Eleventh Lady pondered and said, "Do you know what the boy's name is?"

"I know." Amber said, "His name is Xiao Luzi, he looks about nine or ten years old. Yang Huizu broke into Xiao Luzi's room on some pretext and took a look. He said he was very fair-skinned, spoke politely, and seemed to be able to recognize a few words."

He has a dignified appearance, polite manners, and can recognize a few words... He is clearly the perfect candidate to be a personal servant!

Eleventh Lady smiled slightly and asked Aunt Qin: "...is there any movement?"

"I heard from the maidservant beside Concubine Qin that Concubine Qin has had a poor appetite and has not slept well these days. Her maidservant Xinghua once asked someone to go to Ciyuan Temple to ask for some magic water for her to drink."

"Drink the talisman water?" Eleventh Lady couldn't help but widen her eyes.

Amber nodded: "Mrs. Qin trusts the Jining nun very much and donates money to Ciyuan Temple every year."

Eleventh Lady just wanted to laugh.

There aren't many people in my family, but we have a lot of faith.

She told Amber that the Lin family might ask her to help teach Huijie's children red wine: "Our two families live next door, and there must be elderly mothers in our families who have contacts with people over there. Please help find out about Huijie's affairs, so that we can be prepared when the time comes." She also talked about the things in Goldfish Lane, "The New Year is coming soon, you can ask someone to take fifty taels of silver. Also, tell them to spend the New Year peacefully, and talk about anything after the snow stops." Then she instructed Amber, "Wake me up at Chou time tomorrow."

Amber nodded, wrote down everything, and came to wake up Shiyi Niang at midnight the next day.

It was winter, in the middle of the night, and Eleventh Lady had been lingering in her quilt for a long time before getting up. She had just tidied herself up, leaned on the kang and ate an apple, but there was no sign of Xu Lingyi.

She couldn't help but feel curious and sent Amber to take a look.

Amber came back after a while with a strange expression on her face. "Aunt Qiao was serving breakfast to the Marquis. The maid asked me what was going on, and I just said I came to see if the Marquis had left the morning court. I didn't say anything else."

The maids standing nearby all lowered their heads, held their breath, and trembled with fear. The atmosphere in the room suddenly became a little solemn.

I didn't expect Xu Lingyi had no intention of coming...

Eleventh Lady couldn't help feeling embarrassed.

Amber over there seemed to be no words to say.

Having been embarrassed to this extent, there is nothing to be afraid of.

Eleventh Lady simply asked her: "Is there anything else?"

Amber stepped forward and whispered, "I heard that the Marquis spent the night at Aunt Qiao's place last night."

Eleventh Lady felt extremely embarrassed.

If you don't want others to know, then don't do it. Besides, I'm afraid the three concubines have already sent people to watch her every move. When it was Qiao Lian's turn to sleep in the bedroom, either Xu Lingyi was busy or he was not in the mood. He had just spent the night there yesterday, and she sent a capable maid to find out what was going on early this morning. If this was seen by someone with ulterior motives... What was going on?

She was secretly criticizing Xu Lingyi in her heart.

Didn’t I say I would serve breakfast today? How can you go back on your word?

But in my heart I knew I couldn’t blame Xu Lingyi.

I just said that yesterday, and Xu Lingyi replied at that time, telling me not to get up so early.

How could I make such a mistake!

Or maybe, I'm afraid of offending him!

The thought flashed through my mind.

Eleventh Lady couldn't help but nodded secretly.

That's right. I said I served him breakfast today because I felt guilty after rejecting him. That's why I did this today - I thought that if he let me serve him breakfast, it would be like forgiving my inappropriate rejection, making me feel more at ease.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but sweat on her temples.

Am I being too cautious?

There is no order without rules. Men are responsible for outside affairs, and women are responsible for inside affairs. You should have the final say in the affairs of this family. He also agreed to stay in someone's house for a few days, even though he decided it himself. In this case, there is no need to feel guilty.

Thinking of this, she took a deep breath and felt a lot better!

Amber looked at her sitting there without saying anything for a long time, her cheeks flushed, and thought she was embarrassed, so she smiled and said, "The kitchen used cordyceps to make black chicken soup this morning. I'll have someone serve you a bowl!"

"Okay!" Eleventh Lady nodded, "By the way, bring my small box of embroidery here. I'll see if there's any beautiful and simple embroidery. When Huijie comes, I can show it to her and give her a sample."

Amber was happy to see that she had gradually regained her graceful and elegant demeanor. She no longer dared to mention the Marquis, Aunt Qiao, or breakfast. She quickly agreed with a smile, and while asking the maid to serve breakfast, she took two maids to bring out the box containing Eleventh Lady's embroidery.

Shiyi Niang drank a bowl of chicken soup and sat down to pick food. She thought that if Zhen Jieer came to her place, Zhun Geer would probably ask to come over, and she would have to think of a way to attract him to her room to play. Her mind kept turning.

"Do you know what little boys like to play with?" she asked Amber.

Amber was stunned, thought for a long time and shook her head: "I don't know!" After a pause, she asked softly: "Are you planning for Zhun Ge'er to come and play?"

Eleventh Lady sighed: "The things I played with at that time didn't seem to be suitable for Zhun Ge."

Amber thought about it and said, "How about I go and ask!"

"Yes." Eleventh Lady said, "Go ask and report to me when you come back in the evening."

As they were talking, Nan Yong's wife came in. She was surprised to see Shiyi Niang already sitting on the big kang by the window.

Eleventh Lady explained in a rather ironic way, "Oh, in a couple of days the great grandmother of the Lin family next door might bring her daughter Hui Jie'er to my house to ask me to teach her needlework. Take out the old things and have a look. See if there's anything suitable, and then make a model for her."

Nan Yong's wife smiled when she heard this: "Do you have any guests coming? Do you want me to help cut some window paper-cuts to paste? The New Year is coming soon, and it will be festive." Then she said a little embarrassedly, "My craftsmanship is average. I can only cut "Prosperity All the Way" and "Abundance Every Year". Madam Du, who is by the side of the lady, can cut anything - she doesn't need to draw patterns on red paper, she can just use scissors to cut. She can cut whatever shape she wants!"

"Really!" Eleventh Lady had never thought of this, and said with a smile, "But you are better than me. I can only cut the word 'double happiness'. One day, let's ask Mother Du to come and tell us how to cut window paper-cuts."

Nan Yong's wife was surprised when she heard this: "I'll join in too..."

Eleventh Lady thought of her children to take care of, and hurriedly said, "If you have something to do, just go and do your thing."

Nanyong's wife shook her hands and said, "I'm fine, I'm fine." She smiled a little embarrassedly and said, "I also want to learn how to cut paper-cuts from Mother Du. I just don't dare to ask for it."

Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "Since you want to learn, then you can follow me. If you are worried that Niu'er is not taken care of, then bring her here. Anyway, there are many maids in my yard, so let them help look after her."

A child’s laughter is the most beautiful sound in the world!

Nanyong's wife laughed heartily when she heard this.

Eleventh Lady advised her: "Brush my hair into a peony bun, just like the way I comb my hair when I go back to my mother's house, but don't comb it too high. If it's too high, it will make me look like an adult..." Then she muttered in a low voice, "Although I am an adult!"

Nan Yong's wife smiled and went to the mirror table with Shiyi Niang. She combed her hair into a bun that was a little shorter than the usual peony bun. She didn't wear a hairpin like most people, but two half-moon-shaped combs inlaid with coral and tortoise shell and beeswax. A small lilac flower hung on her ear. She wore a white silk jacket inside, a lake-colored silk jacket with dark patterns of plum, orchid and bamboo outside, and an emerald green skirt with emerald green twined branches underneath. She was graceful, fresh and elegant.

Eleventh Lady also thought it was good, and smiled as she asked Amber to take the tourmaline jade bracelet for her to wear.

In the middle of the bright red plum blossom-shaped lace are two jade butterflies the size of fingernails, with long red tassels below. With every move, the bright red either falls into the lake color or rests in the emerald green, and the whole person becomes charming because of this little bit of beauty.

"The fourth lady is so beautiful!" Nan Yong's wife looked at her with envy.

Eleventh Lady played with the two jade butterflies and said with a smile, "Clothes make the man, and saddles make the horse."

Nan Yong's wife looked at her jade-like face and bright eyes, and thought she was even prettier than Liu Su. However, she was not the kind of person who could talk, so she just smiled at Shiyi Niang. Shiyi Niang saw that it was getting late, so she took Amber to the old lady's place.

The lady got up early, and when she saw Eleventh Lady, her eyes lit up and she said with a smile, "It's better to be disciplined."

Eleventh Lady looked at the jacket on her body and smiled: "It's a gift from mother!" This was one of the pieces of cloth that the lady had given her a few days ago.

The lady looked at it and nodded slightly.

A mother brought in a kang table.

Eleventh Lady served breakfast to the lady dowager.

The lady pulled her to sit down with her.

Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "I used a little bit of honey cream... I came here after dinner."

When she came closer, the lady noticed that her face was plain, but it looked more crystal white than that of most people. After hearing what she said, she looked at her more carefully and found that she had plucked her eyebrows and her red lips had a crystal luster.

The lady laughed out loud: "You are such a devil."

Eleventh Lady smiled slightly, but secretly breathed a sigh of relief in her heart.

She hoped to maintain a good relationship with the lady, and also hoped that the lady would accept her lifestyle, including her favorite way of dressing... She felt that the lady was not that old-fashioned, so she made this attempt - fortunately, the lady did not object, and it went through smoothly.

While she was thinking, she heard the lady smiled and told Mother Du, "Go, ask the kitchen to make some egg fruit."

Shiyi Niang knew that it was something similar to egg cake, made into plum blossoms, plums, peaches and the like using molds, each only the size of a cherry, and usually made for Zhun'er as a snack. Why did the Madam ask someone to make this at this time? However, this egg fruit is sweet but not greasy, melts in the mouth, is easy to digest, and is also very good for the elderly.

Mother Du glanced at Shiyi Niang, smiled and left.

Eleventh Lady was looked at in a somewhat bewildered manner.

The lady smiled and said, "You are young after all, and you only care about beauty - eat some eggs and fruits to fill your stomach!" There was teasing in her eyes.

It turns out it was made for myself!

Eleventh Lady drank chicken soup in the morning and ate two pieces of water chestnut cake and two pieces of chestnut cake. She was not hungry at all, but she did not want to reject the kindness of the Madam. Seeing that the Madam was in a good mood, she blinked and smiled, "Is this what Mother used before? Otherwise, why do we have so many molds for egg cakes?"

The lady just laughed.

Eleventh Lady understood what she saw, and she made the old lady happy, sighing and saying, "So I am just repeating what others have said."

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