Chapter Twelve: The Magic

  After laughing, Zhi Cheng became more and more bewildered by Er Ge Zhi Yuan's family, not knowing what Er Ge was thinking. Was his niece Shu Yao spoiled or had she inherited the temperament of her mother, Guar Jia Shi? He really couldn't understand.

  Zhiyuan and Zhihao exchanged a glance, they had been openly competing with each other in secret, but after Zhiyuan's family returned to the capital, the two brothers who shared the same father but different mothers reached a rare tacit understanding. They couldn't let Zhiyuan inherit the title. The fourth brother, Zhihao, originally planned to reap the benefits without doing anything, like a wall grass that bends with the wind. On the eve of Zhiyuan's return to the capital, Zhicheng invited his fourth brother Zhihao to a private banquet, where he made many implicit hints and attempts to win him over. If Zhihao refused to support Zhicheng, then Zhicheng would never let him reap the benefits or gain an advantage.

  Due to the early death of her husband, Da Ge left behind only one daughter. Da Sao, Nala, devoted herself to raising her daughter, Shu Yu, in silence and diligence, keeping a low profile and avoiding any entanglements.

  Although Zhiyuan is the second son, he is now the nominal eldest son. The unwritten rule of the noble family is that there is no legitimate child to establish a younger son as the eldest son. The old ancestor of the Duke's Mansion, that is, the elegant and talented Zhīyuǎn Mǎfǎ, once joked that whoever has the ability will take the position and inherit the title. Because of this sentence, after his sudden death, many younger sons in the Duke's Mansion had titles, if it weren't for the old lady who walked through the door of Empress Dowager Cixi at that time, the Duke's Mansion would have been completely defeated.

  Among the three brothers of the Duke's Mansion, Zhiyuan had the highest official position, but he was not favored by the old lady. She drove him out of the capital early on and instead treated his third brother, Zhicheng, as her own son. The old lady even personally raised Zhicheng's eldest son, Shujie, and second daughter, Shu Jing. It seems that the future title will fall into Zhicheng's hands.

  Zhi Hao had not seen his second brother Zhi Yuan for over a decade, and their relationship was not close. With the support of Old Lady, Zhi Cheng naturally chose to stand on Zhi Cheng's side. He waited until Zhi Cheng succeeded to the title before making a move, hoping to gain some benefits, thus forming a secret alliance between the two brothers.

  Zhi Cheng said, "Second brother, shouldn't we go pay our respects to Mother first?" Zhi Cheng didn't know that if they delayed any further, looking at Second Brother's family, he would be suffocated to death. How did this family manage to gather in one place? They seemed just like normal people, except for the fact that only Second Sister-in-law, Gua Er Jia Shi, looked somewhat normal, with a sharp tongue that you couldn't afford to offend. Meanwhile, Shu Yi was automatically ignored by them.

  Zhi Cheng was worried that Zhong Xiao San Yuan's Shu Xuan would be a threat, and if he were to enter the imperial examination next autumn, it would be most beneficial for Zhi Yuan to inherit the title. Therefore, Zhi Cheng had to guard against Shu Xuan.

  Zhiyuan nodded, accompanied by his wife Guajia, and led their children with different personalities to visit Amashumu Luojihai first. Along the bluestone path, through the corridor of the courtyard, Zhiyuan walked more and more shocked. The Duke's mansion was magnificent, compared to the memory of the Duke's mansion, it had changed a lot, and it could be seen that the silver money in the mansion was very rich. The servants they met were dressed in new clothes, not to mention wearing gold and silver, but the maids' hair was all adorned with golden hairpins and silver hairpins, and their attire was not comparable to ordinary small households.

  "Doesn't Ah Ma live in Rongshou Hall?"

  The plaque of Rongshou Hall was personally written and bestowed by the current Empress Dowager, it is the courtyard where the owner of the Duke's Mansion lives, Zhiyuan sees that they are getting more and more secluded as they walk, so he has this question.

  "Second brother doesn't know, Ama almost went last year, to be honest with you, the coffin was even prepared, just in case something happened to Ama..."

  Zhī Chéng said solemnly, Zhì Yuǎn was shocked and asked: "How is Ama's body now?"

  "Although Ama can't get out of bed and speak unclearly, the imperial physician said that with good care, she can still hold on for a few more years." Zhi Cheng couldn't help but feel regretful. If Ama had passed away at the beginning of the year, the title would have already fallen to him. "In fact, it was thanks to his niece that Ama was able to pull through the most critical moment."

  "Niece?" Zhiyuan was puzzled. His niece Li Ziqing and daughter Shu Yao were of the same age, "Is she serving her mother-in-law by her bedside?"

  "It's not just about serving parents by their bedside, but my niece got a 1,000-year-old ginseng and grandma relied on it to sustain her life. Later, my niece went to the temple to pray for grandma's recovery and trekked mountains to fetch water from the Filial Piety Spring, moving heaven with her filial piety and helping grandma pull through the most critical moment. My niece took care of grandma without taking off her clothes, being meticulous and hardworking, making us sons feel ashamed."

  Zhi Cheng told the story of his niece, Li Ziqing, taking care of Shu Mu Luojin's illness. He said that when he was moved to tears, he wiped away his tears, "The most difficult thing is that my niece has a bad reputation, only saying that it is the filial piety that a granddaughter should have, and not allowing anyone in the mansion to mention it. But how can we hide from our relatives the fact that the imperial physician was helpless and Ah Ma struggled to survive? My niece's filial piety quickly spread throughout the capital, and the Empress Dowager heard about it and summoned her for an audience, bestowing upon her a peck of pearls, a box of Hu pens, praising her as being gentle and kind-hearted, with a quick wit. My niece is skilled at speaking and won the heart of the Empress Dowager. Sometimes, the Empress Dowager would have the Duke transmit an edict to summon my niece into the palace for a conversation. Who among the nobles in the capital wouldn't envy our dukedom for producing a talented and beautiful young woman who moved heaven with her filial piety?

  Guarjia tightened Shu Yao's collar, and Li Zhiqing was a clever girl who had the advantage of being both intelligent and beautiful. She was the favorite of Empress Dowager, and as the eldest granddaughter of the old lady, no one dared to say anything against her in the Duke's mansion. Looking at Zhi Cheng and Zhi Hao, they were fond of their niece. "Mother, I'm not cold." Shu Yao smiled foolishly, "Third Uncle, thousand-year-old ginseng is very hard to come by, was it left by my uncle for my cousin?"

  Zhi Cheng nodded and said: "My niece also says so."

  Xiu Yao's eyes sparkled as she sincerely praised, "Uncle is so generous and wealthy. This genuine thousand-year-old ginseng, worth a thousand gold coins, was something Uncle didn't even use before he passed away due to illness. He left it for his niece, showing his deep love for her."

  Xiu Yao's childish voice was soft and fluffy, like her admiration for her cousin. Zhi Cheng Zhi Hao was present at the time, and his niece Li Qiying took out a thousand-year-old ginseng to save Ama's life. In the midst of the crisis, they didn't have time to think carefully, and afterwards, Li Qiying was favored by the Empress Dowager, bringing glory to the entire Duke's Mansion. The whole mansion was filled with joy, who would have thought that a niece under the age of nine could produce a thousand-year-old ginseng?

  After Shu Yao's unconscious words, Zhi Cheng couldn't help but suspect that his late brother-in-law's family was a family of ginseng cultivators for thousands of years? Didn't they use ginseng to save their nephew when he was seriously ill? Is there still anyone in this world who doesn't cherish life? Perhaps even the thousand-year-old ginseng was useless against his brother-in-law's illness.

  "Third brother, you haven't told me yet why Ah Ma moved out of Rongshou Hall?"

  Zhiyuan is not concerned about his niece, he dislikes her behavior, and is more concerned about why Amaji lives in this remote and secluded place. The courtyard is clean and simple, unlike the luxurious mansion of a duke's family. Has Amaji been forgotten?

  "Second brother, don't underestimate this courtyard. It was personally arranged by your niece for Ama. The water underground is a hot spring, which will help Ama recover."

  Zhi Cheng detailed the structure of the courtyard, Shu Yao furrowed her brow for the first time. The design of this courtyard was very modern, using simple solar energy. As an optical engineer, Shu Yao could do it even better. Could it be that her cousin Li Zhiqin was also a time-traveler?