Jiexiang looked at the Second Madam in confusion.

The Second Madam said calmly, "Think about it, the radish is still covered with mud after being pulled out. If the Marquis doesn't trust the Fourth Madam, he will be like he did back then. Not only will he not investigate, but he will also help hide the truth and try to get the matter over with as quickly as possible." She showed a thoughtful expression, "The Marquis looks very gentle, but he is very conceited in his bones. Knowing that the man had entered the main house, he not only wanted to investigate, but also asked the Fifth Master to help him and investigated it with great fanfare. And the first place he investigated was the main house where the Fourth Madam lived. I dare not say anything else, at least, he believes that the Fourth Madam has absolutely nothing to do with this matter. Otherwise, he would not have entrusted the Fourth Madam to the Grand Madam at this time... If we say who our Fourth Madam trusts the most, it is probably the Grand Madam!" As she spoke, her expression became solemn, "I hope our Marquis did not make a mistake this time! Otherwise, the matter will be so big that there is no way to end it!"

Jiexiang fell silent when she thought about what happened in the past.

The room fell silent, with only the sound of waves of bamboo hitting the sky.

* * * * * *

Mother Du stood in front of the lady, listening to the rustling sound of rain hitting the branches. Even though she was an old woman with many years of experience, she couldn't help but tremble with fear.

"Asleep!" The lady looked down at Xu Sizhun.

"Yes!" Mother Du's answer was more cautious than usual. "Humber said that the fourth lady was too tired. Knowing that the fourth young master was fine, she fell asleep on the beauty couch. I saw that the fourth lady was sleeping soundly, so I didn't wake her up."

The lady's eyes gleamed and she stood up: "Let's go and take a look!"

Mother Du didn't dare to say a word and followed the lady to the east room.

The bean-sized light dimly illuminated the quiet room. Eleventh Lady's sleeping face was calm and peaceful.

The lady stood in front of the couch, staring for a long time, then retreated as quietly as she had come.

Amber breathed a sigh of relief.

The lady stopped in the hall.

"Go to the main house and see how the investigation goes."

The lady's expression was serious.

Mother Du murmured "yes" and hurried out of the hall.

The lady stayed alone for a long time, then slowly went to the inner room.

Xu Sizhun slept soundly. The lady sat down beside him gently, tucked in the corners of the quilt for him, and then closed her eyes and leaned against the pillow at the head of the kang.

The flame jumped and made crackling sounds.

Mother Du walked in tiptoe.

"Madam," she said, with undisguised worry in her voice, "Master Wu found a mask behind the house where Yanrong lived."

The lady suddenly opened her eyes, and in the dim room, there was a sharpness as a knife.

"What does the Lord say?"

Mother Du paused and whispered, "The Marquis asked us to check again."

The lady slowly closed her eyes again.

Is he investigating further because he is confident that this matter will not involve Shiyi Niang? Or is he a little impatient with this kind of thing happening again and again and is determined to make some changes?

The clock in the room chimed nine times.

Mother Du hesitated for a long time: "Madam, this is not something that can be decided in a short time. I think you should take a break first. I will take care of the Fourth Young Master here. When the Fourth Young Master wakes up tomorrow morning, you will have to personally guide us to help him calm down!"

The lady shook her head slightly: "I'll wait here!" Her attitude was very firm.

Mother Du didn't dare to say more and took the thin quilt and put it on the lady.

The lady said quietly, "Do you think this matter has anything to do with Eleventh Lady?" Her tone was full of doubt.

All the hairs on Mother Du's body stood up.

"Fourth Madam is a smart person," she said carefully, "she would never do such a thing!"

Only talk about intelligence, not honesty.

The lady turned her head and looked at Xu Sizhun.

"This child is unlucky after all." There was a hint of pity in the sigh.

Mother Du couldn't guess what the lady meant, so she whispered, "Since the fourth young master has a lady, how can he be unlucky? Just calm down. Didn't Taoist Changchun also say that the fourth young master has 'three disasters'? This is exactly the unprovoked disaster. Once the fourth young master gets over this hurdle, everything will be fine in the future..."

The lady didn't listen seriously. Before Madam Du finished speaking, she suddenly asked, "If this matter is really related to Eleventh Lady, should I turn a blind eye? Or... intervene and take care of it?"

The old lady had a smooth life in her early years and had a bad temper. Later, because of the death of the second master, the involvement of the old marquis, the remote hometown of the marquis... a lot of things happened, and the old lady gradually restrained her temper. But after all, she had developed a bad temper since she was a child, otherwise, she would not have desperately sought medical treatment with Yuanniang and begged for the fourth young master. In the final analysis, the old lady was just unwilling to accept it and did not believe that she had no legitimate grandson. Now that she is old, she has met the saying of "the oldest is the youngest", and her temper has become more and more unrestrained. Others are not clear about the changes in the old lady, but Mother Du knows it very well.

If the lady had made up her mind to intervene, she would have sent her to ask, why would she hesitate like this? She was obviously afraid that this matter was related to Eleventh Lady, so she wanted to smooth things over. But thinking of Xu Sizhun, who had lost his mother since childhood and grew up by his side, she couldn't help feeling a little guilty and was a little undecided.

It would be fine if the lady had made up her mind, but if she couldn't, it would be a serious matter and Mother Du didn't dare to get involved.

"That shouldn't be the case!" She said ambiguously, "The Marquis and the Fifth Master have already gone to investigate. There should be news tomorrow morning."

The lady did not need Mother Du's answer. Whether to intervene or not was a dilemma. She just wanted to strengthen her determination.

"No matter if it has anything to do with her or not." The old lady murmured, "Her calmness alone is enough to carry this family business... I'm old, and Yizhen is just my sister-in-law after all... If the name is not right and the words are not smooth, it will easily cause trouble..." The old lady said, her eyes fell on Xu Sizhun's sleeping face again, "...but what about this child... Can we really let him fend for himself..." At this point, two tears fell from the corners of her eyes, "What is destined to happen will happen, and what is not destined to happen should not be forced. In this matter, I was wrong..."

* * * * * *

Because she had something on her mind, Eleventh Lady couldn't sleep well.

After taking a nap for two hours, she woke up.

I turned my head and saw Amber sitting blankly beside the couch.

"What time is it now?" Eleventh Lady asked softly.

Amber was startled, and after calming herself down, she looked at the floor clock: "It's three quarters past midnight." Then she turned around and poured a glass of warm water for Eleventh Lady.

Eleventh Lady drank some water and asked her lazily, "Is there any news from over there?"

Amber hesitated for a moment and whispered, "I heard from Yuban that Master Wu found a mask behind Yanrong's room."

Eleventh Lady's expression became serious and she sat up: "What did the Marquis say?"

"My Lord," Amber stammered, "My Lord asked me to continue investigating!"

Eleventh Lady was stunned for a long while before she leaned gently against the beauty's backrest. There was a faint smile in the corners of her eyes and brows, as if she couldn't help it.

Amber looked at it strangely.

Even though such a big thing happened, the lady didn't rush to find a solution and acted as if nothing had happened.

Eleventh Lady had already told her: "Go see if there is anything to eat. I'm a little hungry."

Amber was stunned.

Eleventh Lady said, "If you don't eat enough, how will you work later?" She then laughed and said, "Go quickly!" There was an unusual liveliness and cheerfulness in her words and actions, and she didn't seem worried at all.

Puzzled, Hubo told the maid outside the door to ask. The maid did not dare to neglect and hurried to report to Mother Du.

Mother Du was speechless: "Are you hungry?"

The fact that a mask was found behind the house where Yanrong lived was revealed to Shiyi Niang by Madam Du according to the instructions of the Madam Dowager.

She couldn't help but look at the lady.

The lady nodded slightly and glanced at Xu Sizhun, her eyes revealing a hint of determination: "See what she wants to eat and ask the kitchen to make it for her!"

Mother Du left immediately.

"No need to bother." Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "See what the small kitchen has prepared for the Madam. Just get some to fill your stomach." Then she asked, "Has the Madam gone to bed? How is Zhun'er?"

"The fourth young master has taken the medicine and fallen asleep." Mother Du thought about the lady's instructions and smiled, "The lady also fell asleep beside the fourth young master." And thinking that it would take time to light the stove and cook at this time, the small kitchen prepared wolfberry, lotus seeds, ginseng, black chicken soup, and yam cake for the lady today. They are all invigorating and easy to digest, so she asked the maid to bring them.

Eleventh Lady moved to sit on the big kang by the window. She had just taken a few sips of chicken soup when she heard a noise outside.

Amber was about to go out to take a look when Xu Lingyi lifted the curtain and came in.

When the two met, they were both a little surprised.

This one thought, since there was an unexpected situation, the examination would definitely take a long time, and she didn't expect him to show up so soon; that one thought was that when she left, she had taken refuge alone in the east room, and although Doctor Liu said that she was fine, she was still a little worried, and she never expected that she would be sitting on the kang eating and drinking as if nothing had happened.

"My Lord, are you hungry?" Eleventh Lady was the first to react. "Do you want some more? Chicken soup is best for people who stay up late!"

"Oh!" Xu Lingyi quickly returned to normal after a brief moment of confusion, "You eat! I'm not hungry!" As he said that, his eyes fell on her abdomen.

Eleventh Lady hurriedly said, "Don't worry, My Lord, Doctor Liu said everything is fine. I feel fine too." Then she told her about what happened after he left.

When Xu Lingyi heard that she had slept for a while, a smile flashed in his eyes, and he sat on the kang opposite her: "That's good!"

Sitting closer, Shiyi Niang noticed that there was still some moisture on the ends of his hair, and told Humber: "Get some hot water and wipe the Marquis' face!"

Amber responded and left.

Seeing that Xu Lingyi did not object, Shiyi Niang knew that he was not going to leave after just sitting there. After the maid brought tea, she asked Xu Lingyi, "Has the Marquis met Brother Zhun?"

"I see!" Xu Lingyi took a sip of tea, then took a long breath, with deep worry between his brows, "We'll know what happens when we wake up tomorrow!"

The implication is that Xu Sizun's situation is not clear.

Eleventh Lady remained silent.

Amber fetched water.

Xu Lingyi wiped his face and sat down again. Seeing that Shiyi Niang's chopsticks were placed aside without moving, he pointed at the snow-white yam cake shaped like a crabapple flower and said, "Eat it quickly! Be careful not to get cold."

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It’s very late to add more...

PS: Post a draft first!