Chapter 404 News (Part 2)
Eleventh Lady had no idea what Xu Lingyi was thinking.
After the second day of the second month, Chang Jiuhe was summoned to inquire about the affairs of the farm, and Wan Yizong was summoned to inquire about the affairs of the orchard.
After finishing the business, Wan Yizong said, "Jiang Bingzheng has gone to work as a shopkeeper in another shop. Liu Yuanrui and his wife often help out in Xipu. My orchard is a little busy except during the fruit harvest season. There is nothing to do at other times. If Madam likes you, why not let our Erxian go to help you look after the house."
Eleventh Lady was worried about this matter.
The two houses that came as a dowry were a bit old. In addition, they were not taken care of and were gradually falling into disrepair. Last winter, there was only a moderate snowfall, which caused the roof of the east wing to collapse.
"We'll talk about this in a few days." She smiled and sent Wan Yizong away, waiting for Xu Lingyi to come over and discuss with him: "...I want to ask Manager Bai to buy the two dowry houses. Let's pool our money together and buy a better house."
Xu Lingyi thought for a moment and said, "I think the one in Goldfish Lane is pretty good. The alley is spacious and quiet. I think it would be better to buy another one and renovate the one in Goldfish Lane. It would be more economical than buying a new one."
She was now Xu Luo's wife. Even if she wanted to stay in a separate courtyard to relax, the Xu family had plenty of houses, and it was not her turn to live in Goldfish Lane. Regardless of the distance, it was indeed a good place.
In addition, Liu Yuanrui's family now also takes on the job of guarding Xipu at night, so that place is basically vacant.
"Then I'll talk to Manager Bai tomorrow." Eleventh Lady said with a smile, "Hurry up and fix up Goldfish Lane before summer."
Xu Lingyi nodded and talked about Xu Siqin and his brother: "... Calculating the date, it will be mid-March at the latest. They are both old enough to not live in the inner house anymore.
I asked someone to clean up the Yuanxiang Pavilion in the outer courtyard for them to live in. They will temporarily live with Brother Zhe and Brother Yi. They will study with Mr. Zhao.
"Brother Zhe has just been enlightened, and Brother Yi is just following suit." Eleventh Lady said hesitantly, "Brother Qin and Brother Yi are different. They both learned eight-part essays from the teacher in the clan school. I'm afraid that the Marquis and the Third Master need to have a good talk about this matter. Let's see what arrangements the Third Master has for the two children.
If you are going to take the imperial examination, it will be a waste of time to study with Mr. Zhao. It is better to go to the Jianxi Academy with Brother Yu. If you are going to Yin'en, that is fine too.
"Yes, that's what I thought!" Xu Lingyi smiled bitterly. "It's just that my third brother is hesitant and doesn't know what to say, so I have no choice but to settle the children first.
The two of them chatted about family matters for a long time before they blew out the lights and went to sleep.
Xu Lingyi held Shiyi Niang in his arms as usual, and put his hands into her clothes several times to caress and then withdraw them.
Thinking about the ecstasy, I was also afraid of being reckless... I felt very conflicted.
Eleventh Lady, who was held tightly in his arms, could clearly feel his excitement and felt strange.
There was no special reason. Why did Xu Lingyi suddenly become so depressed?
While thinking, Xu Lingyi's actions became more and more unbridled, and the atmosphere became more and more ambiguous... Shiyi Niang's whole body was soft and limp, and she couldn't control her moans and whispered, "...but I didn't get the same sympathy as before." She couldn't help but get angry and dug up the quilt and jumped out of bed.
Xu Lingyi hurriedly hugged her from behind.
"Why are you so angry!" He put his face against hers with a smile and held her in his arms. Shiyi Niang turned away and ignored him.
"Don't be angry!" Xu Lingyi kissed her hair, forehead, and lips... His movements were gentle and cautious, showing pity for Shiyi Niang. Only then did she feel better. But she couldn't help but sniffed coquettishly, "Do you think it's fun to tease me like this?" Xu Lingyi felt soft in his heart, like a child who had been wronged.
"fool!.
There was a gentleness and doting in his voice that he had not expected. "I teased you because I liked you!", it was like a bolt of lightning. Both of them were stunned by these words.
For a moment the room was silent, with only the ticking of the pendulum being heard.
Feeling uneasy and embarrassed, Xu Lingyi shrank his arms around Shiyi Niang. But he felt that this was too cold, so he stopped and said awkwardly, "It's getting late, and you're feeling sleepy again, so go to bed early.
Eleventh Lady was in a state of confusion. She was afraid that he would say something that would be difficult to answer. She said "hmm" softly and quickly closed her eyes.
The room fell silent again. They could hear each other's shallow breathing.
At the same time, they both turned around and lay on their sides, back to back.
After a while, I felt a not-so-cold breeze blowing in from behind.
Eleventh Lady clutched the quilt tightly, counting the sheep in her mind.
...One thousand two hundred and eighty-four..." No, it should be one thousand three hundred and eighty-four..." No, it should be one thousand two hundred and eighty-four. I just counted one thousand one hundred and eighty-four not long ago, and the next number should be one thousand two hundred and eighty-four...
Her mind was a mess.
Determines the number of restarts.
I just counted to forty-eight when I felt a warmth on my back.
It’s Xu Lingyi!
As the thought flashed through his mind, his stiff body slowly softened.
Eleventh Lady opened her eyes wide, looking at the faint outline of the scented sachet hanging on the curtains. She didn't know when she fell asleep.
In the following days, although the two talked and laughed as before, they also discussed selling the house that Shiyi Niang had brought as a dowry, ordered the wood and bricks, hired a craftsman, and set the date of April 16 to start the construction. When they slept in the same bed at night, they both felt a little unnatural. They had to talk about this and that. Or they talked about how Xu Siyu had been studying very hard these days and would definitely pass the college entrance examination; or they talked about how happy Xu Sizhen was when he knew that the two brothers Xu Siqin and Xu Sijian were coming back; or they talked about how they should increase Mr. Zhao’s salary…
She was tired and fell asleep naturally. When she woke up the next day, sometimes Shiyi Niang had thrown the square pillow to one side and rested her head on Xu Lingyi's shoulder; sometimes Xu Lingyi was lying on his side with his arm on Shiyi Niang.
Whenever he saw this scene, Xu Lingyi wanted to tease her like he did in the past.
But Shiyi Niang was particularly startled. As soon as he moved, she woke up. She asked "What time is it?" and then hurriedly got up, washed and dressed, talked to the aunts and children who came to greet him, served him breakfast, greeted the lady, and went to the main hall to give instructions to the mothers in charge... There was no time to rest. She also sent Wan Erxian to help him renovate the house in Jinyu Lane, and to design the layout of the house with Amber and Zhuxiang. She went to the storeroom where her maid was kept to look for ornaments. She asked Ji Ting's wife whether it was better to plant a lily tree or build a wisteria in front of the main house. The Fifth Lady also discussed with her about Xin Jie'er's birthday. The Fifth Lady sent a note inviting her to go to Sijiao Hutong to eat a bowl of shou noodles on Xin'er's birthday. She also helped match the niece of Mrs. Gan and the eldest son of the Fourth Lady, Yu Cheng. She was very busy.
Xu Lingyi couldn't help but frown. He simply kept silent. Every day he went to the outer courtyard to deal with some industrial matters, or went out to socialize with old friends. He spent less time at home, but others didn't notice it. However, Amber and several other close servants felt the change in Xu Lingyi, and they couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. Every morning, they served Xu Lingyi breakfast with more trepidation.
Shiyi Niang saw it all and suddenly felt uncomfortable.
The so-called "like,
That's all!
She lowered her head and ate breakfast in silence. She spoke even less. Xu Lingyi saw that she looked gloomy. He scooped a mouthful of porridge into his mouth and swallowed it after a long time. If he didn't talk to her, she would never speak first. She was like a child who was angry with an adult. The thought flashed through his mind, and his originally hard heart suddenly felt that he was a little petty.
I sighed inwardly and pushed the freshly made cucumber salad in front of her: "It's not usually my favorite. Why didn't you touch it today?"
Eleventh Lady looked up in surprise and saw Xu Lingyi's helpless but doting smile.
Xu Lingyi had already helped her pick up a small piece of cucumber and put it on the small golden plate: "Eat quickly, you still have to go and greet mother later."
Eleventh Lady felt mixed emotions, and she hummed softly, and put the cucumber in her mouth. The cucumber was refreshing, and with the sour flavor, it felt sour and sweet, very refreshing. She ate several bites in a row.
Xu Lingyi laughed and shook his head.
A maidservant came in and said, "My Lord, Madam, the steward Zhao from the outer courtyard sent a servant to ask if we are still sending out invitations for the March 3rd this year according to the list of guests invited last year?" She was politely asking Eleventh Lady what to do on the March 3rd.
Eleventh Lady's face felt hot.
These days, I have been focusing on matchmaking for Yu Cheng and have put this matter aside.
She stood up and said, "I'll give him the list of guests right away!" Before she finished speaking, she felt dizzy and everything went dark.
"What's wrong?" Xu Lingyi, who was sitting opposite Shiyi Niang, saw her body sway and suddenly turned pale. He held the table with his hands in a mess. He knew that something was wrong with her.
He quickly stood up and helped her.
Eleventh Lady closed her eyes and slowly opened them after a long while.
"It's okay." She gave a pale smile. "Maybe I got up too hastily!
Xu Lingyi felt a tingling sensation in his heart.
Only people who are very weak will feel uncomfortable if they get up too quickly. Thinking that she was arguing with him, he thought for a while and picked up Shiyi Niang horizontally.
Shiyi Niang screamed, and felt dizzy again, and felt weak all over. She hugged his waist and fell into his arms.
The servants in the room retreated in a hurry.
"Eleventh Lady, Eleventh Lady!" Xu Lingyi felt a little flustered. Eleventh Lady was thin-skinned.
Normally, she would never lie in my arms like this. But now, I am afraid she is very uncomfortable.
"Where do you feel uncomfortable?" Without answering Shiyi Niang, he called Amber, "Go get a piece of ginseng!" and ordered Luyun, "Go get a doctor!" Then he carefully put Shiyi Niang on the bed. He held her forehead and asked her softly, "Where do you feel uncomfortable?"
I feel uncomfortable all over.
Eleventh Lady lay on the bed with no strength left, but answered irrelevantly: "My Lord, please ask Yanrong to come in and help me take off my jacket."
Xu Lingyi was amused and confused: "You are still thinking about these things at this time." As he spoke, he helped her take off her jacket and put on a thin blanket according to her old habit.
Amber came in with ginseng slices.
Xu Lingyi helped Shiyi Niang up: "Here, hold a piece in your mouth. It will be fine when the doctor comes soon!" Shiyi Niang nodded and held the ginseng piece in her mouth. Before she lay down, she suddenly stood up and pushed Xu Lingyi away. She fell on the bed and vomited.