Chapter 386 Qingshan (Part 2)

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

The lady smiled and leaned on the big kang near the window, watching Xu Sizhen and Xu Siyi playing with Xin Jieer, who was just learning to walk, with big red apples. The room was full of laughter and was very lively.

Eleventh Lady couldn't help but feel strange.

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

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

Eleventh Lady quickly gathered her thoughts and touched his head with a smile.

He looked up and called the lady "Mother".

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

Xu Sizhen left Xin Jie'er and ran over: "Mother, why did you come back so late?" There was a hint of coquettishness in his tone.

"You didn't even hear us play the flute today - we learned a new piece from Mr. Zhao today."

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

Xu Sizhen wanted to play it to Shiyi Niang right away, but he was a little hesitant after hearing this. However, Xu Sizhen said whatever Shiyi Niang said was fine, and clapped his hands and said:

"Okay! Okay!" Xu Sizhen couldn't 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 turned back to look 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 Sizhen and Xu Siyi. She flattened her mouth, cried "wow", and cried aggrievedly.

Everyone was stunned.

Xin Jie'er's nurse took two steps at a time and came forward to hug her:

"Sister, sister..." He 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. As she was not in good health, 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 mother, Shi, to serve her...

No wonder the three children played together.

I wonder what urgent matter the Fifth Madam has?

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

Upon seeing this, Xu Sizhen hurried over and took Xin Jie'er's hand.

Sister Xin calmed down, leaned on her wet nurse, and began to sob quietly.

"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 Sizhen lowered his head somewhat embarrassedly.

Everyone laughed.

Eleventh Lady stepped forward and saluted the lady.

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

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

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

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

Eleventh Lady didn't want to upset the Lady Dowager, so she smiled and changed the subject:

"Why don't you see your fifth brother's wife?"

"She has a fever."

The lady smiled and said, "I am afraid that the disease will spread to the child, so I will keep Xinjie in my room for a few days."

No wonder several children play together.

Medical conditions in ancient times were too poor. A little bit of cold could kill a person. Shiyi Niang couldn't help but worry: "What does the doctor say? Should I be in a hurry?"

"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 we were talking, we heard the sound of children's laughter as melodious as silver bells.

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

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

The lady took Shiyi Niang's hand and said, "I am old now. I just want to enjoy my grandchildren and live a peaceful life. If there are any guests in the family in the future, except for old sisters like Madam Huang, you can help entertain them. You don't have to bring them here."

Eleventh Lady was very surprised, but more than that, she was moved. 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 had to pay attention to face. 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 remind the Yang family in this way. But she never thought that the Queen Mother would support her so much. Not only did she not feel embarrassed or angry, but she also handed over the Xu family's social rights to the outside world to her.

"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 talk about? How is the Gan family doing now? My father-in-law and his wife sent someone to invite me yesterday morning to invite me to the new home to listen to an opera!"

Eleventh Lady needed the Madam's knowledge, so she didn't bother to be polite with her. She smiled and took the Madam's kindness in her heart. She picked up some interesting things to tell her.

When the Lady heard that Madam Gan took the initiative to ask for Madam Gan's morning and evening visits, she nodded slightly and said, "Respect the elders as well as the elders, and the young as well as the young. If she could extend her love to others and do what she said, the Gan family would not have been ruined." When she heard that someone found Xipu to make up clothes, she was even more happy for them: "...We must thank Prince Shun very much. Then talk to him and see if there is any business like this. Remember to take care of you in the future. Doing business is a bit 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 to play and would not sleep well, so she stood up and said goodbye with a smile.

The lady thought that she had been a guest at someone else's house for a whole day, so she did not keep her and asked Madam Du to see her and Xu Siqi out.

When she returned to the room, Xu Lingyi had already washed and rested, and was lying 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 seem like she was leaving in anger.

Eleventh Lady was furious. But she smiled at Xu Lingyi and said, "Friendship is one of the five relationships. Sun Tzu talked about friendship, saying that there are three benefits and three harms, because friendship affects one's entire life and cannot be ignored. I just followed the advice of the saints and went to see my true friends and best 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 smile on his face. She pretended not to notice it, blew out the light and went out of bed, but was immediately held in Xu Lingyi's arms.

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

Am I really being too cautious?

Eleventh Lady was very confused.

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 me, she would naturally go to visit Madam Zhou as well.

When Mrs. Zhou saw that she looked calm, she immediately realized, "She came to see you too!"

Eleventh Lady nodded and said with a smile: "I avoided it just like you!"

Mrs. Zhou pouted when she heard this: "She really thinks she's something! Running around everywhere, I want to see what good she can get!"

From the tone of his voice, it seemed that he was very dissatisfied with what Princess Fucheng said about "treating him as a regular relative".

But this was a private matter after all, so Eleventh Lady couldn't pry too much into it, so she asked Madam Zhou, "Then 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 much my favorite. They will be released in the next few days. I plan to buy them a complete set of dowries, 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 consider it an honor to order a set of 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 the etiquette with Master Jian and the two shopkeepers. At the same time, she washed up, went to see the lady-in-waiting with Mrs. Zhou, and then went to the wedding shop together.

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

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, "Since I've come out here in your name, I might as well bother you once - let's go to your house for dinner!"

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

Eleventh Lady understood her feelings and said with a smile: "Even if you don't tell me, 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 of them got off the carriage in front of the Chuihua Gate, Shiyi Niang saw a carriage boy beside Madam Zhou running towards them at a glimpse.

"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 next to 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 Shiyi Niang with a bit of pride: "Our family is the 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 entertain relatives."

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

The princess is a royal concubine, a treasure of the royal family. Even the prince consort would kneel down to worship her, let alone her relatives!