Chapter 336: Visiting (Part 1)

"Because this is the Marquis' study, it is not convenient to move around freely, so I would like to invite you and your wife to the living room for a gathering." Zhu Anping bowed to Xu Lingyi with an apologetic look on his face, "Please forgive me, Marquis and your wife." As he said that, he bowed to Eleventh Lady again.

Eleventh Lady looked at Seventh Lady who was smiling shyly and couldn't help but smile, and bent her knees to return the greeting.

Xu Lingyi had already cupped his hands: "Mr. Zhu, there is no need to be so polite." He then pointed to the armchair behind him and said, "Everyone, please sit down and talk!"

"My Lord, please call me Anping!" Zhu Anping smiled and sat on the second seat. "In terms of seniority, you are older than me!"

Xu Lingyi smiled slightly: "In that case, I won't be polite with you!" Then he sat on the main seat.

When Qi Niang, who had been sitting below Zhu Anping with her head lowered and a submissive look on her face, saw this, she curled her lips at Shiyi Niang, who was sitting opposite her, with a look of disapproval.

Eleventh Lady thought of what she said about calling Xu Lingyi "brother-in-law"... If Zhu Anping really called him "brother-in-law", I wonder what Xu Lingyi's expression would be.

Thinking of this, her eyes flickered slightly, like gorgeous fireworks, with a hint of joy in the brightness. Afraid that Xu Lingyi would notice, she pursed her lips and lowered her head to straighten her clothes. After the maid brought some tea, she raised her head, brushed her temples, and sat upright.

Yan Rong had already left with her clothes, and Zhu Anping was thanking Xu Lingyi: "...Thanks to your care along the way, I was able to reach Yanjing safely. And then, thanks to your care from Madam, I am truly grateful."

Qiniang raised her eyebrows when she heard this.

Eleventh Lady looked at her with amusement, but Xu Lingyi did not notice it - firstly, Seventh Lady was his aunt, so it would be impolite to look at her, and secondly, he was chatting with Zhu Anping.

"We all know this among relatives. It's too formal to say this!"

"It's me who is old-fashioned!" Zhu Anping responded with a smile, and then said seriously, "Speaking of which, the Marquis and the Madam are not strangers. We don't hide our affairs from each other, which will make us seem distant." At this point, he glanced at Qiniang.

Qiniang nodded slightly.

It was obvious that what Zhu Anping was about to say was something that the two of them had discussed beforehand.

"…I am the only son in my family. We have been married for some time, but there has been no news of offspring. The elders in my family are inevitably a little anxious. It just so happens that I came to Yanjing this time, so I wanted to take the opportunity to visit the temple dedicated to Guanyin Bodhisattva and then find a famous doctor to help take my pulse."

Eleventh Lady nodded slightly.

"It's just that I'm not very familiar with Yanjing." Zhu Anping stood up and bowed to Shiyi Niang with his eyelids lowered. "I would like to ask Madam to introduce me to someone."

If she agrees, Eleventh Lady will have to go out of the house frequently in the near future, and Zhen Jie'er's marriage and the meeting with the Jiang family are involved.

Eleventh Lady bowed in return while looking at Xu Lingyi.

Xu Lingyi did not hesitate for a moment. He said: "This is her responsibility. Anping, you don't have to be polite. I just don't know what arrangements you have made? We can also arrange carriages and guards when the time comes."

Zhu Anping was delighted when he heard this.

He was originally from the military and had many friends. He knew many thousand-household commanders and lieutenant generals. He had also met generals and governors. He knew these people's habits very well. They were more efficient than bandits in burning, killing and looting with a stern face. They took the money but did not do the work, and even killed people to silence them without blushing. Not to mention Xu Lingyi, a great general who had led troops into battle with real swords and guns.

So when he heard Qi Niang tell how she met Xu Lingyi by chance, he was really surprised and happy. What surprised him was that Qi Niang acted recklessly, daring to walk through the streets with a huge amount of gold, and even dared to provoke the soldiers when they met them. What made him happy was that he met Xu Lingyi - at least someone sent someone to buy a horse with silver, and although Qi Niang suffered some physical pain, it led to their recognition and escort all the way. Otherwise, Qi Niang would be targeted before she could leave Baili. Losing money is a small matter, but if someone... He broke out in a cold sweat at that time.

But Qi Niang still told him proudly how she spoke rudely to Xu Lingyi and how Xu Lingyi was helpless with her... He was both angry and amused at the time.

If it weren't for the fact that they were relatives, how could Xu Lingyi be so tolerant of her?

Suddenly, he had an idea.

Although they were relatives, Xu Lingyi didn't have to be so servile. He could have just dumped Qinniang in Gongxian Hutong or Laojuntang Hutong. But not only did he not abandon Qinniang, he was very tolerant of her and took her back to Yongping Marquis's Mansion as Qinniang requested... With his status and position, was he afraid that the Luo family or the Zhu family would come to him to reason? There was only one possibility - Yongping Marquis Xu Lingyi valued his wife very much, and was worried that the seemingly arrogant Qinniang would be dissatisfied and talk nonsense in front of his wife afterwards, which would make his wife feel resentful and cause a rift between the couple!

When he met Xu Lingyi, Xu Lingyi treated him with great courtesy. Not only did he meet him in the study, but he also personally hosted a banquet for him. When they were drinking, his words were full of persuasion. He even arranged for them to meet early this morning...

Zhu Anping felt that his guess was not unreasonable, which was why he made the verbal test just now.

Instead of sending a steward to serve them, he directly assigned the Xu family's carriages, horses, and guards to him. In another sense, Xu Lingyi not only treated them as relatives, but also entertained them as guests of honor.

He suppressed his joy and said with a smile, "How can we use the Marquis's carriages and guards? The Marquis can just send us a steward." His attitude was open and generous. "We are just going to the temple for a walk."

"You are not familiar with Yanjing, and I rarely go out either." Xu Lingyi said, "It would be more convenient for you to use my carriage and guards!"

The words have been made very clear.

Zhu Anping no longer refused, smiled and thanked him, and told him his plan: "…I don't know a few of my uncles yet, so I plan to visit them tomorrow. When my tenth uncle passed away, I sent offerings, but I haven't paid my respects yet, so I have to go visit them. It will take three to five days. I'll listen to my wife's arrangements after that."

Xu Lingyi looked at Shiyi Niang and asked for her opinion.

"I have a few important things to do here." Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "I won't follow you when you go to visit relatives. I'll take this opportunity to help you contact the doctor. When you're done with your work, you can calm down and see the doctor."

Zhu Anping nodded and said with a smile, "Then I'll trouble you, Madam."

Eleventh Lady felt that Zhu Anping was too polite and respectful to her, but when she thought that it was their first meeting and they didn't know each other very well, she didn't take it to heart.

Xu Lingyi heard this and said, "Then clean up the Congxiang Pavilion in the outer courtyard. The waist gate is right outside the Congxiang Pavilion, so it will be more convenient for you to go in and out!"

Zhu Anping heard this and coughed softly, saying, "Thank you for your kindness, Lord. I was just about to say this." He paused and glanced at Qi Niang, "Since we are here, I am afraid we will have to stay in Yanjing for a few more days. It will be inconvenient to hire a doctor and buy medicine. I would like to ask Lord to help me buy a small house nearby. First, we can enjoy the shade under the big tree, and it will be more convenient to move around if anything happens. Second, if we are close to each other, the sisters can interact with each other and it will be more lively."

Qiniang listened and nodded continuously.

In ancient times, it was important not to bring medicine to other people’s homes, as this would be considered “spreading the disease”.

"Then I'll ask the stewards to help take a look." Xu Lingyi felt it was difficult to persuade him to stay after hearing what he said, "You guys just stay here for the time being."

Zhu Anping thanked her with a smile and suggested visiting the lady.

Everyone went to the lady with a smile.

Zhu Anping gave the Taifu a mutton-fat jade "Wanshi Bu Ren" and a sandalwood Buddhist rosary. Xu Siyu gave a Duan inkstone, Zhuge a pair of crystal paperweights, Xu Siyi a purple rafter wood tumbler, Zhenjieer a set of Changzhou wooden combs, Xu Lingkuan a "Three Friends of Winter" pen holder with a tray, Wufu gave a pair of gold-inlaid jade hairpin flowers, and Xinjieer a rattle with a carved red lacquer, filigree and enamel handle.

The lady liked it very much. She told Xu Lingyi to take care of Zhu Anping. It happened that Xu Lingkuan came back from the night watch in the palace last night. He looked at the pen holder and found that there was a gap two inches below the bottom. It was a warm cage for raising crickets. Knowing that he had met someone knowledgeable and interesting, he hurried over to thank him and accompanied him to the outer courtyard.

The lady dowager invited Qi Niang to have dinner with her, and the fifth lady also came to keep them company.

Eleventh Lady ordered Yanrong to take the cards to the outer courtyard and ask Chief Steward Bai to send someone to clean up the Congxiang Pavilion. Turning back, she saw Seventh Lady and Fifth Lady sitting side by side. Seventh Lady was giving Fifth Lady advice: "... I think it's similar to Sister Xin's situation. I'll send someone back to ask."

The Fifth Lady was delighted. She said anxiously, "It will take more than half a month to go back and forth. Why not take her with you? If she can see the doctor, then she can. If she can't, give her some money to send her away. She won't come in vain."

"I thought so too." Qi Niang said with a smile, "But I'm afraid that Madam Wu and Wan Rumang will be embarrassed to say it."

"Oh, what's wrong with that!" Mrs. Wu said with a smile, "You mean well!" She added enthusiastically, "If you want to visit a temple, then Ciyuan Temple is the best. It's the temple of Guanyin. I haven't been active for a few years since I got married, and I prayed to Master Jining. But I heard that Taoist Priest Changchun is also very powerful. It's just that I don't believe in Taoism, and he has a lot of requirements, so I haven't tried them. You might as well go to Ciyuan Temple to find Master Jining first. If that doesn't work, it won't be too late to find Taoist Priest Changchun."

Qi Niang nodded after hearing this: "My eleventh sister has been a quiet person since she was little. When she was little, she lived with her great uncle in Fujian, and later returned home to Hangzhou to observe mourning. I'm afraid she is not as familiar with Beijing as I am. I have also heard of the reputation of Master Jining and Taoist Priest Changchun. I have also accompanied my mother to visit the temple fair at Ciyuan Temple. But I didn't hear that Master Jining is also good at watching these things."

"Of course." The Fifth Lady laughed, "You were in the palace at that time. How could you know all this? Before I got married, I saw Taoist Priest Changchun catching ghosts. I only knew these things after I got married."

The two got along very well.

Eleventh Lady couldn't help but rub her forehead after hearing this, but she couldn't say anything to stop it. She could only pray in her heart that nothing would happen to these two people together! Especially to Xin Jie'er.