Eleventh Lady winked at Zhen Jie'er, signaling her to temporarily leave. Fearing that she might be suspicious, she hurried forward to explain in a low voice, "Your father is back at this time, and I don't know what happened. I'll go and take a look."

Zhen Jieer nodded sensibly: "Mom, go quickly!"

Eleventh Lady lifted the curtain and entered the room.

Xu Lingyi had been helped by Chunmo and Xiayi into the clean room to change clothes.

Eleventh Lady had someone make hot tea and sat on the big kang by the window in the inner room waiting for Xu Lingyi.

Xu Lingyi quickly finished washing up and came out wearing a white silk undergarment. The open collar revealed his muscular chest.

He ordered Chunmo and Xiayi: "You can leave now. Madam will serve you here."

The two men held up the royal blue silk gown and placed it on the kang, then bowed and withdrew.

Eleventh Lady knew that he had something to say, so she sent the servants away to help him put on his clothes.

Looking at the black and shiny hair in front of him and smelling the faint fragrance emanating from the hair, Xu Lingyi's mood suddenly calmed down. He was reluctant to break the tranquility at the moment, but he also understood that time waits for no one... After thinking for a moment, he said helplessly: "The fifth prince died of illness three days ago!"

The fifth prince died of illness, and it was three days ago... So what happened in the past few days?

People are instinctively afraid of things that they cannot see in the future.

Eleventh Lady's hands shook, and she tried to tie the knot of her lapel twice but failed.

"Is the Queen okay?" The death of her youngest son was definitely not a good thing. But she was so upset that she instinctively asked in a low voice.

Xu Lingyi looked at her white little hand trembling slightly, knowing that she was panicking, and gently wrapped her hand in his palm: "I just got the news last night. I cried all night and left for the palace before dawn today..." Then he comforted her, "Don't worry, I got the news as soon as possible and have made arrangements..."

But at this moment, it doesn’t matter what the truth is. What matters is the emperor’s reaction.

"What did the emperor say?" She let him hold her hand quietly, feeling the warmth in his palm slowly passing over her - she needed to take a breath now so that she could be stronger to face the coming storm.

Admiration flashed in Xu Lingyi's eyes.

Women often ask for details and put the cart before the horse, but Eleventh Lady goes straight to the key point of the matter.

He couldn't help but look closely at the person in front of him.

Her curved willow-shaped eyebrows, her delicate and straight nose, and her bright and clear eyes made her face, as white as the first snow, appear quiet and peaceful. She reminded him of warm jade, quiet, soft, beautiful, round and gentle... It was pleasing to the eye and very comfortable to look at.

As he pondered, he couldn't help but tightly clench his hand, feeling her delicate and smooth skin.

"The emperor has issued an edict that the funeral rites shall be treated as those for a prince." Xu Lingyi whispered, "The Ministry of Rites is already discussing this matter, and there should be a result tomorrow." His voice stopped abruptly.

Sometimes, the emperor would strike a balancing act… treating the funeral rites as those for a prince does not mean that the emperor will pursue the matter; sometimes, it is merely a form of compensation.

The thought flashed through her mind, and Eleventh Lady immediately realized that Xu Lingyi might have something else to say to her.

At this moment, time was of the essence and she had no time to play the game of Guess What with him.

Eleventh Lady asked directly, "What does the Marquis want me to do? Just tell me!"

Really smart...

Xu Lingyi's eyes were filled with undisguised satisfaction: "I have handed over a sign to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. You will accompany me to the palace to see the Empress later."

Although the brother and sister came back from Xishan together, they were still ruler and subject, so they might not be able to meet each other at any time.

Eleventh Lady thought for a moment and said, "Does the Marquis have anything for me to tell the Queen?"

"No need." His wife's reaction once again confirmed his impression of her. Xu Lingyi nodded slightly, "The Emperor has been consistent with the Empress for so many years. First, the Empress never interferes in foreign affairs. Second, the Empress always respects the Emperor as a husband rather than an emperor. You must remember this and not let the Empress have any other ideas. As long as the Emperor respects the Empress as always, nothing will happen to our Xu family. Do you understand?"

Eleventh Lady nodded: "I understand. The situation is favorable to us now. If the Empress feels resentful, the Emperor will gradually feel less guilty." But her heart was colder than ever.

When the fifth prince passed away, only his mother cried for him. The tears of others were covered by the pressure of survival and worldly ambitions...

She pulled her hand out of his palm and helped him put on his coat: "When is the best time for me to leave?"

His palm suddenly fell empty, and Xu Lingyi felt the emptiness in his palm, and suddenly felt as if he had lost something. But he didn't want to pursue this inexplicable emotion, he had more important things to do.

"I don't know how long I have to wait before I can see the Queen." His voice was very cold. "Let's go after dinner. The most important thing now is to stabilize the Queen and not cause any more trouble. As for the rest, I will take care of it!"

His expression was stern and his eyes were sharp, like a sword out of a sheath, shining with cold light and flashing with murderous intent.

Eleventh Lady shuddered.

For the first time, she realized that the man standing in front of her was a general who had commanded thousands of troops and a soldier who had experienced the trials of life and death... In order to survive, he would not hesitate to swing his sword to cut off the thorns in front of him!

* * * * * *

Knowing that the Fifth Prince had passed away, the Lady Dowager was much calmer than Eleventh Lady had imagined.

She closed her eyes and leaned on the big pillow with a tired look, with tears glistening in the corners of her eyes.

The third lady who came to serve dinner stood behind the lady with a panicked look on her face, not daring to say a word.

"Mother, this is something no one expected, and no one wanted to happen." Xu Lingyi sat beside the old lady and whispered to comfort her, "Fortunately, the eldest and third princes are fine. This is a blessing in disguise."

The lady said nothing.

Xu Lingyi looked towards Shiyi Niang.

Eleventh Lady immediately stepped forward and whispered, "Mother, the Queen doesn't know how sad she is. And the eldest prince and the third prince just lost their younger brother. They can't lose the protection of the Queen..."

The lady suddenly opened her eyes, her gaze was sharp, and she said in a deep voice: "Serve the meal!"

The voice was very calm and rational.

Xu Lingyi and Shiyi Niang both breathed a sigh of relief.

There are some things that can only be said by the Madam...

At this time, you should avoid being impulsive.

The third lady heard this and trotted off to call the maid as if she had been pardoned.

They ate quickly, and the Third Lady helped the Dowager Lady to put on her makeup. Eleventh Lady went back to her room to change into her dress, and came back to accompany the Dowager Lady to the Buddhist temple with Xu Lingyi.

She lit three incense sticks with her clean hands and kowtowed three times to the Buddha. She knelt on the bed with her hands clasped together and murmured a prayer before she stood up and said, "Let's go!"

Eleventh Lady replied "yes" respectfully, and helped the lady dowager to the carriage, escorted by Xu Lingyi himself.

When they arrived at the east gate and got off the carriage, a eunuch came out to greet them: "Madam, you are here!" and bowed to Eleventh Lady: "Madam!"

Eleventh Lady looked carefully and found that it was Thunder God.

With a look of sorrow on his face, he respectfully welcomed the two to Kunning Palace.

Along the way, you can see eunuchs and palace maids hanging white curtains.

When they arrived at Kunning Palace, they saw a large group of palace maids and eunuchs standing in the courtyard. When they saw them come in, a fat white eunuch came up to greet them, bowed to them, and whispered: "The emperor is inside, please wait for the lady and the lady."

"Thank you, Eunuch He." The lady thanked the eunuch and stood waiting at the door with Eleventh Lady.

Eunuch Lei brought a brocade stool and said, "Madam, please sit down and wait!"

The lady thanked him for his kindness and remained standing: "Rules cannot be abolished."

As he was speaking, a young eunuch came out from the East Warm Pavilion and said, "The Emperor has summoned the Madam and Madam of the Yongping Marquis's Mansion to see you." He bowed and invited the two of them, "Madam and Madam, please follow me."

After hearing this, Eunuch Lei hurriedly waited on the two of them as they entered the east warm room.

Eleventh Lady did not dare to look at her. She lowered her head and helped the lady into the warm room, then kowtowed to her.

A gentle male voice said, "Prepare a seat for the Madam."

Eleventh Lady knew that it was the emperor who was speaking, so she became more cautious. She didn't even turn her head, her eyes fixed on the red felt carpet with bright red flowers blooming under her feet.

Immediately, a palace maid brought a brocade stool.

The lady said she dared not.

"There are no outsiders here, Madam, there is no need to be polite!"

The lady thanked him again and again before she half-sat on the brocade stool.

Eleventh Lady immediately stood behind the Madam Dowager, and heard the Queen's voice: "I'm sorry to have made you worry too much!"

"Your Majesty, please take care of yourself." The lady-in-waiting choked up and couldn't continue.

Eleventh Lady heard the Queen crying softly.

"Lingchen," the emperor gently advised the empress, "you have been crying for a whole day and night, be careful not to hurt your eyes. You still have two princes to take care of, and six palaces to manage... Besides, the madam is here, if you do this, the madam will be sad too."

Eleventh Lady listened and hurriedly took out a handkerchief to wipe her eyes. Everyone was sad, and it would be bad if she remained indifferent. Compared with the death of the fifth prince whom she had never met, she was more worried about Xu Lingyi. She didn't know what he would do. She didn't know if the Xu family could survive these crises.

After hearing this, the Queen gradually stopped crying.

"You have the Madam here to accompany you. I will go back to the Palace of Heavenly Purity first - I still have some things to discuss with the Ministry of Rites." As the emperor spoke, Eleventh Lady heard the rustling sound of clothes rubbing against each other. "Don't get up." The emperor said again, "Rest well. I'll come to see you later."

Could it be that the Queen is bedridden because of grief...

The thought flashed through her mind, and Eleventh Lady glanced quickly in the direction of the voice.

As expected, the Queen was lying behind the bright yellow curtains with five dragons holding a blessing, and a tall and handsome man was tucking her in.

"Why is your concubine lying here..." Before the Queen finished her words, the Emperor sighed, "Lingchen, I'll make an exception today... I really feel..." Then he stood up and walked away from Eleventh Lady with quick steps.

Only then did Eleventh Lady dare to look up.

I saw the Queen lying on the pillow and crying.

The lady saw this and started crying too.

Eleventh Lady hurriedly handed over the handkerchief.

The lady took the handkerchief and cried as she whispered, "Poor eldest and third princes, one is so worried on the road, and the other can only watch his mother sad..."