The lady sighed slightly in her heart, then said to Xu Lingkuan with a cold face: "Your fourth sister-in-law has been running around for this matter for a whole day."

Xu Lingkuan listened and a trace of guilt flashed across his face, and he murmured, "Fourth sister-in-law."

The lady said to Eleventh Lady, "You are tired too. Go and have a rest! Tomorrow is New Year's Eve. You should take a break."

Eleventh Lady smiled and replied “yes”, looking at Xu Lingyi - to see if he had any other plans!

Xu Lingyi thought for a moment and said, "Mom, you should get some rest early too! I'll just talk to Xiaowu and then we'll go."

The lady knew that he was trying to teach Xu Lingkuan a lesson. Under normal circumstances, she would have kept the two brothers and acted as a peacemaker if anything happened. But this time, she knew that she could no longer act on emotion. She nodded heavily, "You brothers need to have a good talk."

Zhun Ge was left to accompany the lady, while Xu Lingyi, Xu Lingkuan and Shiyi Niang, who was holding Xu Sijie, went out together.

Amber is waiting outside the door.

Seeing everyone coming out, he immediately greeted them: "My Lord, Fifth Lord, Madam, Young Master Feng Qing!" Anxiety was revealed in his eyes.

Just now, Mother Du took people to Banyuepan and took Feng Qing away without saying a word. They didn't know what it meant. Dongqing couldn't show up because she had to take care of the Fifth Madam, so Amber brought Binju over.

Eleventh Lady glanced at Binju, Luyun and others who were following behind Amber, and said with a smile, "You can't call Fengqing Young Master now. The Marquis took the name Xu Sijie. You should now respectfully call him Fifth Young Master."

So, I admit...

Amber and the others breathed a sigh of relief.

Who knows what might happen if we keep it hidden like this? Now it is finally out in the open.

Several people knelt down in agreement and from then on they called him Fifth Young Master.

Xu Lingyi took Xu Lingkuan back to his own courtyard. Shiyi Niang always felt that although Banyuepan was safe, it was remote and very deserted. She sent someone to Qin Yi Niang's place to see if the kang in Xu Siyu's former residence was heated. She asked Binju to take the child to Dongqing's room, sent the servants who were serving in Xu Lingkuan's study away, and brought in some hot tea herself.

As soon as she entered the room, she heard Xu Lingyi's blunt questioning: "...You will take responsibility? Tell me, how will you take responsibility?"

"Anyway, it was me who caused the trouble. I will find a way to explain it clearly to everyone..." Xu Lingkuan's face turned red, and he stared at Xu Lingyi with his neck stretched out.

"Don't you think things are not complicated enough?" Seeing Xu Lingkuan's unwillingness to admit his fault, veins on Xu Lingyi's forehead popped out. "Why don't you explain it clearly to everyone? What should you say? How should you say it? Say that the child is yours? Let others think that you are standing up for me? Or that the child is not from the Xu family at all? Are you trying to shirk your responsibility..."

Eleventh Lady coughed lightly.

The two brothers followed the sound and went over.

Xu Lingkuan's face was filled with shame and he murmured, "Fourth sister-in-law."

Xu Lingyi's face lightened up: "The child has been arranged!"

"I want to temporarily put him in the place where Brother Yu used to live..." Eleventh Lady served tea and briefly explained the arrangement for Xu Sijie, then winked at Xu Lingyi, "But I still need to discuss it with the Marquis, what do the concubines say?"

Xu Lingyi turned around and went into the warm room in the study with Shiyi Niang.

"What's up?"

Of course he didn't believe that Eleventh Lady wanted to discuss what she had to say with her aunt.

Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "I saw the Marquis scolding the Fifth Master, making him stunned. Could it be that the Marquis usually talks to his colleagues like this?"

Xu Lingyi was stunned.

"Of course not..." After hesitating for a moment, he added: "He is my brother!"

One of the common mistakes people make is to be more critical, strict, and demanding of those close to them than they are of strangers.

Seeing that Xu Lingyi had realized something, Shiyi Niang smiled and said, "Do you want me to help you heat up a pot of wine? It's winter, and it would be good to warm up your body."

"Okay..." Xu Lingyi answered hesitantly.

People’s habits cannot be changed overnight, so it’s a good thing to be willing to try!

Eleventh Lady smiled and went out to tell the maid to ask the kitchen to help prepare a few side dishes. She warmed up a pot of Jinhua wine and went back to her room.

Amber was waiting for her to come back and give instructions.

"Mrs. Qin's kang is not heated. I heard that the fifth young master is going to move in, so she is leading the maids to clean up the house."

"Oh!" Eleventh Lady was quite surprised at Aunt Qin's obedience. "She heard that the Marquis had adopted a son, so she didn't say anything?"

After hearing what she said, Amber also felt a little strange.

When she first saw the child, she was completely stunned; when Mother Du took the child to the Dowager Lady, she was even more frightened, fearing that the Dowager Lady would blame Eleventh Lady for helping the Marquis to hide the secret from her; later, when she heard that the Marquis finally adopted the child as his son and raised him at home, she felt sorry for Eleventh Lady, thinking that she had a great responsibility and that it was her duty to teach the child well. If anything went wrong, it would all be Eleventh Lady's fault... Her own feelings were so complicated, let alone Aunt Qin, whose own interests were involved.

"She seemed to be stunned for a moment..." Amber recalled, "Then she smiled and told the maid to clean up... She also asked me if I wanted the old clothes that the Second Young Master wore when he was a child..."

"She also asked if he wanted the old clothes that the Second Young Master wore when he was a child?" Eleventh Lady pondered, "It seems that she knows the whole story of the Fifth Young Master very well."

This question involved too many things, so Amber couldn't answer it. She smiled and changed the subject: "Madam, now that the fifth young master has his own courtyard, do you think we should add a few servants to serve in the house? Sister Dongqing is not young anymore and will get married at any time. We should make plans early!"

If it weren't for Xu Sijie's incident, her marriage would have been settled long ago.

"The New Year is coming soon, and there is no suitable candidate for the time being." Eleventh Lady nodded with a smile, "I will choose someone after the Lantern Festival. I will decide before she gets married."

Amber nodded, and a maid came in and said, "Three concubines are here to pay their respects to the Madam."

Eleventh Lady smiled slightly and told Amber: "Bring the Fifth Young Master here and let the concubines recognize him."

Amber left as soon as she was told. Eleventh Lady then instructed the maid, "Please come in, three ladies!" Then she sat upright on the armchair in front of the hall.

The one walking in front was Madam Wen, smiling and full of joy. Madam Qin followed behind her, looking down and tiptoeing, looking honest and kind. Qiao Lianfang was the same as usual, with her back straight and her head slightly raised, looking reserved and a little proud.

The three of them bowed, and Eleventh Lady asked them to sit on the armchair beside them.

When the maid served tea, Madam Wen immediately smiled and said, "Sister, I heard that the Marquis adopted a young master and raised him under Madam Tong's name. Is that true?"

She finally confessed.

Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "Aunt Tong appeared in the Marquis's dream, so the Marquis took the child and raised him under her name. He was named Sijie, the fifth child in the family. The name will be written in the family tree during the ancestor worship tomorrow."

As she spoke, she glanced at the expressions of Aunt Qin and Qiao Lianfang.

Aunt Qin listened with a smile on her face, but her fingers were twisted together, and she looked a little uneasy;

There was a flash of surprise in Qiao Lianfang's eyes, then she tilted her ear to listen, looking very concerned.

"Oh my!" Madam Wen looked overjoyed, as if she had a son under her name. "Madam Tong is so lucky. It's been more than ten years since she passed away, but the Marquis still remembers her. However, it's because my sister is so kind to others that she is so lucky..."

Eleventh Lady listened to Madam Wen praising her endlessly with a smile, but her eyes never left the other two people in the room.

Aunt Qin's smile began to seem forced, but Qiao Lianfang's expression changed slightly and she lowered her head in thought.

Madam Wen was always well-informed, so it was no surprise that she knew. Qiao Lianfang had obviously just heard about it. Where did Madam Qin get the news from? Why was she so uneasy? After all, Madam Tong was her sister in the same room...

Eleventh Lady pondered while casually answering Madam Wen: "...I have served you since childhood, so the affection is there. When I was young, I was busy with this and that and didn't notice it. Now that I have some quiet time, I think of the kindness you showed me in the past. You are so beautiful now, how can the Marquis not miss you..."

Aunt Qin's smile was stiff and Qiao Lianfang clenched her fists.

The atmosphere in the room gradually became a little depressing, making people feel irritated.

Fortunately, Amber's arrival broke the solemnity.

"Madam, the fifth young master is here!" She walked in smiling, holding Xu Sijie.

Everyone in the room looked at him.

He opened his big phoenix eyes and looked around, as if he was looking for something.

"Oh! You are so beautiful." Madam Wen came forward, touched his little hand, and took out a pair of small red gold bracelets from her sleeves, "Here, Fifth Young Master, let me give you this to play with."

Xu Sijie looked at Madam Wen with wariness in his eyes.

Amber said hurriedly, "Fifth Master, this is Madam Wen. She gave you something, you should say 'thank you' to her."

Xu Sijie said nothing, blinking his big eyes and looking at Shiyi Niang

Eleventh Lady smiled and told him, "Say 'thank you' to Madam Wen."

"Thank you!" He thanked Madam Wen in a low voice, his voice clear, melodious and pleasant to the ears.

Madam Wen was slightly distracted, and after a moment she whispered, "What a nice voice."

At that time, Amber had already met Aunt Qin and Qiao Lianfang while holding Xu Sijie.

Aunt Qin gave a silver necklace with a Ruyi lock as a gift, but Qiao Lianfang was totally unprepared. She looked at the child with her phoenix eyes and said in a daze, "...I'll ask Xiuzhen to bring it over later."

After they met, they explained what they needed to say. Eleventh Lady asked Amber to carry Xu Sijie down, then she spoke a few words to the concubines who all had different looks on their faces, served tea, and went to the study.

Because the two brothers were having a heart-to-heart talk, they sent away the servants in the room and only left a servant waiting under the eaves.

The weather was cold, and he was stamping his feet with his hands gathered in his sleeves. When he saw Shiyi Niang coming, he quickly stood up straight. Just as he was about to report, Shiyi Niang made a gesture to him to keep quiet, then asked Luyun to give her a few coins, lifted the curtain, and tiptoed in.

There was only a melon-shaped goat-horn palace lantern lit on the kang by the window. Looking through the falling flower cover, I couldn't see clearly. I could only hear Xu Lingyi's voice: "...If it weren't for your fourth sister-in-law's kind nature, how could things be resolved so smoothly!"

Is Xu Lingyi talking about her?

Eleventh Lady was stunned.

She didn't expect Xu Lingyi to comment on her like this in front of his brother...

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Hehehe, keep asking for votes...

Then a friendly recommendation: The difficult survival and business journey of a grassroots woman who traveled to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period - "Yushi Chunqiu"