After seeing off the concubines, Eleventh Lady couldn't help but stroke her forehead.

I don’t know what Qiao Lianfang was thinking, but she, who was watching from the side, felt a little tired.

At noon, after inviting Xu Sizun and Xu Sijie to have lunch, Mrs. Zhou came.

"I knew you wouldn't go, so I came to see you." She smiled and sat on the big kang by the window with Shiyi Niang on either side.

Eleventh Lady took the tea from the maid and placed it in front of Madam Zhou: "It's quite lively over there!"

Madam Zhou nodded: "Everyone is here. You are the only one missing." Then she looked around and asked curiously, "Why can't I see your new concubine Yang?"

"She is in her own courtyard!" said Eleventh Lady. "I asked Madam Wen, who came in first, to take care of her. She will be in a position to avoid being ignorant of the Xu family's rules."

Mrs. Zhou smiled and said, "Your idea is the best. It saves me from having to do it myself."

Eleventh Lady knew that Madam Zhou misunderstood that she was using her aunt to deal with Yang, but this was her own family affair and there was no need to make a big fuss about it. Everyone knew about it. She smiled back at Madam Zhou and pushed the fruit plate of peaches in front of her: "It's said to be from Wuxi, Sister Zhou, try it too!"

Mrs. Zhou picked up a piece with a toothpick and tasted it, then asked, "What does your concubine Yang look like?"

Eleventh Lady said very impartially: "She is very charming and beautiful."

Mrs. Zhou was startled when she heard this, and then she laughed and said, "I saw that the women in the Yang family are just average looking, but I didn't expect to find two with such outstanding looks. Could they be relatives?" There was a hint of sarcasm in her words, but it indirectly confirmed that Yang from the Zhou family was of outstanding appearance.

Eleventh Lady smiled and agreed: "Don't you say it's a side branch?"

"Not bad." Mrs. Zhou smiled and ate another piece of peach. She said slowly, "Actually, you don't have to be so cautious!"

Eleventh Lady was slightly stunned.

Mrs. Zhou lowered her head and ate a few pieces of peach without saying a word.

Eleventh Lady understood and sent the servant away.

Madam Zhou looked at her and smiled, "Even my wife knows that Yang cannot be touched, let alone the one in your family..."

Eleventh Lady couldn't hide her surprise.

Mrs. Zhou covered her mouth and laughed.

Eleventh Lady couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed.

Mrs. Zhou's expression became serious. "There are some things I can only tell you." She showed a bit of disappointment between her eyebrows. "As long as the Queen Mother is here, the man will think about how this woman came to him and naturally control himself. But once the Queen Mother is gone, I'm afraid it will be a day for us to cheer up and deal with her."

Eleventh Lady knew that what Madam Zhou said made sense.

When the Queen Mother was around, the two families could not do anything to the Yang daughter even if they were dissatisfied. But once the Queen Mother was gone, the Yang daughter was like a rose without thorns, and anyone could pick or pinch her. In this case, men usually have a little more sympathy. On the contrary, it might allow the Yang daughter to survive and find a new life...

Seeing that Eleventh Lady didn't say anything, Madam Zhou reminded her: "Instead of being on guard now, you might as well think about what to do if the Queen Mother dies!"

Eleventh Lady also wanted to know what Xu Lingyi would do at that time?

She absentmindedly asked the maid to cut some more peaches and bring them over.

Grandma Huang San is here.

"I saw that there was one less person, so I guessed that she came to your side." She pointed at Mrs. Zhou with a smile, "Why didn't you call me?"

"We were just talking in private. Why did I call you here?" Mrs. Zhou leaned lazily on the large pillow, her tone frank but with a hint of intimacy.

Third Madam Huang did not sit on the armchair carried by the maids, but squeezed next to Madam Zhou and said jokingly, "I forgot that you are in-laws now, not like us!"

Madam Zhou said "Pooh" to Grandma Huang San, and said with a smile: "If you marry your daughter to me as a daughter-in-law, you and Shiyi Niang will be relatives by marriage."

"That wild girl of ours, as long as you like her." The two chatted and laughed, and the room immediately became lively.

The two of them lingered until the beginning of the evening when the banquet was about to start before they went over.

Aunt Qin is with Yang.

"...Sister, can you also draw me a new pattern of the Baoxianghua?" She said politely, "So that I can make a pair of socks for the fifth young master when the time comes."

Yang agreed readily, opened the box generously, and took out a thick stack of patterns for Aunt Qin to choose from.

"Who did you learn needlework from, sister?" Aunt Qin looked at her with a surprised expression, "There are so many new styles. This is the first time I have seen so many new styles. Even the Madam's is probably not as good as them."

"Sister, please don't say that." Yang said hurriedly, "If this gets out... Madam is a magnanimous person, there's no guarantee that someone won't exaggerate and make everyone unhappy!"

"I said the wrong thing!" Aunt Qin smiled innocently and chose two simple ones: "My skills are poor, so I'll do the easy ones first and then the difficult ones." Then she stood up and said goodbye.

Yang hurriedly got up and personally walked her to the door.

"It seems that this concubine Qin is an honest and decent person." Mother Yang collected the covered bowls used to entertain guests.

Yang smiled disapprovingly: "Being honest and dutiful? Can a person who is honest and dutiful give birth to a concubine's eldest son?"

Mother Yang was stunned.

Yang smiled and said, "Please help me send these new Baoxianghua patterns to Aunt Qiao!" After that, she smiled coldly, "She doesn't want to learn from me, does she? Then pick a few more and let her learn from me."

Mother Yang listened and left.

Yang turned her head, looked at the two canna buds in the corner of the wall, and smiled.

The Xu family's house was covered with lush trees and moss, and the greenhouse had seasonal flowers all year round. In comparison, the Jianning Marquis's Mansion was much more gorgeous than this place, but it lacked the reserve and leisure of an aristocratic family.

I thought of Concubine Qin again... I heard that she had always been favored by the emperor, but she was left out because she angered the Marquis a few days ago because of the Second Young Master's matter. It seems that the Marquis is also a loyal person. In the Marquis of Jianning's mansion, concubines began to stay alone in an empty room after they turned 20...

Thinking of this, Yang picked up the half-finished socks and continued making them.

She wanted to make a pair of socks that was more gorgeous than Madam Wen’s, and then she could give them to Eleventh Lady at will!

Aunt Qin took the flower and turned to go to the courtyard where the third wife lived.

The Third Master's concubine Yi was sitting on the kang sewing. When she saw concubine Qin come in, she looked up and said to her, "Please sit down." She only looked up when she ran out of thread and needed to change the needle.

"There's only one sleeve left!" Her voice was thin and timid, as if she would scare someone if she spoke loudly. "Did the fourth lady urge you?"

"No." Aunt Qin picked up the blue and white teapot on the table and poured two cups of tea, one for Aunt Yi and one for herself. She was not polite at all, but it was obvious that the two had a special relationship. "Madam just wanted to use this to trap me in the room. Is the fifth young master still waiting for my clothes to wear?" As she spoke, she took out the pattern of the Baoxiang flower from her sleeve and showed it to Aunt Yi. "What do you think of this? Aunt Yang came up with it herself? Please help me take a look. I want to learn it."

"Why?" Aunt Yi took it and looked at it carefully. "The pattern is quite complicated, but too bright. It would be the icing on the cake for ladies to embroider it on their skirts or hems, but if we use it ourselves..."

Aunt Qin told Aunt Yi some of the things that happened: "...When the time comes, I will do needlework at home every day, so I will have a reason to close the door and refuse visitors, and also a reason to walk around in Yang's house!"

Aunt Yi understood: "We have to find a way to stay in the house. Grandma Zhu said that we have to chant the spell at the time of the birth of the person for 49 consecutive days. If we interrupt, it will not work. We are all helpless, so how can we chant the spell at that time every day. If we can use this as an excuse, it would be great. As for Yang's place, Sister Qin should stay out less. Otherwise, she will be misunderstood."

"I know." Aunt Qin nodded, "I'm just taking precautions." After saying this, she showed some hesitation, "That Taoist Master Zhu, is that okay?"

"Why not!" Aunt Yi listened and whispered, "When I was with the Third Madam at her parents' home, the Fifth Madam of the Gan family invited this Taoist Zhu, and later the Third Madam's mother also invited her... Otherwise, how would I know her! And she accepted five hundred taels of silver from you without any hesitation."

Aunt Qin nodded deeply.

When she went to pay her respects to Eleventh Lady in the evening, she took the initiative to show her the pattern: "...I also asked Aunt Yang for two pairs. I'll embroider one for the Fifth Young Master first. If Madam thinks they look good, I'll embroider another pair for you."

Qiao Lianfang's face darkened when she heard this.

Eleventh Lady politely declined: "...The Fifth Young Master is still young, there is no need for such a complicated thing!"

As he was speaking, Xu Lingyi came back.

Knowing that it was the new look drawn by Yang, he did not comment. After taking a look, he returned it to Aunt Qin and asked Eleventh Lady to help him change his clothes.

When the concubines saw this, they bowed and left.

Aunt Qin and Aunt Qiao both began to learn how to embroider socks with Baoxiang flowers on them.

For a time, it became popular in the Xu family to wear socks with Baoxianghua patterns.

Eleventh Lady didn't pay much attention to these.

There was good news from Lanting—she had given birth to a son. Eleventh Lady specially had someone make a red gold Ruyi gold necklace and sent it as a full-month gift for the child. On the eighth day of the fourth month, the Buddha’s birthday, she first accompanied the Second Lady and the Fifth Lady to the Medicine King Temple to burn incense, and then began to prepare for the birthday banquet for the Lady. Because it was Eleventh Lady’s mourning period, at the insistence of the Lady, only some relatives and old friends were invited, and ten tables of banquets were set up in the flower hall, and a half-day party was held in the afternoon. In mid-May, Hui Jie’er got married. In mid-June, the lawsuit of the Gan family finally came to an end. Lanting’s eldest brother, the current Earl of Zhongqin, divided the family property equally with other legitimate and illegitimate brothers, except for the sacrificial fields and the ancestral house.

It is said that the third lady's father was so excited that he burst into tears. He immediately bought a three-story house in the west of the city and moved in.

"…That's why the house has been in a mess these past few days. One person is complaining that something is missing, while another complains that something is no longer needed. Everyone is busy moving!" Madam Gan brought a bowl of sour plum soup to Shiyi Niang to cool her down. "You'd better eat less cold foods like mung beans."

Eleventh Lady smiled and nodded, sipping sour plum soup while leaning on the pillow sewn with fine gauze by Luohan's wife and chatting with Madam Gan: "Master Bo has put a lot of effort into this lawsuit. Now the verdict is an equal division... Is he okay?"

※

I returned home safely, but Zhigong was in a car accident and was hospitalized...so today's update is a little late!

⊙﹏⊙bSweat!