The skinny and dark-skinned child looked no more than three or four years old. He was wearing ill-fitting clothes. He was obviously at an age where he knew nothing, but his eyes looked a little fierce.
The yard was not big, and the gate faced the inner gate. Looking over the child's head, Hua Zhi saw a thin man sitting in a chair under the eaves.
Hua Zhi bowed slightly and introduced herself, "I am from the Hua family and was asked to deliver something to Mr. Zeng."
The man looked at Gu Yanxi a few more times and nodded slightly, "My humble abode is simple, come in if you don't mind."
Hua Zhi walked a few steps inside and heard some noise behind her. She turned around and saw the little boy locking the door, then ran past her and pushed the man inside.
Hua Zhi then realized that it was a simple wheelchair with wooden wheels. It would be difficult to push it by herself, so she needed someone to push it from behind. The little boy was very skilled at it, but it was obvious that it took some strength.
Hua Zhi did not rashly offer her help. She politely waited until both the adult and the youngest entered the house and settled down in the main hall before walking in. When she passed the threshold, she realized what was wrong. Looking back, she saw that, as expected, several thresholds in the house had fallen flat.
Gu Yanxi put the two packages on the table, and the two sat down. Hua Zhi said, "Mr. Zheng Zhi asked me to bring these. I don't know what they are, and I haven't opened them. But the small one is prepared by me. It's not right for me to come empty-handed. Mr. Zeng, please don't despise it."
Zheng Zhi? When Zeng Xian heard that it was an old friend, he thought of many people, but he never thought of Zheng Zhi. He had only met that person a few times, and the friendship between their fathers was not worth mentioning. But he didn't expect that the person who remembered him was such a person.
Zeng Xian's lips twitched slightly, "I mean it."
Hua Zhi glanced around the room inconspicuously. It was just like this despite being poor. She didn't know who the child was alert to.
But these have nothing to do with her. Everyone has their own destiny, and she can't control it. "There is a letter from Mr. Zheng in the package. He didn't ask me to bring anything else. So I have completed Mr. Zheng's mission, so I won't bother you anymore."
Hua Zhi stood up and when she was about to leave, she turned around and waved to the child. The child saw the man nod before he came closer.
Taking out a purse from her bosom and putting it in the child's hand, Hua Zhi said gently: "Use it to buy candy and grow up well."
The child pursed his lips and tightly grasped the purse that was still warm, not knowing whether he could accept it. The man did not speak or say goodbye, looking gloomy and indifferent.
Thinking of the children at home who she had taken good care of, this child looked even more pitiful in comparison. Hua Zhi felt a little soft-hearted, but in the end there was nothing she could do. This was someone else's child, and she couldn't do whatever she wanted with him.
The gate opened and closed, and the child ran to lock the gate again, then ran back again, hesitantly holding out his hand, "Dad, this is for you."
"Keep it for yourself." He knew what was inside without even looking. It was a common practice for families in the capital to carry some purses filled with gold and silver coins for rewards. Most of the things given out by the Hua family were gold coins.
He turned to look at the two packages, but did not look at the one that was said to be sent by Zheng Zhi. He opened the smaller one first, which contained some food and daily necessities neatly arranged inside. They were ordinary, but practical. If someone really wanted to give him a stack of rice paper or good ink and inkstone, they would just have to exchange the money to buy these things.
Although he was disabled, he still had to work. He knew the name of the eldest daughter of the Hua family, but he didn't expect...
Zeng Xian lowered his eyes and his hands trembled slightly, but he soon steadied himself and opened another package. This place seemed much more messy. There were food, daily necessities, and even two sets of clothes. There was also a book. Seeing the title of the book, Zeng Xian sneered, threw it aside, and then rummaged through it again. He took out a silver note from the innermost part. Two hundred taels, not much, but with his understanding of the Zheng family, he was afraid that this was also Zheng Zhi's old money.
"Zheng Zhi." Zeng Xian whispered the name, his eyes softening for a moment.
Coming out of the dark alley and into the sunshine again, Hua Zhi made a canopy in front of her forehead and squinted her eyes at the bright sun. It looked scary, but to be honest, it was not as hot as Beijing.
"Why would such a young child be exiled?"
"It wouldn't be surprising if the whole family was exiled, but..."
"how?"
The two walked into the main street. Gu Yanxi turned to Ah Zhi's left and asked her to walk inside. "Zeng Xian was exiled four years ago. This child looks about three years old. Could he have been born here?"
Hua Zhi slowed down his pace and frowned, "His wife was pregnant at the time?"
"It is also possible that she found out about the pregnancy on the way." Gu Yanxi regretted saying this a little. It might be related to her personality. Ah Zhi would not deliberately learn about this matter, so she would not know that the whole family would be exiled. Unless the family is large and united, most of them will not be able to protect the female members. The fate of a family like Zeng Xian that has already declined will be even worse.
Although the Daqing law did not have explicit provisions, an unspoken rule had been formed over the years that pregnant women would be allowed to stay even if they were among the exiled people. Could it be that no one knew that Madam Zeng was pregnant back then
"Even if that's the case, the child will just have to grow old and die here."
"It should be."
Hua Zhi let out a breath slowly. This was a product of the times. She could not change the times. She could only try her best to prevent the Hua family from falling into such a miserable situation.
"I'll talk to my fourth uncle, and ask him to help if he can." It must be difficult for a disabled man to take care of such a young child.
Hua Zhi was not just talking. Before her fourth uncle came back from the yamen, she had already packed some daily necessities such as rice, flour, oil and salt from home. Remembering that the child didn't even have clothes that fit him, she went out and bought several sets of thick and thin clothes herself, and put the whole thing in a pile and asked the servants to deliver it.
However, it was just something she did conveniently, so she didn't take it to heart after she was done. She went to her grandfather's study to get paper and pen to write down the methods of making the essentials. Gu Yanxi was grinding ink for her, just like he watched Ah Zhi do those things before, and he didn't accuse her of being too kind, nor did he stop her.
The time spent with family is limited, so Hua Zhi cherishes it very much. After dinner, she always waits until she can't delay any longer before returning to the inn.
But no matter how long you delay, there will always be a time to part.
Knowing that she would be returning to the capital tomorrow, everyone in the Hua family felt upset, but no matter how upset or reluctant they were, they could only swallow it. Even though they would go to see her off tomorrow, the elders still gave her a lot of instructions, and the people of the same generation also rushed to promise to take good care of the elders, so that the most capable girl in the family could rest assured.