When the Third Lady saw Eleventh Lady come 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 was late.

However, I always come on time, whether it's 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 over the conversation: "Have you brought everyone here? Bring them in so I can have a look!"

Being personally rescued by the Lady Dowager, Eleventh Lady naturally smiled and said "yes".

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

When the Third Lady saw that no one was blaming her for arriving early, she breathed a sigh of relief and was happy to watch the fun from the sidelines.

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

After paying their respects to the lady-in-waiting, they lined up in the middle of the room.

The third lady looked at him and praised him: "What a nice look!"

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.

Mother Du, who was standing by, handed the glasses to the old lady. The old lady read through them, then took out the list that Shiyi Niang had given her in the morning and asked everyone what their names were, how old they were, who was in their family, what they were doing, and so on.

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

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

Eleventh Lady's heart moved slightly.

Wei Zi served the Madam and knew her feelings best. It seemed that Taohua had little chance of being selected! This was good, so that Xu Siyu would not have outsiders around him.

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

Mother Tao knew that this was the end of the questioning, 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 Mother Du!" The lady said with a smile, "I'm a little tired. Let's all go!"

Eleventh Lady and the Third Lady bowed and retreated. Mother Tao handed Wenzhu and the other four to Mother Du, while Mother Gan handed Fangting and the other four to Mother Du, and then each of them 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 Madam asked Taohua just now, Shiyi Niang was listening. Wei Zi's mother and father were both at the farm. This child was probably relying on his sister working in the Madam's house, so he didn't know how high the sky was and how deep the earth was, thinking that everything would be fine with Wei Zi.

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 room. That way I can be a maid like my sister."

Mother Tao smiled slightly and had her taken away. She discussed with Shiyi Niang: "What should we do with this girl?"

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

Mother Tao sighed: "It's the only way!" But she thought in her heart, if someone speaks like this without knowing the seriousness of the matter, he will be a source of trouble wherever he goes!

After Mother Tao left, Shiyi Niang couldn't help but sigh with Amber: "It's really one mother and nine sons, each one is 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 in a farm, but she is so smart and capable. It's just that everyone has different fates." Amber blushed and hesitated for a long time, not knowing what to say.

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

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

Eleventh Lady doesn't have a headache either.

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

She sighed, thinking about going to Zhongshan Marquis' Mansion with the lady tomorrow, so she called Binju in, and the three of them discussed 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 coming out of the bathroom and changing clothes, he actually noticed the changes in the room.

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

"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, nodded, took off his shoes and got on the kang.

Eleventh Lady personally went to make tea for him: "My Lord, you are back so early today!"

It was just the middle of the night, and it usually took me half an hour longer to get home.

"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 would take her to the Zhongshan Marquis's mansion to congratulate him tomorrow.

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

"Maybe the Marquis hasn't come back yet!" Eleventh Lady laughed, "From what I see from Mother's expression, it seems that she made this decision at the last minute. Maybe she wanted to go and see the excitement."

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

Is it that, just like in the morning, he has something to say to himself?

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 meal was ready for the lady, and then she sent everyone out of the room 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 back a single word since morning. It's amazing how 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.

The corners of his mouth twitched for a long while, but he still didn't say the second sentence, as if it was difficult for him to speak.

Did the Third Master say something rather excessive last night, and Xu Lingyi didn't want to expose the unpleasantness between the two brothers in front of his wife? Or did the Third Master make some excessive demands, and Xu Lingyi couldn't speak up?

Whether it was 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 the range of trustworthy people by him. If I was not in his trusted 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 all the talk about brotherhood and asked him with a clever smile, "Does the Marquis have any ideas?"

Xu Lingyi's brows relaxed as he listened.

He knew that it was his wife, who was as sour as apricots, who was able to speak to his third brother. But if he was asked to confide in her like a close friend, he felt something was missing; if he was asked to treat her as easy-going and friendly as his colleagues, he felt uncomfortable; if he was asked to treat her as simple and direct as the housekeeper, he felt 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 matters in a gentle manner like this. It seemed that most of the time, they each held their own opinions and parted unhappily!

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

Now that she had considerately sent the person away and had not asked him what he had talked about with his third brother, he couldn't help but feel relieved.

"My third brother used to be a very smart man. He passed the imperial examination. But later, my father said that for people like us, it is enough to have real talents and knowledge, not empty reputations. That is why 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!

Eleventh Lady 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 Lingning's delicate 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 for him to see clearly...

"I thought about it. What Third Brother said is right. Brother Qin is thirteen years old this year, and Brother Jian is eleven years old. They are almost at the age to discuss marriage. They don't have much savings yet, so Third Sister-in-law can't help but be anxious and greedy."

Eleventh Lady nodded with a serious expression, but she secretly felt amused in her heart.

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

"What I mean is, why not fill the vacancy for the third brother and send him out!"

"Send him out!" Eleventh Lady's eyes lit up when she heard it. "What a good idea, Lord! Just tell people outside that Third Brother has been delayed for these years because of family affairs. Now that everything is going well at home, Third Brother wants to make a career for himself. If Third Sister-in-law is willing to go, then go. And 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 smile appeared in his eyes.

"Look for a job as a county magistrate. After a few years, when everyone is used to Third Brother not being in Hehua, then look for a job as a court official. By then, buy a house outside, come back on the first and fifteenth day of the month to greet mother, and everyone will be at peace."

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

In this way, everyone was together in name only, but actually 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 always be there.

"There's just one more thing..." Xu Lingyi looked at Shiyi Niang with a hesitant expression.