Eleventh Lady had always envied the Second Madam for being able to spend the Spring Festival quietly in the Western Hills. After hearing what Xu Lingyi said, she naturally would not force it and personally sent the Second Madam to Chuihua Gate to take the carriage.

On the way, the second wife said, "Fourth brother's wife, actually I want to talk to you alone."

No wonder she suddenly came to say goodbye to me.

Eleventh Lady suddenly realized what was going on. She thought that she had spent so much effort to talk to her alone, and she was afraid that she would not give up until she achieved her goal. So she smiled and said, "Just tell me what you want, Second Sister-in-law!"

"It's not really an order." The Second Madam smiled faintly, "You don't have to be so polite."

Seeing her cold attitude, Eleventh Lady smiled at her.

"I asked the Marquis to acknowledge the child. You must feel uncomfortable!" The Second Lady stopped and looked at her steadily with her dark eyes, calm and profound.

"No!" Eleventh Lady laughed, "I think what Second Sister-in-law said makes sense. Instead of letting people make a fuss about it, it's better to acknowledge the child. It's better than having more unpleasant rumors spread."

"I'm glad you think this way." The Second Madam was slightly startled after hearing this, then nodded with a smile, and walked forward while whispering to her, "You know, if the nest is destroyed, all the eggs will be broken. Only when this family is well, can our lives be good..."

Then I gave her a lesson on "What is team spirit".

Eleventh Lady knew that everyone thought she was young and ignorant, so they always treated her like a child. Sometimes they were kind, and sometimes they were gloating over other people's misfortunes. Although the Second Lady's tone was indifferent, she did not have any malice, so she just listened and nodded all the way, and sent the Second Lady to the hanging flower gate.

The carriage was already waiting there, and the maidservant who followed had set up the stepping stool, but the Second Lady was not in a hurry to get on the carriage. Instead, she said to Eleventh Lady, "...As for the future of the child, you can rest assured. Since I said this, I will not embarrass you and will not ask the Marquis for a penny. I will bear the cost."

Eleventh Lady was stunned.

The second lady smiled and nodded and got into the carriage.

Looking at the carriage going away, Eleventh Lady couldn't help but laugh.

This second wife is quite interesting.

When Xu Lingyi saw her coming back with a smile on her face, he thought of how Yuanniang and his second sister-in-law always parted on bad terms, and couldn't help but wonder, "What's wrong? Why are you so happy?"

Eleventh Lady told Xu Lingyi what the Second Lady said: "...Because you were the one who proposed to raise the child in our house, you must be feeling uneasy!"

Xu Lingyi couldn't help but frowned: "This is not the business of any one family." He then told Shiyi Niang, "Second sister-in-law has several profitable businesses. Although she is not short of money, she is a widow after all. We can't accept this money."

"I know." Eleventh Lady nodded repeatedly. "If it gets out, people will think we are blackmailing the widow's property. We will never be able to clear ourselves from the blame."

Seeing that she understood the situation, Xu Lingyi couldn't help but touch her head and said, "I will give you an additional fifty taels of silver every month." After a pause, he continued, "Withdraw it from the outer courtyard."

Eleventh Lady was stunned.

Is Xu Lingyi going to use his own personal money to support himself?

Is it because Feng Qing would keep him in his own room?

She hesitated for a moment, and Xu Lingyi said, "It's getting late. After Gongxian Hutong, we still have to go to Hongdeng Hutong."

Eleventh Lady agreed, put on a cloak and went to the lady's place with Xu Lingyi.

Knowing that the two were going to tell Master Luo about this, the lady dowager sighed, patted Eleventh Lady's hand, and said nothing.

When they arrived at Gongxian Hutong, the situation was beyond Shiyi Niang's expectations.

Rumor has it that the Luo family has heard about it. As for Xu Lingyi's decision to let his illegitimate son recognize his ancestral home, the eldest master not only had no objection, but also advised Shiyi Niang to "respect and love her husband, listen to him and obey him", not to create a rift with her husband over this matter, and also told her to treat the illegitimate son well and be a virtuous woman, so as to live up to the teachings of the eldest wife.

Shiyi Niang was sweating as she listened to this, and couldn't help wondering in her heart whether the eldest master was particularly able to understand this kind of thing...

Seeing his father talking longer and longer, Luo Zhenxing winked at Shiyi Niang, "You haven't paid your respects to mother yet!"

Eleventh Lady took the opportunity to get up and leave, leaving Xu Lingyi, the eldest master, and Luo Zhenxing to talk in the study.

Grandma was waiting for her under the eaves.

When he saw her coming out, he immediately went up to her and whispered, "Whose name is the child raised in?"

Although she knew that Xu Lingyi had made a promise, she was still very worried.

"She was raised under Aunt Tong's name."

The grandmother breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good, that's good." Then she said, "Mom doesn't know about this yet. Don't let it slip later."

Eleventh Lady nodded, but when she looked up she saw Fourth Grandma coming towards her.

Her jet-black hair was tied into a bun, with only a red gold Ruyi hairpin inserted in it. She wore a pea green silk jacket and a blue-green hemlock skirt. Her eyes were clear and bright, revealing spirit.

Eleventh Lady hurried forward to bow and greet.

Fourth Grandma smiled and returned the gift. She did not ask what she had come back for. She only invited her to sit in the back room where she lived: "… It's freezing cold, it's warm inside."

Eleventh Lady thanked her and said, "I haven't gone to pay my respects to my mother yet."

The fourth grandmother helped her and the eldest grandmother to open the curtain and accompanied them to the eldest wife's room.

The eldest wife's condition did not improve. Seeing Shiyi Niang was shocked, she looked at Xu Mama who was serving beside her with a worried look on her face. Shiyi Niang knew that she was surprised that she came back suddenly, and before Xu Mama could speak, she said: "The Marquis is better today, so I came to see my father specially."

The eldest grandmother also chimed in: "You are ill, so it is not convenient for the Marquis to come in to visit. Dad will stay in the study to talk."

The eldest wife nodded.

Eleventh Lady asked about the First Lady's health and said a few words. The First Lady wet the bed, and Mother Xu and Fourth Grandma helped her to wash and change clothes. The First Grandma accompanied Eleventh Lady to her room.

After leaving the house, she immediately said, "Fifth Aunt has been feeling a little uncomfortable these past two days. Do you want to go see her?"

Eleventh Lady was surprised: "Thank you, sister-in-law. Please take me to see it."

The eldest grandmother smiled and took her to the east wing where the fifth aunt lived.

Because it was winter, the windows of the wing room were all closed, and the light in the room was very dim. The royal blue curtains were half-drawn, and in the broad daylight, the shadows were hazy and could not be seen clearly.

"Fifth Aunt, Eleventh Aunt is here!"

As the grandmother spoke, a face showing both anger and joy appeared from behind the curtains.

"Eleventh, Eleventh Aunt." The Fifth Aunt stuttered. She was not happy to see Eleventh Aunt, but her face flushed, as if Eleventh Aunt's arrival had disturbed her.

Eleventh Lady looked at her strangely and questioned the grandmother with her eyes.

The eldest grandmother was also confused. She shook her head gently and whispered, "I don't ask too much about what's going on in Daddy's room." Then she smiled and said to the fifth aunt, "I heard that you were not feeling well, so the eleventh aunt came to see you specially."

The fifth aunt had already slipped off the bed. After hearing what the eldest lady said, she shook her head like a rattle: "I'm not sick, I'm not sick. Eleventh aunt doesn't have to come to see me specially." There was even some panic in her expression.

Could it be that the First Wife said something that made the Fifth Aunt afraid?

I saw that she looked unhappy. Although she was wearing a brand new white silk jacket, the pink floral jacket hanging on the hanger was an old piece of clothing from a few years ago. There was no maid in the room to serve her. When I asked her what was wrong, she couldn't explain it clearly. I felt certain in my heart.

Because the eldest grandmother was around and the fifth concubine looked panic-stricken, Eleventh Lady didn't know what to ask. She sat for a while, then stood up and said goodbye, and followed the eldest grandmother to where she lived.

The two of them sat on the big kang by the window, one on each side. The maid brought tea and the grandmother comforted Shiyi Niang: "Don't worry. I will keep an eye out for you. If anything happens, I will let you know."

"Thank you, sister-in-law!" Eleventh Lady smiled and sipped her tea, saying, "After all, this is a matter of father's room, so it's inconvenient for you to interfere. But I see that there is no one to serve my aunt, so I have to ask you to take on more responsibilities."

The grandmother blushed and responded awkwardly, changing the subject as if to evade: "I went to see Shi Niang a few days ago." Then she sighed, "The child was not saved after all!"

Eleventh Lady thought for a while and then remembered that the last time she went back to her parents' home, she heard that Jin Mei, who was with Tenth Lady, was pregnant.

"What? Did Wang Lang go and make trouble?"

"No." The grandmother said, "She said she was lying in the farm and was bored, so she helped the farm maid to pick up two eggs, and then the child died."

"This is probably because the Wang family is not so blessed!" Eleventh Lady didn't like Wang Lang, and she wasn't interested in listening to his nonsense. She asked Twelve Lady, "Why didn't I see her?"

"Sixth Aunt locked her up in the room every day and wouldn't let her go out until she had written two pages of big characters."

Eleventh Lady thought of Fifth Lady, and also thought of her request for her help in finding Fan Weigang: "...Hasn't she come back these days?"

"I'm still pregnant, so it's not convenient. I haven't come back yet." The eldest grandmother replied, but she talked about Qi Niang, "... She sent so many things at once, and I racked my brains to give her a gift in return. If it's like this every year, I really can't bear it."

"This is her first year after marriage, so naturally we have to prepare it with great care." Eleventh Lady replied to the grandmother, but she was thinking about Fifth Lady.

Apparently, she didn’t tell her parents about this!

Although I rejected her politely, I'm afraid she won't give up for a while...

The two were chatting when a maid came over from the study: "The Marquis is going back!"

The eldest lady accompanied Eleventh Lady to say goodbye to the eldest wife and sent her to the hanging flower gate.

The couple went to the Dingnanhou Sun family in Hongdeng Hutong.

The Sun family's mansion is smaller than the Xu family's. Both were built according to the specifications of the marquis, and the gates, walls, courtyards and halls are all similar.

The Marquis was in his forties when he married the Princess of Danyang County. In his early years, he followed the late emperor to fight the Songzhou Rebellion. Although she was of the same generation as the Dowager Lady, she was the best among the ministers in terms of age and qualifications. Xu Lingyi respected her very much and did not avoid her. He took Eleventh Lady to meet the Marquis of Dingnan.

Marquis Dingnan was not tall, but very sturdy, with a head full of white hair. In his big hands like a palm-leaf fan, he was spinning three jade balls the size of baby fists.

He looked at Eleventh Lady carefully: "This is your little wife."

His eyes are gentle and his smile is bright, making people feel that he is easy to get along with.

Xu Lingyi replied respectfully, "Yes."

He grinned. "Like a green onion."

Eleventh Lady couldn't help but feel ashamed.

Do you mean I am too thin, or too small...

Xu Lingyi just laughed when he heard that.

Marquis Dingnan asked the maid to take Eleventh Lady to meet his wife, and went to the study with Xu Lingyi.

Xu Lingyi did not bother to be polite with Marquis Dingnan and told him the purpose of his visit.

Dingnan Hou sighed as he listened: "You guys make the decision!"

Seeing that the topic had been discussed, Xu Lingyi chatted with Marquis Dingnan for a few more words, then stood up and said goodbye.

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See you at the same time and place...O(∩_∩)O~