Toll sections (12 points)

  (Seeking pink votes)

  Zhang Xiao has been waiting all along.

  Before long, the little servant she had sent out returned. Hearing his footsteps, Zhang Xiao's wife impatiently shouted: "Why did you come back so late?"

  The little servant lowered his head and reported: "Reporting to the madam, when I returned to the mansion, I met with Master Da Lang."

  "Is that the Patriarch of the Zhang Clan? Zhang Xiao's body straightened up involuntarily, and she asked cautiously: "What did the Patriarch say?"

  "The young master scolded the little servant, saying that now Zhang Gui is a noble guest, even if it were the Emperor himself, he wouldn't dare to neglect him. He also said," After glancing at Zhang Xiao's family, the small attendant whispered: "The young master also said that for Zhang Gui's return to the mansion, he will send someone to receive him, and since the lady is ill and old, there is no need for a special reception."

  "What?"

  Zhang Xiao's face turned red with rage, she suddenly stood up and shouted in a shrill voice: "I am her birth mother!"

  The little pipe is lowered down.

  He didn't utter a word when he saw her, Zhang Xiao's wife gasped for a while and then called out: "Is she coming or not?"

  "They say that Mrs. Zhang's status is noble, and in our state of Qi, even the empress would show her courtesy. And yet a minor servant from the twelfth house dares to think he can summon the lady? Is this the attitude of the Zhang household? The young master has already sent his chief steward to invite her. I suppose she will arrive at the manor within half an hour."

  Zhang Xiao's face turned even paler, and seeing her panting with a persistent cough, the little servant quietly retreated. Meanwhile, the maids swarmed up to massage Zhang Xiao's back and chest.

  Zhang Xiao's illness was alleviated after taking medicine and undergoing massage for nearly an hour. Just as she was recovering, a maid outside called out: "Madam, Jin Guzi is back."

  "A Jin is back? Quick, let her in."

  "Yes."

  As soon as the sound fell, a luxurious dress appeared, with thick powder on her face and her chin raised high. Zhang Jin walked in with several maidservants. Just as Zhang Xiao was about to wave her hand, a chatter of voices came from outside, followed by a girl's laughter: "Twelfth Aunt, Qing has come to see you." "Hehe, it's not just Qing, Twelfth Aunt, we've also come."

  In the midst of the commotion, five or six young girls accompanied by their maidservants sauntered into the main hall.

  These young ladies were all legitimate noblewomen of the Zhang family. As soon as they saw them, Zhang Xiao's brow furrowed, and at this time, Zhang Jin, who was holding her arm, smiled and said, "Mother is like this, isn't Ah Gui back? Coincidentally, she entered the mansion and was personally welcomed by Grandfather. The sisters didn't get to see the famous Zhang Shi Ah Gui, but they're curious. Now they've all rushed here."

  Zhang Xiao's eyebrows furrowed upon hearing this, just then a footstep sounded from outside, "Milady, the wife of Langling Wang pays her respects."

  It turned out that she still knew some etiquette. After glancing at the noble ladies, Zhang Xiao sat down slowly on the couch, sipped a few mouthfuls of tea, and then said coldly: "Please."

  "Yes."

  As soon as the outside noise subsided, all the girls immediately sat down in their respective positions. With smiles on their faces, they looked at each other with interest, as if waiting for a fun and exciting show, waiting for Zhang Gui to enter.

  Zhang Xiao gave them a glance, just about to say something, when suddenly the sound of footsteps echoed. In an instant, four tall and slender young men with impressive demeanor walked in.

  These four young men, any one of whom was tall and slender, with a straight figure, elegant as a pine tree, and with every movement of their hands and feet, they had a refined and noble air that only the sons of aristocratic families possess. Unlike the sons of southern aristocratic families, they had, in addition to their refined and noble air, another kind of unspoken, seemingly bursting forth from their very blood and energy, an aura of majesty.

  As soon as they came in, all the girls were stunned at first, and then their eyes involuntarily lit up a bit.

  Seeing them enter the main hall with an air of grandeur, Zhang Xiao's expression was somewhat dissatisfied. She was about to scold them, but saw that the four of them seemed like nothing was wrong, one walked to the fireplace, took out some dragon incense and lit it up, another looked around the dimly lit room, clapped his hands twice.

  With a wave of his hand, a dozen or so servants walked in. They went to the windows and quickly took down all the curtains, replacing them with a transparent and flowing top-grade gauze. Then they inserted brand new candles into the wall lamps around the room.

  The third young man walked out of the room with his hands behind his back, and when he came in again, a servant had already spread a thick red satin cloth on the floor.

  The fourth guard then led a few maids, who arranged some ancient and expensive tea cups and wine vessels in the room before slowly withdrawing with the crowd.

  These people came in and started arranging the place as if it were their own, their movements smooth and quiet, obviously they were used to doing this. As a result, in less than half a minute, Zhang Xiao's room, which was always filled with a strong medicinal smell and a gloomy atmosphere, suddenly became bright and warm, exuding an air of luxury and extravagance everywhere...

  These maidservants in Zhang's house, such as A Xiang and A Yue, were all born into the family and had followed her for many years. Therefore, they all knew Zhang Shi's Ah Gui.

  At this moment, those people have retreated, but Zhang Xiao's family and the old servants around her are all staring with wide eyes, unable to speak. It wasn't until they glanced at Zhang Xiao and Zhang Jin that they simultaneously lowered their heads, holding their breaths and not daring to make a sound.

  As for those noble ladies who came over on purpose to watch the commotion, they were all shocked and stunned, unable to come back to their senses.

  Zhang Xiao's hand was trembling.

  Zhang Gui's subordinates did what they were used to doing. The late madam of the Zhang household, who passed away last year, was also like this. Usually, wherever she went, as long as the other party wasn't from a similarly high-ranking family background, her subordinates would rush in like flowing water before she even entered, rearranging every nook and cranny to her liking before welcoming her inside.

  But who is Zhang Shi'ao? A small, illegitimate daughter, one that three years ago, Zhang Xiao could have killed with just a wave of her hand, actually dared to be like the most noble and respected eldest daughter in a thousand-year-old family, filling every corner of her stepmother's room with her things, her hobbies, and her scent before she even made an appearance?

  This is humiliation, this is the most naked humiliation

  What's most detestable is that when facing humiliation, whether it was Zhang Xiao or the other noble ladies, they were all left speechless by those guards and attendants who looked perfect on the surface but had an air of superiority in every gesture.

  The Zhang family's madam was the most arrogant, and her entourage were just some domestic servants. But how did this Zhang Shi Ao Qi have an entourage that seemed to be made up of extraordinary individuals, with each one having an air of a noble young master?

  As Zhang Xiao's anger caused her whole body to tremble, and she was completely unable to speak, a clear and respectful voice came from outside, "Madam, everything has been arranged, you may enter."

  "En." The voice that replied with this "en" was soft and weak, extremely pleasant to listen to, but also extremely gentle. Unconsciously, Zhang Xiao's wife, Zhang Jin, as well as all the other daughters-in-law, turned their heads around simultaneously.

  The door was wide open, and a wisp of fragrance floated in between the fluttering curtains. Then, a stunning beauty dressed in golden finery walked in with elegant steps.

  The room was originally very bright, but when she entered, it became even brighter, as if a bright moon was rising slowly in the dark night...

  Is this really Zhang's Ah Qi? How did she become so beautiful, so stunningly beautiful?

  As Zhang Xiao was bewildered, Zhang Jinteng suddenly stood up, and the crowd of women widened their eyes as Zhang Qi entered with a gentle and elegant gait. She glanced at the arrangement of the room, slightly lowered her head, and a smile that seemed to be both helpless and mocking appeared on her lips. But no matter what kind of smile it was, when it bloomed on the beauty's lips, it was like the moonlight, radiating an enchanting charm that left people speechless.

  Zhang Qi was indeed a bit helpless, these actions were all initiated by those guards on their own, she didn't think that deeply, it can be said that she hadn't even thought of using such methods to slap Zhang Xiao Shi's face and intimidate the people in the Zhang household. It can also be said that she had never thought that one day she would be able to completely suppress her stepmother in terms of momentum.

  Zhang Qiman walked over, led by a guard with the surname Cheng, and was asked to sit down on the couch placed in the center of the main hall. Suddenly, there were footsteps, "tap tap tap", and ten guards wearing Qi country long boots and high pants, tall and handsome but with a hint of murderous aura, walked in quickly. These guards, as they called themselves guards, might as well be called young masters from noble families.

  These guards-in-disguise walked straight to Zhang Qi's back, then spread out in two rows, surrounding her in a protective formation before standing still.

  This scene, this momentum, can be summed up in one word: "noble". It is clearly a mix of 50% power and wealth suppressing each other, with another 50% consisting of grandeur and bloodshed.

  For a moment, Zhang Gui did not speak, and neither could Zhang Xiao and the others.

  The guard with the surname Cheng poured her a cup of hot tea with extremely elegant and smooth movements, and respectfully handed it to Zhang Qi's hands. Zhang Qi took it over, slowly sipped a mouthful, and while she was still feeling a bit dizzy, trying to figure out how to open her mouth, she saw the guard with the surname Cheng give her a signal with his eyes, and then gently said: "My gift, bring it up."

  "Yes."

  The four most advanced and handsome young masters of the noble family walked over.

  They were carrying a simple wooden box, so simple that it was almost crude. They placed the wooden box on the table, opened the lid, and took out several wooden boxes from inside.

  As they carried the wooden chest in, Zhang Jin let out a cold laugh and was about to speak, but before he could get the words out, he caught sight of the wooden box inside the chest and swallowed them back.

  After placing several wooden boxes on the table, they turned to Zhang Qi, pressed their hands on their chest and heart, and made a cautious and respectful Northern Qi courtesy to her before retreating in unison.

  Zhang Qi stretched out her slender jade hand, picked up a jade box from among them and pushed it in front of Zhang Xiao, saying with some embarrassment: "Stepmother, I didn't know I would come to Jiankang, and in the rush, I was a bit rude."

  She and Gao Changgong were originally summoned back from Wuchang by Chen Di's men, this sentence can also be passed. At this time, Zhang Xiaoshi hummed softly, her face gloomy, and said with a stiff smile: "Impolite? Does your Zhang Shi Aiqi still know how to write the two words 'impolite'?"

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  I didn't have much hope and didn't expect to actually make it to sixth place on the popularity chart, but I only stayed there for a short while before being kicked down again. In the last few hours of the final day, I'm begging everyone to help push Nanchao back up to sixth place on the popularity chart, thank you so much! (If you like this work, welcome to subscribe and reward it on Qidian Mobile Web, your support is my greatest motivation.)