It was at dusk, when the setting sun hung in the western sky, casting a dim yellow hue over the ground.

  Chen Ding, who was on duty guarding the gate of the Wu State Duke's mansion today, stretched out his hand and let out a big yawn, then leaned back against the stone lion in front of the gate, just wanting to take a short nap.

  Just then, he suddenly saw a green carriage with a jade canopy heading towards the Wu Guo Gong Fu, Chen Ding narrowed his eyes and looked for a while, then elbowed his companion who was also dozing off, saying: "Hey, Li Jia, quickly wake up, we have guests arriving."

  Li Jia rubbed his sleepy face, and when he opened his eyes again, the carriage had already arrived in front of him. First to get down from the carriage was a man in his forties with an eight-shaped mustache, who then turned around to lift up the curtain and help down a beautiful woman in her thirties wearing purple clothes.

  He had not been promoted to the government for a long time, but he had seen many people coming to the government to find their masters and ask for things. He looked at this person and thought that he was probably someone who came to ask for help or seek employment. He couldn't help but feel some disdain, thinking that this man really had a shabby appearance, and didn't even bring any gifts when asking for favors, but instead brought his wife along. However, his wife was quite beautiful, with an air about her that was not inferior to the first and second ladies of the government, and she actually overshadowed her husband.

  He didn't wait for him to take a closer look at the woman, Chen Ding beside him had already been shocked and slapped his own thigh, saying: "Ah, my goodness, isn't this Third Madam? My grandma's day." He said, pushing Li Jia and instructing: "Quickly, quickly, hurry up and go into the mansion to tell Eldest Madam and Second Madam about it." Then, without waiting for Li Jia to react, he had already called over other servants to walk down the stone steps.

  Li Jia was knocked by him and stumbled backward a few steps, almost falling to the ground. For a moment, he didn't react to what Chen Ding said. When he came to his senses, he hastily followed Chen Ding's lead in being shocked, then rolled and crawled towards the mansion.

  Chen Ding ran to the side of Zhuang Shi and said with a flattering smile: "Third Madam, Third Madam, you're back at the manor? Why didn't you say so in advance? I would have brought everyone to welcome you together."

  Zhuang Shi Dao still remembered the little gatekeeper in this mansion, and with a raised eyebrow, said: "Is that Chen Ding?"

  Chen Ding was visibly delighted that the mistress remembered his name, and he smiled repeatedly, saying: "Yes, yes, I'm Chen Ding. Your memory is really good, Third Mistress."

  Zhuang smiled slightly and turned to lift the curtain of the carriage, asking, "Are Madame Tai, Madame Da, and Madame Er in the mansion?"

  Chen Ding was thinking about who else was in the car that would make Third Madam condescend to go and help, so while looking at the swaying carriage curtains, he replied: "Yes, yes, Madam and the two madams are all inside, I've already had someone go in and inform them."

  As soon as he finished speaking, a woman in her thirties, dressed as a maid, came out of the carriage, supporting an old lady whose hair was already somewhat gray. The maid, Chen Ding, still remembered that she was Ah Nan, a maid who served by the side of the third madam and was skilled in martial arts, and all the young maids and servants in the mansion called her Mother Nan. As for the old lady, Chen Ding did not recognize her, but could only see that her appearance resembled that of the third madam, so she should be a relative of the third madam.

  That old lady wore a simple and elegant green velvet jacket, but her eyes were very spirited. After getting out of the carriage, she saw Zhuang Shi stretch out her hand to help her, and with a slap, she waved it away: "I don't want your help, I'm not so old that I can't walk." As she jumped down from the horse cart by herself, Ah Nan and Zhuang Shi behind her exclaimed in shock: "Old Madam/Matron, be careful of your steps!"

  Chen Ding then realized that this old lady was actually the mother of San Fu Ren.

  Zhuang's mother checked and saw that her mother was not injured, then helplessly said: "Mother, be more careful, your body has just recovered, don't let your daughter worry."

  The old lady came down but kept staring at Chen Ding, as if he was some kind of strange thing. Even when Zhuang Shi spoke to her, she just waved her hand casually and said, "I know the measure."

  Chen Ding touched his face, just wanting to ask the old lady if there was anything on his face. But the old lady stretched out her hand with great force and slapped him on the head, then shouted loudly: "What are you still doing here? Are you waiting for me to invite you to dinner? Don't go down and bring our luggage!"

  Chen Ding wiped the saliva sprayed on his face with his sleeve, and repeatedly responded: "Yes, yes, I'll go now." He led others to the car to move the gifts.

  Zhuang's family supported Zhuang's old lady and said: "Mother, I'll support you in."

  The old lady stopped in her tracks at the gate and looked up at the entrance of the Wu Guo Gong Fu, sighing: "It's been over a decade since I last entered the capital, and the Wu Guo Gong Fu is still exactly the same as before, without any changes... even the stone lions at the gate are still the same..." The old lady paused for a moment, and Chen Ding, who was carrying luggage behind her, thought she was going to say something deeply emotional. But instead, the old lady changed the subject and turned to Zhuang Shi, continuing: "...just like before, they're too small. I've told your mother-in-law before that these stone lions at the gate should be replaced with a larger pair. These small ones look petty and lacking in grandeur... I think replacing them with the kind used by the Wu Guo Gong Fu would be much better, it's majestic and awe-inspiring..."

  Chen Ding: "......"

  The Zhuang family had long been accustomed to her being like this, and could only say, "Mother, let's hurry in, I want to see my Yuanyuan and Youyu, or else they'll get anxious." As she spoke, she half-dragged and half-supported the old lady into the house.

  The old lady walked and muttered to herself: "I said your mother-in-law is not generous enough, it would be better to change the stone lions, and the signboard on the beam has also faded, it needs to be replaced... Is your family short of money? If you're short of money, let your uncle and cousin help you, they have money." As she spoke, she turned her head and pointed at Zhuang Er Ye who was following behind them.

  Zhuang Er Ye stretched out his hand and hooked his nose bridge, smiling at Zhuang Shi with a mixture of helplessness and embarrassment.

  "Mr. Zhuang continued to explain in a low voice to Old Lady Zhuang: 'The plaque on the beam was personally written by Emperor Taizu, and this mansion, including the stone lions at the gate, were all bestowed by Emperor Taizu himself, so they cannot be changed at will.'"

  "The old emperor is really shameless, writing such ugly characters and still daring to give them to his ministers..."

  As they spoke, a group of people had already entered the mansion.

  After receiving the news, Mr. Qi hurriedly came to meet Mrs. Zhuang and others, and happened to meet them halfway.

  "Third sister and brother, isn't it said that you can only arrive at the mansion on the day after tomorrow? How did you rush here today? And didn't even give a heads up to the family beforehand."

  Smiling as he spoke, he looked at Mrs. Zhuang and bowed his knees to pay his respects: "Mrs. Zhuang, it's been many years since we last met, how is your health?"

  Zhuang's family made a slight bow to Qi's family and replied, "We also rushed back on horseback, I thought that if we wrote a letter and waited for the reply, we would have returned by then, so we didn't write one."

  "Alright, alright, still as stubborn as ever," said the old lady. She continued to stare at Qi Shi, seemingly unable to recall who she was for a moment. After a while, she seemed to remember and spoke again: "Duan Shi, you look even younger than before, hmm, you must know how to take care of yourself. You should teach our Xian Niang your secrets, she's not as good at taking care of herself as you are. Look at her, she's aged so much faster over the years, with more wrinkles than I have..."

  "Zhī shì: '......'" translates to "Mr. Zhi said: '......'"

  Zhuang's family: "......"

  Zhuangzi: "......"