Chapter 205: Makeup (Part 1)

Yes, if he told her, the radish would be covered with mud; if he didn't tell her, Xu Lingyi would have to take the blame.

Eleventh Lady's words made the Queen fall into deep thought. For a moment, she didn't know what to do. She asked Xu Lingyi what his plan was.

What if the emperor has other ideas in mind? Give Xu Lingyi an idea?

The emperor was listening behind the curtain. Now that there was a rumor that he had taken the Miao female leader as his concubine, it involved matters related to the temple, which was not something that the women in the harem could interfere in...

After much thought, I can only blame the person who started it.

"It's all Xiaowu's fault. You are the ones who have to bear the consequences!"

No matter how bad the Fifth Master was, he was still the Queen's brother. She could blame him, but she could not show her dissatisfaction.

"Your Majesty, you are too serious." Eleventh Lady said, "The Fifth Master also made bad friends because of his young age. After this incident, he will become more and more calm in the future. However, this matter is getting more and more outrageous, and the Marquis is a man of few words. I am very worried."

The queen smiled bitterly: "You don't have to worry too much." She glanced at the curtain again and comforted Eleventh Lady insincerely, "Everyone knows what kind of person the Marquis is."

Eleventh Lady had a sad expression.

The Empress saw that the matter had been explained very clearly and was afraid that further discussion would lead to new complications, so she asked about the Dowager's health and, knowing that everything was fine, she served her tea.

Eleventh Lady hurriedly stood up and took her leave.

The emperor came out from the inner room.

"Your Majesty, what should we do?" The Queen looked at the Emperor at a loss, "I never thought Xiao Wu would do such a thing!"

The emperor thought for a moment and said, "If it is really as the wife of Yongping Marquis said, I think we should let Yongping Marquis handle it himself! After all, this is the Xu family's business, and neither you nor I can interfere."

The queen said nothing. This made sense. It was not appropriate for outsiders to interfere in clan affairs.

She let out a long sigh and suddenly felt that this warm room was too spacious and a little cold!

…

The emperor, who hid in the inner room but could hear their conversation clearly, the empress who was cautious but seemed somewhat helpless, and the rumors that were worthy of punishment, all of these made Eleventh Lady feel very uneasy.

She returned to the lotus garden in a hurry and went to see the lady.

Xu Lingyi had been waiting for her there.

When the maid served tea, the lady immediately sent the servants away and asked impatiently, "Why did you come to the palace? What did you say?"

"It's about the child." Eleventh Lady didn't even bother to drink tea. She told the lady and Xu Lingyi the details of the situation.

The more they listened, the more solemn their expressions became. By the end, the lady's face had turned pale.

"Fourth Brother, we still need to get a message from the Queen on this matter. Only when we know what the Emperor means, can we act!"

"No need!" Xu Lingyi looked a little cold, "The emperor's intention is already very clear."

"But……"

"Mother!" A trace of fatigue flashed across Xu Lingyi's brows. "I know you still miss the Seventh Prince who asked you for braised pig's trotter tendons when he came here...but that is a thing of the past."

The lady turned her head away and said nothing.

A little maid reported through the curtain: "Madam, the second lady is back!"

The three were stunned.

The lady hurriedly said, "Please come in."

A woman wearing a moon-white brocade satin jacket with narrow sleeves came in through the curtain.

"Second sister-in-law!" Eleventh Lady greeted the visitor with a smile.

"Fourth brother's sister-in-law." The Second Madam nodded to Eleventh Lady and stepped forward to greet the Grand Madam and Xu Lingyi.

"Yizhen, why are you back?" The lady asked concernedly, "What's the matter?" Then she looked behind her, "Where's Miss Zhen? Didn't she come back with you?"

"I heard some rumors, so I hurried back." The second lady said, "I was afraid that Zhen Jie couldn't stand the bumpy ride, so I left her in Xishan."

The lady nodded and said, "Come and sit on the kang. It's cold, be careful not to catch a cold."

The second wife didn't hesitate and sat on the kang.

Shiyi Niang went to make a cup of tea and came in.

The Second Lady had already spoken to the Grand Lady: "...I have been thinking about this all night. I feel that this matter is probably related to the Qu family." Seeing that Eleventh Lady brought her tea, she thanked her and continued: "If anything happens to our family, their family will be the biggest beneficiary."

"It's just as my second sister-in-law said." Xu Lingyi told the second wife what had happened. "There are all kinds of rumors. Now even the palace has heard about it - Eleventh Lady just came back from the palace." He also told the second wife about the scene of Eleventh Lady entering the palace.

"The Qu family is really quick." The second wife pondered, "They bought the child and took him back to Fujian, and then brought him back when he was older... By then, the princes would have grown up... The Qu family is not only vicious, but also not fighting for the day, I'm afraid they have already made arrangements that we don't know about. I hope you will spend more time on it!"

This means that the Qu family intends to compete for storage.

Xu Lingyi nodded slightly, his expression somewhat grim, "I was careless! If someone from the Wang family hadn't been keeping an eye on the people from the Qu family, I'm afraid we wouldn't have known about this."

"This is also the Marquis's blessing. That's why the Qu family's conspiracy was exposed." The second wife said, "It turns out that we are in the open, and the Qu family is in the dark, so we can't help but suffer some losses. Now that we know the Qu family's intentions, the Marquis can act calmly!"

"Don't worry, sister-in-law. I will think about this matter carefully." Xu Lingyi's eyes flashed with determination, "We are not fighting for a day or two, there is still a long way to go."

"In that case, I have an idea. Lord Marquis, please listen to it." As he said this, he stared at Xu Lingyi, waiting for his opinion.

"Please speak, Second Sister-in-law." Xu Lingyi looked at the Second Madam seriously, as if he was listening attentively.

The Second Lady glanced at Eleventh Lady and said seriously, "Why don't you acknowledge this child, Lord Marquis?"

The lady-in-waiting glanced at the Second Lady, then at Eleventh Lady, and seemed to be hesitant to speak.

Xu Lingyi remained silent, revealing a thoughtful expression.

Eleventh Lady looked at Xu Lingyi, with an expression that the husband and wife followed suit.

For a moment, you could hear a pin drop in the house.

"Since we are not fighting for a day or two, I think it is better not to escalate the situation." The second wife's eyes were firm, and she seemed confident and calm. She said slowly: "If we explain, others will suspect that we are confusing right and wrong; if we defend ourselves, we will first involve the Marquis, then the Fifth Master, and then Liu Huifang, the actress, and the Marquis Sun... It's just a topic for nothing. I'm afraid that there will be more rumors than the topic of "The Marquis has an illegitimate child" that will make those historians more interested. If we suppress the rumors, I'm afraid that the emperor will think that the Xu family is too prominent and can make things happen with a wave of their hands; if we can't suppress the rumors, If we acknowledge this child, we can shut up the world and test the emperor’s intentions. If the emperor stands on our side, no matter how the emperor impeaches us, it will not hurt us. If the emperor does not stand on our side, he will take advantage of this incident to make trouble... "She paused and looked at Xu Lingyi deeply, "We can also prepare earlier... After all, the Qu family is in Fujian. We can also use the Wang family... We can't just sit there and wait for death and fall into a situation where others are the knife and we are the fish!"

Eleventh Lady listened with her heart pounding and looked towards Xu Lingyi.

But he had an expressionless face with his eyelids drooped, and his expression could not be seen clearly.

She looked at the lady again.

The lady pursed her lips tightly, and her face seemed to be a little paler than before.

There was a tense atmosphere in the room.

"What Second Sister-in-law said are all valuable advice." After a moment's silence, Xu Lingyi raised his eyelids and looked at the Second Madam, "Let me think about it." Then he smiled, "Second Sister-in-law has just returned from the West Mountain, and she must not have had lunch yet, right? We have been waiting for Eleventh Lady to return from the palace, and we haven't had lunch yet. Everyone must be hungry. Eleventh Lady, let the maids serve the meal!" He looked as if he didn't want to talk more.

His gentle voice softened the atmosphere in the room.

Eleventh Lady knelt down and said "yes", and went to ask the maids to serve the meal. The second wife's smiling voice came from behind: "The Marquis is really thoughtful. I am really hungry!"

…

Back in the room, Shiyi Niang silently helped Xu Lingyi change his clothes.

"What's wrong? You haven't said anything." Xu Lingyi touched her head.

Eleventh Lady was a little confused and didn't know what to say for a moment.

"Are you scared?" Xu Lingyi stared at her with deep black eyes.

Eleventh Lady nodded - it seemed that she was not afraid, but more worried... She shook her head again - it would not be right to say that she was not afraid, as her hands were shaking while she was eating just now... She nodded again.

Xu Lingyi smiled and held her in his arms.

"Don't be afraid. I know what's going on." He felt that this consolation was very pale, and said, "Second sister-in-law's words make sense, but not entirely right. If the emperor doesn't stand on our side, things will be very difficult. But as Second sister-in-law said, it's too radical. The best way is to find a way to get the emperor to stand on our side..."

Eleventh Lady looked at Xu Lingyi in surprise.

This is easy to say but difficult to do. Otherwise, how can there be the saying "When the birds are gone, the good bows are hidden"?

"After all, the emperor is wary of the Xu family's power." He lowered his voice, "If we can make the emperor let down his guard, the Qu family's attack will be defeated." His expression became serious, "Second sister-in-law's words reminded me. The emperor is most afraid of powerful officials who are good at manipulating others, and he is most assured of honest and polite officials. In fact, although the Qu family set a trap for us, it also gave us a chance to show our talents."

"What the Marquis means is..." So many things happened in just one morning. Eleventh Lady was nervous, her mind still lingering in the shock given by the Second Madam, and her brain was temporarily in a state of suspension.

Xu Lingyi smiled slightly, "Just as my second sister-in-law said, if we defend the child's matter in front of everyone, or use the connections we have built up over the years to suppress the rumors, it will only make the emperor uneasy. On the contrary, if we do nothing, the Qu family may think that we are strong on the outside but weak on the inside, and make a bigger move. The emperor is afraid that the Xu family will dominate, so will he let the Qu family cover everything with one hand? In order to maintain this balance, he will definitely stand on our side." As he spoke, he narrowed his eyes slightly and showed a cold smile on his face, "If we handle it properly, maybe we can solve the problem once and for all..."