Eleventh Lady has arranged for a companion, and the winter solstice has arrived.
The winter solstice in this era was different from the previous ones. It was not just the weather that changed. The government and the people celebrated it, and it was called "Yasui". People either pounded rice cakes or made snacks to worship their ancestors. Women also presented shoes and socks to their elders, which was called "Shoes of Long". The Xu family was also different from others. Not only did the Imperial Household Department send "Ninety-nine Days to Eliminate the Cold Poems and Pictures", the emperor also rewarded the Xu brothers with black fox fur ear warmers, the queen rewarded the Xu family's wives with various seasonal clothing materials, and the Xu family also had a spicy soup for breakfast.
Eleventh Lady enthusiastically hung the painting of poems about getting rid of the cold on the pink wall of the east room.
Xu Lingyi was leaning on the big kang by the window, reading a book. He heard her and Hubo talking in low voices. Their tone was very cheerful. He looked up and saw Shiyi Niang wearing a white fox fur hat with a rabbit pattern given by the Madam. It looked like a little rabbit against her delicate face. He found it interesting and said with a smile, "Haven't you seen this before?"
"I have seen it." Eleventh Lady smiled, "When my father was at home, he also personally painted a picture of a plum blossom with 9981 petals and pasted it on the wall. He painted one petal every day with a pen. When the plum blossom picture was completed, spring would be here."
Xu Lingyi smiled and said, "The plum blossom painting is better. The things in the Imperial Household Department are very serious."
Eleventh Lady found Xu Lingyi's serious talk very interesting and smiled brightly: "How about putting this up in your study and we can put up the plum blossom painting in our room?"
During this period, she often went to Xu Lingyi's study in the west wing to borrow books.
To be honest, it's nothing special.
Although it was obvious that he was used to it, most of them were military strategies, and the others were biographies, novels, and poems. In the blank spaces of those military books, there were his handwriting, from immature to strong, recording a person's growth. Eleventh Lady looked very kind, but she had no way of being interested, so she just took a look and didn't touch any of the books.
Xu Lingyi knew that Shiyi Niang had been picking books in his study recently, but she didn't find any books she liked. He thought she was teasing him, but he was not a petty person who couldn't take a joke, so he just played a trick on her: "Yes, the things in the Imperial Household Department are very compatible with my study."
When Eleventh Lady smiled, her eyes and brows shone with light, making her indescribably charming and attractive.
Xu Lingyi just felt it was pleasing to the eye and was in a good mood.
A servant came in and said, "My Lord, the porridge stall has been set up. The Third Lord has sent someone to ask you if you want to go and take a look!"
Since November, the snow has not stopped. Earlier, hungry people came to Yanjing to beg, but they were stopped outside the city gate. It is said that some people froze to death. Yongchang Marquis Huang contacted the nobles in Yanjing to set up porridge stalls outside the Fucheng Gate in the west of the city. Although the Xu family was not the first, they were not the last and set up their own porridge stall next to Weibei Marquis Lin's family.
Xu Lingyi dropped the book after hearing this: "I'll go right away."
The servant went to report back. Eleventh Lady and Luyun hurriedly found Xu Lingyi's otter-skin cloak and put it on him. "My Lord, please be careful on the road. It's cold and the roads are slippery. How about taking a sedan chair instead?"
"What's this?" Xu Lingyi let Shiyi Niang help him put on his cloak. "I don't know how many times I have encountered worse weather than this in the northwest. Don't worry."
Eleventh Lady nodded and sent Xu Lingyi out the door. Before she could turn back, a little maid ran over and said, "Madam, the eldest grandmother is here."
It had been a few days since they parted at the intersection of West Street, and they hadn't heard from the eldest lady. It was not convenient for them to send anyone to ask, and they were getting anxious. Upon hearing this, they immediately followed the little maid to go and meet the eldest lady.
The grandmother was wearing a gray squirrel cloak made of green lotus velvet, and her face looked a little depressed.
Eleventh Lady looked at this and felt uneasy.
When the eldest grandmother saw Eleventh Lady coming towards her, she immediately reached out and took Eleventh Lady's hand. Her cold fingertips made Eleventh Lady tremble slightly.
The two of them were silent in tacit agreement. After entering the house, the maid helped the eldest grandmother take off her cloak. Eleventh Lady sat with her on the big kang by the window in the west room. Tea was served and Eleventh Lady sent the servants away. Before she could speak, the eldest grandmother's eyes turned red: "...It was the Tenth Uncle who beat the child...But Tenth Lady refused to say anything. I wanted to make a decision for her but I didn't know where to start."
Although she had guessed some of it, when the news was confirmed, Eleventh Lady's body froze and she felt indescribable bitterness in her heart.
"I felt something was wrong at the time. This was the first child, but the tenth uncle didn't say a word." The eldest grandmother was so angry that her face turned red. "I went to see her every day. If Yinping hadn't let me know, I wouldn't have known until now." As she spoke, her face darkened. "Your eldest brother doesn't like to have maids. I let Jinlian and Yinping marry with Shi Niang because I wanted to find a family for them. It was a done deal. But the tenth uncle slept with the two maids on the third day of their marriage without even saying hello. What kind of appearance does our Shi Niang have? Is she not worthy of him? He is simply slapping our Luo family in the face..."
The eldest grandmother spoke with indignation, but Eleventh Lady just listened quietly and refilled her cup of tea from time to time.
Finally, the grandmother calmed down. Eleven said, "Who else knows about this?" She heard her own voice, calm and rational, "Since she doesn't want to say it, she must still care about the Wang family's reputation. I'm afraid we can't intervene. But this man beating a woman, once it starts, I'm afraid there will be no end. We have to find someone to warn her. Avoid it if you can, and go along with it if you can, so as not to make him angry."
The eldest grandmother nodded: "I know that too. But the tenth uncle... do you know why he beat Shi Niang?" As she spoke, her eyes showed anger, "He took a fancy to Shi Niang's concubine's daughter-in-law, and Shi Niang didn't agree, so he beat her up... After the child fell down, he didn't even look at Shi Niang, and turned around to Cuihua Hutong. What a piece of shit!"
Eleventh Lady remained silent.
She didn't know what else to say.
The eldest grandmother hurriedly shook Eleventh Lady's hand and asked, "Is the Marquis treating you well?"
Eleventh Lady nodded: "The Marquis is fine!"
This is the truth.
Xu Lingyi respects her very much, which is the basis of everything.
The grandmother heaved a sigh of relief when she saw that Eleventh Lady had a serious expression.
Is she worried about herself and Wu Niang?
Eleventh Lady was thinking about it.
On her side, however, plans could not keep up with the changes. Yesterday, Chang Jiuhe came to her to ask for money. The snow was so heavy that the house in the farm collapsed. He stood at the door shivering in a black cotton jacket with a greasy surface: "Just ask for two taels of silver, I will build a thatched hut temporarily to get through the winter."
Since even the house has collapsed, what else is worth stealing? Eleventh Lady asked him to take his wife and children back to Goldfish Lane to live: "... Wait until the snow stops. Otherwise, people will freeze to death."
Chang Jiuhe was very grateful, his eyes were wet, and he thanked again and again.
His arrival reminded Shiyi Niang, and she asked Hubo to take a letter to Wan Yizong, asking them to hide in Jinyu Lane. She also asked Hubo to take ten taels of silver to Liu Yuanrui's house and asked her to arrange meals.
After hearing what Grandma said, Eleventh Lady thought of Fifth Lady's newly opened business: "... With such heavy snow, I'm afraid the business will be affected."
"Who said it wasn't?" The grandmother sighed, "It's been open for a few days, but the business is only a few cents a day."
"It takes a while for things to get better."
The grandmother nodded, and the two chatted for a while. Seeing that it was getting late, they stood up and said goodbye.
Eleventh Lady sent her out, repeatedly reminding her: "Send someone to tell Tenth Sister. She has a stubborn temper, so she won't suffer any loss."
"Don't worry, I will tell her quietly. We have no other options when it comes to dealing with such a person. I see that the old lady of the Wang family is very worried about Shi Niang. I just hope that she can have mercy on her because she is so sensible. After all, if this kind of thing gets out, the reputation of the Wang family will be ruined."
After all, this is not her world, and she can only deal with it according to the rules of this world.
But Shiyi Niang couldn't help but ask, "If it doesn't work, can we catch her in the act? Then, my eldest brother can help Shi Niang live in the house she brought as a dowry..."
The grandmother shook her head like a rattle: "No. That would completely break off relations with the Wang family. Who knows, the Wang family might come up with some ideas to say that Shi Niang is a traitor, which would ruin her reputation. You can just think about this kind of thing, but don't say anything."
Eleventh Lady had no choice but to remain silent.
* * * * * *
In the evening, Xu Lingyi came back and saw Shiyi Niang busy with her needlework. He smiled and asked, "Why didn't you go to play cards with mother?"
Eleventh Lady hurried over to help Xu Lingyi untie his cloak: "My sister-in-law is here today."
"But what's the matter?"
"I went to see my tenth sister, and came to sit next to me."
As it was a woman's matter, Xu Lingyi did not want to ask about it. He sat on the big kang by the window in the west room and said, "Many shops on East Street and West Street are closed. I'm afraid Zichun's place will also be affected."
"That's what my eldest sister-in-law said." Eleventh Lady helped Xu Lingyi sit on the big kang by the window in the west room, took the hot tea handed to him by the maid, and said, "They said that the business is only a dozen coins a day." She added, "When Fifth Sister first mentioned it, I thought it was a good idea. Now we are facing a bad year, and it's not that we are on the wrong path. We just need to hold on for a few more days."
Xu Lingyi listened, holding the tea in his hand, and said with a smile: "According to what you said, it doesn't matter whether the business is good or bad, the main thing is whether the path is right or not."
"Of course." Eleventh Lady smiled, "If you are on the right track and your business is not doing well, you just need to find out where you went wrong and correct it in time. But if you are on the wrong track, you will only go further and further away, and get into a darker place... It's a waste of energy."
In fact, what Shiyi Niang was talking about was a project establishment problem. If the project establishment is correct and in line with the development of society, it will have great potential. Even if it cannot be developed for a while, if you hold on to the most difficult years, you will be able to see the light of day. But if the project establishment is wrong, it is a business facing elimination in society. The longer you hold on, the more you lose, and there is no chance to turn things around... Take the dried fruit shop opened by Wu Niang as an example. It is a part of the daily life of the people in Yanjing. Every family cannot do without it during the New Year and festivals. As long as the situation can be opened up, the business will definitely be able to do well. On the contrary, if Wu Niang wants to do the flower business, she will oppose it. Because now the flower farmers in the suburbs of Yanjing have built greenhouses, which are dedicated to supplying flowers to the homes of the rich all year round, occupying the most profitable market. If Wu Niang wants to steal the business of these people, it will definitely be difficult.
After all, the two of them are going to live together for the rest of their lives. Eleventh Lady wants to communicate well with Xu Lingyi, but this does not mean that she will expose all her thoughts in front of him and be treated as a monster. She can only absorb him bit by bit like a gentle breeze and drizzle.
So when Eleventh Lady saw Xu Lingyi's thoughtful expression after hearing what she said, she immediately smiled and changed the subject: "What's the situation outside?"