Amber looked at Eleventh Lady.

She lowered her head slightly, with a thoughtful expression on her face.

She couldn't help but shout: "Madam..."

Eleventh Lady was slightly startled, looked up and smiled: "What's wrong?"

"The Second Young Master's illness..." If she didn't know, it would be fine. But now that she knew, if she just let it go, she was afraid that there would be gossip. But she couldn't say it in front of Zhun Ge and the maids in the room.

Seeing Amber frowning slightly, Shiyi Niang naturally knew what she was worried about, and said with a smile: "Go and help me invite Manager Bai!"

There was a hint of confusion in Amber's eyes, but she still agreed and went.

Over there, Zhun Ge was feeding water to Xu Sijie.

A little maid came in and reported: "Madam, the eldest, second and third young masters are here!"

Eleventh Lady raised her eyebrows slightly.

I didn't expect it to come so soon.

If it were me, since I had been discovered by the adults, I would have taken the initiative to go and admit my mistake.

I just don't know who makes the decision.

"Please come in, three young masters!" Eleventh Lady instructed the maid.

The little maid responded and invited the three people in.

Seeing Zhun Ge and Xu Sijie huddled beside Shiyi Niang, Xu Siqin and Xu Silan were both a little surprised. Only Xu Siyu had a faint smile on his face and looked calm.

The three of them bowed, and before Eleventh Lady could speak, Xu Siqin said, "Fourth Aunt, this is all my fault. Please don't tell my parents and fourth uncle. We know we were wrong. We will stay at home obediently on the Lantern Festival."

Xu Sijian also nodded repeatedly: "Fourth Aunt, we promise not to go out."

Eleventh Lady motioned the maid to bring over the brocade stool and said with a smile, "If that's the case, I'll pretend I don't know. But you must keep your promise and not leave the house alone without telling the servants and guards around you."

The three of them responded "yes" repeatedly.

Xu Siqin also told Zhun Ge not to tell anyone about this matter: "...so as not to worry your grandmother."

Zhun Ge naturally nodded in agreement.

Eleventh Lady asked them to sit down and the maid served them tea.

Only then did Zhun Ge dare to speak and greet his three brothers.

Xu Sijian pointed at Xu Sijie and said, "You take him out to play every day?"

Zhun Ge nodded and said, "I'm telling a story to my fifth brother!" He looked very proud.

Xu Sijian grinned.

Amber came in and saw Xu Siqin and the other two were there. She hurried forward to pay her respects and said with a smile, "Madam, Chief Butler Bai is here!"

She said this with some skill.

It is said that Chief Steward Bai came, but he did not come on orders. It should be because he was concerned about the presence of Xu Siqin and the other two.

Eleventh Lady nodded secretly in her heart, and stood up with a smile: "You brothers, please sit down for a while. I will go to see what Manager Bai wants. We will go to the Madam later."

A few people smiled and agreed, and she went to the hall.

Manager Bai bowed to her from a distance.

Eleventh Lady walked over and said, "Butler Bai, there is something I need your help with."

Manager Bai saw that she looked solemn, standing there with her eyes lowered, and her attitude was extremely humble.

Eleventh Lady told him about Xu Siqin and the other two who had taken the servants' clothes and left them in the house: "...If it was just the children playing around, it would be a bit of a fuss if I told the Marquis. But if they really meant it, I'm afraid it would be too late to regret if something happened. So I want to ask Chief Steward Bai to send someone to keep a close eye on them. At least it should be after the Lantern Festival. To avoid any trouble."

Chief Steward Bai's expression gradually became stern as he listened. He bowed and replied, "Don't worry, Madam. I understand." He paused and said, "But it's not a good idea to be on guard like this all the time. I'm afraid it's better to tell the Marquis."

He was reminding Eleventh Lady that since she suspected that the three young masters did not prepare the clothes to cure all kinds of diseases, they should push the responsibility away as soon as possible.

Eleventh Lady did this for a purpose.

The three children came to her together to ask for help. If she refused outright, there would be a rift between them in the future. So when Xu Siqin asked, she immediately agreed. After the Lantern Festival, she would find an opportunity to tell Xu Lingyi as a joke. That way, she would not break her promise, and she would not have to be on guard every day.

But she was still grateful for what Manager Bai reminded her: "We have to celebrate the Lantern Festival anyway!"

My words have already pointed out the point, whether or not you listen to them is another matter.

Manager Bai said nothing more, and smiled, "Then I will go out and get busy."

Eleventh Lady nodded, asked Amber to send Butler Bai away, and returned to the house and said with a smile: "It's getting late, let's go to the Madam!"

Everyone responded "yes", got off the bed, put on their shoes, put on their cloaks, and went to the lady's place in a group.

There were rumors everywhere outside, and the old lady had closed the door to visitors. All household affairs were handed over to the Third Lady. She was afraid that someone would say something nonsense that would make Eleventh Lady unhappy, so she suggested that Eleventh Lady stay by her side, but only let her visit her in the morning and evening, and stay in her own yard at other times, so that Eleventh Lady could have some free time.

Seeing Shiyi Niang bringing the children over, she smiled happily. After everyone sat down, she asked Zhun Ge, "Are you telling stories to Jie Ge again?"

The old lady supported Zhun Ge's going to Shiyi Niang every afternoon. The mother and son could live in harmony in this gentle and silent way, which was exactly what the old lady dreamed of.

Xu Siqin and the other two looked tense, and only breathed a sigh of relief when Zhun Ge nodded.

The lady smiled with relief, and a servant came running in: "There is an imperial decree."

Everyone was stunned.

The lady had already stood up. She told Eleventh Lady to change into her dress quickly, and asked Madam Du to send someone in to change her clothes. She also sent someone to the back garden to report to the Fifth Lady.

Everyone acted separately.

When I returned to the yard, I met Xu Lingyi who was changing into court clothes.

Seeing that Shiyi Niang looked a little solemn, he smiled and comforted her: "It's okay. The palace set off fireworks on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and the emperor asked us to join in the fun."

Eleventh Lady thought of Ma Zuowen from the Xingren Division... He should have given Xu Lingyi a message in advance. She calmed down and went to the small courtyard behind the main hall with Xu Lingyi.

As soon as he stood still, the Madame Dowager, Xu Lingkuan, the Fifth Madam, the Third Master and the Third Madam arrived one after another.

Everyone kneeled down to listen to the order.

Just as Xu Lingyi said, the emperor summoned Xu Lingyi, the lady dowager, and Shiyi Niang to the palace to watch the fireworks on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

The Xu family thanked them, and the Xu brothers accompanied the eunuch He who came to deliver the imperial edict to the outer courtyard. The third wife patted her chest and took a deep breath: "You scared me."

The Fifth Lady pondered and asked, "Why did the Emperor suddenly want us to enter the palace to watch the fireworks?"

The lady's eyes also flashed with confusion, but she smiled as if the world was at peace, "The emperor also summoned us to the palace to watch the fireworks on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month when he first ascended the throne. Maybe the emperor is in the mood again this year."

Neither the Third Lady nor the Fifth Lady felt relieved by the Lady Dowager's explanation. They all went back to their rooms to change clothes with their own thoughts.

When Xu Lingyi came back in the evening, Shiyi Niang couldn't help but pull him aside and ask, "...could it be the Hongmen Banquet?"

Xu Lingyi laughed and said, "I am now a fish on the chopping board. The emperor does not need to hold a Hongmen Feast for me." He added, "By the way, I met Shi Zheng a few days ago. He said that several princesses praised you in front of the eldest princess. They said that you are gentle, calm and reserved. This time when you enter the palace, you will inevitably have to deal with several princesses. You must act more respectfully. You must know that good news does not travel far, but bad news travels a thousand miles. The princesses are all talkative people."

What I mean is that the princesses are all very gossipy people, right?

Eleventh Lady couldn't help laughing: "I know!" She turned around and asked Amber to arrange for someone to keep an eye on Xu Siqin and his two brothers: "...I was originally planning to keep an eye on them myself. But I have to go to the palace on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. You must help me keep an eye on them. No matter what, nothing can happen on that day."

Amber knew how serious it was, and hurriedly said, "Don't worry, Madam. I have already told the servants around the young masters about the seriousness of the matter. Unless they don't want to live anymore, they will never let the young masters leave their sight."

She would launch a full-scale attack. If the three of them still escaped, she would admit defeat.

Eleventh Lady felt relieved a little.

* * * * * *

Either they gave up after the matter was exposed, or they were too closely watched and had no chance, the alliance between Xu Siqin and the other two collapsed. Although Xu Siqin and Xu Siyu were often together, Xu Sijian began to follow Zhun Ge to Shiyi Niang's side. Shiyi Niang would prepare some sweet orange juice, rice wine or sweet-scented osmanthus honey for them, and would also tidy up the furnishings in the hall for them to play shuttlecock, jump rope or cuju. Occasionally, Shiyi Niang would change into a small jacket and play with them for a while.

Xu Sijian was very proud when he saw this: "Fourth Aunt, now we have something on you!"

Eleventh Lady laughed and pouted at him: "Whose idea was it that you came to me to beg for mercy?"

Xu Sijian laughed, "It was my second brother. He said, 'Strike first and strike hard.' We have admitted our mistakes, but you can't just punish us all the time. He really came right."

Eleventh Lady smiled slightly and gently advised Xu Sijian: "When I was your age, I also wanted to go out and play. You must tell the adults at home. The adults have more experience than you and will arrange things well..." She also cited many examples of children being lost or kidnapped - these were all collected by her chief steward Bai, all true stories with verifiable examples, "If you don't believe it, send your servant to ask."

Xu Sijian touched his head in embarrassment after hearing this: "I didn't disbelieve it. It was my eldest brother who said that he didn't want to be followed by a large group of people, which would make it inconvenient to go anywhere. So my second brother came up with this idea."

It’s Xu Siyu again. I didn’t expect he is so smart.

"A gentleman is frank and can tell anyone anything. Is there anything inconvenient?" Eleventh Lady smiled and touched his head.

Zhun Ge nodded as he listened, and Xu Sijian smiled with a red face.

People come here to play, not to be scolded by you.

Eleventh Lady immediately smiled and changed the subject: "Brother Jian is really good at playing Cuju, who did you learn from?"

"Second brother!" Xu Sijian said with a smile.

"Oh!" Eleventh Lady was quite surprised, "Then do you know who Brother Yu learned this from?"

Xu Sijian blinked his eyes and whispered mysteriously, "Aunt Four, guess."

Eleventh Lady laughed: "Your second aunt!"

Xu Sijian looked at Shiyi Niang in astonishment.

Looking at the entire Xu Mansion, apart from the Second Madam, who else has the courage to learn the game played by men...

"Fourth Aunt, you are so smart." Xu Sijian said with a smile, a sly look flashing in his eyes, "How about we have a shuttlecock kicking competition?"

Eleventh Lady was ashamed.

In her previous life, she had no athletic talent, and she had to rely on the teacher to turn a blind eye to every physical education exam. In this life, whether it was due to psychological reasons or habitual problems, she was also very clumsy - even Xu Sijie could kick seven or eight shuttlecocks in one breath, but she could only kick two at most.

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So depressing! I was planning to speed up this month, but who knew the new boss would start to work harder. Not only did the workload increase, but I also had to study at night... I have gone from being angry to feeling helpless...~~~~(_