Eleventh Lady shook her head slightly and immediately denied her own inference.

Three years ago, Xu Lingyi was in Miaojiang...the time was wrong!

Moreover, since the child was raised outside, there must be someone to take care of him. As long as he provided financial support in time, who would dare to beat the child? Besides, he was not a stingy person when it came to money.

Or maybe something happened to the biological mother?

As the thought came to her mind, Eleventh Lady shook her head again.

That was even more impossible - if something happened to the child's mother, it was impossible for the servants around her not to tell Xu Lingyi. Looking at the child's small clothes, it was obvious that no one had taken good care of him for a long time.

Moreover, at that time Yuanniang tried every means to find something to hold against Xu Lingyi so that he would surrender...Xu Lingyi's actions could not have left any traces, and Yuanniang was not someone who could be fooled so easily.

The more she thought about it, the more she felt that it was unlikely that the child was Xu Lingyi's.

"What was Zhaoying's reaction when he looked at the child?" Eleventh Lady pondered.

"He was shocked." Amber said, "He didn't come back to his senses for a long time. Master Feng Qing has a bad temper, so he had to rely on Zhaoying for help. During that time, he stared at Master Feng Qing's eyes several times."

In other words, they didn’t know this child existed!

"Are there any other marks on the child?"

Amber was confused for a moment.

Eleventh Lady reminded her: "She wore a jade pendant or a small bracelet or something like that."

Amber understood: "No, there is nothing." After thinking for a while, she recalled, "The clothes are ordinary red silk that costs two taels and three cents a piece, and the inner part is cotton cloth that costs one tael and eight cents a piece... all the patterns and colors available in the market. The shoes are very fine, either the shoemaker is very skilled, or they were bought in a shoe store."

In other words, everything this child has can be bought with money.

Eleventh Lady was lost in thought, and was about to ask again when a little maid came through the curtain and said, "Madam, the Marquis is back!"

She quickly winked at Amber, got off the bed and put on her shoes, while whispering to Amber: "Watch what you say."

Amber looked at Eleventh Lady deeply and nodded, "Madam, don't worry, I won't worry about it. I will definitely not make the Marquis angry."

She was always steady and composed in her work, so Shiyi Niang felt relieved. Just as she put on her shoes and stood up, Xu Lingyi walked in quickly.

He looked stern, but there was a hint of fatigue between his brows.

"The Marquis is back!" Eleventh Lady stepped forward and bowed, then personally helped him take off his cloak and invited him to sit on the kang by the window.

Amber took the cloak and handed it to the maid, then went to make some hot tea and came back, and heard Eleventh Lady talking to Xu Lingyi in a low voice: "...The person is in Banyuepan, Dongqing and Binju are taking care of him over there. Amber just came over to answer. Will the Marquis go over to take a look? Or should he ask Amber?"

"Banyuepan?" Xu Lingyi was shocked. "Why did you put the child there?"

Amber's heart tightened.

Eleventh Lady looked very embarrassed: "Such a big living person is not an object. I want to hide it from everyone. I have thought about all the places in the mansion that can be lived in and those that cannot be lived in. Except Banyuepan, there is really no better place. Speaking of which, this is still thanks to the reputation of the Marquis - at least no one dares to break into that place casually." There was a hint of coquettishness in her voice.

Amber couldn't help but raise her eyelids and glance at Shiyi Niang.

She rarely heard the lady speak to the Marquis in such a tone.

Although Eleventh Lady's expression was a little heavy, her eyes were sparkling and she seemed to be gloating.

Her heart skipped a beat and she looked quickly towards Xu Lingyi.

The Marquis frowned helplessly and said, "Forget it. The person has already been placed there. Why don't we just keep him there for the time being? We'll send him away in two days anyway."

Then she saw the lady was startled: "Send him away in two days? Where to send him?"

The Marquis did not answer, but only told his wife: "I have been running all morning, let Amber get me some water to clean my face!"

When Amber heard Xu Lingyi calling her name, she quickly calmed down, bent her knees and said "yes", then went to fetch water as instructed.

Eleventh Lady asked eagerly, "My Lord, have you eaten yet? Would you like me to ask the kitchen to prepare some food and send it over?"

Xu Lingyi shook his head: "No, I've eaten." Then he asked about the child's condition: "Is he making any noise?"

You should complain when you need to.

Eleventh Lady gave a general account of the situation.

When Xu Lingyi heard that Feng Qing had bitten Dong Qing's hand, he snorted coldly, looking very displeased; when he heard that the child was injured, although his expression was calm, there was an unconcealable surprise in his eyes, and he obviously didn't know that the child had been beaten; when he heard that the child fell asleep without eating, his brows were tightly furrowed again.

"I'll reward Dong Qing with twenty taels of silver later. As for the child's injury, I'll let Manager Bai take care of it. You don't have to worry about it."

Eleventh Lady responded with a low “yes”.

Amber had already fetched some water. Xu Lingyi went to the bathroom to wash up and changed into a new bright blue brocade cotton gown for daily wear.

"What did mother say?" he asked as he took off his shoes and got on the kang.

Eleventh Lady squatted down to help him take off his shoes and said, "Mother only told you to go to her place when you come back."

Xu Lingyi nodded, went to the kang and leaned on the big pillow that Eleventh Lady had leaned on just now.

Eleventh Lady was quite surprised.

For such a big matter, isn't he going to discuss it with the Madam?

* * * * * *

The residual heat from the mattress made Xu Lingyi's tense expression relax, and the tea fragrance that went straight to his heart made him flash with satisfaction and comfort. Looking at Shiyi Niang's confused eyes, and thinking of the child in Banyue Pan, he couldn't help but show a little embarrassment.

"Eleventh Lady." He looked at her sincerely, his tone somewhat measured, "I was so angry at the time that I didn't think about the child properly. I just thought that since he was the child of the Xu family, I couldn't let him grow up in that filthy place and end up becoming a prostitute..."

Eleventh Lady was shocked.

There is indeed something wrong with this child’s biological mother!

Seeing his wife's face change slightly, Xu Lingyi felt a little uneasy and said hurriedly, "I should have discussed this with you in advance. But the situation was special at the time. The child's biological mother died early, and she kept it a secret from us and just wanted money. This year, she owed gambling debts and borrowed money at high interest, and she even took the risk of selling the child and running away. If I hadn't arrived in time..." As he spoke, a bitter expression appeared on his face, "They dared to yell at me when they saw me. I'm afraid the person who bought the child has ulterior motives. I was afraid that the news would spread and it would not end well, so I had to take the child back temporarily..."

Xu Lingyi brought the child back without any explanation, and Shiyi Niang felt uncomfortable. Now that he bowed his head, and things had come to this point, it would be bad to not give him this face. She might as well be a good person to the end. She smiled and said, "I can imagine how the Marquis feels. No matter what, it is still our own flesh and blood. If we take good care of it, even if it doesn't recognize our ancestors, it will be fine as long as we can have a decent meal. But if it falls into a miserable situation because of this, it will be painful."

Xu Lingyi heaved a sigh of relief when he saw her tone soften, "Madam is absolutely right."

Eleventh Lady, however, had other thoughts.

He acted first and then asked for permission. Thinking carefully, it was because he had limited trust in himself. Otherwise, he would have explained to himself as soon as the child was brought back. According to the current situation, he will be the head of the family in the early spring of next year. There will be more things to do by then, which will inevitably involve or endanger the interests of the elderly in the mansion. He is a stepmother and a concubine's daughter, and there is also a lady above him. It is difficult to overwhelm those mothers in charge from the status, and he can only win with ability. But in his position, ability only accounts for three points, and it mainly depends on whether the lady and Xu Lingyi support him. She has also observed carefully during this period. If she wants to get the support of the lady, she must get the support of Xu Lingyi. If she wants to get the support of Xu Lingyi, she must let him trust her without bottom line. Otherwise, if there is a conflict, she will explain it. Even if Xu Lingyi is not tired, she will feel tired. It is better to take this opportunity to show herself and see his reaction. If it can be done, it will be done. If it can't be done, she will know how to get along with Xu Lingyi in the future.

Having made up her mind, she immediately smiled and said, "I am just worried. After all, this child is not the Marquis's. We acted on our own without even asking the Fifth Master... I am afraid that our good intentions may turn out to be a bad thing!"

Before she finished her words, Xu Lingyi's face was already filled with shock.

He stared at her with his big phoenix eyes: "You..."

Once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back.

Eleventh Lady smiled at Xu Lingyi and said, "I dare not say anything else. But if it is the Marquis's child, no matter how bad he is, the Marquis will protect him well, and no one will dare to beat him like this..."

Xu Lingyi smiled bitterly, but his gaze towards her gradually turned into one of relief: "Moyan..."

He looked very sighing.

Eleventh Lady smiled slightly.

I am still a bit lucky.

She continued to play the role of a person who was speaking her heart out: "There is also the fifth brother's wife. This matter will sooner or later reach her ears. She is now a double. If anything happens, how can we explain to Lord Dingnan..."

"You don't have to worry about this." Xu Lingyi said, "I went to Dingnan Marquis's Mansion early this morning. After all, it was a pre-marital affair. The old marquis was a little unhappy when he found out, but later I heard that Xiaowu broke up with Danyang after they got married. That's why the other party was dissatisfied. The old marquis's anger subsided. He even took the initiative to discuss with me to keep this a secret from Danyang for the time being. We'll talk about it after she gives birth."

The son-in-law had an illegitimate child, but the father-in-law not only did not blame him, but felt happy that the son-in-law had come back from his wrong path, and took the initiative to help the son-in-law hide it from his daughter...

Although she knew that this was caused by the social atmosphere, Eleventh Lady still felt a little uncomfortable.

"But how do you know that this child is Xiaowu's?" Xu Lingyi looked at her with interest, his expression very relaxed, as if he was chatting with an old friend. Since his wife had already guessed the truth from a few words, it was meaningless for him to save face for his brother in front of her. "I also specifically told Xiaowu that I would help him with this matter and he should do whatever he should do. I was afraid that he was scared, so I tried hard not to lose my temper..." Although he said so, his face still darkened when he mentioned this matter.

"The child looks exactly like the Xu family." Eleventh Lady said, "Third Master is a decent man, he would never do such a thing. Our Fourth Master is proud and arrogant, if he falls in love with a young lady, it might be possible..." She half teased and half coaxed him, "Then it can only be Fifth Master."

Looking at her with a teasing smile, Xu Lingyi suddenly thought of Qiao Lianfang.

For some reason, his face turned red and he began to explain unconsciously.

"…I was a little drunk at the time, and I was at home, so I didn't pay much attention… Later I heard a woman talking in the hall, and it seemed that her skirt was torn, and a maid led her here to change her skirt… At that time, I just thought that since she could come to this small courtyard, she must be a family friend. The person had already entered the house, and the maid had left. If I made a sound, I was afraid that others would lose face… So I hurriedly hid behind the screen, thinking that when she changed her skirt and went out, it would naturally be gone without a trace… Who knew that Aunt Qiao suddenly screamed… I had to introduce myself through the screen, but suddenly there were footsteps outside. I was anxious, and without listening carefully, I shouted, trying to scare the person away… You also know what happened later…"