The news came so suddenly that Eleventh Lady was stunned.

Xu Lingyi had already asked, "Whose daughter have you chosen?" His voice was gentle and he seemed very calm.

Lin Bo whispered, "Princess Fucheng's granddaughter and Lord Zhou Shizheng's eldest daughter."

"Sister Fang!" Eleventh Lady couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice.

There wasn't any sign of this before, and the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Clan Affairs didn't seem to have reported Fang Jie'er's name.

Xu Lingyi's expression was very calm, but his eyelids were drooped and he didn't say anything for a long time.

Eleventh Lady looked at him and couldn't help but ask him in a low voice: "What's wrong?"

"The Zhou family has always been a relative of the royal family." Xu Lingyi raised his eyelids to look at her. "It is rare for the emperor to do this."

Zhou Shizheng is the emperor's cousin and a good friend of Xu Lingyi who grew up together. The emperor chose a person who is close to the Xu family as the eldest son's wife. Whether it is because of the father-son relationship and not wanting to embarrass the eldest son, or because of the relationship between the husband and the uncle, or simply because the emperor thinks that the Zhou family is the most suitable in-law, such a result is the best for the Xu family.

Eleventh Lady nodded.

Xu Lingyi looked at her with a smile: "This way, you don't have to be embarrassed!"

Eleventh Lady was stunned: "What's the dilemma?"

"Aren't you unwilling to marry the young master of the Wang family?" Xu Lingyi said with a smile, "If this happens, our two families will be too conspicuous to marry again. You can also refuse this marriage with a clear conscience."

Is it that obvious?

Eleventh Lady was ashamed.

If the relationship between the young master of the Wang family and the maid who was three years older than him was just a simple one, the people who went to get the information would never emphasize the existence of this maid...

She couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed: "It seems that tomorrow I will not only have to congratulate Madam Zhou, but also pour a bucket of cold water on her."

Xu Lingyi smiled. He turned around and glanced at the closed door of the study room, and said, "I'm afraid the two of them won't finish talking so quickly. Let's find a place to sit down."

Eleventh Lady nodded, leaving only Mu Fu to serve outside the door, and followed Xu Lingyi into the alley next to the outer academy and entered a small courtyard.

The floor is paved with bluestone bricks, and in the middle stands a Chinese toon tree that is as thick as a man's embrace. There are three main rooms. The walls are white and the tiles are gray, and the black painted floor-to-ceiling pillars are simple and peaceful.

Eleventh Lady looked around.

"here it is?"

"Outer study!" Xu Lingyi said with a smile.

A boy of seven or eight years old ran out of the house to pay his respects, then went back to help them lift the curtain.

Xu Lingyi took Shiyi Niang into the main house.

The three rooms were connected to form an open hall. In the main room, there was a landscape painting of mountains and flowing water, a large black lacquer desk, a black lacquer low-legged Luohan bed with plum blossom patterns next to it, a Zen chair, two armchairs, and antique shelves on both sides filled with books. There were also large blue and white porcelain jars filled with scrolls.

Xu Lingyi pointed at the Luohan bed and told Shiyi Niang to "sit down", then instructed the boy, "Use the water from Yuquan Mountain and the Dahongpao."

The little boy nodded and trotted out.

Eleventh Lady looked around.

She had always thought that the outer study was Xu Lingyi's office, and its main function was to meet important guests. She didn't expect that there really was a study, and it seemed to have a rich collection of books, perhaps even more than that in Banyuepan.

"Banyuepan is my own study." Xu Lingyi explained, "This is the outer courtyard study of the Yongping Marquis of all generations."

I see!

Eleventh Lady suddenly realized.

Two little boys came in, one carrying a small red clay stove and the other carrying a lotus leaf-shaped serving boat filled with purple clay tea sets.

Eleventh Lady stood up to help.

Xu Lingyi said, "Sit down. Come and have a taste of my Kung Fu."

Eleventh Lady heard his arrogant tone and knew that he was a man well versed in this matter, so she sat down and watched him make tea.

In the small purple clay teapot, the water boiled quickly.

Xu Lingyi scalded the teacup with the first cup of tea and poured her the second cup of tea for her to taste.

Reddish brown, bright soup color, strong and long flavor.

Eleventh Lady smelled it and then took a small sip.

"How is it?" Xu Lingyi asked her. He picked up the teacup, smelled it, and drank it all in one gulp.

Seeing the expectation on his face, Eleventh Lady thought it would be better to tell the truth: "It's very sweet. As for the rest, I don't quite understand!"

Xu Lingyi was stunned for a moment, then laughed: "It's rare to be able to taste the sweetness of the tea." He then asked, "What kind of tea do you like to drink?"

Seeing that the atmosphere was good, Eleventh Lady simply smiled and said, "I like to drink black tea. It's best to add two spoons of honey to it."

"Add honey?" Xu Lingyi was very surprised and raised his eyebrows. "Just like my second sister-in-law, heat up a stone and throw it into the tea..."

This understanding is correct, right?

Eleventh Lady smiled and nodded.

Suddenly, there was a sound of light footsteps outside.

The two of them looked towards the door at the same time.

Mu Fu reported through the curtain: "My Lord, Madam, please go and have a look! Something seems to be wrong with Master and Madam!" There was a hint of anxiety in her voice.

Eleventh Lady's expression changed slightly: "What's going on?"

Mu Fu hesitated to speak: "You will know when you go and see it!"

"My Lord, I'll go and take a look!" Eleventh Lady stood up, said something hurriedly, lifted the curtain and went out, and went to the reception room with Mu Fu.

"Eleventh Lady..." Xu Lingyi failed to stop her, so he had to follow her out the door.

Although he and Qi Niang did not conceal their whereabouts when they returned to Yanjing, Zhu Anping was able to catch up with him in Yanjing two days later, and then generously sent a name card to meet him, and refused to ask him to ask Shiyi Niang to persuade Qi Niang, which showed that he was a proud and confident person. This kind of person is easy to say behind closed doors, but if he is in public, I am afraid he will not admit his mistakes even if he is wrong.

As the thought flashed through his mind, Xu Lingyi quickened his pace.

When I turned out of the alley, I saw Shiyi Niang and Mu Fu standing under the eaves.

He slowed down his pace and heard Qi Niang's sad sobbing and Zhu Anping's angry questioning: "... She just brought me a cup of tea when no one was around, and you thought she was unruly and gave her a lesson, but she ran away without saying a word. Is this the demeanor that a mistress of the house should have?" As he spoke, his voice was a little tired, "If you had any affection for me and thought about my kindness to you, you wouldn't use these nonsense as excuses to leave home again and again." At this point, he became angry again, "Do you know that I was worried that something might happen to you on the way, so I asked friends everywhere to find you, but I couldn't tell them why you left home. Now everyone in Shandong probably knows that I, Zhu Anping, have let my wife down and made her go back to her parents' home in anger."

He was angry, but Qi Niang was even angrier than him. She cried and shouted, "You and Xiang Yun were flirting with each other, how can you be justified?"

"What is going on between Xiangyun and me? Ask yourself, don't you know?" Zhu Anping's voice was filled with anger. "Otherwise, why didn't you even listen to my explanation?"

"What's wrong with you? How should I know?" There was a sense of guilt in Qinnan's voice.

Eleventh Lady listened in a daze.

There were soft footsteps behind me.

She turned around and saw Xu Lingyi coming over, so she made a gesture to Xu Lingyi to keep quiet.

The two stood under the eaves and listened.

"I know, I forced this marriage." Zhu Anping's voice suddenly calmed down. "Qiniang, don't cry! Since you have come all the way from Shandong to the home of the sister of the wife of Yongping Marquis in Yanjing, you must have your own plans. Take this opportunity to tell me the truth. What do you want? You also know that I, Zhu Anping, am not a stingy person. Just say it straight!"

Eleventh Lady was shocked.

Qi Niang's panicked voice could be heard from inside the room: "You, what do you mean by this?"

"In the mansion of Marquis Yongping, in front of Marquis Yongping and in front of your sister, I will do whatever you want!" Although Zhu Anping's tone was calm, he implied that Qiniang was bullying others by taking advantage of her power.

"What are you talking about?" Qi Niang jumped up. "Am I that kind of person?" She didn't care to cry anymore. "If I were that kind of person, I would have sent Xiang Yun away long ago..."

"Then why didn't you send Xiangyun away?" Zhu Anping asked coldly.

"I, I..." Qinnan was speechless.

"You are the mistress of the family, why don't you dare to deal with even a maid?" Zhu Anping asked aggressively.

"That's because, because..." Qiniang stuttered.

"That's because you feel uneasy!" Zhu Anping said calmly, "Because you don't have a child, you don't dare to speak with confidence. When you know that a maid is not following the rules, you don't dare to scold her loudly..."

"You're talking nonsense, it's not what you said..." Qi Niang retorted loudly, but then she started to cry.

"What is that?" Zhu Anping asked her, with some hope in his tone.

"Yes, yes..." Qinnan didn't say it in the end.

"Are you afraid of not having a child, so I took the people in the house in?" Zhu Anping suddenly said.

Qiniang said nothing.

"I have sent away my mother-in-law's people and my mother's people. What else do you want from me?"

Qinnan cried even louder with a "wow".

"Don't cry!" Eleventh Lady heard Zhu Anping say disapprovingly, "I know what you're thinking. Isn't it just that you don't have a child? We can pay for a golden statue of Guanyin, or go to Putuo Temple to pray to the gods. There is always a way!"

"Really?" Qi Niang's voice was a little excited, but then became timid, "Yes, what if it still doesn't work?"

"Not yet!" Zhu Anping said, "I've thought about it for a long time on the way. If it still doesn't work, we'll adopt one!" As he spoke, his voice became firm.

"Adopt, adopt one?" Qi Niang said in surprise.

"Yes." Zhu Anping's voice became lighter. "If you don't like it, we can adopt one. There are so many sisters in your family, we can adopt one from your sisters' children. You are his aunt, and he will definitely love you in the future."

"Zhu Anping..." Qinnan began to sob.

Eleventh Lady's eyes were slightly moist. She gently pulled Xu Lingyi's sleeve, and the two left the yard and went to the small study room at the back.

"This Zhu Anping is not bad!" She took out a handkerchief and wiped the corners of her eyes.

Xu Lingyi disagreed: "A real man should speak with authority. Even to women and children. Not having an heir is not just his problem, it's the family's problem. How can you make a promise so frivolously? What if you can't keep it?"

"The world is full of changes, and it is hard to predict." Eleventh Lady sighed, "At least at this moment, this is Zhu Anping's true thought. That's enough!"

Xu Lingyi looked at his wife in surprise.

Eleventh Lady smiled faintly. She knew Xu Lingyi couldn't understand. She changed the subject: "This Mu Fu, chirping and calling us over, ruined this pot of good tea. I'll ask Zhu Anping to compensate me later!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Mu Fu ran over and said, "My Lord, Madam, our master and grandmother would like you to come over."

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PS: Post a draft first!