The steps of Shaohuayuan are still as high, and tender grass that has just sprouted is swaying in the cracks between the stones.

Eleventh Lady held up her skirt and walked up the stairs carefully, always worried that she would fall accidentally.

It is spring, and all the trees are thriving, but it is also the time when the bamboo leaves are falling. The spring breeze blows, and the withered yellow leaves fall to the ground, giving a sense of the bleakness of autumn.

Jie Xiang came over in a hurry: "My Lord, the Fourth Madam!" She knelt down and saluted, "Madam is explaining the Book of Songs to the eldest lady..."

"Then let's wait for a while?" Eleventh Lady sought Xu Lingyi's opinion. She looked up and saw a stone table and stone pier in the bamboo forest. She pointed with a smile and said, "How about we sit in the bamboo forest for a while? We won't disturb Second Sister-in-law and Zhenjie."

Although the spring sun is warm, I still feel a little hot while walking in my padded jacket.

A cool breeze blew through the forest, allowing Xu Lingyi to breathe a sigh of relief. He smiled and said, "Okay!"

"This..." Jie Xiang looked embarrassed.

Before she could finish her words, Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "We are also tired from walking, so it's a good opportunity for us to rest here. Just prepare some warm tea for the Marquis!"

Jiexiang couldn't insist any longer, so she led her maid to get a brocade cushion and put it on the stone stool, asked the two to sit down, and served them two cups of Biluochun.

"Go and do your thing!" Eleventh Lady picked up the teacup and took a sip. "We have a maid to serve you here. When Second Sister-in-law has finished teaching Sister Zhen, you can come and report."

Seeing that Xu Lingyi didn't say anything, Jiexiang bent her knees and replied "yes", then retreated, leaving only a little maidservant with no hair left standing far away.

Xu Lingyi took a few sips of tea and said, "I haven't sat here for a long time!"

"Did the Marquis come here often before?" Eleventh Lady laughed and said, "This is my second time here."

"This used to be my second brother's study." Xu Lingyi looked at the bamboos in the yard. "These bamboos were planted by my second brother... Later, my second sister-in-law moved here and never came here again..." Memories flashed in his eyes.

This is a part that Eleventh Lady cannot empathize with, but she can choose to respect it.

Listening to the swaying of the withered bamboos and feeling the comfortable breeze on her face, Shiyi Niang quietly accompanied him to drink tea.

The second lady, who was wearing a light blue dress, accompanied by Jiexiang and Zhenjie, walked over briskly.

Xu Lingyi hurriedly stood up and saluted: "Second sister-in-law!"

Eleventh Lady stood up immediately afterwards.

The Second Lady stopped ten steps away from them and looked at Eleventh Lady with a smile in her eyes. Her porcelain-like face was as bright as jade in the quiet bamboo forest.

"My Lord, my fourth brother's wife!"

Sister Zhen stepped forward and bowed to her parents.

Eleventh Lady smiled and took her with her, greeting the Second Madam: "Second sister-in-law!"

The Second Madam nodded slightly and asked Xu Lingyi, "My Lord, would you like to sit here or go inside for a cup of tea?"

Xu Lingyi thought about the purpose of coming here, and felt that it would be more serious to talk inside, so he smiled and said, "Why don't you go sit in Second Sister-in-law's room!"

The Second Lady stepped aside and gestured for invitation. Eleventh Lady followed Xu Lingyi into the house.

A bunch of forsythia was placed in the blue and white vase on the long table in the main hall. The delicate yellow petals and the freely stretching branches were filled with the vitality of spring.

Zhen Jie'er retreated obediently. Xu Lingyi and the others sat down in order of importance, and Jiexiang served tea.

The Second Lady picked up the teacup and took a sip, then went straight to the point, "How come my Lord Marquis and your sister-in-law have time to come and sit with me today?" But her gaze paused on Eleventh Lady before turning away.

Eleventh Lady picked up the teacup with a smile - Xu Lingyi was the head of the family, so it would be better to leave the right to speak to him at this time.

"It's mainly because of Brother Yu!" Xu Lingyi said bluntly without beating around the bush, "First, I want to thank my second sister-in-law. This marriage was only possible thanks to my second sister-in-law's mediation. Secondly, we want to formally propose to the Xiang family after the mourning ceremony, and I also want to ask my second sister-in-law to test Mr. Xiang's mood - I calculated the date, and Mr. Xiang should be leaving in the next few days. Then I can ask the marriage proposal to go and propose marriage."

"We are a family, why do we have to divide it so clearly?" The Second Lady glanced at Eleventh Lady who was sitting silently beside her with a smile on her face, "Brother Yu is my nephew, it is my duty to help run errands for him."

"After all, it's for our sake." Xu Lingyi glanced at his wife who was sitting below him, and said to the Second Madam sincerely, "We should at least come and thank the Second Sister-in-law!"

"Yes!" Eleventh Lady continued with a smile, "Although Brother Yu is your nephew, it is because you really love him that he was able to find such a good marriage. As parents, we should at least thank Second Sister-in-law."

Xu Lingyi nodded slightly.

The Second Madam looked at the couple singing in unison, her eyes twinkled, and she said with a smile, "Sister-in-law, you don't have to be polite to me!" Then she took the initiative to talk about going back to the Xiang family, "...I will go back tomorrow."

Xu Lingyi thanked the second wife again.

The second wife shook her hand: "My Lord, this makes me seem distant!"

Xu Lingyi said nothing more and agreed to reply in the afternoon.

The lady over there knew that Xu Lingyi and Shiyi Niang went to Shaohua Court together, and said with a smile: "So, the two of them have reconciled!"

"That should be it!" Mother Du said with a smile, "The maid said that the two were talking and laughing."

The lady breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good, that's good. I was afraid that this child was ignorant and would keep giving the cold shoulder to the fourth child. You know, everything has a limit. Besides, the fourth child is also stubborn." Then she asked, "Have you found out what made him angry?"

Mother Du shook her head: "Some questions are not easy to ask in depth!"

The lady thought for a moment, then smiled with relief and said, "Forget it. Young couple, fight at the head of the bed and make up at the foot of the bed. As long as they get along well, that's all."

Mother Du smiled and nodded.

"But why are they going to see Yizhen?" He said he didn't care, but he was still a little curious. "Call Yizhen over later and I'll ask her!"

Mother Du laughed: "Didn't you say you don't care?"

"These are two different things." The lady disagreed. "One is about the people in the house, and the other is about the people outside the house. As for the things in the house, there is a saying that goes, 'If the couple is not harmonious, the neighbors will bully them.' If I ask about the slightest disturbance between the couple, won't it make the matter known to everyone? Let everyone think that they are not harmonious. Small things will become big things. Similarly, if the couple quarreled and I didn't care, others would see that there was no elder in charge in the family and would inevitably guess that I looked down on Eleventh Lady, and would follow suit and bully the weak, and not give her face. The things outside the house are different. Since the couple went to ask together, they must have discussed it beforehand. I just asked, and others would only laugh at me for being old and stubborn, but it would not hurt the dignity of the couple!"

"You always make sense!" Mother Du joked with a smile and called Wei Zi in, "Go to Shaohua Courtyard and take a look. If the Marquis and the Fourth Madam are gone, please ask the Second Madam to come."

Wei Zi responded and left.

The lady smiled slightly and asked, "What did Master Jining say?"

Early this morning, Master Jining came to visit the Fifth Madam.

Mother Du looked at her and stopped smiling. "She said the Second Miss was fine. She took her pulse and left a few boxes of incense to calm her nerves. She is now giving a lecture to the Fifth Madam."

The lady frowned and said, "Little boy, it's not good to keep doing this."

Mother Du carefully examined the lady's expression and said nothing.

The lady pondered for a moment, then told my mother, "Go to Hongdeng Hutong later and discuss this with the old marquis. If it doesn't work, ask the old marquis to take her home to live for a few days. Changing to a different place, maybe the disease will be cured!" As she spoke, she sighed, "This child, she looks very smart at ordinary times, but she can't keep calm at critical moments..." Then she lowered her voice and said, "Not as good as Eleventh Lady!"

Mother Du didn't dare to second the suggestion. She just pretended not to hear it and smiled as she replaced the cup of hot tea for the lady.

Jie Xiang brought Wei Zi a cup of warm tea. "Sister Wei Zi, you came all the way here, you must be thirsty. This is the Biluochun tea that our uncle sent. Sister Wei Zi, please have a try."

Wei Zi didn't dare to sit there calmly, so she hurried forward and took the teacup: "Sister Jiexiang, please stop being so polite!"

Jie Xiang said nothing more, smiled and said, "Sister Wei Zi, please come sit down. Madam, please change your clothes and it will be ready soon!"

Wei Zi said politely, "I'll just wait here. Sister, just go and do whatever you need to do, don't worry about me."

Jiexiang exchanged a few more pleasantries with her and went to the second lady's inner room.

"After asking for a long time, Sister Wei Zi still doesn't know what the Madam wants you to do."

The Second Madam smiled and smeared the fragrant honey on her face, saying calmly, "Is there any need to ask? It's probably because of the grudge between Eleventh Lady and the Marquis!"

Jiexiang had always believed in the Second Madam's judgment, but she was still surprised and asked, "The Fourth Madam and the Marquis are angry with each other? Why didn't I see it? How did Madam know?"

"If they weren't angry, why would the couple come to my place together?" The Second Lady said indifferently to the figure in the mirror, "I guess, most likely the Marquis asked me to be the matchmaker without consulting Eleventh Lady - otherwise, with Eleventh Lady's cautious character, she would have thanked me when she met me at the Madam's place that day. Instead of waiting until today to bring the Marquis along." At this point, she turned around and smiled brightly at Jie Xiang, "But she is also a very interesting person as she can move the Marquis!"

Jiexiang didn't think this was interesting. She frowned and whispered, "Madam, didn't you say that you were just a middleman and that it was up to the Marquis and the uncle to decide whether the marriage would be successful? Why did you agree to let the Marquis go back..."

"That's why I said that the Fourth Madam is an interesting person!" The Second Madam laughed, "I thought she would definitely not agree if she knew. Who knew that she would drag the Marquis here to thank me." As she said that, she blinked at Jie Xiang, "So I decided to make this trip no matter what!"

"What about my aunt's wife?" Jiexiang was a little worried.

"What's wrong with her?" The Second Madam said disapprovingly, "She just yelled at my eldest brother that she wanted to go back to her mother's house to tell her father and brothers! Besides that, what other methods can she come up with? I gave in to her in everything back then, not because her father was the governor of Shuntian Prefecture, but because I wanted her to live a good life with my brother. But when the Second Master died, she was able to disperse all the servants in the house, and she cried and insisted on going with my brother to take up the post, and my heart turned cold."

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Working overtime, here’s the draft first!

PS: Sisters who have pink tickets can vote tomorrow! Thank you!