After taking a few steps, Hua Zhi stopped, turned back, and extended her hand towards Yan Xi who was inside the door.
Gu Yanxi's eyes flashed, and he walked over quickly to hold her hand. The two of them walked hand in hand in front of the four stunned ladies.
"My daughter is unfilial and makes mother worried."
Hua Zhi leaned down towards Zhu Shifu, but before she could bend down, she was held back by Zhu. Seeing her haggard appearance, tears fell down her cheeks. "I knew it, I knew it. If the problem was small, you would not not come home."
"I'm almost well." Hua Zhi bowed to the three aunts again, and the three of them pulled her up.
Unable to bear watching her mother cry, Hua Zhi pulled Yan Xi up to stand shoulder to shoulder with her and introduced them to him one by one: "My mother, second aunt, third aunt, fourth aunt."
Gu Yanxi performed the junior's salute one by one. At this time, he was still wearing the official uniform of the Regent. Even with his restrained aura, he was still intimidating. The four of them instinctively wanted to avoid him and not accept the salute.
Hua Zhiqiang pulled her mother to stop her from moving, "Since he wants to marry me, I am the junior, and it is the duty of the junior to pay respect to the elder. Just accept it."
Zhu is no longer as oblivious to what is happening outside as she used to be. She has heard about her daughter and the regent to some extent, and even went back to ask her father about it. She knows that her daughter has been taken care of by him in the past two years, but...
When Zhu thought of the late emperor's will, she couldn't help but feel both fearful and angry towards the regent. Zhi'er is already eighteen years old, and if she delays for another three years, she will become an old maid!
If the regent could marry a young girl as he pleased, what would her daughter do? Would she become a mother right after she entered the family? So even though she was still extremely scared at this moment, she still managed to hold on and not retreat. She couldn't show her weakness.
Holding her daughter's hand tightly, Zhu tried her best to keep her voice steady and bowed softly, "Your Excellency is so polite. Zhi'er will be grateful for your care."
Gu Yanxi dodged sideways and said, "I couldn't do anything, but Ah Zhi helped me a lot."
Hua Zhi was quite surprised. She didn't know since when her crybaby mother had become bolder. To be honest, she hadn't paid attention to it for a long time because the inner courtyard was stable, the different rooms got along well with each other and there were no messy things.
Seeing her mother not knowing what to do with her hands and feet, Hua Zhi led her to the aunts and said, "Go to the inner courtyard and take a look at the situation. We need to clean up the house before grandpa and father come back."
When talking about this, everyone even forgot their fear, and their faces were filled with uncontrollable excitement. They originally thought that they might never see each other again in their lifetime, but they never thought that in just two years, they would come back in glory! This speed of comeback is rare in history!
Watching them leave briskly, Hua Zhi hugged her left shoulder and pinched it, but her smile stopped when Yan Xi said the next words, "I have seen you pinch your left shoulder several times today, is it itchy or painful?"
Hua Zhi lowered her eyes, and after a moment she slowly raised her left hand and spread out her palm at chest level, but after all her efforts her fingers were still bent, and she couldn't spread them out no matter how she moved.
Gu Yanxi was horrified. He held Ah Zhi's hands with both hands and asked in a harsh voice, "When did it happen? Why didn't you tell me?"
"It happened these past few days. When Mr. Yu asked me to move my arms properly, I found that they were somewhat out of control. I didn't think much of it at the time, thinking that it was because I hadn't moved them in the past few days." Hua Zhi moved her fingers on her left hand, which she couldn't straighten and could only clench her fist loosely. She spoke in a light tone as if she was talking about someone else's business, "It has gotten a little better in the past two days."
Gu Yanxi slapped himself hard. He had never discovered such a big thing until today!
Hua Zhi was unable to stop him. She held his hand with one hand and gently touched his face with the other. "I'm still alive. If I'm alive, everything is possible. Don't worry."
Gu Yanxi turned around and squatted in front of Azhi without saying a word.
Hua Zhi also knew that she was in the wrong in this matter, but Yan Xi was already very busy, and she didn't want to bother him with these things. Besides, her condition was indeed getting better. She had used some rehabilitation methods in the past few days, which proved to be effective. She had been planning to talk to Mr. Yu about this situation today, but she didn't expect Yan Xi to be so sharp-eyed and discovered it at this moment.
She obediently lay on him, hugged his neck and fought for herself, "I don't want to enter the palace."
Gu Yanxi paused. As soon as she saw that there was something going on, she immediately said softly, "I want to live here."
Gu Yanxi sighed in his heart. He could not refuse any request made by Azhi. Moreover, he knew very well how much Azhi loved her home. She finally came back after so many hardships, so how could she want to leave
"It's not convenient for me to go to the backyard, so I asked someone to clean up a yard in the front yard for you to live in first."
Hua Zhi came over and kissed the man hard on the cheek, expressing her joy with her actions. Hua Bailin, who happened to be out, immediately covered her eyes and turned away. The eldest sister is really brave, she deserves to be the eldest sister!
Just then Hua Zhi also saw him, "Berlin, come here."
"Mother and the others must have brought maids and servants with them. Just let them clean up." After explaining, Hua Zhi sent Berlin to pass on the message. She didn't think it would affect her image to be carried on her back by a man. She didn't care too much about that in front of her family.
What else could Gu Yanxi say? She sent the girl to a clean place to sit down and left in a hurry to invite Yu Lao in person. Zhu, who had sent people to wait and see for a long time, came over and sat next to her daughter. She touched her thin face and said softly, "How come there is no one who is not injured?"
"Who made your daughter weak? They only pick on the weak." Hua Zhi leaned against the porch column and laughed shamelessly. Zhu suddenly remembered that her daughter had never spoken to her in this way for many years. She had always been quiet and well-behaved, and never made mistakes in her etiquette, but she could never make people get close to her.
Even then, when she talked about her marriage with the Shen family, she could only say with a frown that it would be arranged by her parents. Even after Zhi'er became the head of the family, she could not believe for a long time that this was really her daughter. How much patience a person needs to hide all her talents, and Zhi'er really did it without revealing a single thing.
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but ask impulsively, "Were you happy before?"
Hua Zhi raised her eyebrows, sat up straight and sat closer to her mother. "Of course I'm happy. My grandfather is there to support me, my father and uncles are there to protect me from the wind and rain, and I have well-educated brothers to take over in the future. I don't have to worry about anything. I eat fine rice and noodles every day, and I don't have to touch water. There is a huge library for me to roam around in. In my spare time, I can play a game of chess with my grandfather, drink tea and chat. It's simply a life like a god. Even if I get married later, my father's student will be my husband. If everything goes well, this will be the most peaceful and smooth life for a daughter of a wealthy family. How can I not be happy?"
Zhu's expression was complicated. She had never known her daughter's life was so rich. "What about now?"
Hua Zhi looked at the servants busying around not far away and smiled softly, "I feel relieved."