Upon hearing this, Eleventh Lady smiled bitterly and said, "That's why I have a headache!" Then she got off the kang and went to the outer room.

Xu Lingyi was just wondering when he saw her walk in with rice paper across her arm and an inkstone in her hand. On the inkstone was a large yellow bamboo brush holder with a brush in it.

"What are you doing?" He hurried forward and took the inkstone and the large pen holder.

The thing is indeed a bit heavy.

Eleventh Lady shook her wrist, thanked Xu Lingyi in a low voice, and said, "We need to discuss this carefully!"

Xu Lingyi was puzzled.

Eleventh Lady had already sat on the kang, rolled up her sleeves and began to grind ink.

She had slender wrists and long fingers, and after rubbing the inkstone several times, the water still floated on the inkstone.

Xu Lingyi took the millstone and said, "I'll do it!"

Eleventh Lady did not refuse him. She spread the rice paper on the kang table, watched the clear water turn into a black color, picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, and wrote the word "Zhuo" on the rice paper, and then wrote the word "Wang", the word "Li", and the word "Jiang".

The character "Zhuo" represents Minister Zhuo's family, the character "Wang" represents Madam Zhou's family, and the character "Li" represents General Li's family. These three families are all here to propose to marry Zhen Jie'er. The character "Jiang" represents Jiang Feiyun's niece, and their family wants to marry Yu Ge'er.

Xu Lingyi finally understood her intention and couldn't help but smile slightly.

Eleventh Lady likes to be well organized when doing things.

He pointed at the character "Jiang": "Forget about this one."

Both parents are dead. If you think deeply about it, it is a conflict of fate. No wonder Xu Lingyi excluded the Jiang family first.

Eleventh Lady nodded and circled the word "Jiang".

This leaves only the three characters Zhuo, Wang and Li.

"That's fine." She said, "Let's settle Zhenjie's marriage first, and then discuss Yuge's marriage!"

Xu Lingyi said, "I'm afraid the Jiang family also feels that this marriage is a little inappropriate, so they sent Madam Jiang to test your attitude."

"What do you mean?" Eleventh Lady thought of Mrs. Jiang's attitude at that time, which was still very sincere.

"If they also think this marriage is appropriate, they will be like Lao Zhuo." Xu Lingyi said, "One will test your attitude, and the other will come to me to make a statement."

Eleventh Lady thought about it and felt that what Xu Lingyi said made sense.

Mrs. Jiang not only praised her niece's needlework in front of her, but also tactfully told her how much dowry her niece had.

Maybe she would not take Xu Siyu seriously because he was the eldest son of a concubine. Maybe the marriage was arranged because the woman's dowry was generous and could be justified in front of Xu Lingyi.

Eleventh Lady nodded slowly, and the topic naturally turned to Minister Zhuo's family: "...Mrs. Zhuo only said that Mr. Zhuo was very valued by his father. She didn't say much else. What did Mr. Zhuo say to you?"

"That's about the same." Xu Lingyi said, "Old Zhuo said that if this marriage can be concluded, Zhen Jie'er will be the head of the family. He still has a small fortune under his name, which will be left to the eldest son. It will also be clearly stated in the gift list when the wedding takes place. Zhen Jie'er will never suffer any loss."

Eleventh Lady was a little surprised when she heard this.

"Old Zhuo is a straightforward person. He speaks in a cupful of wine. I don't doubt him." Xu Lingyi said, "Besides, he has a successor position as a fourth-rank commander. I didn't agree at the time because I wanted to see the child. Now the world is peaceful, there is no war to fight. If you want to rise quickly, you probably need connections. I will not stand idly by when a son-in-law is half a son. I can't let Sister Zhen down even more."

Eleventh Lady laughed when she heard this.

Unlike her usual reserved smile, her eyes and eyebrows were filled with joy, her eyes were twinkling, and she looked a little playful.

Xu Lingyi looked at him strangely, but the corners of his mouth curled up unconsciously: "What's wrong?"

"Nothing! Nothing!" Eleventh Lady waved her hands and laughed even harder.

She thought of Madam Li...

If the Xu family and the Zhuo family were to marry, Zhen Jie'er's situation would be somewhat similar to that of Madam Li.

Eleventh Lady could imagine how powerful Madam Li was, but she could not imagine how fierce and fierce Zhen Jie was.

Xu Lingyi looked at her with confusion on his face.

Eleventh Lady found it even funnier.

Xu Lingyi thought for a moment, lowered his head and looked at his clothes. Seeing nothing unusual, he thought of the person who had just helped to grind the ink, and shouted to the maid to bring in the target mirror.

Eleventh Lady was slightly startled, then realized that Xu Lingyi had misunderstood.

She waved her hands quickly: "No, no. I was thinking of Madam Li!"

"Madam Li!" Xu Lingyi was surprised. "What happened to Madam Li?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly realized.

Looking at her sparkling eyes under the light, he couldn't help but laugh and shook his head: "You actually exclude me like this!"

"No, no!" Eleventh Lady denied.

She couldn't help but pursed her lips.

The lips become red and beautiful.

Xu Lingyi looked at him with a slight flicker in his eyes, and the feeling of being ignored slowly revived in his body.

His smile gradually faded and his eyes became brighter.

Eleventh Lady lowered her eyelids and muttered hesitantly, "...Then, do you want to meet the eldest son of the Zhuo family..." Her hands unconsciously drew circles on the rice paper.

Xu Lingyi gently took the brush from her hand, threw it on the table, then hugged her and sat her in his arms: "Talk to you later!" his voice was low.

Eleventh Lady grabbed his collar tightly.

"lamp……"

The room immediately fell into darkness.

It took Eleventh Lady a long while to adjust to the light in the room.

Eleventh Lady was a little confused and moved her body uneasily.

"You feel uncomfortable?" Xu Lingyi asked her with a low gasp, and stopped moving.

She suddenly felt palpitations and suddenly became emotional.

"No!" The voice was gentle, with a hint of shyness.

Xu Lingyi was overjoyed.

Eleventh Lady closed her eyes.

At this moment, she felt that her feelings were respected, her body was loved, her emotions were cared for... and she was cherished.

The clock in the distance ticked gently, and the brush stained with ink lay silently on the rice paper. Everything seemed so quiet and comfortable.

*

"Look, this is the situation of the Zhuo family!" Eleventh Lady handed the Chengxin letter paper with flowery small calligraphy to the lady.

The lady held the mirror frame with one hand and the stationery with the other, then leaned to the window and read carefully.

The discussion with Xu Lingyi ended in vain. Early in the morning, I received a message from Lord Zhuo inviting Xu Lingyi to a banquet.

"They mentioned the children's marriage yesterday, and they invited you to the banquet today. They must want you to see their boy."

Just after getting up, Shiyi Niang held a cup of goat's milk with almonds in her hand and leaned lazily on the kang by the window.

"Just take a look!" Xu Lingyi went to practice boxing early in the morning and changed into a dark blue Hangzhou silk gown, which made his posture more upright.

"What if it's not good?" Eleventh Lady asked worriedly, "You and Master Zhuo are so kind..."

She was afraid that he would agree reluctantly for the sake of friendship.

"Don't make decisions so hastily!" Xu Lingyi looked at Shiyi Niang, whose expression had softened, with a deep smile in his eyes, "Let's see what happens first!"

A person can be fair and selfless, but he cannot guarantee to be impartial!

Eleventh Lady frowned.

Xu Lingyi couldn't help laughing when he saw it.

"It's easy to deal with Lao Zhuo. But there are some problems with Madam Zhou," he pondered, "If it works, everyone will be happy. If it doesn't work... you have to find a good excuse. After all, she informed you a long time ago."

Yes, if the family Mrs. Zhou mentioned is not satisfactory, how to refuse will become a big problem.

The thought flashed through her mind, and Eleventh Lady thought of the Lady Dowager.

How could I forget about her?

"How about we ask Mother what she thinks?" Eleventh Lady's eyes sparkled. "She is more experienced than us and can judge people better!"

"That's fine!" Xu Lingyi said, "I'll go to the Zhuo family for the banquet. You tell mother about what happened yesterday. See what she means. We'll meet again in the evening!"

Eleventh Lady nodded, and after sending Xu Lingyi out, she listed the situations of several families first, and then came to the lady dowager.

The lady knew that those families were all ulterior motives. But since her daughter-in-law didn't tell her, she pretended not to know. Now that Eleventh Lady came to discuss it with her, she must be undecided, so she naturally had to think about it carefully.

"The Marquis went to the Zhuo family for a banquet?" The lady put down the paper in her hand.

"Yes!" Eleventh Lady helped the Madam change a cup of tea, "I will definitely meet the eldest son of the Zhuo family by then."

"So what do you think?" The lady put down the mirror frame.

Eleventh Lady helped the Madam put it in the gilded cloisonné mirror box beside her: "We want to see the person first. But we are afraid that if we don't like him, it will be difficult to refuse him."

The lady laughed and said, "Are you afraid that it would be difficult to reject Zhou San's wife?"

Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "Nothing can be hidden from you!"

"Don't be impatient!" The old lady smiled and held the teacup. "Any family that is a little bit particular will not be so anxious to propose marriage. Since they are so anxious to propose marriage, they have been eyeing it for a long time. Although our family is not a wealthy family, we are also a little well-off." The old lady said implicitly, "We are attracted by their good qualities, and they are also attracted by our good qualities. It is supposed to be like this for two families to marry. This is not a big deal. The main thing is to see how the children are. Zhou San's wife is a steady person. Since she has decided on this marriage, I think you might as well inquire about it. As for the Zhuo family, the fourth son has been in the army for many years, and most of the people who come to propose marriage have this intention. In comparison, their family is a bit complicated. We might as well take our time to choose." She also instructed Eleventh Lady, "Don't settle so quickly. If my guess is right, since this has been done, someone will come to propose marriage in a few days."

Eleventh Lady nodded, thinking that the Madam was still very thoughtful: "You have to show it to us when the time comes!"

The lady laughed and said, "I raised Zhen Jie'er since she was a child. If you don't tell me, I want to see it too!"

Only then did Eleventh Lady feel relieved.

※

Today is Laba, O(∩_∩)O~

I wish you all a happy Laba Festival!

With that said, it feels like the Chinese New Year is not far away!