The Ding'an Marquisate was divided three years after Lu got married. Lu's father, as the eldest son, inherited the title of Marquis. Lu's second uncle relied on the relationship with the Marquisate and the property he received to get a job that was insignificant and leisurely to make a living.

Lu's third uncle is quite capable. With the support of the Marquis' Mansion, few people in the officialdom dare to make things difficult for him. In addition, he has his own abilities, so he is still useful in the court.

The one getting engaged today is Uncle Lu San's only daughter, Lu Xinyan.

Wen Ye and Lu rode in the same carriage, while the eldest aunt and Yao rode in the one at the back. When they arrived at Lu's house, many people had already come to the engagement party.

When they got off the carriage, they happened to meet Aunt Xu and Mrs. Wen who were about to enter the mansion.

When Aunt Xu heard someone shouting behind her that people from the Duke's Mansion had arrived, she was sure that it was Lu's group.

There are currently only two Duke's Mansions in Shengjing. The Duke's Mansion of Wei is the Empress Dowager's maiden family. Because of some things in the past, it has been unwelcome since the Emperor ascended the throne. In recent years, people from the Duke's Mansion of Wei have rarely gone out to banquets and have always kept a low profile.

Even if the Duke of Wei's Mansion received the invitation to the engagement banquet of the third branch of the Lu family, they would at most send someone to deliver the gift, but no one would come.

Aunt Xu turned around and saw that the people leading the group were indeed her niece-in-law Lu and her elder sister Xu Ying (the eldest aunt's wife). She smiled and immediately walked down the steps and said, "What a coincidence, we arrived one after the other."

Lu also smiled and said, "The Duke's Mansion is not far from the Lu Mansion. We left much later than you, Aunt."

Aunt Xu didn't think twice and started chatting with everyone in front of the Lu residence. She said, "It's windy today, so let's not stay here. Let's go into the residence first."

After she finished speaking, she walked towards the eldest aunt. Yao silently gave up her seat, switched places with Aunt Xu, and went to Wen.

A few years ago, the eldest aunt took Yao to the Changnan Marquis Mansion, and went there again a year later. After these two visits, Yao became more familiar with Wen.

Aunt Xu has always been attached to her eldest sister, the eldest aunt, since she was a child. When she saw her now, her eyes lit up, as if she had returned to her youth.

The eldest aunt couldn't stand her younger sister's clinginess. If there weren't outsiders around, she would have stayed away long ago.

After entering the Lu Mansion, Mrs. Lu took everyone to meet Aunt Lu San, who looked very happy and was obviously very satisfied with the marriage.

After greeting everyone, Third Aunt Lu took Lu's hand and said, "Yaoxin, Third Aunt will not be polite to you. There are so many guests today. If there is anything wrong with the hospitality, you can directly help Third Aunt to deal with it. Don't let the servants treat your two aunts and several brothers and sisters-in-law badly."

Yaoxin is the nickname of Lu's daughter.

Lu shook her hand back and said, "What are you talking about, Auntie? You don't need to tell me. I will take good care of them. Don't worry."

The eldest aunt also said, "We are all relatives. With Yaoxin here, it's the same if we let her take us around."

Aunt Xu was even more considerate and said, "Now that we are close relatives, Madam Lu, please go and get busy."

There are indeed a lot of guests at today's engagement banquet. The Lu family's in-laws are also very complicated and intertwined. Also, because Uncle Lu San was promoted not long ago, an engagement arrangement that suits his status must be put on display.

Third Aunt Lu knew her niece quite well and knew that she was sincere, so she did not bother to be polite with her. She called her daughter out to meet the people present, and then chatted with Aunt Xu and the eldest aunt for a while, and during the conversation she did not forget to praise the remaining younger generations.

When the time was almost up, he took his daughter and left in a hurry.

The maids of the Lu residence were waiting in the yard, and standing outside the house were the maids they brought with them.

Mrs. Lu and the eldest aunt were chatting about Lu Xinyan's marriage, Mrs. Wen and Mrs. Yao were also talking in low voices. Occasionally, they would bring Wen Ye who was having snacks, and they would never ignore her.

When Aunt Xu saw that only her family members were left in the hall, she gradually relaxed and was finally able to say what she had been holding back all the way.

She pretended to cough, and the others stopped talking and looked at her almost at the same time.

Aunt Xu smiled and said, "Recently, my eldest sister-in-law seems to have 'woke up'."

She had an expression that said, "Ask me the details quickly."

Wen, who saw this scene, exclaimed: "!!!"

She originally thought that her mother-in-law would be able to restrain herself when she went out of the house for the banquet, but it was just wishful thinking on her part.

The eldest aunt spoke first: "Did you go and persuade her?"

Among those present, only Wen Ye was as curious as the eldest aunt, but she did not ask any questions. Both Lu and Yao were in a state of mind where they could choose to listen or not.

Wen Ye didn't even plan to continue eating snacks.

Aunt Xu smiled at the eldest aunt, lowered her voice somewhat, and then said, "Why should I cause trouble for myself when I have nothing to do? She 'woke up' on her own. Although King Wen is interfering, Zi Tan is here, and everyone can see that Jiang Ming will definitely be executed. I don't know how Li saw through the character of Jiang Ming's father, and now she no longer fights with those girls in the backyard, and concentrates on raising her little son."

Aunt Xu's talk was a bit dry. After taking a sip of tea, she continued, "Li has only two sons. The eldest son is going to die, and her husband is unreliable. She can only pin her hopes on the youngest son. At least she has a blood relationship with him, but her husband doesn't. What's the point of spending so much effort to fight for girls? Only filial children can ensure that her life in her later years will not be miserable."

I don’t know if it was the series of blows that irritated Li, but now she doesn’t want to fight anymore. She just wants to treat her youngest son well, hoping that he will be filial to her in the future, and let her, as a mother, have a good ending.

The eldest aunt commented: "Then you, the eldest sister-in-law, are not completely stupid."

After listening to this, Lu was silent for a moment and said, "That's good."

Aunt Xu nodded in agreement: "Yes."

Anyway, in her heart, children are definitely more important than her husband. The former are connected to her by blood, how can the latter compare to them?

After hearing this, Wen Ye wanted to say that there were actually people on both sides who could not be trusted.

However, she thought that the Jin Dynasty attached great importance to filial piety and courtesy. As long as Li did not rebel and died smoothly before her son, her life in old age would generally not be bad.

This is also why Wen Ye felt like a pie in the sky when she heard Shen introduce Xu Yuejia, whose first wife died young and had a child, to her.

She didn't want to have children, and having Xu Yuxuan as her stepson could relieve almost 90% of her pressure.

A stepson is still a stepson. Wen Ye believes that as long as she does not rebel and does not cheat on Xu Yuejia, she will be able to enjoy her old age in peace.

By the time Xu Yuejia was gone, Xu Yuxuan should have a wife and children. By then, she would have enclosed a small yard and lived her own life with Yunzhi and Taozhi.

Wen Ye couldn't help but think that there probably isn't any daughter-in-law who wouldn't like a mother-in-law who doesn't care about anything.

But when she got old, her eyesight would probably become blurry, so she would need a young maid to read storybooks to her on weekdays.

As he thought about it, Wen Ye started to smile.

On the other side, after finishing talking about Li, Aunt Xu heard Wen Ye's laughter, stopped talking, looked at her, and was very curious: "Mother Ye, what interesting things have you thought of? Why don't you tell us about it?"

It just so happens that she has almost finished talking about gossip.

Wen Ye: “…”

This is not good.

Wen Ye felt that they would not want to hear what she was just thinking.

Imperial Palace, inside the Qinzheng Hall.

Prince Wen, who is ten years younger than the emperor, was talking incessantly about the "evidence" that some officials in the Ministry of Justice were biased in their handling of cases.

On the golden steps, the emperor was flipping through the memorials on the case, and seemed absent-minded when listening to King Wen's testimony.

Xu Yuejia, who was standing opposite King Wen, suddenly felt an itch at the tip of her nose.

Almost lost my composure.

But the emperor, who had a keen sense of perception, still caught a glimpse of this scene. He slowly raised his eyes and asked, "Are you feeling unwell, Mr. Xu?"

Xu Yuejia, who had recovered, nodded and replied, "Your Majesty, I am fine."

King Wen, who was talking about the "key evidence", almost froze in shock.

After the emperor finished his concern for his ministers, he remembered that his younger brother was beside him. He pretended nothing happened and asked him, "Where were you talking about? Keep going."

King Wen: “…”

Before Prince Wen could continue, the head eunuch Li Gonggong beside the emperor received the news from outside the Qinzheng Palace. He stepped closer and said to the emperor, "Your Majesty, Nanny Yang beside Concubine Shu asked to see you. She said that Concubine Shu missed Prince Wen and asked if Your Majesty could be flexible and let Prince Wen go to Ningshou Palace first."

The Ningshou Palace was inhabited by the previous emperor's childless concubines, with the exception of Concubine Shu.

Finally someone came.

The emperor glanced at Prince Wen below and said, "Since your mother misses you, I will allow you to go to Ningshou Palace first."

It’s up to whoever takes care of his own son. He really doesn’t have the time to do that.

King Wen wanted to say something else: "But..."

The emperor frowned slightly, and his expression became more serious: "We'll talk about the case later."

Apart from Concubine Shu, the only person Prince Wen was afraid of was his royal brother. He glanced at Xu Yuejia, who remained indifferent throughout, and could only leave unwillingly.

As soon as he left, the emperor said to Xu Yuejia below: "My brother has never been very smart since he was young. As for today's matter, Xu Qing, just pretend that he has never been here. Just judge the case as it was originally judged."

Xu Yuejia put his hands together and bowed, "I obey your order."

The emperor was used to Xu Yuejia's strict manner. He left the memorial and said, "I hope that Jiang Ming's case can serve as a warning to the children of the noble families in Shengjing."

Xu Yuejia said truthfully: "This case has indeed frightened some people."

After Eunuch Li escorted King Wen out of the Qinzheng Palace, he returned with a food box in his hand.

He walked up the steps to the emperor's side, bowed and whispered, "Your Majesty, this is Caiyunzhai's new snack that Xiaoluzi just bought from outside the palace."

Emperor: “Oh?”

He opened the food box, looked at the still warm snacks inside, closed it again and said, "After testing for poison, send it to the princess."

Eunuch Li immediately said, "I will make sure it is properly arranged."

Then he took the food box and quietly left the Qinzheng Hall.

The emperor wanted to talk to Xu Yuejia about government affairs, but because of the interruption of Eunuch Li, he changed the topic to something unimportant: "Changle has been spoiled by me. Not long ago, she ran away from the palace without telling her mother. She accidentally ran into a newly opened snack shop. After I sent someone to forcibly bring her back, she has been thinking about the snacks in this shop. In order to teach her a lesson, her mother ordered everyone in the palace not to buy snacks for her."

At this point, the emperor seemed to sigh: "Then Changle ran to me, and I softened my heart for a moment, so I asked Eunuch Li to secretly send someone out of the palace to buy this box."

"Mr. Xu, do you understand what I mean?" The emperor looked at him.

Xu Yuejia, who didn't want to listen to the emperor's nagging, bowed again and said, "...I understand."

......

After leaving the palace, Xu Yuejia got into the carriage of the Duke's Mansion. The servant who drove the carriage was named Achun.

Inside the carriage, Xu Yuejia sat upright.

Nan'an Street is the only way from the Imperial Palace back to the Duke's Mansion.

The Caiyunzhai mentioned by the emperor is located on this street.

Ah Chun knew that Xu Yuejia liked to be quiet, so he hurried along without making any sound.

The carriage drove steadily along Nan'an Street and was about to turn when a voice suddenly came from inside the carriage: "Wait a moment."

Ah Chun stopped the carriage immediately.

Xu Yuejia opened the car curtain, looked at Ah Chun, and said calmly, "Go to Caiyunzhai and buy two boxes of snacks."

Ah Chun was startled for a moment, then realized belatedly and said, "...I'll go right away."

He jumped down and pushed the carriage aside to make sure it would not block the way for those coming later, then he ran back with the silver given by Xu Yuejia.

Duke's Mansion, West Courtyard.

Nanny Ji was quite talented. She learned how to play shuttlecock in less than two quarters of an hour and could kick five or six at a time. Xu Yuxuan watched happily for a while.

Perhaps influenced by Wen Ye, he has now learned to applaud and say "good".

Encouraged by Xu Yuxuan, Nanny Ji kicked more and more vigorously.

After being satisfied, Xu Yuxuan felt sleepy. When Nanny Ji saw this, she put away the chicken feather shuttlecock and asked He Xiang to carry Xu Yuxuan back to the house to take a nap.

After Xu Yuxuan woke up from his nap, he happened to catch up with Xu Yuejia on his way back home.

After waiting for half a day, someone finally came back. Xu Yuxuan ran over and Xu Yuejia had no time to hide.

The snack box in his hand was naturally seen by Xu Yuxuan.

Children do have a certain perception of food boxes; this is probably their unique talent.

Xu Yuxuan's round eyes sparkled as he looked at Xu Yuejia expectantly.

Xu Yuejia met her son's gaze, was silent for a moment, and said, "Remember to leave half for your mother."

Xu Yuxuan nodded heavily: "Leave it to my mother!"

Xu Yuejia gave a box of snacks to Nanny Ji.

When Xu Yuxuan saw the snacks were in Nanny Ji's hands, he hurriedly followed her. Nanny Ji asked Rendong to get a clean porcelain plate.

She placed the snacks in the box on the china plate one by one.

He Xiang helped Xu Yuxuan wipe his hands clean.

Before eating, Xu Yuxuan suddenly asked, "Mammy, how much?"

Nanny Ji counted silently, narrowed her eyes and smiled, "Young Master, there are five in total."

Actually, there were six pieces originally, but when they bought food from outside, they usually had to taste one piece first to make sure it was ok before the young master could eat it.

I don’t know which dim sum shop my husband bought these from. They are so delicate and small. Although there are six pieces in a box, the portion is very small.

I don't know if Xu Yuxuan really understood. He pointed at each piece of cake with his little hand, as if he was counting them very clearly.

After counting, Xu Yuxuan picked up the piece that Nanny Ji gave him and began to chew it slowly with his teeth.

The snacks were soft and fragrant, not too sweet, and there was nothing that Xu Yuxuan needed to avoid, so Nanny Ji was relieved.

Xu Yuxuan ate happily, but he did not forget Xu Yuejia's instructions before she left. When he picked up the second snack, he said in a baby voice: "Save some for mother~"

Then the third, the fourth...

Xu Yuxuan would repeat that sentence every time he ate a piece of rice.

The more he ate, the better it tasted. Xu Yuxuan chewed and swallowed the last bite, then lowered his head to look into the porcelain plate.

His eyes suddenly widened, and he didn't know where to put his hands. He said, "Mammy, it's gone!"

Xu Yuxuan's eyes instantly turned red with anxiety, and he looked up at Nanny Ji with some grievance:

"Xuan'er, is there anything left?"