"Madam, the eldest girl is here."
As there were some subtle noises coming from the outer room, Hua Zhi, with the help of Zhu's maid, changed her shoes, took off her heavy cloak, and put on a cloak that had obviously been warmed up.
Knowing that her grandmother was taking care of her because she was afraid of the cold, Hua Zhi felt warm in her heart. The reason why some people can become family members is not because of how close their blood is, but because of their heart.
The curtain connecting the outer room to the inner room was raised, and the two faces that came into view made Hua Zhi smile unconsciously, "Grandma, mother."
"Come in quickly, I've prepared a stove for you. It's much colder when the snow is melting than when it's snowing." Most wealthy families in Beijing have floor heating, but this is still not enough for Hua Zhi. Even at home, she always holds on to a hot water bottle, and having a stove is not too much.
Zhi Niang added two more pieces of charcoal to the stove, and a maid quickly brought over hot tea. Various fruits and vegetables were served one after another. Hua Zhi smiled and let her grandmother command the maids and nannies to surround her. This was a unique way for the elderly to pamper the younger generation, and she only had to accept it.
Zhu was used to speaking in front of her mother without any scruples, so she said, "Mother, you didn't even act like this the day I came back."
The old lady poked her with a look of amusement and said, "You still want to compete with your own daughter?"
"You treat me too differently." Zhu said softly. She touched her daughter's hand and found it was cold again. She quickly pulled her towards the stove and said, "Why don't you put on more clothes? What did Lin Shuang say? Didn't she say Ziwen would take me back? It's not far. Why would you come specially to pick me up in such a cold day?"
Hua Zhi replied softly, "Berlin is not at home, of course I have to come. It's almost the end of the year, and it's time to give New Year gifts. I will come sooner or later, so I can take you back home."
Although Zhu didn't take care of things, she knew what to do at the end of the year. She nodded when she heard it. Although it was a little early, she could still send it.
The old lady watched the mother and daughter talking with a smile on her face. If she used to worry that her daughter would have a hard time when she grew old and her son-in-law had other thoughts, now she is not worried at all. Even if the Hua family rises again in the future, with such a pair of children around, no one can bully her.
After comforting her mother, Hua Zhi turned to look at her grandmother, whose sickly face could not be concealed even with rouge and powder. She was brought here directly after entering the Zhu family. She originally thought that she would see her grandmother recuperating in bed, but she did not expect her to be waiting for her neatly dressed.
After a little thought, I understood my grandmother's intention. She didn't want to make a fuss about my illness. If I insisted on asking Zhu Shan to give an explanation, my grandmother would stand on her side.
But she never thought of causing trouble for Zhu Shan. It was her aunt who caused this little thing to ferment to this point from the beginning to the end.
"Grandma, can I talk to my two aunts?"
The old lady was stunned. Zhier's reaction was not what she expected.
Zhu thought her daughter was trying to stand up for her, so she pulled her hand and said, "It's okay, mother. It's just that a child said some ignorant things. Mother is already old, so how can she argue with her?"
"The problem is not with my cousin." Hua Zhi looked at her grandmother. "Some things are better to be said one by one and two by two than to rot in your stomach. If you keep guessing, you will never reach a consensus. Since we are in the same boat, we should work together, don't you think?"
The old lady thought about it and nodded slowly, "You are right. It is unreasonable for one's own people to hinder one's own people. Mother Zhi, go to the next room to clean up, light a stove, and send someone to call those two troublesome people."
"Yes." Zhi Niang looked at the eldest girl with gratitude. She knew best how sad the old lady had been these days. If the problem could be solved, the old lady's illness would be cured.
Holding her granddaughter's delicate hand and caressing it, the old lady sighed, "Just now I told your mother not to let you worry about me. Now, the words are still there, and you are still worrying about me."
"You've been so worried about me, why don't I think a little more about you?" Knowing that the old man was upset, Hua Zhi talked about something else, "I asked you to find marriages for my sisters before, have you found the right ones?"
The old lady immediately perked up, "It's only a few days before the New Year. I wanted to tell you after the New Year, but I've found a few good ones. They're not rich, but they're all scholarly. It's most suitable for a girl from the Hua family to marry into such a family. I'll take you to see them after the New Year."
Hua Zhi agreed with this statement very much. No matter what the Hua family's current situation was, in the hearts of scholars and literati, the Hua family was still the Hua family that served as a role model for literati. A girl from the Hua family would not be looked down upon if she married into such a family. As for family background, she believed that the one who could catch her grandmother's eye would not be too bad.
"Tell me the names of those families and I'll have someone check them out."
This is indeed safer. The old lady immediately mentioned several families and names. Hua Zhi wrote them down one by one and then told her some of the information that her grandmother knew. Then she heard Zhi Niang come in and report, "The two ladies are here."
Hua Zhi stood up and almost half-forced her grandmother to walk to the bedside. "Just take a rest. Everything can be solved. It's no big deal."
The old lady clapped her hands and stopped trying to be stubborn.
Zhu followed and said, "You go and do your work. I'll take care of this."
Hua Zhi responded, gathered her cloak and went next door.
Hearing the door opening in the next room, Zhu sat on the edge of the bed with a proud look on her face, "My daughter is really capable."
"The most accomplished thing you have done in your life is giving birth to Zhier and Bolin."
Zhu didn't care about being teased by her own mother, because that's what she thought anyway.
In the next room, the two nervous sisters-in-law were very surprised to see Hua Zhi coming in. They thought it was their mother-in-law who called them over to give them a lecture, and they had prepared a lot of words of apology, but now they couldn't use a single word.
Seeing the maid close the door, the eldest lady thought of her daughter's past and spoke hesitantly, "Zhi Er, you..."
"I don't blame Zhu Shan for being disrespectful to my mother. Although she was impulsive, she is here with you." Hua Zhi politely bowed to the two of them and sat down below. The two didn't know what was going on, so they had to sit down as well.
"I asked my grandmother for this opportunity to speak frankly with my two aunts. It may not sound good, and you may even find it embarrassing, but I believe that you do not want to cause unrest in the Zhu family or discord among the brothers. For the sake of your own children, please be patient and talk openly about this."
The two sisters-in-law, who had always been at odds with each other, looked at each other, not knowing whether they should respond or not, but neither of them moved. Although they did not think they were wrong, it was a fact that they had incurred the dislike of their parents-in-law, and they had to think about it more.