The voice was filled with resentment and timidity, and also revealed a hint of grievance.

Xu Lingyi was surprised and looked carefully. It was Qiao Lianfang.

"What's all the fuss about?" His tone was slightly displeased.

Yan Rong, who followed Qiao Lianfang in, bowed hurriedly, "My aunt came in so suddenly and left so quickly, and we were really scared. We couldn't help but make a little noise, and I apologize for that, my Lord."

Just now, when Qiao Lianfang came in, Xiu Li was the first to come in. The maids stopped Xiu Li, not her.

She didn't want to argue with Eleventh Lady's maid about these things, so she smiled and saluted Xu Lingyi: "I haven't seen My Lord Marquis for some time. My Lord Marquis seems to have lost a lot of weight?" As she spoke, she placed her hand lightly on her abdomen.

Xu Lingyi looked in the direction of her hand and asked the maid to bring her a stool.

Qiao Lianfang sat down sideways.

Xu Lingyi asked, "What can I do for you?"

Qiao Lianfang smiled and said, "Nothing! I feel bored lying in bed all day. I came out for a walk. I heard that the Marquis has returned, so I came to say hello." Then she asked, "What is the Marquis busy with?"

"Nothing much!" Xu Lingyi said briefly, "It's just some trivial matters in the outer courtyard."

"My lord, you have commanded thousands of troops, so it is indeed a waste of your talents to handle these household chores. Unlike me, I am clumsy and awkward. I wanted to help the child make a shirt, but it took me seven or eight days to sew a sleeve." As she spoke, Qiao Lianfang smiled brightly.

Xu Lingyi said nothing, picked up the teacup and took a sip.

"It's not that I can't do it. When I was at home, I often helped the elders and sisters with needlework. It's just that I haven't been feeling well these days and I don't have the energy." Qiao Lianfang showed a bit of displeasure: "Although the mothers said that it would be fine after the first three months. But it really doesn't taste good." She pouted her red lips, "I don't know why, but I miss the preserved garlic my mother made very much. I even dreamed about it a few days ago, and when I woke up, my saliva flowed onto the pillow. As a result, nothing I eat these days tastes good." She smiled behind her sleeves, "I'm just thinking about the taste of the sour and sweet preserved garlic."

Xu Lingyi's hand holding the teacup froze, then he slowly sat up straight: "We should have these things at home. If you want to eat them, just tell the two moms." He looked at her with a slightly fixed gaze.

Qiao Lianfang smiled and said, "We have it at home too. But the taste is a little different. When we pickled the preserved garlic at home, we might have directly added frost sugar. I heard from my mother that when she pickled the preserved garlic, she used rock sugar..."

Xu Lingyi looked at her quietly, his lips gradually tightening into a slit.

For a moment, the only sound in the room was Qiao Lianfang's slightly gentle voice.

But soon, she noticed something was wrong and glanced at Xu Lingyi out of the corner of her eye.

He was seen sitting cross-legged on the big kang with a pine-like posture, his eyes slightly lowered, his gaze fixed on his thumb that was stroking the teacup, his expression cold.

Qiao Lianfang was unsure, and said hurriedly, "...I wanted my mother to bring some over for everyone to try. But Madam was afraid that I might have a miscarriage, so she insisted that I rest at home." As she spoke, she sighed sadly, "My Lord, I asked the two mothers. They also said that I'm in good health! It's no big deal to meet guests..."

"Do you want your mother, Mrs. Qiao San, to come and see you?" Xu Lingyi suddenly raised his head and interrupted her.

Qiao Lianfang was stunned.

Xu Lingyi's expression was calm, but the words he said were a little strange, which made her feel quite uneasy.

"Yes!" She smiled sweetly, carefully observing his expression and trying to speak more tactfully, "This way, mother can bring me some homemade preserved garlic. The Marquis and his wife can also try it, and I can also satisfy my craving..."

"Madam asked you to rest, but you wanted to see your mother." Xu Lingyi looked at her straight and interrupted her again, "Could it be that you want to refute Madam's words?"

Qiao Lianfang was stunned.

Xu Lingyi's brows suddenly showed a stern look: "Are you trying to refute Madam's words?"

This time, his voice was as loud as a bell, and struck Qiao Lianfang's heart with a force like thunder.

"No, I didn't." She stood up hastily and subconsciously argued, "My Lord, I definitely didn't mean that." Her face turned slightly pale, "I was just greedy... I didn't think too much..."

"No?" Xu Lingyi's eyes were cold. "No, and you knew your wife wanted you to rest, but you still wanted to see your mother?"

Qiao Lianfang was startled by his slightly sarcastic tone and was speechless for a moment.

Xu Lingyi had a hint of fatigue between his brows, and called Yan Rong: "Go, ask the two mothers to come over!"

Yanrong nodded and hurried away.

Qiao Lianfang secretly felt that something was wrong.

“My Lord…” She burst into tears and took a few steps forward to pull at Xu Lingyi’s collar. “My Lord… I said the wrong thing. I will definitely correct it in the future…” She looked up at Xu Lingyi, feeling as sad as raindrops hitting pear blossoms. “My Lord, please don’t lose your temper. Please don’t get yourself hurt because of me…”

Xu Lingyi did not move, the weariness between his brows became even stronger. He waved his hand, signaling her not to say more.

Qiao Lianfang was stunned and stared at him in silence for a long time.

Mother Tian and Mother Wan walked in.

Xu Lingyi never looked at Qiao Lianfang again, and ordered the two mothers: "You should serve Aunt Qiao well and take care of her pregnancy in the room. From now on, Aunt Qiao is not allowed to step out of the yard without Madam's consent."

"My Lord!" Qiao Lianfang was shocked and tightly grasped Xu Lingyi's collar. "I was foolish. Please forgive me this time. Since I am pregnant with your child, please forgive me this time..."

Xu Lingyi's eyes turned even colder when he heard this.

The two mothers saw it clearly and rushed forward to set up Qiao Lian's room...

* * * * * *

As soon as Eleventh Lady entered the room, Yan Rong whispered to her in detail.

"Where is the Marquis?"

"He is reading in the inner room." Yan Rong whispered, "Lu Yun is serving beside him."

Eleventh Lady thought about it and turned around in the hall: "Let's go and see Aunt Qiao!"

Instead of visiting the Marquis, she went to visit Aunt Qiao first...

Yan Rong was a little surprised, but didn't dare to ask more. She served Shiyi Niang to Qiao Lianfang.

Zhu Rui was squatting under the eaves, fanning herself and boiling medicine. When she saw Shiyi Niang, she stood up quickly, announcing "Madam is here" while going to greet her.

Eleventh Lady pointed at the medicine and said, "Is this for Aunt Qiao?

"Yes!" Zhu Rui nodded quickly, "Aunt Qiao is feeling a little unwell!"

As she spoke, Xiu Li lifted the curtain and came out: "Madam, you are here!"

There was a hint of fear in her expression. She turned around to help Shiyi Niang open the curtain and served her into the house.

Mother Tian came out from the inner room.

"Mother Tian," Eleventh Lady took the initiative to greet her, "Auntie, are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" Mother Tian's smile was a little forced. "I cried for a while. I just took a break! I'll be fine after a rest."

"Then I feel relieved." Eleventh Lady said, turning around and sitting on the throne in the hall.

Mother Tian breathed a sigh of relief when she saw this.

Eleventh Lady saw it clearly, but pretended not to know, and said softly, "I heard about it when I just came back. I didn't even have time to change my clothes before I came here. The Marquis has a quick temper, and Auntie is in a special period. The two mothers have been wronged."

Mother Tian didn't expect Eleventh Lady to say such a thing. A trace of surprise flashed across her face, but then her heart warmed. She said hurriedly, "Madam, you are too polite. It's because we didn't do our job well that the Marquis got angry. It's not that we are wronged."

"Mother is too modest." Eleventh Lady said politely, "Both mothers are elders around me, and I specially invited them to help take care of Aunt Qiao. They should be treated as honored guests. I feel very uneasy about what happened."

"Madam, please stop talking." Madam Tian said hurriedly, "You are really embarrassing me!"

As they were talking, Xiu Yuan brought in some tea.

Eleventh Lady did not take the tea, but stood up helplessly: "I won't drink the tea. I still need to go and see the Marquis! I'll leave this place to the two mothers."

Mother Tian bowed and responded quickly.

Eleventh Lady left in a hurry with Amber and Yanrong.

Mother Tian looked at the swaying curtains, pondered for a while, and went to the inner room.

Qiao Lianfang was leaning on the large pillow at the head of the bed, her eyes as red as cherries. When she saw Mother Tian come in, she sobbed, "She's gone!" As she spoke, she wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief.

Mother Tian nodded.

Qiao Lianfang leaned on the pillow and started crying again.

Mother Wan advised, "Auntie, you are so sad. Please be more at ease. Auntie, don't just think about yourself, but also think about the little master in your belly..."

Mother Tian winked at Mother Wan.

Mother Wan looked at her and nodded slightly, and gave her a few more words of advice. Then, she made an excuse to go see if the medicine was ready, and left the inner room with Mother Tian.

Mother Tian then told Eleventh Lady what she had just said.

"If someone respects me one foot, I will respect him one yard." Madam Tian whispered to Madam Wan, "I think we should report this matter to the Madam."

"I've had this idea for a long time." Madam Wan nodded. "To be honest, Aunt Qiao is half the master after all. Although we are by the side of the Madam, we can't bypass her. But she is stubborn and willful. It's really hard to deal with. Besides, there are still seven or eight months before the birth. If this aunt keeps on making trouble like this, there will be eight or nine chances that there will be trouble. By then, I'm afraid that you and I will lose our dignity! I think we should not only report this to the Madam, but Aunt Qiao will also have to complain about her hard work."

Mother Tian agreed: "Let's discuss this and see what to do."

The two stood in the corner of the hall and whispered.

Madam Wen, who lived in the front yard of Qiao Lian's house, was whispering to her personal maid Qiuhong at this moment.

"…I was carried back by my two mothers." Qiu Hong whispered, "I have been crying since I came back."

"So, you're taking advantage of the Marquis?" Madam Wen pondered.

"Almost exactly." Qiu Hong nodded, "Otherwise, she wouldn't have cried so sadly."

"I'm pregnant... and the Marquis is still angry..." Madam Wen thought, "I have to think about it carefully..."

Qiuhong didn't dare to disturb them and quietly closed the door and went out.

Donghong came over and said, "Sister Qiuhong, I just saw Cui'er, the maidservant beside Aunt Qin, peeking outside our house."

Qiu Hong sneered after hearing this: "This Aunt Qin, you say she is smart, but her brain is just too stubborn to think straight. You say she is stupid, but she knows how to follow our Aunt in everything."

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Draft, everyone take a look first!

The evening update is a bit late!