Chapter 354 Farewell

Eleventh Lady hesitated for a moment: "No!"

Shi Niang lowered her head and said nothing.

Shiyi Niang looked at Wang Chengzu, who was tugging at her clothes with a nervous look in his eyes, and said thoughtfully, "How about you and the child go back first! I'll let you know if there's anything."

Shi Niang said nothing, holding Wang Chengzu's hand and walking out.

Everyone who saw her avoided her.

Eleventh Lady sighed and went into the inner room.

In the middle of the night, the eldest wife passed away.

The next day, an official document came down from the Ministry of Rites, declaring Wang Chengzu the Duke of Mao.

The funeral was very lively. Scholars from the Academy came to see Luo Da Lao Ye and Luo Zhenxing, nobles and generals from the army came to see Xu Lingyi, and people from the Luo family, Xu family, and even Yu Qiaqing and Qian Ming were all busy with the funeral. Only people from the Jiang family attended the ceremony of Wang Chengzu's succession to the title.

The eldest wife's funeral caused a sensation in half of Yanjing City. Several months later, people in Yanjing were still talking about the funeral.

The eldest master seemed to have aged ten years in an instant. After the seventh day of the eldest wife's death, the Luo family began to pack up and prepare to return home.

During this period, Luo Zhenxing came over. He asked Shiyi Niang, "Am I not taking good care of her?" His eyes were full of hesitation and uncertainty.

Eleventh Lady had no way to answer.

In early September, the sweet-scented osmanthus flowers were in full bloom, and the fragrance was a little pungent. The sky was clear and the weather was fresh. However, Luo Zhenxing's steps were a little unsteady.

Eleventh Lady had already taken off her hairpins and changed into plain clothes.

She quietly looked at Luo Zhenxing's receding figure, took a deep breath of the slightly cool air, and then turned back to the house.

Xu Lingyi was sitting on the kang reading a book. When he saw her come in, he put down the book in his hand and asked, "Is Zhenxing gone?"

Eleventh Lady nodded and sat opposite him: "She said that she would entrust the house in Beijing to Third Brother to take care of. She told me not to worry, Fifth Lady and Seventh Brother will be well taken care of by him."

Xu Lingyi nodded: "Zhenxing is a man of his word. He will definitely do what he says."

When the first wife got into trouble, Luo Zhensheng would just stand there in a daze. If Luo Zhenxing was still like the first wife, only knowing how to suppress the illegitimate child, when Brother Xiu's generation came, I'm afraid there wouldn't even be anyone standing there in a daze.

Eleventh Lady didn't want to talk to Xu Lingyi about these unhappy things.

With the passing of the first wife, there are some grudges that should be let go if possible!

"It's just that the Marquis finally got to celebrate his birthday at home but couldn't organize it properly. I feel a little uneasy." She changed the subject.

The third day of September is Xu Lingyi's birthday. He has been in the army or on official business in Beijing for the past few years, so his family hasn't celebrated his birthday for many years. "Why should I celebrate my birthday when I have parents?" Xu Lingyi said nonchalantly, "Besides, you got up early in the morning and made me longevity noodles."

Thinking of the fact that he had eaten three bowls of longevity noodles, Shiyi Niang smiled and said, "If you like it, I will make longevity noodles for you every year."

Xu Lingyi smiled and said nothing.

From then on, Eleventh Lady refused all invitations to banquets and devoted herself to hosting family reunions at home. She asked Master Jian for advice on needlework and occasionally went to visit Madam Gan.

When the Luo family left Beijing, she accompanied them all the way to the Xuanwu Gate.

Looking at the Luo family's carriage moving away, Shiyi Niang thought that her slight sadness would pass in a moment, but her tears kept falling without her knowing and she couldn't stop them.

I don’t know when I can see Fifth Aunt again and the baby in the cradle. By then, I’m afraid that everything will have changed and the scene will be completely different.

It was the first time Xu Lingyi saw her crying like this.

He turned his face away, and even though his tears were pouring down his cheeks, he held back his tears.

He sighed softly, held Eleventh Lady in his arms, and gently stroked her back, as if comforting a wounded little animal. His movements were gentle and filled with a bit of pity.

In the warm embrace and with the monotonous sound of the wheels, Eleventh Lady fell into a deep sleep while crying.

When I got home, it was already the beginning of the You period.

Zhu Anping and Qi Niang came to say goodbye: "The autumn harvest is coming soon, we have to go back and take a look!"

"Then you..." Eleventh Lady looked at Seventh Lady.

Qinnan glanced at Zhu Anping, blushed slightly and lowered her head.

Zhu Anping looked at her and laughed, "I asked her to stay in Yanjing. She wanted to go back to Gaoqing with me. Anyway, I prescribed a lot of medicine. Let her go back! We will come back in a few days." Then he glanced at Qi Niang and said, "She is much more cheerful in Yanjing."

Qi Niang pouted and asked if the Fifth Madam was at home: "...I need to tell her!"

"At home!" Eleventh Lady and Seventh Lady went to see the Fifth Lady, leaving Zhu Anping to talk to Xu Lingyi.

When the Fifth Lady heard that Qi Niang was leaving, she held her hand and said, "When will you come back? I went back to my parents' home two days ago and asked my father to lend me the villa at Chashihai. I want to go there to play ice skating with you in the future!" She asked her anxiously, "When will you come back? Are you going back to Yanjing?"

She was eager to see him next time before he even left. This kind of Fifth Lady surprised Eleventh Lady a little.

"Zhu Anping said that if I don't make any move, I should come to Yanjing after the spring sowing." Qi Niang said, suddenly excited, "How about you come to our Gaoqing to play? Our Gaoqing is also very interesting. There are Dingzu Mountain, Niu Mountain, and many rivers. Oh, these two days are the time to pick grapes and apples. Why don't you go to Gaoqing with us to play for a few days."

Madam Wu listened with fascination, but soon her eyes dimmed: "If I leave, what will happen to Sister Xin?"

Is it because the courtyard is so deep that you can’t wander around freely?”

How could Qi Niang not know?

She knew that she had made a vague suggestion and smiled awkwardly.

The Fifth Lady asked about Qi Niang's itinerary: "When will you leave?"

"We'll leave the day after tomorrow." Qi Niang said with a smile, "I've asked my third brother to take care of the house. It will give you a place to stay when you come to Yanjing in the future."

The Fifth Lady nodded, and everyone chatted, and after a few words, the conversation went to the Grand Lady.

When the Madam heard that Qi Niang was leaving, she invited her to have dinner. Xu Lingyi entertained Zhu Anping in the outer courtyard. Before she left, he gave Qi Niang a lot of food and small items given by the palace and asked her to take them back: "Take them back to give to relatives and friends."

Qi Niang thanked her, and Wu Furen and Shiyi Niang saw her off to Chuihua Gate.

The old lady instructed the fifth lady: "You should go and see her off when the time comes. Sister Xin has not had any asthma attacks these days, and she hasn't even coughed."

The Fifth Lady laughed and said, "I was afraid you wouldn't allow it." Then she laughed again, "If she was two days late, I wouldn't be able to send her off even if I wanted to."

The eldest prince was to be married in two days. According to custom, on the third day after the wedding, all officials would come to congratulate him, and the ladies of state would go to the Empress Dowager and the Empress to congratulate him and hold a banquet.

"…If the weather gets cold today, you might want to put on a cloak."

"That's easy," the lady looked at Eleventh Lady, "We need to prepare some food for everyone to eat in the car."

Eleventh Lady agreed and prepared food a day in advance. She was in mourning and could not enter the palace. After seeing off the lady and others, she went to Master Jian.

Master Jian was wearing glasses while embroidering the door curtain. When he saw her coming in, he took off the glasses from his nose and said, "This is a great gift you gave me. It's very revealing."

Eleventh Lady smiled and took the glasses to look at them: "I will draw a picture and ask the master of Duobao Pavilion to help me make it to see if it can be hung on the ear. It is too difficult to clip it on the bridge of the nose."

"You always have a lot of ideas." Master Jian said, Qiu Ju brought chrysanthemum tea and said, "Madam, calm down."

Eleventh Lady looked at the chrysanthemum, whose petals were as pure as jade and whose stamens were as yellow as gold, and said with a smile, "Was it a gift from the Second Madam?"

When the second wife heard that Master Jian had come, she came to visit him. Master Jian gave her a double-sided embroidered table screen with the pattern of "Mountains in Clouds and Mists", which she liked very much and she often came to visit Master Jian.

Qiu Ju nodded with a smile: "It is said to be the Hangbai chrysanthemum from Tongxiang."

Shiyi Niang sat down to drink tea with Master Jian.

"Why did you think of embroidered curtains?" She looked at the bright red brocade that was put aside, as if it was a dowry for someone. "Your eyesight is not good. If you can't refuse, just tell me. I will help you."

Eleventh Lady was afraid that someone would mistake Master Jian for Xiu Niang.

"It's not someone else's commission." Master Jian smiled, "I embroidered it myself."

Eleventh Lady was slightly stunned.

"I think the door curtains embroidered by Binju are selling well, but they take too much time." Master Jian said slowly, "I was thinking about whether I could change the technique to see if I could shorten the time. Now it seems that the effect is not bad." Master Jian showed the door curtain to Shiyi Niang, "Look at this part of the magpie climbing the branch. It used to be embroidered with overlapping stitches. I used cross stitch, which is much faster. The effect is lighter than the ordinary overlapping stitch embroidery." She pulled out another painting and pointed it to Shiyi Niang, "Look at this one of the charming people. It used to be embroidered with cross stitches. I left it to embroider the edges myself. It looks pretty, doesn't it?"

However, the more Eleventh Lady listened, the more she felt something was wrong.

Embroidery is a science. Master Jian's specialty is double-sided embroidery and quilting. Logically, at Master Jian's level, she should be thinking about how to break through in double-sided embroidery and quilting and pursue merits that have never been done before and will never be done again. Originally, she couldn't calm down to study because of her difficult life. Now she is living in Yongping Houye. She has fabrics and colored threads. Why doesn't she study what she is best at? Instead, she works hard on these ordinary auspicious patterns. Even if there are some changes, as Master Jian said, such changes only bring speed, and good embroidery is never about speed.

Master Jian knew her very well. Seeing that she remained silent, he smiled and said, "Don't guess. I'll tell you the truth. I want to open an embroidery workshop!"

Eleventh Lady was shocked: "Master?"

Despite several invitations from Xianling Pavilion and discussions with many wealthy people in Jiangnan, Master Jian never agreed. Why did he suddenly want to open an embroidery workshop?

Master Jian supported Qiu Ju, who was dividing the lines nearby.

"I used to be alone, and I had no worries about food. Now I have Qiuju by my side. I can't let her wander around the world like me, and end up in poverty when she is old and can't move, right?"

Master Jian has always been a self-reliant person. This is why she did not think of bringing Master Jian here after arriving in Yanjing. But opening an embroidery studio, especially for a woman, is not an easy task.

She pondered and said, "Master, where are you going to open it? If you haven't decided yet, why not open it in Yanjing?"

"That's exactly what I meant." Master Jian said with a smile, "Not only do I want to open an embroidery workshop in Yanjing, but I also want to drag you into it and make you our major shareholder."

This is Master Jian. Open and generous.

"It seems like you've already had an idea." Eleventh Lady supported her face with her elbows and looked at Master Jian with a smile.