Chapter 134: Companion (Part 2)

When the Third Lady saw Eleventh Lady coming in, she seemed to want to cover up her early arrival. Before Eleventh Lady could greet her, she smiled and said, "Fourth Brother's wife is late!"

It was obvious that she came early, but she said that she came late.

However, I always come on time, whether it is early or late, the lady should know it very well, there is no need to confront her with words, otherwise it will give the lady the impression that I am unreasonable.

Eleventh Lady smiled slightly and greeted her.

The lady nodded slightly, smiled, and took back the right to speak, "Have you brought the people here? Bring them in so I can have a look!"

Being able to be rescued by the lady herself, Shiyi Niang naturally smiled and said "yes"

There was a clever little maidservant nearby who went to tell Mother Tao.

The Third Lady heaved a sigh of relief when she saw that no one was blaming her for arriving early, and happily watched the fun from the sidelines.

After a while, Mother Tao brought in Wenzhu and several little girls.

After paying their respects to the lady-in-waiting, they stood in a row in the middle of the room.

The third lady looked at it and praised it, "It looks really good!"

The lady smiled and nodded, waving at the little girls: "Come, come over here and let me take a look!"

Although the little girls looked a little timid, they did not hesitate and walked to the kang lightly.

Mrs. Du, who was standing by, handed the glasses to the old lady. She looked through them, then took out the list that Eleventh Lady had given her in the morning and asked each of them:

What's the person's name? How old is he? Who are his family members? What do he do? And so on.

Wenzhu and the other little maids answered in low voices one by one. Only Taohua, seeing that the lady was very amiable, became more and more casual in her attitude.

Wei Zi, who was standing by, couldn't help but reveal a hint of anxiety on her face.

Eleventh Lady's heart was slightly moved.

Wei Zi served the Madam and knew her feelings best. It looked like Taohua was unlikely to be chosen! This was good, so that Xu Siyu would not have outsiders around him.

The lady asked questions for half an hour, then sat up straight and sipped her tea.

Mother Tao knew that she had finished asking questions, so she retreated with the little girls.

The lady smiled and said, "The one called Taohua, find another job! The others are all good."

It is true.

Eleventh Lady smiled and replied “yes”, then looked at Wei Zi apologetically.

Wei Zi was very disappointed, but she didn't dare to show it and forced a smile at Shiyi Niang.

"Leave the little girls to Madam Du!" Madam Tai said with a smile, "I'm a little tired. Let's all go!"

Eleventh Lady and the Third Lady bowed and left. Mother Tao handed the four Wenzhus to Mother Du, and Mother Gan handed the four Fangtings to Mother Du, and then each took the ones who were not selected back to the house.

Taohua asked Mother Tao innocently, "Am I working in the Madam's room?"

When the lady asked about Taohua just now, Shiyi Niang was listening. Wei Zi's mother and father were both at the farm. This child probably relied on his sister working in the lady's house, so he didn't know the high and deep of the world, thinking that with Wei Zi, everything would be fine.

Mother Tao also guessed it and said with a smile, "Do you want to work in the Madam's room?"

Taohua smiled and said, "My mother said that it would be best for me to work in the Second Young Master's house. That way I can be a maid like my sister."

Mother Tao smiled slightly and asked someone to take her away. She discussed with Shiyi Niang: "What should we do with this girl?"

Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "Let's find her a job. This will save Wei Zi's face."

Mother Tao sighed: "It's all we can do!" But in her heart she was thinking, if someone said something so thoughtlessly, he would be a source of trouble wherever he went!

After Mother Tao left, Shiyi Niang couldn't help but sigh with Amber: "It's really one mother and nine sons, all of them are different!"

Amber smiled and said, "You don't know. Wei Zi was called Li Hua before. There were too many maids in the family and they couldn't support them, so they left her to her aunt who worked in the laundry room. She grew up in the mansion. Unlike Taohua, she grew up in the farm and has a limited vision."

Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "Hey, our Amber also grew up on a farm, but she is so smart and capable. It must be that everyone has different fates." Amber blushed and hesitated for a long time, not knowing what to say.

She then asked about the situation at the West Hill Villa: "...is there any news?"

Amber shook her head: "They said the door was always closed and they didn't see anyone coming in or out."

Eleventh Lady doesn't have a headache either.

Did something happen that my people didn't notice? Or did nothing happen at all?

She sighed, thinking about going to the Zhongshan Marquis' Mansion with the lady tomorrow, so she called Binju in, and the three of them discussed together what clothes and accessories to wear tomorrow.

Xu Lingyi is back.

Eleventh Lady hurriedly dropped what she was doing and went out to meet him.

Compared to the morning, Xu Lingyi's mood was obviously much better. After changing his clothes in the bathroom, he actually noticed the changes in the room.

"Have you come to the greenhouse to change the flowers and plants?"

"Yes." Eleventh Lady smiled, "They also sent a bright red hibiscus."

Xu Lingyi looked at the bright flowers in the blue and white vase on the kang table, nodded, took off his shoes and got on the kang.

Eleventh Lady personally went to make tea for him and asked, "Master, are you back so early today?"

It's just the middle of the night. Normally, I get home half an hour later than this.

"Oh, nothing!" Xu Lingyi said casually, "So I came back early."

Nothing? So you came back early?

Eleventh Lady doesn't believe it.

Xu Lingyi is not a home-loving man!

But she just pretended not to know.

She smiled and told him that the lady-in-waiting would take her to the Zhongshan Marquis's residence to congratulate him tomorrow.

Xu Lingyi was slightly stunned: "Why didn't mom tell me?"

"Maybe the Marquis hasn't come back yet!" Eleventh Lady said with a smile, "From what I see from Mother's expression, it seems that this decision was also made on the spur of the moment.

Maybe he wanted to see what was going on. "

Xu Lingyi nodded and looked at the maid in the room, a hint of hesitation flashing across his face.

Is it like this morning, you have something to say to me?

Eleventh Lady was thinking about whether to ask Binju to pack up the clothes that she had not had time to put into the box, or to go and see if the lady's meal was ready. She then sent everyone in the room away one by one.

Xu Lingyi was obviously relieved, and suddenly said without thinking: "I talked to my third brother for most of the night yesterday!" His tone was still a little hesitant.

He has been holding it in since this morning. It's a pity that he can endure it!

Eleventh Lady suppressed her smile and sat opposite him with a serious expression.

Xu Lingyi looked at him and his expression relaxed a little.

Could it be that the Third Master said something rather excessive last night, and Xu Lingyi did not want to expose the unbearable relationship between the two brothers in front of his wife? Or, did the Third Master make some excessive demands, and Xu Lingyi could not speak up?

Regardless of the former or the latter, it was secondary. The important thing was not to let the little mark I had just left in Xu Lingyi's mind disappear without a trace... Otherwise, if I encountered such a thing again in the future, I would definitely be excluded from his trustworthy range. If I was not in his new range, I could not become his confidant; if I could not become his confidant, I could not get his support; if I could not get his support, I could not get the maximum freedom...

Eleventh Lady skipped the discussion about brotherly friendship and asked him with a smile, "Does Lord Hou have any ideas?"

Xu Lingyi's brows relaxed as he listened.

He knew that the reason he could talk to his third brother was mainly due to his wife, who was as green as apricot and had a sour taste. But if he could be as open with her as a close friend, he felt that something was missing; if he could be as easy-going and friendly to her as a colleague, he would feel uncomfortable; if he could be as simple and direct to her as the housekeeper, he would feel too cold... As for his wife, he thought for a long time but could not remember whether he had ever sat down with Yuanniang to discuss family affairs in a gentle manner like this. It seemed that most of the time, they each had their own opinions and then parted unhappily!

For a moment, I really didn't know what to do.

Now that she had considerately sent the person away and did not ask him what he had talked about with his third brother, he could not help but feel relieved.

"My third brother used to be a very smart person. He passed the imperial examination. But later, my father said that for a family like us, it is enough to have real talent and knowledge, not those false reputations. So my third brother did not continue to participate in the imperial examination." He said helplessly, "In fact, my third brother was just worried about the future of his children."

oh!

Shiyi Niang saw Xu Lingyi looking at her seriously and resisted the urge to raise her eyebrows.

It seems that Xu Lingning still has some reservations about Xu Lingyi!

However, if it were me, it would probably be the same.

How could someone like Xu Lingyi understand Xu Lingyi's subtle psychology of both inferiority and self-esteem?

As long as the goal is achieved, there is no need to expose myself in front of Xu Lingyi and let him see clearly...

"I thought about it and realized that what Third Brother said was right. Brother Qin is already 30 years old this year, and Brother Jian is already 11 years old. They are almost at the age to get married. They don't have much savings yet, so Third Sister-in-law is anxious and has greedy thoughts."

Eleventh Lady nodded with a serious expression, but secretly found it funny in her heart.

Speaking of which, Xu Lingyi is a very shrewd and capable person. Now he actually said such words, which was obviously to whitewash the situation for the Third Master.

"I mean, why not fill the vacancy for the third brother and let him go out on a mission."

"Send him out!" Eleventh Lady's eyes lit up when she heard it. "What a good idea, Lord Hou! Just say in front of outsiders that Third Brother has been delayed for these years because of family matters. Now that everything is going well at home, Third Brother also wants to make a career for himself. If Third Sister-in-law is willing to go, then go. Don't mention whether to divide the family or not."

Xu Lingyi saw that her eyes were bright and she immediately understood his intention, and a deep smile appeared in his eyes.

"I'll try to get a job as a county magistrate. After a few years, when everyone is used to my third brother not being in Hehuali anymore, I'll try to get a job as a court official. Then I'll buy a house outside, come back on the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month to greet mother, and everyone will be at peace."

Eleventh Lady nodded repeatedly, and she really thought this was a good idea.

In this way, everyone was together in name only, but in reality they lived their own lives separately. If anything happened, they could still take care of each other. Anyway, if the Xu family got into trouble politically, Xu Lingning, as a member of the Xu family, would not be able to escape.

"Just one more thing..." Xu Lingyi looked at Shiyi Niang with a hesitant expression.