Knowing that Madam Zhu was coming here to recuperate, all the masters of the Hua family came to pay their respects and then did not bother her again.
It was not known whether the old lady had really let go or had hidden her thoughts even deeper. She chatted leisurely with her daughter every day, never mentioning anything about family matters, and her spirits gradually improved.
Hua Zhi would take time to accompany him every day, but most of the time she was still busy in the front yard.
"Miss, the second and third wives are here."
Hua Zhi put down her pen, picked up the paper covered with handwriting, blew on it, and handed a few papers beside it to Bao Xia, "Send it to Fourth Aunt, and prepare them all, so that she can pick out the good ones."
"yes."
After giving the instructions, Hua Zhi stood up and walked out from behind the desk to greet the two aunts. "Excuse me for coming here, two aunts. I should have gone to pay my respects, but since we are talking about the same thing, I just asked you two to come and talk about it together."
Qi and Xia had a vague premonition and hurriedly said that nothing was wrong.
Hua Zhi picked up a booklet from the desk, flipped through it, and handed it to Second Aunt, saying, "Take a look, both of you. This is the dowry list I prepared for my two sisters. I have prepared two copies together. Please see if it is suitable."
Qi was delighted. As a concubine, she had thought her daughter's would be a little thinner than the third wife's, but she didn't expect it to be in duplicate. Doesn't that mean it's the same as the third wife's? She lowered her head and carefully flipped through the pages from beginning to end. The further she went, the faster she flipped. She never expected it to be so rich!
After seeing it, Xia was also very happy. Although it was not as good as when the Hua family was still wealthy, such a dowry could not be said to be shabby.
She bowed and said, "The young lady is thoughtful, far beyond my imagination."
Hua Zhi avoided it and said, "Don't look down on me, Third Aunt. Now that I am the head of the family, I have to consider them more. But I have no experience after all. If you feel there is something missing, please let me know so that I can prepare it."
The two sisters-in-law looked at each other and shook their heads, "It's already very complete, more than enough."
All the necessary furniture was available, as were all the large items, several sets of jewellery, a shop, and two hundred acres of fertile land. This would certainly not have been enough for the Hua family in the past, but now that they could offer such a dowry, it was enough to make others look at them differently.
After all, it was only a year since the Hua family was confiscated and exiled, and all these were earned by the eldest girl during that year.
Thinking of this, Xia was a little worried, "Will it be too eye-catching?"
"If you can't even come up with this little dowry, how can you be worthy of my reputation of turning stone into gold." Hua Zhi had thought all this through long ago, and now she felt that it was a waste of time to even think about it. "Second aunt, grandma has found a few suitable families, all of whom are good families with a long tradition of learning. Second sister's marriage will not be delayed for long, you don't have to worry."
Qi held her handkerchief tightly and nodded repeatedly. She really didn't have any other thoughts at this moment.
As for Xia, she had already received Hua Zhi's promise to give Hua Ling an extra thousand taels of silver as a dowry, so she would not feel looked down upon. Seeing that she was not unhappy about the equality of legitimate and illegitimate children, Qi felt more grateful and her attitude became more intimate when she spoke to her.
Hua Zhi looked at the two people talking and saying hello to each other without interrupting them, drinking her tea slowly. If she could make everyone united and friendly just by paying a little money, she would be happy to do so.
Hua Zhi mentioned this when Gu Yanxi came, "Second Aunt hopes to be treated the same as the legitimate branch, while Third Aunt hopes to be superior to the illegitimate branch. It would be fine if both are satisfied."
“Not every company can do that.”
That's true. There has always been a difference between legitimate and illegitimate children. In their eyes, there is no such concept as equality. Hua Zhi shrank into her man's arms. It was a blessing to have a boyfriend who was as hot as a stove. It was also good that the Hua family was becoming more harmonious.
"Manpower has already entered Jinyang."
"Has the person on the table been chosen?" Hua Zhi looked up, and Gu Yanxi just lowered his head. Their lips were only an inch apart, and their breaths blended together. Without any scruples, Hua Zhi simply raised her head and kissed him.
Gu Yanxi was a little slow and immediately deepened the kiss. As their ears and cheeks rubbed against each other, this person was the only one in her eyes and heart.
After calming his breathing, Gu Yanxi lowered his head and bit the tip of her nose, "I promised your fourth uncle that I would act out of emotion but within courtesy."
"It's okay, I'll tell Fourth Uncle that it was me who seduced you." Hua Zhi's smile was not reserved at all. Of course, her actions were not reserved either. When Yan Xi bit her, she bit back immediately.
Gu Yanxi felt both sweet and numb in her heart. There was probably only one woman with the same personality as Ah Zhi in the world. After peeling off the prickly shell, she was sticky and soft inside, making it impossible for people to escape, nor were they willing to do so.
Hua Zhi flirted without conscience and got down to business, "Who did Jin Yang choose?"
"The Peng family is a middle-class family. They have an innate advantage." Gu Yanxi pulled the man into her arms. "Peng Fangming, the third son of the Peng family, will be twenty next year. He had a conflict with the nephew of the Zhu family a year ago and was sent away by his family. The Peng family also paid a large sum of money for this. They don't get along well with the people in the Zhu family's circle. It's reasonable for Peng Fangming to leave home for a year and come back with a new way of having fun. Besides, the Peng family has good roots. They were originally a prosperous family in Jinyang. They declined after they lost the position of the chief steward in the competition with Yuan Shifang many years ago. Now they have the opportunity to make the family prosperous again. They know what to do."
After thinking about the cause and effect, Hua Zhi nodded. Having a grudge against Yuan Shifang indirectly proved his family's innocence. Whether he could be capable or not was secondary. With the Qi Su Si giving advice behind him, he had to become capable even if he was not capable. The most important thing was not to alert the enemy.
"Are you going to come over?"
"We have to go there after the New Year. If we delay any longer, Jinyang will become part of the Chaoli tribe."
"Even if we solve the problem of the Chaoli tribe, it will be a big problem to change it in the future. Once a habit is formed, it is too difficult to change it." Hua Zhi raised her head and met Yan Xi's eyes, and joked: "Is this world yours? Why do we always have headaches about these things?"
Gu Yanxi gently fixed her hair and said coldly, "As the emperor said, those who are capable should do more work."
"I can't be that capable."
"So can I." Gu Yanxi lowered his head and rested his forehead against hers, "Why don't we elope?"
"Don't seduce me. I can run away, but you can't." Hua Zhi snorted, "Where is the Gu family's kingdom? If you're not here, you'll probably have to change your surname to Chao Li."
Gu Yanxi sighed, "Both the royal family and the court rely too much on the Qisusi. They always think that the Qisusi can solve any problem. They are not too anxious even though they know that the Chaoli tribe is about to make a comeback. However, the Qisusi only has so many people, and they are focusing on more than just this one thing. I don't know where they get their confidence from. Ah Zhi, I want to stop the Qisusi in my hands."
Hua Zhi gently stroked the back of the man's neck. She always felt that the existence of Qi Susi now did more harm than good.