Chapter 207: Makeup (Part 2)
Eleventh Lady had always envied the Second Madam for being able to spend the Spring Festival peacefully in the Western Hills. After hearing what Xu Lingyi said, she naturally did 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.
Shiyi Niang suddenly realized what was going on. She thought that she had taken the trouble to talk to her alone, and she was afraid that she would not stop until she achieved her goal. So she smiled and said, "Second Sister-in-law, just tell me what you want me to do!"
"It's not a matter of order." The second lady smiled faintly, "You don't have to be so polite."
Seeing her cold attitude, Eleventh Lady smiled at her.
"I asked the Marquis to recognize the child. You must feel uncomfortable!" The second wife 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 so." The second wife was slightly startled, then smiled and nodded. She walked forward and whispered to her, "You know, if the nest is broken, no eggs will be intact. Only when this family is good, 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 just taking pleasure in misfortunes. Although the Second Lady's tone was indifferent, she did not mean any harm, 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 placed the stepping stool. However, the Second Lady did not rush 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 make it difficult for you, and I will not ask the Marquis for a penny. I will take care of it."
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 had 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 suggested raising the child in our house, you must be feeling uneasy!"
Xu Lingyi couldn't help but frown: "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 cheating the widow's property. We can't clear ourselves of that even if we jump into the Yellow River."
Seeing that she understood the situation, Xu Lingyi couldn't help but touch her head and said, "I will give you 50 taels of silver every month in the future." After a pause, he said, "Withdraw it from the outer courtyard."
Eleventh Lady was stunned.
Is Xu Lingyi going to use his own pocket money to support himself?
Because Feng Qing would be kept in his own house?
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.
The Luo family had heard the rumor. As for Xu Lingyi's decision to have his illegitimate son recognize his ancestors, the eldest master not only had no objection, but also advised Shiyi Niang to "respect and love her husband, listen to him and follow his will", 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 not to fail 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 could understand this kind of thing...
Seeing his father's words getting longer and longer, Luo Zhenxing winked at Shiyi Niang and said, "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 under?"
Although she knew Xu Lingyi had promised her, she was still very worried.
"She was raised under the name of Aunt Tong."
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 Lady 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 blouse and a blue-green skirt. Her eyes were clear and bright, revealing her spirit.
Eleventh Lady hurried forward to salute and greet.
The fourth grandmother smiled and returned the gift. She did not ask why she came back. She just invited her to sit in the back room where she lived: "...it's freezing cold, but it's warm inside."
Eleventh Lady thanked her and said, "I haven't paid my respects to my mother yet."
The fourth grandmother helped her and the first grandmother to open the curtains, and accompanied them to the first wife's room.
The eldest wife's condition did not improve. Seeing this, Eleventh Lady was shocked and looked at Mother Xu who was serving beside her with a worried look on her face. Eleventh Lady knew that she was wondering why she came back so suddenly, and before Mother Xu could speak, she said, "The Marquis is feeling better today, so he came to see 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 health of the First Lady. After a few words, she learned that the First Lady had wet the bed. Mother Xu and Fourth Lady helped her to wash and change clothes. The First Lady 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 room where the fifth aunt lived.
Because it was winter, the windows of the room were all closed, and the light in the room was very dim, with the royal blue curtains half-closed, and in the broad daylight, the shadows were so vague that it was not very clear.
"Fifth Aunt, Eleventh Aunt is here!"
As the grandmother spoke, a face showing both anger and joy appeared from behind the tent.
"Eleventh, Eleventh Aunt." The Fifth Aunt stammered. She saw that Eleventh Lady was not happy, but her face was flushed, as if Eleventh Lady's arrival disturbed her.
Eleventh Lady looked at her in surprise and questioned the eldest 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 Dad'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, and 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." She even looked a little panicked.
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 blouse, 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 lady was around and the fifth concubine looked panic-stricken, Eleventh Lady didn't know how to ask anything. She sat for a while, then got up and said goodbye, and followed the eldest lady 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 eldest grandmother comforted Shiyi Niang: "Don't worry. I will help you keep an eye out. If anything happens, I will let someone know."
"Thank you, sister-in-law!" Eleventh Lady smiled and sipped her tea, saying, "After all, this is a matter of my father's room, so it's not convenient for me to interfere. But I saw that there was 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 the question: "I went to see Shi Niang two days ago." As she spoke, 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 to cause trouble?"
"No." The eldest grandmother said, "She was lying in the house and got bored, so she went to help the woman on the farm to pick up two eggs, and then the child died."
"This is probably because the Wang family is not so lucky!" Eleventh Lady had no good feelings towards Wang Lang, and was not interested in listening to his nonsense. She asked Twelve Lady, "Why didn't I see her?"
"Sixth Aunt locked her up in her room every day and wouldn't let her go out until she had written two pages of big characters."
Shiyi Niang thought of Wu Niang, and also thought of her asking her to help find Fan Weigang: "...Hasn't she come back these days?"
"I was pregnant, so it was inconvenient for me to come back." The eldest grandmother replied, but she talked about Qi Niang, "... She sent me so many gifts in one go, and I racked my brains to think of a gift in return. If it goes on like this every year, I really can't bear it."
"This is the first year after getting married, so naturally I have to make preparations carefully." Eleventh Lady replied to the grandmother, but she was thinking about Fifth Lady.
It seems that she didn’t tell her parents about this!
Even though I politely declined, I was afraid she wouldn't give up for a while...
The two were chatting, and a maid came over from the study: "The Marquis is going back!"
The eldest lady accompanied Eleventh Lady to bid farewell to the eldest wife and sent her to the hanging flower gate.
The couple went to Dingnan Hou's house 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 appointed the Lord of Danyang County when he was in his forties. In his early years, he followed the late emperor to fight against the Songzhou Rebellion. Although he was of the same generation as the Dowager Lady, he was the best among the ministers in terms of age and seniority. Xu Lingyi respected him very much and did not avoid him. 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, three jade balls the size of a baby's fist were spinning.
He looked at Shiyi Niang carefully and said, "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 an onion."
Eleventh Lady couldn't help but feel ashamed.
Are you saying that you are too thin, or that you are too small...
Xu Lingyi just smiled when he heard it.
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 after hearing this: "You guys make the decision!"
Seeing that the conversation had come to an end, Xu Lingyi chatted with Marquis Dingnan for a few more words, then stood up and said goodbye.