Chapter 409: More Than Just (Part 1)

"Ask me to be the matchmaker?" Xu Lingyi was a little surprised, then smiled and said, "Sure! Let Qia Qing treat me to a drink first."

Eleventh Lady rarely saw Xu Lingyi so anxious, so she smiled and asked someone to reply to Fourth Lady. As a result, early the next morning, Yu Yiqing sent a message to invite Xu Lingyi to Chunxi Pavilion for a drink, and invited Wang Li and Jin Hanlin to accompany him.

Xu Lingyi came back and said, "I never thought that Qiaqing had some family wealth. For the eldest son's marriage, he actually planned to spend five thousand taels of silver as a betrothal gift."

Eleventh Lady laughed and teased him: "I'll let you look down on my family!"

Xu Lingyi laughed.

He sat down on the kang, tucked the few strands of hair that were brushing against her cheeks behind her ears, and asked softly, "How are you today?"

"Okay!" Eleventh Lady looked at the maids, Amber, Luyun and others, who stood aside with smiles on their faces and bowed their heads, pretending to see nothing, and felt a little embarrassed. "I just felt a little uncomfortable this morning. I talked and did needlework with Amber and the others in the afternoon, so I'm fine."

Xu Lingyi thought for a moment and said, "Then when you have nothing to do, find a few more people to talk to. If you stop thinking about it, maybe you will feel better."

Eleventh Lady nodded and talked about what happened after Xu Lingyi left: "Mother asked Madam Du to send two boxes of silk fabrics, saying that they were for making small clothes and diapers for the children. I saw that they were whole rolls of painted silk and large looped cotton..." She hesitated, not knowing what to do.

"Since it's given to you, you should keep it first." Xu Lingyi said with a smile, "Mom is old now, and she loves children. Two days ago, I gave Xinjie a red peony-shaped Kesi and a rose-red crabapple-shaped Kesi."

Hearing that everyone had one, Shiyi Niang breathed a sigh of relief, but in her heart she still felt that it was too extravagant to make these for a child, so she decided to save them for later use.

A little maid came in and said, "My Lord, Madam, the Madam sent some yam and date paste cakes."

Eleventh Lady hurriedly asked the maid to bring it in.

Xu Sizhen and Xu Siqi left school.

When they saw the yam and date cake, their eyes lit up. Then, when they saw Xu Lingyi's serious expression, they bowed their heads respectfully again.

Eleventh Lady looked at them with amusement and ordered them, "Go wash your hands quickly and enjoy the cake!"

The two of them immediately laughed and rushed to wash their hands.

Xu Lingyi looked at him and hesitated to speak.

Eleventh Lady did not take it seriously and ordered Amber to put some yam and date paste cake in a small gold-plated dish for the two of them to eat.

There wasn't much to begin with, but the two of them ate with gusto and finished it quickly.

Xu Sizhen said, "Mother, can you make some Fuling cake for us tomorrow?"

"The toon-flavored cakes are delicious." Xu Siqi had a different opinion, "The toon-flavored cakes made by my mother are more delicious than the Fuling cakes!"

Eleventh Lady wiped the corners of Xu Si's mouth and said with a smile, "Do both. Tomorrow we will make both Fuling cake and Chunxiang cake." Then she asked them, "Did the eldest brother and the third brother go to class with you today?"

Xu Siqi nodded and said, "Mr. Zhao taught my eldest and third brothers about the University, and taught us about the Primary School."

Xu Sizhen, who was standing by, interrupted and said, "My elder brother said that Mr. Zhao is very knowledgeable!"

Xu Siqi said, "The eldest brother didn't come with us. He said he wanted to come with the second brother. The third brother followed him."

The two of them chatted back and forth, and had some complaints about Xu Siqin and Xu Sijian, who had studied with them but eventually left them to go find Xu Siyu.

Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "Big Brother, Second Brother, and Third Brother are about the same age, so they like to play together. You and Fourth Brother are about the same age, don't you often hang out together?"

Xu Siyi thought for a moment, tilted his head and said to Shiyi Niang, "Then mother should give birth to a younger brother! If she gives birth to a younger sister, she will definitely play with the second sister and not with us!"

Everyone in the room burst into laughter.

Xu Siqin, Xu Siyu and Xu Sijian came over to greet him.

Xu Lingyi asked Xu Siqin and Xu Sijian about their class today.

Sister Zhen is here.

There were boys all over the room, and she leaned on Eleventh Lady.

Eleventh Lady smiled and took her hand, and listened to Xu Lingyi asking Xu Siyu about his homework.

It was obvious that Xu Siyu was very serious about his studies. He not only spoke fluently and eloquently, but also showed a strong confidence that he had never had before, making him shine like a pearl. The brothers Xu Siqin, Xu Sijian, Xu Sizhen and Xu Siyi, who were standing by, held their breath and looked at him with eyes full of admiration.

Xu Lingyi was very satisfied. Seeing that it was getting late, he reminded his mother a few words, such as studying hard with Mr. Jiang, and then got up to go to the lady's place.

Eleventh Lady saw them out.

Sister Zhen hurriedly and carefully supported her.

Xu Lingyi looked at it and said, "You should rest in the room! Don't move around."

"I lie on the kang every day and want to get out and walk around." Eleventh Lady felt that pregnant women also needed a proper amount of exercise, so she insisted on sending them out.

When he looked up, he saw Aunt Qin standing under the eaves.

Everyone was a little weird.

Aunt Qin came over to pay her respects in a panic, mumbling to herself, "I thought the Marquis had already left... He said he was talking to some young masters, so I didn't dare to disturb him, so I waited here for a while..."

Xu Lingyi glanced at Xu Siyu and asked in a gentle voice, "What's the matter?"

Xu Siyu lowered his eyelids and stood quietly beside the brothers Xu Siqin and Xu Sijian, no longer showing the radiance he had just shown.

"No, nothing!" Aunt Qin said, looking at Shiyi Niang for help, "I just came to see Madam!"

Eleventh Lady smiled slightly and said, "My Lord, please hurry to the Madam's place. Please sit in the aunt's room!"

Xu Lingyi listened and said to Shiyi Niang, "Go into the house quickly," and then took the children to the lady's place.

Eleventh Lady smiled and nodded, watching Xu Lingyi and the others leave, then smiled and said to Aunt Qin: "Let's talk about it in the room!"

Aunt Qin followed Eleventh Lady into the house with her head lowered and her eyes submissive.

"Madam!" She took out a triangular piece of yellow paper from her bosom, "This is the amulet I asked for for you. Hang it at the door to keep you safe and sound."

Hang it on the door! Isn't it in a waist pouch or under the pillow?

Eleventh Lady smiled and let Amber take the call.

Aunt Qin saw that Shiyi Niang was a little careless. She hurriedly said, "I asked Master Jining to bless this!"

Eleventh Lady's eyes flickered slightly, and she said, "I wonder if there are any other requirements for this thing?"

"No!" Aunt Qin laughed, "Just put it where people are!"

Eleventh Lady nodded and brought the tea.

Aunt Qin stood up and said goodbye.

Eleventh Lady instructed Amber: "Take this and ask Master Jining. She said it was given by Concubine Qin and she doesn't know how to use it. Ask her to give you some pointers."

Amber responded and left.

Luyun came in and asked where the dinner was.

"Let's eat in the dining room!"

Shiyi Niang now has a keen sense of smell. When she eats in her sleeping place, she always smells the smell of oil smoke for a long time.

Luyun instructed the maid to serve the dishes.

Cold mixed pea sprouts, stir-fried Chinese cabbage, peanuts with pine nuts, bean sprouts with mung bean sprouts, stir-fried yuba with black fungus... Although it is a table full of vegetarian dishes, the colors are bright and make people feel refreshed just by looking at them.

As soon as Eleventh Lady sat down and picked up her chopsticks, Amber came in with a plate of steaming yam and date paste cake with a smile on her face: "Madam, the Marquis asked Linbo to bring it here."

Her chopsticks paused in mid-air for a while before gently landing on the red yam and date cake.

Seeing that Shiyi Niang had eaten two pieces in a row, Amber thought it was evening and was afraid that she would not be able to digest it later, so she said with a smile, "If you like, Madam, I will ask the kitchen to steam it in the steamer and you can take it out and eat it when you want to eat it later."

Eleventh Lady nodded, ate two bowls of bean sprouts with chopsticks, and asked someone to clear the table.

Amber came in with fresh orange juice.

Eleventh Lady took a sip, and Madam Wen and Lady Yang came over to pay their respects.

Knowing that Shiyi Niang was pregnant, she congratulated her with a smile.

She gave him a red gold necklace with a wish-fulfilling lock, a pair of red gold monkey climbing bracelets, and a pair of red gold bell bracelets as gifts, and spent a long while chatting with him. After that, he was just like before, except for greeting him in the morning and evening and asking for advice on matters concerning Zhen Jie'er, he rarely showed up. Eleventh Lady was a little curious, and after asking around, she found out that she was learning needlework from Qiu Hong in the room.

Eleventh Lady smiled and asked someone to bring them a brocade stool to sit on, but she glanced behind her.

Madam Wen was a shrewd person and knew that Eleventh Lady was looking at Yang.

Ever since Eleventh Lady became pregnant, Yang has been a little listless. These past few days, her eyes have been bloodshot and she looks extremely tired.

Although Shiyi Niang handed Yang Shi to her, she didn't want to get too close to Yang Shi. Seeing Yang Shi's expression, she didn't say a word of courtesy, just pretending not to see it. This time, she smiled and talked about her needlework: "... I embroidered a few grapes, but I'm short of purple thread, so I want to ask Madam for some."

Shiyi Niang asked Zhu Xiang to help her find some real purple embroidery threads: "Just let me know if you need anything."

Madam Wen agreed with a smile, and Qiao Lianfang came over to greet her.

Unlike her previous arrogance, she was now somewhat withdrawn and kept to herself, not interacting much with the other concubines. But when she saw Concubine Wen, she still nodded politely.

Eleventh Lady asked her to sit down, but she politely declined: "If Madam has no other instructions, I will go back first."

She did not force Qiao Lianfang and asked Amber to see her out. Then she exchanged a few words with Madam Wen and Madam Yang and served them tea.

The two aunts said goodbye.

Eleventh Lady washed up and prepared to rest.

Amber, who was serving beside her, whispered, "I heard from the maids that Madam Yang seemed to be embroidering something, and sometimes the lights in the room were on all night long."

"Madam Yang is good at embroidery," said Eleventh Lady calmly, "Maybe she is embroidering something large." Then she changed the subject, "In a few days it will be the anniversary of the death of the eldest sister, and the ancestral hall should have made arrangements. You can go and see how they are preparing!"

Amber said "yes" respectfully and went to ask the ancestral temple the next day.

The steward of the ancestral hall smiled and said, "The old lady also sent someone to ask about it two days ago. I said that according to custom, we should pay 500 yuan each in gold and silver paper money, three sacrificial animals, and three tables of food. But no one from the old lady has replied. So I can't make the decision here."

Eleventh Lady pondered for a moment and said, "Then go ask Mother Du! Maybe she was busy and forgot to give instructions."

Amber went to Mother Du's place and came back to report: "The Madam said that you are afraid of the noise here and are hesitating whether to invite a water and land temple. So the worship has not been instructed yet!"

It’s too late today, I’ll make up for the extra chapters tomorrow!