"After all, Second Sister-in-law is a married daughter. She has a brother and a sister-in-law at home. What can Second Sister-in-law say?" Xu Lingyi said, "Second Sister-in-law sent someone to report to Lord Xiang early yesterday morning. She said that all matters concerning the Xiang family can be decided by Lord Xiang."

"I'm glad it's not what we thought!" Eleventh Lady felt relieved.

A servant came in and reported: "My Lord, Master Ma is here!"

Xu Lingyi stood up immediately upon hearing this: "Please ask Sir Ma to wait in the study." Then he turned to Shiyi Niang and said, "The Ministry of Rites has drawn up a list of the crown prince's consorts. I asked Ma Zuowen to write me a letter."

If the eldest prince can inherit the throne, the selection of the eldest prince's wife will affect the future relationship between the Xu family and the royal family.

Eleventh Lady hurriedly got up to see Xu Lingyi out, and felt a little uneasy when she came back.

I wonder who the emperor will choose?

She was feeling somewhat uneasy when a maid came in and said, "Master Jining is here!"

After hiding for a few days, I finally failed.

Eleventh Lady sighed secretly: "Please come in, Master!" Then she went to the hall.

Nun Jining wore a beautiful blue plain dress with floral patterns on it and greeted Eleventh Lady with a friendly smile.

Eleventh Lady did not ask her purpose of coming, but only served her a cup of fine tea: "The Longjing tea before the Qingming Festival that Madam Tai gave me!"

Master Jining did not say her purpose of coming. She took a sip with a smile and praised the tea.

The two of them were practicing Tai Chi, one was slow and the other was gentle, and they talked nonsense all afternoon. But Shiyi Niang looked at Jining differently - who would dare to underestimate someone who was so good at talking and so calm? She told Amber: "When you meet Master Jining next time, be careful with your words."

Amber bowed and replied "yes", and Zhen Jie'er came back.

"Mother, mother!" Her face was flushed, her eyebrows were full of joy, and she pulled Shiyi Niang's sleeve and whispered to her as soon as she entered the door, "... Fang Jie'er and I went to see Master Deng secretly!" Her voice was very low, and she happily shared her little secret with Shiyi Niang, "It's a pity that there were too many people, and I don't know if the person we saw was Master Deng."

A little girl of thirteen or fourteen is at the age when she has beautiful dreams and is innocent and lively.

"Oh!" Eleventh Lady looked at her with a smile, "What's going on?"

Zhen Jie'er suddenly sat up straight and said with an embarrassed smile, "Is mother busy? If not, I'll come over later."

Maybe he remembered what happened last time!

Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "Nothing to do this afternoon."

After hearing this, Zhen Jieer leaned on her shoulder again and said, "Hui Jieer and Mr. Deng have already met. Fang Jieer said she would go to help Hui Jieer. Twelve Auntie refused to go, but Miss Li insisted on going. Fang Jieer said she would not go. But she dragged me along behind their backs."

"Wait," Eleventh Lady interrupted her, "Did you go to Master Deng's residence?"

"No, no." Zhen Jieer shook her hands repeatedly. "We were drinking tea in the banquet hall in Grandma Lin's main room. We heard the maid say that several young masters of the Shao family and Master Deng came to pay their respects to Grandma Lin, so we took a look through the screen."

Eleventh Lady laughed.

I thought of Ganlanting.

"What happened next?" she asked.

Zhen Jie'er said, "The maid said that Master Deng was wearing a green lotus-colored brocade robe. But there were two people in the group wearing green lotus-colored brocade robes. I don't know which one it was. However, both masters were handsome and elegant, and they were a good match for Hui Jie'er." As she said this, her face blushed slightly.

Eleventh Lady looked at him with amusement. She said, "Sister Hui's grandfather and uncle personally selected her, so I think it can't be wrong."

Sister Zhen nodded and said, "However, I heard that the fifth aunt of the Lin family's marriage has fallen through again."

Eleventh Lady was a little surprised: "Doesn't she look down on me?"

"No." Sister Zhen said, "It seems that our horoscopes are incompatible."

It seems that the man looks down on the woman!

Miss Lin Wu's marriage is full of twists and turns!

"So Madam Lin was very unhappy." Zhen Jie'er said, "It made the atmosphere at home a little tense."

"Then what did Madam Lin say when you held the Spring Banquet?"

"No." Zhen Jieer smiled, "Not only did she not say anything, but she even went to the garden with us this afternoon. Hui Jieer also said that it was a good thing that we had this Spring Festival, otherwise it would have been really boring."

I'm sure Mrs. Lin is also worried about her daughter's marriage, so take this opportunity to relax!

Eleventh Lady pondered and asked, "I'm afraid Hui Jie'er won't be able to get married for a while!"

"Yeah!" Sister Zhen nodded, "So everyone is happy again after hearing this." Then she smiled with her sleeves covering her eyes, "We don't want Fifth Aunt Lin to be unable to get married!"

Looks very lively.

Eleventh Lady laughed.

Zhen Jie'er has become much more cheerful now that she has good friends of the same age.

The two chatted and laughed. Seeing that it was getting late, Zhen Jie'er went back to Shaohua Courtyard to change her clothes, and went to the Lady Dowager's house for dinner with Shiyi Niang and Xu Sijie.

The lady asked her about the spring banquet.

"...The chef made a kind of radish cake. It is not astringent like other radish cakes. Instead, it is very long-lasting and sweet in the mouth!" Zhen Jieer replied to the lady's words with a smile, omitting the part where she and Fang Jieer looked at the young master of the Deng family.

After a while, Xu Siyu and Zhun Ge finished school.

Everyone bowed.

Xu Lingyi hasn't come back yet.

The Madam was about to ask Madam Du to go to the outer courtyard to check, when Zhaoying came over: "The Marquis said he has guests and will not come for dinner. Please don't wait for me, Madam and Madam. I will come to greet you as soon as I finish my business."

"Who's here?" the lady asked in surprise.

Zhaoying smiled and said, "It's Master Ma Zuowen who has arrived!"

The lady did not ask any more questions and said to Shiyi Niang with a smile, "Since he is not coming back, let's eat first!"

Eleventh Lady smiled and nodded, then surrounded the lady and went to the east room.

In the evening, Xu Lingyi came back very late.

Eleventh Lady had already gone to bed. When she heard the noise, she called out "My Lord" sleepily. When she heard someone agree, she turned over and went back to sleep in a daze.

She felt someone touching her while she was half asleep and half awake.

"Xu Lingyi!" she mumbled vaguely.

"Hmm!" A mellow low laugh came to my ears.

Eleventh Lady raised her eyelids and saw the bright phoenix eyes... She closed her eyes lazily and hugged the shoulders of the person next to her...

When she woke up in the morning, she was lying alone in bed. Her clothes were neatly arranged, which made her stunned for a moment, unable to tell whether the previous night was a dream or reality.

She stood up and lifted her shirt.

The red plum blossoms embroidered on the lake-colored tube top are in stark contrast to the deep red kiss marks left on the shoulders that look like first snow.

Eleventh Lady burrowed into the quilt like an ostrich and curled up for a while before she called Yanrong, who was on night duty, to come in and help her get dressed.

"The Marquis went out early in the morning." Yan Rong whispered, "The Second Young Master, the Eldest Young Miss, the Fifth Young Master and the concubines are all waiting outside to greet you." She paused, "Concubine Qiao is here too!"

"Oh!" Eleventh Lady raised her eyebrows, put on a plain jacket with primrose background and floral patterns, chose a pair of red gold and shell magnolia earrings, and went to the hall.

Qiao Lianfang had lost a lot of weight. She was wearing a turquoise silk jacket and a dark blue skirt. Her jet-black hair was casually tied up in a bun. There was a hint of sadness between her brows, and she looked as charming as a flower reflected in the water.

Seeing Eleventh Lady coming in, she took a few steps forward like a willow, and bent her knees: "Madam!" in a very humble manner.

Eleventh Lady smiled faintly and nodded.

Aunt Wen had already stepped forward and saluted her with a smile: "Madam, you look so good today!"

Eleventh Lady saw Zhen Jieer holding Xu Sijie's hand and said with a smile: "Maybe spring is coming!"

Madam Wen nodded her head and said, "That's right. The weather is milder and people are in better spirits."

Aunt Qin took the opportunity to step forward and salute Eleventh Lady.

Eleventh Lady sat on the throne in the hall.

Xu Siyu led Zhen Jie'er and Xu Sijie to pay their respects to her.

Eleventh Lady served tea and asked the concubines to leave. She left the children to have breakfast, and then went to the lady dowager.

Zhun Ge was waiting outside the house. He bowed to Shiyi Niang and went to pay respects to the lady. After that, Xu Siyu and Zhun Ge went to the school, Zhen Jieer returned to Shaohua Courtyard, Nanyong's wife took Xu Sijie back to Lijingxuan, and Shiyi Niang went to the flower hall.

The mothers in charge came in one after another and asked her for instructions.

Jiexiang asks for a meeting.

"…The Second Madam wants to go back to her parents' home. Please ask the Fourth Madam to help pull a carriage."

Eleventh Lady asked Amber to take her pair of cards to arrange for the Second Lady to return to her parents' home.

The two met at the lady's house in the evening, and she smiled and nodded to Eleventh Lady.

Eleventh Lady greeted her politely.

The lady said, "The fourth brother said he had something to do today, so we shouldn't wait for him!"

Eleventh Lady smiled and replied “yes” and told the maids to serve the meal.

The second wife helped the old lady to the east room.

After dinner, the Second Lady and Zhen Jie'er returned to Shaohua Courtyard. Eleventh Lady waited for the Lady to rest, and then asked about Zhun Ge's homework before returning to Chui Lun Waterside Pavilion.

But he ran into the second wife head-on.

Eleventh Lady was stunned.

The Second Lady had already greeted her with a smile: "Fourth brother's wife is back." She then said, "The Marquis asked me to find out something, so I came here specially to ask the Marquis." She explained her arrival and then left with Jiexiang.

Eleventh Lady was stunned for a long while before returning to the house.

Xu Lingyi saw her happy face and waved at her: "I have something to tell you!"

Eleventh Lady walked over confusedly.

"I'm planning to marry into the Xiang family!" He couldn't hide his joy between his brows, "Help Brother Yu to get engaged to the second young lady of the Xiang family. What do you think?"

Xu Lingyi visited Shaohuayuan two days ago, and today the Second Lady visited Xu Lingyi in return... Everything seemed to be understood, yet it seemed as if nothing was understood at all.

"When did the Marquis decide?"

The gentleness between Eleventh Lady's brows gradually faded.

Xu Lingyi looked at him with a stagnant expression: "I had this idea after meeting Lord Xiang that day."

In other words, it was not what the second lady meant.

"Has the Xiang family agreed?" Eleventh Lady looked at Xu Lingyi with a calm yet cold gaze.

"My second sister-in-law came to talk about this just now." Xu Lingyi sensed his mother's displeasure, and his expression gradually faded. "Master Xiang agreed."

"The Marquis decided to form an alliance with the Xiang family, and asked my second sister-in-law to go to the Xiang family to persuade Xiang to betroth the second young lady of the Xiang family." Eleventh Lady's voice was calm and composed, but there was a frost-like coldness. "Since everything has been decided, I wonder if the Marquis has anything else to tell me when he invited me just now?"

※

There was a fight!

PS: For the sake of family harmony, I'll take a few hours off today to go out for a walk with my husband and kids. (*^__^*) Hehe... I'll update very late, so please get up tomorrow morning and read it!

Came back and caught some bugs!

⊙﹏⊙bSweat!