Chapter 382: Flying Flowers (Part 1)
Madam Wen was secretly shocked when she heard this.
Eleventh Lady has always been clear about her gratitude and resentment towards others. Yang had just come into the family and had not been disrespectful to Eleventh Lady... She had never thought about it in this way.
Now after hearing what Qiao Lianfang said, and thinking about Yang's background...could it be that Shiyi Niang really intended to hand Yang over to her?
Thinking about her life, she felt confused and restless.
"What my sister said makes sense," Madam Wen said perfunctorily to Qiao Lianfang, "No matter how strict the rules in our family are, they can never be greater than those in the palace. It's me who doesn't understand what Madam means."
Seeing that she was not speaking from the heart, Aunt Qiao smiled, drank a cup of tea, and then stood up to say goodbye.
Madam Wen was very depressed and asked Qiuhong: "Does Madam really want to use me to make things difficult for Yang?" There was some hesitation in her tone.
"No way!" Qiu Hong listened and said hesitantly, "If Madam really wanted to use someone to embarrass Yang, why would she hand the person over to you? Wouldn't it be better to hand it over to Aunt Qiao? The one who is most afraid of Aunt Yang right now is not us, but Aunt Qiao."
One sentence can wake up the dreamer.
"Not bad, not bad," Madam Wen wiped her forehead, "I almost listened to what Madam Qiao said." She smiled and pinched Qiuhong's cheek affectionately, "You are finally smart for once!"
Qiuhong touched her face and said angrily, "Aunt, please be gentle." Then she pouted, "When have I ever been stupid? It's Aunt, who has been suspicious these days..."
Madam Wen listened with a slightly froze expression and remained silent for a long while.
Qiuhong thought that her words were too harsh, and when she saw this, she called out "Auntie" worriedly.
Madam Wen came back to her senses, with a relieved smile on her face. She pinched Qiuhong's cheek again and said, "Qiuhong, you are right. Even if that day comes, I am telling the truth and not making up nonsense. What is there to worry about?" The worries and anxieties of the past few days were swept away, and she told Qiuhong, "Go get a piece of the big round cotton wool from Wuzhen, and we will go show it to Madam."
Qiuhong smiled and bent her knees to answer "yes". Just as she was about to leave, a little maid came in and said, "Auntie, Auntie Qin is here."
"Could it be a gathering of heroes?" Madam Wen sneered and asked the maid to invite Madam Qin in.
Aunt Qin took out ten gold bars and said, "This is my savings over the years. I want to give it to the Second Young Master. The Second Young Master lives in the countryside of Le'an. He is short of food and clothing and is far away. It would be easier to take care of people if he has some private silver. Aunt, please help me exchange it all into banknotes!"
In the past, Madam Wen often helped the women in the mansion to exchange gold and silver for banknotes, but she had never exchanged so much at one time.
Madam Wen was a little surprised, but still agreed with a smile.
Aunt Qin thanked him again and again and stood up to leave.
When she reached the gate of her courtyard, she looked up and saw the hallway leading to the courtyard behind the main house. She paused for a moment.
He stood there and pondered for a while, then told Cui'er: "Let's go sit with Aunt Yi. Let's go to her place for lunch - the Third Master and the Third Madam are not at home.
She is free too, the small kitchen is at her disposal, she can order whatever she wants!" As he said this, a big smile appeared on his face.
Seeing that Aunt Qin's mood had finally improved, Cui'er smiled and agreed, and accompanied Aunt Qin to visit Aunt Yi, who was left at home by the Third Master.
Jining saw that it was almost time for lunch, so he stood up and said goodbye.
Eleventh Lady ordered Amber to send her out. A servant came running in and said, "Madam, the Marquis said he would have lunch in the outer courtyard at noon and would not be back."
She nodded and went to the lady's place to have lunch.
On the way back, Amber whispered, "Master Jining didn't go anywhere. She left the house and went back to the temple. Madam Yang didn't leave her room either. She was doing embroidery in the room!"
That's good!
Eleventh Lady nodded slightly.
I had just changed my clothes and was about to take a nap when Xu Lingyi came back.
When Ma Zuowen came to live, he would either leave immediately if he had something important to do or stay at home for the whole afternoon if he didn't have to work in the afternoon. It was rare for him to come in the morning, have lunch and leave!
While helping him change his clothes, Shiyi Niang asked curiously, "Why did Master Ma leave so early today?"
Xu Lingyi smiled and said, "He released the Guangdong senator and will be leaving soon. He came to say goodbye to me specially - he has to go somewhere else this afternoon!"
Eleventh Lady was a little surprised when she heard this.
Being demoted to a position where someone used to be the emperor's secretary can sometimes be a form of training, but can also be a form of exile in disguise. Xu Lingyi didn't look like he was up to no good, so he smiled and said, "So, Master Ma is going to be a provincial governor?"
"It's not that simple." Xu Lingyi sat on the bed. "The emperor wants him to go and take a look at the Maritime Customs in Guangdong. If he does a good job, he will be able to get away as a governor, but if he doesn't do a good job, he will probably stay in Guangdong and never come back." Then he changed the subject and asked Shiyi Niang, "Are you getting ready for a nap?"
Eleventh Lady nodded.
Xu Lingyi smiled and kicked off his shoes: "That's great, I want to take a break too."
Shiyi Niang waited for him to rest, and turned around to go to the kang to rest, but Xu Lingyi hugged her from behind: "Come and keep me company."
The maids serving in the room all retreated rustlingly after seeing this.
Eleventh Lady blushed: "Stop messing around, Lord Hou!"
"What am I doing wrong!" The man blew in her ear, "A husband is the wife's bond. Can't I take a nap and let you wait on me?"
Eleventh Lady heard his playful tone and knew that he was trying to tease her, so she simply flirted with him: "In that case, I will serve you here!" After saying that, she struggled for a while. Who knew that she would immediately break free from Xu Lingyi's control.
She was slightly stunned. The man lay down like a grown man and crossed his legs: "Give me a leg massage!"
Eleventh Lady found it funny and started to massage his legs.
Xu Lingyi kept complaining about back pain and shoulder pain, and was ordered around by Shiyi Niang.
Shiyi Niang was patient at first, but Xu Lingyi was strong and she was weak, so after a few times, she was exhausted and panting. Xu Lingyi saw this and stood up and pushed her to the bed: "Come, I'll help you massage too!" But she was strong, and after just a few light massages, Xuexue cried out in pain, Xu Lingyi laughed, and gradually it became a caress...
"My Lord!" Eleventh Lady was both embarrassed and angry.
"I know, I know." Xu Lingyi liked to chat with her the most. He whispered, "I calculated that my second uncle and third uncle should return to Beijing to report on their duties in the next two days. You can go to Laojun Hall and Qiantang Hutong one day and ask the two uncles what they mean. Then I will have an idea in my mind."
Eleventh Lady forgot about this matter.
The second and third masters have been sent out for three years. Logically, they should return to Beijing to report on their work and be reappointed by the Ministry of Personnel.
"I'll send someone over this afternoon to take a look." She was a little embarrassed, "I'll talk to the Marquis then."
"There's no need to be so anxious." Xu Lingyi lowered his head and looked at Shiyi Niang. "I've already sent a steward to tell Zhenda. Ask him to send someone back if there's any news. It's just that I can't ask these questions..."
"I know!" Eleventh Lady responded, and couldn't help but look down along Xu Lingyi's line of sight, and found that her clothes were wide open, revealing her beauty. Just as she tried to cover her clothes, she felt a slight pain in her chest, and Xu Lingyi had already sucked her breast...
Xu Lingyi really didn't do anything to her, but he just made her restless at noon.
It was the time of spring sleepiness. In the afternoon, the lady sent someone to ask her to come over to discuss the matter of adding boxes to Lin Mingyuan. Xu Lingyi slept well, and she felt better after washing her face with cold water. At night, she turned her back to him and ignored him until Xu Lingyi promised that he would not make a fuss at noon. Only then did her tense face slowly relax. Xu Lingyi hugged her and laughed. She felt that the day passed quickly and interestingly.
On March 17, in addition to booking a No. 1 Scholar Banquet at Chunxi Tower, he also sent Qian Ming some writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstone as usual.
After Qian Ming showed up, the second and third elders of the Luo family arrived in Beijing one after another. The families had to get together. Because Shiyi Niang was in mourning, she chose another day to visit Laojun Hall and Qiantang Hutong.
Mrs. Luo was now much happier than before. Seeing how enthusiastic Shiyi Niang was, she gave her several boxes full of dates and donkey-hide gelatin and asked her to take them back: "… It's a good thing that Qi Niang met the Marquis. You have always been a sensible person. Otherwise, it would be hard to explain to the Zhu family."
"It's the Seventh Sister's wife who is good." Eleventh Lady said politely, "It's also the Second Aunt's choice of son-in-law. Seventh Sister is a blessed person."
Mrs. Luo Er couldn't help but look a little sad when she heard this: "If we can have a child, it will be perfect."
Shi Niang listened and hesitated for a moment: "No movement yet?"
Mrs. Luo shook her head.
Shiyi Niang thought of what Mrs. Luo said about "perfect"... Is there anything perfect in this world? She was silent.
Luo San's grandmother, Mrs. Ding, saw this and smiled as she had someone bring in a few large kites: "…brought back from Weifang. Eleventh aunt, take them back for the children to play with!"
Eleventh Lady couldn't help but sigh after seeing this.
Originally, she was worried about the child, and Luo San's grandmother brought in a kite to make a fuss. The two sons-in-law of the second wife were both smart and capable, but they were weaker than her son Luo Zhenda. Not only that, Luo San's grandmother was not as clever as Luo Da's grandmother and Luo Si's grandmother...
Thinking this in his mind, he took the kite with a smile and praised it a few words like "the wind is made delicately".
Mrs. Luo thought about what her daughter Si Niang had reminded her: "…Now that the Eleventh Sister is the wife of the Marquis of Yongping, you should not treat her as the Eleventh Miss of the past. You should be more cautious when you speak. Yiqing's qualifications are still shallow, and I'm afraid that Dad's future will still require the help of the Marquis."
Although she was still somewhat confused, she saw that Shiyi Niang was wearing a jade hairpin on her head and a new style of light blue lotus pattern jacket. She looked rosy and relaxed, no longer cautious as before. She knew that her daughter's words were true. So she temporarily put Qi Niang's affairs aside and chatted with Shiyi Niang wholeheartedly.
Eleventh Lady took the opportunity to tactfully explain her purpose.
Mrs. Luo was overjoyed when she heard this: "I will ask the old man for his opinion and then give the Eleventh Aunt a reply." Her attitude became a little more polite.
When Eleventh Lady thought of the past, she couldn't help feeling a little sentimental, and then she went to Qiantang Hutong.
Since Mrs. Luo San experienced her father's resignation and returning home, she has seen a lot of human nature and her temper has gradually become gentler.
Seeing Shiyi Niang, he was really happy. He took her hand and walked inside, while telling the maid: "...Put a pot of pickled vegetables in each of them and take it to Shiyi Niang."
Eleventh Lady thanked him with a smile, and as soon as she sat down with Mrs. Luo San, she asked about Luo Zhenkai and Luo Zhenyu.
Finally I have time to eat mutton in the evening...