Chapter 173 Arrival (Part 2)

Eleventh Lady carefully hung the jade pendant on the rhino horn belt, then stood up and looked at Xu Lingyi, who was wearing a bright red silk official uniform, for a moment, and smiled: "Okay!"

Xu Lingyi nodded: "Then I will go to court!"

"My Lord, be careful on your journey." Eleventh Lady helped Xu Lingyi put on his cloak and walked him to the door.

Xu Lingyi hummed, and was escorted out by Zhaoying.

Looking at the big red lanterns getting farther and farther away, Shiyi Niang stood there for a while before returning to the house.

The maids were tiptoeing to clear the table, and Amber helped her into the inner room.

"Madam, would you like to sleep a little longer?"

"No!" She has been busy making folding screens these days. "I'll just embroider a few flowers! I can just take a nap at noon."

Amber responded by moving her flower stand onto the kang, then sat down to help her connect the lines and chat with her.

"Liu Yuanrui's family came to see me two days ago. I saw that you were busy, so I didn't say anything."

"But for Daxian's marriage?" Shiyi Niang asked her calmly without stopping her hands, "Is the Wanyi clan unwilling to give in?"

"No." Amber smiled, "The Wan Yi clan thought you were going to punish a disobedient maid, so they didn't dare to agree. Later, they heard that it was someone close to you who was going to be released because she was old enough, so they were overjoyed and immediately agreed. They begged Liu Yuanrui's family to propose marriage. Seeing her like that, I deliberately delayed it to make them anxious."

Eleventh Lady couldn't help but laugh: "You!"

Amber covered her mouth and smiled: "Liu Yuanrui's wife has been coming to you to report the news. When do you think you will have time to see her?"

Eleventh Lady pondered and said, "Let's do it tomorrow! Dongqing is already twenty years old this year. If we can settle it before the New Year, we can get it done in the spring of next year. Then she won't have to stay in the house like this and can't even go out."

Amber immediately responded with a smile.

Just then Holly came in, and Amber couldn't help but look at her and smile.

Holly Fox: "What's going on?"

There was still one stroke left to go, and fearing that Dongqing would be shy, Shiyi Niang hurriedly said, "It's okay, it's okay." Then she asked her, "Have you finished embroidering the handkerchief I asked you to embroider?" Most embroidery is of complicated flowers and birds, and most beginners are afraid of the difficulty. She drew a few very simple flower and grass patterns to tempt Huijie'er, and because she didn't have time, she asked Dongqing to help embroider.

Dongqing hurriedly took the handkerchief from the wicker basket and showed it to Shiyi Niang.

Nice embroidery!

Eleventh Lady smiled and put away the handkerchief.

Nanyong's wife is here.

"Please give me a high bun!" She usually wore her hair in a bun. "There were a lot of things going on at home the past two days, so my second sister-in-law couldn't leave. She will go back to Xishan after breakfast today. I will go and see her off later."

Nan Yong's wife smiled and said "yes", and helped Shiyi Niang to sit down at the mirror table and comb her hair. Shiyi Niang changed into a pink blouse and a blue-green skirt, and went to the lady's place.

The Second Lady had already packed her boxes and was saying goodbye to the Dowager Lady.

Eleventh Lady greeted the Dowager Lady and bowed to the Second Lady. The Third Lady and the Fifth Lady came in one after the other. Everyone was telling the Second Lady to be careful on the road and to send someone home to report anything... It was not until the 9th hour that the Second Lady was sent out.

The Second Lady had been accompanying the Madam these days, and once she left, she would inevitably feel a little sad. Fortunately, Xu Siqin, Xu Siyu, and Xu Sijian no longer had to go to school, and they played in the Madam's room every day. Eleventh Lady also brought Zhen Jie'er to the Madam's room to do needlework, and the room was very lively. The Madam's mood soon improved. Seeing that the sky was clearing up, she specially asked Mother Du to invite the Fifth Master and the Fifth Lady to come over to play mahjong.

The fifth master made a series of jokes, which made everyone laugh.

A servant came running in to look for him: "...He said he was an old acquaintance of mine. He played the huqin for me when I was singing "Rolling Tower" with Liu Huifang at Cuiqinglou."

When the Fifth Master heard this, his face changed greatly and he asked, "What is he doing here?" He stood up in a hurry and said, "I'll go take a look!"

The Fifth Lady looked thoughtful.

The lady's face darkened: "Stop right there!"

After hearing this, the Fifth Master paused and his face turned pale.

"It's almost the New Year." The lady's face was stern, "What good can these people do by coming to see you?" Then she told Madam Du, "Go get twenty taels of silver." Then she said to the servant, "Go tell that man that the Fifth Master has a guest and cannot go out to greet him. This twenty taels of silver is the Fifth Master's invitation to him for a drink."

The boy took the silver and left.

The fifth master was a little restless: "Mom, should I go and take a look?"

"Why?" The lady looked at the Fifth Master sharply, "Do you think I gave you too little?"

"No, no." Fifth Master said hurriedly, "I'm just afraid that he will make a scene..."

"This is outrageous!" The lady said angrily, "Why is he making such a fuss? Are you hiding something from me?"

"No, no." A trace of fear flashed across Fifth Master's eyes.

"Mother," Mrs. Wu suddenly laughed, "Master Wu has always been kind to others. He gave me money to send me off like this. I think he is afraid that people will think he is arrogant. I am a little uneasy!"

After hearing this, Master Wu nodded quickly: "That's right, that's right. I have always treated them like my own brothers..."

When the lady heard this, she slapped the table on the kang and asked, "Treat them like brothers?"

The children playing in the room realized that something was wrong and stood aside in silence.

"Master Wu is just not good at talking." Madam Wu smiled and pulled Madam Tai's sleeve, "Don't bother with him." She called Master Wu again, "Why don't you apologize to your mother now!"

The Fifth Master reacted with a start and stepped forward to apologize to the Madam.

Looking at her son's depressed face, the lady's good mood disappeared.

She put down a leaf sign: "It's getting late, you should go back to the back garden as soon as possible! Otherwise, the road will be slippery at night." After hearing this, the Fifth Lady got off the bed, put on her shoes, chatted with the Lady Dowager for a few words, and went back to the back garden with the Fifth Master.

On the way, the Fifth Lady asked the Fifth Master: "If there is anything you cannot tell Mother, you can tell me as well. We are husband and wife, and we can always find a solution!"

The Fifth Master didn't say anything for a long time, but his brows were tightly furrowed.

Back in the house, Fifth Master was lying on the big kang by the window, looking very bored.

Madam Wu personally brought over some hot tea: "Sir, come and have a cup of tea."

"I don't want to drink!" Fifth Master said sullenly.

The Fifth Lady did not force herself to do so and stayed by her side doing needlework.

The fifth master has been tossing and turning in restlessness.

When it was time to eat, he ate a few mouthfuls of food hastily and then stood up to look for Xu Lingyi: "...I can't stay at home like this every day, can I?"

The Fifth Lady smiled and saw him out the door: "Do you want me to come find you later? Otherwise, the Marquis will start scolding people endlessly!"

The Fifth Master lowered his head and took the Fifth Madam's hand: "Danyang..." He looked very grateful.

Madam Wu covered her sleeves and smiled: "Master Wu and I are husband and wife. If I don't help Master Wu, who else can help him?"

The Fifth Master nodded and urged her, "Go back quickly! It's cold outside!"

"Be careful on your way!" Madam Wu nodded and stood at the door watching Master Wu go away.

The Fifth Lady smiled and waved at him until she could no longer see her husband, then she returned to the yard.

Mother Shi immediately stepped forward and helped Madam Wu onto the kang.

"What? It's clear now!"

"We've found out!" Mother Shi said in a low voice, "That person is Liu Huifang, who comes from a family of opera performers. Her two uncles and one cousin are also famous actors in Beijing. But she has a bad character and likes to drink. Three years ago, she lost her voice due to drinking. From then on, she can no longer perform on stage."

Madam Wu frowned as she listened: "What is Master Wu afraid of?"

"From what he said, it seems that Fifth Master is generous and respectful..." Mother Shi said slowly, "I guess he can't ask anyone else for help, so he has to ask Fifth Master for help."

"It's that simple..." Madam Wu didn't believe it, but she didn't want to think about it in a dirty way.

Mother Shi understood what was going on, so she simply said, "Grandpa is not that kind of person. Otherwise, why would the Changsheng Class send Xiao Haitang to the Third Young Master of the Zhongshan Marquis's Mansion... Besides, when I look at Liu Huifang's current appearance, he has a full beard, is fat and plump, and there is no trace of his former charm..."

"What do you know!" Madam Wu said worriedly, "If Liu Huifang becomes like this and still makes Master miss her, it will be more worrying than accepting Xiao Haitang as her!"

As long as she didn't take it to heart, Mrs. Wu didn't care at all about her husband's flirting.

"Well, I'll go ask around..."

The Fifth Lady nodded.

Over there, Xu Lingyi was talking to Shiyi Niang: "...I said I have foot paralysis. This year's weather is colder than previous years. It is really painful. I want to resign from the post of commander-in-chief of the Five Military Commandery."

"What did the emperor say?" Eleventh Lady asked nervously.

"The Emperor disagrees." Xu Lingyi smiled bitterly, "He also asked me if it was because of the Fifth Prince's matter?"

"So what do you say?"

"I told him about family matters," Xu Lingyi said, "especially Brother Zhe. He has had disabilities since he was young. He fought in wars in his early years, and later he was busy with government affairs. He was spoiled by my mother and Yuanniang. Now he only knows how to play tumbling and throwing sandbags with his sister every day. Although we don't expect him to be a genius in both literature and martial arts, he can't be raised to be a dandy. While he is still young, I want to spend more energy to teach him well, so as not to embarrass the Xu family!" His tone was helpless, and it was obvious that he was not talking about Brother Zhe just to resign. "The emperor's eyes turned red when he heard this, and he said, "I originally wanted to let my brother enter the palace to accompany the fifth prince when he was older..." At this point, he paused, "He asked about my foot paralysis. I said that I had seen several doctors in the hospital and also tried some folk remedies, but it was getting worse. Then I talked to the emperor about the northwest. I said that although the northwest is peaceful now, it is inevitable that there will be chaos again in five or ten years. , let the emperor take this opportunity to transfer those trusted guards and generals over to give them some experience. First, they have been with the emperor for many years and are loyal and capable; second, the emperor has appreciated the future of these old people, and the newcomers will naturally know what to do after seeing them; third, it can avoid the lack of successors in the northwest. He also took the opportunity to tell the emperor that he wanted his third brother to enter the government. He said that this way, it can be regarded as a decent division of the family..." His tone was very sad.

Xu Lingyi completely and utterly let go of the power in his hands!

Eleventh Lady was stunned, and then remained silent. After a while, she asked, "Did the Emperor agree?"