Hua Zhi spent most of the time sleeping during the few days she stayed in Yinshan Pass, and then went to the house to chat with her relatives, telling them about the situations of their families that they wanted to know.
She knew that many people were looking at her as she walked on the street. In the inn, every time she went downstairs, there would always be a moment of silence. Those eyes were either curious or amazed, but there was no malice.
Before coming out, she had deliberately found a lot of books related to Yinshan Pass and read them. She knew the geographical location of Yinshan Pass, was familiar with the topography here, could tell the deeds of the celebrities of the Wu family who had guarded this place for more than a hundred years, and even asked more about the local customs and practices, for fear of violating some taboos that would make it more difficult for the Hua family to gain a foothold. She was a woman, and there were some places where women were not allowed to set foot. Fortunately, Yinshan Pass was not one of them.
She was also worried that the people in the north would be difficult to get along with. The Hua family was made up of weak scholars, and they would suffer a lot if a conflict arose. But when she really got here, she realized that she had made the mistake of following the crowd.
The people here are indeed tall and strong. They dare to rub snow off their bodies with their bare chests even in such freezing weather. However, they do not bully the exiled people just because of their strong limbs. On the contrary, they even protect them implicitly, as if these people are theirs.
To be honest, it's actually the same. Very few people who are exiled here can return to the prosperous places. In the end, they will multiply here, grow old and die here.
Maybe the Hua family was also included in this, Hua Zhi thought, but she would not accept her fate, never.
Even if the current emperor's words cannot be changed, he will die! Fifty years old is already the average age of the monarch of the Daqing Dynasty. When the successor comes to power, he will always find a way.
She would let Berlin go very far away so that the new emperor could see him, listen to his request, and agree to his words.
As she walked out of the inn, she was greeted by the white sun. She didn't feel much heat on her body, but her heart seemed to be illuminated by the sun, and it felt much brighter. Hua Zhi felt that the people coming and going around her had more smiling faces.
"I should return now."
Gu Yanxi was not surprised. She had already stayed here for three days and had achieved her goal. Given the situation of the Hua family, Hua Zhi could not stay any longer.
"tomorrow?"
"kindness."
"OK."
Hua Zhi looked at him and said nothing in the end. She gathered her cloak and walked towards the house not far away.
After sending her to the door and watching her go into the house, Gu Yanxi turned and left. It was time for him to make some arrangements.
Today is a day off, and even if there is no day off in the past, we are all asked to rest and stay at home today. This is the old man's request.
The younger generation were all standing in the yard, glancing towards the gate from time to time. When they saw Hua Zhi coming in, they greeted her one after another. Hua Zhi smiled at these brothers whom she had barely seen for a month. When she reached the door of the main hall, the heavy curtain had already been opened from the inside.
Hua Baili stood there like a little poplar, with a gleam in his eyes, "Eldest sister."
"It looks much better." Hua Zhi walked into the room and bowed to all the elders in the room.
Hua Yizheng's voice was filled with joy, "Not only are they all better, my cough has also eased a lot. The doctor you brought is very skilled."
Pretending not to notice Fourth Uncle waving at her, Hua Zhi stood beside her father and said, "She will stay here for a while, so she can take good care of you. The root of your illness must be cured."
"Don't you want to go back together? Does she have anywhere to go here?"
"You don't need to worry about these, just let her go. The person behind her is very prestigious, and she is also very skilled, so no one should be able to bully her."
Hua Yi was a smart man. He understood it immediately and stopped asking questions.
Hua Pingyu finally had the chance to speak. He coughed lightly and said calmly, "Bai Li, bring a chair for your elder sister so that we can sit down and talk."
If it were only the elders from her own family, Hua Zhi would dare to sit there. After all, they were family members and no one would find fault with her. But today, all the members of the Hua family were gathered together, and the elders from the side branches were also present. How could she sit on the same level with them? She was about to remind Bai Li to bring a small stool when she saw her half-brother had already placed a small stool at their father's feet.
Hua Zhi smiled at him, and Hua Baili's eyes brightened.
After routinely answering questions that had come to mind today or that had been asked more than once, it was already noon when everyone ran out of questions. Hua Zhi then announced her decision, "I plan to return tomorrow."
The room fell silent, and Hua Pingyu subconsciously asked, "Why so soon? We have only been here for a few days."
"I was worried about you guys when I was at home, and I'm worried about home when I'm out." Hua Zhi raised her lips in self-mockery, "Grandma is old after all, I have to go back and help her."
"It's time to go back. The weather is getting colder and the suffering will be greater." Hua Yizheng ordered: "Chen Shan, go and see how the food is cooked. Speed it up."
"yes."
"You've been asking questions for a few days, so it's time to finish. Let's go after dinner. If you want Zhi'er to bring anything back, go and prepare it. It won't be too heavy."
Everyone responded in unison.
After a not-so-warm meal, Hua Zhi followed her grandfather back to the house.
Hua Yizheng pointed at the chessboard and said, "Come and play a game with grandfather."
Hua Zhi is a real two-faced person, so she can write both cursive script and regular script, and her chess style can be both steady and defensive, and step-by-step and aggressive.
In the past, when she played chess with her grandfather, she mostly used defense as offense, but today she changed her style and launched a thunderous attack from the start.
The layout is grand and even the traps are laid out in the open. If you avoid one, you will fall into another. When you jump out of this trap, you will find that you have been surrounded by layers of traps.
Hua Pingyang, who came in a step late, became more and more frightened the more he looked at her. Zhi'er was like a sharp sword, extremely sharp.
My father was able to counter her moves and fight her on equal terms, but if it were him, he would probably have been defeated.
Hua Yizhen was more serious than ever before. Every time he took a step, he had already thought about the next five or ten steps. He had been immersed in this for decades, so it was no surprise that he had this ability. But gradually he discovered that Zhier had done the same. Every time he took a step, she had caught up with him. She kept up with him as fast as he was. When he slowed down, she still held on tightly.
"It's a draw." Looking at the chessboard full of black and white pieces, Hua Pingyang didn't know how to describe the feeling at the moment. Zhier actually fought a draw with her father.
There was a hint of sweat on Hua Zhi's forehead. She had indeed tried her best.
"Grandfather let me."
"I didn't let you win. This is my usual level." Hua Yizhen did not move his eyes away from the chessboard. To be exact, his eyes were on the long black dragon. The step he blocked was very reluctant, and he even had a vague feeling that he could not suppress it. If he was a step slower, he would have lost.
"Zhi'er, how much of your skills did you use when playing chess with your grandfather?"
"100%." Hua Zhi stroked the rough chessboard, missing the chess tools her grandfather used to play with. "Defense is inherently more difficult than offense. I'm better at offense."
Hua Yi was looking at her and smiled. The Hua family couldn't turn things around just by holding on.
PS: It seems like I haven’t asked for monthly tickets for a long time. I’m just asking for one. But it really feels much better. I’m already ranked fifth in the overall list, haha.