Chapter 181: New Year (Part 1)

She had only asked the Ministry of Internal Affairs to make a Rubik's Cube, so how did it have anything to do with chess boards and stools?

When Eleventh Lady handed the blueprint to Chief Butler Bai, she also instructed him to let the master who could make clocks in the Ministry of Internal Affairs take a look at it... Could it be that something went wrong?

She returned to the house full of confusion, and saw Xu Lingyi, with his hands behind his back, looking at an object in the middle of the room - it was square, waist-high, red on the top, green on the left, yellow on the right, and blue in front. Each side was inlaid with nine pieces of broken flower-shaped enamel glass in shiny brass, and it was dazzling and gorgeous under the light.

Eleventh Lady broke out in a sweat.

This is not a Rubik's Cube that you can play with in your hand, it is simply an abstract sculpture.

She froze in her tracks and stood still at the door. Xu Lingyi, who heard the noise, saw his wife coming back and waved at her: "What did you ask the Ministry of Internal Affairs to make? It said that each small grid can be twisted at will." As he spoke, he pressed a corner of the Rubik's Cube, "I searched for a long time but couldn't find the mechanism."

The Rubik's Cube needs to be held in your hand and twisted. If you put it on the ground, you will definitely not be able to twist it.

Eleventh Lady was speechless for a moment and had no idea how to answer.

"Or maybe he made a new treasure chest..." Xu Lingyi muttered. He looked up and saw Shiyi Niang standing there motionless. He couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. "What's going on? Is there an accident in Gongxian Hutong?"

Shiyi Niang breathed a sigh of relief.

She was really afraid that Xu Lingyi would continue to ask questions, so she nodded quickly. She sent the servants away and told Xu Lingyi what Mr. Luo was planning: "...I don't know how to tell my father. I can only let him ask you."

Xu Lingyi's attention was diverted after hearing this. He went into the inner room and sat on the big kang by the window: "I will have a good talk with Zhenxing when he comes."

Eleventh Lady nodded, thinking of the misunderstanding with Xu Lingyi yesterday, she personally brewed a cup of hot tea and said with a smile: "Thanks to the Marquis for preparing those silver ingots for me, otherwise, I would have made a fool of myself today."

In fact, the silver ingots and banknotes were not used at all - she had wanted to give some banknotes to Fifth Aunt in private, but Fifth Aunt was always serving the First Madam, so she had no chance. As for the silver ingots, Fourth Aunt and Fifth Aunt did not express any other opinions, and she did not want to embarrass them by acting independently.

Xu Lingyi said "Oh", took the teacup and took a sip with a faint expression, looking like he didn't want to talk more.

Eleventh Lady was not sure whether he still had a grudge against this matter, but she thought that everyone liked to hear flattery, and since she was wrong in the morning, it was okay to lower her attitude. She asked Xu Lingyi with concern: "Did the Marquis read all day today? Why didn't you come to sit with mother?"

"I had lunch at my mother's place at noon." Xu Lingyi took another sip of tea, "Then I went to Aunt Qin's place with Brother Yu. I happened to meet Aunt Wen and Aunt Qiao visiting Aunt Qin's place. I heard Aunt Qiao play the song "Lonely Thoughts"."

Playing "Silence" to Xu Lingyi?

Eleventh Lady tried hard not to burst out laughing.

However, it seemed that he was able to entertain himself. Seeing that Xu Lingyi's expression was cold, no different from usual, he thought he was worrying too much and felt relieved.

"I've heard of Aunt Qiao's excellent zither skills." She smiled brightly, "Your Majesty, you'll enjoy listening to her." She quickly asked someone to bring some snacks such as jelly beans, winter melon candies, and honey cherries, then stood up and said, "I'm exhausted. I'll change my clothes and come talk to you, Your Majesty."

Seeing her smiling so nonchalantly, Xu Lingyi's eyes darkened slightly.

Eleventh Lady smiled and called Luyun and Hongxiu, who stayed at home, to come in and help her change clothes and wash up. After entering the clean room, she secretly told Shuangyu: "Tell Hubo to put the things sent by the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the storeroom."

Shuangyu left in response, and came back after a while: "Madam, five or six maids can't move it. Do you think we should call the servants in?"

Shiyi Niang just hoped that this thing would disappear quickly. "Tell Chief Butler Bai to put the thing in my warehouse."

"Hmm!" Shuangyu turned and went out, but Shiyi Niang called her again, "Ask Manager Bai how much this thing cost?"

"Yes!" Shuangyu went to ask people to move the things, and when Shiyi Niang had finished packing, she came back and said, "Madam, the things have been put in the storehouse. Chief Steward Bai said that the things were sent by Prince Shun, and he only paid three hundred taels of silver. He also said that the things were made of the finest brass, and the enamel was also from the official kiln. Just one piece would probably cost twenty or thirty taels of silver, and three hundred taels of silver is not expensive."

Twenty to thirty taels of silver per piece, the Rubik's Cube has six sides, and each side has nine squares... Manager Bai was telling her that although the Ministry of Internal Affairs accepted three hundred taels of silver from the Xu family, it was entirely because Prince Shun was in charge of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Xu family just gave it as a token of their appreciation.

Eleventh Lady couldn't help but hold her forehead.

I originally thought it was a trivial matter, but who knew it would involve Prince Shun.

Perhaps Chief Bai had already explained this to him, but as the instigator, he should still say something to Xu Lingyi. No matter what, Prince Shun showed favor in this matter, entirely for Xu Lingyi's sake. I don't know if there are other interests involved. If anything happens, it will be Xu Lingyi who will come forward to solve the problem. At least let him know that he knows what is good and what is bad.

She left the room and sat down opposite Xu Lingyi with her head down. "My Lord, I originally wanted to make a beautiful treasure chest, so I drew a picture. Who knew that no one outside could make it, so I asked the Ministry of Internal Affairs for help. Unexpectedly, it actually alarmed Prince Shun. And he only accepted three hundred taels of silver..." As she spoke, she looked up at him and said worriedly, "My Lord, what do you think of this matter? How should I deal with it?"

Seeing Shiyi Niang's slightly frowned brows, Xu Lingyi's heart moved slightly, and his brows were tightly locked into the shape of the Chinese character "川".

"If you want to accuse someone of a crime, you can always find a pretext. If the emperor wants to punish me, or if the imperial censor wants to impeach me, they can always find a reason, not just one or two. Don't worry about it, I will take care of it." Then he changed the subject and asked about her return to her parents' home: "...Is my mother-in-law in good health?"

Although he said that everything was fine, his expression was so serious.

Eleventh Lady couldn't help but sigh inwardly as she watched.

This matter still makes him embarrassed...

But seeing that Xu Lingyi didn't want to talk more, she had to put the matter aside for the time being and told him about Huigongxian Hutong: "Mother's illness has been recurring, and she can only be taken care of slowly. In the past, it was the eldest sister-in-law who took care of her by her bedside, but now the fourth sister-in-law and the third and fifth concubines are here, so the eldest sister-in-law can take a break and doesn't have to work as hard as before." She also talked about Zhou, "...she looks very capable and virtuous." Talking about Twelve Niang, "...she has grown a lot taller, and her facial features resemble the fifth sister, not me."

After washing up, Shiyi Niang casually put on a moon-white satin jacket and a bright red flowered skirt. Her dark and shiny hair was tied up in a bun, and her face was bare, with a slightly red cheek. The dim light fell on her body, outlining a light golden outline, and her facial features were more gentle than usual.

Xu Lingyi couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth: "After some time, when my legs are better, I will go to see her." His tone was calm, even with a hint of peace.

But Eleventh Lady knew that he had never been fond of the First Wife, and she also saw that the First Wife was very dissatisfied with him. Now it involved his resignation... She simply said, "The Marquis's legs are not good, this is known to everyone. Whether it is father or mother, I think they will not blame the Marquis. It is better for the Marquis to rest and recuperate."

No one knows better than Eleventh Lady whether there is any problem with her legs or feet.

Xu Lingyi listened, smiled faintly, and asked abruptly: "Didn't you talk to Auntie?"

Eleventh Lady remembered what Fifth Aunt had said to her when she was leaving, just like telling a child she didn't know much about the world. She couldn't help but smile and said, "I saw it. She also told me to serve my mother and the Marquis well."

As Xu Lingyi listened, his eyes suddenly darkened and his expression suddenly became a little cold. He suddenly stood up, slipped on his shoes, and called Chunmo and Xia Yi to come in to help him change clothes and wash up: "...It's snowing outside, I'll rest here!" After saying that, he turned around and went into the bathroom.

During this period, the two kept a certain distance, and Eleventh Lady gradually got used to him staying overnight.

After hearing what he said, she called Luyun over and said, "Go and tell Aunt Qiao that the Marquis has something to do today and will not be there."

Luyun responded with a smile and left.

Eleventh Lady went to make the bed.

After a while, Xu Lingyi came out of the clean room, went straight to the bed, took out a copy of "Zuo Zhuan" from the bedside, leaned on a small stool with a sheep-horn palace lamp and started reading.

Eleventh Lady looked at him and suggested, "My Lord, why don't we sleep on the other side?"

Since they got married, Xu Lingyi always slept inside and she slept outside. If Xu Lingyi wanted to read, the light would shine on her face, so she had to turn sideways to face Xu Lingyi. One time, she woke up to find herself with her face buried in Xu Lingyi's arms, looking very ambiguous.

Xu Lingyi listened and looked at her: "It's too troublesome. Let's talk about it tomorrow." Then he lowered his head to read again.

Eleventh Lady was furious.

I really want to ask if all feudal aristocratic couples are like them, with the man sleeping inside and the woman sleeping outside...but there's no one to ask.

A man stood in front of the bed for a moment, thinking that it was very cold and he should take care of himself, then he took off his clothes and got into bed.

Who knew that before I even lifted the quilt, a pair of arms hugged me tightly and my body fell into a warm place.

"Why do you take so long to fall asleep?" He said with a complaining tone.

Who else besides Xu Lingyi?

Since that day, the two of them slept in the same quilt, and the other quilt was left aside.

In the middle of winter, having someone to keep her warm is something that Shiyi Niang doesn't mind.

Shiyi Niang lay in his arms very gently.

While Xu Lingyi was tucking her quilt tightly, he told her, "Go to the storehouse early tomorrow morning and pick out a few things that can be taken out. I will go to Prince Shun tomorrow afternoon."

Eleventh Lady was stunned.

Why did you suddenly suggest going to Prince Shun's Palace at this time?

And it happened when he was "seriously ill"... This made her think of that very "cheap" Rubik's Cube!

"My Lord..." She didn't know what to say. She couldn't hide her worry in her voice.

"Don't let your imagination run wild," Xu Lingyi interrupted her, leaned over to blow out the light, and said, "Go to sleep!"

His hand naturally reached into her clothes...