In the carriage, the emperor flipped through the file in his hand with an expressionless face. He was a little surprised that it was the girl from the Bai family.
During the more than one year at the Hua family, he met Bai Mingxia several times, and the Grand Tutor praised him a lot. He also knew that Bai Mingxia had a good relationship with the fourth son of the Hua family. He even went to Yinshan Pass to visit them when they were exiled. He also took good care of the Hua family, and did not change his original intention even if he was blamed by his father and brother for this. This shows that he has a good character.
Closing the file, the emperor looked up and said, "I remember that the Bai family contributed a large portion of the military pay."
Lai Fu responded, "Although it is registered under the name of the Bai family, as far as I know, it is actually the third son of the Bai family."
"If I remember correctly, they split up."
"But you can't write two Bai characters with one stroke." Lai Fu laughed, "Old Master Bai said that he wants to register it under the name of the Bai family. Can the Third Young Master object?"
The emperor was very clear about the affairs of the aristocratic families, and he increasingly felt that the current situation needed to be changed as soon as possible. It was right for the eldest son to be the head of the family, but there was no reason to suppress other brothers so that they would not have a chance to succeed. If this continued, how many people would be left in Daqing!
"Send someone to check the current situation of those who have passed the lock-up test."
"I obey your command."
Looking down at the file, the emperor was moved. If he sent the person to the Grand Tutor for instruction, would that be…
Then he gave up the idea and just ordered, "Watch it."
Lai Fu lowered his eyebrows and nodded, not daring to think about anything more.
Hua Zhi stayed in Dazhuo Temple for two days. When she returned, the bracelet that had been blessed again returned to her wrist. She didn't know if it was a psychological effect, but the light and fluttering feeling she had felt since the serious illness seemed to have disappeared, and she felt a sense of security as if her feet were on solid ground.
After fiddling with the beads, Hua Zhi pressed her left hand out of habit. Although her left hand was not disabled, it was still far less flexible than her right hand. She was thankful countless times that it was not her right hand that was injured, so that she would not be unable to hold the pen and she did not have to think about hiding it from others.
The hand felt warm, and the big hand covered the small hand, followed by a low voice, "Are you feeling unwell again?"
Hua Zhi held the big hand with her backhand, raised her head and smiled: "No, don't worry, didn't Mr. Yu say it? It will get better after a while."
But Old Yu also said that she might not be able to fully recover. Gu Yanxi spread her hands and massaged them skillfully, saying, "You don't need to be patient and restrained in front of me. I can't feel pain for you, but I can relieve your pain like I am doing now."
After looking at his drooping eyebrows for a while, Hua Zhi's voice became softer and softer, "I will do it in the future."
Gu Yanxi then smiled and changed the subject, "Is it appropriate to leave Xiaohan in Dazhuo Temple? Aren't you worried that he will think you are going to abandon him?"
"How many people have you seen marrying their disciples? If this still can't dispel his uneasiness, then he should spend more time with Master Prajna to learn from him."
"You are probably the only person who can be found in history books who married a disciple." Gu Yanxi raised her head, her eyes full of smiles, "It will be enough to stay for a few days. He will feel at ease with you. It will be fine as time goes by."
"This is a mental illness, but I can't be the medicine to cure it."
Isn't it the same for them? Isn't it the same for the one in the palace? Gu Yanxi kept pushing the tendons on his hands, and he understood everything in his heart. Ah Zhi was too warm. They wanted to absorb too much, and they were greedy unconsciously, but their identities destined them not to be greedy. Ah Zhi had always been thoughtful, so how could she not see the hidden dangers in it? It is always better to take precautions before things develop in a bad direction.
"Xiaohan is smart and will understand."
Hua Zhi shook her head gently. Xiaohan was undoubtedly intelligent, but some things could not be figured out just by being smart. She hoped that Master Prajna could understand what she meant and enlighten him.
"The return ceremony tomorrow will be prepared by grandma. Go check later to see if there is anything missing. This is the first time she is preparing such a thing, and I don't know if she can take care of it properly."
Hua Zhi was surprised. The Empress Dowager... prepared a gift for her return? This standard was quite high.
Gu Yanxi was amused by her expression. He raised his hand and touched her cheek, saying, "These are common things for ordinary people, but they are rare for grandma. It's not easy to get such an opportunity. Let her be an ordinary person for once. Don't remember that identity. As long as she doesn't act rude tomorrow, it'll be fine."
"Okay, I'll ask Madam Su to go check on her later." Hua Zhi rubbed his palm, "I see that grandma doesn't want to return to the palace, so you can mention it to the emperor. Unless there is an occasion where the Empress Dowager must show up, don't let grandma return to the palace. She's been trapped for most of her life, enough."
Gu Yanxi smiled and agreed. He knew that Ah Zhi was actually fulfilling his promise.
The Hua family was extremely concerned about the return of the eldest daughter and made various preparations early in the morning.
Zhu dismissed the maid and helped her husband to dress himself. She couldn't hide her worry in her tone, "Although there are no parents-in-law in the palace who need Zhi'er to serve, there is a Grand Empress Dowager in charge. The rules are probably stricter. I don't know how Zhi'er has been these days."
Hua Pingyu was also worried, and he didn't know whether what he said was to convince his wife or to comfort himself, "She can handle even the complicated environment of the court, so how could she not handle the trivial matters in the inner house? Our daughter is not an ordinary woman, so don't ask unnecessary questions later."
"How could I not know my daughter's ability? When you were not around, Zhi'er managed the Hua family in an orderly manner, and there was no trouble in the inner house." Zhu glared at him, "It's just... after all, that's not our own family, it's the royal family, and Zhi'er is marrying the regent who is second only to the emperor and above everyone else."
Hua Pingyu was silent for a moment, "My Hua family is not a family that can be bullied by anyone."
Zhu's eyes reddened. The Hua family was not an ordinary family, but they were helpless in front of the royal family!
Patting his sad wife, Hua Pingyu did not say everything. There are some things that you and I know in our hearts but cannot speak out loud. Not to mention that the Regent seems to be sincere to Zhier at the moment, even if the two of them really have a disagreement in the future, he would not dare to do anything to Zhier.
Zhi'er is the Taifu of the current dynasty, a legitimate first-rank official. She does not need anyone to rely on her. She is her own support. No other woman can match her in this respect, not to mention that the current emperor values Zhi'er so much.
Putting aside these external factors, how could Zhier herself be easy to deal with
Hua Pingyu let out a breath of foul air, but as a parent, he couldn't feel at ease even if he knew all this.
It was not until they saw their daughter that their anxiety was relieved a little by her relaxed expression and the regent's eyes that were never far away. As long as the two of them had a good relationship, everything else would be easy.
After changing their names and showing great courtesy, the Hua family became more friendly and less polite to the Regent. With so many people laughing and talking in the room, Gu Yanxi couldn't help but smile. "Is Ah Zhi's courtyard tidied?"
Hua Pingyu nodded with a reserved manner, acting like a father-in-law. "Of course. No matter when Zhi'er comes back, she will have a place to rest."
"Father-in-law has misunderstood." Gu Yanxi leaned forward, "That was Ah Zhi's boudoir before, so there was no place for my son-in-law to stay. We will come and go often in the future. Father-in-law can't just keep Ah Zhi and drive my son-in-law away."
Everyone present was smart and immediately understood the unspoken meaning of this statement.
Hua Yizheng immediately smiled and said, "Of course I have taken care of it, Your Majesty, just rest assured."
"That's great." Gu Yanxi looked at Ah Zhi, who looked surprised but had not changed her expression. "When I left home today, I told my grandmother that I would stay at Yue's house. You don't need to rush to prepare for your return."
Hua Zhi's heart warmed up, and her cold eyes were immediately filled with warmth, "Is it suitable?"
"Of course, I've been a live-in son-in-law for quite some time, so what's wrong with staying here?"
They couldn't be more right. Hua Zhi's smile unconsciously revealed sweetness. The two looked into each other's eyes, and the deep love between them was visible with their eyes. Everyone in the Hua family looked at them and felt more relieved.
PS: This is the temporary end of the story between the two of them, and the focus will be on writing about the supporting characters later.