Madam Zhou pulled Shiyi Niang to Shiyi Niang's table and immediately saw Huang San Niang. She pointed at her and said with a smile, "I was wondering why I didn't see you. So you're hiding here. You didn't even say hello when you saw me."

Grandma Huang San stood up and smiled: "I've been waiting here - after my sister and the fourth lady have finished speaking, it will be my turn." As she said this, she stood up from her seat, bent her knees and bowed to Madam Zhou.

Mrs. Zhou hurriedly returned the gift.

Grandma Lin also left the table to greet Mrs. Zhou.

Mrs. Zhou returned the gift and smiled as she pulled Grandma Lin's hand: "I was just asking about Mingyuan's marriage, and I happened to meet you!"

Grandma Lin smiled bitterly: "We have looked at all the well-known families in Yanjing, but Mingyuan is not satisfied with any of them. If Sister Zhou finds someone suitable, please help our Mingyuan find one."

Mrs. Zhou hurriedly said, "Of course, of course." But she couldn't help but glance at Eleventh Lady out of the corner of her eye.

Eleventh Lady couldn't help but smile bitterly in her heart.

What is going on?

Grandma Huang San saw this and smiled, asking Madam Zhou to sit down. The maids served tea, and Madam Tang ordered the dishes to be served. Immediately, a maid dressed in red and green brought the dishes up with a sweet smile.

There were still some guests in the side hall of the Tang family. The fourth grandmother of the Tang family asked the third young grandmother Yang to serve here. After the dishes were served, she excused herself and went to the side hall. Mrs. Tang hosted the banquet herself, toasting and urging people to eat. For a while, it was quite lively.

After dinner, they moved to the warm room behind the flower hall to drink tea. Mrs. Tang asked whether they wanted to play cards or listen to books.

Everyone looked at the Madam, who then turned to ask Miss Tang's aunts, "...playing cards or watching opera?"

Mrs. Tang's family was also a wealthy family in Lintong, and they had also produced prefects and politicians, but they were far inferior to the people present. The eldest aunt hurriedly said, "It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter!"

The lady smiled and asked the people around her, and everyone said it didn't matter.

"Then let's play cards!" The lady said with a smile, "I'm old now and I don't like noise!"

Mrs. Tang looked at the elderly people present and nodded with a smile. She asked the maid to come in and set up a few card tables and took out the Nanzhuque cards. Madam Zheng, the Dowager Lady, Mrs. Huang, and Mrs. Lin sat at one table, while Mrs. Liang, Mrs. Qiao, and one of Miss Tang's aunts and one of her aunts sat at another table. Mrs. Li sat to the left of the Dowager Lady to look at the cards, while Mrs. Gan and Mrs. Zhou sat together, and together with Grandma Lin and Miss Tang's other aunt, they made up another table.

Eleventh Lady sat on the right side of the Madam Tai, and Third Lady Huang sat on the left side of Madam Huang. The two of them sat close together, discussing the pros and cons of the game from time to time. Eleventh Lady was not good at this, and she mostly listened to Third Lady Huang's talk. Only then did she discover that playing mahjong had many tricks, which was no less than a high-level math problem. She gradually understood some of the tricks and became quite interested. Third Lady Huang saw that Eleventh Lady was not perfunctory, so she talked more excitedly.

Mrs. Huang at the side said to her, "Go and get another table." Shiyi Niang was so scared that she waved her hands repeatedly, "I can't, I can't!"

Grandma Huang San blushed, but dared not say anything.

The Sike's mother came over with a woman wearing a blue-green embroidered long-sleeved jacket.

Eleventh Lady took a closer look and found that it was Jiang Bai's wife.

Because Yuanniang passed away, Zhunge had to observe mourning, so the two families only exchanged the Geng Tie. I just don't know if the marriage can be discussed after the mourning period.

As she was thinking, Madam Jiang smiled and bowed to the Madam Dowager: "I heard you were here, so I came to say hello."

The lady looked up at her and laughed: "When did you come? Have you eaten?" Her attitude was very cordial.

Eleventh Lady's heart moved slightly.

Thinking of how low-key Madam Jiang was when she first met her, and seeing her take the initiative to come over to greet the Madam, she must have hoped to marry into the Xu family. And the Madam was so intimate with her, she must have intended to discuss marriage after the mourning period.

Then Mrs. Jiang smiled and said, "I just came. I had guests at home, so I had dinner before leaving."

The lady nodded and pointed at Eleventh Lady: "Have you seen her? My fourth daughter-in-law!"

I saw it when Yuanniang was buried, but I can't describe it in detail now.

The two smiled and greeted each other. Mrs. Jiang mumbled, "We've met once," and then said, "I don't want to disturb everyone's interest. I have to go to the side hall to meet a few sisters later. I'm relieved to see that you are in good health. I'll go first and come back to see you."

The lady dowager nodded, and Eleventh Lady escorted her to the door. She saw Sike's mother come in with Tenth Lady's mother-in-law, Lady Wang from Duke Mao's Mansion.

She hurried forward and bowed to Madam Wang.

Mrs. Wang was slightly surprised to see her: "Did your mother-in-law bring you here?"

Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "She is playing cards in the warm room!" Then she asked her, "How is Tenth Sister?"

Madam Wang nodded: "Very good. It's cold, so I didn't bring her out."

Shi Niang probably wouldn't like this kind of occasion either. Shiyi Niang nodded and smiled as she accompanied Madam Wang into the warm room.

Everyone greeted her. The old lady sat there without moving, while Madam Tang, Madam Liang and others stood up and greeted her.

Eleventh Lady had returned to the Lady Dowager's side, and Lady Li asked her in a low voice, "Whose lady is this?"

"The old lady of Lord Mao." She said with a smile, "My tenth sister married into their family."

Mrs. Li was shocked when she heard this and hesitated to speak.

Eleventh Lady looked at this and couldn't help but sigh in her heart.

Madam Wang had already walked over. After a round of greetings, Madam Wang came over to thank Madam Tai: "... and even sent her a special tonic. When she gets better, I'll have her come to your house to thank you in person!"

"Madam Wang, you are too polite." The lady said with a smile, "No matter what, she is the elder sister of our Eleventh Lady. It is my duty to go and see her!" Her attitude was very polite, which inevitably gave people a sense of unfamiliarity.

Eleventh Lady remembered the note given by the Lady Dowager - the Wang family was not included in it.

She felt very strange at the time. How could they not have any contact when they were in the same circle... She just didn't know what happened to cause the two families to become estranged. Or was it related to the matter between Wang Lang and Xu Lingkuan?

As she was thinking, Lady Zheng beside her hurriedly asked what had happened.

The lady smiled and said nothing, and then Old Lady Wang told her about Shi Niang's miscarriage.

Madam Zheng couldn't help but sigh: "The children are immature, this first baby is probably damaged... You don't have to be sad. She is still young, she will be fine after a few days of care." Then she thought of the Fifth Madam, "Is Danyang okay?"

The lady smiled and said, "I asked Master Jining to look at the Feng Shui. She moved to the back garden. I see her cheeks are getting rosy and she is getting plumper. I think she is doing well!"

"That's good, that's good." Lady Zheng nodded repeatedly, talking about the fact that the third daughter-in-law of Lord Wei, the Minister of Rites, gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl, as her first child.

For a moment, everyone was attracted by this topic, leaving Old Madam Wang aside.

Madam Tang looked around. She found Yang looking at the cards next to Madam Zhou. She frowned quickly, then smiled and took Madam Wang's hand: "We old sisters haven't seen each other for a while. Madam Jiang, how is she? I heard that the son-in-law opened the warehouse to release grain last month and received a reward from the emperor?"

Speaking of her daughter and son-in-law, Madam Wang's face was full of smiles: "My son-in-law is a hardworking person. It is really a blessing for Lin'er to be with him in her previous life." As they talked, they sat down on the low couch in the plum blossom-shaped fence nearby.

* * * * * *

The carriage slowly drove out of the Zhongshan Marquis's residence, and the lady couldn't help but let out a long sigh: "It's really tiring!"

Eleventh Lady smiled and handed over a cup of hot tea: "Have a sip of tea."

The lady took it and took a sip, a comfortable expression on her face.

"Take a nap!" Eleventh Lady smiled and tucked the white fox bag on the old lady's lap. "It will take half an incense stick of time to get home. I'll call you then."

"You'd better go home and sleep again!" The lady said with a smile, "Now that I'm old, I can't wake up when I fall asleep, and I can't fall asleep when I'm awake!" Then she asked Eleventh Lady, "You've officially shown up today. Tell me, what have you seen?"

Eleventh Lady was stunned.

My mind was racing.

What does the lady want to know?

Have you figured out the relationship between the various prefectures? Or the personalities and temperaments of these people?

While she was hesitating, the lady reminded her with a smile: "If the Marquis asks you about your visit to the Zhongshan Marquis's house, what will you tell him?"

When talking to men, of course we talk about politics, history, and economics…

She smiled and said, "Madam Tang entertained us in the main room. They were all people who often visited Dingguo Mansion, Zheng Taijun, Yongchang Marquis Mansion, Madam Huang, Weibei Marquis Mansion, and Madam Lin. We had lunch in the small flower hall behind the main room. But there were two more people during the meal..."

The lady's eyes flickered as she listened.

Eleventh Lady knew that she guessed right.

The smile became more relaxed.

"One is the wife of Lord Liang, the Grand Secretary of the Huagai Palace and the Minister of Justice, and the other is the wife of Li Zhong, the General of Shanxi. I heard that Marquis Jianning wanted to marry his second daughter to the eldest son of the Liang family, but the eldest son was engaged to the seventh daughter of the Gan family, the family of the Zhongqin Earl, and the second son was engaged to the second daughter of Lord Huang, the Censor of Zhejiang. So Marquis Jianning married his second daughter to the third son of the Liang family. The strange thing is that this is the first time we hear about the engagement between the eldest son of the Liang family and the seventh daughter of the Zhongqin Earl." When she said this, she glanced at the lady-in-waiting.

The lady was looking at her with a smile. When she saw her stop and look at her, she immediately took her hand with a smile and said, "Good child. You are really smart." Then, she touched her head lovingly and said, "When you meet the Marquis later, tell him so!"

A man's will is often revealed through the actions of the women in his family... The lady might want her to be Xu Lingyi's other pair of eyes!

She is capable of doing this job, and this is also what she wants to achieve.

Eleventh Lady nodded happily: "Mother, I understand!"

The lady nodded, her eyes full of satisfaction.

As they were talking, the carriage had already arrived at the lotus field.

Xu Lingyi and the Third Master had received the news long ago, and they led servants carrying big red lanterns to greet them at the gate with hanging flowers.

The lady got out of the car and asked curiously, "Where's Xiaowu?"

Xu Lingyi said, "I saw that the weather was cold, so I asked him to go back first. My fifth brother's wife is pregnant now, and she needs to be alone."

The lady nodded and was supported by Eleventh Lady as she entered the hanging flower gate.

The third lady led her maid to wait inside the door.

The four of them, along with a large group of maids and old women, escorted the lady back to the house.