When she heard that her daughter wanted to see her, the eldest wife quickly responded, "No need to postpone it. Go and tell Yuanniang that I will be there tomorrow afternoon."

Mother Tao said "yes", called the accompanying maid in, and presented the gift from Luo Yuanniang: "Some medicinal herbs, Master, Madam, to replenish your body."

The eldest wife smiled and asked Mother Xu to take it.

Shanhu had already brought the brocade stool: "Mother Tao, please take a seat."

Mother Tao repeatedly said "I dare not" and postponed, saying: "The first wife is exhausted from the journey, and my wife is waiting for my reply. I will go back first and come to pick up the first wife tomorrow."

The first wife thought for a moment and said, "There is a long time to come. Go back and tell Yuanniang the news, so that she can rest assured."

After hearing this, Mother Tao stood up and said goodbye, and Mother Xu personally saw her out the door.

The eldest master stood up and said, "Everyone go and have a rest. We will have dinner together later."

Everyone in the room responded with a respectful "yes". Mother Xu, Shanhu and others stayed to help the eldest lady with her hair and wash. Luo Zhenxing and the eldest grandmother led the others out of the door one after another.

A plump woman was standing under the eaves, waiting with a smile on her face. When she saw them coming out, she stepped forward to greet Luo Zhenxing and said to the grandmother, "Grandma, the young ladies' quarters have been cleaned up, and the first wife's boxes have been unloaded. The numbers are correct, but I don't know which ones belong to which rooms..."

The woman's surname was Hang. She was the grandmother's companion and also her capable mother.

After hearing this, the eldest grandmother smiled at Wu Niang and Shiyi Niang and said, "Land in Yanjing is very expensive, not like Yuhang, so the house is a little small. Dad and mom live in the main house, and you are placed in the back room. I hope you two sisters don't mind and stay here for now."

Her smile was kind and her words were gentle, which made Shiyi Niang secretly praise her in her heart.

Gu was worthy of her family background in a prominent family in the south of the Yangtze River. Although she knew that the eldest wife treated these concubines sweetly on the outside but bitterly on the inside, she still behaved gently and generously, without losing the demeanor of a girl from an aristocratic family.

Eleventh Lady smiled and thanked the grandmother: "Thank you, sister-in-law!"

Wu Niang pulled the grandmother's hand and said, "Look at what sister-in-law said. Are we all people who don't know the importance of things? This house is so small. Father and mother live in the main house, we live in the back house, and eldest brother and sister-in-law will live in the back house. The back house faces south, it's cold in winter and hot in summer, and it's close to the outer courtyard, so it's noisy... and eldest brother has to study..." As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyelashes, "Sister-in-law said this, which makes us feel ashamed."

The grandmother was quite moved by what she heard.

It's amazing that Wu Niang knows how good she is. She even points out her painstaking efforts in front of her husband Luo Zhenxing... No wonder everyone says that Wu Niang is smart and clever, and she is really likable.

There was a more intimate look in her smile: "Sister, please stop talking like that. You are girls in the boudoir, unlike us, who can live next to the outer courtyard!"

After hearing what Wu Niang said, Luo Zhenxing's face relaxed and a smile appeared in his eyes: "Okay, the sisters have been on the road for more than a month, and the eleventh sister is seasick. You should take them to rest!"

The eldest grandmother replied respectfully, "Yes", and the tenth and eleventh aunts bowed to Luo Zhenxing, greeted the sixth concubine, and followed the eldest grandmother to the back room. Afterwards, Luo Zhenxing also went out of the hanging flower door and returned to the back room where he lived.

Mother Jiang called Ziwei from Wu Niang's room and Amber from Shiyi Niang's room to follow Mother Hang to divide the boxes and cages.

*

The main house in the back wing is the same as the main house in the main courtyard, with five rooms, each with an ear room. The east and west wing rooms have three rooms, each with an ear room. However, there is no fish tank or flower stand in the courtyard like in the main house, and the locust tree in front of the steps has been replaced by a weeping willow.

Grandma smiled and said, "Just pick whichever place you like!"

Wu Niang hurriedly said, "Sister, you choose first! It doesn't matter where I live!"

Eleventh Lady didn't say much, she smiled and said, "Since my sister is older, I'll live in the west room!"

"How can that be possible?" Wu Niang said with a smile, "You are still weak, so you should live in the east room!"

"I'll be fine after I get off the boat. It's not a big deal!" Eleventh Lady said with a smile, "Sister, let's live in the east room and I'll live in the west room!"

Wu Niang was still trying to push and pull. The eldest grandmother smiled and said, "You don't have to push and pull. I think, just like what the eleventh sister said, she is the younger sister, so she should live in the west room, and you are the older sister, so you should live in the east room!"

Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "Let's do as my sister-in-law said!" As she spoke, she was already panting and looked like she was struggling.

The grandmother took the opportunity to say goodbye: "You guys take a break! I'm leaving first. I still have to prepare dinner."

The two of them saw the grandmother off: "Thank you for your hard work, sister-in-law."

"I am a sister-in-law, how can I worry about hard work?" She smiled and went out, and Wu Niang and Shiyi Niang returned to the house. Shiyi Niang smiled bitterly at Wu Niang: "Sister, I want to take a rest..."

"Go ahead!" Wu Niang smiled and turned to go to the east room without any polite greeting.

Ziyuan and the others hurriedly followed Wu Niang into the house.

Eleventh Lady looked at Fifth Lady's back and smiled helplessly.

Ever since she revealed her interest in Luo Yuanniang, Wu Niang had been vaguely hostile to her. If she really wanted to compete with her for something... I was afraid that she would hate her to the core!

"Miss, Fifth Miss..." Dong Qing also saw something, "You have to find a chance to explain it to her. Otherwise, the misunderstanding will only get worse!"

"I know what's going on." Eleventh Lady didn't want to talk about it anymore.

The situation is unclear now, so it’s better not to act rashly!

She was helped back to the house by Holly.

There was a big kang by the window in the west room, with small tables on the left and right, covered with scarlet felt carpets, and four armchairs on the left and right, making it a banquet and resting place. There was a desk by the window in the end room, a bookshelf on the left, a small eight-step bed in the middle of the room, and a small warm room at the back.

Eleventh Lady looked very satisfied.

It would be even more perfect if Wu Niang didn’t live next door!

She pondered in her heart.

Dongqing and Binju were all amazed. "What kind of arrangement is this? There's a small room behind the bed, and there's no fire pot, but it's warm." They reached out to touch the big kang by the window, "It's hot too."

Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "The south is different from the north. The south is humid, so people live upstairs. The north is cold, so people sleep on a heated kang."

"How did Miss know?" Qiu Ju sat in the bed of the warm room with a smile on her face.

"You know it from reading books!" The introverted Zhu Xiang seemed very excited and talked more than usual. "Miss, you've read so many books, of course you know everything!"

Of course, she didn’t learn this from books, but from what she had seen and experienced in person when she traveled all over the country…

Eleventh Lady smiled but did not answer. A little maidservant who was unfamiliar to her came in and said, "Eleventh Lady, Sixth Lady is here."

Everyone was stunned.

The Sixth Aunt had already lifted the curtain and entered.

"Miss Eleven!" She greeted Eleventh Lady with a smile.

Dongqing and the others quickly stopped smiling and stood aside solemnly.

"Why is Auntie here?" Eleventh Lady replied with a smile, "Come in and have a cup of tea!"

Qiuju hurriedly brought a stool to the Sixth Aunt, and Dongqing found a wooden barrel with warm water in the corner of the side room and made tea for the Sixth Aunt.

The Sixth Aunt smiled and waved her hand: "I won't sit down. I still have to help the First Madam rest later. I came here just to ask," she hesitated for a moment, and the smile on her face became a little bitter, "I just want to ask Miss Twelve, is she okay?"

Eleventh Lady sighed secretly in her heart.

A mother worries about her son even when he is away from home. When she left, Fifth Aunt cried bitterly. Similarly, Sixth Aunt must have been tossing and turning here thinking about the young Twelve Aunt!

"Very good!" Eleventh Lady always thought that Sixth Aunt was a very smart person. "Some time ago, I stayed at home every day to embroider the screen. Fifth Sister and Tenth Lady often went to Mother to show their filial piety. Twelfth Sister would sometimes come to Mother to chat and laugh with her sisters. Twelfth Sister also made silk flowers with silk gauze for Mother, and Mother couldn't tell the real from the fake... She is very skillful."

The Sixth Aunt heaved a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "Then I won't bother Miss Eleven. Come to think of it, the Fifth Aunt and I have lived in the same house for five or six years. If you have any problems, just come to me."

"Thank you, aunt." Eleventh Lady didn't know whether the First Madam knew that Sixth Lady had come to her place, and she was afraid that Fifth Lady would see it, so she naturally didn't dare to keep her. She made the excuse that she felt dizzy and asked Dong Qing to send Sixth Lady out.

As soon as the Sixth Aunt left, she came back with the box of amber.

Dongqing first opened the box containing bedding, then made the bed in the warm room, fetched some water to help Shiyi Niang wash up and go to bed, and asked Zhuxiang to look after her. Then he and Amber took Binju and Qiuju to open the boxes and pack up the things.

*

Eleventh Lady had a good sleep and woke up feeling refreshed.

She looked at her face carefully in the mirror: "Have I gained weight again?"

"Your face has become so thin that it's only the size of a palm," Dong Qing was inserting two pomegranate flowers the size of a fingernail into Shiyi Niang's hair, "Do you still want to keep saying you want to lose weight?"

Eleventh Lady smiled with her lips pursed.

Amber urged Eleventh Lady to hurry up: "I saw that Fifth Miss has already left for the First Madam."

Eleventh Lady didn't dare look in the mirror again. She put on a rose-red sable fur cloak and hurried towards the First Lady. Finally, she caught up with Fifth Lady before she entered the house, and they entered the house one after the other.

The two stood in front of the door curtain, with the maid helping them to untie their cloaks. Wu Niang looked at Shiyi Niang with a half-smile: "I didn't expect that my sister's hands and feet would move so quickly even though she was sick!"

Eleventh Lady looked at Fifth Lady with a smile and said angrily, "It's all my fault that my sister left without even calling me!"

Wu Niang smiled coldly and was about to say something, but the curtain was already drawn aside and Shan Hu came out and said with a smile, "The eldest lady is waiting for the two young ladies!"

The two stopped talking and went into the house one after the other.

In the banquet area of ​​the back room, there was a black lacquered square table and eight black lacquered rose chairs with scarlet red cushions, and the chopsticks and plates were already laid out. Several maids stood under the curtain, while Mama Xu, Luoqiao, Daimao and others gathered in front of the big kang by the window - from there, Brother Xiu's cheerful laughter could be heard from time to time.

"Madam, Miss Five and Miss Eleven are here!" Shanhu reported with a smile. The crowd dispersed, and Eleventh Lady saw the Master and Madam sitting on the kang, one on each side. The kang table in the middle had been moved to somewhere long ago, and Brother Xiu was doing somersaults on it. The Grandmother was afraid that the child would fall, so she stood in front of the kang with her arms outstretched to protect him.

"Okay, okay." The master smiled and hugged Brother Xiu, "Let's go eat!"

Brother Xiu looked as if he was still not satisfied, twisting his body and trying to do somersaults.

Luo Zhenxing, who was standing nearby, frowned and said, "Stand still."

After hearing this, Brother Xiu really didn't dare to make trouble anymore. He lay obediently on the master and didn't dare to move.

The eldest wife, while being helped by Du Wei to put on her shoes, said with a smile: "You are not afraid of scaring the child!"

After hearing this, Brother Xiu immediately raised his head from the master's arms and looked at the mistress pitifully.

The eldest wife reached out and hugged Brother Xiu in her arms: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, grandma is here!"

Luo Zhenxing looked at his mother with a somewhat amusing look, and seemed to be hesitant to speak.

The grandmother looked at them and quickly shifted her gaze: "Dad, Mom, please take a seat! I'm sure the two sisters are hungry too!"

Everyone's attention was indeed diverted, and the eldest wife even complained: "Why are you here now?"

Wu Niang smiled and said, "Waiting for my sister!"

Eleventh Lady blushed: "I slept late!"

The eldest wife laughed: "He is an honest man!"

Eleventh Lady blushed and lowered her head, causing everyone to laugh.

(Since Zhizhi is so hardworking, please give her more support...)