Chapter 174 Arrival (Part 2)

"The emperor was silent for a long time. I repeatedly declined, but he finally agreed." Xu Lingyi said calmly, "He also said that since my third brother wanted to be sent out, his rank couldn't be too low. He asked if it would be okay to send him to Jiangsu and Zhejiang to be a prefect. I said that being a small official is a small one, but the main thing is that we can divide the family without hurting each other. If I go to Jiangsu and Zhejiang to be a prefect, I'm afraid I'll be impeached by the historians. It's better to be sent to an inconspicuous county to be a small county magistrate. The emperor listened and said nothing. I didn't seem to object. This thing will probably work out."

But in this way, the emperor also tactfully agreed to Xu Lingyi's resignation.

While he was thinking, a little maid came in and said, "The Fifth Master wants to see you!"

"What is he doing here at this time?" Xu Lingyi was stunned, frowned and asked Shiyi Niang, "Has he been staying at home during this period? Has he gone out?"

Poor Fifth Master, Xu Lingyi had become conditioned to think that he had gotten into trouble. But when she thought of Fifth Master's abnormal behavior when that violin player wanted to see him today, Eleventh Lady couldn't help but think in that direction.

She quickly told Xu Lingyi about this matter: "...I wonder if it's because of this?"

Xu Lingyi's face turned pale as he listened and he hurried to the east room.

Eleventh Lady didn't know whether Xu Lingyi would rest here. After thinking about it, she decided to make the bed as before. Just as she finished, Xu Lingyi walked in angrily.

"Are you done talking so quickly?" She asked Xu Lingyi with a smile, pretending she hadn't seen anything, "Do you want me to help you wash up?"

Xu Lingyi didn't say anything, but walked around the room.

"This brainless guy, I don't know when he will grow up!"

Eleventh Lady knew that he was talking about the Fifth Master, and smiled, "The Marquis is the same. Just now he was talking about Brother Zhe, saying that you were fighting outside first, and then you were busy with court affairs, so you neglected something, which cultivated his cowardly character now. The Fifth Master is the same. He lost his father at an early age, and his brothers were busy with their own things, so there was no one to teach him. The Marquis will resign soon, and he will spend more time at home in the future. Why don't you take this opportunity to have a good talk with the Fifth Master. If you see him like this, he will have a stern face, and he will naturally not dare to tell you if he has something. When things get out of control, you still have to help clean up the mess. It is better for you to be in harmony with each other. If he has any problems, he can discuss them with you in time, and you can also point out whether he is right or wrong in time. He knows what he can do and what he can't do, and he will get better slowly!"

"How old is he?" Xu Lingyi was furious. "He still needs me to tell him what to do. When I was his age, I had already suppressed the rebellion in Miaojiang! I have more than a dozen experienced generals under my command. I know nothing, but I dare not leak a single word in front of them. I followed those petty officials in the middle of the night to learn how to allocate military pay and rations, and got up the next morning to deal with the day's trivial matters..."

"What would happen if everyone was like the Marquis?" Eleventh Lady smiled sweetly when she heard this.

Xu Lingyi was disappointed and sat down on the edge of the bed unhappily.

Eleventh Lady asked the maid to bring in some hot water.

"My Lord, your feet are burned. If you have anything to say, please talk to me nicely. Even if I curse you a thousand times, I will help you solve the problem."

Xu Lingyi leaned on the big pillow: "I know that too. I just think he is too useless... otherwise, why would the family be in such a state..."

"So I said we can't let Third Master and Third Sister-in-law go out angry." Eleven Niang took the copper basin from the little maid's hand, placed it at Xu Lingyi's feet, and helped him take off his boots, "There are two more children. From now on we Brother Zhen still needs help!"

Xu Lingyi said nothing and let Shiyi Niang help him to iron his feet.

The lady over there was also asking Mother Du: "Have you found out?"

"We found out." Aunt Du said, "Fifth Master learned to sing opera from Liu Huifang. Although he didn't become her apprentice, Fifth Master promised to give Liu Huifang two hundred taels of silver every year as a pension. Later, Fifth Master got married, and although he no longer had any contact with Liu, he still sent two hundred taels of silver to her every year. Liu used the two hundred taels of silver to drink and visit prostitutes, but never asked Fifth Master for help. This year, the snow was heavy, and the price of rice in Yanjing increased several times. He said that he couldn't make ends meet, so he came to Fifth Master to reward him with some silver, and shamelessly said that he would deduct it from next year's silver."

The lady was so angry that she trembled: "How could I have given birth to such a rebellious son!"

Mother Du hurriedly advised, "Doesn't Fifth Master know that he is wrong? Otherwise, we wouldn't have gradually stopped communicating over the years." She added, "I heard that Fifth Master just went to see Marquis, and I think it was about this matter. With Marquis coming forward, you don't have to worry."

The lady sighed helplessly.

…

When the Fifth Master returned to the room, the Fifth Lady had already gone to bed. After washing up in the Fifth Lady's room, he ran to the inner room in his slippers and crawled into the Fifth Lady's quilt.

The Fifth Lady was awakened and startled: "Master, what's wrong? I'm pregnant and can't serve you..."

The Fifth Master said nothing and reached out to touch his wife's bulging belly.

"What's wrong?" Madam Wu said softly, "How about letting Xiaomei come to my room to serve me..."

"I don't think about that every day." Fifth Master muttered, "No need!"

The Fifth Lady smiled and said, "Aren't I afraid that you might feel uncomfortable?"

The fifth master said nothing.

Mrs. Wu knew his temper, so she asked the maid on night duty to blow out the lights, then she lay down quietly and snuggled into her husband’s arms. Just as she was about to fall asleep, she suddenly heard her husband say in a low voice, “Danyang, you are the only one who treats me the best… Others either want my money or want to borrow my fourth brother’s power…Danyang, you are the only one who treats me the best…”

In the darkness, Madam Wu breathed a sigh of relief.

Finally this playboy still has some conscience and knows who is good to him!

Toffee is still right.

Men are all children, it all depends on how women train them...

She fell asleep with a smile on her face.

…

Although Liu Huifang's episode caused some trouble to each family, it did not affect the normal life of the Xu family.

Xu Lingyi went to the palace to see the empress once, and on the 18th of the lunar month, he submitted a letter to the emperor to resign. The emperor did not agree, but allowed him to recuperate at home for a period of time. The doctors from the Imperial Hospital went to the Yongping Marquis's Mansion in groups of three or five, and wrote a lot of prescriptions, but no one dared to say that they could cure Xu Lingyi's illness. Eleventh Lady served on the side, and had to avoid the doctors who came in. She had to send someone to get the medicine after taking the doctor's prescription. From time to time, old friends from the Five Military Commandery, the Ministry of War, and the aristocratic families came to visit the patient, and she was very busy. Fortunately, the Longevity Festival was coming soon, and everyone had to go to the palace to celebrate the birthday, and the Xu family finally settled down.

Because it was not a full-length birthday celebration, court was suspended only on the day of the Emperor's longevity festival. Officials of the fourth rank and above in the capital and ladies of the imperial court came to the palace to offer congratulations.

The Queen's spirits were obviously much better, and she was talking to the Princess and others. When she saw Eleventh Lady, she asked the court lady to invite her over.

"It's cold, you should wear more clothes."

Eleventh Lady was startled, and looking at the ladies around her who were dressed exactly like her, she immediately understood that the Queen was showing her concern for her.

She knelt respectfully, just as she had done before when meeting the Empress: "Thank you for your inquiry, Your Majesty."

The Queen looked at her for a while, nodded, and started talking to the eldest princess beside her.

Eleventh Lady stood aside and listened to everyone's talk respectfully. After the birthday banquet began, she followed the rules and sat down with everyone. When watching the acrobatics, she served beside the lady, and her every move was not presumptuous.

The Empress looked at him and nodded slightly, then said to Aunt Huang in private, "Originally, I thought she was of low birth and young, and had wronged the Marquis. Now it seems that we were narrow-minded."

Aunt Huang smiled and said, "Your Majesty was not mistaken. You just didn't expect that the Marquis would be so lucky to marry a woman who is so beautiful and eloquent."

As the two were talking, a eunuch shouted, "The Emperor has arrived!"

The Empress straightened her clothes and went to meet him.

Before she could bow, the Emperor had already picked her up, sent his servants away, and went to the east room to talk with the Empress.

"Do you know about Xiao Si's matter?"

The Queen nodded and said calmly, "He came to the palace and told me about it two days ago. I think it's a good idea too. I'm planning to talk to the Emperor about it after the Longevity Festival."

The emperor was slightly startled.

The Queen sighed, "You also know his character. No matter what happens, he will swallow his anger. He and Yuanniang had such a quarrel in the early years, and they have few children. The second brother died early, and although the second sister-in-law has the talent of Wen Ji, she is a widow and can't help with family affairs. The third brother is an honest man, but the third sister-in-law has a strong personality. In recent years, she has been making trouble for the division of the family, making the family restless. You know that my fifth brother," his tone paused, "has a troupe outside. Bao Xizi... This family is all supported by Xiao Si. He is stubborn in front of you. I heard from Xiao Si's wife that he would use hot water to scald his knees every night. Sometimes he just complained that it was not hot enough and his skin was burned." As he spoke, he shed tears, "After all, he is also a descendant of the Imperial Academy, a senior official of the second rank. Not to mention people like him, even those who are not as good as him, all of them are not rich, well-dressed, well-fed, and have beautiful women. But he has never enjoyed a day... At least let him rest for a few days."

When the Emperor saw the Empress crying, he comforted her: "I know, I know. He has worked hard over the years."

"He and the emperor are not only monarch and subject, but also uncle and brother." The Empress took out a handkerchief and wiped her tears. "He helps you, and you help him. This is the way it should be, but I think what Xiao Si said to me that day also makes sense. It was forced by the situation before, and we had to do it. Now you are the father of all people, and you rule the world. All the land under heaven belongs to the king, and all the soldiers under the command of the king are his subjects. The Miao strong is temporarily settled, and there is no trouble in the northwest. The emperor wants to be a famous monarch who is famous for his civil and military achievements. The next step is the work of the civil officials. He has little education, and he can't do anything except fighting. He can't help the emperor with anything. He can be a minister who abides by his duties and set an example for those ministers who think they have made contributions."

The Queen's words really touched his heart.

If he wanted to be a famous emperor, he had to have good relations with civil officials. Unfortunately, those who supported him to the throne were all military generals, and he was most afraid that they would use their past achievements to hinder his reform...

The emperor was very excited when he heard this: "We can't let him resign like this..."

"Your Majesty is confused." The Empress scolded, "As long as you are here, he will be here. Holding your golden rice bowl, you are worried that he will have nothing to eat. Otherwise, with his ability, how could he become the Prince's Grand Tutor at the age of 27? Xiao Si still has some self-knowledge! You should let him resign now while he is successful and famous, otherwise he will accidentally reveal his true colors one day, and the reputation he has worked so hard to build will be ruined. If he loses face, it will also slap you in the face."

The emperor wiped away his previous worries and couldn't help laughing.