this to happen.
Once he figured it out, the old man started to like the young man. He raised his glass and said, "Since you've come all the way here, let me offer you a glass of wine to express my gratitude."
"I don't dare to thank you. I just did it willingly." Gu Yanxi raised the glass with both hands and drank it all.
The Hua family members were all drunk. How could they have drunk such inferior wine in the past, nor had they been so careless as to set up a banquet in the yard? But a year was enough time for them to undergo tremendous changes. They knew their current situation very clearly and had adapted to it.
Gu Yanxi glanced around and saw the peaceful expressions of everyone, feeling emotional in her heart. This was the Hua family that the emperor's uncle was afraid of, which had existed for as long as the Daqing Dynasty. They could be so prosperous and find vitality in adversity. The Hua family seemed to be more blessed by heaven than the Gu family. They always had someone to save them in times of crisis, just like Hua Jingyan in the past and Azhi now.
After a meal which was not filling but of great significance, Gu Yanxi and Hua Zhi went to the inn in the setting sun. Hua Pingyang made an excuse not to go with them.
However, the two of them did not have time to talk much. Along the way, people kept greeting Hua Zhi, saying, "Hey, the girl from the Hua family is here again?"
"Haha, now is the time when the sandstorm is at its worst. You must have eaten a lot of sand along the way."
"The old man didn't go to the government office today. I think he must be very happy."
"The Hua family girl looks very energetic."
"… "
And so on. Hua Zhi didn't recognize any of these people, but that didn't stop her from smiling and replying to everyone who spoke to her.
When others show her kindness, she will return the favor with sincerity.
Gu Yanxi followed beside her, watching her respond appropriately, watching her know when to advance and retreat, watching her be praised by others, and watching her treat others with kindness.
This is his Ah Zhi. At first, she wanted to hide herself so that people wouldn’t see how good she was. But now, he wants to announce to the world that such an outstanding person is his!
After entering the inn, Hua Zhi was about to talk to Yan Xi when the innkeeper came over and said, "Someone sent you a few shapi melons today. Can I take them to your rooms?"
Hua Zhi was slightly stunned, and immediately said: "Okay, please trouble the shopkeeper."
"It's not a bother, it's my job." The shopkeeper waved his hands repeatedly, with an especially honest smile on his dark face. "There's little rain this year, so the melons are very sweet. I'm afraid you won't find them anywhere else. You should try them."
Hua Zhi thanked again. She didn't know who sent it, but she felt so warm in her heart. Most of the people here had been abandoned, but they were not really unforgivable. Time had worn away their ambitions, revealing their true hearts, which were actually no different from those of ordinary people. To put it bluntly, they were just a group of poor people who longed for their relatives and friends to visit them.
"I'm afraid they all regard you as a kind of sustenance." After going upstairs, Gu Yanxi said softly.
"My pleasure."
Gu Yanxi opened the door for her, leaned against the door with his arms folded over his chest as he looked at her. The drunk man had a faint smell of alcohol on him, but it was not irritating.
"What are you going to do tomorrow?"
"Go find Mr. Zheng's old friend." Hua Zhi went into the room and poured him a cup of tea. "Have you finished your work?"
"Well, I checked the man's address today and will go with you tomorrow."
Zheng Zhi's old friend is named Zeng Xian. It can't be said that they are old friends. Zeng Xian's father once helped his mother after Zheng Zhi's father passed away. With the Zhu family in the background, it was not a big favor, but Zheng Zhi still remembered it. When he came back this time, he learned that the Zeng family had suffered a disaster, so when he knew Hua Zhi was coming to Yinshan Pass, he asked her to bring some things.
Zeng Xian used to be the director of the Ministry of Revenue. He was exiled here four years ago on charges of corruption.
"In the Ministry of Revenue, there are only a few officials who are truly clean. Zeng Xian just took the blame for someone else. This matter has nothing to do with the Seven Stars Division. I have never investigated the specific circumstances." Gu Yanxi pointed to an alley in front, "It should be that."
When they arrived at this area, Hua Zhi realized that even in Yinshan Pass there were rich areas and slums. The Hua family was able to gain a foothold in the area between the two in a short period of time after being exiled. This was due to the Hua family's own abilities, but more importantly, it was the gold bars that Hua Zhi had hidden for them that played a role.
The more such places there are, the more useful gold bars are.
Gu Yanxi carried the package on her back and walked in the dark and damp alley holding Ah Zhi's hand, while carefully identifying the number on the door, "This is it."
The low eaves and the missing piece on the door lintel clearly show the plight of the people living here.
The two looked at each other, and Gu Yanxi went forward and knocked on the door.
"Who?" A low and hoarse voice came from inside, with a hint of vigilance.
Hua Zhi cleared her throat and said loudly, "I was asked to come visit an old friend."
There was silence in the room for a while, and then the door creaked open, and unexpectedly, a child was standing inside.
PS: Just like the girls in the book review area said, this is the calm before the storm~~ Kong Kong can write four or five chapters a day, but Kong Kong can't revise four or five chapters. Revising three chapters makes me vomit blood. Every day when I revise the text, my mental activity is like this: what a rubbish, what kind of words and expressions are these, shit, bah, what kind of plot is this, did ancient people have no brains? Where is the emotion? Where is the emotion? Bah, it's so unnatural, go back to the furnace and start over... Really, every time I revise the text, I have to torture myself like this many times, so I rarely look back at what I wrote, because I was already hurt when I was revising it, and I don't want to look at it again.