Chapter 301: The Successor's Room (Part 1)

Mrs. Xiang jumped up when she heard this: "How can she help? It's good enough that she doesn't make things worse! The current wife of Yongping Marquis is Luo Yuanniang's sister! Our lady is notorious for not getting along with Luo Yuanniang. You know, Luo Yuanniang is not an easy person to deal with either. How good can her sister be?"

Mrs. Gao lowered her head and began to think deeply after hearing this.

Mrs. Xiang loved and feared her sister-in-law. Seeing this, she gently pulled her sister-in-law's sleeve and said, "Sister-in-law..."

Mrs. Gao looked up and saw Mrs. Xiang's timid eyes, and smiled: "It's okay, it's okay. I just need to think about some things." Just as she was comforting her, a little maid came in and reported carefully: "Auntie asked, if Madam has anything else to say to Auntie, then he will go to the old man's study first."

Mrs. Xiang stood up as soon as she heard this: "Sister-in-law, it's getting late. I'll go home first."

Mrs. Gao pulled Mrs. Xiang's hand and told the maid, "Go tell the old man that I'm not going back today. Let him go first."

"Sister-in-law!" Mrs. Xiang was stunned.

Mrs. Gao ignored Mrs. Xiang and said directly: "As for the young masters and young ladies, they should stay as well. The old lady hasn't seen her grandchildren for several years. While they are in Yanjing, they can chat with the old lady and make her happy!"

Mrs. Xiang looked at her sister-in-law in surprise - she had just said that she shouldn't take the child back to her parents' home, so why did she suddenly leave her and the child behind?

The little maidservant naturally obeyed her mistress, but was afraid that the lady would lose her temper, so she immediately knelt down and bowed before retreating.

Mrs. Gao said to Mrs. Xiang in a leisurely manner, "I told you that you were wrong before. You shouldn't take the child to your parents' home when something happened, and you shouldn't make trouble outside and make others laugh at your family affairs. I'm keeping you now because your aunt is wrong in this matter. Even if he wanted to marry Rou Ne to Xu Siyu, he should have discussed it with you first and then reported it to your aunt. He shouldn't have just settled the matter with your aunt like this."

Mrs. Xiang did not see any difference between the two things and muttered, "...they are still the same!"

Mrs. Gao was furious when she heard this: "It's a good thing that Dad married you to the Xiang family. If you were married to another family, you would be eaten without even a bone." Seeing that Mrs. Xiang hung her head, she was both angry and amused, and said, "Okay, don't worry about this matter. You just stay here and I'll come to help if there is any problem."

Mrs. Xiang admired her sister-in-law the most. She immediately laughed when she heard this: "Good sister-in-law, I will stay at home for a few days. Otherwise, I will get angry when I see him."

Mrs. Gao smiled helplessly: "When will you grow up?"

Mrs. Xiang took Mrs. Gao's arm and said coquettishly, "Don't you have a sister-in-law?"

At night, Mr. Gao blamed his wife: "Why did you leave my younger sister at home? It would be terrible if others knew about this!"

"What's wrong with that?" Mrs. Gao helped her husband change his clothes. "Didn't you say I was sick? I raised my sister-in-law since she was a child. Now that I'm sick, she brought her children back to her parents' home to see me. What's wrong with that?"

"As for the Xu family..." Mr. Gao pondered, "If it weren't for the maid giving birth to a child, they would be a good match."

"It's okay!" Mrs. Gao said disapprovingly, "Who is Madam Xu? All she wants is a step to step down. Besides, I think we need to think carefully about whether this matter will succeed! At least we need to let the lady of the Xiang family figure out who is the mistress of the Xiang family!"

Mr. Gao immediately got a headache after listening to these women's twists and turns. He only said one sentence: "Even if the marriage doesn't work out, don't offend the Xu family completely!"

"Isn't the master worried about my work?" Mrs. Gao insisted, "I know what I'm doing." Then she asked the maid to get water for Master Gao to wash his face.

Mr. Gao said nothing more, and the couple dropped the subject.

Eleventh Lady, however, had not rested yet. She, Mother Song, Amber, Luyun and others were in Yuanniang's yard, and Mother Tao followed behind with her hands hanging down.

These days she was in charge of Yuanniang's courtyard, and Shiyi Niang asked her to go to her place on the first and eleventh day of every month to receive instructions.

"Tomorrow we will have a water and land temple here. Although all the visitors are monks, they still need to avoid the necessary places." She instructed Mother Song, "You will lead a few smart and capable housekeepers to take care of the guests, and Amber will be in charge of the maids who serve tea and snacks. Luyun will bring Hongxiu, Yanrong and others to follow me to serve the ladies. As for the utensils and layout of this room..." Eleventh Lady looked at Mother Tao, "Madam Tao will be in charge."

No one showed any surprise, they all knelt down and responded with "yes".

Seeing that everything was almost settled, Eleventh Lady took Mother Song and the others back to her own courtyard. The next day, she got up early, greeted the old lady, and then began to work on the sacrificial ceremony. When it was time to light the lamps, she was almost done and went to the old lady's place.

The lady asked Madam Du to bring her some yokan and said, "Please take care of yourself. If you have any problems, leave it to the madam in charge. And the people sent from the outer courtyard to help are all experienced and can be trusted."

The old lady was old and ate very light food. Although yokan was nourishing, it had a strong flavor and smelled of mutton, so the old lady didn't eat it. It was clearly prepared for her.

Shiyi Niang was very grateful. Although the taste was not good, she still ate a few pieces with frosted sugar: "Because I learned a lot from everyone, I didn't feel tired."

The lady nodded in appreciation: "When you are young, you should endure some hardships and learn more. When you grow up, you will be qualified to show off in front of the younger generation!"

"Yes!" Eleventh Lady smiled and chatted with the Taifu for a few words, then asked the Second Furen: "...Hasn't she come back yet?"

"She came back at noon." The lady said, "Mrs. Xiang went back to her parents' home to take care of her sister-in-law. She may not be back for a few days!"

In this era, the medical level is low and being sick is a serious matter. No one would joke about their physical condition. Having said that, whether it is true or not, it gives the Xu family enough face.

"Should we send someone to visit Mrs. Xiang's sister-in-law?" Eleventh Lady asked the lady-in-law.

The lady said, "In theory, now that you know about it, you should go and see her. But in this situation, it's not easy to go. I told Yizhen and asked her to take some things to see Mrs. Xiang's sister-in-law - she and Mrs. Xiang are aunts, and their relationship is closer than ours."

Eleventh Lady nodded, and seeing that it was getting late, the Lady urged her to go and rest. Eleventh Lady thought that she would be busy tomorrow, so she smiled and saluted the Lady, and returned to her own courtyard first.

On March 19, the anniversary of the death, Xu Lingkuan and the Fifth Lady left Xin Jie'er in Hongdeng Hutong and returned to the mansion in a carriage just after dawn, saying that they were here to help. Xu Lingyi was very pleased and went to the outer courtyard with Xu Lingkuan. Eleventh Lady and the Fifth Lady greeted the Madam and then went to the main house.

On the way, Eleventh Lady thanked Fifth Lady.

The Fifth Lady smiled and said, "After all, this is our family matter."

It's good enough for sisters-in-law to do this.

Eleventh Lady smiled at Fifth Lady.

As soon as the sun rose, relatives and friends of the Xu family arrived one after another. They burned incense and offered three kinds of sacrificial animals. Some stayed for lunch, while others apologized and left first. Eleventh Lady left the Fifth Lady in the flower hall next door to chat with the ladies who stayed for lunch, while she herself said goodbye to those who left under the eaves of the flower hall. If she met the wives of Chen Gelao and Liang Gelao, she had to escort them to the hanging flower gate in person.

By noon, Shiyi Niang's calves were already sore and swollen. She asked Luyun, "Can you go see if the flower hall is open for dinner?"

Lu Yun thought that she had not eaten much in the morning and was hungry at this time, so she hurriedly said, "Madam, how about we go to the kitchen to make you some snacks to fill your stomach?"

"What?" Eleventh Lady laughed, "There are fewer people coming to worship at noon, and those who stay to eat are sitting at the table. We are busy and have a chance to take a break - find a place for you to massage my legs."

After hearing this, Lu Yun hurried forward to help her up: "Please go sit aside for a while, I will go to the flower hall to take a look."

As soon as she finished speaking, a little maid ran over in a panic: "Fourth Madam, it's bad, Madam Gan from the Duke Zhongqin's Mansion has fainted!"

Eleventh Lady was shocked when she heard this. She didn't care whether her legs were sore or not. She lifted her skirt and went to the flower hall. While walking quickly, she ordered Luyun: "Hurry up and tell the chief steward Bai in the outer courtyard to invite a doctor as soon as possible."

Lu Yun didn't care about much and trotted all the way to the outer courtyard.

Yanrong accompanied Shiyi Niang to the flower hall.

The food had not yet been served and everyone was gathered at the east corner.

Eleventh Lady walked over hurriedly.

Someone who saw this hurriedly said, "Make way, the Fourth Madam is coming!"

The crowd parted automatically, making way for them. Eleventh Lady saw Fifth Lady half-embracing Madam Gan with an anxious look on her face.

Seeing Eleventh Lady, she breathed a sigh of relief and her expression eased: "Fourth sister-in-law, just now when we were talking, Madam Gan suddenly fainted."

Seeing that Madam Gan's face was as pale as paper and her lips were black, Eleventh Lady was unsure and afraid that she was suffering from heart pain or cerebral hemorrhage. She could only say calmly, "Madam Gan has been preparing for Lanting's wedding these two days and has rushed to attend the eldest sister's sacrifice. I'm afraid she is tired. You support her first, and I'll find some snuff for her to smell." She was stalling for time.

Who knew that as soon as she finished speaking, someone said, "I have some snuff here."

Eleventh Lady hurriedly took the snuff box and waved it under Mrs. Gan's nose.

Mrs. Gan sneezed and opened her eyes.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It's okay, it's okay!"

Eleventh Lady hurriedly asked Mrs. Gan: "How do you feel?"

"I'm fine!" Madam Gan slowly sat up from Madam Wu's arms and looked at the people around her, "I'm just a little tired!"

"We were really scared!" Grandma Huang San and others laughed.

Mrs. Gan smiled.

Seeing her forced smile and paler complexion, Eleventh Lady was still worried and said, "How about I help you to the small courtyard next door to rest?"

Madam Gan thought for a moment and said with a smile, "Then I'll have to trouble Madam Four!"

Yanrong listened and cleverly took the maid to clean up the house. Shiyi Niang exchanged a few polite words with the other ladies, then helped Madam Gan to the next yard.