In Xu Lingyi's heart, Eleventh Lady has always been gentle and calm, tolerant and generous, even a little honest. He has never seen such an Eleventh Lady.

He looked calm and composed, and spoke softly but firmly.

For a moment, he was speechless.

Eleventh Lady lowered her eyelids and said, "My Lord, I am so embarrassed to see you like this!" Her tone was very sad, and she seemed to be about to cry.

Xu Lingyi was greatly embarrassed. He said hurriedly: "This matter is a bit complicated. It's not that I didn't discuss it with you beforehand..."

"My Lord!" Before he finished speaking, Shiyi Niang suddenly raised her eyelids and looked at Xu Lingyi, "You are the head of the family, and the marriages of your children should be decided by you." Her face without a smile was as cold as a snowy peak, "I think it is because I am not knowledgeable enough, so the Marquis has entrusted the selection of a daughter-in-law to the second sister-in-law." As she spoke, she revealed some frustration in her tone, "In this case, I will follow the Marquis's instructions." Xu Lingyi, who was used to seeing Shiyi Niang's smile, felt very uncomfortable. The explanation came out of his mouth: "I only had this plan before, and I didn't know whether the Xiang family agreed or not, so it was difficult to tell you. Later, Ma Zuowen came and gave me the candidate for the eldest prince's consort, which solved my confusion for the past few months. I was busy arranging things for the Qu family and had no chance to say... The Xiang family must come, so I will be the first to tell you, right?" At the end of the words, there was already a hint of helplessness.

Eleventh Lady was very surprised.

The first one? Did Xu Lingyi not even discuss this matter with his wife?

He was also curious about why the selection of the Crown Prince's Consort solved Xu Lingyi's confusion over the past few months.

But thinking of what Xu Lingyi had done, she couldn't help but suppress the confusion in her heart and looked out the window with her side face.

When Xu Lingyi saw that his wife refused to listen to his explanation, he couldn't help but smile bitterly, and stood up and sat next to Shiyi Niang.

"Moyan, there are some things you don't understand." Xu Lingyi's expression was slightly serious. "The Xu family is a noble family, and we are blessed by inheritance. Brother Yu is a bastard, and he will never get the title in the future. Unfortunately, I refused the emperor's reward three times for the safety of my family..." At this point, he paused, "I ruined Brother Yu's future. As the Marquis of Yongping, I am worthy of my ancestors. But as a father, I owe Brother Yu a lot."

Eleventh Lady gradually understood something.

"I have to find a way out for this child." Xu Lingyi said with a sigh, "Fortunately, he is quite smart. Rather than letting him do nothing like my fifth brother and wait for me to seek favor for him in my old age, it is better to let him try to take the imperial examination and become an official. Besides, he does not have the foundation like my fifth brother and cannot compare with him... In this way, the brothers can each have their own paths and perhaps they can be closer."

Eleventh Lady looked at Xu Lingyi in surprise.

Didn't the Xu family's children not take the imperial examination to become officials? Wasn't it for this reason that the third master passed the examination and never took the exam again?

"It's a different time now." Xu Lingyi saw that his wife's face was less cold, and his tone was softer. "Although I had this idea before, I didn't have such an opportunity. This time I met Lord Xiang, and found that he is more pragmatic and capable than before. As long as he doesn't make any big mistakes, in another ten or twenty years, he will be a frontier official in no time. If he is lucky, it is not impossible for him to enter the cabinet. You also know. We are both ministers and relatives, and I have led troops and won battles. Ordinary people would be jealous if they had any of these, let alone our family has all three. It's okay for Brother Yu to take the path of favor. With my remaining prestige and the affection of old friends, the army will more or less give him some face. But if he takes the path of imperial examinations, his background will become the reason for being attacked by the upright and excluded by his colleagues. It's good that he is not implicated by me." Having said that, he sighed slightly.

Eleventh Lady remained silent.

The censors loved to impeach relatives of the emperor’s wife and ministers.

In their eyes, the reason that relatives can enjoy state support is because of "one person's virtue brings prosperity to all his family members", and the officials are a group of parasites who waste state food by relying on the grace of their ancestors - they respect the people who have achieved virtue and the heroes who founded the country, but they have no reason to be polite to the family members who followed the people who have achieved virtue and the dandy children who have long lost their ancestors' dignity. It happens that these people are higher in rank than you and enjoy more rights than you, which inevitably makes the scholars who have studied hard for ten years to get to where they are today feel unhappy, and they always find the mistakes of these people to prove their contempt for them.

What's more, Xu Lingyi was a rough man who led troops to fight and was looked down upon by scholars!

"I can't protect him, I can only help him find someone who can protect him. That's why I thought of marrying him to the Xiang family." Xu Lingyi looked at Shi Niang, "Brother Yu is a bastard, and his biological mother is a maid. If it were any other family, they would definitely not agree. But Second Sister-in-law watched Brother Yu grow up, and she knows everything about Brother Yu's character. That's why I thought of marrying him to the Xiang family, and wanted to ask Second Sister-in-law to talk to Xiang. Not to mention Lord Xiang, even Second Sister-in-law felt a little embarrassed when she heard it. In this case, it's even harder for me to say anything to you. As for asking Second Sister-in-law to choose one from several nieces, it's because Second Sister-in-law has two nieces on her shoulders, and she knows the children on both sides better. A good wife is half the blessing, which is better than us finding a strong character to come in ignorantly. You know, the one who will take over your housekeeping in the future is Brother Zhun's wife."

Xu Lingyi's honesty gradually relieved Shiyi Niang's resentment, but that didn't mean she forgave his actions.

"What the Marquis said makes sense." She said sincerely, "But there are still some things I don't understand."

Xu Lingyi felt relieved when he saw that his wife was willing to talk to him. He said seriously, "You talk, I'm listening!"

"Why are you telling me this, my Lord?"

Xu Lingyi was slightly surprised, and said without hesitation: "Of course it's because you are kind and reasonable..."

"Is it because I have a kind personality? Or is it because I am sensible?" Eleventh Lady got to the bottom of it.

Xu Lingyi was stunned.

"My Lord, please don't be perfunctory with me." Eleventh Lady said, "My Lord, just answer me according to what you think." She looked at Xu Lingyi with a serious look.

Xu Lingyi couldn't help but feel solemn in his heart, and said: "Of course it's because you are sensible. Once I tell you what happened, you will naturally understand why I decided to marry into the Xiang family."

"In that case, why didn't My Lord Marquis tell me about this in advance?" Eleventh Lady's voice was not loud, but it was sonorous and made Xu Lingyi pause slightly.

"In the eyes of the Marquis, I am kind and sensible. The Marquis consulted with me before he decided to ask for the second daughter of the Xiang family to marry Yu Ge. Don't I understand the Marquis's dilemma?" Eleventh Lady looked at Xu Lingyi steadily, "But he only told me about it after the matter was settled. How can I not be sad and upset?" As she spoke, her eyes dimmed, "He didn't even say a word about such an important matter... When I heard this, I was really ashamed and angry. I don't know what I did wrong. I just hope there is a crack in the ground I can crawl into, so that people won't know and laugh at me for being intolerant and even hiding my stepson's marriage... I am so discouraged that I want to give up and not care about anything... Now after hearing what the Marquis said, I feel even worse... I adhere to the way of respect and obedience, but the Marquis only remembers that I am kind and easy to talk to..."

Eleventh Lady's frank but sad expression caused ripples in Xu Lingyi's heart and made him feel uneasy, as if sitting on pins and needles.

"Eleventh Lady..." His voice was bitter. He looked at her with some hesitation. The corners of his mouth twitched for a long time, but he didn't say another word.

Eleventh Lady was slightly disappointed.

Marriage is a union between two families, so the husband decides who to marry. A wife is to take care of the housework, so the wife decides who to marry. Xu Lingyi is willing to explain to her, and knows that he is wrong, but he is unwilling to apologize to her. Is it because of the male superiority and female inferiority? Or is it the reserve of being in a superior position for a long time?

She pulled the corners of her mouth towards Xu Lingyi, forcing a smile, then got off the kang with a rustle, "It's getting late. The Marquis noticed something strange from the list of the Crown Prince's wives given by Lord Ma. I guess he has been busy these days. Let's go to bed early!" Then she got up to make the bed for him.

"Moyan!" Xu Lingyi grabbed her arm from behind.

Eleventh Lady stood up straight and did not move.

The two of them stood there quietly for a moment.

"I was wrong about this!" Xu Lingyi's voice slowly rang in her ears, "I'll be more careful next time."

Eleventh Lady turned around and looked at Xu Lingyi earnestly: "My Lord, I want to meet the three young ladies of the Xiang family!"

Xu Lingyi's expression changed slightly.

Eleventh Lady stared at him for a long while, then turned around and made the bed without saying a word.

Xu Lingyi stood there, staring at her back in silence.

After making the bed, I moved the lamp to the small stool at the head of the bed.

"My lord, let me help you change your clothes!" Eleventh Lady's voice was gentle, no different from usual.

Xu Lingyi slowly raised his arms.

Eleventh Lady helped him take off his coat.

The couple rested, one inside and one outside.

The sheep-horn palace lantern emits a soft glow.

Eleventh Lady turned over.

Xu Lingyi heard it clearly with his eyes wide open.

After a while, Eleventh Lady turned over again.

Xu Lingyi closed his eyes.

I heard Eleventh Lady turning over again.

Then Eleventh Lady turned over again.

He opened his eyes and saw Shiyi Niang turning over.

Xu Lingyi couldn't help but speak: "Moyan. This matter was originally my idea..."

Yes, that was indeed Xu Lingyi's idea. But the Second Madam proposed that the Second Miss of the Xiang family be engaged to Xu Siyu, so couldn't the Xu family raise any objections?

"The Marquis also said that I can't marry someone with a strong personality." Eleventh Lady's voice was a little weak, "I want to take a closer look at the three young ladies of the Xiang family!"

"The eldest daughter definitely can't do it..." Xu Lingyi still wanted to dissuade Shiyi Niang.

"Aren't there still the Second Miss and the Third Miss?" Eleventh Lady said softly, but there was a hint of persistence in her voice.

Xu Lingyi frowned slightly but said nothing.

Eleventh Lady turned over and faced away from Xu Lingyi.

Xu Lingyi was silent for a long time, sighed deeply, and gently hugged Shiyi Niang into his arms: "Moyan..."

Eleventh Lady did not turn around.

Amid the sound of the night watch drum coming from afar, there was a faint sound of candle flames popping.

* * * * * *

Meanwhile, at the Xiang Mansion, located in the southeast corner of the Xu Mansion, Lord Xiang and Madam Xiang were glaring at each other.

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Sorry, sorry, it’s very late... I’ll post the draft first and catch the bugs tomorrow!