The Queen was stunned by the lady's crying.

The lady cried even more sadly: "Your Highness is a mother, so she can cry loudly. But as a father, I can't say it even if I feel a lot of pain. When my eldest son passed away, the old marquis didn't eat for three days..."

Before she finished her words, the Queen covered her face and burst into tears.

Everyone in the room started crying.

The lady couldn't help but walk to the bedside and said, "Your Majesty, please accept my condolences!"

The Queen suddenly stood up and hugged the Madam Dowager: "Mother...Wu'er, he..."

A palace maid next to her, who was wearing a purple round-necked, narrow-sleeved jacket and a red skirt embroidered with bright red sunflower flowers and a gold belt, changed her expression drastically. Eleventh Lady immediately realized that the Queen had been rude.

She took two steps forward and whispered to the maid, "I'm afraid the Queen wants to talk to the Madam alone."

The palace maid had already reacted and was making eye contact with the other palace maids and eunuchs around her. After hearing what Eleventh Lady said, she immediately said to her, "Madam is right." Then she looked at Eleventh Lady and walked out first.

The maids, palace maids, and eunuchs serving in the palace all moved swiftly and quietly and retreated, standing far away in the middle of the courtyard. The maid carefully closed the palace door, walked to the bottom of the steps with Shiyi Niang, and bowed to Shiyi Niang: "Your servant Huang Xianying greets Madam."

Eleventh Lady hurriedly returned the greeting: "Aunt Huang, you are so polite!"

But his eyes glanced away.

She was only in her early twenties, with a petite figure and dignified and beautiful features. Although there was caution and prudence in her expression, there was also the confidence of a superior.

It seems that she is an important female official in Kunning Palace.

Eleventh Lady handed over a purse and said, "It's our first meeting. Please accept it, Aunt Huang."

Aunt Huang was slightly startled, then smiled, took it, thanked her, and apologized, "I still have to serve the Queen, so I won't be accompanying Madam."

Eleventh Lady nodded slightly: "Aunt Huang, please go ahead. I'll be waiting outside."

As he spoke, he walked over to the crabapple tree nearby.

Aunt Huang smiled slightly and went to the side hall to wait.

Eleventh Lady stood there for a while and then heard a commotion outside.

"I just wanted to come and see the Queen..." The voice was soft and pitiful.

"Please forgive me, Imperial Concubine." Eunuch Lei said in a neither humble nor arrogant voice, "The Empress is too sad and needs to rest. This is the Emperor's order, and I dare not disobey. Please come back another day, Imperial Concubine."

The delicate voice begged desperately, but Eunuch Lei refused to give in. In the end, the imperial concubine, who had already been lovable after hearing the voice, left with regret.

Eleventh Lady's heart moved.

The eunuchs in the palace are all people who keep their eyes and ears open. This eunuch Lei dared to confront an imperial concubine, so he must have something to rely on.

The Great Zhou was founded a hundred years ago, and it was a time of peace and prosperity. She didn't believe Xu Lingyi's hands were that long. So, the person behind Eunuch Lei was either the emperor or the queen...

Eleventh Lady looked at the East Warm Pavilion thoughtfully.

Not long after the Imperial Concubine left, Concubine Xian, Concubine Jing, Concubine Zhang, Concubine Song, Concubine Yang, and Concubine Yu appeared one by one, but were all stopped outside the door by Eunuch Lei.

The sky gradually darkened and the wind made me feel cold.

A maid handed her a hand warmer and said, "Madam, please get rid of the cold."

Eleventh Lady thanked her with a smile, gave her two silver ingots worth eight cents each, and asked with feigned curiosity, "I heard that Concubine Song is very beautiful, is this true?"

The young palace maid nodded and whispered, "She and Lady Yang were both musicians in the palace."

In other words, someone who comes from a humble background and uses his beauty to please others.

Eleventh Lady smiled slightly.

Yang really spared no effort to discredit her!

However, this method is too low, and people can see it at a glance. No wonder Mrs. Zhou ignored her!

While thinking, Aunt Huang quietly lifted the curtain of the main hall and nodded to her: "The Queen, please invite the Madam in." She also called a few palace maids: "Go, get some hot water for the Madam to wipe her face!"

Eleventh Lady knew that the emotions of the two people inside had calmed down, so she went into the East Warm Pavilion with Aunt Huang.

The Empress was leaning on a large pillow, and the Madame Dowager was sitting on a brocade stool beside the bed. Both of them had red eyes and noses, and were wiping their eye corners with handkerchiefs.

Eleventh Lady came forward and knelt down to pay respect to the Queen, and stood behind the Madam Dowager without saying a word. The maid had already brought in hot water, and Aunt Huang led five or six maids to help the Queen wash her face. Eleventh Lady, with the help of a little maid, helped the Madam Dowager wash her face. No one spoke, and the room was quiet, with only the sound of water and the twisting of handkerchiefs.

Soon, the Empress Dowager and the Lady Dowager had packed up neatly. The Lady Dowager stood up and said goodbye: "Your Majesty, take care. I will come to see you tomorrow."

The Empress looked at her mother, tears glistening in her eyes again: "It is getting late, Madam, please be careful on your journey."

The two of them returned to their politeness and distance as king and subject.

The lady thanked her, and Eleventh Lady stepped forward to help her out of the palace.

He ran into Eunuch Lei. When he saw the Madam Dowager and Eleventh Lady, he bowed and said, "The Emperor and the Third Prince are here!" Before the Madam Dowager could say anything, he had already hurried into the hall.

The lady took a deep breath and led Shiyi Niang out of Kunning Palace. At the palace gate, they met the emperor who was sitting in a warm sedan chair and surrounded by people. The two of them quickly hid by the wall.

The sedan chair stopped, and the emperor came out and greeted the lady-in-waiting: "Madam!"

The lady hurriedly knelt down, and Eleventh Lady knelt down as well, not caring that the bluestone slabs under her feet were blown by the cold wind - her knees soon felt the coldness.

"Madam, please stand up!" The emperor said in a gentle voice. A young man wearing a bright yellow dragon pattern hurried over to help the madam stand up and said to Shiyi Niang, "Madam Yongping, please stand up!"

"Thank you very much, Third Prince." The lady thanked the young man and stood up tremblingly.

Eleventh Lady looked at him and said, "Thank you, Third Prince," then stood up and supported the other side of the lady.

The young man called the Third Prince looked at Eleventh Lady curiously.

Eleventh Lady also took the opportunity to glance at the Third Prince.

He was only about eleven or twelve years old, with fair skin and a pair of phoenix eyes exactly like Xu Lingyi's.

The nephew looks like his uncle!

For some reason, these words suddenly popped up in Eleventh Lady's mind.

"It's getting late," the emperor told those around him, "Use my warm sedan to send Madam out of the palace."

After hearing this, the lady was about to kneel down and refuse.

The emperor said, "Tai'er, escort the lady out of the palace!"

The third prince immediately bowed and replied "yes".

The emperor walked into the Kunning Palace with his head held high.

The third prince asked the eunuchs to bring a warm sedan chair.

The lady held the Third Prince's hand and said, "No, please walk with me."

The Third Prince whispered, "Madam, please listen to Father! Sometimes you are too cautious and make Father feel uneasy."

Eleventh Lady's heart skipped a beat when she heard this.

I didn't expect that the Third Prince would have such insight at such a young age. Are the children of the royal family particularly precocious? She thought of Xu Siyu...

She couldn't help but look at the third prince.

The third prince just happened to look up, and their eyes met.

Eleventh Lady nodded to the Third Prince generously. The Third Prince was calm and nodded slightly. He went to help the Lady Dowager with all his heart. "Wait here. The warm sedan will be here soon. If you are late, the palace will be closed. And the Ministry of Rites has just requested the Emperor to make the funeral ceremony of the Fifth Brother the same as that of a Prince. He will be placed in the coffin tomorrow. All the kings, ministers, officials, princesses, and women of the fourth rank and above in the capital will gather to pay their respects. The weather is cold. The Queen Mother still needs your guidance. There are many things to do. You must take care of yourself."

The old lady's eyes welled up with tears after hearing these words: "Third Prince is right, Third Prince is right. I will take good care of myself, please don't worry."

The Third Prince consoled her a few more times, and the eunuchs brought a warm sedan chair. The Third Prince personally helped the lady onto the sedan chair, and then he and Eleventh Lady escorted the Lady Dowager to the east gate, one on each side.

The carriage of the Xu Mansion had already been waiting at the east gate. Xu Lingyi and the Fifth Master were also waiting beside the carriage. When they saw the Third Prince, they all stepped forward to salute.

The third prince looked at Xu Lingyi, his eyes reddened, and called out "Marquis".

He looked a little like a child.

Xu Lingyi was somewhat surprised and whispered: "Why is the Third Prince here?"

The third prince said, "My father and I went to see my mother, and we met the Madam, who asked me to see her off."

Xu Lingyi pondered and said, "The Third Prince should go back early. The Emperor is usually very busy with state affairs, and there are not many opportunities like this." As he spoke, he looked at him deeply.

The Third Prince was startled when he heard this, and immediately said, "Take care, Your Majesty. I'll be back to the palace now!" As he spoke, he bowed to Xu Lingyi, nodded to the Lady Dowager and the Fifth Master, and quickly walked towards Kunning Palace with the eunuchs and palace maids.

Xu Lingyi helped the lady onto the carriage: "If you have anything to say, we can talk about it when we get back!"

The lady dowager nodded and got on the carriage with Eleventh Lady. Xu Lingyi sat in the front carriage and the Fifth Master sat in the back carriage. They disappeared into the night.

* * * * * *

Everyone with some status in the Xu family knew that the fifth prince had passed away. Everyone was trembling with fear and the atmosphere in the house became very solemn.

Everyone was present for dinner, including the fifth lady who lived in the back garden.

Everyone ate dinner quietly. The Xu Siqin brothers looked at each other and immediately stood up to say goodbye.

Eleventh Lady immediately hugged Zhun Ge and whispered to Zhen Jie'er, "Help me coax him to sleep."

Xu Lingyi glanced at Zhun Ge, who was lying obediently in Shiyi Niang's arms, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

When the Third Lady saw that Eleventh Lady had excused herself to leave, she also stood up and took Xu Sijian's hand: "Brother Jian has to go to school early tomorrow morning."

The lady nodded and was about to say something when Xu Lingyi said calmly, "Eleventh Lady, please stay. Zhen Jie'er, take Zhun Ge to rest."

Except for the lady dowager, everyone else looked stunned, including Eleventh Lady herself.

Upon hearing this, Zhen Jie'er's face brightened up and she immediately carried Zhun Ge over. However, because she was small and weak, Zhun Ge slipped to the ground. If the wet nurse hadn't caught him, he would have fallen.

Fortunately, Zhun Ge has always been close to Zhen Jie'er, and did not feel sorry for Shiyi Niang's absence. He happily took Zhen Jie'er's hand and left.

The third lady smiled awkwardly and left with Brother Jian.

Master Wu looked at Madam Wu and whispered, "You go back first!"

There was a flash of unhappiness in the Fifth Lady's eyes, but she still smiled and nodded, then left surrounded by maids and servants.

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