Eleventh Lady took out the picture of a hundred years of longevity embroidered by Master Jian from her purse and spread it on the table. She then looked at the half-finished work on the embroidery frame and sighed softly.

"Miss, should we continue embroidering?" Dong Qing asked hesitantly.

"Of course I have to continue embroidering." Shiyi Niang smiled, "Although my embroidery skills and speed are inferior to those of Master Jian, have you noticed that the 'Shou' character I embroidered now is much better than the one I embroidered at the beginning?"

Dong Qing held the lamp, looked carefully for a while, nodded and said: "It is different from before. I feel that your needle angle is smoother and finer than before..."

Eleventh Lady nodded and smiled: "So, this is also an opportunity to hone your embroidery skills!"

Dong Qing smiled and said, "Then Miss, go to bed early today. With the help of Master Jian to embroider this picture of a hundred years of longevity, you will have something to hand in when the time comes."

During this period of time, my eyes hurt from staring at a square inch every day and night. No wonder many embroiderers go blind after they are over 30 years old. This is really a job that only lasts for young people. Like Master Jian, teaching embroidery skills to wealthy families is a good way out, but the requirements for embroidery skills are also very high...

Eleventh Lady pondered and said with a smile: "Let's go to bed early today. After all, it's the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Others are going out to party, so let's take a break!"

Dongqing covered her mouth and smiled, arranged Zhuxiang to keep watch at night, and personally helped Shiyi Niang to rest, then returned to her own residence.

After Amber came, Dongqing and Binju gave her the room next to the window. Amber was humble enough to refuse, but Dongqing and Binju were used to living together and were still a little wary of Amber, so they insisted on declining and squeezed in with Qiuju and Zhuxiang.

When she entered the room, Binju and Qiuju were both awake. They were curled up in Binju's bed, looking at the patterns she had collected and discussing what kind of embroidery would be good for Chunchang's embroidered skirt next year.

Seeing Dong Qing coming in, Qiu Ju immediately jumped out of bed and greeted her: "Miss, please go to bed!"

Holly nodded.

Qiu Ju poured her some water to wash her face: "What did Master Jian give Miss?"

Dong Qing smiled and said, "I just wrote a letter to say hello to the young lady."

Qiu Ju's eyes were filled with envy: "Miss and Master Jian have such a good relationship!"

"Of course." Dong Qing said with a smile, "Otherwise, with so many people learning from her, why did she only pass on the unique skill of 'double-sided embroidery' to our young lady?"

Qiu Ju nodded and said, "Sister Dongqing, tell me, if I serve the young lady well and ask her to pass on this unique skill to me, will the young lady agree?"

"I can't say for sure about that!" Dong Qing said with a smile, "But, normally, whenever someone in the mansion comes to ask for needlework advice, Miss is always willing to help. If you are really interested, why not ask Miss one day!"

Qiuju nodded and was about to say something, but Binju beside her smiled and said, "It's getting late. Sister Dongqing still has to help the young lady embroider a screen early tomorrow morning. Let's talk less and take a break!" As she said that, she started to pluck up the scattered patterns on the bed.

Qiuju nodded in agreement, and the three of them stopped talking.

The next day at 9:00 p.m., when there was still no light in the sky, Mother Xin and Mother Tang had already gotten up and went to the small kitchen next to the wing room to boil some hot water. At 12:30 p.m., Shiyi Niang got up and Bin Ju helped her to wash. Qiu Ju had already cooked porridge. Shiyi Niang ate half a bowl of porridge with a dish of bamboo shoots and a dish of pickled cucumber, then sat in front of the embroidery frame and began to embroider.

As the sky outside the window gradually brightened, a maid came to report: "Miss Eleven, the eldest wife asked you to go to Zhiyun Pavilion now."

Eleventh Lady was stunned.

At this time, why did the eldest wife ask her to do so?

She was confused, but she didn't dare to slow down. She asked Dongqing to give the maid a handful of sweets, went into the house to change her clothes, and took Amber to the eldest lady's place.

When she walked under the eaves, she heard Wu Niang's cheerful laughter.

It seems that the eldest wife is in a good mood.

Eleventh Lady was relieved when the maid beside her lifted the curtain and said, "Miss Eleven is here!"

The people in the room stopped laughing, and Eleventh Lady entered the room.

The eldest wife, wearing a lilac-colored jacket with butterfly and grape patterns, was sitting in the main hall with a smile on her face. The fifth wife, wearing a moon-white jacket with bamboo patterns, was standing on the bed with a graceful figure like a willow in the wind. The smile on her face had not yet faded, and the corners of her mouth and eyebrows were filled with joy.

Seeing Eleventh Lady coming in, she hid her sleeves and smiled: "Just when I was talking about my sister, she came!"

Eleventh Lady smiled and walked forward to salute the eldest wife.

The eldest wife pointed to a brocade stool beside the bed and said, "Sit down!"

Eleventh Lady smiled and sat on the brocade stool.

Wu Niang smiled impatiently and said, "Eleventh sister, mother wants to take us to Yanjing to see our eldest sister."

Eleventh Lady looked at the First Wife in surprise.

The eldest wife was very satisfied with Eleventh Lady's surprise. She smiled and nodded, "Years ago, your eldest sister sent a nanny to pay her respects to me. She said that your grandfather and mother had passed away. If the eldest master was in Yanjing, your eldest brother would go to the Imperial Academy to study. Taking this opportunity, I also went to Yanjing for a family reunion." As she spoke, the eldest wife sighed, "Speaking of which, I haven't seen your eldest sister for more than ten years since she got married. I missed her a lot. After hearing what she said, I really wanted to go to Yanjing. But your eldest sister was afraid that I couldn't leave these people at home, so she wrote to me frequently to urge me to go to Yanjing. I thought that it happened to be the birthday of the Xu family's wife in April, so it would be nice for me to go and pay my respects to the wife. I thought it would be meaningless to go alone, so I wanted to take you two with me to see it."

What was supposed to happen finally came...

Eleventh Lady felt calm instead.

"Eleventh sister," Wu Niang said with a smile on her face, "We are so lucky."

Eleventh Lady showed hesitation on her face and murmured, "The screen hasn't been embroidered yet..."

The eldest wife smiled and said, "I originally planned to only bring gifts, but now that I have brought you here to celebrate the birthday, the birthday gifts I prepared before are a bit shabby. Let's put the screen aside for the time being!"

Eleventh Lady responded respectfully, "Yes."

"We will set off after the New Year." The first wife said with a smile, "You go downstairs and pack up! If there is anything you need to add or subtract, ask Madam Xu to help you buy it."

Eleventh Lady smiled and stood up: "Mother has given me a lot of gifts on weekdays, and in my opinion, there is nothing to buy. But I am a little cautious, so I want to ask Mother Xu to go to my room and see if there is anything inappropriate. After all, we are going to my eldest sister's house to celebrate her mother-in-law's birthday, so we still have to take care of the decent things!"

The eldest wife nodded repeatedly after hearing this: "My son, you are right. This is not just a matter for you, but also for your eldest sister's dignity." Then she called Madam Xu in and said, "Call the shopkeeper of Lao Jixiang to buy some head ornaments for the two young ladies."

Mother Xu nodded with a smile.

Eleventh Lady asked some more questions about things to pay attention to when going to Beijing. Seeing that Fifth Lady was getting a little impatient, she stood up and said goodbye and returned to Lujun Tower.

As soon as she stepped into the door, Wu Xiaoquan's family followed her.

She also held a small jar in her hand.

"Miss Eleven, I have something to ask Amber."

Eleventh Lady naturally would not stop her, and said with a smile: "If mother has any instructions, just tell her to do it."

"It's nothing else." Wu Xiaoquan pointed at the small jar in his hand, "Knowing that you are going to Yanjing, I want Amber to help bring this jar of fermented fish to the eldest lady's chambermaid Lu Yonggui."

Eleventh Lady looked embarrassed: "I don't know how the eldest wife will arrange it..."

Before she could finish her words, Wu Xiaoquan's wife said with a smile: "The eldest wife will take Madam Xu with her, Madam Yao will take care of the inner courtyard, and my wife will take care of the outer courtyard. Lianqiao is sick, so she will stay at home. Luoqiao and Shanhu will go. You and the fifth lady will each take two big maids, two small maids, and two rough servants..."

Eleventh Lady smiled bitterly in her heart.

There are three maids in her room, but Amber was given by the eldest lady, so she had to be brought along. No wonder Wu Xiaoquan and his family came to ask Amber to help carry things.

"In that case, let Amber help make the trip!" Wu Xiaoquan's family has already said this much. If they refuse again, they might have some ideas. "But I don't know how we can find Lu Yonggui then? You know, we are women after all, and we are visiting the Luo family..."

"Miss, don't worry, I won't do such a foolish thing." Wu Jiaxiao hurriedly smiled, "This Lu Yonggui helps my aunt manage the dowry property. He usually runs around outside and stays less at home. It will take you more than 20 days to get to Yanjing. When you arrive, it will be spring. I'm afraid he has already left. You can ask Dongqing to give it to Lu Yonggui's younger brother Lu Yongfu. Lu Yonggui's father was the head of the account office. Thanks to his help in taking care of our wife, our two families are very close. The last time Lu Yonggui went back to Yuhang, he said that he owed him this pickled fish. I originally promised to give him some pickled fish, but Yanjing is far away, and I have no one to take it with me. Because you are going with me, I came up with this idea."

Why is it so tortuous...

Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "Then how do we find Lu Yongfu?"

Wu Xiaoquan's family laughed and said, "He is now working as a small steward in the stables of the Yongping Marquis's mansion. That is the outer courtyard. You can ask a servant and you will know the answer."

Eleventh Lady agreed with a smile and asked Dongqing to put the things away.

Bin Ju joked with Wu Xiaoquan's family: "If we can't find the person, we won't return the things."

Wu Xiaoquan's family laughed and said, "Girls, just eat. I have plenty here."

Everyone burst into laughter.

*

By the afternoon, the news that Wu Niang and Shiyi Niang were going to accompany the First Lady to Yanjing spread.

The atmosphere in Eleventh Lady's room was a bit depressing.

Take two big maids, two small maids, and two old women who do rough work... The small maids and the old women who do rough work are easy to deal with, but who should I take with me as for the big maid?

Eleventh Lady decided to go to the first wife.

After all, these words only came from Wu Xiaoquan's family... Even if the eldest wife really has this plan, there is still a chance to fight for a place for her in the house before she announces it.

Having made up her mind, Eleventh Lady stood up. The curtain in front of the door was suddenly lifted without warning, and Tenth Lady's face, which showed both anger and joy, appeared in front of Eleventh Lady.

"Okay, okay, okay." She walked in slowly with an angry look on her face. "You are really good! Going to Yanjing..."

(The water receded, and the whole place was devastated...)