Mr. Zhao took the book, turned to the side where the page was folded, pondered for a long time, then smiled and said to Amber: "Go and tell my wife. I told you that I will tell the prince about the people and events in "Youxue" in a few days. Especially sentences like 'If slanderers are rampant, there may be tigers in the market; if villains stir up trouble, mosquitoes can gather and become thunder. If draperies are turned into brocade, it means that slanderers can cause disasters; if people make innuendos, it means that ghosts can harm people'."

Amber went back and reported.

Eleventh Lady breathed a sigh of relief.

Xu Sizhun and Xu Sijie had already gone to the back garden, where they were being helped by a large group of maids and servants to fly kites.

Mother Tao brought over tea and cakes with two maids.

Seeing this, Xu Sizun ran over with sweat all over his forehead.

"Mom, mom, what did you bring me?"

Mother Tao hurriedly took a handkerchief to wipe Xu Sizhun's sweat.

"I made the Poria cocos cake that the Fourth Young Master likes, and the rose cake that the Fifth Young Master likes."

Xu Sijie, who was following closely behind Xu Sizhun, heard a burst of cheers: "Me too?"

"If the Fourth Young Master has it, then our Fifth Young Master will naturally have it too!" Mother Tao smiled with her hands covering her mouth.

Xu Sizhun happily pulled Xu Sijie into the pavilion, where they sat on a stone table covered with a scarlet cushion and drank tea and ate snacks.

The servant who was helping the two men to pull the kites cried out in surprise, and saw that Xu Sizhun's butterfly kite was entangled with Xu Sijie's centipede kite.

Xu Sijie was anxious and ran out. When the maids and old women who served him saw him, they followed him.

Xu Sizhun was stopped by Tao Mama, who wiped the sweat off his vest with a handkerchief while saying distressedly, "My little ancestor, take a rest. The kite will be taken care of by the servants, so it will be fine." She then asked him in a low voice, "Brother, did Mama Du mention the matter of the Fourth Madam sending flowers to the Madam?"

The old lady did not mention this matter in front of the children, so Xu Sizhun thought that the old lady did not know about it.

"No!" Xu Sizhun shook his head, thinking of what Mother Tao had said about Mother Du knowing what to say and what not to say, he smiled and said, "Mother was right. Grandmother didn't say anything. But Mother came to talk to me. Mother even praised me, saying that I was a good prince..."

"Really?" He wanted to tell Mama Tao everything that Eleventh Lady said, but was interrupted by Mama Tao's laughter. Then she answered irrelevantly, "The Fourth Young Master is still young and doesn't understand some things. The family is now controlled by the Fourth Lady. Whether it's Mama Du or Chaxiang, who was rewarded by the Lady Dowager, they all have to beg for food from her. But I'm different. I'm your mother's companion, I eat your mother's dowry, and I wear your mother's reward. Naturally, there are some things that only I can say, and only I dare to say."

The topic changed too quickly and was not smooth, and Xu Sizun was a little stunned for a moment.

Mother Tao smiled and said, "My son, just remember that Mother Tao is loyal and will only tell you the truth."

Xu Sizhun remembered his deceased mother's instructions and nodded in confusion.

Mother Tao stood up and smiled, saying, "Go and play, brother! I should go back too. It's time to burn incense for my aunt."

Xu Sizhun nodded, thinking hard about the fading shadow, and no longer had the mood to play around.

Standing outside the pavilion, Chaxiang looked at Mother Tao's figure gradually walking away, then turned around to glance at Xu Sizhun.

* * * * * *

The next day when he went to school, Xu Sijian excitedly told about how he and several cousins ​​went for an outing and met Han Daxueshi of the Hanlin Academy with a prostitute. Mr. Zhao smiled and said that he spoke sarcastically, and then told the four brothers Xu Siqin, Xu Sijian, Xu Sizhun and Xu Sijie about the people and events in "Youxue".

Xu Siqin and Xu Sijian couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed, while Xu Sizun and Xu Sijie seemed a little confused.

Mr. Zhao sighed in his heart.

Whether it is learning or being a person, we must proceed step by step. If we try to force things, the effect will definitely not be good.

After thinking about it, he asked the servant to tell Amber, "We are talking about elementary education these days, but the fourth and fifth young masters are too young to fully understand the essence of it."

Eleventh Lady thought about it, and seeing that Xu Sizun was about to finish school, she called in a few maids who had just entered the courtyard to play a game - she asked them to stand three or four feet apart, and Amber whispered something to the first maid standing on the left, and then asked that maid to whisper something to the maid next to her. When the word reached the first maid on the right, she said out loud what she heard, and then asked the first maid on the left to say what Amber told her.

Amber's words were naturally distorted beyond all recognition.

Several maids were unable to bear it and had strange expressions on their faces.

Xu Sizhun and Xu Sijie finished school.

It was strange to see.

Amber told them the story with a smile on her face.

Xu Sizhun opened his eyes wide: "How could the message be changed?"

Eleventh Lady was waiting for him to say this, and smiled as she embraced Xu Sijie: "If you don't believe it, Zhun'er, give it a try."

Xu Sizhun volunteered to stand first on the left.

The result is of course self-evident.

He couldn't help laughing and said, "It's all because these little maids don't know how to talk."

Eleventh Lady smiled and called Amber, Luyun and others to play this game together.

In the end, the words were still changed.

Amber and Luyun were no better than the little maids, they all laughed together.

Xu Sizhun also smiled and rubbed his belly and fell into Shiyi Niang's arms, which frightened Amber and others and hurriedly pulled him up: "My lord, please be careful of the lady's health, she can't take such a knock from you."

He wiped the tears from his laughter and nodded.

Eleventh Lady scolded the maids, telling them not to gossip or spread rumors.

Xu Sizhun jumped up when he heard this. He waited until Shiyi Niang finished speaking and the maids retreated before he said excitedly, "I know what Mr. Zhao meant. This is how words are spread and changed, so 'rumors stop with the wise.'"

Eleventh Lady took the opportunity to laugh and said, "So smart people will never jump to conclusions just by hearing the slightest sign of trouble."

Xu Sizhun nodded heavily.

Mr. Zhao then told the story of "Three People Make a Tiger" and the story of "Innuendo". Mother Tao's words were gradually forgotten.

But Eleventh Lady did not forget.

She had thought that if she just complained a little about Yuanniang's memorial day, she would be fine. But she actually provoked Xu Sizhun again, which made her a little annoyed.

Eleventh Lady took advantage of the fact that Xu Lingyi was invited to Yu Yiqing's house to discuss Yu Cheng's marriage and called Lu Yonggui over.

"Although Tao Cheng, the son of Mama Tao, is in charge of the farm, he and you are both my eldest sister's companions, so you should be familiar with each other!"

Ever since the last time that Eleventh Lady assigned a silly-looking servant to follow him around every day, he knew in his heart that Eleventh Lady was hinting to him that unless he never made any mistakes in his life, Eleventh Lady could ruin his reputation at any time.

He lowered his head slightly and said respectfully, "I have some dealings with him."

Eleventh Lady smiled and asked, "What kind of person is he?"

Lu Yonggui pondered, "Under his control, my aunt's farm bought a few acres of land every few years. Over the years, there are more than a hundred acres of good farmland. Sometimes when there is a disaster, the people on the farm can fill their stomachs without having to open the granary to release grain."

Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "So, he is quite capable."

Lu Yonggui smiled and replied "yes".

Eleventh Lady nodded, picked up the teacup and took a sip slowly, then asked, "I wonder what his hobbies are?"

Lu Yonggui was startled, and raised his eyelids to look at Shiyi Niang, but he met Shiyi Niang's gaze. He lowered his head in a panic: "Hobbies... It seems that I don't have any hobbies!"

"How can a person not have any hobbies?" Eleventh Lady smiled and rubbed the teacup, "For example, Manager Lu likes to collect copper coins. For example, I like to play with flowers and plants. Didn't you say that Tao Cheng would buy a few acres of land every few years? Maybe Tao Cheng's hobby is buying land!"

Lu Yonggui felt nervous when he heard this.

Eleventh Lady smiled but said nothing. She used the lid to brush the floating leaves in the teacup. Occasionally, the crisp sound of porcelain hitting each other could be heard in the silent room, adding a bit of tension to the already depressing atmosphere.

Seeing this situation, Lu Yonggui knew that Shiyi Niang would not give up until she achieved her goal. His mind was spinning rapidly.

Tao Cheng was just a small steward. The reason why Shiyi Niang remembered his name must be because of Mother Tao.

There is never right or wrong in matters within the inner house.

Lu Yonggui didn't want to get involved.

He pretended not to know, forced a smile, and said, "Tao Cheng is a very cautious person. If he has a hobby, it's that he likes to drink a little. Unfortunately, he can't drink very well, and nine out of ten times he gets drunk."

Eleventh Lady smiled and nodded, saying, "Since Manager Lu knows Tao Cheng so well, I think we should ask Manager Lu to step in on something."

Lu Yonggui secretly complained in his heart, but there was no other way. He smiled and said, "Fourth Madam was originally a daughter of the Luo family, and I was originally a servant of the Luo family. I can't write two Luo characters with one stroke. If Madam has anything to do, I will take the responsibility. But I am a foolish person, so if there is anything I am not considerate of, please forgive me, Fourth Madam."

Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "Speaking of which, this matter is also very simple. Tao Cheng loves wine and gets drunk nine times out of ten. I wonder if he will be cheated if he talks to others about buying land after drinking!" After that, she looked at Lu Yonggui with a smile, "Please ask Manager Lu to help investigate this matter. This way, it will not be discovered by others and ruin the reputation of our Luo family."

Lu Yonggui took a breath and whispered after a while: "Since it is Madam's order, I will do my best to do it!"

Eleventh Lady nodded with satisfaction and served tea to the guest.

More than half a month later, Tao Cheng hurried into the mansion to see his mother.

Mother Tao pulled out the feather duster that was stuck on the incense table and started hitting people.

Tao Cheng held his head and said, "Who wouldn't be tempted by three hundred acres of thriving wheat fields? How do I know that guy is not a landlord?"

"You still dare to argue!" You know what you raised yourself, "Did you sign the deed with someone while drunk?"

Tao Cheng didn't dare to admit it, he gritted his teeth and said, "No, absolutely not."

Now that things have come to this, beating or scolding is of no use.

Mother Tao was angry. She went to the inner room and asked Tao Cheng, "How much silver is missing?" She was thinking about how to help her son make up the difference.

Tao Cheng said timidly: "Two, two thousand taels!"

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Make up for the extra update on March 4th!

PS: I’ll post a draft first and catch bugs tomorrow.

O(∩_∩)O~