Chapter 346 Turmoil (Part 2)

Eleventh Lady did not wait for Amber to report, but waited directly for Xu Lingyi.

Amber followed behind him, and although she tried her best to hide it, her movements still revealed some nervousness.

Shiyi Niang was secretly surprised, but the lady thought that Amber was Shiyi Niang's maid, so she didn't doubt it. She greeted her son with a smile: "Come here!" She also instructed Wei Zi, "Tell the maids to serve the meal!"

Everyone surrounded the lady and went to have dinner.

Eleventh Lady smiled and let the others go first, leaving herself at the end.

Amber knew what she meant, took two steps forward, and said quickly: "When I went there, the emperor was talking to the marquis in the study. I was stopped in the private room by the imperial guards. I can only say that I went there to serve food."

The emperor's sudden visit, could it be related to what Madam Li said?

Eleventh Lady was horrified. She nodded slightly to Amber, took a deep breath, and then smiled and left the east chamber.

Back in the house, she stood in front of the kang and looked up and down at Xu Lingyi who was drinking tea.

Xu Lingyi looked at him in surprise, thought for a moment, and said, "It's okay. The emperor just came to see me on a whim. You don't have to worry!" He said it in a nonchalant manner.

"I'm not worried about that." Eleventh Lady looked at Xu Lingyi with a smile, "I just think that the Marquis is very patient. I never realized that the Marquis had encountered scoundrels when he was in Shandong."

Xu Lingyi was stunned for a long while before he asked, "How did you know that?"

Eleventh Lady told Xu Lingyi about Madam Li's visit.

The more Xu Lingyi listened, the tighter his brows furrowed. Finally, he said in a deep voice, "Mrs. Li came to you and asked me to talk to Mr. Liang and recommend General Li to be the general of Fujian?"

"From Mrs. Li's tone, this is what she meant!" Eleventh Lady said carefully.

Xu Lingyi rubbed the rim of the teacup with his thumb and remained silent for a long while.

"My Lord!" Seeing that his expression was quite gentle, Eleventh Lady could not help but whisper, "Did you really run into some villains at that time?"

This statement was very meaningful. Xu Lingyi was very surprised.

He looked up at her and said thoughtfully, "Of course I can only say that she is a scoundrel!"

Eleventh Lady nodded calmly.

Xu Lingyi's face was filled with astonishment. Shiyi Niang, you have the courage!

While thinking about Xu Lingyi's words, Eleventh Lady thought in her heart: In other words, he is not a villain!

She thought of the disappearance of the son of Marquis Jinghai and wanted to ask about it, but then she changed her mind and felt that this matter was too important. It is better to keep it in your heart than to say it out loud. In the end, it doesn't matter whether Xu Lingyi did it or not. What matters is how the emperor views this issue.

"When the emperor came," she said with a timid look, "did he mention the disappearance of the prince of Jinghai?"

Xu Lingyi raised his eyebrows slightly. The Qu family dared to ambush him halfway by luring the tiger away from the mountain. He dared to use the network of Wang Jiubao, a local snake, to send out the death warriors with high martial arts skills to kill the prince of Jinghai Marquis, so that the Qu family would fall into the internal turmoil of the dispute over the prince and the dispute between legitimate and illegitimate children, and achieve his goal of defeating the enemy without fighting... He began to treat the Qu family when the Qu family was named a noble concubine. When the behavior of the land seller in Zhangqiu was beyond common sense, he became suspicious. That's why he ignored the advice of those around him and went to Shandong as bait. The people of the Qu family really took action. He also confirmed the information he had obtained, and decided to eliminate the prince with thundering means. In order to prevent people from linking these two things together, he handed over all the survivors to the Shandong Command. Otherwise, the emperor wouldn't have sounded guilty when he saw him.

These things were kept secret from others, but not from Shiyi Niang, the person beside him.

She is a smart and sensitive person. Rather than continue to hide it, it is better to tell her the truth and save her from being upset.

"The Qu family has been acting without rules these days." He said implicitly, "Plus I have been keeping a low profile these days, so the emperor thought it was the Qu brothers who were causing trouble. He didn't think of anything else."

Eleventh Lady thought of the death of the Fifth Prince, the exposure of Xu Si'e, the criticism and dismissal of Xu Lingyi... She turned from being passive to active, and today, she finally turned the situation around!

She let out a long sigh. Her heart, which had been hanging high since she heard Mrs. Li's words, finally settled down. Then she thought of Zhen Jie'er's marriage. She had lived two lives, and Xu Lingyi had achieved success and fame, but she was always nervous. If Zhen Jie'er married into the busy Li family and followed Li Ji's career ups and downs, she would be exhausted in a few days.

While she was thinking, she heard Xu Lingyi suddenly say, "As for Zhen Jie'er's marriage, let's arrange it with the boy from the Shao family!"

Could it be that both of them are considering Zhen Jie'er's marriage at the same time?

Eleventh Lady was slightly stunned.

Xu Lingyi said: "Nothing in this world is perfect. I would rather have Zhen Jie live a stable life than marrying far away. Although the Li family boy is good, General Li is radical and is not a good match. Moreover, General Li made his fortune with the help of his wife's family, and Madam Li will definitely value the status of her daughter-in-law. Once Mr. Li encounters difficulties, I am afraid she will encourage her daughter-in-law to run for her son. Zhen Jie is also gentle and respectful. By then, wouldn't Zhen Jie be the second Madam Li? The Shao family is different. It is a century-old family with a prosperous population and a stable family tradition. It will not easily be involved in temple disputes. With the protection of the family, Zhen Jie can marry into the Shao family, take care of her husband and children, and live a peaceful life."

Shiyi Niang agreed with this view. The Li family had a weak foundation and it was the time to start a business. They hoped to marry a daughter-in-law who could help. To put it bluntly, if something happened to the Xu family, I'm afraid Zhen Jie'er would be immediately rejected!

"But the predicament of our Xu family is not in the present, but in the future." Xu Lingyi said, with a stern look in his eyes, "Even if we don't find a helper, we can't find someone who will hold us back."

The crisis of the Xu family lies in the future establishment of the crown prince and succession. The Shao family has also experienced these things many times, and with a large family and a large business, they will naturally act cautiously. When the Li family sees the chaotic situation, they will not only not remain neutral, but may also think of the credit of establishing the throne. If the situation is favorable to the Xu family, it will be fine. If the situation is critical, let alone being on the same side with the Xu family, they may even turn against them...

"I will take care of the Li family's affairs." Xu Lingyi looked at Shiyi Niang. "Didn't he want to ask the Fujian General for help? When I find him, I will come forward to greet Liang Gelao. As for whether Liang Gelao will give up this face, it depends on what Liang Gelao has planned and how much General Li can do. As for the marriage, just say that the two children's horoscopes are incompatible? This way, the Li family will have less resentment."

This is the best way. Sometimes, it is better to offend a gentleman than a villain.

Thinking of this, Eleven Niang thought of the fifth lady's matchmaking for Sister Zhen: "...it's better for the Marquis to make a decision earlier. Otherwise, we, Sister Zhen, will end up with a reputation for being picky."

Xu Lingyi was very surprised to hear this. After thinking for a while, he said, "I'm afraid that after the Marquis of Jinghai made such a fuss, everyone with a little experience will be eyeing the position of Fujian General." He actually suspected that the family that the Fifth Lady acted as a matchmaker was just like General Li, and wanted to use Zhen Jie'er's marriage to gain connections. "We will go to discuss this with the Madam tomorrow morning, and then you go and discuss this with Madam Lin."

This is better. She can use the excuse that Xu Lingyi has already made a verbal decision with another family to justify the marriage arranged by the Fifth Lady. The couple discussed it and Eleventh Lady sent Xu Lingyi away.

After moving back, they resumed their previous life. According to the schedule, Xu Lingyi stayed in Aunt Qin's room for the past five days.

Eleventh Lady called Madam Wen over.

Upon hearing that the marriage with the Shao family was decided, Madam Wen heaved a long sigh and bowed to Eleventh Lady: "Madam, your great kindness will never be forgotten by the eldest lady."

Act according to your heart. What does it matter whether you forget or not?

Eleventh Lady smiled and said nothing.

In the middle of the night, Yan Rong, who was on duty, was awakened. The gatekeeper whispered, "The lights are on at Aunt Qin's place. Something is unusual."

Yanrong gave the old woman half a coin as a reward, sent a little maid to check on her, and then she went to the inner room quietly.

The doors of the inner room were tightly closed, and the room was completely dark.

She leaned close to the door and listened, but there was no sound. After hesitating for a moment, she turned around and went back into the house.

After about an incense stick of time, the maid came to report.

"I don't know what happened," she whispered, "I only know that the Marquis was fine when he went there, but suddenly he ordered Yu'er, the maidservant beside Concubine Qin, to help clean up the east chamber. Yu'er knelt in front of the Marquis and kowtowed. The Marquis was so angry that his face turned blue, and he opened the back door and went to Banyuepan."

Yan Rong was shocked: "Has he been to Banyuepan?"

The little maid nodded: "When I went there, the Marquis was just coming out of Aunt Qin's yard!"

"Help me find out tomorrow what happened?" Yan Rong said, and took out half a dollar, "This is for you to buy snacks." Then the next day, while helping Shiyi Niang wash her face, he told Shiyi Niang about this matter.

Eleventh Lady pondered for a while and said, "Since the Marquis has gone to Banyuepan, I'm afraid he doesn't want anyone to know about this. Let's not mention it anymore." But in her heart, she was curious about what had happened that caused Xu Lingyi to go to Banyuepan.

When she met Xu Lingyi at breakfast, he didn't mention anything. Eleventh Lady pretended not to know and went to see the lady dowager.

After hearing about the two people's decision, the lady thought about it and did not raise any objection. She just said: "Once you marry someone, you belong to that person's family. Even if you are in Yanjing, it is not easy for you to not be able to come back, not to mention that it only takes three days to go to Cangzhou. Let's settle this matter!" It is not clear whether she was trying to convince Xu Lingyi and Shiyi Niang, or herself.

Eleventh Lady suggested that Zhen Jie'er should marry when she turns sixteen.

The lady was a little surprised.

Eleventh Lady explained: "Because she is marrying far away, I want to keep her for a while." In fact, she was afraid that Zhen Jieer would marry too early and would have no opinions in the future. She was also worried that she would have a baby too early and damage her body or encounter a difficult birth.

"That's fine." The lady said, "When you are older, you will be more stable."

Then Eleventh Lady went to Fifth Lady and told her about her plan to marry into the Lin family.

The Fifth Lady laughed and said, "It's just that they are not destined to be together."

Regardless of whether she was sincere or not, at least the matter was brought to light.

Eleventh Lady went to see Grandma Lin in the afternoon.

When Grandma Lin heard the news, she actually breathed a sigh of relief.

"These days, many people have proposed marriage to Zhong Ran, but he is not interested and keeps silent. I was just worried, luckily you came!"

"This is fate!" Eleventh Lady greeted Grandma Lin with a smile and put forward the condition that Zhen Jie'er would get married at the age of sixteen.