Seeing that Xu Lingyi attached great importance to this matter, Eleventh Lady hurriedly told him in detail her decision to select a maid for Xu Lingyi and have her look at it before sending her to serve him.
Xu Lingyi listened to her quietly and said, "Why bother mother? Just make the decision yourself!"
His expression was indifferent, his tone was a little nonchalant, but the look in his eyes when he looked at her was brighter than usual.
Eleventh Lady's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately realized that Xu Lingyi was testing her...
Her heart was pounding.
Is it to gain Xu Lingyi's trust and gain greater freedom, more respect, and a more stable foundation, or to become a wife with an ambiguous face in Xu Lingyi's mind - this is an opportunity!
Eleventh Lady took a deep breath and smiled calmly, "I am young and know little, so I naturally have to rely on mother's experience. After all, Brother Yu is the eldest son in our family. He should set an example for his younger brothers in the future, and he must not be careless in his moral conduct. Unfortunately, he is old now and lives alone in the outer courtyard, so it is not convenient for me to visit him. He is accompanied by his servants day and night, and I cannot afford to be negligent. Let mother help Brother Yu choose a maid, and I can learn a little bit by watching. If there is such a thing in the future, I will have a plan in my mind, and I will not be as flustered as I am now."
As she spoke, she observed Xu Lingyi's expression.
His bright eyes gradually became warm, and his chin nodded twice.
Eleventh Lady breathed a sigh of relief.
Looks like I passed!
Her mood became cheerful and her smile became brighter.
Xu Lingyi looked at the joy in Shiyi Niang's eyes and felt somewhat uncomfortable as if he was "judging others by one's own standards".
It seems that I misunderstood!
He thought that Shiyi Niang wanted to use this opportunity to test his attitude. After all, she married to protect Zhun Ge's interests. The less successful Yu Ge was, the more favorable the situation would be for Zhun Ge. Just like Yuan Niang doted on Yu Ge in the past. If it weren't for the second sister-in-law who came forward later, Yu Ge would have been even more miserable than Zhun Ge.
Thinking of this, Xu Lingyi couldn't help but look up at Shiyi Niang.
She sat quietly opposite him, her delicate eyebrows and eyes showing a serene expression, her gentle smile generous and calm.
For a moment, he was confused.
The person in front of me...feels familiar yet strange!
Eleventh Lady on the opposite side noticed that Xu Lingyi was looking at her with a somewhat absent-minded gaze, and she smiled slightly.
Perhaps it was because their relationship was too different, Xu Lingyi did not need or was too disdainful to restrain his emotions in front of her. He often revealed some very real emotions, and she gradually figured out some of the clues.
Xu Lingyi was a typical feudal aristocratic man. He believed in "men are responsible for external affairs, women are responsible for internal affairs", so he would not mention the matter of moldy rice to me. Just like he asked me to receive Mrs. Qiao without interfering, they each had their own responsibilities.
Despite this, Eleventh Lady couldn't guess why Xu Lingyi looked a little dazed.
He could stay still, but she didn't want to sit there with him and waste time.
Eleventh Lady smiled and pretended to fill his teacup with water.
Xu Lingyi came back to his senses. He smiled and said, "You have considered it very carefully. I will do as you wish!"
Eleventh Lady smiled and said "yes", then asked Xu Lingyi for his opinion: "Should we ask Chunmo to help the Marquis change his clothes? It's almost the evening hour."
Remind him that he has to go to the lady's house for dinner.
Xu Lingyi looked at her submissive appearance and made a decision.
He glanced at the clock in the west room and found that it was still early, so he told her, "Sit a little longer!"
Eleventh Lady naturally would not raise any objections and sat obediently opposite Xu Lingyi.
Xu Lingyi suddenly said, "The matter of moldy rice involves some managers. I am having a headache now."
Eleventh Lady had guessed this result long ago. She had been preparing a draft in her mind all night last night, thinking that if Xu Lingyi asked her, she must be able to give a simple, clear and well-organized answer to improve her standing in Xu Lingyi's eyes.
But the answer was too smooth and exposed all my strength...
Hearing Xu Lingyi's question, she murmured in a low voice, "It's the same as what I guessed!"
Xu Lingyi raised his eyebrows slightly when he heard her answer, a little surprised: "You guessed it?"
Eleventh Lady nodded and said solemnly, "The Marquis is very strict with his subordinates, and distributing porridge is of great importance. Without the support of those influential people, how could the servants have such courage?"
Xu Lingyi couldn't help but feel ashamed.
If he really governed his subordinates strictly, such a thing would not happen… But he always believed in “trust those he employed, and do not employ those he doubted”, but he forgot that “human nature is never satisfied”. As time went by, and the Xu Mansion was now flourishing, those who thought they were respectable in front of him inevitably became arrogant.
He said in a deep voice: "What do you think we should do about this matter?"
It was not a tone of negotiation, nor a tone of inquiry, it was just a statement.
Eleventh Lady guessed that he had already made up his mind, and now he just wanted to hear what she had to say. But she didn't want to agree with him. They still had a long time to live together, and if she kept guessing Xu Lingyi's thoughts and trying to figure out his intentions, she would lose herself sooner or later. What was the point of freedom at such a price?
Eleventh Lady had a thoughtful expression on her face. After a while, she said, "I will tell you what I am saying. Your Majesty, please see if it makes sense."
"You say!" Xu Lingyi's expression was very casual.
Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "In my opinion, we should take advantage of the New Year when all the stewards have to go back to Beijing to pay their salaries to close the accounts. After the New Year, we can change the jobs of some stewards so that we can hand in the accounts in a legitimate way. I think the Marquis has already figured out which stewards have problems. If we keep an eye on those stewards, we will always find loopholes in the accounts. Then we can use this as an excuse to replace a group of people. Even if the news gets out, we can say that the stewards are dishonest and have nothing to do with the porridge distribution. This will also save the reputation of the Marquis's mansion."
Xu Lingyi's eyes gradually became solemn.
Unexpectedly, she actually said what was in her heart...
Looking at his wife, who still looked as bitter as apricots, his voice became low: "Is this the end?"
Politics is all about compromise. A person who is skilled in politics actually showed an attitude of wanting to pursue the matter further, and asked her "Are you going to just let it go?"... Shiyi Niang found it quite funny.
But her expression was serious.
"My Lord, you are porcelain, and those people are rubble. We don't need to bother with them. As the saying goes, one bad apple spoils the whole barrel. You dismissed those people from their jobs and made them lose their jobs. They are already single and don't care about clothes. Besides, our family is big and prosperous, so it is inevitable that there will be unfilial descendants. If they find any evidence against us and refuse to let us go, we will lose more than we gain. Let's forgive them when we can!"
"But do you know that this matter also involves the Third Master?"
This was something that Eleventh Lady had a vague feeling about.
Without a tiger-faced flag like the Third Master, how could those cunning and treacherous managers obey orders or turn a blind eye!
"My Lord, I'm afraid there is some misunderstanding here!" Thinking that the Third Master was Xu Lingyi's brother, even if he made a thousand mistakes, it was not her turn as his sister-in-law to say anything. She advised him insincerely, "The Third Master has been in charge of the family business for so many years. If he wanted to do something, he would have done it long ago. Besides, the amount of moldy rice is not much, and the silver is not much. It's really not worth it. My Lord, you'd better think about it again!"
Xu Lingyi's eyes showed annoyance when he heard this: "He admitted it himself?"
Eleventh Lady understood a little bit.
I'm afraid he was just defending the Third Madam... Husband and wife are one, and slapping the Third Madam in the face is equivalent to slapping the Third Master in the face.
"My Lord, Aunt Qiao only had some porridge yesterday morning!"
Xu Lingyi was stunned.
He didn't understand why Eleventh Lady suddenly brought up this.
Eleventh Lady did it on purpose, using this incident as a metaphor to give Xu Lingyi a shot of defense - and even if Xu Lingyi suspected something, as a woman herself, her experience was limited, so naturally she could only use the people and things around her as an analogy!
"If someone says that I am sweet on the outside but bitter on the inside to Aunt Qiao, and that Aunt Qiao is so angry that she can't even eat, what will the Marquis do?"
Xu Lingyi showed a clear expression.
Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "Whether it's true or not, I am still the Marquis' wife. You will naturally protect me in front of outsiders. Even in front of your brothers, I think it's the same. No matter how wrong Third Madam is, she is still Third Master's wife. If something like this happens, Third Master will probably be ashamed and blame himself for not managing the household well. How can he think of making excuses?"
This is her true thought.
She didn't believe Xu Lingning would do such a thing for that little money. After all, he was in charge of tens of thousands of gold!
Xu Lingyi didn't say anything, but he didn't object either.
Eleventh Lady knew that she had hit upon what was on his mind, and decided to continue to persuade him according to his wishes.
"Speaking of which, since Third Sister-in-law took charge of the household, everyone has praised her for her shrewdness and ability. Not to mention the years when Third Master helped manage the household, it's good or not, you know it best. Mother is now living a long life because the family lives in harmony and peace. Not to mention that we are now the prince's in-laws, and we must set an example. We should try not to split up the family if we can. Even if we have to split up the family, we can't split up the family with complaints. Third Sister-in-law is so anxious about the moldy rice, I don't know if it's for a breath of fresh air or for money. But no matter what it is, the Marquis has to have a frank talk with Third Master. Let's see what Third Master and Third Sister-in-law are thinking? If it's for money. Forgive me for saying something unpleasant. There are so many people out there who have taken advantage of your momentum to get promoted and make money. You should take care of your own brothers. If it is just for the sake of a fight, everyone can talk it out and the anger will slowly subside. In short, it is most important for the family to live together in harmony. What's more, there are Qin Ge'er and Jian Ge'er. If the previous generation is uncomfortable, don't bring it to the next generation. The more the resentment accumulates, the more it will make outsiders laugh at it. As the saying goes, neighbors will bully husbands and wives who are not harmonious. A family like ours must not lose its footing on this. Mother has experienced everything, why is she willing to be a fool? I'm afraid she has this idea in mind. The Marquis should be even more cautious!"
Xu Lingyi looked at Shiyi Niang with shock on his face.
At this moment, the Third Master Xu Lingning was looking at his wife Gan with a face full of shock.
"You, you still have the nerve to admit it?" As he said that, he raised his hand and slapped his wife on the face.
Gan covered her face with her hands, her eyes full of astonishment: "You, you hit me..."
Xu Lingning looked at the red marks gradually appearing on his wife's face, feeling regretful, angry, ashamed and frustrated.