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 smiled as brightly as a flower, but the lady's expression was somewhat stern.

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

When the third lady saw him, she immediately went to meet him.

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

The Fifth Madam smiled calmly and greeted the Third Madam: "Why did you come just now? We have been waiting for a long time!"

The third wife laughed, "I came early. I heard that you were discussing something, so I sat for a while with the fourth brother's wife." There was a bit of gloating in her expression, as if she was on the Yellow Crane Tower watching the ship capsize.

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

Everyone ate in silence, with only the sound of clinking glasses being heard during the meal.

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!" She looked at the Fifth Madam, "Especially Danyang, who lives in the back garden, and the road is not easy to walk on."

"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 supported 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 said, "Mother, let's go back first!", defending the Fifth Master.

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

When Master Wu heard this, his eyes revealed some worry, but Madam Wu 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 lighthearted.

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 feel 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 was holding Zhun Ge'er and chattering something on the side, and Zhen Jie'er looked at them and laughed. The scene was very lively.

Seeing Xu Lingyi standing far to the side with a stern look on his face, Eleventh Lady thought that he had not had the 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, my Lord." Eleventh Lady said with a smile, "I don't have to worry about it."

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

Zhun Ge liked Xu Sijian very much and accompanied him to the door, and then Zhen Jie'er took him downstairs 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 followed in side by side.

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

Eleventh Lady smiled and stepped forward to help the Madam put on the black fox fur bag that she usually wore, and said softly, "I need to take a closer look at the notes that Mother gave me. I will 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 Mother 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 Mother Du take you there!"

In this situation, anything Eleventh Lady said would be a bit hypocritical. 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, and snow flakes flew and silver powder danced.

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

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

Mother Du looked at the two hands clasped together, smiled slightly, and sent Shiyi Niang back to the yard.

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

"The Madam cannot be missing someone." Mother Du refused politely, "I'll come and bother the Fourth Madam another day."

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

A figure flashed past the second door.

Through the red lanterns under the eaves, Eleventh Lady saw the unique white luster 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 cloak with floral patterns, the silk lining fluttered up when the wind blew.

"Xiu Li, what are you doing here?" Eleventh Lady looked at the maid with almond eyes and rosy cheeks in front of her with a surprised expression, and then she seemed to suddenly realize something, "Are you waiting for the Marquis? Go back and tell Aunt Qiao that the Marquis has something to do and will be back later. Remember to arrange someone to be on duty at night." She also taught her a lesson, "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 Mother 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 the cold, I'll have to send a little maid to serve you."

Xiu Li 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, looked on and nodded almost imperceptibly.

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

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

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

There was a floor heating in the room, and the hot air mixed with the faint fragrance of wintersweet flowers wafted into my face.

Eleventh Lady took a deep breath and felt all the pores in her body become relaxed.

Luyun and Shuangyu hurried forward to help her take off her cloak, ran 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 Xiuli run to the front door?" Eleventh Lady, with her hair loose, leaned on a large ginger-colored pillow, wearing a bright red bag with gold embroidery all over it. She looked at the name card given by the lady in her hand and asked Amber calmly, "Don't tell me you don't know what's going on?"

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

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

"So you told the mother on night duty to let her peek at the gate!"

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 sternly, interrupted her abruptly, and said something that she wanted to add insult to injury.

"No, no..." Amber had never seen such a powerful thunderbolt 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 wants to take advantage of her even though she knows that she is only temporarily managing the household? Do you know what happened to the Fifth House? Do you know how the Marquis views the three concubines? Do you know why, with so many wealthy families in the Great Zhou, only the Wen family can marry their daughter to the Xu family?" She asked questions in rapid succession, 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, "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 exhaustion and disappointment. "I don't know. Just treat me as your home and be my master!"

Exhaustion and disappointment pierced Amber's heart like a needle - Shiyi Niang had always praised her. Occasionally, she and Dongqing disagreed, and although Shiyi Niang said nothing, she would tacitly allow the maids 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 eldest 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 the future holds for me. It's impossible to go that far by myself. I must have my own team. Whether it's the people of the Luo family or Mother Tao, they prefer Zhun Ge. People like Xiang Pozi have limited abilities. And the people of the Xu family, the truly capable ones have long been taken over by each room, and the rest are mostly mediocre. The only ones she can rely on are the maids around her. It just so happens that Dongqing is not good at these, Binju is not suitable for these, and Zhuxiang is too young. Only Amber is the one she is most satisfied with. It's just that she has to find a way to subdue her because of the relationship with the eldest wife. Seriously speaking, she could completely ignore Xiu Yuan's peeping, just like Aunt Qin came to meet Xu Lingyi halfway - they are not on the same level at all, as long as they don't cross the bottom line, she is happy to turn a blind eye to make the atmosphere at home more lively and everyone's life better. But Amber took the initiative to send Xiu Ci to her without saying hello, and let her step on her, but it was this initiative that ruined her... It just gave her an opportunity 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 forehead 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.