After returning to the lotus garden, Eleventh Lady first went to pay her respects to the lady-in-waiting.

The lady was leaning on the big kang by the window, smiling, watching Xu Sizhun and Xu Sijie playing with the toddler Xin Jie with a big red apple. The room was filled with laughter and joy.

Eleventh Lady couldn't help but feel strange.

Madam Wu has never liked Xin Jie'er and Xu Sijie playing together. Why are they...

As soon as the thought flashed through his mind, Xu Sijie rushed over: "Mother, mother!"

Eleventh Lady quickly collected her thoughts, smiled and touched his head. She looked up and called the Lady "Mother".

"I'm back!" The lady smiled and sat up straight.

Xu Sizhun left Xin Jie'er and ran over: "Mother, why did you come back so late?" His tone was a little coquettish, "You didn't even listen to us playing the flute today - we learned a new song from Mr. Zhao today."

"Really?" Eleventh Lady bent down and looked at Xu Sizhun with a smile, "I'm so sorry. I went to see Madam Gan. I didn't hear the new song you played. How about you play it for me again tomorrow morning?"

Xu Sizhun wanted to play it for Eleventh Lady immediately, but he hesitated when he heard that. However, Xu Sijie said that whatever Eleventh Lady said was fine, and clapped his hands and said, "Okay! Okay!" Xu Sizhun didn't want to insist and nodded reluctantly.

Xin Jie'er, who was surrounded by people just now, was confused when she saw that the place around her suddenly became deserted. She first stood there and looked sideways at the lady who was smiling at Shiyi Niang, then looked back at the wet nurse who was standing with her hands hanging down, and finally her eyes fell on Shiyi Niang who was surrounded by the two brothers Xu Sizhun and Xu Sijie. She flattened her mouth, cried aggrievedly with a wow.

Everyone was stunned.

Xin Jie'er's wet nurse quickly took two steps forward and hugged her, saying, "Jie'er, Jie'er..." and coaxed her softly.

Only then did Eleventh Lady realize that Fifth Madam and Mother Shi were not there.

Xin Jie'er was the Fifth Lady's first child, and she was not in good health, so the Fifth Lady kept an eye on her and kept her by her side. If she was not convenient to bring her along for something, she would send her most trusted Shi Mama to serve her...

No wonder the three children play together.

I wonder what urgent matter the Fifth Madam has?

While he was thinking, Xin Jie'er had already turned her body and called "Brother" to Xu Sizhun, as if she was clamoring for him.

Seeing this, Xu Sizun hurried over and held Xin Jie'er's hand.

Xin Jie'er calmed down, leaned on her wet nurse, and started sobbing softly.

"Oh!" the wet nurse laughed, "It turns out that our sister likes the fourth young master the most!" There was a hint of flattery in her tone.

Xu Sizhun lowered his head somewhat embarrassedly.

Everyone laughed.

Eleventh Lady stepped forward and bowed to the lady.

The lady smiled and nodded, pointing to the kang mat opposite her for her to sit on: "Is Fuzhen okay?"

"Not bad!" Eleventh Lady sat down with a smile, and a maid brought tea. "Although she is still a little depressed, her complexion is much better than before."

"She is still very young, and she still has a long life ahead of her." The lady sighed slightly after listening to her, "It would be good if she could slowly recover like this."

The lady is also a widow, so naturally she has a lot of experience.

Eleventh Lady didn't want to upset the Madam, so she smiled and changed the subject: "Why don't you see your fifth brother's wife?"

"She has a slight fever." The lady smiled, "I'm afraid the disease will spread to the child, so I'll keep Xinjie in my room for a few days."

No wonder several children play together.

Medical conditions in ancient times were so poor that even a small cold could kill a person.

Eleventh Lady couldn't help but worry, "What did the doctor say? Is it serious?"

"Doctor Liu said that he would be fine after taking a few doses of medicine." The lady smiled, "I sent Madam Du to take a look. She said that he was sweating all over after taking the medicine. He just rested."

"Then I'll go see her tomorrow!"

As they were talking, the sound of children's laughter like silver bells came over.

Eleventh Lady and the Lady Dowager could not help but look in the direction of the sound, and saw three little heads gathered together, playing with a chicken pecking rice toy, having a lot of fun.

Looking at the innocent smiles of the children, the two of them couldn't help but smile.

The lady took Eleventh Lady's hand and said, "I am old now, and I just want to enjoy my grandchildren and live a peaceful life. In the future, if there are any guests at home, except for old sisters like Madam Huang, you can just help entertain them. You don't have to bring them to me."

Eleventh Lady was very surprised.

She knew that the Queen Mother disliked the Yang family, but the Queen Mother was still alive after all. The Yang family and the Xu family were in the same social circle, and they would see each other every day. They had to take care of their reputation. This was one of the reasons why she chose to avoid the wife of Marquis Jianning when she came to visit her. She wanted to give the Yang family a subtle reminder in this way. But she never thought that the Queen Mother would choose to give her the right to interact with the families at this moment. This was not only a trust in her, but also a support.

"Mother!" Eleventh Lady couldn't help but hold the lady's hand back.

The lady smiled and patted her hands, "Okay, okay, let's not talk about this. You stayed at Fuzhen's place for an entire afternoon. What did you say? What's the situation at the Gan family now? My in-laws and mistress sent someone to invite me yesterday morning to send me an invitation to go to their new home to listen to an opera!"

Eleventh Lady did not bother to be polite with the Lady Dowager. She smiled and took the Lady Dowager's kindness to heart, and picked up some interesting things to tell her.

When the Madam heard that Madam Gan took the initiative to ask to visit Madam Gan morning and night, she nodded slightly and said, "Respect the old and respect the young. If she can extend herself to others and do what she said, the Gan family will not be ruined." When she heard that someone found the wedding shop to make mending clothes, she was even more happy for them: "...We must thank Prince Shun very much. Then talk to him and see if there is still such business. Remember to take care of you in the future. Doing business is a little difficult in the first two years, but it will be fine after these two years."

Eleventh Lady responded with a smile. Seeing that Xin Jie was laughing and yawning at the same time, she was afraid that the child would be too excited and would not sleep well, so she stood up and said goodbye with a smile.

The lady thought that she had been a guest in someone else's house for a whole day, so she decided not to keep her and asked Mama Du to send her and Xu Sijie out.

When she returned to the room, Xu Lingyi had already washed and rested, and was leaning on the bed reading a book. Seeing her come back, he smiled and asked her, "How are you? After a day of talking to Madam Gan, are you feeling better?"

It made her sound like she left in anger.

Eleventh Lady was furious. But she looked at Xu Lingyi with a smile: "Friendship is one of the five relationships. Confucius talked about friendship, three benefits and three harms, because the relationship lasts a lifetime and cannot be ignored. I just followed the words of the sage and went to see my true friends and close friends, and naturally I felt better."

Xu Lingyi laughed when he heard this.

Eleventh Lady went to wash and dress herself and ignored him.

When Xu Lingyi came out, there was still a hint of smile on his face. She pretended not to notice it, blew out the light and went to sleep, but was immediately hugged by Xu Lingyi.

"Moyan, Moyan," he sighed softly, "Little fool, don't cause yourself trouble in the future."

She just took the opportunity to go out and meet her friends. How can that be considered as asking for trouble?

Eleventh Lady was speechless for a moment.

Two days later, Mrs. Zhou arrived unexpectedly.

"The wife of Marquis Jianning is coming to visit me." She sneered, "I used the excuse that I had an appointment with you to go to the wedding shop together today to pick out some things, and handed her over to the princess."

Eleventh Lady was not surprised.

Since the wife of Marquis Jianning came to visit him, she would naturally visit Mrs. Zhou as well.

When Zhou Huiren saw her calm expression, he immediately understood: "She came to see you too!"

Eleventh Lady nodded and smiled, "I avoided it just like you!"

Mrs. Zhou said, "Pah!" "She really thinks she's such a big shot! Running around here and there, I want to see what good she can get!"

From the tone of his voice, he seemed to be very dissatisfied with what Princess Fucheng said about "treating them as real relatives".

But this was a private matter after all, so Eleventh Lady couldn't pry too much into it, so she asked Madam Zhou, "Do you want to go to the wedding shop and take a look?"

"I did come to you to buy something." Madam Zhou said a few words, her tone gradually calming down. "I have two personal maids who are very dear to me. They will be released in the next few days. I plan to buy them a complete set of dowry, so that they will not be in vain for serving me wholeheartedly."

Her words moved Eleventh Lady's heart, and she gradually came up with an idea.

If the maids in each mansion could be proud to order a dowry from their wedding shop when they get married, then their wedding shop would have established its own brand.

The more she thought about it, the more feasible it seemed to her. She was thinking about finding an opportunity to discuss it with Master Jian and the two shopkeepers. At the same time, she washed up, went to meet the lady-in-waiting, and then went to the wedding shop with Mrs. Zhou.

Mrs. Zhou lingered there for two hours, not only picking out two sets of dowry, but also buying herself a few handkerchiefs. It was obvious that she was very satisfied with the embroidery in the wedding shop.

After leaving the house, Shiyi Niang thought she would go straight back to the princess's residence, but she took Shiyi Niang's arm and said, "I've come here in your name anyway, so I might as well bother you once - let's go to your house for dinner!"

Shopping, complaining, and indulging can all relieve the unhappiness in your heart.

Eleventh Lady could understand her feelings and said with a smile: "Even if you don't say it, I would still like to take you back for dinner!"

"Then I won't be polite!" Mrs. Zhou listened and smiled as she and Eleventh Lady returned to the lotus garden.

As soon as the two got off the carriage in front of the Chuihua Gate, Eleventh Lady saw a servant accompanying Madam Zhou running towards her.

"Madam, the wife of Marquis Jianning is gone!" He panted. "The princess followed the old custom of entertaining relatives and asked the wife of Marquis Jianning to stand in the middle of the main hall to answer questions." The servant said with a gloating smile in his eyes. "The wife of Marquis Jianning was so angry... The aunt beside the princess said that the relatives in the family have always been like this, and we can't make an exception for her!"

Mrs. Zhou laughed when she heard this.

While laughing, he looked at Eleventh Lady with a bit of pride and said, "Our family is a princess's mansion. There are rules and etiquette for entertaining a marquis' wife, and there are rules and etiquette for entertaining relatives. She is no longer a marquis' wife, but a relative of the princess, so naturally we can only entertain her the way we treat relatives."

Only at this moment did Eleventh Lady understand Princess Fucheng's intention.

The princess is a member of the royal family, even the prince consort would kneel down when he sees her, let alone a relative!

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Sorry, because this is a draft, there are many typos!