Chapter 272 Celebration (Part 2)

Although Chang Xuezhi was young, he was very capable and came to give Shiyi Niang a reply the next afternoon.

"... He is the second in command at a silk shop called Longwei. I heard from the shop assistants that Manager Jiang claimed to be the mistress's companion and that he used to be the manager of the Yukang Luo family's silk shop."

At this point, Chang Xuezhi hesitated and lowered his voice. "She said that the lady brought him to Beijing to borrow his talents to open a shop. He didn't want to fight with the people left by the eldest aunt, so he went out to find a way to make a living."

Eleventh Lady listened and thought for a moment, then asked Chang Xuezhi softly, "Is that shop big? Does it have a branch in Yanjing?"

"It's average in Yanjing," Chang Xuezhi said, "It doesn't have any branches. The owner is a merchant from Changzhou. He has three shops in Dongdamen. He specializes in cotton. I was assigned to the shop at the beginning of the morning. The employees have done seven or eight transactions. It seems that the business is pretty good."

Shiyi Niang nodded, asked Luyun to give him a handful of copper coins as a reward, and then told him to continue asking: "...go and take a look when you have nothing to do."

Chang Xuezhi left immediately.

Amber came in: "Madam, the second lady's carriage has arrived."

Tomorrow is the full moon of the second young lady Xu Sixin. The fifth master Xu Lingkuan went to invite her personally a few days ago and agreed to return home today.

Eleventh Lady brought Zhen Jie'er to the hanging flower gate to welcome her.

The second wife had her hair combed into a high bun and inserted three silver hairpins with lilac flowers. She wore a black mink fur jacket and a moon-white skirt with cloud patterns. She looked both elegant and simple.

Sister Zhen strode over and said, "Second Aunt!"

Her face was flushed and she looked very excited.

The Second Lady smiled and nodded to Zhen Jie'er, then stepped forward to greet Eleventh Lady.

"Now that my third brother's wife has left, all the household affairs are handed over to you. Thank you for your hard work!" She greeted Eleventh Lady politely.

"It's my job, how can I say it's hard work." Eleventh Lady also greeted her calmly, "Second sister-in-law has come a long way, and she must have worked hard on the way."

The two of them exchanged a few words in a mild tone, then changed into a small carriage with green curtains and green oil paint and went to the lady's place.

The Madam had been waiting for a long time, and when she saw the Second Madam, she immediately smiled: "Why are you so late? Did you have a peaceful journey?"

"With the help of the guards, the housekeeper, and Jiexiang, everything was fine along the way." The Second Lady bowed to the Grand Lady and said with a smile, "It's just that the weather is good today, and I love the scenery along the way. I'm sorry I missed you!"

"I hope you have a safe journey!" The lady took her hand and went to the inner room. "Why? Are the trees on the road beginning to sprout?"

"It's almost March 3rd." The second lady smiled, "The trees have already sprouted."

As they talked, the two of them sat down on the big kang next to the window in the inner room.

The Second Lady said of the Third Lady: "I was feeling a little unwell during those days, so I didn't come back. I only sent a steward to deliver the four treasures of the study and a few pieces of silk for the ceremony..."

It was the first time that everyone heard that she was unwell. Shiyi Niang and Zhen Jie'er were slightly startled. The lady interrupted her hurriedly: "Where are you feeling unwell? Have you consulted the imperial physician? How are you now?" She then pulled her hand and looked her up and down.

"It's nothing serious!" The second wife laughed, "I just caught a cold. I'm all right now."

"You kid!" The lady saw that she looked refreshed and knew that what she said was true, so she couldn't help shaking her head.

"I didn't say anything because I was afraid you would worry." The Second Madam smiled and asked the Fifth Madam, "I heard from my Fifth Brother that Danyang's birth went smoothly. The baby weighed 2.6 pounds and was named "Xin"..."

"Yes, yes!" The lady was delighted when she mentioned the child, her eyes and eyebrows full of joy, "She is really beautiful. She has the best features of two people. Her eyes and nose are like Danyang, and her mouth is like Lingkuan..."

As she spoke, a maid brought tea.

The lady stopped talking and said with a smile, "Look at me, you just came back, but I just want to talk to you." Then she seemed to remember something and said, "You won't leave this time, right?" There was some anticipation in her eyes.

The second wife's eyes flashed with hesitation, and she smiled and said, "So I moved to Xishan just to be lazy. But when I really went there, I missed my mother. It's just right for our sister Xin to celebrate her full month, so I won't leave!"

"What are you talking about!" The old lady smiled happily, "This is your home, you can stay as long as you want." She also called Wei Zi to help the second lady with her hair and wash, "... Let's go see Sister Xin!"

The second wife smiled and agreed and went to the bathroom.

Sister Zhen went over to serve.

The lady's expression was slightly gloomy. She turned back to look at Eleventh Lady, seeming to want to say something but stopped herself.

Eleventh Lady thought of the "main house dispute" between Yuanniang and the Second Lady, and knew that the Lady Dowager was worried that there would be a conflict between her and the Second Lady. She simply smiled and said, "Second Sister-in-law is a widow, so she is inevitably meticulous. Mother, please give her some advice. Let's visit each other more often. It will be better if we are used to it!"

Her words touched the heart of the lady.

"Good, good, good." The lady smiled happily, "You two are so affectionate, it seems better to me than eating ginseng or bird's nest."

"Don't worry, mother!" Eleventh Lady said with a smile, "I will take good care of Second Sister-in-law!"

As they were talking, the Second Lady came out after changing her clothes. The Grand Lady stopped talking, and everyone went to the Fifth Lady, chatting and laughing.

After the third-day bath ceremony, Shiyi Niang came to see Xin Jie'er two or three times. The little girl changes every day.

She seemed to have grown a little bigger than the last time she came. She was so beautifully made up that the Second Lady was very surprised. She held Xin Jie'er carefully, as if she didn't know how to put her hands and feet.

The Fifth Lady, who was sitting on the bed, joked, "Why did you bring Yu Ge'er with you at that time?"

The second wife laughed and said, "Didn't we have wet nurses and maids at that time?"

From the tone of his voice, it seemed as if he had never hugged Xu Siyu the way he hugged Sister Xin.

The lady laughed when she heard this, but Eleventh Lady felt something in her heart.

A little maid reported through the curtain: "The Fifth Master is back!"

Everyone was silent.

Xu Lingkuan walked out through the curtain with a smile on his face.

He held a large red invitation with gold sprinkled on it, and greeted everyone happily. He then showed the invitation to the lady: "... the menu for tomorrow's full moon celebration. What do you think?"

The lady's eyesight was not very good, so she asked Shiyi Niang to take over: "Read it to me."

Four cold side dishes, four cold dishes, four snacks, ten hot dishes and one hot pot, with all kinds of chicken, duck, fish, meat, delicacies from the mountains and the sea... Eleventh Lady roughly calculated, not counting wine and tea, a meal would cost about fifty taels of silver.

"We only invite relatives and friends. There are about sixty tables of guests."

Xu Lingkuan explained to the lady.

The lady smiled and nodded, and the matter was settled.

When she returned home, Xu Siqi came to greet her.

The kitchen made some yam and date paste cake and sent it over.

Eleventh Lady gave Xu Siqi a piece of money.

Xu Siqi sat on a small stool nearby, eating in small bites, enjoying the meal with a look of satisfaction on his face.

Eleventh Lady thought of Xin Jie'er's full-month banquet.

For some reason, she felt sad.

The ignorant child saw Shiyi Niang staring at him, and raised the small plate towards her with a smile: "Mother, it's delicious!"

Eleventh Lady touched Xu Siqi's head and said softly, "You eat, mother is not hungry."

Xu Siqi looked at her in confusion.

Eleventh Lady hugged Xu Siqi and sighed deeply.

At night, Amber whispered to her, "I heard from Zhu'e that Aunt Qiao has been very quiet these past two days. Not only has she taken her medicine on time, but she has also eaten more. She seems like a different person."

Eleventh Lady listened in silence for a long while, then whispered, "I'm afraid you should pay more attention to Aunt Qiao."

Amber smiled and said, "Don't worry, Madam. I've been keeping an eye on Aunt Qiao!"

"You don't understand me."

Eleventh Lady's voice was somewhat helpless. "Losing the child is a blow to Aunt Qiao. But we don't know what consequences this blow will bring. We can only prevent it from happening."

The next day was Xin Jie'er's full-month birthday, and several of Fifth Madam's cousins ​​and sisters-in-law came to give her a full-month gift.

Forty tables were set up in the outer courtyard of the Xu mansion, and twenty tables were set up in the inner courtyard. The Deyin troupe was also invited to perform outside. There were Madam Huang of the Marquis of Yongchang, Mrs. Huang's Third Madam, Madam Zheng of the Duke of Dingguo, Madam Lin of the Marquis of Weibei, Mrs. Lin's First Madam, Madam Tang of the Marquis of Zhongshan, Mrs. Tang's Fourth Madam, Madam Zhou... All of them were familiar faces.

The Third Lady went to Dangyang, and all the affairs of the inner courtyard were taken care of by Eleventh Lady.

Eleventh Lady greeted the guests in a gentle and soft voice.

Third Madam Huang pulled Grandma Lin and said, "Look at the Fourth Madam's clothes."

Eleventh Lady wore a pink top and a purple skirt, with only a pair of small willow-leaf earrings on her ears. She looked dignified, beautiful, gentle and generous.

"She is young, so she looks good in anything she wears!"

Grandma Lin laughed and said, "If it were you or me, how could we wear this color outside?"

"Too!"

Grandma Huang San smiled awkwardly and asked about Hui Jie'er, "She said she was learning needlework from someone and how she was doing."

"Amitābha!"

Grandma Lin couldn't help but sigh, "It's worth it that I shamelessly begged in front of everyone. Finally, he is willing to sit down and pick up the needle and thread."

Grandma Huang San was surprised: "Really!"

"real!"

Grandma Lin said, "The child has been depressed for several days since she went back home. I was worried about what happened, so I came to ask the fourth lady. But she asked her mother to find a simple embroidery pattern for her."

He said with emotion, "Although I still fish three days and dry the nets two days, it's better than not touching anything at all before..."

As he was speaking, Madam Gan from the Duke Zhongqin's mansion walked in.

The two of them stopped talking at the same time, and saw Shiyi Niang approaching with a smile: "You're here!"

Mrs. Gan's smile was slightly awkward.

When the Third Madam left, no one from the Gan family came to see her off except her brother.

Don't say that it was the Xu family's fault at that time. Even if the Xu family was right, today is Xin Jie'er's full moon, and Eleventh Lady cannot let Madam Gan lose face.

She smiled and led Madam Gan to Madam Tai's place: "...You are a little late! Madam Huang wants to play cards, and she is short of one person!"

As if nothing happened.

Madam Gan hesitated to speak and followed Eleventh Lady to the Madam's place.

The fifth lady was holding the child in her arms and showing it to the other ladies. Everyone looked at the child with a smile or said, "Your hair is growing nicely."

Or they would say "the mouth is like Jin Kuan", and people would comment on it, and the scene was very lively.

Eleventh Lady was about to say hello when Madam Gan suddenly pulled her sleeve and whispered, "Fourth Madam...it was originally a good thing. But your Third Madam has never agreed, and our eldest grandmother has a stubborn temper...so she hastily announced this marriage in a fit of rage..." After saying that, she smiled bitterly, "It seems they are not destined to be together!" Then she turned around and said loudly, "This is our Sister Xin, right!" and blended into the noisy atmosphere.