The sixth young lady of the Qiao family was slightly stunned.

She didn't expect that the Second Madam would make scented tea by herself like her...

The second wife of the Xu family, Xiang, was born into a scholarly family. Her father was the top scholar in the 30th year of Jian'an, and had served as a scholar of the Hanlin Academy and the chief priest of the Imperial College. She had a reputation for being a virtuous woman since childhood, and the Xu family had tried to find a matchmaker for her three times but failed. Later, Xiang's father met the handsome and intelligent Xu Ling'an, and with Concubine Bai as the guardian, they finally agreed to the marriage.

Who would have thought that Xu Ling'an died of illness just three years after Xiang got married.

"Second Madam, is she okay?" the eldest wife asked with a slightly gloomy look.

The lady could no longer conceal her grief: "Since An'er passed away, she has been as depressed as a mourner and has rarely come out."

The sixth young lady of the Qiao family showed reluctance on her face.

Mrs. Qiao's eyes turned and she smiled, "Then you should persuade her to go out and walk more. She is a smart person, and without someone to take care of her, she will inevitably feel sad. If it weren't for the Third Madam bringing out this cup of osmanthus tea, I wouldn't have thought of it. Our Sixth Sister also likes to make these things very much. Otherwise, let's take this opportunity to go see the Second Madam. First, let her place be more lively, and second, let her meet our Sixth Sister, they will definitely get along well. It's also better to have someone coming and going."

The lady was moved: "That's a good idea." She stood up immediately and stopped drinking her tea. "Let's go sit with her." She called a maid named "Dongxiu" beside her and said, "Tell the second lady that the in-laws are here. Let's go sit with her."

Dong Xiu left immediately.

The Third Madam ordered a maid named "Jin Rui" beside her: "Arrange a few green curtained small oil carts to come."

The lady waved her hand and said with a smile: "It's a rare good day today, let's go for a walk, and we can ask the car to pick us up when we come back."

The third lady agreed, and the group headed north back to Guangliang Gate.

The woman guarding the gate hurried over and accompanied the lady into the house.

Facing us is a rockery made of white Taihu stones, with several towering old trees planted beside it. Going around the rockery, on the left is a mountain full of green trees, and on the right is a forest with winding paths leading to secluded areas.

The third lady supported the lady-in-waiting and led them into the woods. They walked along the stone-paved path. In just a moment's time, they saw a lush bamboo forest. The path led directly to a small courtyard in the bamboo forest.

There were seven or eight stone steps in front of the courtyard gate. A woman in a bleached white face, plain makeup and a flowered jacket, accompanied by Dong Xiu and an unfamiliar maid, was standing on the steps, looking around.

Seeing them, Dongxiu and the unfamiliar maid helped the woman down the stairs.

That woman should be the second wife of the Xu family...

Eleventh Lady thought about it and couldn't help but look at the woman.

She looked to be no more than twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with a thin body, fair skin, pretty features, and a calm and peaceful gaze. She walked slowly towards me, with a calm and unhurried composure.

"Yizhen!" The lady's face was full of smiles.

"Mother!" The Second Lady smiled and bowed to the Grand Lady, who hurriedly helped her up. The First Lady and Madam Qiao greeted her one after another, and introduced Grandma Luo, Fifth Lady, Eleventh Lady and Sixth Miss Qiao to her.

The Second Lady was very polite and said with a smile, "It's nothing good. Just take these strings of sandalwood beads and play with them." The unfamiliar maid then took out a few small red-carved lacquer boxes and gave them to the few people.

Several people took it and thanked her. The second lady helped the old lady up the stairs and said, "Please go slowly! It's not easy to walk here. If you have anything to say, just ask someone to call me."

The third lady also hurried over to support the other side.

"What do we want?" The lady stepped carefully. "The wife of the father-in-law has come to Yanjing. We just came to your place to sit for a while."

Those who followed behind them were helped up the stairs by their respective maids.

Eleventh Lady discovered that the steps were made of Taihu stones with water patterns, and a few small grasses occasionally emerged from the gaps in the stone steps. After walking up the steps, she saw the words "Shaohua" written on the doorplate of the crabapple tree on the lintel. When she entered the courtyard, there were green bamboos on both sides of the road, moss and thick grass, and the occasional wind blew, making rustling sounds, which gave her a sense of the ancient quietness of the deep mountains.

After entering the door, there are three small rooms with black lacquered floor-standing pillars and white stone paving. In the middle hall hangs a picture of Guanyin picking flowers and a couplet on purple-black mud-gold cloud dragon paper that reads "The nectar in the bottle is always sprinkled, and the willow branches in the hand are not counted in autumn." A few citrons are placed on a sweet white porcelain plate on the black lacquered long table. In front is a black lacquered square table, with a black lacquered armchair on each side.

The second wife asked the old lady and the first lady to sit on the armchair, and a maid brought a black lacquered rose chair from the inner room for Mrs. Qiao to sit on, and another maid brought a black lacquered stool for others to sit on. In a short time, the small hall was crowded with people.

The Madam called Miss Qiao Liu to follow her and said to the Second Madam, "She heard that you made osmanthus tea and wanted to come and see me, so she brought her here."

Miss Qiao Liu hurried forward and bowed to the Second Madam: "At home, I wrapped tea leaves in gauze and placed them in unopened lotus flowers, but the fragrance was always a little weak. It's not as mellow as Madam's osmanthus tea." She looked like she was eager to learn.

The old lady looked at the second lady with burning eyes.

"Make lotus tea!" The second lady smiled faintly, "It's best to choose white lotus flowers before they bloom in the morning, then tie them up with hemp skin, pick the flowers the next morning, and dry the tea leaves. Do this three or four times, and the tea flavor will not be lost, and the lotus fragrance will remain."

"Ah!" Miss Qiao Liu opened her eyes wide, covered her mouth and sighed softly, indescribably innocent, "Do you want to use white lotus?"

The Second Lady nodded: "The fragrance of the white lotus is more fragrant than that of the red lotus."

While the two were talking, a maid brought tea.

There is the fragrance of plum blossoms...

The Sixth Miss Qiao's face was full of surprise: "Madam, did you scent the tea leaves with plum blossoms?"

The Second Lady smiled and said, "Anything with a fragrant aroma will do..." Then she looked out the window and said, "Flowers bloom in the garden all year round. It's easy to scent any kind of tea I want." There was no hint of loneliness in the air, but instead a sense of leisure and comfort.

Eleventh Lady thought of the steps in front of her courtyard.

It’s a bit steep, like climbing a mountain. Most people can’t come up!

The sixth daughter of the Qiao family kept asking the second wife for some tips on making scented tea, snacks, and porridge. Eleventh Lady felt that some of the words were exaggerated, some were delicate and artificial, and some were very reasonable.

The second wife's expression was gentle and polite but a little distant. The old lady looked at her with a hint of disappointment in her eyes.

Mrs. Qiao immediately suggested taking a walk in the garden: "The winter jasmine flowers beside the Chunyan Pavilion should be in bloom!"

The second wife laughed and said, "It just bloomed yesterday!" She stood up and accompanied them to see the forsythia.

The Taifu took the Second Furen's hand and left Shaohua Courtyard, walked through the path in the woods, and came to the wide bluestone corridor. They headed north, and faced a winding river that was as wide as a dragon. There was a gatehouse called Biyi on the river. After the gatehouse, there was a winding bluestone corridor running east-west. They went east along the corridor, with clear water rippling on one side and steep mountains and forests on the other. There was a gentle breeze that was not cold, which made people feel bright from the bottom of their hearts.

Eleventh Lady's steps became slower and slower, and she gradually fell behind the crowd.

A maid came over and asked her, "My dear young lady, you are tired, do you want to take a rest?"

Eleventh Lady hurriedly said, "Not tired, not tired." But her steps became slower and slower.

Dongqing and Amber were anxious and wanted to help her, but she refused: "...In case my mother asks about it."

After hearing this, the maidservant followed her with lowered head and did not urge her.

It seems to be from the third lady's room...but he is a warm-hearted person...

Eleventh Lady thought about it, winked at Amber, and said with a smile: "What's your name, sister?"

The maid smiled and said, "My name is Qiu Ling."

Amber exclaimed, "I have a sister with the same name as you, 'Autumn'..."

Qiu Ling smiled. Shiyi Niang had already walked to the front with Dong Qing.

Amber and Qiu Ling whispered, "This garden is so beautiful! I heard that Duke Dingguo and Marquis Weibei live next door?"

Qiu Ling nodded and said with a smile: "Duke Dingguo Zheng's family lives in front of us, and Weibei Hou Lin's family lives to our west."

Amber looked very envious: "Aren't those people coming and going from here all from wealthy and powerful families?"

Qiu Ling smiled and nodded.

"Do they visit each other from time to time like us?" Amber asked curiously.

"Of course." Qiu Ling smiled, "The eldest grandmother of the Lin family is very close to our Fourth Madam. She comes to see the Fourth Madam every now and then."

Amber's eyes turned slightly: "Does the Wang family of Duke Mao come here often?"

Eleventh Lady raised her lips slightly and led Dongqing to catch up with Fifth Lady.

Qiu Ling was already startled: "Why are you asking about that family?"

Amber explained hurriedly: "I heard people talking about the powerful families in Yanjing. They mentioned your mansion and the Duke Mao's mansion..."

"How can their family compare with ours?" Qiu Ling showed disdain before Amber finished speaking. "Although our family also relies on the legacy of our ancestors to make a living, our old marquis was once the Minister of Rites. As for their Duke, he finally got a job as the chief clerk of the Yuanma Temple through his in-laws, but he couldn't even figure out the number of foals he was raising, so he was dismissed..."

Amber was already surprised: "He got a job by relying on his in-laws? Who are the in-laws of Duke Mao?"

"The late Wenyuan Pavilion Grand Secretary Jiang Jie?" Qiu Ling said with a smile.

"Jiang Jie?" Amber's eyes flickered. "I've never heard of him."

"Of course you haven't heard of it." Qiu Ling covered her mouth and laughed: "Master Jiang has passed away for more than ten years."

Amber smiled awkwardly, "Sister, tell me... I only did needlework at home before and have never heard of these things." Then she looked envious, "Sister, you know so much!"

Qiu Ling smiled and said, "It's because our wife likes to ask the master about these things that I know a little bit about it."

Amber took the initiative to step forward and took Qiu Ling's arm: "Good sister, tell me about it. I will go back and tell my daughter about it, and let her listen too."

Qiu Ling just smiled.

"Good sister..." Amber begged her.

"This isn't some secret." Qiu Ling said with a smile, "Have you heard of the Le'an Jiang family?"

Amber shook her head.

"Their family once produced two imperial tutors..." Qiu Ling's voice gradually became lower and the two of them slowed down their pace.

The two stood under a big tree and talked in detail.

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(It was raining and windy, and the power went out again in the afternoon... But at least there was no flooding. I hope those affected are safe...)