Chapter 215: First Month (Part 2)
The next day, before dawn, Eleventh Lady got up, ate two meat buns with Xu Lingyi, and began to dress according to her status.
As soon as they were dressed, Binju came over with Xu Siyi, three concubines, Mother Tao and others to wish them a happy new year.
Xu Siqi's eyes were not yet open, and he leaned sleepily on Binju's shoulder.
Eleventh Lady smiled and rubbed his dark black hair, took out a purse filled with silver ingots to reward them, and took Xu Siqi and Xu Lingyi to the lady's place.
The lady had already stood up and was asking Madam Du to bring some fruit and snacks: "...The earliest he can be back is early afternoon. I remember one year he was delayed until noon."
This is also the reason why Shiyi Niang and Xu Lingyi dare not drink porridge for breakfast.
Who knows what will happen then? Can you even go to the toilet during the trip?
Eleventh Lady nodded with a smile, asked Xu Siqi to wish the lady a happy new year, and then went to help Mother Du pack the box.
The third master and the third lady arrived, followed by Xu Siqin, Xu Siyu and Xu Sijian.
As soon as Xu Sizhen entered the room, he asked, "Where is Brother Zhue? Hasn't he gotten up yet?"
It is said that they had a lot of fun yesterday.
"I got up early!" Brother Zhe suddenly appeared at the door, "I didn't sleep in!"
He glared at Xu Sijian in dissatisfaction, then ran to the lady and wished her a "Happy New Year".
The lady smiled and patted his head.
He turned and ran to Xu Siqi and asked, "Have you paid New Year's greetings to your grandmother?" as if he wanted to tell him what to do.
Bin Ju hurriedly said, "Yes, yes. I came to wish the Madam a happy new year as soon as I arrived."
He nodded with satisfaction.
This made the lady laugh.
The Third Master and his wife also laughed, and brought Xu Siqin and his brother to pay New Year's greetings to the Madam. The Fifth Master came over, supporting the Fifth Madam.
Everyone greeted each other warmly.
Seeing that it was getting late, the lady left Mother Du at home and took her son and daughter-in-law to the palace.
The group parted ways in front of the Meridian Gate. Xu Lingyi took Xu Lingning and Xu Lingkuan to Fengxian Hall to pay homage to the Emperor, while the Lady Dowager took Eleventh Lady, the Third Lady and the Fifth Lady to Kunning Palace to pay homage to the Empress.
Outside the palace gate, curtains had already been set up. The ladies of the inner court were in the northwest, the princesses in the southeast, and the ladies of the outer court in the southwest.
After entering the tent, Eleventh Lady saw many familiar faces.
Madam Lin of Marquis Weibei, Grandma Lin, Madam Gan of Zhongqin, Madam Tang of Marquis Zhongshan, Madam Qiao of Duke Cheng, and Grandma Lin's sister-in-law were all there, but Madam Huang of Marquis Yongchang and Grandma Huang San were not to be seen.
They were all acquaintances. The lady came forward with her daughter-in-law to pay her respects.
There was a burst of noisy laughter coming from the door.
Everyone couldn't help but look sideways.
Then they saw seven or eight ladies of noble rank coming in, escorting the two sisters-in-law, Marquis Jianning and Earl Shouchang.
Some people came forward to say hello, some stood there and nodded with a smile, and some turned their heads away to talk to the people around them, pretending to ignore everything.
As for the wife of Marquis Jianning and the wife of Earl Shouchang, they were all smiles and greeted enthusiastically those who came forward, nodding and greeting those who smiled. The scene was very lively.
Eleventh Lady heard someone behind her snort coldly, and whispered, "This is in Kunning Palace. How unruly!"
She hesitated whether to turn around to see who said this, but she saw the wife of Marquis Jianning walking towards her with a smile.
"Madam." She greeted the Madam from a distance, "I saw you at the Fifth Prince's funeral last time. Are you feeling well?"
The death of the fifth prince was not only a sorrow for the royal family, but also for the Xu family. In addition, there were some rumors about the death of the fifth prince. Everyone listened to the hidden meaning in the words of the wife of the Marquis of Jianning, and looked at the wife with curiosity, anger, frowns, or gloating smiles, and looked at the wife.
The lady who was being stared at by everyone looked calm, without any movement in her eyes or eyebrows. "Although I am old, fortunately my teeth are still good and my appetite has not decreased. Thank you for your concern, Madam Jianning Marquis!" It sounded a bit like "Although Lian Ping is old, he can still lead troops."
Everyone in the tent heard the lady's ulterior motive and stared at the two of them in silence.
The wife of Marquis Jianning was secretly upset.
When the Emperor was still a prince, the Xu family acted like good children in front of the Empress Dowager. Now that their daughter has become the Empress, they have turned their backs on her. Not only have they repeatedly rejected the good intentions of the Yang family, but they have also instigated the Wen family to compete with the Yang family for the porcelain business of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. If they are not given a lesson this time, they will become even more arrogant in the future. There is no way out for the Yang family.
Thinking of this, she snorted in her heart, and said with a smile: "Madam Tai is so lucky! With a filial son and a virtuous daughter-in-law, and a house full of children and grandchildren, she naturally eats well and sleeps well." Then she glanced at Shiyi Niang, "By the way, I heard that you recently had a grandson, why didn't you bring him into the palace for the Empress to see! After all, he has the wife of Yongping Marquis to teach him, I think his etiquette and style are different, right?"
Xu Lingyi, the Marquis of Yongping, had a concubine outside and brought his son home when he was three years old. This was a big piece of news that everyone in Yanjing, from high-ranking officials to peddlers, would ask each other "did you know this?" in recent days. Everyone knew this!
But being so direct, in this kind of situation... is so rare!
Few of the people in the tent could hide their surprise. Some looked at the old lady, some looked at the Eleventh Lady, and quite a few looked at the Third Lady and the Fifth Lady.
For a moment, one could hear a pin drop in the curtains.
Ever since the news of the child spread, Eleventh Lady had been prepared in her heart - such a big gossip, anyone who met her would probably tell about it. She was also prepared in her heart, and decided to remain unchanged in the face of all changes, and to deal with everyone with the words of the lady. But she didn't expect that someone would say it in such a tone in such an occasion.
It seems that my "preparation" is not enough.
She put away her smile and looked at the wife of Marquis Jianning with a serious expression.
For this naked malicious attack, Shiyi Niang felt that she could not be polite, nor could she retreat or tolerate it. She had to refute it with all her might. Otherwise, this kind of person would only become more arrogant. She might even think that you were afraid of her and say something even more unpleasant.
However, as a daughter-in-law, the old lady was present and she could not refute him without consulting her, otherwise it would be impolite.
She couldn't help but look at the lady.
The Third Lady, who was standing behind Eleventh Lady, looked somewhat embarrassed.
It was all the good work of the fourth room! Now everyone is embarrassed together.
She looked towards the Fifth Madam and saw that she frowned.
This wife of the Marquis of Jianning, no wonder others look down on her! Does she know what she is talking about? As the saying goes, don't hit someone in the face. In this way, she not only hit the Xu family in the face, but also hit the Empress Dowager in the face. You know, the Yang family is the Empress Dowager's in-laws, the Xu family is the Empress Dowager's in-laws, and the Empress Dowager and the Emperor are not biological mother and son. What will these ladies think of such a tit-for-tat in public? I'm afraid that in less than half a day, the whole of Yanjing will spread the rumor that the Empress Dowager and the Empress are not in harmony!
She also looked at the lady.
The lady raised her eyebrows and smiled, "The wife of Marquis Jianning is right." Then she smiled and pulled Shiyi Niang's hand, "I am not exaggerating about my daughter-in-law. Although she is young, she is polite and well-behaved. I am 100% confident in leaving the child to her."
He neither confirmed nor denied what the wife of Marquis Jianning said, nor did he refute what the wife of Marquis Jianning said, nor did he escalate the situation by making any rebuttal.
All the ladies present smiled as they listened. Only the wife of Marquis Jianning looked a little gloomy. Just as she was about to say something, the lady suddenly turned around, attracting everyone's attention.
She smiled and asked Mrs. Tang who was standing beside her: "Hey, why don't I see your fourth wife? She is a lark and speaks so beautifully. I often tell my daughters-in-law that they should learn how to speak from the fourth wife of the Tang family!" She was secretly mocking the wife of Marquis Jianning for not being able to speak, and brought the topic to the gossips of family members.
Mrs. Tang looked hesitant.
She didn't want to offend the Xu family, but the Yang family was her in-laws - she couldn't just turn her elbow out!
The wife of Marquis Shouchang, who had been paying attention to this side, saw that her sister-in-law was at a disadvantage, and came over here with a bad look on her face.
The atmosphere in the tent suddenly became stagnant.
The Fifth Lady saw the gaze shift and immediately stepped forward to support the Lady's arm: "You want us to learn from the Fourth Madam of the Tang family, the Eldest Madam of the Lin family, and the Third Madam of the Huang family... Who should we learn from? You have to give us a definite answer." She spoke coquettishly, like a coquettish child, and immediately diluted the tense atmosphere in the tent.
Everyone laughed.
Madam Gan was the relative of the dowager, so naturally she had to help the Xu family in this situation. She changed her usual low-key and reserved demeanor and immediately joked with the Fifth Madam with a smile: "Your mother-in-law wants you to learn how to speak from the Fourth Madam of the Tang family, learn how to be a housekeeper from the First Madam of the Lin family, and learn how to make her happy from the Third Madam of the Huang family..."
Suddenly someone interrupted and asked, "Who is behind my wife's death?"
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Grandma Huang San walking in with her mother-in-law, Madam Huang, the Marquis of Yongchang.
"Who told you to be late?" Madam Gan wanted to make a fuss with the wife of the Marquis of Yongchang so that she could leave the wife of the Marquis of Shouchang aside. "If not your wife, who else should I blame?"
Although Madam Huang, Marquis of Yongchang, was not present just now, she could guess a little bit when she saw the women of the Xu family and the Yang family standing face to face.
She didn't want the Xu family and the Yang family to quarrel at this time. You know, the Queen Mother is old and will die one day. But the Queen still has a long life ahead of her. There's no need to offend the Queen Mother and get a reputation of being unfilial.
The wife of Marquis Yongchang immediately pinched her and supported her third daughter-in-law.
Huang San's wife was also very smart. When she came in, she saw the stalemate between the two families. She understood what her mother-in-law said and immediately said with a smile, "You can't say that I am coaxing my mother-in-law. When have I ever coaxed my mother-in-law? I am sincerely serving my mother-in-law!" Then she pretended to be crazy and asked the wife of the Marquis of Yongchang, "Mother-in-law, you have to make the decision for me!"
This caused everyone to laugh again.
A eunuch came running in with a smile on his face: "Madams, the Queen has ascended the throne!"
Everyone looked dignified, and stood on either side of the civil or military officials according to their husbands' titles and ranks. Then they heard the sound of music coming faintly from Kunning Palace. It was the Imperial Concubine leading the ladies of the inner court to congratulate the Empress on the New Year.
Everyone's expression became more solemn.