Eleventh Lady's guess was soon confirmed.

In the evening, she went to greet the old lady and met the second lady. The second lady was whispering something to the old lady. When she saw Eleventh Lady come in, she nodded slightly and said, "Fourth brother's wife is here!"

Eleventh Lady greeted her with a smile.

The lady then talked about Lanting's marriage: "...You already know everyone. I'm old and can't stand the noise. When the time comes, you can just take your maids and old women with you."

From worrying that I can't make the situation better to letting go completely, is this considered progress?

Eleventh Lady smiled happily.

She sat on the armchair next to the Madam Dowager: "The Marquis and I have discussed that he will go to the House of the Earl of Zhongqin, and I will go to the House of Lord Liang. Mother, why don't you and the Marquis go to the House of the Earl of Zhongqin? Madam Huang and the others will be there. You will meet old friends, chat, and have some fun!"

Eleventh Lady really wants the Lady Dowager to go.

As we get older, we have fewer and fewer friends and our health is getting worse. It is best to get together more often while you are still healthy and your old friends are still around.

"This Fourth Brother," the Madam laughed, "he sent you to the Liang family for the wedding banquet, and went to the residence of the Earl of Zhongqin himself. Could it be that he is hiding from something?"

The Second Lady laughed and said, "It should be about lifting the ban on sea trade, right? The Marquis is of a different status. Whether you agree or not, I'm afraid that everyone will try to get in touch with the Marquis. I think this is a good idea, so as not to offend anyone."

The old lady nodded slightly and said with a smile, "Is the maritime ban still going on? This is not a joke. It may be a matter of some families failing while others prospering. Don't think that only the merchants are concerned about the maritime ban. I'm afraid that the nobles in Yanjing City are also keeping a close eye on it. I think," the old lady said, her eyes fell on Eleventh Lady, "My Lord, don't go anywhere. I'll stay at home too. We only care about kinship. The Zhongqin Marquis's Mansion and our family are in-laws. You should represent the Yongping Marquis to go to the Zhongqin Marquis' Mansion for the wedding!"

Eleventh Lady did not agree immediately, but said tactfully: "I will go back and talk to the Marquis!"

After listening to this, the lady nodded slightly, and then smiled and told some anecdotes from previous years to her two daughters-in-law.

When Xu Siyu and Zhunge'er came back from school and greeted the lady, Nan Yong's wife came with Xu Sijie. The lady asked someone to call Zhen Jie'er, who was studying calligraphy in the east wing, and sent someone to ask Xu Lingyi. Knowing that Xu Lingyi would not come for dinner, she took her wife, granddaughter, and grandson to the east wing for dinner, and chatted with the children in the west wing for a while. Seeing that it was getting late, she asked Shiyi Niang to help her change clothes, and the others left.

The lady-in-waiting and Eleventh Lady went to the inner room and sat on the big kang by the window.

"Yizhen just came to tell me that the marriage might not be possible!" The lady said in a low voice, "She said that the feud between her and her sister-in-law has affected the children's future. Let me tell you, if there is a good family, please help Brother Yu find one!"

Eleventh Lady had had a premonition before.

It has become like this, even if they get married, there will be rifts in everyone's hearts, so it's better to just let it go.

Seeing that the lady looked somewhat disappointed, he gently advised: "Mother, marriage is about fate, otherwise, how can it be called marriage?"

"Ah!" The lady sighed after hearing this, "I originally thought it would be great if we could get closer to each other!"

Eleventh Lady was a little confused.

The lady said slowly, "There are some things you don't know. When Yizhen's mother was alive, she suffered a lot because of her stepchildren. She died so early, which was also related to this. Later, your second brother passed away. Although Yizhen felt a little uncomfortable, she still wanted to adopt a child to inherit the family line under your second brother's name. However, at that time, the fifth child had not yet married, and the fourth child had few children, so she thought of her uncle in Nanjing. She sent someone to discuss it, and only the third son of Lingfu's family was suitable - he had just turned one year old at that time and was also the legitimate son. It was originally agreed, but when it came time, Lingfu's wife disagreed. I was a little bit uneasy at first. It's comfortable, but your second sister-in-law said that mother and son are connected by heart, and it's common sense that the rich second lady is unwilling, and she can find a suitable one later. I saw that she was indifferent, and that family didn't want to, so let it go. Who knew that after letting go, the fourth child returned to his hometown to observe mourning, and helped your eldest sister to seek medical treatment, and worried about whether the queen could..." She paused here, thinking that it would be difficult to say something like "ascending the throne", "there are endless worries. So I let it go. But I always pity her for her hardship. She remained chaste at a young age. If she doesn't mention it, I won't mention it either." The lady said, and patted Eleventh Lady's hand, hesitant to say something.

The reason why the lady wanted to remarry into the Xiang family was probably because she hoped that the second lady could have a companion!

But this kind of thing cannot be forced.

Eleventh Lady comforted the Lady Dowager: "Mother, Second Sister-in-law is still young, we can slowly see about the adoption later!"

"This is the only way!" He felt a little regretful.

As the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were talking, Xu Lingyi came over to greet the lady-in-law. Seeing Eleventh Lady and the lady-in-law sitting affectionately on the kang, he couldn't help but smile.

The lady smiled and drove them away: "I want to rest too!"

Eleventh Lady blushed slightly: "Let me serve you and take a rest before we go!"

"No, no!" The lady said with a smile, "I just have Mother Du!"

Seeing that the old lady was determined, Eleventh Lady bowed to her with a smile, then retreated with Xu Lingyi.

Xu Lingyi asked Shiyi Niang: "What did you talk about with me? Why did you talk so affectionately?"

"Are you talking to mother about Yu Ge'er?"

Xu Lingyi smiled faintly after hearing this: "The marriage didn't go through, has the second sister-in-law come to give mother a reply?"

Eleventh Lady was a little surprised: "How did the Marquis know?"

"Second sister-in-law is a bit arrogant." Xu Lingyi said, "Since the Xiang family is not very willing, I think Second sister-in-law will not force it. Naturally, she will cut the Gordian knot and make things clear without dragging it out."

"My Lord, you are right." Eleventh Lady told Xu Lingyi what the Lady Dowager had said to her, and could not help but say, "...Mother is so kind to others!"

Xu Lingyi nodded: "Mom often told me that when a family lives together, we should always think about her goodness, so that we can live a harmonious and happy life."

Then why are he and Yuanniang at loggerheads?

Shiyi Niang almost blurted out. She looked up and saw Xu Lingyi's expression was slightly dim. She couldn't help but wonder if he was thinking of Yuan Niang too!

The two returned to the house in silence.

Only then did Eleventh Lady remember to go to the Marquis Zhongqin's mansion to attend the wedding banquet.

"Mother asked me to discuss with the Marquis. For the wedding banquets of the Liang and Gan families, we will only consider the closeness of the relationship. Let me go to the Zhongqin Marquis's mansion to attend the wedding banquet!"

Xu Lingyi thought for a moment and said, "Did you tell mother about the maritime ban?"

"No!" said Eleventh Lady, "It was my second sister-in-law who brought it up..." and she described the situation at that time.

"That's fine too!" Xu Lingyi said with a smile, "You can just go and see Miss Gan off!"

The two of them washed up and went to bed.

Eleventh Lady asked Xu Lingyi: "When will the yard be repaired?"

"Why? Don't you like living here?"

Since the two of them moved into the yard, all the previous rules were temporarily put aside.

"I'm just asking. I'm prepared." Eleventh Lady said lightly, "At that time, I have to pack up the boxes, arrange for people to move things, and decorate the house over there... I'll be busy for a while."

"I noticed that you like to know everything in advance and plan it carefully."

"Well!" Eleventh Lady said, "I don't like sudden things!"

"What about the one who manages the household? There are always unexpected things happening in the household."

"It's OK!" said Eleventh Lady, "As long as it doesn't affect the overall situation. Those trivial matters are fine!"

"What are the big things? What are the small things?"

"Relatively speaking..."

The couple chatted, and Xu Lingyi never mentioned when the yard would be repaired.

On March 25th, Eleventh Lady went to the residence of Earl Zhongqin wearing a red silk jacket with a continuous swastika pattern and a willow yellow skirt with an oil green twined twig pattern.

Mrs. Gan saw that she was slightly uncomfortable.

Eleventh Lady just pretended that what happened that day had never happened. She bowed and greeted him gracefully.

Mrs. Gan gradually regained her composure and took Eleventh Lady to the main room where distinguished guests were to be entertained.

Madam Huang of Yongchang, Madam Tang of Zhongshan, Madam Lin of Weibei, and Madam Zhou had arrived earlier and were talking together. They were a little surprised to see Eleventh Lady coming alone. Madam Zhou came up to her with a smile: "Fourth Lady is always so nice. Your dress today is so beautiful!" She pulled her hand and chatted with her, very enthusiastic.

Eleventh Lady greeted her and said, "I have been thinking about my sister and the ladies, so I rushed here early in the morning. Who knew I would still be a little late." Then she stepped forward and saluted the old ladies.

Everyone bowed.

Mrs. Qiao from Duke Cheng’s mansion has arrived.

Everyone greeted each other.

Eleventh Lady also nodded to her, and then sat next to Madam Huang.

Mrs. Gan's sister-in-law and others came over. For a while, the room was full of laughter.

Madam Zhou whispered to Shiyi Niang, "Your sister Zhen is twelve years old this year, right? After she has finished her mourning period, she should be married to her husband's family, right?"

Eleventh Lady's heart moved.

The Zhou family has always married into prominent families. If Mrs. Zhou could help take care of Zhen Jie'er, it would be much broader than my own vision.

"Yes!" She smiled and replied to Mrs. Zhou, "It's just that the people in my family haven't been out much these years, and there's no suitable one. If there is such a fate, please help keep an eye out for it, Sister Zhou."

Mrs. Zhou laughed when she heard this: "I have one here that looks good. But I'm afraid that your sister Zhen will decide on her before I even ask her, so I came here to ask you."

"Thank you for your trouble, sister." Eleventh Lady said with a smile, "I will toast you two glasses of wine on the Madam's birthday."

What this means is that now is not the time to discuss this matter. We should wait until April 24th, when the old lady’s birthday comes and the mourning ceremony is held, then we can sit down and discuss it properly.

Mrs. Zhou understood and nodded with a smile: "I will definitely ask for a glass of wine at that time!"

The two chatted in low voices for a while. The new son-in-law came to take the dowry. Some people went to watch the fun, some sat in the house drinking tea, and some walked around in the yard casually.

Eleventh Lady went to the purification room.

When she came out, a maid carrying tea bumped into her, and her jacket was soaked by the tea and could no longer be worn.

The little maidservant was so frightened that she fell to the ground and trembled, unable to speak.

Eleventh Lady asked Amber to help the little maid up: "Don't make a sound, just take me to your Third Miss to change clothes."

The little maid was only eight or nine years old and her hair was still cut. After hearing what Eleventh Lady said, she not only did not take her to Cao E quietly, but burst into tears.

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My upper eyelids and lower eyelids are fighting each other. I’ll have to catch some bugs tomorrow!

Even so, I still did not forget to stretch out my hand and shout out loud - Sisters, don't forget your pink ticket when reading...

O(∩_∩)O~