However, Xu Lingyi was not as confident as Lord Xiang.

He whispered to Eleventh Lady, "Brother Yu is the eldest son of a concubine, not the second son. According to convention, he should be separated from the family. But it is not a good idea to separate him right after marriage. He should stay at home for a few years to let everyone get familiar with each other. Otherwise, everyone will live their own lives and feel unfamiliar when they meet. How can we talk about the harmony between sisters-in-law. So I asked my second sister-in-law to see which of the three young ladies of the Xiang family has the most docile temperament. Such a woman can marry in, firstly, to take care of her younger brothers and sisters, serve you in front of you, and set an example for the sisters-in-law who will enter the family later. Secondly, when the family is divided, there will not be too many unreasonable thoughts, and resentment will not arise to embarrass Brother Zhun's wife. Moyan, I have thought carefully about the selection of people. At that time, I even thought that if the three young ladies of the Xiang family did not meet this requirement, I could only give up with great pain..."

Eleventh Lady admitted that Xu Lingyi was right. She had no problem with the Second Lady either - after all, she was just entrusted by Xu Lingyi. As for whether to tell her or not, that was the Second Lady's freedom.

What she didn't like was the way Xu Lingyi handled the matter.

He made the decision without even saying hello. Then who am I?

"My Lord," Eleventh Lady crossed her arms and said indifferently, "I don't want to talk to you!"

Xu Lingyi was stunned.

"What?" His face was full of disbelief.

Don't talk to him?

He actually said bluntly, "Don't talk to him."

This was the first time he had encountered...

Eleventh Lady had turned around. She looked at Xu Lingyi calmly, "My Lord, you directly decided on the wife for Brother Yu. You didn't consider me as Brother Yu's mother, nor did you consider me as your wife. Although what you said makes sense, I still feel angry. If I continue, I'm afraid there will be nothing good to say. It's better to stop here, so as not to say sad words that will make both of us regret." After saying that, she turned over and faced Xu Lingyi with her back.

Such a resolute Eleventh Lady made Xu Lingyi feel a little helpless for a moment. After a while, he said: "Moyan, if you have anything to say, let's talk it out. Being angry like this won't solve the problem."

"I just don't want to get angry with the Marquis, so I don't want to talk to him." Eleventh Lady said softly, "Besides, the Marquis has made it very clear about this matter, and there is nothing to be solved."

Is it true that people with mild tempers will become particularly stubborn once they get angry?

Xu Lingyi thought about it, smiled, leaned sideways on his elbow and called her: "Moyan..."

Eleventh Lady kept her mouth shut and said nothing.

Xu Lingyi continued to call her with a smile: "Moyan..."

This is not something that can be solved by coaxing or teasing. This is a matter of principle. If Xu Lingyi cannot understand his mistake this time and cannot learn from it and change, then he will have an inertial thinking when encountering such things in the future, thinking that only he is reasonable in his actions, and it doesn't matter whether he discusses it with him or not. He only needs to explain, explain, and coax him afterwards.

Eleventh Lady got out of bed with a rustle, wearing only a single layer of clothes, found a quilt from the high cabinet, spread it on the big kang near the window, and lay down with half of it covered and the other half wrapped in it: "My Lord, you should go to bed early. I have to get up at dawn tomorrow!"

Looking at the slightly bulging mass on the kang, it took him a long time to come back to his senses.

Although I was wrong about this matter, I was the one who asked my second sister-in-law to go to the Xiang family to talk to Xiang and asked her to help choose a man... If I let Eleventh Lady go to see him, wouldn't it be going back on my word? Not only would it be disrespectful to the Xiang family, but I would also break my promise!

The only option now is to make Eleventh Lady change her mind!

Xu Lingyi thought about it and squeezed onto the kang next to the window: "Moyan. Let's talk about this matter."

Eleventh Lady ignored him and got up and lay down on the bed.

Xu Lingyi followed again.

Eleventh Lady went back to the kang near the window.

After several rounds of this, Xu Lingyi sighed helplessly.

Eleventh Lady is wearing thin clothes, and it would be no joke if she caught a cold.

He fell asleep on the kang, leaving the bed to Shiyi Niang.

It started to rain outside.

Through the window, he could hear the sound of rain, drop by drop, bit by bit. It was not easy for him to fall asleep.

* * * * * *

When I woke up the next morning, the newly sprouted young leaves were washed clean and clear by the rain, and the sky and the earth became clear, which made people feel refreshed.

"Madam, it's raining." Yan Rong came in happily with clothes in her hand. "The weather will get warmer!"

Eleventh Lady smiled and nodded, and told Yan Rong: "The Marquis is still resting, don't let anyone come in and disturb him!"

Yanrong's eyes swept across the big kang by the window, without moving her eyes or eyebrows, she smiled and responded, then went out and told the maids to wait outside, while she helped Shiyi Niang to wash and dress and then go to the hall.

After accepting greetings from the children and aunt, Eleventh Lady went to the lady dowager's place.

Just after saying two words, Fifth Madam came over holding Xin Jie'er.

After they greeted each other, the lady asked Mama Du to carry Xin Jie over.

"Why do you look thinner?" The lady frowned slightly.

Madam Wu said hurriedly, "My stomach has been feeling a bit upset these past few days."

"Please ask Dr. Xie from the Imperial Hospital to come and take a look! He is best at treating pediatric diseases."

The fifth lady bent her knees and responded "yes".

The lady asked Jining: "...Is the ritual finished?"

"It's done!" said the Fifth Lady. "From now on, we just need to send someone to burn incense at Ciyuan Temple on the first day of every month."

The second lady is here.

She greeted Eleventh Lady politely without saying anything.

Eleventh Lady did not ask. After serving the Madam to the Buddhist temple, she went to the flower hall.

The rain has stopped, but the air is still filled with the dampness of rain.

The yard was full of people.

The mothers in charge stood under the eaves, and the maids and old women who served stood in the middle of the yard.

When they saw Shiyi Niang come in, all of them cut their hair short.

Eleventh Lady, surrounded by maids such as Amber and Luyun, walked through the courtyard into the flower hall without looking around, and began to listen to the mothers in charge.

The newly appointed inner courtyard kitchen manager, Madam Li, repeated the request to take the goods back three times in her mind, and only then did she calm down after she felt that there was nothing wrong with it.

Although she was an elder in the mansion, she had no relationship with any of the families. If it weren't for Wanxiang's excitement when the Third Madam was in charge, Gan Laoquan really had no one to use, and she wouldn't have been asked to help manage the kitchen. It wouldn't have been possible for Gan Laoquan to be temporarily appointed as the kitchen's housekeeper by the current Fourth Madam after she left with the Third Madam, and it wouldn't have been possible for Wanxiang to be appointed as the kitchen's housekeeper because of her impetuousness. Thinking of Wanxiang's family being sent back to Gongxian Hutong by the Fourth Madam... and hearing that they were later driven out of Yanjing, she was a little trembling when facing the Fourth Madam.

When it was her turn to go in and answer, it was already past three quarters past noon. Just as she finished her sentence, Lu Yun came in.

"Madam, the two close wives of the eldest lady of Weibei Marquis's Mansion come over to greet her!"

Eleventh Lady smiled slightly.

I don’t know what these two girls are doing. Hui Jie’er’s mother comes over twice a day.

"Send someone to take him to Shaohuayuan?"

Green Cloud left immediately.

Seeing that everything was done, Eleventh Lady returned to her own courtyard, sat down and began to embroider.

After embroidering half a word, Xu Lingyi came back.

He called Shiyi Niang to change his clothes.

Eleventh Lady obediently helped him change his clothes.

Xu Lingyi asked her: "Why did you come back so early today?"

Eleventh Lady kept her mouth shut and said nothing.

When Yan Rong saw this, she winked at the maid serving in the room and tiptoed back.

Xu Lingyi pinched her chin and said with a smile: "Why? You really don't want to talk to me!"

Eleventh Lady turned her head and helped him tie the belt around his waist. She brought a cup of hot tea to Xu Lingyi, then quietly put away the flower stand. She called Yanrong, "It's getting late. We have to go to the Madam's for lunch." Without waiting for Xu Lingyi, she left the inner room.

Xu Lingyi laughed and followed him.

When they arrived at the lady's place, there were many people there and Eleventh Lady was smiling, so no one noticed anything unusual.

At night, they still slept separately.

The next day, Xu Lingyi got up early and asked Shiyi Niang to help him wash and dress.

Shiyi Niang said nothing, but helped him pour water and change clothes. When he had breakfast, she served him porridge as usual.

Xu Lingyi found it very interesting.

It's like watching a little kid sulking.

But gradually, he couldn't laugh anymore.

First, Shiyi Niang stopped serving him tea and water, then they started eating their own breakfast, and finally she stopped calling him when she went to see the old lady. Her expression became colder and colder. Then, one time, he asked Shiyi Niang to help him change his clothes, but Shiyi Niang didn't move and called Xia Yi in. The atmosphere between the two of them was no longer warm and peaceful as before, but full of indifference and alienation.

Xu Lingyi felt that things were worse than he had imagined.

When he was in the east, she was in the west. When he was on the left, she was on the right. Sometimes he would take the initiative to sit over and want to say something to her, but she would not put down her needlework, concentrating on sewing, as if she didn't even notice his presence.

Xu Lingyi thought about it and talked about something she had been concerned about before.

"Do you still remember the Qu family?"

Eleventh Lady didn't say anything, but Xu Lingyi noticed that her hand holding the needle paused.

He breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that this was the right topic.

"I've always wondered. The Sixth Prince born to the Imperial Concubine is so young, why would the Qu family take action at this time? Even if the Emperor and Empress are at odds, as long as the Empress doesn't make any mistakes, the First Prince and the Third Prince will be safe as a rock. They are taking a completely desperate risk by doing this."

Eleventh Lady lowered her head and sewed, and there was nothing unusual to see.

"...Later, when it came to Feng Qing's matter, the Qu family acted very vicious. When they accused me of 'lack of moral integrity', their tactics changed a bit - less vicious, more sophisticated. I found it strange at the time. Why did the Qu family act without any rules? So when the eldest prince was choosing a concubine this time, he specifically asked Ma Zuowen to write me a letter. Guess what I found out?"

Eleventh Lady pretended to be deaf and dumb, pulled out the thread, and threaded the needle with squinted eyes.

Xu Lingyi was slightly disappointed, but still said, "I found the candidates recommended for the eldest prince's consort this time to be very interesting. The Yang family recommended all those who had a good relationship with them. The Qu family was a little different. They only recommended the daughters of two old friends. There were also two families that were ostensibly recommended by people from the Ministry of Rites, but upon closer inspection, they had a vague relationship with the Qu family..."

The selection of a concubine for the eldest prince involves the imperial court. It is a mixture of truth and falsehood. The Qu family will definitely set up a foreshadowing, that's for sure, what's there to say?

Eleventh Lady complained in her heart.

She lowered her head and embroidered calmly.