"…It's Huijie'er's birthday. I drew a picture of flowers and birds for her." Zhenjie'er looked at Shiyi Niang with a hint of pleading in her eyes, "I'll go and sit for a while then. It won't take up much time. When I come back, I'll make up for the missed lessons!"

Ever since she gave the message to the lady dowager that day, Zhen Jie'er has never had the chance to have a proper talk with Shiyi Niang about this matter.

Eleventh Lady thought of herself when she was Zhen Jie'er's age.

Every time there is a class reunion, parents are afraid that their children will lose face in front of their classmates, so they have to prepare enough pocket money, keep up with the fashion, and arrange a car early...not to mention being looked at coldly.

She felt sad and smiled, "Has the painting been framed yet? Count the days, it's only a few days away!"

Zhen Jie'er's face brightened up when she heard this: "Mother, then you agree that I can go!"

Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "You said yourself that you would only be there for a while and would be back soon, and would make up for the missed lessons. You can't break your promise to me!"

Zhen Jieer nodded repeatedly: "Don't worry, mother, I will never break my promise."

"Then give me the painting for Hui Jie'er!" Shiyi Niang said with a smile, "I'll have someone take it to Duobao Pavilion to frame it for you - you can't just take it away like this!"

"Yeah!" Zhen Jieer laughed, then her smile faded, "I, I didn't bring it with me."

"It's okay." Shiyi Niang smiled, "Cherries are on the market these days. I'll ask Amber to send you some more later. Just give the things to Amber when the time comes."

After hearing this, Zhen Jie'er became happy again.

Eleventh Lady said, "It's not that I don't want you to join in the fun. It's just because you haven't taken off your mourning clothes yet. Since you are young, everyone turns a blind eye to it. You have to be careful and don't make too much noise. Go sit with Hui Jie'er and come back. If Hui Jie'er is really good to you, she will naturally know your friendship. If she just wants you to join in the fun, you haven't offended her. But remember in the future, it's okay to play with such people, but they are not good sisters who can confide in each other." At this point, she paused, and Zhen Jie'er thought she had something else to say, but who knew that Eleventh Lady changed the subject, "What are you going to wear that day? Have you prepared the silver ingots for rewards?"

"Everything is ready." Zhen Jie'er was puzzled by what Shiyi Niang had not said, and responded, "I plan to wear a snow-blue jacket that day, and no jewelry, just a pearl flower. I have prepared ten silver ingots for rewards, each worth a quarter."

Eleventh Lady originally wanted to tell Fang Jie'er and Hui Jie'er that they were both favored by heaven and were inevitably spoiled, so she asked them to make their own judgment. But then she thought that Zhen Jie'er was so sensible, and if she repeatedly reminded them, she might make her feel that she was not trusted. She suppressed her words and asked about her preparations. Now after hearing what she said, she said, "Ten is too few. Bring at least thirty. Let Xiaoli and the others put them in purses and take them out whenever they need them." Then she asked Mother Song to help Zhen Jie'er get a few such silver ingots.

Silver ingots are all made to order according to weight and cast into various auspicious shapes. They are not usually used for bartering. They are usually placed in the hands of the person in charge of the household affairs and used as rewards.

Sister Zhen said hurriedly, "I'll have someone send the money over later."

"Men need to be the masters of the family, and women need to be fed and clothed." Eleventh Lady said with a smile, "Now you should save up some private money!"

Sister Zhen smiled embarrassedly.

Mother Du, who was beside the lady, came over and said she was here to take Zhun Ge back, but after greeting Shiyi Niang, she stood there and chatted with her.

When Zhen Jieer heard the voice, she knew Ya and made an excuse to call Zhun Ge out of the inner room.

Eleventh Lady asked Mother Du to sit down.

Madam Du half-sat on a small stool and said with a smile, "Fourth Madam is a very understanding person. Madam Tai asked me to tell Fourth Madam that since the words have been spoken, we will have to go to the residence of the Earl of Zhongqin tomorrow. Please ask Fourth Madam to make arrangements."

Eleventh Lady nodded and told Mother Du about the extra boxes she had prepared for Gan Lanting: "... Mother, go back and tell me if there is anything else to add or subtract. Is it too late to leave at Sizheng tomorrow morning?"

Mother Du's face was full of smiles. It was obvious that she appreciated Shiyi Niang's reaction: "I will go back and report to the Madam right away."

Eleventh Lady smiled and saw Mother Du out.

Zhun Ge paid his respects to Shiyi Niang and was taken back to the lady by Mother Du.

Seeing that it was getting late, Eleventh Lady urged Zhen Jie'er to go back, and then took Xu Sijie to Lijingxuan.

The light was still on in Xu Siyu's study. Wen Zhu wanted to report to Xu Siyu, but was stopped by Shiyi Niang: "Is the Second Young Master still studying?"

Wen Zhu said respectfully, "The Second Young Master studies until midnight every night."

"In that case, I won't disturb him." Eleventh Lady handed Xu Sijie to Nan Yong's wife, touched Xu Sijie's head, gave him a few words of advice, and returned to her room.

Just after finishing washing up, Xu Lingyi came back.

He looked a little solemn, with bright eyes, and it was hard to tell whether he had been drinking or not.

"The Marquis is back!" Eleventh Lady went up to greet him, but did not ask him directly what happened. Instead, she slowed down and asked Xia Yi to come in and help Xu Lingyi wash up. After he came out, she personally poured him a cup of hot tea and then sat down next to him.

"Is it that things are not going well?"

Xu Lingyi took a sip of tea, then took a long breath and said, "It's done!" But there was no joy in his eyes.

The palms and backs of your hands are all made of flesh.

He exiled Yu Ge for Zhun Ge. As a father, he must have felt bad.

"We decided to help Zhun Ge and Miss Jiang get engaged first. Then we will let Yu Ge go to Le'an." Xu Lingyi said quietly, "This way, we are all relatives. We don't have to worry about people gossiping. It will also be more legitimate for Master Jiang to manage Yu Ge."

Eleventh Lady nodded and said, "When is the Marquis going to tell Brother Yu?"

"Let's wait until Brother Zhun and Miss Jiang have signed the contract!" Xu Lingyi said, "In order to avoid any repetition of the matter and embarrass Brother Yu."

That's just two or three months of effort.

Xu Lingyi seemed not to want to talk about this and changed the subject: "By the way, you should probably make some preparations for Zhun-ge's matter. Mrs. Jiang is planning to have Miss Jiang leave from Le'an in early April. She will probably arrive in Yanjing at the end of May. By then, the two families will have to visit each other. Zhun-ge..." He looked very troubled, "Any news about Mr. Zhao that Zhenxing mentioned?"

"Brother should come and tell me if there is any news." Eleventh Lady said, "Last time when brother came, he said that he sent someone to visit Elder Liu, hoping to ask him to help speak for him. It shouldn't be a big problem, right?"

Xu Lingyi thought for a moment and said, "Then let's invite Zhenxing over tomorrow and discuss this!"

Eleventh Lady agreed and told him that she would go to add boxes to Gan Lanting tomorrow: "...I'm afraid I won't be back until the evening. Will the Marquis eat lunch in the outer courtyard or the inner courtyard?"

"I'll eat in the outer courtyard!" Xu Lingyi said, "The foundation over there has been laid, so I can go take a look tomorrow."

The two chatted for a while, then seeing that it was getting late, went to bed.

In the middle of the night, Eleventh Lady suddenly woke up.

I saw Xu Lingyi leaning against the head of the bed.

In the darkness, his profile was as clear as if carved on stone.

Eleventh Lady thought about it and sat up quietly.

"What is the Marquis thinking about?"

"Sorry for disturbing you!" Xu Lingyi turned his head and spoke in a faint voice with a hint of melancholy.

"No." Eleventh Lady paused and said softly, "I can't sleep either - I got up early in the morning and slept all afternoon, but now I can't sleep."

Xu Lingyi was silent for a while, then suddenly lay down: "Go to sleep! It's getting late, and you have to get up early tomorrow!"

Seeing that he didn't want to talk, Eleventh Lady didn't force him. She just said "hmm" and closed her eyes.

Just as he was half asleep, he suddenly heard Xu Lingyi say, "The highest civil servant rank for a relative of the emperor is no higher than the sixth rank; the highest civil servant rank for a son of a noble is no higher than the fourth rank."

Eleventh Lady had never heard of it before, and hesitated, "...Is it custom-made?"

"No!" Xu Lingyi said with difficulty, "Since the founding of the Great Zhou, there has been no inherited title. Only one person has ever reached the fourth rank, and the others are only the sixth or seventh rank!"

Are you worried about Xu Siyu's future?

"What does the Marquis plan to do?"

Xu Lingyi was silent for a while, then whispered, "I was originally planning to ask the Xiang family to help him... but now, he can only rely on himself!"

Eleventh Lady was shocked when she heard this: "Is there any news from the Xiang family?"

"No!" Xu Lingyi said, "I can guess. If there was something that delayed them, they would have sent someone to inform you. They made you wait in vain without giving you any face. Most likely they didn't want to do that." His tone was more or less disappointed. "Even if there is a turnaround when my second sister-in-law goes back tomorrow, most likely they are doing it reluctantly for my sake. A forced melon is not sweet. Just assume that Yu Ge'er is not so lucky!"

Marriage is a good relationship between two families, it takes two hands to tango!

Eleventh Lady didn't know what to say.

* * * * * *

The next morning, just as Eleventh Lady sat down in the West Flower Hall, a maid came in and said, "Madam, Manager Lu wants to see you!"

Eleventh Lady met Lu Yonggui first.

Lu Yonggui stood respectfully with his hands down: "I heard that Madam has something to ask Yongfu, but he can't explain it clearly. I am older than him and know more. Madam can ask me anything you want to ask."

Amber suddenly realized.

It turns out that Eleventh Lady called Lu Yongfu not to get anything out of him, but to let Lu Yonggui come to Eleventh Lady on his own initiative.

"Manager Lu is a very busy man. My maidservant couldn't even call him, so I had to call Lu Yongfu to ask him." Eleventh Lady changed her usual reserved attitude and spoke directly.

Amber saw Lu Yonggui smile bitterly.

"I don't dare!"

Neither admitting nor denying. This sentence shows an attitude.

Eleventh Lady left Amber behind and sent away the other servants in the room, saying, "When the two concubines came to Yanjing from Yuhang, did they come to seek refuge with you?"

Lu Yonggui was not surprised, but responded softly with "yes".

"When Niu Da was in charge of the family, my father was the accountant. They had a close personal relationship. Da Mao often accompanied Niu Da to my father's house to drink, and I often followed Da Mao around. It was at that time that I met the second aunt."

Eleventh Lady calculated the time and it was about the same.

"Once, the master got drunk..." At this point, Lu Yonggui hesitated for a long time, "Second Aunt asked me to take a letter to Brother Damao, saying that she wanted to go with Brother Damao. Brother Damao said... he couldn't implicate General Manager Niu, so he didn't agree." He stuttered, "Second Aunt scolded Brother Damao... I don't know if the words were too harsh or Brother Damao couldn't swallow it... so he jumped into the well... A few days later, there was a problem with the accounts of the Hangzhou shop, and there was news that the master took a concubine... General Manager Niu resigned from the position of general manager and opened a small silk and forging shop in Zhenjiang with his son to make a living!"

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I was so excited today that I spent a lot of time. The update is late...⊙﹏⊙b sweat!

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