The next day, Eleventh Lady went to pay her respects to the First Lady a little earlier than usual.

The eldest wife was combing her hair and was quite surprised to know that she had come.

"...I can only make one thread a day." Shiyi Niang explained a little embarrassedly, "I can't make it as fast as Master Jian."

The eldest wife smiled and said, "In that case, you don't have to come to visit me every morning and evening. Just embroider the screen well, and that will be your filial piety to me."

Eleventh Lady thought about it and replied “yes” respectfully.

The eldest lady knew that she had something to do, so she gave her a bowl of goat's milk and let her leave.

It was Luo Qiao who saw her off.

She took the opportunity to invite her and Lian Qiao.

Luo Qiao was slightly startled, then smiled and said, "What a coincidence. Sister Lian Qiao is ill, and the eldest lady is left with only me and a few maids to serve her... I don't know if she has time to spare."

"It's just a get-together," Eleventh Lady said with a smile, "Sister's job is more important. We all live in the same courtyard, and there will be opportunities in the future."

Luo Qiao also laughed: "When we have some free time, we can go and argue with Miss Eleven again, it will be the same."

As the two were talking, the eldest lady in the room asked the little maid beside her: "Has Miss Eleven left?"

The little maid went out to take a look, then came back and said, "No, she is talking to Sister Luoqiao!"

The eldest wife nodded, and Luo Qiao lifted the curtain and walked in.

"What are you talking about with Eleventh Lady?" the eldest wife asked casually.

Luo Qiao's heart tightened, and she said with a smile, "Miss Eleven is hosting a welcome party for Amber at noon, and she invited Lian Qiao and I to join in the fun."

The first wife didn't ask any more questions and changed the subject: "What did Wu Xiaoquan say?"

Luo Qiao said, "General Manager Wu said that the court has recently spread that the emperor will use troops against the northern border again after the New Year, and the price of gold has fallen sharply. The amount you exchanged is large, and ordinary banks cannot afford it. The powerful banks will not give in to the price because they see that you are waiting anxiously. If you calculate it this way, the price difference is between four and five thousand taels. It is really not worth it."

The eldest wife frowned and said, "Tell him that four or five thousand is fine. Try to exchange it all before the middle of February next year."

Luo Qiao left immediately.

*

Shiyi Niang returned to Lujun Tower and asked Binju to send invitations to Jiaoyuan, Shiniang and Shiyi Niang. Dongqing went to Xu Mama's residence.

Mother Xu was not around, and the little maidservant who served her said perfunctorily: "I'll let you know when mother comes back."

Dongqing was just being polite. He exchanged a few words with the maid and then turned to go to Wu Xiaoquan's house.

Wu Xiaoquan's family was having breakfast. When they heard that Dong Qing from Miss Eleven's room had come, they went to greet her in a hurry, saying, "If you have anything to say, just let the maid tell you. Why does Miss Dong Qing have to come here in person? Have you had breakfast? Come in and have some more."

Such politeness stunned Dongqing, and it took him a while to come to his senses: "Thank you, Mom. I have already had breakfast." Then he told her the purpose of his visit.

When Wu Xiaoquan's family heard that she had something else to do, they didn't keep her and responded readily: "Tell Miss Eleven that I will definitely go when the time comes!"

Dongqing went to Yao's mother with full of confusion.

Mother Yao stood at the gate of the west courtyard with her hands on her hips, and shouted as if she was afraid that no one could hear her: "Invite me to a banquet? Your Eleventh Miss is very thoughtful, but I don't have the time! The eldest lady just asked me to send someone to clean up the warm pavilion in the back garden and light the underground fire so that it can be used during the New Year." After saying this, she waved her hand as if to shoo away mosquitoes and flies, "We'll talk about it when the time comes!"

Dong Qing was prepared when she came, knowing that she would definitely not have good words for her, but working in the same courtyard, she would see her everywhere, and she could not avoid her. She just pretended not to know her ill intentions and smiled: "I will send a little maid to invite mother when the time comes!"

Don't hit someone who smiles at you.

Mother Yao hesitated to speak, then she said "hmm" coldly as a reply.

Someone nearby laughed and said, "You are a family from now on, and she is doing her job in front of the master, so you should at least give her some respect. Let's go have a drink later!"

Holly's body stiffened.

If someone said something like this, it must have been said by Mother Yao.

She also thought of how Mother Yao had brought eight kinds of gifts and asked everywhere in the village, "What's the matter with the Xia family?" and "The daughter of their family who works in the Luo Mansion has been married to my nephew, so I came to visit my relatives." When she returned, all the gossipy aunts and uncles who came to her sister's wedding and the neighbors asked her, "When are you going to get married?"

Thinking of this, Dongqing felt so angry that his chest ached and he turned and went to the kitchen.

Mrs. Cao, who was in charge of the kitchen, saw her and said with a frown, "Miss, why don't you change the menu? Ten taels of silver is more than enough to buy the duck in the eighth soup, but the ginseng, gastrodia, angelica, and wolfberry in the soup..." As she spoke, disdain flashed in her eyes, "Besides, you also ordered stir-fried river fish, sea clams in chicken soup, pickled whitebait, winter bamboo shoots and magnolia slices...Miss, since you are the head of the family for Miss Eleven, you have to be careful. Those who know will say that you are too careless, and those who don't will say that we are bullying Miss Eleven because we don't know anything about kitchen matters."

Holly's face turned red.

Last time, the Fifth Miss invited guests, she only took ten taels of silver and made Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. She reduced the amount according to the share, so why is it not enough for her? In the end, it's just the world's indifference, and she just thinks that the Eleventh Miss is not as respectable as the Fifth Miss in front of the First Madam!

"I am ignorant, I hope you won't take it to heart." She forced a smile to apologize to Cao's mother, "Just add or subtract as you see fit, mom!"

Mother Cao nodded, turned around and told the kitchen maid to chop the duck, leaving Dongqing with her back.

*

Dongqing trudged back to Lujun Building.

He finally came to his senses when a cold wind blew through the forest.

They were treating us today, and there were many things to do. Why did he leave the important things to do and get angry with the two mothers?

Speaking of which, the two mothers are older than me, entered the mansion earlier than me, and have higher positions than me. If there is anything wrong with me, they should have disciplined me... When I first entered the mansion, I didn’t learn the rules well. Beating and scolding were minor things, and there were also times when I was not given food or sleep. How come, after following Miss Eleven for several years, I can’t stand all this!

Even though he consoled himself in this way, Dongqing still felt extremely uncomfortable!

She stared at the pink walls and gray tiles in the winter snow for a while, then turned and went to the venue for today's banquet - a warm room in front of the Lujun Building.

Surrounded by white snow and emerald green, the red-painted warm room is as heart-warming as a fire.

When I lifted the big red silk curtain, hot air rushed towards me.

Bin Ju, Qiu Ju and Zhu Xiang had just finished packing up - the black lacquer chairs were polished to a shine, the small stools were padded with silver-red flower cushions, the coffee table was set with tea dishes, and there were two large square tables side by side in the middle.

"Sister Dongqing, can you see if there is anything we can add or subtract?" Binju came up to her with a smile.

Before Dongqing could answer, Qiuju smiled and said, "I think we should plant a few pineapple trees."

Bin Ju said, "Instead of offering pineapples, it's better to put in a few branches of plum blossoms."

"To put plum blossoms in, you need to open the box and get the plum vase. Miss Eleven has three plum vases in total. One is made of colorful gold clay from an old kiln, one is made of azure glaze from a Ru kiln, and one is made of sweet white porcelain from an official kiln. They are all top-quality items. There will be so many people involved and if one is lost, you won't be able to get it back even if you cry." Qiu Ju argued unconvinced.

Bin Ju couldn't help but sigh: "The pineapples and citrons are all kept by the mother who manages the yard. If you go to get them, you have to ask for a pair of cards from the mother... It's better to open the box and take the plum vase."

For a moment, the three were speechless.

The slight sadness just now suddenly turned into a wave. Dong Qing couldn't help but hugged the twelve-year-old Qiu Ju: "If there is a day, we can do whatever we want!"

*

During lunch, Eleventh Lady asked Dongqing about the dinner party.

"Mother Xu is not at home. The maid said she would convey the message. Mother Wu said she would definitely come when the time comes..." She paused and said, "Mother Yao is still uncertain. I promised to send the maid to invite her later. Miss Five is writing, so I didn't see her. Ziwei said that we need to ask Miss Five for instructions before we know whether she can come. At Miss Ten's place, I only saw Baizhi. Baizhi also said that it depends on the situation. At Miss Twelve, Mother Liu replied that Miss Twelve goes to bed early and needs someone to serve her. If she comes, Yutong and Yuhuai can't come. If Yutong and Yuhuai come, she can't come. Weighing the pros and cons, we should leave such a lively scene to the young people. She won't come. Let Yutong and Yuhuai bring the two maids Baizhu and Jinzhu."

Mother Xu had never met, but the attitudes of Mother Yao, Jiaoyuan, Shi Niang and Shier Niang remained the same as before. In other words, only Wu Xiaoquan's family suddenly became very enthusiastic.

Eleventh Lady nodded slightly and said nothing.

The room fell into silence.

Amber, who was standing behind her, had a thoughtful expression on her face.

*

At the end of the afternoon, Wu Xiaoquan and his family arrived. They also brought two jars of Jinhua wine: "... I am an idle person, Miss Eleven, please see if you can use me."

It sounded like a polite remark, but Shiyi Niang didn't really want her to help. She put away the two-thirds-beaten Luozi and stood up to entertain her.

"No, no, no." Wu Xiaoquan's family waved their hands repeatedly, "You make a lucky bracelet for Brother Xiu, this is a very important matter. I have Amber to accompany you. You go about your business. I will go to Miss Holly to pay my respects and listen to her orders." They insisted on going to the warm room.

Eleventh Lady was indeed thinking about the unfinished silk thread, so she ordered Amber to accompany Wu Xiaoquan's family to the warm room.

Dongqing went to the kitchen to urge the cooking, while Binju led Qiuju and Zhuxiang to wait for the guests in the house.

Seeing Wu Xiaoquan and his family coming in, everyone saluted her enthusiastically. She returned the salute and chatted with Bin Ju and the others with witty remarks, making them laugh.

Soon, Yutong and Yuhuai brought Baizhu and Jinzhu. When they saw Wu Xiaoquan's family, they were all surprised, but Wu Xiaoquan's family greeted them calmly.

Yutong and the others hurriedly stopped paying respect to Yise and Wu Xiaoquan's family.

At this time, Ziwei from Wu Niang's room came.

Wu Xiaoquan's family took the initiative to come forward and say hello.

Ziwei's face was filled with astonishment, and it took her a while to come to her senses and greet Wu Xiaoquan's family.

"Mom is here too, I didn't expect it..." She murmured a few words, then realized she had said something wrong and hurriedly smiled to make amends, "I thought Mom was a busy person, but she came earlier than me."

Wu Xiaoquan's family remained calm and smiled amiably: "I am an idle person, unlike you all who have jobs and cannot leave."

(Sisters, PK in July, those who have tickets please support, those who don’t have tickets please show up... Thank you in advance!)