Just because Eleventh Lady didn't say anything didn't mean that Madam Li would give up.

She looked at Eleventh Lady and said meaningfully, "The Marquis is good friends with Fan Weigang, the General of Xuantong. Back then, the former General of Xuantong was impeached for corruption. The Emperor sent Fan to take over as the General of Xuantong and investigate the matter together with the people of the Dali Temple. At that time, the first year had just been changed, and the former General of Xuantong was a relative of the Empress Dowager, so he was inevitably hesitant. Fan recommended Liu, who was then the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Justice, to preside over the case. As a result, Liu was promoted to the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple." As she spoke, she smiled and glanced at Eleventh Lady, "So our master often said that luck is the first thing to do when it comes to being an official. If he can be transferred to Fujian as the General this time, and then take Ji'er there to gain some experience, it will be a rare opportunity for our Ji'er. The title of Marquis and the appointment of a general may start from this."

After going around in circles, it turns out that the last sentence is the key point.

But what was Mrs. Li’s intention in saying this?

Ask Xu Lingyi to help with the clarification? Xu Lingyi, a marquis who is idle at home and is suspected by the emperor, does he have the ability to do this? This involves the transfer of frontier officials! Does this mean that Li Ji can rise to prominence as long as he has the opportunity? But whether a person succeeds or not, 70% is personal struggle, and 30% is chance!

Eleventh Lady was thinking about it in her heart and continued to socialize with Madam Li: "If it can be accomplished, it will be a good thing!"

"Madam thinks so too!" Madam Li's face showed some joy when she heard it. "Speaking of the generals of the Great Zhou Dynasty, in terms of ability, character, and seniority, none can compare with our master. Others don't know that our master was originally a general under the Marquis, and the Marquis knows it best." As she spoke, her expression darkened slightly, "It's just that in recent years, the Great Zhou has promoted officials without paying much attention to their ability, character, and seniority. What matters is that you have connections in the court. Our master has everything except connections in the court!"

Since when has it become a necessity to be an official to have connections in the imperial court?

Eleventh Lady nodded: "This connection is also very important."

Madam Li nodded, looked around, and said in a whisper, "Our master asked Elder Liang for help."

Eleventh Lady was slightly surprised.

Madam Li hid her sleeves and laughed quietly.

"It's just that there's no definite news yet, so it's hard to say." Her voice was a little higher. "I just think that if this can be accomplished, our Ji'er will have more confidence when he is looking for a marriage partner."

That was for sure. But Madam Li was interested in Zhen Jie'er, and as Zhen Jie'er's mother, some of the things Shiyi Niang said could not help but give people the wrong impression.

She just smiled slightly.

When Madam Li saw that Shiyi Niang did not respond, a strange light flashed in her eyes, and she wondered in her heart: Could it be that the Xu family had no intention of Ji'er at all? If not, why has Ji'er been in a good mood since he came back from the Xu family? Ji'er is a very stable child. Although he did not say anything when he came back, how could he be like this if he was not sure? Speaking of which, although Yongping Hou has two sons, the eldest son has invited a teacher to study hard at home since he was a child, and now he has gone to Jinxi Academy to study, which clearly means that he is going to take the path of imperial examinations. The second son was named the prince, and he was weak and sickly. Even if he went to the army for training, it was just a formality. Xu Lingyi made his fortune in the army and returned with great victories in both battles. I don't know how many generals have made a fortune with him, and how many generals have been promoted by virtue of these two military exploits... To be honest, those low-level generals may not know who the emperor is, but when it comes to Yongping Hou, they can all laugh and tell two anecdotes. If he could become the son-in-law of the Marquis of Yongping... Even if Eleventh Lady gave birth to a son, it would be more than ten years later. If Ji'er couldn't gain a foothold in the army, he would be a useless man. It would be better for him to give up his ambition and live a good life.

Thinking back to when I first mentioned the proposal to my master, he was a little timid, fearing that the Xu family would look down on me.

"Although she is a concubine's daughter, the Marquis only has this one daughter. I wonder how many people are planning to do this..."

She was anxious and annoyed at the time: "How do you know if you don't try? Maybe everyone thinks the same as you do, and it's hard to find a suitable one. Otherwise, why do the officials always leave everyone dumbfounded when they choose a consort for the princess?"

The Zhuo family is even worse than my own family, not to mention that the child is just average looking. And the Wang family has a granddaughter who became the emperor's eldest daughter's concubine. In order to avoid suspicion, the two families will definitely not marry again. I thought the marriage was a sure thing, but unexpectedly, the Shao family appeared in the middle...

Thinking of this, Mrs. Li gritted her teeth.

"So whether this matter succeeds or not depends entirely on Madam's words!"

She whispered, with a hint of pleading in her tone.

Eleventh Lady was stunned.

Madam Li said, "Now the ministers are arguing over the lifting of the ban on sea trade. Officials in the south are naturally against it, and officials in the north are naturally in favor of it. It is very difficult to talk to Minister Chen. Although Minister Liang is a conciliatory person, it depends on the emperor's will. But he has his own people in Fujian, so no matter how the situation changes, he can always be faster than others. It is also because of this reason that Minister Liang agreed to negotiate for our master. But Minister Chen is the prime minister after all. According to what Minister Liang meant, if the Marquis helps to say a word, no, even if the Marquis doesn't say a word, as long as that intention is conveyed, this matter can be done." As he said this, he laughed. "Minister Chen is now surrounded by enemies, and the Marquis has been standing by and has never said a word to him. How to settle this account, I think Minister Chen will think carefully no matter what!"

Eleventh Lady understood everything.

The Li family went to find Lord Liang to deal with the matter. Lord Liang was afraid of taking responsibility and hoped that Xu Lingyi could express his opinion!

Why was it Xu Lingyi and not someone else?

She looked at Mrs. Li and narrowed her eyes slightly.

Even General Li knew that going to Fujian to quell the rebellion was an opportunity, and people like Liang Ge Lao understood it even more clearly. With such a good opportunity, who wouldn't want to use their own people? General Li was able to ask for help from Liang Ge Lao, and most likely he was using Xu Lingyi's name. Maybe he even told Liang Ge Lao privately that the two families were discussing marriage.

But who is Liang Ge Lao? He must have experienced a lot of things like this. Words are not enough, we need to show proof. Since it is said that it is related to Xu Lingyi, then let Xu Lingyi come out and say hello. In this way, we can test the truth. If he has his own plans, he will also calculate the gains and losses. Increase the weight of Li Zongbing in Liang Ge Lao's mind.

The Li family is really good at scheming!

According to Eleventh Lady's experience, although such people don't need to be closely associated with, they cannot be offended either.

"I don't quite understand what Madam Li said." Eleventh Lady put herself in a relatively low position, so as to avoid Madam Li's troubles from coming back to her. She said apologetically, "Besides, the Marquis doesn't like the women in the family to get involved in these matters..."

Of course Mrs. Li knew.

Which man would want his female relatives to get involved in these things? The couple had no choice!

"Madam," she said sincerely, "I don't understand these things either. I just worry about Ji'er's future. These things are what the master told me when we discussed the children's affairs." She looked at Shiyi Niang with burning eyes, hinting at her, "Madam is also a mother, so naturally you have to plan for the future of your children. If the Marquis knew, he would only be happy, how could he blame you?"

Are you using Zhenjie'er's marriage as an excuse?

Eleventh Lady sneered in her heart, but she smiled calmly and said, "Then I will tell the Marquis what the lady said!"

Madam Li felt that Eleventh Lady's answer was inappropriate. She also thought of how Xu Lingyi had behaved when he encountered Xiao Xiao in Shandong. After a slight hesitation, she whispered, "I am doing this for Madam's own good. As the saying goes, a son-in-law is half a son. Madam, if you have a capable son-in-law, you will have someone to inform about any future matters. It will be more convenient than asking the steward of the outer courtyard to do everything."

This Madam Li truly has the talent of Su Qin and Zhang Yi!

Eleventh Lady nodded hurriedly, saw Madam Li out, and immediately sent Amber: "Go and see where the Marquis is?" Then she turned around and went back to the Madam as if nothing had happened.

"What was sent that you dare not accept?" The old lady took the opportunity to avoid everyone and asked Eleventh Lady in a low voice while the children were playing cat's tangle on the kang and the Fifth Lady was watching.

"It's a red-gold tiger." Shiyi Niang gestured, "Amber said it's solid."

The lady smiled, obviously satisfied with Eleventh Lady's response.

Eleventh Lady sat down on the kang and watched the children play with Fifth Lady.

Wei Zi brought in some mulberry tea.

The children got off the kang to drink tea, while the Fifth Lady and Eleventh Lady remained sitting on the kang, being served tea by the little maid.

Madam Wu held up a blue and white porcelain bell cup and suddenly said with a smile, "Sister Zhen should be getting married, right?"

Eleventh Lady's alarm bells rang in her heart.

If I refuse the Fifth Lady's proposal, I'm afraid she will be unhappy, but the two of us meet each other every day.

"That's what I'm talking about!" Eleventh Lady said with a smile, "There are quite a few families, and the Marquis is sending people to inquire about them one by one!"

The Fifth Lady smiled and said, "My aunt's nephew is the same age as Sister Zhen. Let me ask him." Then she told her about the man's situation.

Since they were here to propose marriage, they would naturally say nice things. Eleventh Lady didn't know the specific situation, but she understood one thing. The nephew of Fifth Lady's aunt was from the military and had inherited the title of a thousand households.

"I'll go back and discuss this with the Marquis."

Madam Wu nodded, stood up and went to Madam Tai's side, and asked Zhun Ge'er: "Did Mr. Zhao give you another day off?"

"No." Zhun Ge said hurriedly, "The teacher asked me to copy twelve characters, and I finished it ahead of time, and it was good. That's why the teacher gave me a day off. It's not because of my birthday. The teacher said that I can't just find excuses to give myself a day off."

The Fifth Lady chuckled when she heard this: "He takes holidays for every major and minor festival, and he still says that he is not making excuses!"

"It's not an excuse!" The Fifth Madam was his elder, and Zhun Ge didn't dare to argue. His face turned red and he said in a low voice, "The master said that there is tension and relaxation."

"It seems that our Brother Zhun likes Mr. Zhao very much!" Madam Wu continued to tease Brother Zhun.

Eleventh Lady's thoughts drifted far away, wondering why Amber hadn't replied to her letter yet...

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On New Year’s Eve, I wish you and your family happiness, peace and health in the Year of the Rabbit!

PS: Updates will be added at the usual time!

O(∩_∩)O~