The next morning, Eleventh Lady got up a little late. After she had washed up and sat down in the main hall, the Shao family arrived with New Year gifts.
She met two mothers who came to greet her in the main hall.
"Are the master and the mistress in good health?" Eleventh Lady smiled kindly and signaled the maids to bring small stools for the two mothers to sit on.
The two of them half-sat on the stools modestly, and one of them replied to Eleventh Lady: "Please remember, Madam. Our master and mistress are both fine. They came to give a New Year gift this time, and specially asked us to come along to greet Madam..."
The other one lowered his eyes and looked around the room.
The main hall is a three-room hall with black lacquer furniture, black lacquer floor-to-ceiling pillars, and royal blue curtains. In the middle hall is a painting of eight horses, the table screen is a double-sided embroidery of blooming flowers, and a vase is filled with camellias as big as bowls. It is spacious and grand, and is somewhat similar to the old house of the Shao family in Cangzhou.
Her eyes couldn't help but glance at the housekeepers standing beside her.
There were old and young, all wearing the same official green Lu silk bodice and having their hair in round buns, but some had hairpins inlaid with jewels, some wore Western pearl and jade flowers, and some only had two silk flowers made of velvet in their hair, and wore red gold twisted wire bracelets on their wrists. All of them stood straight with solemn expressions, more dignified and respectful than the mistresses of ordinary families, yet more respectful and obedient than those of the third-class maids.
She was slightly surprised and glanced at Shiyi Niang quickly.
The wife of Marquis Yongping looked no more than fifteen or sixteen years old. Her jet-black hair was casually tied up in a bun, and she wore a half-new light green jacket with gold patches all over it. Her eyes were as bright as apricots, but there was a hint of weariness between her brows, as if she had not slept well.
The thought flashed through my mind and I was immediately relieved.
The New Year is approaching, and the mistress in charge of the household affairs in every household would be busy all the time, let alone a family of high rank like that of Yongping Marquis.
As he was thinking, he saw his companion stand up: "Thank you, ma'am!"
She quickly stood up, knelt down and saluted with her companions, then retreated with a maid who was about sixteen or seventeen years old and dressed very decently.
"Please follow me, moms!" The maid spoke softly, with a friendly and easy-going smile.
She heard her companions call the maid "Miss Green Cloud" and said, "Just ask a little maid to take us there. How dare we trouble you so much?"
"Mom, you don't have to be polite to me." Lu Yun said with a smile, "Since you are here to pay respects to Madam on behalf of my in-laws, it is the same as if my in-laws were here." Then she led them to sit at the square table in the side room and asked the maid to heat two pots of Jinhua wine, "...to accommodate the distinguished guests from Cangzhou."
She knew that he was inviting them to dinner, so she smiled and thanked him.
Luyun just said some polite words like "you've had your hard time on the journey", and when the food and wine were served on the table, she stood up and said goodbye with a smile.
She watched Lu Yun leave through the glass window. Just as she was about to sit down at the table, she saw two little maids walking in with a handsome young man in coarse clothes and cloth shoes.
A little maid outside the house exclaimed, "The Second Young Master is back!"
The servants in the room all looked outside. She stood in front of the window and looked carefully, then asked the little maidservant in the room with a smile: "Is it the second young master who is studying in Le'an?"
The little maid nodded repeatedly: "It is the second young master who is studying in Le'an. Our young master passed the county exam last year and will come back to take the provincial exam this year."
* * * * * *
"I thought you would be back in two days." After Xu Siyu finished his greetings, Shiyi Niang smiled and said, "I didn't expect you to come home today."
"If it had continued snowing, we wouldn't have been able to come back today." Xu Siyu said with a smile, "But it stopped snowing this morning."
Compared to the last time he left home, Xu Siyu has grown taller and is more calm in his actions.
Eleventh Lady nodded with a smile: "Glad that you are back safely!" Then she stood up and said, "Grandma has been thinking about you all the time, go and say hello to her!"
Xu Siyu agreed and followed Shiyi Niang to the lady dowager's place.
When the lady saw Xu Siyu, she happily took his hand and asked him questions, and then asked Mama Du to invite Xu Sizhun and Xu Sijie.
Mr. Zhao's school closed after Laba Festival and would not resume until the second day of the second lunar month of the following year. During these days, either Xu Sijie came to Xu Sizhun to play, or Xu Sizhun came to Xu Sijie to play. The two brothers either practiced playing the flute together, or practiced calligraphy, recited books, and danced together, having a lot of fun.
Xu Sizhun and Xu Sijie walked in, surrounded by a dozen maids and old women.
Xu Sizhun was quiet and beautiful, while Xu Sijie was graceful and bright. They wore identical royal blue and mouse-gray fur coats and stood side by side. They looked like people in a painting. No matter how you looked at them, they were so beautiful, which made the smile on the lady's face even deeper.
The two brothers respectfully saluted Xu Siyu and stood beside the lady, looking at Xu Siyu with curiosity in their eyes.
Maybe because he expressed his affection to Xu Sijie but was rejected by Xu Sijie when he came back last time, this time Xu Siyu just stood quietly five steps away from the lady, looking at Xu Sizhun and Xu Sijie with a friendly smile.
The three brothers stood opposite each other in silence.
Xu Sizhun pursed his lips slightly, and asked Xu Siyu in a low voice with a little timidity: "When will my second brother return to Le'an?"
Everyone was surprised and their eyes fell on Xu Sizhun with complicated expressions.
Xu Sizhun felt a little uncomfortable being looked at by everyone. He was about to speak when Xu Siyu smiled and said, "I will return to Le'an after I take the prefectural exam next April."
After hearing this, Xu Sizun smiled slightly and said, "Then does Second Brother have time to go ice skating with us in Xiyuan?" As he said this, he looked at Shiyi Niang somewhat embarrassedly.
Two days ago, Eleventh Lady asked Xu Lingkuan to take her two children to go ice skating in Xiyuan. It was originally a request for help. Now he took the initiative to invite Xu Siyu to go. Although he knew that Eleventh Lady would not be angry, he still felt a little uneasy.
Eleventh Lady immediately gave Xu Sizun a big smile, but her heart was filled with emotion.
With Mr. Zhao's guidance, Xu Sizhun became more and more sensible. Now he even knows how to greet Xu Siyu.
The happiest person was the Madam. Before Xu Siyu could answer, she laughed and said, "Okay, okay, okay. You all go. I'll talk to your fifth uncle. Ask him to take the guards from home to take you there."
Xu Siyu's mouth slowly blossomed into a faint smile: "Thank you, fourth brother. I haven't been to Xiyuan for many years. This time it's just right for me to go and see the excitement."
Xu Sizhun heaved a sigh of relief and laughed happily: "We'll only be gone for one day. It shouldn't delay Brother's review."
"Mr. Jiang said that homework is not something that can be accomplished overnight, and it won't be too late for today."
As the two were talking, Xu Sijie looked at the happy Xu Sizhun, then at the smiling Xu Siyu, and started laughing too.
The lady brought tea and said, "You must be exhausted after traveling so far. Go down and have a good rest. Come to Grandmother's house for dinner in the evening."
Xu Siyu smiled, said a few polite words, bowed and left.
Xu Sizhun pulled the lady's sleeve and said coquettishly, "Grandma, we are making lanterns."
Ever since their river lantern won first place, Xu Sizhun and Xu Sijie have been looking forward to making lanterns during the holidays.
The lady laughed so hard that she couldn't help saying, "Go! Go!"
Eleventh Lady also patted Xu Sizun's shoulder with a smile.
Xu Sizhun was overjoyed and ran away holding Xu Sijie's hand.
The lady smiled and pointed to the kang opposite and asked Eleventh Lady to sit down.
"After the Chinese New Year, Brother Yu will be fourteen years old!"
Eleventh Lady nodded.
The lady asked again, "The maidservant who follows him is called Wenzhu, right?"
"Yes!" Eleventh Lady smiled, "You picked it yourself that year. In the past few years, I have been with Yu Ge'er and have been careful and cautious, so nothing big has happened!"
The lady smiled and said, "Brother Yu is older now. You have to worry about some things too."
Worried? What are you worried about? Are you worried that Xu Siyu and Wen Zhu will secretly develop feelings for each other?
Sometimes children don’t think too much about it, and it’s the adults who make a fuss and complicate things.
Eleventh Lady nodded: "I will take a closer look."
The lady smiled and nodded, chatted with her for a few words, and went to the Buddhist temple.
Eleventh Lady didn't know where to start.
She called Wenzhu to ask for no reason. If this was not the case, wouldn't it make Wenzhu feel wronged? If this was the case, she was afraid that she would not be able to find out anything. If she asked someone else, they might not know the answer, and it would alert the enemy. But if she didn't take advantage of these days at home to clarify this matter, when she arrived in Le'an, the mountains were high and the emperor was far away, and they would be unable to do anything if anything happened.
I simply discussed it with Xu Lingyi in the evening.
Xu Lingyi laughed when he heard this.
Eleventh Lady said coquettishly, "What's so funny about this! Mother's worry is not without reason."
"You little fool!" Xu Lingyi gently pinched her nose, "Mother is saying that I want you to help Yu Ge'er prepare a personal servant!"
"A personal servant!" Eleventh Lady finally understood.
It turned out that what the lady said was completely different from what she was worried about.
She sat up all of a sudden: "Yu Ge'er is only thirteen years old this year, no, twelve years old..."
Eleventh Lady was ashamed.
There is a sense of guilt that I am destroying the young seedlings.
How could such a smart person be so dumbfounded when faced with such a thing... He thought of when Eleventh Lady first married him, she was so calm and generous at such a young age, but when it came to private matters, she was completely confused...
Xu Lingyi felt his body getting hot as soon as he thought about it.
He stretched out his arms and held her in his arms.
"I'm not asking you to put someone in his room right now." Xu Lingyi gently bit her round earlobe and said vaguely, "Just keep an eye on him now, and we'll talk about it after the New Year..." His hands gently stroked her graceful curves that rose and fell like mountains, "He's grown up, he will inevitably be curious..." His body quickly became excited, "Instead of being seduced into getting involved with someone of questionable character, it's better to help him prepare..." The underwear was taken off, revealing the flawless white skin on her shoulders, "It's just that, he will be able to restrain himself after he knows it..." As he spoke, he had already entered gently and firmly.
Eleventh Lady frowned slightly, and it took her a moment to adapt.
"Well, let's talk about it after some time!" Her voice was slightly breathless, "Yu Ge'er is still young!"
Xu Lingyi groaned, savoring the delicate and tight feeling on her body. He suddenly thought of Shiyi Niang's tenderness and kissed her temples softly. However, his body was reluctant to slow down, and instead he moved in and out of her body more and more wantonly...
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PS: There will be an additional update today, but it will be very late, so everyone should get up early tomorrow morning to read it!
O(∩_∩)O~