If that's the case, things will be much easier.
While Wenzhu was coming to receive the New Year's reward, Shiyi Niang kept her to talk.
"...You are older than the Second Young Master, and you are a girl, so you are careful. There are some things that I can only tell you." She sent the servants away. "A wild goose leaves its voice behind, and a person leaves his name behind. The Second Young Master is in Le'an, and he has Mr. Jiang above him and his classmates below him. You must watch him carefully and don't let him make mistakes. Otherwise, the Second Young Master's future will be ruined. You who follow him around will also be ashamed!"
Wen Zhu's face turned purple upon hearing this, and she immediately knelt down in front of Shiyi Niang: "Madam, I swear..."
"I trust you." Eleventh Lady interrupted her and took her hand. "That's why I told you quietly. Whatever it is, as long as it is justified, it will be justified. You are a smart person, you should know what I mean!"
Wenzhu was so confused that he could only nod his head randomly. A cold wind blew towards him, and he realized that he had left the lady's yard without knowing when.
Seeing that Wenzhu was a sensible person, Eleventh Lady breathed a sigh of relief and devoted herself to preparing for the Spring Festival.
On the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, we worship the Kitchen God, replace couplets and peach charms, clean the house, and hang up lanterns and decorations to welcome the New Year.
Eleventh Lady captured Madam Wen and asked her to help Amber distribute the red envelopes to each room.
When Madam Wen saw Luyun preparing brown sugar water for Shiyi Niang, she sighed slightly and went back to tell Qiuhong, "A strong person cannot defeat his fate. Look at Madam, you have everything ahead of you, but it's hard for you to have children. How guilty should you be."
Amber was also secretly anxious.
While worshipping the Buddha on New Year's Eve, she secretly made a vow to eat vegetarian food on the first and fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
Eleventh Lady just felt a little tired.
First, she prepared for the New Year, and on the first day of the new year, she went to the palace to pay New Year's greetings early in the morning. Madam Huang of Yongchang Hou and Madam Lin came with her to play cards with the lady dowager. Although she did not have to stand by and serve, she could not hide in the house. She only had the chance to take a bath in the evening.
Xu Lingyi asked people to light four or five braziers at once.
"Do you want to be clean or die?"
Although the room was as warm as spring, it was also stuffy.
Eleventh Lady coughed and smiled, "It has to be clean!"
Xu Lingyi had no choice but to have the brazier moved away, changed the quilt and held her in his arms while she slept.
"Fortunately, you don't have to go out these days." The Luo family lives in Yuhang, so they don't have to visit relatives on the second and third days of the Chinese New Year. "Just rest at home. If mom asks, just say you're not feeling well."
Eleventh Lady nodded and soon fell into a deep sleep.
On the second day of the New Year, Xu Lingyi went to sit with Yu Yiqing and Qian Ming alone. On the third day, he started to entertain people who came to pay New Year's greetings in the outer courtyard.
Eleventh Lady was happy to take a break from her busy schedule, and she and Xu Sizhun and Xu Sijie roasted broad beans with silver frost charcoal. On the fourth day of the first lunar month, she felt better, and then she changed into a small red silk jacket to entertain guests at home. They chatted and laughed, and soon the Lantern Festival arrived.
After watching the lanterns and collecting the big red lanterns for the festival, Eleventh Lady went to the residence of Earl Zhongqin.
Madam Gan asked the maid to bring two jars of preserved garlic.
"I was the best at making this when I was a girl. When my old uncle was alive, I thought it tasted bad, so I didn't make it for a few years. This year, I had nothing to do, so I made more than a dozen jars in one go. One for you, and one for Master Jian. You guys can taste my cooking skills."
Eleventh Lady smiled and asked Luyun to take it.
"The shop is going to open on the 18th of the first lunar month." She discussed with Madam Gan, "Master Jian wants to hire a few more experienced hands to specialize in patchwork."
"You guys just make the decisions on these matters." Mrs. Gan said with a smile, "My eldest brother came during the Chinese New Year and knew that we had made money. He looked at me differently." She smiled happily, "I was so proud. Two days ago, my sister-in-law came to discuss my niece's marriage with me, as if I had suddenly become capable."
Eleventh Lady laughed.
Madam Gan asked Shiyi Niang, "My niece is twelve years old this year. She has good looks and good character. Please see if there is anyone suitable and keep an eye on her."
Eleventh Lady thought of Grandma Lin: "The Shao family has many boys, but it's a pity that they are far away in Cangzhou." She also thought of Madam Zhou: "The Wang family is also prosperous."
"Please help me find out. My sister-in-law will take a close look at it when the time comes."
The two chatted for a long time, and Eleventh Lady had lunch at Madam Gan's house before coming back.
Who knew that Mrs. Zhou was already waiting in the room.
"It's not good for me to stay at home, and I have nowhere to go if I go out." She wore a royal blue brocade jacket with embroidered patterns, and the big red ruby earplugs on her ears sparkled, reflecting her happy face, "I'm afraid others will ask me."
It doesn't look like anything sad.
Eleventh Lady invited her to the inner room to talk in private: "What happened?"
Mrs. Zhou smiled.
Although no one was in the room, she lowered her voice a little, "The one in our family actually tried to bribe my mother. I played along and let her get close to the master. As a result, she was diagnosed with pregnancy yesterday." As she spoke, her eyes lit up, "Now the princess knows. The master can't escape a reprimand. I was afraid that he would lose face, so I came out to avoid him."
Eleventh Lady was a little surprised. She didn't expect that Mrs. Zhou's "long-standing idea" was like this.
"That child..." She couldn't help but ponder.
"See what the princess means!" Mrs. Zhou picked up the teacup and took a sip. "This Tieguanyin is delicious!" She praised the tea first, and then said, "If you kill the son and keep the mother, she will never be able to have children again!" Mrs. Zhou's eyes flashed with a cold light. Giving birth was very dangerous in ancient times, not to mention abruptly terminating the pregnancy, which would cause more accidents. "Keep the son and kill the mother," Mrs. Zhou said with a hint of sarcasm, "I will raise her the way I want!"
Eleventh Lady sighed softly in her heart and changed the subject: "My hometown sent me a few wild geese. Sister, please stay for dinner!"
"Okay!" Mrs. Zhou was in a good mood and said with a smile, "Let's go greet the Madam first, and then we can have a good chat as sisters."
Eleventh Lady smiled and accompanied her to sit with the Madam. When she came back, she told her that Madam Gan had a niece of the right age. Madam Zhou promised to help keep an eye out for her. After dinner, Eleventh Lady sent her to the Chuihua Gate and watched her carriage go away before returning to the house.
A few days later, news came from the Zhou family.
Yang died of hemorrhage due to miscarriage.
"Who told you that?" Upon hearing this, Yang from the Xu family's face turned pale and she held Yang's mother's hand tightly.
"I heard it from the maid in Madam Wen's room." Mother Yang's eyes were filled with tears. "When Zhou's mother came over, Madam Wen was helping with the accounting in Madam's room."
"How could this happen?" Yang stared at Mother Yang in a daze, muttering to herself, "Fifth sister is such a smart person, how could she end up like this..." As she spoke, Qiao Lianfang's dull expression suddenly appeared in her mind. Yang jumped up in panic, "Mom, mom, where is the pattern of my set of pictures of a hundred babies playing? Please help me find it. I want to embroider a small jacket for my wife..."
* * * * * *
Eleventh Lady stopped sewing and yawned, then asked Xu Lingyi in a sleepy tone, "What did Third Master say?"
"Tell me about Brother Qin and Brother Jian." Xu Lingyi took the letter and looked up to see the weariness that Shiyi Niang couldn't hide. "There are no good teachers in Shanyang. The two children's studies have been delayed in the past two years. I want to send the two children back to Yanjing to study." Then he touched her forehead. "What's wrong? Where do you feel uncomfortable?" His tone was very gentle.
Eleventh Lady couldn't help but yawn again: "I don't know why, I have been feeling very tired since the New Year."
"Spring sleepiness, spring sleepiness," Xu Lingyi laughed, "It's natural to sleep more in spring." He then whispered, "If you have anything to do, leave it to the maids, and rest early!"
Eleventh Lady nodded, curled up in Xu Lingyi's arms, and soon fell asleep.
Xu Lingyi looked at her peaceful face and couldn't help laughing. He kissed her cheek and then blew out the light and went to sleep.
The next day at noon, Doctor Liu came over.
"The Marquis said that the Madam is not feeling well, so he asked me to come and take a look."
Through the curtains, Doctor Liu felt the madam's pulse with a handkerchief on his wrist. He smiled and said, "Madam's pulse is steady and strong. Perhaps it's spring and you're feeling sleepy."
Xu Lingyi felt relieved.
Eleventh Lady took advantage of the good weather and asked the maid to pack out the examination basket, examination curtain, and small bag for food that Xu Siyu used for the examination last year.
Xu Lingyi smiled and said, "He won't take the exam until April, so it's a bit early to clean up these now."
"The weather has been nice these past few days." Seeing that he didn't take it seriously, Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "Besides, I took these with me into the examination room last year, and I passed the county exam smoothly. So I took them specially, and I'll use them this year to benefit from last year's good fortune."
The couple stood in the spring breeze and talked for a few words, then Xu Sizhun and Xu Sijie came.
The two of them bowed respectfully to Xu Lingyi and then went to the side of Eleventh Lady.
One said, "The teacher said that a year's plan begins in spring. So take us to climb the West Mountain tomorrow, and then talk about what we plan to do this year."
One said, "Mom, we are going to climb the West Mountain, and our teacher said we should bring some food. Please make some Toon Pancakes for us!"
Eleventh Lady hugged the younger one and said to the older one with a smile, "You two should make a list of the things you want to bring, and I will prepare them for you according to your list."
The two cheered and went into the house.
Eleventh Lady felt intoxicated by the spring breeze and yawned with her hand covering her mouth.
Xu Lingyi looked at it with a slight movement in his heart.
It's already the beginning of February, and there's still no movement from Eleventh Lady...
When the thought comes to mind, one feels like being fried in a frying pan, but one cannot show any emotion.
Is the date postponed? Or...
"Go back to the room and rest!" He resisted the urge to help her. "It's not a good idea to keep falling asleep like this."
Eleventh Lady laughed and said, "It's just past the beginning of the evening, how can we go and rest now?"
Xu Lingyi thought for a while and said, "Why don't we go over to mother's place and sit for a while? We won't go there for dinner later. Would you like to go to bed early today?" He said this as a discussion, but without waiting for Eleventh Lady to respond, he called Amber to take care of Xu Sizhun and Xu Sijie and went to the lady's place.
Eleventh Lady thought that he meant well, so she sat with the lady for a while. She came back and had dinner. She fell asleep until dawn. Then, for the first time in her life, she drank a bowl of millet porridge and ate two meat buns. She felt full of energy again.
Xu Lingyi looked at it and sighed in his heart.
It seems that I guessed wrong...
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O(∩_∩)O~
Make up for the extra update on February 27th!
Slowly paying off the debt...