At night, after the lights were blown out, in the darkness, Eleventh Lady discussed with Xu Lingyi: "...I have been married for more than a month...Mrs. Qin is scheduled from the eleventh to the fifteenth of each month, Mrs. Wen is scheduled from the sixteenth to the twentieth of each month, and Mrs. Qiao is scheduled from the twenty-first to the twenty-fifth of each month. What do you think, Lord Marquis?"

Xu Lingyi thought about her happy life at the end of the month and her discomfort, and felt that he vaguely understood something.

Although according to the custom in the mansion, each concubine was arranged with five days, and she was arranged at the time when she was most likely to conceive, her daily life was also included in this... She didn't want to sleep with the emperor anymore, right?

I felt a little unhappy, but it soon passed.

He hopes that Eleventh Lady can give birth to more sons, this is the most important thing.

"Just take care of the things in the house!" He said indifferently, and asked about Aunt Qiao's illness: "...Why haven't you recovered yet?"

"We've changed to Doctor Wu from the Imperial Hospital." Eleventh Lady said with a smile, "I just took one dose of medicine. I'm afraid I need to take a few more doses to see the effect."

"If that doesn't work, let her mother come and accompany her!" Xu Lingyi said, "She only has a widowed mother."

"I understand." Eleventh Lady responded respectfully, "Send someone to invite Mrs. Qiao to come over tomorrow morning."

Xu Lingyi hummed in satisfaction, then turned over and fell asleep.

Eleventh Lady breathed a sigh of relief.

They slept in their own bedding and chatted about family matters. The cozy neighborhood atmosphere made her feel at ease and she fell asleep quickly.

The next day, after sending Xu Lingyi to court, Eleventh Lady specifically asked Mother Tao to invite the three concubines over.

Concubine Qin and Concubine Wen arrived one after the other. The former wore a lotus-colored gray squirrel fur coat and a silver-gilt jasper hairpin on her head. After greeting, she stood there a little stiffly. The latter wore a pink mink fur coat, a jadeite knot, and gorilla ruby ​​earrings. She came in and greeted everyone with a smile.

"The coat you are wearing today is so beautiful." She praised, "It is a gift from the Spring Festival today. I have been thinking about it for a long time but couldn't buy it. Madam, you are so generous."

Because it started snowing suddenly, Eleventh Lady wore a new lake-blue silk jacket with long sleeves and a pattern of hundreds of babies playing around, which was made when she got married.

She was speechless for a moment.

It's hard not to like such a person.

Eleventh Lady smiled slightly and said, "Is there anything that even the Third Master of the Wen family can't get?" There was a hint of sarcasm in her tone, and the atmosphere in the room immediately became lively.

"The Wen family just has some spare money!" Madam Wen smiled and knelt to greet Eleventh Lady, and became bolder. "Learn literature and martial arts, and sell them to the emperor's family. If you want good things, they are all in the palace. It's hard to catch our family even if you ride a horse!"

Eleventh Lady laughed and joked, "That means riding a bloody horse to chase after him."

"That is also a royal tribute. You can't buy it even if you have money!" She responded to Eleventh Lady with a smile.

The atmosphere in the room immediately improved.

When Aunt Qin saw Amber bringing in tea, she immediately stood up and served it to Eleventh Lady.

Madam Wen had a very attentive conversation with Eleventh Lady before Qiao Lianfang came.

She had her hair done in a bun, and wore three lotus flowers the size of a fingernail on her head. She wore a moon-white plain jacket with floral patterns. Her eyes were smoky and her figure was as delicate as a willow. I'm afraid she was even less delicate than Xishi.

"Madam." She bowed to Shiyi Niang, but her eyes looked at Shiyi Niang without showing any weakness. "What do you want me to do?"

There is not the slightest sign of modesty.

Aunt Qin looked very anxious and kept winking at Qiao Lianfang. Aunt Wen stopped chattering and looked at her toes with her eyelids drooped, as if she heard and saw nothing.

Eleventh Lady disagrees.

She was never afraid of open provocation, she was only afraid of the sword hidden in the smile.

"I'm not just looking for you." She took a sip of tea with a calm expression and told Amber to bring stools to the three of them. "Everyone, sit down and talk!"

Aunt Qin hurriedly thanked them, Aunt Wen half-sat on the stool, and Qiao Lianfang sat down with great grace.

Every time Eleventh Lady saw the elegance that emanated from Qiao Lianfang's bones, she felt a kind of heartache as if a "high-rise building had collapsed", and she was particularly tolerant of her inappropriateness.

"I discussed it with the Marquis yesterday, and there is something I want to tell everyone." She smiled and told the days when everyone would sleep with him.

Aunt Qin hurriedly agreed, and Aunt Wen, as usual, smiled and complimented Eleventh Lady on her ability to manage the household, and her virtuousness and generosity. However, Qiao Lianfang kept her head down and said nothing.

Shiyi Niang asked Qiao Lianfang: "After taking Doctor Wu's medicine, are you feeling better?"

Qiao Lianfang's voice was very distant: "Better."

But looking at her increasingly thin face, Eleventh Lady shook her head slightly and said, "The Marquis asked me to invite Mrs. Qiao to come to the mansion today. You and your daughter can also have a chat."

Qiao Lianfang looked towards her suddenly, her eyes as sharp as torches.

"My Lord..." There seemed to be a gleam of water in the corner of his eyes.

"The Marquis is worried about you." Eleventh Lady said with a smile, "You have to recover from your illness quickly."

Qiao Lianfang's mouth twitched and she choked with sobs for a long time without making a sound.

Just like that, I couldn't keep my composure any longer.

Eleventh Lady lowered her head to drink tea, but she looked at Aunt Qin and Aunt Wen out of the corner of her eyes.

Madam Wen looked very calm, neither happy nor resentful, as if she had expected this to happen. Madam Qin looked at Qiao Lianfang with a smile, as if she was also very happy that Qiao Lianfang could receive Xu Lingyi's care.

Why can't the two of them be like Qiao Lianfang, whose true colors can be seen through at a glance...

Eleventh Lady felt quite helpless.

"Everyone, please go away!" Eleventh Lady stood up with a smile, "I will also go to pay my respects to the Madam."

The three of them respectfully escorted her out of the yard.

Eleventh Lady went to the Madam's place and found an opportunity to quietly tell her what happened in the room: "...I don't know if it's appropriate or not."

Her cheeks flushed.

The lady dowager chuckled softly, looking at Eleventh Lady with a look of relief.

"I feel relieved if you think this way." She took Shiyi Niang's hand and sat on the kang. "You know, other women are like flowers. Occasionally, there are two who have cultivated to become spirits, but they are only flower spirits. They cannot enter the fairyland or become immortals. What they are afraid of is a Taoist spell. There is no need to be fussy with them."

This was the first time that Eleventh Lady had heard such a statement, and she couldn't help but smile. She agreed with the Madam, "Mother is right."

The lady smiled with satisfaction.

Just then, the Third Lady came in and said, "What did the Fourth Sister-in-law say to make Mother so happy?"

"Oh!" The lady laughed, "Just when I was talking about the snow, I thought of going to the back garden to take a look."

"It's rare that mother is in such a good mood when Second Sister-in-law is not around." The Third Lady said with a smile, "I'll have someone prepare a sedan chair to take you to the back garden!"

This was just Madam Tai's excuse. Eleventh Lady immediately said in a gentle voice, "It's snowing hard outside. Mother, you should wait until the snow is lighter before going. Otherwise, all you can see are the rustling snowflakes, and there's nothing to see."

The lady nodded: "As you wish."

There was a hint of coldness in the third lady's eyes.

* * * * * *

When they returned to the house, Lu Yun immediately came to report: "Madam, Mrs. Qiao is here."

Eleventh Lady nodded, went into the house to change her clothes, and then Mother Hang, who was beside the grandmother, came over.

"She said that Fifth Aunt's shop will open on November 10th, and asked if Eleventh Aunt is free on that day."

"I won't go." Eleventh Lady smiled, "I'll tell the Marquis when the time comes and see if he should send a steward over."

Mother Hang smiled and said, "Eleventh Aunt is really thoughtful."

Eleventh Lady asked about the eldest wife's illness: "Is she feeling better?"

"Much better." He added, "Someone from Yuhang sent a letter saying that the fourth grandma was married. She is very beautiful and behaves very decently. The eldest master is very satisfied."

"That's good." Eleventh Lady smiled and chatted with her for a few words, then asked Amber to give her the fifty taels of silver that she had prepared long ago, "This is what I wanted, let my sister-in-law help take it over."

Mother Hang quickly declined: "Grandma said that she will temporarily help to cover the fifty taels of silver. It won't be too late for you to take it back when you go back to visit us someday."

Eleventh Lady was stunned.

Mother Hang looked at it and said, "It's not that I don't want to help take it over. It's just that my great grandmother repeatedly told me not to. I really don't dare to take it."

Eleventh Lady felt mixed emotions. She chatted with Mother Hang for a while, then asked Amber to give her some change and sent her out.

Amber sighed, "My aunt is really kind-hearted."

Eleventh Lady sighed deeply, putting aside the regret she had just felt. "It's okay. We'll be fine once we find a way to make money. Then we'll pay back the eldest sister-in-law double."

Amber also laughed when she heard this, and joined in the fun in front of Eleventh Lady: "Madam, anyway, now we have the 1,000 taels of silver given by the Marquis, and you still have 50 taels every month. In a few days, the 300 taels of silver for renting the slope land should also be delivered. The Second Madam is in the West Hill Villa, so you don't have to worry. It won't be too late for us to make the fragrant dew in the summer."

Eleventh Lady nodded: "Just urge Jiang Bingzheng to reply quickly!"

Amber left as soon as she was told, and Shiyi Niang and Dongqing sat on the kang and did needlework.

Mother Hang came back and said, "Eleventh Aunt, our Great Grandma asked me to come and tell you that Tenth Aunt had a miscarriage. Great Grandma has prepared the gifts for her and would like to ask if you have time to go and see Tenth Aunt."

Eleventh Lady's heart was beating wildly when she heard this, and she immediately jumped off the kang: "I'll go and tell mother right away."

Dongqing called Binju to change her into thick clothes, and asked Zhuxiang to take Mother Hang to the ear room to rest. Luyun and Hongxiu, one holding Shiyi Niang's arm and the other holding an umbrella, went to the lady's place.

When the lady heard about this, she hurriedly said, "You should go quickly." She also asked Mother Du to prepare some medicinal herbs such as Panax notoginseng and Gastrodia elata for her to take over, and said, "Tell her to take good care of herself and not to cry, or she will hurt herself. She is still young, and there will be more in the future." Her words were very sincere.

Eleventh Lady thought that Second Lady and Yuan Niang both had miscarriages before their first child, and could understand the Lady Dowager's feelings. She answered "yes" obediently, and then went to Gongxian Hutong with the medicinal herbs.

"Fifth aunt is pregnant, and I told her not to go for fear of any taboos." When the eldest grandmother heard that she was coming, she immediately asked Xinglin to help her dress and said, "I know you are all young and don't understand these things. Rice wine, eggs, black chickens... I have prepared three of each of these things. Don't say anything more to me, go see mother quickly, and we will set off for Duke Mao's Mansion. It's snowing heavily, it's too late, be careful of the slippery roads." She pushed her out the door herself.

Eleventh Lady is very grateful.

In this situation, even if you don't understand, there is always a mother who understands around you, right? Grandma said this, clearly to shut her up. And from the tone of Mother Hang, she didn't know her predicament. Speaking of which, Mother Hang is the most capable person around Grandma. If I push and shove at this time, it would be too hypocritical.

She smiled and bowed to the great grandmother, then followed Mother Hang to the eldest wife.

※

Climbing on the road to paying off debts...(*^__^*) Hehe...