Chapter 257: Move (Part 2)

"Take a breath first." Amber said hurriedly, "Didn't you say it was just a miscarriage? How...what exactly happened?"

Luyun nodded, took a deep breath, and then said, "It is said that she felt uncomfortable after drinking a bowl of chicken soup the night before yesterday, and then had a red spot. When the Fifth Madam found out, she immediately invited Doctor Wu from the Imperial Hospital to come. He said it was caused by stagnation of dryness and heat. He prescribed Ganlu Drink, but who knows how many doses of the medicine she took..." Everyone had heard more or less about how Xiaolan got pregnant. Now the Fifth Madam had just given birth to a daughter, and Xiaolan was gone. She didn't dare to think too much, but her voice gradually got lower, "Qi Qi gave birth to a whole little master..."

Eleventh Lady's eyes dimmed and she remained silent for a long while.

For a moment, the room was quiet.

Amber looked at it and asked hurriedly, "What did the Fifth Madam say?"

"Mother Shi is discussing this with Madam Tai!" Lu Yun said, "I heard from Wei Zi that Madam Wu wants to invite Master Jining from Ciyuan Temple to come and perform a proper ritual."

Buddhism talks about the six realms of reincarnation, so such an untimely death usually has vengeful spirits, and rituals must be performed to save the souls. But Xiaolan was a concubine, and she was conceived while the wife was pregnant. This made it a bit difficult.

"What does the madam mean?" Amber asked.

"The lady said that we should first invite Master Jining to hold a three-day ceremony at home, and then go to Ciyuan Temple to hold a fourteen-day ceremony."

The coffin lasted three days, and the funeral lasted seven days. In other words, after the coffin was over, the coffins of Xiaolan and her son were carried to Ciyuan Temple.

The three of them couldn't help but fall silent for a moment.

Amber asked, "What should we do then?"

Although she was a maid, she was pregnant with Xu Lingkuan's child. She had to get by on the surface. But how to worship her became a problem. Normally, I would just leave it to Mother Tao. Now that I have come to this point with Mother Tao, asking her for advice... wouldn't that be asking for trouble?

Eleventh Lady also has a headache.

After thinking for a while, he said, "Why don't we see what the third room does? We will do whatever the third room does!"

This is also a helpless solution.

If we are wrong, we are all wrong together.

Since the news of Dongqing and Wanjia's marriage came out, some families were happy and some were sad. Some were happy because a maidservant position was vacant, but some were sad because they didn't know who Shiyi Niang would choose. However, Luyun and Hongxiu, who were second-class maidservants, both took action. As a result, Dongqing fell ill, and Luyun took over her place. Luyun was secretly happy in her heart, and she worked more diligently than before.

Therefore, as soon as Eleventh Lady opened her mouth, she immediately responded "Yes" and said, "Madam, I will go to Sister Qiu Ling to ask for information."

Eleventh Lady nodded, and Luyun bowed with a smile and retreated.

But in the hall, he met Hong Xiu who hurriedly pulled the curtain in.

It's not her turn today...

Luyun felt nervous when she thought of Hongxiu's indifferent attitude since she knew that she was the one who would replace Dongqing.

I wonder what she wants to see the lady about?

"Sister, why are you leaving in such a hurry? What are you going to do?"

Hong Xiu smiled and said, "I have nothing to do. So I came to see if there is anything I can do to help you."

Yesterday I heard her say that she didn’t have time, so she went to Amber and begged Qiuyu to make her a pair of shoes…

When we work together, it's enough to just keep some things in mind.

Luyun said, "Madam is talking to Sister Amber. I have got the job, so I won't talk to you any more." Then she walked out with a smile. Hongxiu sighed.

Luyun took Dongqing's hand, but it didn't mean that she had no chance. After all, Binju was not young anymore, and she should have been released in the past two years. But she was only fifteen years old this year, one year younger than Luyun.

It was all my fault before. I used to be the eldest aunt's person, and I was not as attentive as Lu Yun in front of the lady. Now that I know that the lady doesn't value such people, I have to change. Otherwise, even if Bin Ju is released, I am afraid I will have no chance. Am I going to sit in the second class until I am old?

Thinking of this, she straightened her clothes and said respectfully, "Madam, I am Hongxiu. I have something important to report to you."

"Come in!" Eleventh Lady's voice was as soothing as before, but with a hint of laziness in it, as if she couldn't muster up the energy.

She was secretly amazed.

Madam has looked a little listless since she fell ill. Is it because she hasn't recovered yet? Is she holding on because she has a mother-in-law above her, sisters-in-law below her, and the Marquis and the young lady to take care of?

The thought flashed through her mind, and Hong Xiu had already walked in front of Shiyi Niang with her head lowered and her eyes submissive.

She knelt down and bowed, then whispered, "Madam, Zhu Rui beside Aunt Qiao just asked me when the Marquis would return home. I didn't dare to tell her."

Xu Lingyi had been leaving early and returning late these past two days because of the Wang family's affairs, so Shiyi Niang had no chance to recommend Liu Taiping and Chang Xuezhi to him.

What is this Qiao Lian Fang going to do?

She openly sent her maid to say that she wanted to see Xu Lingyi. Could it be that I am still holding back?

Eleventh Lady was slightly unhappy, but she did not show it, and praised Hongxiu's behavior: "You did the right thing. Some words should be said when they should be said. Some words should not be said when they should not be said."

Hongxiu showed joy on her face, and seeing Amber standing beside her, she knew they had something to say, so she immediately bent her knees and retreated.

Amber smiled and said, "Everyone is much smarter now!"

Eleventh Lady smiled and asked about Amber's private money: "...How much money do you have left?"

Amber told her the account, and Shiyi Niang waved her hand: "Just tell me the balance!"

"Except for the bag of gold beans given by the Madam, there are still three hundred and twenty-four taels and eight cents left."

Eleventh Lady pondered for a moment and said, "Then take out three hundred taels of silver and give it to Dongqing - I have already told Manager Bai that she will be sent back to Yu County in ten days." Her tone was a little hesitant.

Amber was secretly surprised: "Madam, you want to give me three hundred taels? Then we..."

"It's the end of the month now, and the regular salary will be paid soon." Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "It's okay."

Amber was still a little hesitant. Shiyi Niang had already stood up: "Just go and talk to her. I'll go see Binju."

She didn't say anything more and accompanied Shiyi Niang to the back room.

. . . . . Lan Xuan, who lived in the same room with Bin Ju, carefully served tea to Shiyi Niang. Just as she stepped aside, Bin Ju came in.

"Madam, if you have anything to say, just ask the maids. Why did you come here in person?"

She walked forward respectfully and saluted Eleventh Lady.

Eleventh Lady glanced at Lan Xuan and said, "Go down first. I want to talk to Binju." She smiled warmly and spoke in a gentle tone.

Lan Xuan breathed a sigh of relief and quickly knelt down to bow before retreating.

Seeing that only she and Shiyi Niang were in the room, Binju immediately said, "Madam, Dongqing has been very quiet these days..."

However, Eleventh Lady pointed at the small stool in front of the kang and said, "You sit down too!" and interrupted her.

Binju sat down.

"I have you with me, Dongqing. I have nothing to worry about." Shiyi Niang handed the tea that Lanxuan had just brought to her to Binju. "I heard from Hubo that you eat less and have lost a lot of weight. So I came to see you specially."

When Binju heard this, tears started falling from her eyes.

Eleventh Lady's eyes turned red as she looked at him: "I've been feeling very upset these past few days, I hope nothing happens to you again!" As she spoke, her heart ached, and the tears that she had been holding back because of Xu Lingyi's appearance that day now fell without restraint.

Bin Ju thought about the happiness they had when they were together before, and then looked at their current breakup, and she started crying too.

Amber was standing under the window frame. When she heard no movement in the room, she asked Lan Xuan to go in with some cold water to apply some water to Shiyi Niang's eyes.

Maybe because she had been crying, Binju looked more energetic than before.

Eleventh Lady then instructed Binju: "…There is Amber at home, and Liu Yuanrui's wife is also a smart person. When you go there, take this opportunity to have a good rest. I will take you back on March 3rd."

Binju put a cold handkerchief on her eyes and said, "Look at what the lady said. I am not that expensive. I will come back after sending Dongqing away."

As the two were talking, a little maid ran in and said, "Madam, the Marquis is back!"

Eleventh Lady didn't want to stay any longer, so she gave a few more instructions and went back to the main house with Amber.

On the way, she asked Amber, "What did Holly say?"

"Nothing." Amber thought of Dongqing's crying after receiving the three hundred taels of silver. "She cried so hard!"

After hearing this, Eleventh Lady paused for a moment, then quickly walked into the inner room.

Xu Lingyi had already changed his clothes and was sitting on the big kang next to the bed in the inner room. Hongxiu was bending over to serve Xu Lingyi tea, saying, "...you've been holding on, but unfortunately Sister Dongqing is sick again..." Hearing the noise, she turned her head and saw that it was Shiyi Niang. She smiled sweetly and called out "Madam", "You're back! The Marquis was asking about you!" As she said that, she pushed her aside quietly.

Eleventh Lady found this strange, not knowing what was going on. She stepped forward suspiciously and saluted Xu Lingyi: "The Marquis is back!"

Xu Lingyi didn't just nod as usual, but looked at her carefully for a while.

Seeing that she was indeed unhappy, and thinking of what Hongxiu had just said about her "holding on", he patted the mattress beside him and said, "Come on, sit down and talk!"

Seeing that he came back earlier than usual and behaved a little strangely, Eleventh Lady glanced at the maids in the room. Although she felt a little awkward, she still sat down next to him reluctantly.

When Amber saw this, she immediately winked at the maids serving in the room and led them out of the inner room.

Seeing that there was no one in the room, Eleventh Lady looked much more relaxed: "Does the Marquis have anything to say to me?"

Xu Lingyi saw this and secretly found it funny - he didn't expect Shiyi Niang to be so thin-skinned.

He said seriously, "I have told Princess Changning what the Wang family meant. Princess Changning also thinks this is a good idea. As for Madam Jiang, Jiang Bai has written to Jiang Gui. If necessary, Jiang Gui will come to Yanjing in person. Once the matter with Grandma Luo is settled, Princess Changning will go to the palace to tell the emperor. I will then give a heads up to the Ministry of Rites. There is probably no problem with this matter. Don't worry!"

The Wang family's problem has been solved, she should be relieved! It turned out to be because of this matter.

Eleventh Lady thanked him and said, "This matter can be accomplished only because of your mediation!" She added, "Since we are going to go through the Ministry of Rites, although you are a noble, you should be polite. Let me know what gifts you want to prepare, and I can prepare them myself."

"I'll let Manager Zhao and the others prepare these trivial matters, so don't worry about it."

It would be better to tell Xu Lingyi about this, especially since Qiao Lianfang is pregnant at the moment.

She carefully helped Qiao Lianfang out of the inner room.

I ran into a mother sent by the lady.

"Where are you going, Auntie?" She said with a smile, "It's windy outside, be careful not to catch a cold."

Qiao Lianfang hurriedly said, "I'm going to see the Marquis," and then, as if afraid of being stopped, she hurried out the door with Xiu Yuan.