At this moment, in the flower hall of Luo Mansion in Gongxian Hutong, the atmosphere was lively with people toasting each other.

The Wang family of Duke Mao's Mansion sent a steward to say that Wang Lang had caught a cold and Shi Niang had to take care of her husband, so the two of them could not come to pay New Year's greetings to the master.

The eldest master didn't take it seriously. He just felt relaxed and drank happily with his son and son-in-law. They didn't leave until the end of the day. The eldest grandmother asked the fourth grandmother to entertain the fifth and eleventh mothers and other female relatives who had already left the table to drink tea, eat snacks and chat in the warm room. She took Mother Hang to the kitchen to rearrange the dishes.

Wu Niang immediately took the excuse of wanting to see the small clothes that San Niang had made for her unborn child and went to San Niang's place with Si Nainai. Shiyi Niang did not stay for long and told Hu Bo and Dong Qing to take care of Xu Siyu and others, then went to Wu Niang's place.

The one who answered the door was the Sixth Aunt.

She was not surprised to see Shiyi Niang, and Shiyi Niang was not surprised to see her.

The two looked at each other and smiled.

Eleventh Lady said, "I saw that Fifth Aunt had no one to serve her, and I was a little worried, so I came to see her."

The Sixth Aunt smiled and said, "Those maids are clumsy, it would be better if I help take care of them."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Sixth Aunt." Eleventh Lady walked into the house with a smile.

Fifth Aunt was leaning on the big pillow in the bedroom, looking a little tired. When she heard the noise, she asked sullenly, "Who is it?" As soon as she finished speaking, she saw her daughter coming in. She sat up quickly, put on her coat, and said, "Why is Eleventh Aunt here? Today is your wedding day. Does the First Madam know that you came to my place? What are the First Madam and Fifth Aunt doing?"

Eleventh Lady knew that she was afraid that she would make a mistake and be caught, so she hurried forward and sat on the edge of the bed, stopping the Fifth Aunt from getting up: "Aunt, please go to bed. The first wife is asleep, the eldest lady went to the flower hall, and I saw the Fifth Aunt taking the Fourth Lady to the Third Aunt, so I came here." She explained everyone's whereabouts one by one.

"Who will take care of the young masters?"

"Amber and Holly are here."

Only then did the Fifth Aunt breathe a sigh of relief.

"Have you eaten?" Eleventh Lady, who didn't know how many months pregnant she was, asked Fifth Aunt implicitly, but looked at Sixth Aunt.

"It's only been two months. She's not feeling well. She's only had a bowl of porridge since she woke up this morning." Sixth Aunt said meaningfully, "I helped find a midwife to check her, and also asked a doctor to feel her pulse. I didn't dare to say anything until she believed it."

Eleventh Lady nodded.

"I'm fine." Fifth Aunt's face was slightly red. "You go and do your own thing! Sixth Sister is here to take care of me!"

If there really was nothing wrong, Fifth Aunt wouldn't be so worried!

As Eleventh Lady was pondering, Sixth Auntie said very tactfully, "Eleventh Lady, please stay with Fifth Sister for a while. I'll go make a cup of tea." After saying that, she got up and went out, and carefully closed the door for them.

Fifth Aunt's expression was more relaxed. She looked at Eleventh Aunt carefully: "Auntie, are you okay? I heard a few days ago that the Marquis brought a child back, and I was worried day and night. Today, I saw that the child is very attached to you. I am relieved." She slowed down her speech and hesitated, "Originally, I shouldn't say this, but I think that Auntie is kind and the child is a pitiful one. Auntie should treat him better. The Bodhisattva also said that saving a life is like building a seven-story pagoda. You have planted good causes, and you will also reap good results."

Eleventh Lady nodded quickly: "Don't worry, Auntie, I will treat him like Brother Yu."

"It's good that you can figure it out, ma'am." A trace of sadness appeared on Fifth Aunt's brow. "Children are ignorant, and it's the adults' business if there's something wrong. You shouldn't dislike this child because of the Marquis's affairs. You gave him clothes and food, and saved him his whole life. When he grows up and becomes sensible, he will repay you."

He was also afraid that she would feel uncomfortable and argue with Xu Lingyi about the mistress.

Eleventh Lady thought for a moment and said softly, "Aunt, I understand what you said. To be honest, if something like this happened to the Marquis, not to mention me, even if my eldest sister were still alive, I would not have the position to be angry with the Marquis. Besides, I treated this child well and I didn't expect him to repay me. I do things according to my conscience and I am not afraid of ghosts knocking on my door in the middle of the night." As she spoke, she smiled frankly.

The Fifth Aunt agreed very much, and her face was full of relief: "My aunt is always more thoughtful than I think, I am just worrying too much."

Eleventh Lady had not come here to talk about these things. Seeing that Fifth Aunt was relieved, she smiled and changed the subject: "Why didn't you tell me that Aunt was pregnant? I was worried for a while."

The Fifth Aunt was a little embarrassed: "This is not a good thing... I am so old..."

"Why isn't it a good thing?" Eleventh Lady interrupted Fifth Auntie with a smile, "Think about it, if you give birth to a daughter, I'll have a sister. In the future, the two sisters will have someone to look after and won't be lonely. If you give birth to a son, I'll have someone to rely on for the rest of my life, and I can rest assured. Why isn't it a good thing?"

She knew that Fifth Aunt was most worried about her, so she used herself as an example, hoping that Fifth Aunt would muster up the courage to give birth to the child.

The Fifth Aunt's eyes really lit up: "You, you want to have a brother or sister?"

"Of course." Eleventh Lady smiled and tucked the quilt for her. "I look at my fifth sister and fourth brother and I'm very envious."

The Fifth Aunt looked at her and smiled, her eyebrows and eyes slowly blooming like a white lotus, beautiful and pure.

Eleventh Lady looked at him with envy. She took a mirror and put her face close to Fifth Aunt's. While looking in the mirror, she pretended to complain, "Why am I not as pretty as Aunt!"

Her liveliness surprised Fifth Aunt, and she was also very happy. She smiled and hugged Eleventh Aunt: "You are prettier than me. I am a useless person." Her tone was already somewhat sad.

Eleventh Lady amused her and said with a smile: "It would be great if I could give birth to a daughter as beautiful as Auntie!"

The Fifth Aunt was shocked when she heard this. She looked at her belly and said hesitantly, "Auntie..."

"No, no." Eleventh Lady shook her head, "That's what I think."

The Fifth Aunt heaved a long sigh and said with a smile, "It's better to give birth to a son." Then she gently stroked her temples, "If you give birth to a son, you will have a firm foothold in the Xu family... It's best if the child looks like his father, so that the Marquis will like him... I once saw the Marquis from a distance, and the Marquis has a good appearance. The child will definitely be a lovable one..."

As he was speaking, someone coughed loudly twice through the door.

The Fifth Aunt's expression immediately tensed up: "Who is it?"

Eleventh Lady couldn't help but shake her head as she looked at it.

How can you give birth to a healthy baby when you are so nervous?

The smiling voice of Sixth Aunt could be heard from outside: "Fifth sister, it's me." Then she pushed the door open and walked in.

When the Fifth Aunt saw that it was the Sixth Aunt, a smile appeared on her face, but she did not feel much relaxed.

Seeing this, Eleventh Lady accepted the tea from Sixth Aunt, chatted with Fifth Aunt for a few words, then stood up and said goodbye: "I will come to see Aunt again in two days."

Tomorrow is the third day of the first lunar month, the day for the children to visit their uncle. The madam has no brother, and since they live far away, she can take advantage of this opportunity and let Xu Siyu, Zhunge, and Xu Sijie visit Luo Zhenxing and Luo Zhensheng. However, this matter needs to be discussed with Xu Lingyi, and it is not easy to set a date at this time, so she vaguely said "two days".

"I don't have anything to do here. You don't have to come to see me specially." Fifth Aunt stood up to see her off. "It's New Year's Day, and the Marquis has many guests. Don't make the Madam and the Marquis unhappy because of these trivial matters."

After all, this is not something that can be accomplished just by saying it. Eleventh Lady did not want to promise, so she smiled and agreed, asking Sixth Aunt to send her out: "…It's cold outside, Aunt, take a good rest, Sixth Aunt will send me out!"

The Fifth Aunt probably didn't want to go out, so she sent her to the door. She watched the Sixth Aunt and the Eleventh Aunt go from the side room of the main house to the main courtyard and disappear before she turned around.

Eleventh Lady, however, walked and talked with Sixth Aunt as they went.

"Twelfth sister is getting more and more beautiful. She has graceful manners and is very pleasing to the eyes. When sister Zhen comes back in a few days, I will talk to my eldest sister-in-law and ask her to bring her to my place for a walk."

Half of her wanted to negotiate terms with Sixth Aunt, and half of her sincerely hoped to create an opportunity for Twelfth Aunt.

Do not impose on others what you do not want others to do to you.

She still remembers the feeling of worrying about gains and losses, trembling with fear, and tossing and turning.

A flash of ecstasy passed through Sixth Aunt's eyes, and she immediately regained a slightly reserved smile on her face. She half-knelt and bowed to Eleventh Aunt: "Thank you very much, Aunt. Back then, when Miss Twelve lived with Aunt, I told her that Aunt Eleven is the smartest person in our house. If you don't know what to do, just follow Aunt Eleven and learn..."

Eleventh Lady was stunned.

She recalled how quiet and eerie it was in Twelve Niang's room when Ten Niang was smashing things on the roof.

* * * * * *

On the way back, Eleventh Lady propped her chin up on her elbow and sighed, "I really want to go see Auntie tomorrow!"

Xu Lingyi smiled: "I'll go talk to mom. You can take the kids back to Gongxian Hutong tomorrow to pay New Year's greetings to Zhenxing."

"Thank you, My Lord!" Eleventh Lady immediately thanked him with a smile on her face.

Xu Lingyi stroked his chin and said, "My father-in-law looks very happy."

"I'm very happy too." Eleventh Lady smiled, wondering whether she should make some small clothes for Fifth Aunt. Should she bring some medicinal herbs with her when she goes to see Fifth Aunt tomorrow? She should also bring some silver... Her thoughts wandered to the lotus.

When the lady heard that the fifth aunt was pregnant, she was also very happy: "It's a good thing to add a child to my husband's family!"

Eleventh Lady smiled and replied “yes”.

Xu Lingkuan and the Fifth Madam had already returned. The Fifth Madam was sitting next to the Madam Dowager, eating an apple with a plate in her hands. When she heard that the Fifth Madam was pregnant, her eyes widened immediately: "Your Madam must be very beautiful, right?"

At first glance, it sounds like curiosity, but if you think about it carefully, it is actually saying that the aunt uses her beauty to please men.

Eleventh Lady didn't think anything of it - Fifth Lady was indeed very beautiful.

Xu Lingkuan, who was standing by, frowned because it was irritating. He wanted to give his wife some advice, but since his mother and brother were both there, it was not the right time to talk. He twitched his lips slightly, but in the end, he said nothing.

The fifth wife, who was watching her husband out of the corner of her eye, felt a chill in her heart.

This guy, just as expected, stood on the side of Eleventh Lady.

It seems that my father was right!

Xu Lingyi, who was sitting below the Madam, also felt that his sister-in-law's words were a little inappropriate, so he smiled and changed the subject: "In this case, I think it would be better to let Shiyi Niang take some herbs and a ruler to Gongxian Hutong tomorrow to see Auntie."

※

Alas, the man pleases me but I dislike him.

Let's talk about whether or not to explain.

I follow the good advice...