Yanrong stood straight, smiling, and looked a little reserved. Xiuyuan was talking to Yanrong, smiling and covering her mouth, with a bit of flattery.

Amber frowned: "What does she want to do?"

Eleventh Lady winked at her and said, "Come to think of it, Xiu Li has worked very hard too. We should at least go and say hello to her!" Then she walked over leisurely.

The conversation between the two could be heard faintly.

"...Sister Yanrong, you don't have to be polite to me. My aunt has two mothers sent by the lady to take care of her. I have nothing to do anyway."

"To be honest, Qiuyu, who works for Sister Amber, has made me six pairs of summer socks. I can't wear all the more. And there will be new styles next year."

"Then I'll make a lace skirt for my sister?" Xiu Li was still not giving up, "My aunt just gave me a piece of moon-white silk..."

Yan Rong interrupted Xiu Li's words: "Since it was given by Auntie, you can keep it for yourself! Madam gave me a piece of Hang silk and a piece of scorched cloth two days ago..." As she was talking, she saw Shiyi Niang and Amber coming over. She hurriedly smiled and called out "Madam", leaving Xiu Li behind and came to greet them.

Xiu Chen did not dare to be careless and followed Yan Rong closely, kneeling and bowing to Shiyi Niang.

"It's Xiu Li!" Eleventh Lady looked indifferent.

Xiu Yuan hurriedly explained with a smile: "I came here specially to ask you sisters for advice on needlework."

"Needlework?" Eleventh Lady smiled when she heard this and looked her up and down.

She was wearing a pea green bodice and a white silk jacket. Her thick black hair was combed into a bun, and her face, which was lightly powdered, made her look quite pretty.

Xiu Li couldn't help but feel a little reserved: "Madam..."

Eleventh Lady kept her eyes on her: "I usually don't pay attention, but today I take a closer look and find that Xiu Li is already a big girl. It's time for her to worry about needlework." As she said this, she smiled and turned to the main house, "I don't know whose kid is so lucky!"

Amber, Yanrong and others hurriedly followed.

Xiu Li's expression changed drastically.

Since she followed Qiao Lianfang to the Xu family, she was a servant of the Xu family. As the mistress, Shiyi Niang naturally had the right to assign her to any servant.

When she thought of this, she couldn't help but feel frightened and hurried towards the east corner gate.

Eleventh Lady looked at Yan Rong with a slightly cold gaze, and asked, "Is the Marquis back?"

Yan Rong whispered, "I've been back for half an incense stick of time. I asked Madam as soon as I entered the room. I knew that you were called away by the Third Madam, and asked Xia Yi to help you change clothes and wash up. You should have gone to bed by now." He added, "Xiu Li tried to ask in a roundabout way whether the Marquis had returned, but I kept making excuses..." At the end, there was a questioning tone in his words.

Eleventh Lady stopped.

The night wind blew the leaves, making a rustling sound, and the coldness in my face was no longer there.

"If she comes to ask again, just stop her." Her voice was a little low, caught in the wind, and sometimes disappeared. "If it's Aunt Qiao...you don't have to stop her!"

Yanrong was slightly startled.

Eleventh Lady has turned and entered the hall.

Yanrong hurriedly followed.

Amber had already lifted the curtain of the inner room for Eleventh Lady.

"What does Third Sister-in-law call you to do?" Xu Lingyi was sitting on the big kang by the window reading a book. He looked up when he heard the noise, with a smile already between his eyebrows.

"I have something to discuss." Eleventh Lady replied vaguely, "When did the Marquis come back?"

"Just got back..."

The couple greeted each other, and Eleventh Lady went to the bathroom to wash up. When she came out, Xu Lingyi had already gotten into bed, leaning on the bedside reading a book. Seeing that she had finished cleaning up, he put down the book and prepared to go to bed, while casually saying, "How's the account going? Third brother discussed with me today, and we're going to set off on February 16th."

"So fast!" Eleventh Lady got on the bed, "The daily account books have been clearly arranged, even the accounts in the warehouse. There are thirty-six books, but only twelve are correct."

"Is it wrong?" Xu Lingyi asked as he lay down. "Except for those inherited from ancestors and granted by the emperor, you can do whatever you want with the rest. Shanyang is a poor place. When we return to Beijing, everyone will set up their own families... They still have a long life ahead of them."

"I understand what the Marquis means." Eleventh Lady adjusted her pillow and lay down. "The warehouse accounts are slow to be checked, but it's not because of this matter." She told Xu Lingyi that Xu Siqin and others had secretly gone to see Yuan Jie'er and were discovered by Gan's eldest lady and turned to the Third Madam. She omitted the confrontation between herself and the Third Madam and talked about her treatment of Xu Siyu.

Xu Lingyi nodded as he listened, "You did the right thing. Letting him reflect on his mistakes behind closed doors can not only help him withdraw from the matter, but also allow him to reflect on himself." As he spoke, he frowned, "I think he always acts cautiously, but who would have thought he would do such a foolish thing!"

"No matter how calm Yu Ge'er is, he is only a teenager." Shiyi Niang advised, "Some principles still need to be taught carefully." She added, "Yu Ge is smart and clever. Don't lose your temper when you meet him. Talk to him in a nice way. He is not a child who won't listen."

Xu Lingyi hummed softly and said to Yuan Jieer: "... With such a commotion, I'm afraid life will be difficult. I think, if it really doesn't work, you should go see Madam Gan. After all, the children are still young. Discuss with her some way to cover it up. After all, it was Brother Yu and the others who were wrong in this matter."

"Let's wait and see what happens with Third Sister-in-law first!" Eleventh Lady said, "If she has an unpleasant conversation with the Gan family's grandmother, it won't be too late for us to act as peacemakers."

Xu Lingyi nodded and told her about hiring a legal advisor for the Third Master: "... Ma Zuowen recommended him. I've met him too. He's very experienced in human relations and is also well versed in money and grain matters. But I'm still a little worried. I want to send Song from the comprador office to be the chief steward by Third Brother's side. Otherwise, if Third Sister-in-law starts to make trouble, I'm afraid Third Brother won't be able to control her."

"Which family's chief steward is not a trusted person?" Eleventh Lady said tactfully, "You should discuss this matter with Third Master carefully. Otherwise Third Master will feel uncomfortable."

"You have a point..."

The two chatted about daily life for a long time before they rested.

The next morning, Aunt Qin came and served tea and water to Shiyi Niang. Although her face was full of gratitude, she was speechless. Seeing that Shiyi Niang was about to go to pay her respects to the Madam, she stammered, "Madam, I, I will make you a pair of shoes!"

In front of Xu Lingyi, Eleventh Lady couldn't refuse, so she just smiled and said, "Don't work too hard, Aunt Qin."

Aunt Qin was as excited as a child who got a big red envelope during the Chinese New Year: "No need to work, no need to work."

Eleventh Lady smiled and went to the lady's place with Xu Lingyi.

It happened that the Third Lady brought Gan Mama to ask for leave from the Grand Lady, saying that she was going to follow the Third Master on a mission and that she wanted to visit some relatives at home. She handed the reconciliation of the accounts to Qiu Ling.

The lady naturally agreed.

She goes out early and comes back late, and always gets angry when she gets back.

Xu Siqin was thinking about the fact that Grandma Gan wanted to marry Yuan Jie'er to him, and he listened to it with great pleasure every time. Xu Sijian was laughing secretly beside him.

Eleventh Lady asked twice in a very veiled way, and Third Lady said both times, "It's okay, it's okay. I was just talking to my eldest sister-in-law about this!"

She didn't dare to ask more questions.

Two days later, the warehouse's account books were finally checked. Although there were occasionally two or three items that didn't match in each book, the overall account books were in order.

Eleventh Lady listened without moving her eyelids or brows, but asked Amber and the others to recopy the account books and send them to the lady.

The lady didn't even look at it, she just asked her, "Are there any damages to the big items?"

"No." Knowing that the Madam's heart was as clear as a mirror, Eleventh Lady couldn't help but smile, "Only a few small things were damaged."

"That's good!" The lady smiled. "Although it is said that clear water means no fish, we can't let the fish eat all the grass."

Everyone laughed.

Mother Gan came in accompanied by the Third Lady.

Her face was full of smiles and she looked energetic, completely different from her usual irritability and anxiety. As soon as she entered the door, she shouted with a smile, "I can finally pass this burden to my fourth brother's wife." She was in a very happy mood.

Eleventh Lady was secretly amazed. After she finished the handover with her, she immediately sent Amber to inquire about the news: "What is going on?"

Amber came back and said, "Gan's sister Yuan is engaged. Her father-in-law is a captain of Yulin Guards, a hereditary one."

Eleventh Lady hurriedly flipped through "Records of the Nine Regions of the Great Zhou".

There is Sheyan River in the west of Yulinwei and Heishui River in the north, which flows into Sanchachuan through the south of Yulinwei...

But she only noticed the last line: "One thousand one hundred and twenty miles from the Governorate."

Eleventh Lady was very disappointed.

After thinking for a while, he copied down the content about Yulin Wei in the "Geographical Records".

"Send it to the Second Young Master!"

Amber's eyes dimmed, she took the note, bent her knees and whispered "yes", then went to Lijingxuan.

When the news spread, the three children all lost their smiles. Xu Siqin had changed the most. He used to be quiet, but now he was silent. His childish face was filled with sadness, which was frightening.

Xu Siyu also calmed down all of a sudden.

He never left the house and practiced calligraphy at home every day.

As for the instigator, the Third Lady, I don't know whether it was because of the joy of the upcoming journey that she neglected it, or because she had no choice at this point, she did not show any strangeness about her son's change, and her attitude in front of Eleventh Lady was very tough: "If you catch a thief, you must catch the stolen goods, right? You can't just do whatever the eldest sister-in-law says and ruin the reputation of our child!"

Eleventh Lady didn't want to talk to her much and asked her how her luggage was prepared.

The Third Lady immediately perked up: "Everything is ready, we are just waiting for the custom-made sedan chair to arrive."

As the two were talking, a little maid came in and said, "Madam, Grandma Luo from Gongxian Hutong is here."

After Grandma Luo and the Third Lady exchanged greetings, the Third Lady stood up to leave. Grandma Luo smiled and asked Eleventh Lady, "How does it feel to be the head of the family?"

"It went quite smoothly!" Eleventh Lady invited Grandma Luo to sit on the kang. "At first, the Madam was afraid that I would not be used to it, so she asked the housekeepers to go back to the east side room, and she sat in the east side room to listen. After listening for two days, she asked me to go to the flower hall to give instructions. She said that it would avoid giving her a headache if there were too many noises."

"That's good, that's good." Grandma Luo was happy for her, "After all, you never had any contact with it at home. I have been worried about you!"

"I at least learned from the Third Madam for a few days before." Eleventh Lady was vague. She smiled and took the tea served by the little maid and placed it in front of Grandma Luo. "What does Sister-in-law want to talk to me about?"

"Fourth Aunt has been ill for a while." Grandma Luo whispered, "I just received the letter yesterday and wanted to ask you to go and see her."

Eleventh Lady was shocked when she heard this: "What's the disease? He was fine in the first month of the year."

"Thick neck disease." Grandma Luo said, "It means that the person is so thin that a strong wind can blow him away."

Eleventh Lady hurriedly instructed Amber to help prepare the gifts and the carriage, and then she and Grandma Luo went to pay respects to the lady dowager, and sent someone to inform Xu Lingyi and went to see Fourth Lady.

In the evening, Xu Lingyi came back from the outer courtyard and paid his respects to the Madam. When he went to his room, he saw a deserted and cold room. He couldn't help but wonder, "Is the Madam not back yet?"

"My wife hasn't come back yet!"

Luyun came forward to help him change his clothes, and then made him some hot tea and waited for him to sit on the big kang by the window in the inner room.

Just as Xu Lingyi picked up the teacup and took a sip, he heard a commotion outside.

He frowned slightly, and the curtain of the inner room was gently lifted, and a moon-white figure rushed in.

"My Lord..."