The two brothers talked until very late that night. Eleventh Lady was afraid that Fifth Lady would worry, so she sent Amber to report to her.

The Fifth Lady, accompanied by Mama Shi, was leaning on the kang by the window, doing needlework and waiting for Xu Lingkuan to come back. Hearing that Xu Lingkuan would come back very late, she raised her eyebrows slightly and said with a smile: "In the past few years since I got married, this is the first time that the Marquis has asked our Fifth Master to talk to him. It's really rare! Go and tell the Fourth Sister-in-law. I won't wait for the Fifth Master. Please ask the Fourth Sister-in-law to take care of him and let our Fifth Master rest in the Fourth Master's study for one night. It's freezing cold, and he comes and goes in the middle of the night. If he catches a cold, it's no joke."

Amber heard the hidden meaning in her words, but pretended not to understand. She smiled, bent her knees and replied "yes", and was sent out by the Fifth Lady's maid.

Madam Wu's face fell, "What do you mean? Something happened in their house, why did they call Master Wu over?" She said with a cold smile, "I don't believe that the Marquis will tell Master Wu what's in his heart!"

Mother Shi's eyelids jumped when she heard this. She immediately laughed and said, "If something like this happened at home, who else can the Marquis tell if not the Fifth Master? After all, they are brothers from the same mother."

Madam Wu listened and murmured, "I think something is wrong. You didn't see how excited Master Wu was when Madam Tai mentioned the child. It seemed..." When she said this, her heart skipped a beat, "It seemed that this matter had something to do with him..."

The Marquis has a mistress... Others believe it, but Mother Shi doesn't.

Not to mention anything else, when the old marquis married his daughter to the Xu family, he not only took into account that Xu Lingkuan was the youngest son in the family, had a gentle personality and handsome appearance, but also valued the fact that the Xu family was friendly and respectful to the younger brothers, and that the Marquis of Yongping was both talented in both civil and military affairs and had good character. In the future, his daughter would be able to enjoy the shade under the strong tree.

Their old marquis has never made a mistake!

Thinking about what Mrs. Wu said, Mother Shi's face turned pale.

She started working in Dingnan Marquis's mansion when she was seven years old, and she had seen and heard so much. She had long understood that the truth was not important, but the result was important.

Since the lady said that this child is the Marquis of Yongping’s, then this child is the Marquis of Yongping’s!

We can't add any more complications.

You know, Danyang is the most concerned about face.

The whole family knew about it, but they kept it a secret from her... Those who knew about it would think that it was because her family was pitying her, while those who didn't would probably feel resentful - we're both daughters-in-law, so why do you have to step on me to help others become virtuous!

Mother Shi's heart hardened, and a smile appeared on her face: "What's wrong with you? You were not so suspicious before."

"I'm not suspicious." Madam Wu frowned slightly, looking thoughtful. "There's something wrong with this matter... The person that Master Wu respects the most is Madam Tai, and the person that he fears the most is the Marquis." As she spoke, she looked at Madam Shi. "How could she suddenly be so bold as to interrupt when Madam Tai was talking? And Eleventh Lady, she's the best at changing her attitude according to the situation. She usually follows Madam Tai's instructions when she sees her, but today, it was strange that she spoke before the Marquis!"

The more Mother Shi listened, the more frightened she became, but the smile on her face grew brighter: "In my opinion, what you said is wrong!"

Madam Five listened and raised her eyebrows, revealing an expression that said "you say".

"I think our Fifth Master is most filial to the Madam, but respects the Marquis the most." Mother Shi said with a smile, "Do you still remember? When you first got married, one day you made a joke about the Marquis, and the Fifth Master got angry on the spot... You know, the Fifth Master has always been very tolerant..."

The Fifth Lady was slightly startled and remembered.

That's true.

They were newlyweds at the time, and were in the prime of their love affair... It was also because of this incident that she understood what the Fifth Master valued most... and then she asked everyone around her to call her "Fifth Madam".

Mother Shi understood the situation and continued, "Speaking of which, the Marquis is of noble status. Raising a child or having a son outside is no big deal. But it has been spread all over the place. Firstly, the Marquis is in a high position and has great power. Secondly, it is because the Marquis usually acts strictly and it is rare for people to see the excitement. The old Marquis in the mansion died early. In the eyes of the Fifth Master, the Marquis is both a brother and a father. It may seem like a trivial matter to others, but if it happened to the Marquis, I am afraid the Fifth Master would feel bad. He can't help but want to defend the Marquis, which is common. I don't see any difference."

"No." Madam Shi's words made Madam Wu shake her head. "It's clear from the way he looks that he wants to take the blame for this..."

"That's right." Before the Fifth Lady could finish her words, Mother Shi interrupted, "Who is the Marquis? The Prince's Junior Tutor, the Grand Commander of the Five Military Commands, the general who suppressed the Miao Rebellion and conquered the northwest. I'm afraid the Fifth Lady would rather this happen to him than to the Marquis, who would be pointed at and laughed at by others!"

After hearing what Mother Shi said, Mrs. Wu, who was originally very sure, couldn't help but become a little hesitant.

This husband has a lot of shortcomings, but he is a good person at heart. Otherwise, she wouldn't be able to live with him.

When Mother Shi saw this, she immediately decided to talk more deeply.

"The Marquis usually treats the Fifth Master like a child. If nothing else, wouldn't you feel uncomfortable seeing this? This time the Fifth Master showed that he wanted to take the responsibility on himself, and the Marquis was so unhappy when he saw it! We have to talk to the Fifth Master anyway! Don't worry about it." After saying this, he felt that this was not strong enough, and said, "How about we ask the old Marquis when we go back to Hongdeng Hutong on the second day of the New Year? He has walked by more bridges than we have walked. We don't understand it, so does he not understand it either?"

"That's right!" Madam Wu finally nodded. "Daddy is very knowledgeable. Just ask him and you'll know!"

Mother Shi finally breathed a sigh of relief and smiled as she changed the subject: "Since the Fifth Master is staying at the Marquis's place tonight, you should also go to bed early! Let the maids do the sewing work, be careful or you will hurt your eyes."

"It's just making a pair of small socks." Mrs. Wu smiled and put down her needle and thread, then let Mother Shi help her to bed.

* * * * * *

Eleventh Lady fell asleep out of exhaustion. When she woke up early the next morning, she was slightly surprised to see that the bedding was not wrinkled at all.

Amber, who was directing the maid to fetch water for washing her face, said with a smile, "The Marquis and the Fifth Master rested in the study last night!"

Long talk by candlelight?

Judging from the situation, the two of them should have put aside their past grudges!

Eleventh Lady smiled and got out of bed with the help of Amber.

"Master Hou and Master Wu haven't gotten up yet?"

"Not yet." Amber smiled, "Luyun, Hongxiu, Chunmo, and Xiayi are all waiting in the study, so don't worry!"

Eleventh Lady nodded and was about to go to the bathroom to wash up when Mother Tao came hurriedly over.

"She must have heard about the Fifth Young Master." Eleventh Lady left her in the hall, "Let her wait."

Amber smiled and responded to pass on the message. Eleventh Lady came out after washing up, sat on the big kang by the window, drank half a cup of tea before letting the maid call her in.

"Madam, I heard something yesterday, and I don't know whether it's true or not, so I came here to ask. I hope the maids won't spread rumors without knowing the seriousness of the matter." She spoke more tactfully.

"What did you talk about?" Eleventh Lady smiled and asked the maid to bring a stool to Mother Tao.

She half-sat on a stool and asked carefully about Xu Sijie: "...They said that we will be included in the family tree after offering sacrifices to our ancestors today?"

Eleventh Lady nodded and repeated the Madam's statement to the outside world, and then said: "...I raised him under the name of Aunt Tong and will live with me temporarily. I also consulted the opinions of Gongxian Hutong beforehand."

Hearing that the Luo family knew about it, Mother Tao nodded and whispered, "Who is the child's biological mother?"

It was obvious that he didn't believe that the child was brought back from the charity.

Eleventh Lady really wanted to laugh.

This is really a typical case of covering one's ears and stealing the bell, but everyone still wants to unanimously say that they did not hear the bell.

"Since he was adopted from the charity home, he must be an orphan!" Eleventh Lady was one of those who did not hear the bell.

Mother Tao was obviously very satisfied with this answer - without a father or a mother, the child’s biological mother would never appear!

She turned her eyes slightly and asked Shiyi Niang in a mosquito-like voice: "How about you let me take care of the child? Anyway, I don't have anything to do now!"

Eleventh Lady immediately thought of Luo Zhensheng... and then refused without a second thought: "It depends on what the Marquis wants!"

Mother Tao was about to say something, but Nan Yong's wife came over to help her comb her hair, so Mother Tao had to retreat.

Eleventh Lady suddenly remembered something and asked Nan Yong's wife, "Do you want to be a housekeeper?"

Nan Yong's wife was stunned.

The mother who works as the housekeeper in the Xu residence receives a monthly allowance of two taels of silver.

"I..." She hesitated, afraid that she might not be able to do it well.

"You can take care of the child, right?" Seeing her anxious look, Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "The Marquis brought a child home to raise under the name of Concubine Tong, and now he needs a mother to take care of things in his house. Go back and discuss it with your wife. Is it okay? Just reply to Amber before the tenth day of the first lunar month."

Nanyong's wife murmured in response and was distracted several times while combing her hair.

After she left, Amber couldn't help but say, "Nanyong's wife is too honest!"

"It's better to be honest!" Thinking of Xu Sijie's clear voice like a yellow warbler, Shiyi Niang couldn't help but let out a long sigh, "Fifth Young Master needs honest people around him."

Amber smiled and helped Eleventh Lady put on the emerald green silk jacket with floral patterns on it. The three concubines came over to greet her.

Also traveling with them was Bin Ju, who was holding Xu Sijie.

Xu Sijie wore a pink brocade crane cloak, had his hair combed into a bun, had a pointed chin, and eyes as clear as autumn water. At first glance, he looked like a little girl.

He saluted to Shiyi Niang in the same way as Binju, his eyes rolling around as if he was looking for something!

Are you looking for Xu Lingyi?

Eleventh Lady found it very interesting.

Bin Ju was already explaining, "…she was dressing the Fifth Young Master, and Aunt Qin came over to ask us to come along."

Aunt Qin smiled and said, "I thought that the Fifth Young Master had just arrived and didn't know some of the rules, so I asked Sister Binju to hold the Fifth Young Master and come over to greet you."

Her smile seemed a little cautious, and there was a hint of blue under her eyes.

After all, as you get older, you will have dark circles under your eyes if you don’t get enough rest.

Eleventh Lady thought about it and looked at Madam Wen.

She had a rosy complexion, looked refreshed and energetic, as if she was even more energetic than herself.

It seemed that the child's matter had no effect on her.

Eleventh Lady looked towards Qiao Lianfang again.