In the years of famine, I led a comfortable life with my husband

I don't know if Lord Xiao did it on purpose or what, but he actually stopped the servant beside him and said, "Open it and take a look. I'm also curious about what interesting gift the master's wife will prepare for this Lord."

"As you command, sir."

After saying that, the servant opened the gift box that Su Zhizhi had carefully prepared in front of everyone.

After opening it, Su Zhizhi saw that the porcelain was intact and there was nothing wrong with it, just as she had thought before, and she immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

But things were not as simple as she thought. Lord Xiao looked at Su Zhizhi with a joking expression, "I wonder why there are so many birds and flowers on the porcelain that Madam Xie picked for me. It looks a bit gaudy and tacky."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present smiled in agreement.

"a ha ha ha."

"Yeah, it looks really tacky."

"Ha ha ha ha."

……

Facing the hostile looks from everyone, Su Zhizhi remained calm and said calmly, "My Lord, the patterns on this ceramic are not only decorative, but also have beautiful meanings. For example, the 'bird' you mentioned is the egret, and the 'flower' is the lotus, symbolizing a smooth career. The word 'egret' sounds like 'road', and the word 'lotus' sounds like 'lian', meaning a smooth career and continuous promotions."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone who had been laughing happily just now suddenly shut up, and even Lord Xiao, who had been finding fault just now, stopped making trouble.

"So that's how it is. Not bad, not bad. I guess I misunderstood just now. I really like this gift. Thank you, Madam, for your thoughtfulness."

Lord Xiao was also a smart man. Noticing that the atmosphere was not right, he quickly spoke up.

"Okay, the guests are almost all here. Let's take our seats. The dinner will start soon."

Lord Xiao changed the subject and greeted them warmly.

"As ordered."

Su Zhizhi felt relieved when she saw that she was out of danger.

Everyone entered Marquis Xiao's mansion one after another and sat in their seats.

Seeing this, Su Zhizhi sat down in her seat obediently, and always paid attention to her etiquette.

Although Su Zhizhi did not like attending such gatherings, since she came here on behalf of the Xie family, she would do everything to the best of her ability so that no one could find any fault.

Su Zhizhi responded gracefully to the greetings and wishes from other officials' wives, and her answers were graceful and appropriate.

Unfortunately, not everyone buys her tricks. Some people just can't stand her and want to cause trouble for her.

A noblewoman looked straight at Su Zhizhi and said calmly, "I heard that Master Xie of the Xie Mansion has been exiled to Jiangnan to serve as governor. It's rare that Madam Xie still has the leisure to join us for a drink and dinner. She's really not worried about Master Xie at all."

As soon as these words were spoken, the originally lively banquet suddenly became quiet. Many people were waiting in the dark to watch Su Zhizhi's good show.

This person was none other than Marquis Xiao's wife, Jiang Qin. Speaking of Jiang Qin, she was no pushover either. She was sarcastic and fussy about trivial matters, so it wasn't surprising that she asked such a question to embarrass Liu Zhi.

Su Zhizhi seemed exceptionally calm about this; she had already made sufficient preparations before coming.

"My Madam, my husband's exile to Jiangnan as Governor was also arranged by His Majesty. As a woman, I shouldn't get involved in too much discussion. Moreover, my husband is doing this for the sake of state and for the benefit of the people. I should strongly support him."

Su Zhizhi answered neither humbly nor arrogantly.

When Jiang Qin heard Su Zhizhi bring up His Majesty, she had nothing more to say and could only shut her mouth and stop asking about the matter.

After the dinner, Jiang Qin looked at everyone and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, it's been a while since we've gotten together. Why don't we go to my mansion and enjoy the scenery? I've built a new garden in the backyard, and planted many flowers, plants, and trees transplanted from Jiangnan. It's a great time for everyone to enjoy it."

Seeing Jiang Qin's enthusiasm, everyone had no choice but to agree.

"it is good."

"Then respect is worse than obeying orders."

"Thank you, Madam."

……

When Xu Miao heard about such a lively event, she nodded and agreed without hesitation.

Seeing that Xu Miao agreed, Jiang Qin turned her gaze to Su Zhizhi who was standing beside her.

Seeing this, Su Zhizhi tactfully replied, "Madam, my little daughter has caught a cold today. I wanted to go with you to enjoy the scenery, but she's not feeling well, and I'm really worried. Thank you for your kindness, Madam."

Su Zhizhi instinctively felt that Jiang Qin's move was most likely some conspiracy waiting for her, so she politely refused.

Xu Miao, who was standing by, nodded and agreed, "Yes, Mrs. Xie is really worried about her daughter, so let her go back first. She can come back next time if she has the chance."

Seeing that Xu Miao had already opened the conversation with Su Zhizhi, Jiang Qin couldn't insist on trying to get her to stay, so she could only pretend to be sorry and said, "Well, since Madam Xie has something to do, you should go back first."

"Okay, thank you ma'am for your understanding." Su Zhizhi hurriedly spoke upon seeing this.

After Su Zhizhi returned to the mansion, in order to avoid unnecessary trouble, she directly announced that she was not feeling well, because she felt that Lord Xiao and Jiang Qin had obviously set up a Hongmen Banquet for her, but unfortunately she found an excuse to escape.

She escaped this time, but who knows what conspiracy is waiting for her next time.

So after much thought, Su Zhizhi simply told others that she was ill, so as not to give the other party any chance to frame her.

The fact was just as Su Zhizhi had expected. Lord Xiao really wanted to punish Su Zhizhi, but Su Zhizhi told others that she was sick and was recuperating in the mansion for a long time and could not attend any banquets. So even if Lord Xiao had this intention, he could not find a chance to do it.

A few days later, Su Zhizhi received a letter from Xie Chengjin, saying that Xie Chengjin was doing well.

Seeing this, Su Zhizhi immediately put her heart at ease. Then she wrote a reply letter and sent it to Xie Chengjin along with the communication device she found in the universal capsule. In the letter, she also wrote an extremely detailed instruction to Xie Chengjin on how to use this communication device.

Half a month later, Xie Chengjin received Su Zhizhi's letter and communication equipment.

Xie Chengjin was not surprised at all. After all, Su Zhizhi had brought him enough surprises, and this communication device was not a big deal.

After Xie Chengjin got the communication equipment, he immediately contacted Su Zhizhi according to the instructions on it and told her how much he missed her during this period.

Su Zhizhi naturally missed Xie Chengjin very much and had a lot to say to him.

The two had just started chatting when Su Zhizhi's personal maid Pei'er rushed in.

"Ma'am, ma'am, something bad has happened. Something...something serious has happened."

Su Zhizhi's expression changed immediately when she heard this. "What big thing happened?"