Eleventh Lady looked at the old woman with an expression of pride, feeling both amused and helpless.

But it's okay this way.

Generally speaking, adopted sons do not associate with their biological parents. Wang Chengzu's biological parents could do such a thing, so I'm afraid they are not reasonable people. Maybe it really is true that "evil will be punished by evil". But even rabbits bite when they are angry. Shi Niang is too risky to do this.

She asked the old woman, "You went to the palace to get information. Do many people know about it?"

"Not much, not much." The old woman said hurriedly, "She is a sister I met when I went to help the Wang family. She is a kitchen cook and has little contact with the main house. She has good cooking skills, so she stayed here safely."

"How about this!" Eleventh Lady pondered, "From now on, you can go there every two or three days. You don't have to hide your whereabouts, but you don't have to deliberately make it public. If anyone asks, just say that I asked you to go over and take a look."

In this case, Wang Chengzu’s biological father and mother would always have some concerns!

The old woman quickly responded with a smile.

Eleventh Lady asked Amber to give her one or two taels of silver: "If you do your job well, there will be a generous reward."

The old woman left happily.

I received a reply in a few days.

"Tenth Aunt asked the housekeeper to drive out all the Wang family branches living in Duke Mao's Mansion. Those people ignored her. So Tenth Aunt asked the kitchen to stop preparing their meals. Some people went to Tenth Aunt to argue with her. Tenth Aunt didn't say a word, but just raised her hand and threw a cup of hot tea at them..." When she said this, the old woman couldn't help but secretly glanced at Eleventh Lady out of the corner of her eye.

Although Shiyi Niang was surprised, she thought about it and realized that this was really what Shi Niang did. She kept silent and took a leisurely sip of the teacup.

Seeing this, the old woman dared to continue speaking.

"If that person hadn't dodged quickly, and if Tenth Aunt hadn't been ill for a long time and was weak, I'm afraid the cup of hot tea would have hit her in the face. When the others found out, they all started to shout. Tenth Aunt pulled out the imperial sword on display in the central hall and threw it to the ground with a snap. She also said that if you have the guts, kill her. Otherwise, in three days, she would send people to burn down all the rooms where the side branches lived. She forced those people to go back. That night, someone took the things in the room and sneaked out. Tenth Aunt found out and sent a few strong men to guard the door. Now everyone who leaves the Duke of Mao's Mansion will be searched. If anything from the Duke of Mao's Mansion is found, it will be sent to the governor of Shuntian Prefecture as 'theft'. Now those people are in a mess."

Eleventh Lady thought about it and asked Luyun to call Butler Bai in.

"My tenth sister is now an orphan and a widow with a seriously ill mother-in-law. I am afraid that some scoundrels and idlers will come to the door. Please ask the chief steward Bai to send a letter to the governor of Shuntian Prefecture. Whenever you have time, please come to the door of the Duke of Mao's mansion." Then he asked Amber to take fifty taels of silver to the chief steward Bai, "This money is used to buy wine for those yamen runners."

Manager Bai quickly pushed the silver and said, "Every year during the Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Spring Festival, we invite these people to dinner. We don't bother them with anything on weekdays. Now that Madam has something to ask, it's a good opportunity for them to return the favor. There's no need for silver!" Then he added, "Madam, don't worry, I'll take care of this matter. I guarantee that no one will go to the Duke of Mao's mansion to cause trouble."

The silver was taken out just to express gratitude. Butler Bai refused to accept it, and Eleventh Lady did not force him. She smiled and said a few polite words like "thank you for your hard work". Then Butler Bai stood up and said goodbye tactfully.

I talked about this with Xu Lingyi in the evening: "...I don't know what else will happen. It's really worrying!"

"What's there to worry about!" Xu Lingyi leaned over to blow out the lights. "As long as the Yongping Marquis's Mansion is there, those people will be wary." Then he told her about the shop: "How are the preparations going?"

"The embroiderers will be here in the next few days." Things were going very smoothly, and there was a hint of smile in Eleventh Lady's voice. "The original tenant left in a hurry, and still had some rouge and powder in hand. Master Jian and I discussed and wanted to buy it at a low price. When we open for business, we will give a box of rouge or a box of powder to everyone who comes to buy things. It is said that when I was in Jiangnan, I saw a rice shop giving away rice bags when it opened. I thought this was a good idea, so I spent more than two hundred taels of silver and bought more than four hundred boxes of powder, more than three hundred boxes of rouge, and some hair oil, lip balm and the like. Now I am worried that I won't be able to give away all of them by then."

Xu Lingyi laughed as he heard this: "If you can't give it all away, take it home and reward the maids and old women. It will be almost the New Year by then."

"My Lord, this is a good idea." Eleventh Lady said with a smile, "But I'm afraid someone will take this as a precedent and follow suit, rewarding people with rouge and powder every New Year. If there really is a lot, I think it's better to reward the people around me."

"Just make the decision." Xu Lingyi thought these were trivial matters. "I heard from Chief Steward Bai that the Yang Huizu you introduced is pretty good. He's very good at purchasing. I want to promote him to a second-class steward."

"He was my eldest sister's former chambermaid." Eleventh Lady did not take the credit for this and told about the purchase of pearls from Yang Huizu, "...I just thought he was good, so I recommended him to the Marquis."

The two chatted for a long time before they stopped talking.

In a daze, she felt Xu Lingyi getting up beside her.

"What's wrong?"

"It's okay, go to sleep!" Xu Lingyi gently touched her head.

Having been woken up, Eleventh Lady simply opened her eyes.

The lights in the outer room were on, there were low voices, light footsteps gradually fading away, and the sound of the door hinge turning gently. Then Xu Lingyi, wearing a middle-length coat, lifted the curtain and came in.

In the semi-darkness, he saw a pair of eyes that sparkled like gemstones.

"Woke up!" He chuckled, undressed and got into bed.

"What happened?" Eleventh Lady yawned and covered her sleeves.

"At the beginning of the Yin period, the Queen gave birth to a princess."

"Oh my!" Eleventh Lady suddenly lost all her sleepiness. Counting the days, the Queen's delivery will be in the next few days, but she was still surprised to hear the exact news, "A daughter is a mother's little cotton-padded jacket. The Queen has a son and a daughter, so we should celebrate well."

"The emperor is also very happy." Xu Lingyi nodded with a smile, "This is the emperor's eldest daughter. I have asked the messenger department to draft an imperial decree. All the kings, ministers, officials, princesses, and women of the fourth rank and above in Beijing will come to the palace to pay tribute in three days. I am also preparing to grant amnesty to the whole country!"

"Such a grand occasion!" Eleventh Lady was shocked, but after thinking about it, she could understand it.

Although he had seven sons, this was his first daughter.

Xu Lingyi's thoughts were different from those of Shiyi Niang: "There has been a lot of unhappiness these days over the lifting of the maritime ban, so it would be nice to have some fun during the princess' birthday."

In mid-September, the emperor issued an order to re-establish the Maritime Customs Office in Quanzhou, Ningbo, and Guangzhou. But at the moment, this matter was not what Eleventh Lady was most concerned about.

She sat up and said, "Let's go tell mother the good news! Let her be happy too."

"Let's go later!" Xu Lingyi pressed her, "It's only three quarters past the hour of Yin now!"

Eleventh Lady was a little surprised.

In other words, it took only three quarters of an hour from the time the emperor gave birth to the princess to the time the news reached Xu Lingyi's ears.

She couldn't help but glance at Xu Lingyi.

Xu Lingyi said tactfully: "It's better to know about the palace as early as possible!"

Eleventh Lady did not ask any more questions and went back to sleep, but she was no longer sleepy. She talked to Xu Lingyi: "Is there any news from Fujian?"

"No news!" Xu Lingyi said calmly, "The branches of the Qu family gradually calmed down and began to shift their attention from finding the missing prince to who would inherit the throne. General Li suppressed bandits several times and gained a lot. The Ministry of War is recommending him for merit and wants to confer him the title of General Zhaoyuan."

Since it was all expected, it’s not really news!

Eleventh Lady pondered over it and remembered Li Ji who had followed his father to Fujian.

As if they were telepathically connected, Xu Lingyi mentioned Li Ji: "...he worked as a captain under his father."

Qian Hu is the fifth rank, and the next rank is the fourth rank. The fifth rank to the fourth rank is always a hurdle. Some people can't make it in their lifetime. But once they make it, if they have connections in the court and don't make any political mistakes, it's just a matter of time before they become a general of the third rank. But Li Ji has already taken such a position at such a young age. Isn't General Li too impatient?

Eleventh Lady pondered. A warm hand grasped hers: "Life is long, how can we only look at the morning and evening?"

She looked in the direction of the voice and saw Xu Lingyi's gentle eyes.

"A sword is sharpened by grinding, and the fragrance of plum blossoms comes from the bitter cold. A high position at a young age is not necessarily a good thing. So before the opening of the Wu County Examination, I specially called Zhong Ran to ask him what his plans were. He hesitated for a long time, and finally decided to follow his previous promise and stay in Yanjing to help the Shao family's children who will participate in the Wu County Examination next year to take care of the general affairs, and then return to Cangzhou to participate in the Wu County Examination next autumn. Although his behavior is quite restrained, he can keep his promise and put others before himself, which is a gentleman's demeanor. I think he is a calm child. No wonder you like him."

It turned out that he was afraid that she would feel disappointed when she saw Li Ji's success at a young age, so he spoke out to dissuade her.

Eleventh Lady felt warm in her heart: "Everyone understands the truth, but it is inevitable to worry about gains and losses."

Xu Lingyi listened and smiled slightly.

Eleventh Lady is so frank that she can tell anyone anything, making people who talk to her feel as comfortable as if they were bathed in a spring breeze.

He couldn't help but clench the little hand in his palm tightly.

It is delicate and tender, like mutton-fat jade, making people reluctant to let it go.

"Sleep a little longer!" Xu Lingyi leaned against the pillow at the head of the bed and said softly, "Wait till dawn to tell mother the news."

Eleventh Lady nodded and wanted to withdraw her hands and lie down.

But his hand was held tightly.

She looked towards Xu Lingyi.

Xu Lingyi had closed his eyes, as if he had fallen asleep.

Are we just going to sleep holding hands like this?

Eleventh Lady complained in her heart and pulled her hand away vigorously.

The large hand did not move.

His closed eyes were peaceful and calm.

Eleventh Lady glared at him for a long time, then had no choice but to lie down helplessly, letting him hold her in his arms as she fell asleep.

Xu Lingyi opened his eyes and looked at Shiyi Niang with a smile in his eyes.

* * * * * *

At the end of the year, Eleventh Lady heard a piece of news.

It is said that the second son of the Fujian general's family and the youngest daughter of Princess Ancheng have decided to marry each other for a hundred years.

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Go to work as usual tomorrow...~~~~(_