Chapter 286 Management (Part 2)

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.

His expression was calm and composed, and his words were soft but firm.

For a moment, I was speechless.

Eleventh Lady lowered her eyelids: "How can I bear to see the Marquis like this!" Her tone was very sad, and she sounded like she was 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..."

"Marquis!" Before he could finish his words, Eleventh Lady raised her eyelids and looked at Xu Lingyi, "You are the head of the family, and you should be the one who decides the marriage of your children." Her face without a smile was as cold as a snowy peak, "I guess it's because I'm ignorant, so the Marquis has given the task of selecting a daughter-in-law to my second sister-in-law." As she spoke, her tone revealed some frustration, "In that case, I'll follow your instructions, Marquis." Xu Lingyi, who was used to seeing Eleventh Lady's smiling face, felt very uncomfortable. The explanation came out of his mouth: "Before, I only had this plan on my own, 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 Crown Prince's Consort, which solved my confusion for the past few months. I was busy arranging matters for the Qu family and had no chance to say it... The Ding family must have come down, so didn't I tell you first?" At the end of the words, a hint of helplessness was already revealed in his voice.

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 when she thought of what Xu Lingyi had done, she couldn't help but suppress the confusion in her heart and looked out the window.

When Xu Lingyi saw that his wife Xiangzi 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 family of nobles, and we are in a privileged position. Brother Yu is a bastard, and he will never be eligible for a title in the future. Unfortunately, I rejected the emperor's reward three times for the safety of my family..." At this point, his tone 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.

"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 and wait for me to ask for favors for him in my old age, it is better to let him try to take the imperial examination and become an official. This way, the brothers may 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 got any further?

"It's a different time now." Seeing that his wife's face was less cold, Xu Lingyi spoke softer. "Although I had this idea before, I didn't have such an opportunity. This time I met Mr. 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 provincial governor. If he is luckier, it is not impossible for him to enter the court. You know.

We are both nobles and relatives of the emperor, and I have led troops and won battles. If an ordinary person has any of these, he will be envied, let alone my family has all three. It is not bad for Yu Ge to take the Yin En route, because with my remaining prestige and the friendship between us, the army will give him some face. But if he takes the imperial examination route, his background will become the reason for him to be criticized by the upright and excluded by his colleagues. It is good that he is not implicated by me. "At this point, he sighed slightly.

Eleventh Lady was silent.

The historian liked to impeach relatives of the emperor and ministers the most.

In their eyes, the reason that the relatives of the emperor can enjoy the state's support is because "one person gets a teacher and his family members rise to heaven", and the officials are a group of parasites who waste the state's food by relying on the grace of their ancestors. They respect the people who have achieved enlightenment and the founding heroes, but they have no reason to be polite to the chickens and dogs who have risen to heaven with the people who have achieved enlightenment, and the dandies who have long lost the dignity of their ancestors. It just so happens that these people are higher than you in official positions and enjoy more rights than you, which inevitably makes the scholars who have gone through ten years of hard study to get to where they are today feel unhappy, and they always find faults in these people to prove their contempt for them. What's more, Xu Lingyi is still a rough man who leads troops to fight and is despised 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 into the Xiang family." Xu Lingyi looked at Shiyi 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 knew everything about Brother Yu's character. That's why I thought of forming a marriage alliance with 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 is even harder for me to say anything to you. As for letting my second sister-in-law choose one from several nieces, it is because my second sister-in-law has to take care of both sides and understands the children of both sides better. A good wife is half the blessing, it is better than us blindly finding a strong character to come in. You know, the one who will take over your post in the future is the wife of Brother Zhuo. "

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

"What you said is reasonable," she said sincerely, "but there are still some things I don't understand.

Xu Lingyi was relieved to see that his wife was willing to talk to him, and said seriously: "You talk, I'm listening!"

"Why did you tell me this, 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 asked to the end.

Xu Lingyi was stunned.

"My Lord, please don't be perfunctory to 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 ashamed, and said, "Of course it's because you understand things. Once I tell you what happened, you will naturally understand why I would marry into the Xiang family."

"In that case, why didn't you 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 deciding 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, "Instead, he only told me about it after the matter was settled. How can I not be sad?" As she spoke, her eyes dimmed, "He didn't even tell me about such an important matter... I... When I heard this, I felt ashamed and angry. I didn't know what I had done wrong. I just hoped there was a crack in the ground that I could get into, so that people wouldn't know that I was too narrow-minded and even kept my stepson's marriage a secret... I was so frustrated that I wanted to just give up and not care about anything... Now that I heard what the Marquis said, I felt even worse... I followed the way of respect and obedience, but the Marquis only remembered that I was kind and easy to talk to..."

Eleventh Lady spoke frankly but sadly about her troubles, which made Xu Lingyi feel ripples in his heart and made him feel uneasy as if he was sitting on pins and needles.

"Eleventh Lady..." His voice was bitter, and he looked at her with some hesitation, his mouth twitching for a long time. He didn't say the second sentence.

Eleventh Lady was slightly disappointed.

Marriage is a union between two families, so the husband decides who to marry. A daughter-in-law is to take care of the household, 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 male superiority? Or is it the reserve of being in a high position for a long time?

She pulled the corner of her mouth towards Xu Lingyi, forced a smile, then got off the kang with a rustle. "It's getting late. The Marquis noticed something strange in 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 and made the bed for him.

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

Eleventh Lady stood up straight and didn't move.

The two 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 intently: "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 soft, no different from usual.

Xu Lingyi slowly raised his arms.

Shiyi Niang helped him take off his coat.

The couple rested one inside and one outside.

The lights in the Yangjiao Palace emit a soft glow.

Eleventh Lady turned over.

Xu Lingyi, with his eyes wide open, heard it clearly.

After a while, Eleventh Lady turned over again.

Xu Lingyi closed his eyes.

Then I heard Shiyi Niang turn over.

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 we 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.

Shiyi Niang turned over and faced away from Xu Lingyi.

Xu Lingyi was silent for a long time, sighed deeply, and gently held Shiyi Niang in 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 candlelight 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.