Yes, the more chaotic the Qu family is, the better.
How should we deal with people’s emotions?
Eleventh Lady remained silent.
Xu Lingyi smiled and comforted her: "I know the situation well. I dare not say anything else, but there will be no problem in making sure that the Qu family loses the election." After saying that, a trace of disappointment flashed across his brows, "After all, she is the eldest prince's first wife!"
Eleventh Lady felt relieved after hearing this, and went to the Madam's place with Xu Lingyi.
Xu Lingkuan and the Fifth Madam had already arrived and were holding Xin Jie'er in front of the Madam who was sitting on the kang.
Seeing them come in, the Second Lady stood up and gave up her seat next to the Dowager Lady, while Zhen Jie'er on the side stared at Eleventh Lady.
Eleventh Lady greeted everyone calmly and hugged Xin Jie'er. When Xu Siyu and Zhun Ge came back from the school, everyone surrounded the lady and went to the east room.
She deliberately fell a few steps behind.
Sister Zhen slowed down her pace when she saw this.
The two fell behind.
"What's wrong?" Eleventh Lady asked her in a low voice.
She hesitated for a moment and said, "Sister Hui asked me to go to her house to play."
Eleventh Lady thought for a moment: "Does Second Aunt disagree?"
"My studies haven't been very good these days!" Sister Zhen drooped her eyelids slightly.
"I know!" Eleventh Lady smiled, "Let's go eat!"
Zhen Jie'er was happy and followed Shiyi Niang into the east room happily.
After dinner, everyone drank tea in the west room. Eleventh Lady asked about Zhen Jie'er's homework.
The Second Lady said, "I have been teaching her the Lesser Odes in the Book of Songs, and I have found time to teach her watercolor for a few days. My place is separated from my Fifth Brother's wife by a flower wall, and the terrain is high, so I haven't practiced the instrument these days."
When the Fifth Lady heard this, she gave him a grateful look.
Maybe they were afraid of scaring the child!
Eleventh Lady pondered and said with a smile: "Sister Zhen is still working hard!"
The second lady smiled faintly and glanced at Zhen Jie'er.
Sister Zhen lowered her head helplessly.
“She’s always been hardworking.”
Eleventh Lady looked at Zhen Jie'er and nodded with a smile: "That's good, that's good!" She looked very happy.
A faint smile flashed across the second wife's lips.
The Fifth Lady smiled and said, "Don't worry, Fourth Sister-in-law! Second Sister-in-law is very knowledgeable. When our Xinjie grows up, she will also study with Second Aunt." As she said this, she touched the sleeping baby in the nurse's arms, "Isn't it, Xinjie!"
Eleventh Lady smiled and nodded. She said, "Before Zhen Jie'er moved to my second sister-in-law's place, I had left her a few embroidery works. I knew that my second sister-in-law was teaching her, so I told her that if she had too much homework, she should put it aside for the time being. Who knew that she had finished all the embroidery needles I had left for her in the past few days, and even came to me to ask for patterns. I wanted to ask about her situation. If she had delayed her homework because of this, she should stop sewing for a while." Then she said to Zhen Jie'er, "Since your second aunt said that your homework is good, I am relieved."
Sister Zhen was surprised.
Her mother didn't give her any embroidery work to do.
Thinking of what she had just asked for, she felt that this was somehow related. She nodded and said, "I will follow my mother's instructions!"
The lady laughed as she watched: "In the blink of an eye, our Zhen Jie has grown into a big girl. She can read and write, and she can also do needlework!"
Everyone started laughing too.
Only Zhun Ge's smile seemed forced.
Eleventh Lady couldn't help but sigh secretly, hoping that Mr. Zhao would agree to come and take charge of the business.
The lady then mentioned that she would go to Ciyuan Temple to burn incense in two days: "...Yizhen and Shiyi Niang will accompany me then!"
The Fifth Master and his wife then realized that the Empress was pregnant, and they were all delighted. The Fifth Lady pouted and said, "Mom, I want to go too!"
"You stay at home and look after Miss Xin." The lady smiled dotingly, "We will get up at midnight. You haven't recovered yet. It's not good to be exposed to the cold wind!"
The Fifth Lady no longer insisted.
The lady then kept Xu Lingyi to talk.
Everyone bowed and dispersed.
When Eleventh Lady returned, she called Mother Song and said, "Find out what the maids from the Weibei Marquis's Mansion have sent on behalf of Hui Jie'er, or what messages they have passed on to the eldest lady!"
Mother Song's eyes flashed.
Employ people with confidence, and don't employ people you doubt. Eleventh Lady did not hide the truth from her: "The eldest lady has always been gentle. Second sister-in-law did not agree with her visiting Weibei Marquis's mansion, but she actually came to me to beg for help. I heard a few days ago that a group of young men came to Cangzhou Shao's family, the family of Grandma Lin. Fang Jie'er is fearless, but Zhen Jie'er is different. In case something happens, it will all be blamed on our Zhen Jie. It's better to be careful!"
Mother Song whispered, “Don’t worry, Madam, I’ll save it!”
Before Eleventh Lady could tell her a few more words, Xu Lingyi came back.
She nodded to Mother Song and helped Xu Lingyi change his clothes.
After washing up, Xu Lingyi sat down in front of the big kang by the window in the inner room. He took a bird's-eye view of the Xu Mansion from the small table on the kang and looked at it. He said, "Mother said that the Feng Shui of my fifth brother's place is not good, so she asked me to build a new yard for them... Where is the place?" He frowned again, "In front is the Dingguo Mansion, on the right is the Weibei Marquis Mansion, and on the left is the wall of Taichi... The princess used 3,000 workers and it took two months to build the back garden. Do we have to cut down trees to build a house?"
Eleventh Lady looked at him and moved a lamp over to sit next to him: "What about behind the garden?"
"This is Hehuali." Xu Lingyi smiled bitterly, "Most of them are ancestral houses. Even if they are empty, they won't be sold. And they are not safe either."
Eleventh Lady also found the situation a bit tricky.
The Third Master left, but he didn't say that the house should be divided. Naturally, the house should be kept for him. She wanted to keep the place where Yuanniang lived, so that Zhun Ge could use it when he got married. The Fifth Lady moved out of Zhaozhuang Hall, and she would never live in Liufangwu and Nongxiangyuan. So Lijingxuan was left... Although the back garden is large, the mountains, scenery, pavilions and paths are all quite old, with the simplicity, nature and tranquility of vicissitudes of life. It would be a pity to cut down the forest to build a house.
She couldn't help but say, "In two years, Brother Yu will also get married!"
"Then tell Xiaowu clearly." Xu Lingyi thought, "They will move to Lijingxuan, and when Brother Yu gets married, he will live in his yard. This way, Brother Yu will be close to you, and it will be convenient for him to visit you every morning and evening."
Eleventh Lady felt that the main reason why Fifth Lady felt that the feng shui of the place they were living in was because of her worries. She nodded, "Then the Marquis and Fifth Master should discuss it. This will prevent any more twists and turns. There is also the Second Sister-in-law involved! We can't let her lose face, right?"
Xu Lingyi nodded: "I will explain this matter clearly to Xiaowu and his wife."
Eleventh Lady felt relieved. Thinking of Xu Lingyi's embarrassment just now, she couldn't help but laugh: "It's such a big mansion, but the house is so tight."
Xu Lingyi laughed, and when he raised his eyelids he saw a pair of sparkling eyes under the light, like the rippling waves under the setting sun, warm and bright, which warmed people's hearts as well.
"Oh!" He looked at her steadily, "You feel nervous!" His hand gently stroked her face.
"No, no!" The familiar gaze was so naked under the light, without any cover, making her turn her head away awkwardly, "I don't feel nervous."
"Really?" As she chuckled, the bright white light flashed across her eyes like a meteor.
She fell into a strong embrace...
* * * * * *
The eldest daughter of the Xiang family placed the blue and white bowl of lotus seed and lily porridge on the stool at the head of her mother's bed: "Mother, you should get up and eat something! What's the point of being angry with father like this? Father should do what he should do, and you are just sulking."
When Mrs. Xiang heard this, tears started to fall again: "I will never marry Roune to the Xu family!"
The eldest daughter of the Xiang family could not help but persuade her mother: "You don't want your second sister to marry into the Xu family, there must be a reason, right? Just based on what you said, that your aunt has no good intentions, that you are a concubine's daughter, and that you have no real talent... I don't think it's credible, let alone your grandfather. Fortunately, you didn't go back to your uncle, otherwise, I'm afraid your grandfather would have taught you a lesson again."
Mrs. Xiang felt a little embarrassed.
The eldest daughter was precocious and favored by her husband, so she had no authority in front of this daughter.
Knowing that her daughter was telling the truth, she couldn't help but murmur, "Well, what do you say we should do?"
"My brother hasn't proposed marriage yet, so my second sister's marriage can be put on hold." The eldest daughter of the Xiang family gave her mother some advice, "How about you reply to your aunt like this when the time comes?"
"No!" Mrs. Xiang objected immediately, "You don't know your aunt. If she wants to do something, there is nothing she can't do! If I talk to her as you said, she might just open her mouth and take charge of your brother's marriage! No, absolutely not."
Miss Xiang was silent for a while, then said, "How about you discuss with Daddy how much betrothal gift you want from the Xu family?"
"No!" Mrs. Xiang objected again, "If I bargain with the Xu family for the betrothal gift, I will only lose my status and people will think I am selling my daughter!"
Miss Xiang felt that she had run out of ideas.
She had no choice but to tell Mrs. Xiang's personal mother: "Take good care of mom, I'll go and persuade dad!"
Mom bowed her knees and said "yes", sent Miss Xiang away, sat down on the bed and advised Mrs. Xiang: "Madam, Miss is not asking you to really reject the eldest aunt's reply, nor is she asking you to ask the Xu family for any betrothal gifts. What Miss means is that since you are not happy, why not postpone the second lady's marriage and see how things go. Anyway, the second lady is still young, and it's just a verbal agreement. The previous lady of the Xu family will not have her mourning ceremony until April. We can't just wait until summer!"
Mrs. Xiang was refreshed after hearing this. "I was so angry with the master that I lost my mind. You are right. We still have to follow the master to take up his post. We can't just wait like this for this marriage. Wouldn't that make people laugh?" Then she sat up. "Call the maid to come in and comb my hair. I want to see the master!"
The mother breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately smiled and called the maid to come in to help Mrs. Xiang wash and dress.
I had just changed my clothes when Lord Xiang arrived.
Mrs. Xiang thought about what her daughter had just said, calmed down, and sat there without moving.
Lord Xiang looked at it and sighed: "Although the family house has been in disrepair for a long time, it is our ancestral property after all. There is no reason to sell it at a low price. I will leave for my new post in two days. You and the children will stay in Yanjing for a while and repair the house. Take this opportunity to settle Roune's matter."
Mrs. Xiang stayed there.
※
Sisters, pink tickets...
PS: The starting point is at that, so six points are used instead. After that is finished, we will do that...