Chapter 137 Accident (Part 2)

As soon as the group sat down, the curtain of the west room was lifted.

The fifth lady supported the lady and walked in front.

She was smiling like a flower, but the lady's expression was a little serious.

The Xu brothers followed behind. Xu Lingyi's face was livid, and the fifth master Xu Lingkuan cautiously took two steps behind his brother, looking depressed.

The third lady saw it and immediately went to meet him.

"Mother," she supported the other arm of the old lady, then looked at the fifth lady with a smile and called her "fifth brother's wife".

The Fifth Lady smiled calmly and greeted the Third Lady: "Why are you here just now? We've been waiting for a long time!"

The Third Lady laughed, "I came early. I heard you were discussing something, so I sat for a while with Fourth Brother's wife." Her expression was a bit like that of the girl on the top of the Yellow Crane Tower, watching the capsize of a boat.

There was a flash of disdain in the eyes of the Fifth Lady, and she smiled and helped the Lady to the east room.

Eleventh Lady and Third Master came forward and paid their respects to the lady-in-law. The brothers and sisters-in-law greeted each other, and sat down according to their order of importance. The maids began to serve the dishes.

Everyone ate in silence, with only the sound of chattering.

After dinner, everyone surrounded the lady and went to the east room as usual.

The lady suddenly stopped in the hall.

"It's getting late, let's all go our separate ways!" She looked at the Fifth Lady, "Especially Danyang, who lives in the back garden, the roads are not easy to travel."

"Don't worry, mother, Master Wu is here to support me!" Madam Wu looked at Master Wu with a smile.

The Fifth Master immediately stepped forward and helped the Fifth Madam: "Mom, let's go back first." He looked like he couldn't wait to leave.

The lady's eyes darkened and her lips twitched slightly. She wanted to say something, but the Fifth Lady had already said, "Mother, let's go back first!" and protected the Fifth Master.

"Go back!" There was a hint of fatigue in the lady's voice.

When the Fifth Master heard this, his eyes revealed some worry, but the Fifth Madam had already walked out.

He supported his wife, looked back several times, and finally went out with the Fifth Lady.

As soon as the two of them left, the atmosphere suddenly became cheerful.

Xu Siqin smiled and took Xu Siyu to say goodbye. The lady gave them careful instructions, and the third lady also came forward and nagged them, "Be careful on the way," and then took the maid's cloak and tied it on Xu Siqin herself. Xu Siyu looked at them and laughed, making Xu Siqin look uncomfortable. The third master on the side came out to help his son: "Okay, okay. He is such a big man. He knows how to take care of himself!" Xu Sijian took the son of the emperor and chattered something aside, and Zhen Jieer looked at them and laughed. The scene was very lively.

Seeing Xu Lingyi standing far away with a stern look on his face, Eleventh Lady thought that he had not had a chance to be alone with the Madam since the "Xiao Lan" incident, so she quietly walked over and said, "My Lord, I'll go back first. My Lord, can you stay with me and talk to me?"

Her suggestion hit the mark of Xu Lingyi, who nodded and said, "Then be careful on the road!"

"Don't worry, Lord Hou." Eleventh Lady said with a smile, "I won't worry about it."

After seeing off Xu Siqin and Xu Siyu, the third master and his wife also left with Xu Sijian.

Brother Zhe was very fond of Xu Sijian and accompanied him to the door before being taken downstairs by Sister Zhen to rest.

The only people left in the room were the Lady Dowager, Xu Lingyi and Shiyi Niang.

The lady's face darkened and she went into the inner room without saying a word.

Eleventh Lady winked at Xu Lingyi, and the two of them followed in side by side.

The lady had already been helped to get on the kang by Aunt Du.

Eleventh Lady smiled and stepped forward to help the Lady put on the black fox fur bag she usually wore, and said softly, "I still need to take a good look at the letters that Mother gave me. I'll go back first."

The lady was slightly startled, and probably had something to say to Xu Lingyi, so she did not keep Shiyi Niang. After thinking for a while, she asked Madam Du to send her back.

Eleventh Lady hurriedly declined: "It's too late, and I have maids and servants with me, so you don't have to worry."

The lady looked tired: "Good boy, let me rest assured!"

Xu Lingyi also said: "Let Mama Du take you there!"

Under such circumstances, anything Eleventh Lady said would be a bit pretentious. She smiled and thanked the lady, then left the house accompanied by Mother Du.

The snow outside had stopped, but the sky was still overcast. Gusts of biting cold wind blew over, with snow flakes flying and silver powder dancing.

"Fourth Madam, be careful!" Madam Du personally helped Eleventh Lady up.

Eleventh Lady didn't want her to help her, so she turned her wrist and took Mother Du's hand: "Mom, be careful too."

Mother Du looked at the clasped hands, smiled slightly, and sent Eleventh Lady back to the yard.

"Mom, come in and have a cup of tea before you leave!" Shiyi Niang asked her to stay. "The weather is very cold."

"The Madam must be there." Mother Du politely declined, "I'll come back another day to bother the Fourth Madam."

Eleventh Lady smiled and asked Amber to send Mother Du back.

A figure flashed past the second door.

Then, in the red lanterns under the eaves, Shiyi Niang saw the unique white glow of silk.

She shouted, "Who's sneaking around there?"

Immediately a maid came forward to grab the person.

She was of medium height, wearing a black flowered cloak. When the wind blew, the silk lining fluttered.

"Xiu Yuan, what are you doing here?" Eleventh Lady looked at the maid with peach eyes and almond cheeks in front of her with a surprised expression, and then a look of sudden realization, "Are you waiting for the master? Go back and report to Aunt Qiao, saying that the marquis has something to do and will be back later. Remember to arrange someone to keep watch at night. She also taught her, "If you have any problems in the future, just tell Amber directly. Don't do such sneaky things again. You are not a girl from a poor family."

Xiu Yuan blushed with shame and replied "yes" in a low voice.

Eleventh Lady originally intended to teach her a lesson in front of Madam Du, but she didn't want to go too far, so she smiled and joked, "Okay, go back quickly. Otherwise, Aunt Qiao will be waiting anxiously. It's cold out here, if you get sick from a cold, I'll have to send a little maid to serve you."

Xiu Yuan was so ashamed that she could not even raise her head. She could only nod and then turned and left as if she had been pardoned.

Mother Du, who was standing by, nodded almost imperceptibly.

Eleventh Lady walked Mother Du two steps forward and said, "Be careful on the road, Mother."

Mother Du exchanged a few words with her and then, supported by Amber, returned to the lady's place.

Eleventh Lady breathed a sigh of relief and quickly walked into the house.

There was a fire in the house, and hot air mixed with the subtle fragrance of plum blossoms filled my face.

Eleventh Lady sighed deeply and felt all the pores on her body relaxed.

Luyun and Shuangyu hurried forward to help her untie her cloak, ran some hot water for her to wash her face and hands, and assisted her in washing up.

When Eleventh Lady finished cleaning up and came out to the warm room behind the bed, Amber had already sent Mother Du back and was waiting for her in the warm room.

"What's going on? How did Xiuyuan get to the front door?" Eleventh Lady, with her hair loose, leaned on a large ginger-colored pillow, wearing a bright red sash with gold flowers all over it. She looked at the name card given by the lady in her hand and asked Amber indifferently, "Don't tell me you don't know what's going on?"

Amber pursed her lips and smiled complacently: "She has been secretly asking whether the Marquis has returned all day... I didn't expect that it was Madam Du who accompanied you back. If it was the Marquis..." There was some regret in her tone.

With a "bang", Eleventh Lady's palm slapped on the kang table beside her.

"So you told the night watch mother to let her watch from the front door!"

His eyes were as sharp as a knife and his expression was as cold as ice.

Amber's heart suddenly started beating in panic, and she quickly explained, "I, I..."

"You're still not convinced!" Eleventh Lady looked at her coldly, interrupted her abruptly, and said something that she wanted to add insult to injury.

"No, no..." Amber had never seen such a powerful thunder before. She was very flustered, but she felt that she had done a good job. She also felt wronged and unwilling, "Madam..."

But Eleventh Lady didn't give her a chance to speak.

"Do you know why the Madam dotes on the Second Madam? Do you know why the Third Madam pampers the Second Madam even though she knows that she is only temporarily in charge of the household? Do you know what happened to the Fifth House? Do you know how the Marquis thinks of the three concubines? Do you know why only the Wen family can marry their daughter to the Xu family when there are so many wealthy families in the Great Zhou?" She asked questions like a machine gun, and none of them could be answered in a few words. Amber felt a chill down her spine and her mind was in a mess. But Eleventh Lady suddenly raised her voice again, "Do you know?"

She was already dizzy from this series of misfortunes. She looked at Shiyi Niang blankly and shook her head instinctively: "I don't know!"

"I don't know!" Eleventh Lady's voice was filled with fatigue and disappointment. "I don't know. Just treat this as your home and be my master!"

Fatigue and disappointment pierced Amber's heart like a needle. Shiyi Niang had always praised her. Sometimes she and Dongqing disagreed. Shiyi Niang would say nothing, but she would acquiesce to the maids and servants in the house to do what she wanted... Thinking of this, she shuddered. No, no, no... She was different from Dongqing. Dongqing had been serving Shiyi Niang since she came back from Fujian, but she was rewarded by the first wife!

She knelt down straight and said, "Madam, I won't dare to do it again." Her tone was filled with despair and pleading.

The road ahead is bumpy, and I don't know what is waiting for me in the future. It is impossible to go so far by myself, I must have my own team. Whether it is the people of the Luo family or Mother Tao, they are more inclined to be like brothers and mothers, and their abilities are limited. As for the people of the Xu family, the truly capable ones have long been taken away by each room, and the rest are mostly mediocre. The only ones she can rely on are the maids around her. But Dongqing is not good at these, Binju is not suitable for these, and Zhuxiang is too young. Only Amber is she most satisfied with. It's just that there is a relationship between her and the eldest wife, so she has to find a way to win her over. Seriously speaking, she could have just ignored Xiuyuan's peeping like Aunt Qin came to meet Xu Lingyi halfway - they were not on the same level at all, as long as they did not cross the bottom line, she was happy to turn a blind eye to it so that the atmosphere at home would be more lively and everyone's life would be easier. But Amber took the initiative to send Xiuyuan to her without saying hello, and the problem was that this initiative gave her a chance to make trouble.

If you want her to learn her lesson, you have to be ruthless!

Eleventh Lady looked at the crystal beads of sweat on Amber's head and felt that it was about time.

She sighed deeply and held out her hand: "Come, sit next to me."

Amber looked at the pair of bare hands and stood up involuntarily.