Although the Taifu had entrusted her with the task of receiving Madam Lin, the Third Madam was still in charge of the household affairs. After leaving the Taifu, Eleventh Lady went to the Third Madam.

She and Qiu Ling were packing up: "…This official kiln plum vase is from the public treasury. It's 45 taels each, so this pair is worth 90 taels. And this bowl is red, which you can't buy even if you have money. Write them all down, and when the time comes, go to the temple fair at Huguo Temple and buy similar items. Break them up and pile them together to clear the public treasury account."

If something in a public place is lost, the person responsible will be held accountable. If something is broken, the debt can only be settled after seeing the damaged item.

Qiu Ling nodded and wrote down everything the Third Madam had pointed out.

A little maid came to report that Eleventh Lady had arrived. Qiu Ling's pen tip trembled, and a drop of red ink fell, soaking the account book.

The Third Lady glared at her and said, "Be careful. Don't miss anything."

Qiu Ling hurriedly stood up and responded, but the Third Madam had already hurried out.

When she heard that the banquet was arranged for Mrs. Lin, she took charge of it immediately: "This is a small matter, just leave it to me!"

Eleventh Lady smiled and stood up to thank the Third Lady. She returned to her own residence and took out the embroidery that had been counted and looked at it. Amber came in and said, "I have found out about Sister Hui's matter!"

"You're pretty quick!" Eleventh Lady said with a smile and asked Amber to sit on the kang to talk.

Amber sat halfway opposite her and said with a smile, "Sister Hui is the eldest granddaughter of the eldest branch of the Lin family. When Grandmother Lin gave birth to her, she had a difficult delivery and was raised by Madam Lin. Later, Grandmother Lin gave birth to two little boys in a row. Madam Lin was afraid that no one would take care of Sister Hui, so she kept her by her side. But Sister Hui was also very hardworking. She learned to read from her aunts and teachers since she was a child, and she learned better than her aunts. After a few years, she even finished learning "The Analects of Confucius" and had some skills in playing the piano, chess, calligraphy and painting. Therefore, she was more respectable in front of Lord Lin and Madam Lin than the other little boys in the family. It just so happened that the fifth son of Chen Zixiang, the chief minister of the cabinet and the Grand Secretary of Wenyuan Pavilion, was fifteen years old this year. He was handsome and had a very honest temperament. He just passed the examination for a student last year. Lin The eldest grandmother wanted to arrange the marriage. She sent someone to inquire about it. Who knew that the Chen family had very strict rules. Not only could they not be careless about the morning and evening visits, but even the daughters-in-law in the family had to make shoes and socks, sew clothes and iron irons like the maids. The eldest grandmother Lin couldn't bear to part with her daughter, so she gave up the idea. Who knew that Mrs. Lin thought the fifth son of the Chen family was good, and said that the Chen family was a family of scholars and they paid attention to etiquette and traditions, unlike the nobles and wealthy families, and neither family should be looked at carefully. So she invited an aunt from the needlework bureau to teach Huijie needlework. Who knew that Huijie was better at reading than the boy, but she was clumsy at needlework, and four or five masters were not able to teach her. Mrs. Lin was in a hurry, and she met you that day, so she hurriedly sent you here."

Eleventh Lady couldn't help but think of Sister Zhen.

Hui Jie'er was only one year older than Zhen Jie'er. Mrs. Lin and Grandmother Lin had already started looking for a son-in-law for her, but no one seemed to have mentioned Zhen Jie'er at all. She always believed that opportunities always come to those who are prepared. Zhen Jie'er was obviously not among those who were prepared... However, she seemed to be Zhen Jie'er's mother, so she could be the master of the family!

While thinking, she asked Hubo: "Who told you about Hui Jie'er?"

"Grandma Lin's personal nanny and Li Quan's wife, who manages the carriages and horses in our house, are very good friends. The two families are even in-laws! It is said that Grandma Lin was very worried about this matter and supervised it personally every day. One time, Hui Jie'er was so annoyed that she threw the embroidery shed to the ground in front of Grandma Lin, which made Grandma Lin very angry."

Eleventh Lady couldn't help but break out in a sweat.

I don't know why, but it reminded me of the boy next door in my previous life who didn't want to learn the violin and threw his violin off the 16th floor...

A maid came to report: "Manager Bai sent someone to bring pearls to Madam."

"So fast!" Eleventh Lady asked someone to come in.

He was a boy who looked about seven or eight years old. He was fair-skinned and had delicate features.

Although he is young, his behavior is neither arrogant nor humble, and he appears to be very well-educated.

"Manager Bai asked me to report back to the madam. He said that these pearls are worth sixteen taels of silver, and not a single one is fake. Five of them are of the same size. If they can be picked out to make a pearl flower or something like that, they can be sold for at least twenty-five or twenty-six taels of silver. The people at the silver shop have already picked out the five pearls and packed them separately." He spoke very clearly and logically.

Eleventh Lady liked him very much and asked him, "What's your name?"

"My name is Xiao Luzi," he said respectfully, "I just started working in the palace yesterday. Now I am running errands for the chief steward Bai. Madam, please let me know if you have anything to say."

Eleventh Lady was very surprised.

Unexpectedly, I would meet the man named Xiao Luzi like this... He was trained so well by the Second Madam, and I liked him too, let alone Xu Lingyi.

She smiled at Xiao Luzi with mixed feelings, asked someone to give him some cakes, and then sent him out with Qiuyu. She also asked Hubo to take a letter and ask Liu Yuanrui's family to come over.

Amber left in response. After a while, Xu Lingyi came back.

Seeing Eleventh Lady knitting a brocade, she smiled and said, "What are you doing?" She had just made two children's cloaks two days ago and was planning to give one each to Fifth Lady and Fifth Madam.

She smiled and said, "I want to make a pearl bracelet for Sister Zhen." She stood up and took Xu Lingyi's cloak.

Xu Lingyi said "Oh" and went to change his clothes and wash up, while Shiyi Niang finished the last bit.

I used white thin string to string the pearl bracelet, and then used the excess string to weave a small bat into a buckle, leaving two short strings. The string was a bit hard, like the two tails of a bat, making the two bats look lively and interesting.

She packed her things and planned to give them to Zhen Jie'er when she went to eat at the Madam's house later, so that she could wear them to meet guests tomorrow. Xu Lingyi came out of the bathroom, took it and looked at it, and said with a smile: "This bat is really well made."

Eleventh Lady just smiled and said nothing. She changed the subject: "The Marquis came back so early today!"

Xu Lingyi said, "Help me pack up. I'm going to stay at the West Hill Palace for a few days tomorrow. I don't know when I'll be back!"

Eleventh Lady was stunned and felt a little uneasy.

"It's almost the New Year, why did you suddenly think of going to the West Mountain Palace..." She looked at Xu Lingyi, her face full of worry, "Is there something wrong?"

"Nothing!" Xu Lingyi looked as calm as usual. "Just stay home. My third sister-in-law is frivolous and my fifth sister-in-law is pregnant. Please help me take good care of mother and the children while I'm away."

And he said it was okay!

The ancient laws emphasized collective responsibility.

When she thought of this, her face turned pale. "My Lord, I am a woman and should not interfere in the affairs of the outside world. But you did not give me a word. If something happens, I will have no idea, let alone prepare in advance. Although the Third Master and Chief Steward Bai are still at home, they are in the outer courtyard after all."

Xu Lingyi thought about the several things he had to deal with since she got married... After hesitating for a moment, he went into the warm room with her.

"It comes out of my mouth and enters your ears, but you can't tell anyone else." His expression was a little solemn. "The night before yesterday, the fifth prince ate something and vomited and had diarrhea. The people in the Imperial Hospital were helpless, and now he is in a coma. The emperor asked me to accompany the queen and the third prince to the West Mountain Palace, and the commander of the Imperial Guards, Ouyang Ming, will accompany the eldest prince to return to his hometown to worship his ancestors on behalf of the emperor."

Eleventh Lady's heart skipped a beat.

The palace is indeed not peaceful...

Xu Lingyi saw that although Eleventh Lady's face was pale, her expression was not panic, but calmer than usual. He was relieved, but he couldn't help but pity her for being so young and being dragged down by him. He sighed softly, touched her head, and comforted her, "It's okay. If the emperor didn't care at all, he wouldn't let me and Ouyang Ming accompany the third prince and the eldest prince respectively. You know, Ouyang Ming has been a guard beside the emperor since he entered the palace at the age of thirteen. He is the person the emperor trusts the most. He also has the emperor's handwritten order in his hand, which can mobilize the troops of Shanxi, Hebei, and Tianjin. It will be fine!"

Even if the emperor has such thoughts, even if Ouyang Ming and the eldest prince are safe and sound, what kind of situation will the Xu family be in without Xu Lingyi... Eleventh Lady felt suffocated when she heard this: "What about you, My Lord?" She couldn't help but grab Xu Lingyi's sleeve tightly.

Xu Lingyi lowered his head and saw his whitened knuckles. For some reason, he felt warm in his heart, and some words that he shouldn't have said came out naturally: "When the late emperor passed away, the emperor was able to ascend the throne smoothly. This was not unrelated to my having been the commander-in-chief of the Xishan Camp..." After a pause, he continued, "Don't worry, even if I can't command the Northwest Army, I can command the Xishan Camp!"

Eleventh Lady was not reassured after hearing this. Instead, she felt cold in her heart: "The Emperor sent you to the Western Hills..."

The more she thought about it, the more scared she became.

When one's cards are seen through by his opponent, he is just a piece of meat on the chopping board, at the mercy of others: "My Lord, you have to think of another way!" There was fear in Eleventh Lady's eyes.

Because she studied law, she had come across some ancient cases. For example, the end of Fang Xiaoru was extremely tragic!

"Since you have contributed so much to the enthronement, how could the emperor not know about your relationship with the Xishan Camp? Yet he chose to send you to the Xishan Camp..."

Xu Lingyi immediately understood what she meant and couldn't hide his surprise.

The little girl in front of him was smarter than he thought. She seemed to be able to see the essence of things through the surface of some things. Just like the moldy rice, just like now... and the words she said when she was reading "The Great Zhou Jiuyu Zhi" beside him not long after they got married - his irritable mood immediately calmed down. And suddenly he remembered that she had only been married for less than three months!

This is not just about being smart, but also about having a foresight that is like looking three steps ahead before taking one step.

Suddenly, he was excited.

This is the material of a first-class military strategist.

Just think about it, with someone like a military advisor by his side to help him manage the backyard, he will no longer have to worry about anything and will no longer have to take care of all those messy things himself... The way he looked at Eleventh Lady was different.

"Don't worry!" He smiled, "If the emperor suspected me, he might have left the people in the West Mountain Camp untouched to show his favor and see how I would react, or he might have transferred all the people in the West Mountain Camp who were close to me to prevent any trouble. But the emperor did nothing. He changed guards when it was time to change guards, and transferred people when it was time to transfer people." As he spoke, his voice became a little serious, "I know what's going on. I won't let anything happen to you, my family!"

※