In ancient times, the powerful and wealthy seized power step by step.

Seeing that the father and son were about to quarrel, the Duchess of Dingguo quickly stepped in to smooth things over, first tugging at the Duke of Dingguo's sleeve to calm him down:

"Alright, Zhao'er only submitted a memorial, made a suggestion, and shared her thoughts. As a subject, speaking out is simply the duty of a minister. As for the specifics of how the salt law should be changed, whether it should be changed, when it should be changed, and who should implement it, it all depends on the Emperor. It may not fall on Zhao'er's shoulders, nor may it happen at this time. It's really not that serious. It's rare for the family to have a meal together, and Mother is still here. Don't keep talking about death. Aren't you ashamed?"

She then tugged at Gu Zhao's sleeve, urging him to sit down, and the Duchess of Dingguo further advised Gu Zhao:

"As the saying goes, a wise ruler listens to all sides, while a foolish one believes only one side. Now that you are in charge, we shouldn't interfere in official matters, but for something this important, you should at least have informed your father beforehand. Your father has been in officialdom for decades; he's seen and heard far more than you have. Listening to others' opinions can't hurt, can it?"

Both father and son were persuaded to calm down by the Duchess of Dingguo, and their tone softened.

One should not speak recklessly about life and death when apologizing to Old Madam Gu.

One should apologize to one's entire family, rather than putting them in danger.

Grandma Gu also tried to smooth things over, changing the subject with a smile, and said:

"From now on, you can discuss your official affairs in your studies; I don't want to hear about them. Have dinner with this old lady and talk about what I want to hear. The Grand Princess and the Wen family girl will be visiting in a few days; remember the date."

The Duke of Dingguo had never heard of Princess Da Chang's impending arrival, but upon learning that the Wen family daughters were coming with them, he immediately understood. He glanced at Gu Zhao and said:

"The Wen family? Very well, even if this rebellious son commits a grave mistake that could lead to the extermination of nine generations of his family, the Emperor will not have to execute his own aunt's son-in-law."

Although Old Madam Gu didn't say it explicitly, the Duke of Dingguo immediately understood why the Grand Princess had come to visit, and Gu Zhao understood it even better.

Last time at Huangjue Temple, his mother was deeply hurt because the Zhuang family girl disliked him for being too old. Now, his marriage is a pressing matter for his parents. They are worried that if they delay until the New Year, he will be a year older and will be even more disliked by the noble ladies of the capital.

Marriage is a matter of parental arrangement, and Gu Zhao couldn't help but feel a little anxious. He still needed to bring Qingyu's parents to the capital as soon as possible. Otherwise, if one Zhuang family girl went, another Wen family girl would come, and even if the Wen family girl left, her parents would still arrange for another noble lady to come and take a look.

I wonder if the subordinates who went to pick up Qingyu's parents have actually met them. He arranged the military route, which, although the roads in Shu are difficult to travel, is definitely much faster than the routes taken by ordinary people to enter Shu. Judging by the time, they should have met them by now. The letter from his subordinates should arrive in the next few days.

When the time comes, let Qingyu see them and know that her parents and brother are safe and sound. This will also calm her down on her way here and make her feel more at ease staying in the capital, so that she won't be thinking about rescuing Zhang Jingyan and running away every day.

Gu Zhao couldn't openly oppose her parents arranging a marriage for her, so upon hearing that it was a girl from the Wen family, she immediately started picking a fight:

"The Wen family? I heard the Emperor say a few days ago that the Wen family was already discussing marriage with the Xie family?"

The Duchess of Dingguo hurriedly said:

"The Grand Princess has two daughters, twins. The younger one is being discussed with the Xie family for marriage, while the older one is still unmarried. Actually, the Grand Princess mentioned it before, but at the time we were also considering a match with the Zhuang family, and it wouldn't be right for two families to be considering each other and delay the other girl's marriage, so I declined. Now there's an epidemic in the northern frontier, and the Grand Princess is in a hurry to return. Before she leaves, she probably wants to finalize her daughter's marriage as soon as possible, which is why she asked about it again today. So, you know, good things often come with difficulties. After all the twists and turns, maybe it really is fate that has brought us together here."

Speaking of the Xie family, the elderly Mrs. Gu, who loved to listen to gossip, started telling stories:

"The marriage between the Wen and Xie families may not go through. A few days ago, I went to the palace to see the Empress Dowager, and the Empress also came to pay her respects. I overheard them talking about how the young marquis of the Xie family said he has someone he loves and doesn't agree to the marriage with the Wen family. When asked which girl she is, he won't say. He's always running around outside, so he probably has someone else before the marriage. It's infuriating the Empress. The Xie family is investigating now. If it's true that he has a mistress before the marriage, the Wen family's daughter, being of noble birth, might not be willing to accept it."

Gu Zhao didn't care whether Xie Ze had a mistress or not.

However, given Xie Ze's previous experience, he needed to be careful before Qingyu's parents came to the capital, lest the elders become suspicious and prematurely expose Qingyu's existence, which would only ruin things.

Gu Zhao was somewhat hesitant due to his family situation. Although he longed to see Zhu Qingyu day and night, he dared not visit her frequently. He continued to push forward the construction of Huiyi Temple while hoping that Zhu Qingyu's parents and brothers would arrive soon.

But Shen Xu, a true bachelor who only had himself to feed, had no such worries. Early that morning, he arrived at Qingyi Lane and visited the Zhang family.

Wang's mother went out to buy groceries, and Uncle Lü went out to buy charcoal. Zhu Qingyu was the only one left in the Zhang family's house.

When Shen Xu knocked on the door, Zhu Qingyu was under the eaves of the main house, making new clothes for Zhang Shen by the daylight.

Upon seeing Shen Xu, Zhu Qingyu was quite surprised:

"Lord Shen?"

Although the door was open, Shen Xu did not go inside, but asked first:

"May I come in? I heard you wanted to bring him something?"

Zhu Qingyu had never seen him so polite before, and quickly stepped aside:

"Yes, I wanted to go see him and bring him some clothes. It's such a small matter, why did you come in person? Lord Shen, please come in and have some tea."

Since Wang Mama wasn't home, Zhu Qingyu personally brought tea to Shen Xu.

Shen Xu had been clearly invited to sit inside, but instead of going into the main house, he stood under the eaves, looking at the pile of clothes Zhu Qingyu had laid out at the door.

Zhu Qingyu brought the tea into the main room and greeted them:

"Lord Shen, please have some tea."

Shen Xu still didn't go inside, but instead asked:

"If I come in for tea, are you still afraid of me?"

Zhu Qingyu also pointed to his agreement so that she could send things in to Zhang Shen, so her attitude was very good, and she smiled:

"I'm not afraid anymore, come in and have some tea."

Shen Xu then entered the room, and the two sat down across the tea table. Shen Xu extended his hand to her:

Give me your hand.

Zhu Qingyu was a little confused, but she still placed her hand in his.

Shen Xu took her hand, placed his fingers on her pulse point, and smiled:

"Hmm, you're not trembling anymore. You're really not afraid of me anymore, that's good. Madam Zhu, you want to see him, but that's not allowed. If you want to use my method to keep him alive, you must first believe that Zhang Jingyan no longer exists in this world. I will take care of him for you, but the person you should take care of from now on is me."