"Azhi, have you noticed that you care about Haoyue a lot?"
Hua Zhi raised her head and looked at Yan Xi. The man met her gaze and looked a little aggrieved. "You care about me more than usual. You care about me more than you care about me."
"..." Hua Zhi's anger was extinguished before she was even prepared. For a moment, she didn't know whether to be angry or laugh. She cared about Haoyue, but why did she care so much? Wasn't it mostly because of him
Perhaps it was because her eyes were filled with anger, Gu Yanxi didn't dare to speak, and lowered her head to eat. She looked... actually a little obedient, which made Hua Zhi have no place to vent her anger.
Taking a deep breath again to suppress this inexplicable emotion, Hua Zhi still gritted her teeth when she spoke, "Did you make a mistake about the person you are jealous of? Haoyue came for you, don't say you didn't see it, if there is anyone to be jealous of, shouldn't it be me who is jealous?"
"But you're not jealous at all." Gu Yanxi really felt wronged, as if he had forgotten that he was a noble prince, the powerful leader of the Seven Mansions, and usually presented himself with a majestic image. He accused her without any burden, "You're not worried at all whether I will be seduced by her."
"If the man I like can be seduced away so easily, what's the point of me coming here?"
Gu Yanxi was flattered by the phrase 'a man I like', and the smile in her eyes could no longer be suppressed. She flattered Ah Zhi in return, "I know you care about Haoyue because of her predictions, but I don't think she can really predict. From the beginning to the end, I have always felt that she is an unstable factor. It is only safe to shut up such a person, of course, after squeezing out all her value."
Hua Zhi has always known what Yan Xi's attitude towards Hao Yue is, so she is not jealous at all. At this time, she softened her tone, "From what she said about the Xiangyang dike breach, it can be seen that her existence is not useless. The other things just happened at a wrong time. The events are not wrong. So what if we guide her to say something? For example, tell her that Wu Yong was not poisoned. This is equivalent to breaking her prophecy. Since she wants to use the signboard of prophecy, she naturally attaches great importance to her credibility. Once her credibility is broken, she will be anxious. When people are anxious, they are prone to make stupid moves. It is not difficult to trick her at this time."
Gu Yanxi understood what Ah Zhi meant. Speaking voluntarily and being forced to speak are two different things. If you really push people into a corner, they will say all sorts of true and false things, and they may not be able to tell the truth from falsehood about things that haven't happened yet. It was precisely for this reason that he had not used tough measures and just let Chen Qing stall.
"I have already instructed Chen Qing to tell her some things that can be said. She can find out what she wants to know. When the time comes, I will summarize all the information to you. Please take the trouble to see if you can find out anything."
Hua Zhi gave him a blank look and didn't want to talk to him anymore. His words sounded sour, but hadn't he still done what he was supposed to do
Gu Yanxi picked up a piece of mushroom with chopsticks and put it to her mouth in a flattering manner. Hua Zhi ignored him for a while, then opened her mouth and ate it, pretending not to see the man using the same pair of chopsticks to pick up some vegetables and put them into her own mouth.
"The date for the Autumn Examination has been set, half a month later."
Because of the disaster in the south, the date of the autumn examination was postponed. However, since this matter had nothing to do with the Hua family, she just listened to it and did not take it to heart.
Gu Yanxi continued, "The Hua family holds a special status in the hearts of scholars. As far as I know, many people have visited the Hua family in the past. Many students come with letters, and those who recommend them and Mr. Hua at least have the grace of being their teacher. Before the autumn exam, the old master will not meet them to avoid suspicion, but after they finish the exam and before the results are released, he will set a date to hold a full-day discussion meeting. It is held once every three years and is very famous among the students."
Hua Zhi knew about this conversation, but she didn't understand why Yan Xi mentioned it. "It's definitely impossible this year. They should also know the situation of the Hua family."
"From what I know, someone wants to hold this forum on behalf of the Hua family."
Hua Zhi raised her eyebrows, and the corners of her mouth curled up with sarcasm, "Which family is so impatient?"
"The Wei family."
This is really true. Hua Zhi sneered, "My grandfather reminded me before that I should pay attention to the Feng and Wei families, saying that these two families don't get along with my grandfather. Now it seems to be true. When one family makes a move, the other family also makes a move. I just don't know if those students will buy it."
Gu Yanxi looked at Ah Zhi who was so outstanding and liked her. "It's not that there is no way. Among the three students of Mr. Hua, Chen Dayi is quite good. If he takes the lead and organizes this Qingdan meeting, he will be more qualified than the Wei family, and the students will be more willing to accept it."
Hua Zhi thought for a moment and shook her head, "No, the Hua family is not suitable now. I used to think that my grandfather sent the family down because of the factional dispute. Later, I realized that the emperor had long been jealous of the Hua family. If that's the case, the Hua family can no longer be in the limelight. The reputation of the Qingtan Club is too great, so we must not touch it."
Hua Zhi knew a lot about this literary gathering and even went there disguised as her grandfather's servant. Although there were some sour scholars who were only looking for show, there were also some truly knowledgeable people among them. These people were the future of Daqing. At that time, she thought that Daqing had a promising future and at least she could get by in her life. However, she never expected that the first thing to rot was the biggest root.
"Some things can't be taken away. The Wei family can try."
In the next three years, at the next literary gathering, she would definitely return to the Hua family. Hua Zhi was savage in her heart, and she turned over all the cards she had saved, thinking like a miser that she had to add a little more, but it was still not enough.
Maybe it was because she thought too much at night, but Hua Zhi dreamed of her grandmother for the first time. The old woman was still as wealthy and wealthy as she was before the accident in the Hua family. She looked at her with a smile. Hua Zhi was not very close to her grandmother at that time, but when she saw her now, she felt her nose sour and tears fell down.
Grandma came over and gently touched her face, sighing and saying, "My dear, I've made you suffer."
Hua Zhi rushed over and hugged the person, crying silently. She wanted to say that she didn't feel tired, because she had experienced harder times before and she could endure such hardship, but the pressure of the entire family was on her shoulders and she couldn't relax for a moment. Seeing the elders she trusted at this moment, it was as if she finally didn't have to be the iron-like Hua Zhi and could be herself for a while. She couldn't help but want to cry her heart out.
She even knew that this was a dream, and it was precisely because it was a dream that no one could see that she could cry so much. But even in her dream she did not dare to cry out loud, for she was afraid that she would really cry out and alarm the maid who was keeping watch.
When she wakes up from the dream, she will still be the omnipotent Hua Zhi, the Hua Zhi who is the pillar of the Hua family, and the Hua Zhi who is relied upon by her family.