At two quarters before the beginning of the You period, Xu Siqin, Xu Siyu and Xu Sijian arrived.

Sister Zhen looked at the three Xu brothers, then at Eleventh Lady standing beside them with a smile, and immediately understood - no wonder the lady wanted to keep Third Uncle and Third Aunt to play mahjong...

Before she could thank Eleventh Lady, Xu Sijian shouted, "Sister, your room is so beautifully decorated."

Xu Siqin also came forward to bow to Zhen Jie'er and said, "Congratulations, sister, on moving into a new house." Then he gave Zhen Jie'er a pair of handwritten couplets as a gift, while Xu Siyu gave her a moon-white qin tassel. Xu Sijian also took out his own gift after seeing it - a pair of cloisonné enamel plates with yellow background and red flowers.

"How is it?" He said with some pride, "This is a new style made by the Ministry of Internal Affairs this year. Doesn't it look good?" He glanced at Zhun Ge and said, "My sister is moving. What gift did you get?"

This matter was kept secret from Zhun Ge, so he had no idea what gifts were prepared.

After hearing what Xu Sijian said, her face turned red, her eyes turned red, and she was about to cry.

Eleventh Lady calmly took out a crystal paperweight and said, "This is not a gift from Zhun Ge."

When Zhun Ge saw it, he immediately ran over and hugged the crystal paperweight in his arms: "This is a gift from me to my sister!"

Xu Sijian knew, of course, that this was not prepared by Zhun Ge, but was just a joke. He pretended to take a look and said, "It's not as good as mine - yours is an old style."

After hearing this, Zhun Ge pouted and looked at Shiyi Niang with a face full of grievance, as if he was about to help him.

Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "The style is not new, but look at the crystal, it is crystal clear, it is top quality."

Zhun Ge hurriedly said, "Yes, yes, yes. It is top grade."

Xu Sijian wanted to say something, but Shiyi Niang was afraid that it would never end, so she smiled and hugged Zhun Ge: "Big brother sent us a couplet, let's go and put it up, it will be more festive."

Zhun Ge hugged Shiyi Niang's neck and shouted, "Let's go put up the couplets. It's New Year's Day. Let's go put up the couplets."

"These are couplets to celebrate my sister's move." Shiyi Niang corrected him, "They are not couplets to be posted during the New Year."

Having said that, he carried Zhun Ge out of the door.

A clever little maidservant nearby brought a stool and some paste, unfolded the couplet and pasted it on the door.

The first line reads "The courtyard is covered with brocade pear blossoms rustling in the wind", and the second line reads "The house is filled with guests and laughter".

The couplet was indeed very mediocre, but the characters were neat and powerful, showing considerable skill, which surprised Eleventh Lady.

"Young Master, are you imitating Ouyang Xun's "Nine-story Palace"?"

Xu Siqin said somewhat embarrassedly: "It's not well written. I'm sorry to make fun of you, Fourth Aunt."

Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "Avoid the dense and go to the sparse, avoid the dangerous and go to the easy, avoid the far and go to the near, there is already some charm."

Xu Siqin was stunned.

"Then according to mother's insightful opinion, what's the shortcoming?" Xu Siyu, who had been silent all this time, suddenly said with a flash of his eyes.

Eleventh Lady smiled slightly: "Ouyang Xun's style of writing must be round and straight, with strong and powerful strokes. The eldest young master has an upright character, with more strength than slowness."

Xu Siqin was stunned: "The teacher also said so."

Xu Siyu didn't say anything, but his gaze towards Shiyi Niang was distant.

Eleventh Lady ignored Xu Siyu.

For a thoughtful child like him, the best way is to remain unchanged in the face of ever-changing circumstances.

She smiled and said to Xu Siqin: "Writing is not a one-day job. Young Master, if you spend more time practicing, you will naturally improve."

Xu Siqin nodded repeatedly.

It was very cold outside and there were several children with her, so Eleventh Lady hurriedly smiled and invited everyone into the house: "Today we have Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. We use abalone, sea cucumber, shark fin, fish maw..." When she turned around, she saw Zhen Jie'er standing there looking at her with bright eyes.

"What's wrong?" Eleventh Lady asked her with a smile.

Zhen Jie'er smiled and shook her head, but Xu Sijian on the side said, "Fourth Aunt is really amazing. In addition to embroidery, she also knows calligraphy."

Seeing his undisguised surprise, Eleventh Lady felt herself becoming more cheerful. She jokingly asked, "Do you know what I am best at?"

As soon as she finished speaking, the house and yard became silent, and even the rustling sound of snow falling from the treetops could be clearly heard.

Xu Sijian shook his head and asked unwillingly, "Is it cooking?"

Eleventh Lady glanced at Xu Siyu.

He was gazing at her with a serious look on his face.

Eleventh Lady said seriously: "I am best at writing petitions."

Xu Sijian laughed out loud: "Fourth Aunt's words are so interesting."

Xu Siqin also laughed: "Third brother has met his nemesis this time!"

Zhen Jie'er smiled and took Zhun Ge'er's hand, ready to follow Shiyi Niang into the house.

Only Xu Siyu looked at Shiyi Niang seriously.

Eleventh Lady’s heart trembled.

This child is very careful and meticulous.

Intuitively, she didn't like him.

I feel like he is always lurking in the darkness, spying on others, but others can only see his ambiguous eyes.

"Okay, okay." Mother Du was also worried that the children would catch a cold. "Go inside quickly, the food is getting cold."

Everyone walked into the house with a smile on their faces and sat down in the south room.

A table had already been set up over there, and Eleventh Lady arranged for them to sit down, saying with a smile, "I'll go to the Madam's place to join in the fun, you youngsters can have fun here!"

Everyone was stunned. Zhen Jieer said uneasily, "Mother, it's so late, you should have dinner with us first!"

Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "I'm afraid of noise, but I don't want to be disturbed by you here." She insisted on going to the lady's place, leaving the space to these young people, and letting Zhen Jie'er be the host to receive them.

The lady was having dinner with the Third Master and the Third Lady, and she was very surprised to see Eleventh Lady coming.

"Even my mother avoided it, so how can I be an exception?" Eleventh Lady took off her cloak with a smile.

The lady smiled and said, "You are too generous as a mother!"

Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "There is nothing to worry about. Brother Qin is kind, Brother Yu is smart, Brother Jian is generous, Sister Zhen is sensible, and Brother Zhun is simple. What's more, we have Mother Du and Mother Tao watching over us." As she spoke, she stepped forward, bent her knees, and saluted to the lady dowager, and greeted the Third Master and the Third Lady.

The Third Master and the Third Lady were delighted to hear Eleventh Lady praising their children.

The lady laughed: "Have you eaten?"

"Not yet!" Eleventh Lady laughed, "That's why I hurried to you to avoid getting the worst of both worlds."

Upon hearing this, the Madam hurriedly asked for additional seats, set out the dishes and chopsticks, and told Wei Zi to go to the kitchen and say, "... Make some pickled fish for the Fourth Madam, it's her favorite!"

Eleventh Lady thanked him and sent Amber to check on Zhen Jie'er before sitting down to have dinner with the Lady. When the meal was almost over, Amber came over and said, "...the eldest lady and the young masters were having a great time. They asked the kitchen to send some potatoes and asked the maids to bring in a brazier, saying they wanted to roast the potatoes."

The third wife was shocked when she heard this: "What if it gets burned anywhere? We can't do this!" As she said this, she was about to get up and go over there to take a look.

The lady stopped her and asked Hubo, "Are the maids and servants here by your side?"

Amber said hurriedly, "Mother Du and Mother Tao stayed there closely, and the eldest lady and the young masters did not send away their servants."

The lady nodded: "They are all sensible people." She then instructed Amber, "Go over there and watch. If there is anything, report to us immediately."

Amber responded and left.

"It's normal for children to jump around. There's no need to make a fuss." The old lady said calmly to the third lady.

The third lady did not dare to refute and replied "yes" reluctantly.

The lady suddenly changed the subject: "I think the family affairs have been dealt with almost completely. Starting tomorrow, I will let Eleventh Lady help you manage the household."

The decision was sudden, even though it was the Third Lady who brought it up, and she had been looking forward to Eleventh Lady taking over as soon as possible, so that she would not be unable to follow her husband to his post. Despite this, she still felt it was a bit sudden.

"It's almost Laba Festival." The lady's tone was as if she was solving a problem or giving an order, "There are so many things to do at home. In previous years, we had Yizhen to help, but this year it's just you. Eleventh Lady is still at home at this time, are we going to push you out alone like this?"

The Third Lady smiled and said, "Mother is really thoughtful."

The lady nodded, and everyone lowered their heads to eat.

After dinner, we moved to the west room to drink tea.

Eleventh Lady handed the tea brought by the maid to the Madam herself, and was about to stand up and say goodbye with a smile: "My brothers have to go to school early tomorrow morning, and they should also be dismissed at this time. Although there are happy things today, we can't lose our temper."

The lady agreed and nodded: "Go ahead!"

Eleventh Lady said goodbye to the Lady Dowager and returned to the courtyard. There was a lot of noise in the east wing, and she heard the sound of Xu Sijian and Zhun Ge fighting from afar.

She smiled and went into the house.

The children's faces were flushed, and their expressions were happy and cheerful.

"Why is Fourth Aunt here at this time?" Xu Siqin, who was sitting in the main hall, was the first to notice Eleventh Lady and hurried forward to pay his respects.

Eleventh Lady smiled and nodded, saying, "I'm here to chase you away - you still have to go to school early tomorrow morning!"

Xu Sijian groaned loudly: "Fourth Aunt, although this is the job of men, when men can't do it, women have to think of a way - you can tell Fourth Uncle that we will be like other families, closing the museum in winter and reopening it at the beginning of spring."

Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "A real man should hide when he encounters difficulties. Fourth Aunt doesn't like that. Hurry up and pay your respects to the Madam and go back to rest! You can come and play with me during the New Year."

Although Xu Sijian liked to joke, he was not the kind of person who didn't know the importance of things. He muttered a few words but didn't say anything else.

Eleventh Lady took the children to pay respects to the Madam. When she and Zhen Jie'er came back, it was already past 15:00. Eleventh Lady was so tired that she wanted to go to bed. Zhen Jie'er saw her and wanted to help her rest. Eleventh Lady pushed Zhen Jie'er out and said, "Go and rest. I have Amber and the others here. You don't need to serve me, and you won't need to serve me in the future."

She felt like one of those unscrupulous landlords who exploited child laborers.

Zhen Jie'er Shiyi Niang was determined. She bowed respectfully to Shiyi Niang and retreated.

Eleventh Lady sat beside the dressing table and was helped by Bin Ju and others to remove her makeup. Early the next morning, she took Zhen Jie'er to pay her respects to the old lady. The old lady left Zhen Jie'er and Zhun Ge to keep her company and took Eleventh Lady to the Third Lady. In front of the twenty or so housekeepers in the house, she said casually: "...The New Year is coming soon, and the Third Lady can't handle it alone. The Fourth Lady will help the Third Lady." But no one dared to be indifferent to Eleventh Lady just because of the old lady's indifferent tone. No one showed Eleventh Lady a flattering, attentive, or enthusiastic smile.