After returning from Xiang's house, Shiyi Niang began to prepare for Yuanniang's mourning ceremony. At this time, Luo Zhenxing arrived.

"Brother!" Eleventh Lady hurried over to greet him, "What's wrong with you?"

"I brought Mr. Zhao to see the Marquis!" Luo Zhenxing said with a smile, "I came to see you by the way. I told you so that you don't have to send people to ask me every now and then."

"Mr. Zhao is here!" Eleventh Lady was delighted to hear this. She ignored Luo Zhenxing's jokes and asked hastily, "What did the Marquis say?"

"The two were just about to talk." Luo Zhenxing said, "It looks like it should work!"

"That's good, that's good!" Eleventh Lady invited Luo Zhenxing to sit on the big kang by the window in the east room. "You don't know. Zhun Ge hasn't made any progress these days, and the Marquis is very anxious. Yesterday, I taught him to write. Zhun Ge was so nervous that he couldn't hold the pen. If I hadn't interrupted him, the Marquis would have been angry again... It's good that Mr. Zhao is here, at least it won't be worse than it is now!"

Luo Zhenxing nodded: "This is possible thanks to Elder Liu. If it weren't for his personal letter, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to invite Mr. Zhao."

After hearing this, Eleventh Lady immediately said, "I will write a thank-you letter to Third Aunt later. I will also bring some local specialties from Yanjing."

Seeing that she was well-versed in worldly affairs, Luo Zhenxing smiled and said, "When you are away for three days, you should look at someone with new eyes. I didn't expect that the eleventh sister who knew nothing at home can now stand on her own."

Eleventh Lady was startled when she heard this, and hurriedly said, "This is all Madam Tai's good teaching!" Then she ordered the little maid to bring some fruit, "...The green apricots were sent by Master Chen."

"Oh!" Luo Zhenxing became interested, "The Lord Chen who rented your land?"

Seeing that she had successfully changed the subject, Shiyi Niang smiled and nodded: "It is that Mr. Chen."

"It's only the first year and the fields are already producing a harvest!"

"How could that be possible?" Eleventh Lady said with a smile, "These are from Lord Chen's own field. He picked some for us to taste."

As he was speaking, a servant came in and said, "My Lord, please ask my uncle to go to the outer study!"

Luo Zhenxing resigned from Shiyi Niang.

Although they had gone through so much trouble to invite Mr. Zhao, it was still unclear whether Xu Lingyi was satisfied or not. Eleventh Lady immediately sent Mother Song to find out the news.

After an incense stick of time, Mother Song came back.

"The Marquis invited Mr. Zhao to the Flower Hall for dinner." She said with a smile, "He also asked Chief Steward Bai to clean up the Shuangfu Courtyard next to the outer study and make it into a study for the Fourth Young Master."

Eleventh Lady breathed a sigh of relief.

When Xu Lingyi came back in the evening, she asked him, "Is this Mr. Zhao worthy of his name?"

"It seems pretty good now!" Xu Lingyi was a little reserved. "However, since he has won the favor of Elder Liu, I think his character and knowledge are not too outrageous!"

It's a good start to get such an evaluation.

Eleventh Lady felt half relieved.

Xu Lingyi told her about the children: "After the mourning period, let Zhun-ge officially worship Mr. Zhao as his master. As for Yu-ge, after mother's birthday, send him to Le'an!"

Eleventh Lady couldn't help but ask: "Does Brother Yu know about this?"

"I don't know yet." Xu Lingyi said, "Let's wait until Zhun-ge has finished his apprenticeship before we talk about it! He can also take this opportunity to have a good rest for a few days."

It’s good to have a buffer period!

Eleventh Lady sighed in her heart, and after Zhun Ge met Mr. Zhao, she asked him privately: "What kind of person is Mr. Zhao?"

Zhun Ge smiled when he heard this: "The master is very kind to me."

Eleventh Lady felt relieved and touched Zhun Ge's head with a smile.

Aunt Qin is here.

Eleventh Lady and the concubines did not interact very often.

She asked the maid to invite her in.

Aunt Qin was very surprised to see Zhun Ge sitting on Shiyi Niang's kang drinking goat milk, and Du Mama and others were not around. She was stunned for a moment before she kneeled respectfully to Shiyi Niang.

Eleventh Lady asked the maid to bring her a small stool to sit on and asked her, "What can I do for you?"

Aunt Qin thanked him, half sat on a small stool, and said, "Nothing?" She glanced at Zhun Ge several times, "Just come and sit with Madam!"

Eleventh Lady felt that the distance between them was good now, and she didn't want to get any closer. She said tactfully: "If you have nothing to do, I will take Brother Zhun to the Madam!"

Aunt Qin was stunned and stood up awkwardly, with the corners of her mouth slightly twitching, as if she wanted to say something but stopped herself.

Eleventh Lady carried Zhun Ge off the kang, held his hand and prepared to leave.

"Madam!" Aunt Qin called her, her face full of anxiety.

Eleventh Lady turned and looked at her.

Aunt Qin's expression was somewhat uncertain. After a moment, she whispered, "Madam, I heard that the Marquis invited a very powerful teacher back... I wanted to ask, is the second young master also going to Shuangfuyuan to study?"

Really well-informed.

Aunt Qin found out about it only two days after Mr. Zhao arrived.

But there are some things that you shouldn't say.

"I'm afraid I'll have to ask the Marquis!"

Aunt Qin felt a little uncomfortable when she heard her mention Xu Lingyi. She forced a smile and said, "I'm just a little curious. There's no need to alarm the Marquis!" Then she stood up and said goodbye.

Eleventh Lady took Zhun Ge to the lady's place.

The master of sewing was measuring the clothes for the lady. Seeing Shiyi Niang and Zhun Ge coming in, the lady waved to them and said, "Help me see, which one is better, this one with the flowers of joy on the eyebrows or this one with the flowers of peony on the shoulders?"

This is making new clothes for the lady's birthday.

The color of "joyful eyebrows" is red, and the color of "peony flowers" is bright red. For birthday celebrations, bright red is naturally better.

"I think this one is good!" Eleventh Lady pointed at the bright red Hangzhou silk with peony flowers.

"Isn't it too expensive?" the lady hesitated.

“Bright colors make you look more energetic!”

The lady nodded and ordered a red Hangzhou silk with peony flowers, and asked Shiyi Niang to pick out jewelry. Shiyi Niang spent the whole afternoon in the lady's room.

On the 19th day, monks and Taoists were invited to perform rituals, the white curtains in the mourning hall in Yuanniang's room were removed, and the children were given brightly colored clothes, completing the mourning ceremony.

The next day, Xu Lingyi first took Zhun Ge to Shuangfuyuan, where they formally worshipped Mr. Zhao as their teacher and began their enlightenment. In the afternoon, he called Xu Siyu to the study room, where the father and son talked for the whole afternoon. When Xu Siyu came out of the academy, he was said to be pale and staggering.

By dusk, everyone in the house knew that Xu Siyu was going to Le'an.

Aunt Qin rushed into Eleventh Lady's room with disheveled hair: "Madam, I beg you, I beg you, the Second Young Master cannot go to Le'an." As soon as she came in, she knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Eleventh Lady.

The room was filled with dull "dong dong" sounds.

Aunt Qin's fair forehead immediately turned red.

Mother Song and Amber hurriedly carried her up, one on each side.

"What is Aunt Qin doing?" Mother Song glanced at the solemn-looking Eleventh Lady sitting on the kang and advised, "Why can't you just talk about it calmly? Why do you have to kneel on the ground and kowtow like this? If Madam doesn't agree, will you keep knelt like this?"

This makes some sense.

If the mistress didn't agree, he would keep kowtowing, forcing her to agree. What's the difference between this and those court officials who wanted to die in the Golden Palace?

"No, I didn't!" Aunt Qin's face was full of tears and she shook her head like a rattle. However, she did not defend herself too much, but sobbed, "Madam, the second young master cannot go to Le'an. He is still so young, and the farthest he has been is a trip to Xishan... Madam, madam," she struggled to get closer to Eleventh Lady, "the second young master is an obedient and good child, and he will be as filial to you as the fourth young master in the future... You see, the last time you confined him to his feet, he stayed in the yard obediently and did not go anywhere. He also said that madam did this for his own good... Madam, I beg you!" As she spoke, she squatted down and was about to kneel down, "I kowtow to you! Please don't let the fourth young master go to Le'an..."

Over there, Yanrong had already tiptoed out, lifting the curtain.

"Alright!" Eleventh Lady shouted, "You are so disheveled, how can you be so unbecoming!" She then said in a deep voice, "Where is the maidservant serving Aunt Qin? Why didn't she bring in some water to help Aunt Qin clean her face?"

Her face was stern and her bright eyes shone with coldness, making everyone in the room feel nervous.

Lu Yun, who was standing by, was startled by what she heard. She ordered two maids to go fetch water herself.

Aunt Qin looked at Shiyi Niang, whose eyes and eyebrows were cold, and it took her a while to come back to her senses. But before she could speak, Shiyi Niang had already ordered the little maid: "Bring a small stool to Aunt Qin."

The little maid replied "yes" timidly and brought in a small stool.

Eleventh Lady pointed at the small stool and said, "Sit down!"

Aunt Qin was still a little stunned, but Mother Song had already winked at Amber and pushed her to sit on a small stool.

"Why don't you want the Second Young Master to go to Le'an?" Eleventh Lady picked up the teacup and took a sip, then said slowly.

Aunt Qin hesitated for a while before whispering, "The Second Young Master is too young..."

Eleventh Lady interrupted her: "Gan Luo was the Prime Minister at the age of twelve, and Liang Ge Lao passed the imperial examination at the age of twelve. The Second Young Master is not young either!"

Aunt Qin choked up after hearing this, and said after a long while: "Le'an is too far away..."

"A good man should have ambitions to travel the world. He should travel the world and see the world. How can he be like a flower, kept in the inner courtyard without being exposed to wind and rain? How can he protect us women and children from wind and rain in the future?"

"But, but..." Aunt Qin's face turned red with anxiety, but she couldn't utter another word.

Eleventh Lady took another sip of tea and asked slowly, "Does the Second Young Master know that you came to my place?"

"I don't know!" Aunt Qin said in surprise.

"In that case," Eleventh Lady said calmly, "Mrs. Qin, you'd better ask our Second Young Master what he thinks? After all, it's not you who's going to Le'an, it's our Second Young Master!"

Only then did Aunt Qin understand something.

"Madam!" She looked at Eleventh Lady in panic, "This is all my idea..."

Eleventh Lady glanced at her.

"Mrs. Qin is interfering in other people's affairs. Those who know her say that she is straightforward; those who don't know her think that it was the Second Young Master's idea. Besides, sending the Second Young Master to Le'an is also for his own good. The Jiang family has produced two imperial tutors. The principal of the Jinxi Academy where the Second Young Master is going, Mr. Jiang Song, was the top scholar in the 46th year of Jianwu. It is a rare opportunity for the Second Young Master to have such a teacher to teach him. You didn't even ask the Second Young Master and made a scene like this. Where can the Second Young Master save his face?"

Aunt Qin's face turned red and white as she listened.

Hongxiu's scream was heard in the room.

"My Lord!"

※

The call came at half past eleven...~~~~(_