Jiu Zhang Ji: The Daily Life of the Reborn Daughter

Chapter 3: The People of East Mansion ()

Move away? Aren't they here to ask for compensation? Why are they talking about moving?

How could they move away? This big house in Dongfu is so comfortable to live in. If they move away, how big a house would they need to buy to accommodate their whole family? And where would they get the money to buy the house?

Besides, they still have to rely on the Duke's Mansion to gain benefits, so how can they move away?

Moving away is impossible.

Qiao Yuan, Qiao Gun, and Qiao Yi exchanged glances with each other, then knelt on the ground together, crying, "Aunt, don't you love your nephews anymore?"

"My cousin is at the border all year round, and we nephews want to stay with you to show our filial piety. How can we live separately?"

"My niece-in-law and children also need to come over to pay their respects to you from time to time. It would be too inconvenient if they moved far away."

"My parents won't agree to move away. If my nephews dare to say such things, my father will probably break our legs."

"Aunt, please have mercy on us nephews. If father knew that we nephews had made you angry, he would not forgive us."

......

The three people talked at the same time and in the end, it felt like they were talking without thinking.

"What are you talking about? Aren't you implicated by the Duke's Mansion? Isn't it because Lili broke off the engagement that affected your marriages? Isn't moving away the best choice?" The old Duke's wife asked in pretended confusion.

"No, I'm not afraid of being implicated."

"Let's cancel the engagement, and we can find someone better."

"Yes, I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid."

The three men felt their backs soaked with cold sweat. Usually, they would try to be clever and come to the Duke of Dingguo's Mansion, talk to the old Duke's wife, and find excuses like they needed to give a New Year gift to their boss, they had their eyes on a Duan inkstone, they lost money in business, and so on, and they could get the money they wanted. What happened today?

What the three of them didn't expect was that if they continued to find such excuses, they might be able to get money from the old Duke's wife. Their mistake was that they shouldn't use Qiao Lili to threaten her. She was her sweetheart and the apple of her eye. How could she let others humiliate her?

If she used her granddaughter's excuse to break off the engagement and let them take the money and give them compensation, how would her precious granddaughter feel!

The old Duke's wife also knew that the people in the East Palace were ridiculous, and those excuses were just for money, but if the water is too clear, there will be no fish. The Duke Ding's family is big and powerful, and the little money is just to send off poor relatives, so just give it away. Just for a few good words, to buy a superficial harmony.

However, since they have such thoughts, don't even think about taking even a tael of silver from her in the future.

Once again, the ideas of the grandparents and grandchildren coincided.

The old lady of the Duke of Guo looked at the people kneeling on the ground and couldn't help but sigh in her heart, "Wouldn't it be better to talk while sitting down? Why do you have to kneel down?"

"Okay, everyone, get up. If you have nothing else to do, go home. Let your father and mother come over to chat when they have time." After saying this, the old lady stopped looking at them, picked up her tea bowl, took a sip of tea, and asked Qiao Lili who was sitting next to her: "Has Chuntao's tea-making skills improved? Did she waste my Biluochun?"

"The people around my grandmother are naturally very skilled, which adds a lot of color to Biluochun."

Qiao Lili also knew that it was unrealistic to drive them out of the East Mansion just because of this incident, so she didn't say anything more about it.

Everyone in the East Palace stood up and said goodbye, then turned around and walked out dejectedly, not daring to look at the old Duke's wife and Qiao Lili who were sitting in the upper seats. Only Qiao Jiaojiao, with her shaking hand that had a broken finger, gave a vicious look to the grandparents and grandchildren who were talking and laughing together.

Her hand is broken, but instead of finding a doctor to see her, she is still sipping tea. One day, she will let this old woman die and let this young woman kneel down to lick her feet. Doesn't she love drinking tea? She should drink the water she uses to wash her feet as tea every day.

Qiao Jiaojiao's gaze could not escape Qiao Lili's eyes, and naturally could not escape the eyes of the old Duke's wife either.

Dongmei came to report that everyone had left the Zhenxia Courtyard. As soon as they left the courtyard, the three masters started to blame each other. The three ladies pulled each other's hair and went back to the East Palace. The girls cursed each other as harshly as they could.

There is a wall outside the Zhenxiayuan, which is shared with the East Palace. There is a door in the wall for communication between the two palaces.

"The East Palace is rotten from the root." The old lady sighed. The illegitimate brother-in-law himself was a confused person. How could he teach a good son or bring about a good family tradition?

"Grandma, today we have completely offended the people in the East Palace. I'm afraid they will have evil thoughts." Qiao Lili was not afraid of their revenge, but she was afraid that they would not retaliate. If they didn't do it, how could she let them die?

However, she was not afraid of the revenge directed at her, and she did not dare to do so against her grandmother and the others. But what if, what if it was directed at Zhen'er?

"Grandmother, it will be difficult to drive them out of the East Palace in one or two days. Why don't we seal this small door leading to the East Palace first?"

The old lady of the Duke's wife saw the sudden worry on Qiao Lili's face and asked hurriedly, "Lili, are you afraid of them? Lili, don't be afraid. Grandmother won't let them hurt you."

Qiao Lili quickly reached out to smooth out the wrinkles between her grandmother's brows: "Don't be afraid, Lili. They don't have the ability to hurt you. Lili is a little worried about Zhen'er. Grandma, do you remember that Qiao Jiaojiao pushed Zhen'er into the lake during the Mid-Autumn Festival two years ago?"

"That's right. You can't guard against thieves for a thousand days. Don't worry, grandma will seal the door tomorrow." Suddenly, she saw Cai Qi standing aside and hurriedly shouted, "Xia He, give these two girls ten taels of silver each."

Cai Qi and Cai Xing kowtowed to thank them for the reward, "Thank you, old lady, for the reward. This is what we should do."

"Okay, if anyone is disrespectful to your young lady, fight back immediately. If anything happens, I will cover for you." The old Duke's wife raised her hand and asked the two maids to stand up.

"As ordered."

Cai Xing felt a little uneasy about taking the ten taels of silver, and secretly made up her mind that she would be quicker than Cai Qi next time.

*

After leaving Zhenxiayuan, I went back to Lupingyuan to change into the uniform for martial arts practice. The style of this uniform was designed by my mother and aunt Fairy when they were still alive, with reference to the uniform of male military officers. It is convenient to wear when practicing martial arts, and it does not appear out of place.

The clothes have narrow sleeves, with knots at the wrists to tightly fasten the cuffs, which can prevent the cuffs from sliding down and exposing the arms when practicing martial arts. The shoulders and upper body are relatively loose, which is easy to stretch and move, and the waist is tied with a wide belt to prevent the belt from breaking when exerting force.

The hem of the dress is slightly shorter than the skirt, with slits on both sides to facilitate leg stretching. The dress is worn over long pants, fastened with buckles at the calves and tucked into suede boots. Once she puts on this outfit, Qiao Lili immediately transforms from a graceful noble lady into a heroic female knight.

After changing her clothes, Qiao Lili went to her study in the outer courtyard. Since Shang Zhen came, she set up a study for herself in the outer courtyard, which was next to the study rooms of her grandfather, father, and brother.

Although my grandfather has passed away, his study is still preserved as it was.

Shang Zhen was already waiting in the study. When Qiao Lili arrived, she did not talk about studying, but asked Shang Zhen: "Master Shang, do you know any veterans who have returned from the army and are good at kung fu?"

Qiao Lili wanted to find a few more people to take Zhen'er to the academy. Zhen'er's master was an escort from an escort agency, and Qiao Lili wanted to find a few people who had been on the battlefield, because their murderous aura could have a significant deterrent effect.

"If you had asked me a few days earlier, I wouldn't have had this." Shang Zhen said, "The border guards were redeployed, and two centurions under my command were transferred away from the West Gate. They were ostracized by other generals, and in a fit of anger, they applied to go home."

"Each of them brings more than ten people with them. Can you accept them all?" Shang Zhen knew that since Qiao Lili was asking about such people, she must be able to use them.

When Qiao Lili heard this, she thought, this is like someone giving you a pillow when you feel sleepy. The more people like this, the better. "Yes, I want all of them. I want as many as you can."

There's the Dongfu family eyeing her covetously, there's Bai Junzhe waiting for an opportunity to make a move, there's Lou Xinyue whose master she doesn't know, there are so many dangers hidden in the dark, what she needs most is people, she needs a lot of people.