Chapter 363: Winter (Part 2)
Xu Lingkuan stepped forward and bowed respectfully to Eleventh Lady: "I just had a few words with Fourth Brother." He said it in a nonchalant tone, then smiled and said goodbye: "Fourth Brother, I'll be leaving first!"
Xu Lingyi nodded, watched Xu Lingkuan leave, then turned around and went into the inner room with Shiyi Niang.
Eleventh Lady helped him change his clothes.
"The Queen Mother's illness has not yet recovered. I'll ask Xiaowu to talk to my fifth brother's wife." Xu Lingyi said in a low voice, "Let my fifth brother's wife go to the palace to take a look in the next two days - she may be more familiar with some of the palace affairs than the Madam."
Eleventh Lady thought of the expression on the Dowager's face when she mentioned the Empress Dowager's illness, and pondered, "Does the Marquis also suspect that the Empress Dowager's illness is fake?"
Xu Lingyi said nothing and just accepted it.
Even if it was a fake illness, apart from causing a little ripple on the eldest princess's happy occasion and making the emperor a little uncomfortable, what real impact would it have?
Eleventh Lady was a little confused.
"The beauty pageant will begin in the spring," Xu Lingyi reminded her softly, "This time it's to fill the emperor's harem."
Eleventh Lady suddenly realized.
The Empress Dowager wanted to bring Yang's daughter into the palace several times, but the Emperor politely refused.
"Are you afraid that the Empress Dowager will feign illness and weakness to win over the Emperor?" She thought, "If that were the case, I'm afraid we would have taken precautions long ago. The Fifth Madam is also younger than me.
I think it would be better to let the lady take a look."
There was a hierarchy between them and the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother could decide whether to see her or not, whether to have her sit by her side and talk to her, or to answer her from a distance behind a pearl curtain. With the Fifth Lady's qualifications, the Queen Mother might not take her seriously. Even if she was familiar with the situation in the palace, what could she do if she couldn't see her?
Xu Lingyi knew what she meant. He lowered his voice and said, "I also know a few people in Cining Palace. But the Empress Dowager has been ill these days and has a bad temper, so no one dares to move around freely. If the Fifth Brother's wife goes, she will have to ask about her condition. Someone will naturally answer her questions when the time comes."
It turns out that the message couldn’t be delivered!
If this is the case, then it doesn't matter whether I meet the Queen Mother or not.
She nodded slightly and rested with Xu Lingyi.
The next morning, the Fifth Lady went to the palace. She came back from the palace at noon and stayed directly at Eleventh Lady's place.
Eleventh Lady sent someone to the outer courtyard to invite Xu Lingyi and invited her to the inner room to sit down.
When the Fifth Lady saw Eleventh Lady's look, she knew that she understood the purpose of her entering the palace, and she couldn't help but glance at her.
The corner of my eye swept across the windowsill of the big kang next to the window.
A foot-high purple jade vase was filled with bright red hibiscus flowers, as gorgeous as the flowers of April. Next to the vase was a basin-sized glass fish tank filled with four or five rare black goldfish, which were leisurely swinging their large tails like skirts.
She couldn't help but be secretly surprised.
These two things alone are worth a fortune.
Especially the purple water jade flower vase. She had only seen a yellow flower vase of the same size in the bedroom of the late emperor, Empress Wu, in her early years.
She couldn't help but look around.
The kang table, high cabinet, armchair, and floor cover were all painted black, but the curtains, kang, and armchair cushions were all half-new gamboge satin with swastikas. There was no incense burner or lily sticks in the room like in other wealthy families, but a pot of plum blossoms about the height of a person was placed in the corner. The tender yellow petals were crystal clear, and the dark brown branches were entangled and twisted, giving off a bit of wildness and a floating fragrance, making people feel warm and comfortable, and they wanted to lean on the fluffy big pillow on the kang to take a nap.
The plum blossom in Eleventh Lady's room was specially raised by Ji Ting's wife. She saw Fifth Lady's eyes lingering on the plum blossom for a moment, so she chatted with Fifth Lady about it: "It's winter, the doors and windows are closed, and the incense is burning to make people feel uncomfortable, so I moved this plum blossom from the greenhouse."
The Fifth Lady was moved when she heard this.
With the help of the doctor, Xin Jie'er's illness got much better. So when the doctor said that Lijingxuan was surrounded by flowers and trees, which was not good for Xin Jie'er, she chose the day when Shiyi Niang moved back to her parents' home. The matter of changing houses was left unresolved. Xu Lingkuan was very unhappy when he found out, but seeing that Xin Jie'er was getting better day by day, he pretended to be deaf and dumb and did not mention it. A few days ago, Xin Jie'er fell ill again, and the doctor said that it was because the incense in the house was too irritating...
"The scent of plum blossoms is indeed pleasant." She smiled and sat on the big kang next to the window. "But the doctor said that our sister Xin can't smell the fragrance of flowers. I want to ask her."
Only then did Eleventh Lady understand why Fifth Lady had clearly agreed to this, but when it was time to move, she went back to her parents' home...
Is this a belated explanation?
Eleventh Lady smiled and agreed with her, saying, "We have to ask carefully. Xin Jie'er's health is the most important." Then she asked the maid to serve tea and snacks.
Just as the Fifth Lady brought the teacup, Xu Lingyi came back.
She quickly stood up and called out "Fourth Brother".
Eleventh Lady avoided it.
The two of them talked in the inner room for about a cup of tea, and then the Fifth Lady stood up and said goodbye.
Eleventh Lady smiled and sent Fifth Madam to the gate of the courtyard before returning to the inner room.
Xu Lingyi was sitting cross-legged on the big kang by the window, looking deep in thought.
Eleventh Lady quietly took the teacup and made another cup of tea for Xu Lingyi.
Xu Lingyi picked up the teacup and took a sip, then sighed and said, "The Empress Dowager is really sick." He looked very dejected.
Eleventh Lady sat opposite him and asked hesitantly, "So, what are your plans?"
Sometimes people can stand firm in the face of might, but rarely can they remain sympathetic in the face of suffering. So when the Madam thought the Empress Dowager was pretending to be ill, she could take it lightly, but when Xu Lingyi found out that the Empress Dowager was really ill, he had to look solemn.
"If it comes to that, the promise must be worthwhile!" Xu Lingyi's expression was grim and firm.
These are not her business.
Shiyi Niang quietly poured Xu Lingyi another cup of tea.
From that day on, Xu Lingyi would go out to visit friends from time to time. After finishing the wedding preparations, Eleventh Lady welcomed Xu Siyu home.
Xu Siyu's appearance had not changed much, except that he was a head taller than when he left home.
Seeing Aunt Qin standing in the crowd looking at him with tears in her eyes, Xu Siyu turned his head slightly, lowered his head and bowed to salute Eleventh Lady.
Xu Sizhen had a holiday on the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, but he was not idle. Mr. Zhao, who was still editing a book, assigned him a lot of homework. He even went to ask the second wife for advice. The second wife did not give him an answer, but pointed to the study and asked him to find it himself. He searched for three or four days before he found the source of the allusion. Then he was very happy, and asked Cha Ming, the new servant who came to work in his room, to secretly go to the street to buy Mr. Zhao’s favorite pork head meat and call Xu Sizhen to go with him on the pretext of teaching Xu Sizhen to paint. Who knew that Xu Sizhen turned around and told Shiyi Niang.
Shiyi Niang thought it was a little secret between the children and pretended not to know. As a result, Xu Siyi was alive and kicking after eating the pork head. Xu Sizhen had diarrhea for two days. Cha Ming was also beaten with ten boards by the lady. If Xu Sizhen had not come forward to plead for him and Cha Ming was recommended by Bai Zongguan, he would have been kicked out long ago.
Knowing that Xu Siyu would be back this afternoon, he went to Shiyi Niang's room early in the morning, took out the reading cards made by Shiyi Niang to teach Xu Siyu how to read, and then stayed in Shiyi Niang's room to have lunch.
Seeing Xu Siyu saluting to Eleventh Lady, he pulled Xu Siqi forward to salute his brother.
Xu Siqi followed behind Xu Sizhen and bowed in the same manner.
"The prince has grown taller!" Xu Siyu politely bowed to Xu Sizhen.
The unfamiliar address and tone made Xu Sizhen slightly stunned.
Xu Siyu had already touched Xu Siyi's head: "Fifth brother!"
He greeted Xu Siqi with a smile.
That was an action that Eleventh Lady often did. In the Xu family, only Eleventh Lady would and dared to touch his head like that.
Little Xu Siyu didn't understand why this brother who seemed familiar but strange to him wanted to touch his head like his mother. He instinctively turned his head away from Xu Siyu, then tightly grasped Xu Siyu's hand, and looked at him with a little caution, widening his eyes that were exactly the same as Xu Siyu's.
Xu Siyu's hand stopped awkwardly in mid-air, his eyes fell on Xu Si'e's hand which was tightly holding Xu Si'e's, and a trace of bitterness flashed quickly in his eyes.
Eleventh Lady looked at this and sighed secretly in her heart.
Xu Siyu used to be close to Xu Siqin and Xu Sijian, but he had no sexual relations with Xu Sizhen and Xu Sihe. Later, she arranged for Xu Sihe to live in Lijingxuan, which also meant that he and Xu Sihe would be closer. However, Xu Siyu lived in the front yard and Xu Sihe lived in the back yard, so he would not easily step into the door of the back yard. It was no wonder that Xu Sihe felt strange to him.
She was about to say a few words to help Xu Siyu out, but Zhen Jieer came forward with a smile and bowed to Xu Siyu: "Second brother!"
When Eleventh Lady saw Xu Siyu withdraw his hand, a sincere and joyful smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.
"Sister Zhen!" He called his sister affectionately, and his face brightened up.
Sister Zhen pursed her lips and smiled.
Xu Siyu's expression lightened a lot.
He greeted Aunt Qin, Aunt Wen, and Aunt Qiao politely.
"Second Young Master!" Aunt Qin's lips twitched slightly, and she looked very excited, but she murmured and could not utter a word.
Madam Wen smiled with her hands covering her mouth, saying: "I haven't seen the Second Young Master for some time. He looks more stable than before. It is true that 'reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling a thousand miles'. We should go out and see the world..." Her words were as long as before, so that Xu Siyu lowered his head and listened for a long time with a smile on his face before she finished.
Qiao Lianfang's reaction was much more straightforward.
She nodded slightly at Xu Siyu and stepped aside.
Eleventh Lady smiled and called Xu Siyu: "Let's go see grandma! She has been nagging about us since early morning!"
Xu Siyu replied "yes" respectfully, and surrounded by maids, servants, and old women, he went to the lady's place together with Xu Sizhen, Xu Siyi, and Zhen Jie'er.
Aunt Qin stood there, staring at Xu Siyu's back and wiping her eyes with a handkerchief: "The Second Young Master has lost a lot of weight!"
Mingming's face is rosy and he looks energetic.
Qiao Lianfang listened with disapproval, curled her lips sarcastically, and returned to the house with her maid.
Madam Wen was always considerate and sympathetic: "It's a great joy that the Second Young Master has returned. Sister, please stop crying. The Madam is taking the Second Young Master to see the Madam, and then he will come to see you. Anle is far away, and the customs and habits here are different from ours. I think you should go back to your room and ask someone to make some of the Second Young Master's favorite food. When the Second Young Master comes to see you, you can let him satisfy his craving."
"I was confused, I was confused." Aunt Qin wiped away her tears, bowed to Aunt Wen with gratitude, and hurried away with her maid.
Madam Wen looked at the yard that had been bustling just a moment ago but now deserted and empty, smiled and shook her head, then she and Qiuhong slowly moved into their own yard.
"You just said that there was something strange about the parrot that the eldest aunt gave to the eldest lady. What was it?"