Eleventh Lady was not polite and ate two pieces in a row, then drank a few sips of chicken soup before putting down her chopsticks.

"My Lord, you've come back at this time, but has there been any progress over there?" She looked at Xu Lingyi, her eyes showing concern. "I heard from the maid that a mask was found behind Yan Rong's room. Or does my Lord have something to ask me?"

There was no cry of injustice or complaint. Eleventh Lady spoke slowly and calmly with a sincere and frank attitude.

Xu Lingyi was quite surprised.

When he left, behind Eleventh Lady's seemingly docile appearance was a coldness and alienation that kept him at a distance. But in the blink of an eye, even after Eleventh Lady knew about Yanrong House and discovered the mask, her coldness and alienation towards him suddenly melted away, and instead there was a kind of sympathy and mutual support.

It's no wonder that Xu Lingyi is suspicious since he keeps going back and forth.

Eleventh Lady felt vaguely guilty when she thought that he could still trust her when the safety of his offspring was at stake, and when she thought about her own doubts about him.

There is no greater virtue than correcting your mistakes.

Besides, I am not such a stingy person.

As she pondered, she glanced at Xu Lingyi with her big almond-shaped eyes, then drooped her eyelids in embarrassment and said in a stammering voice, "I saw that the Marquis ordered me to look at mother earlier, so I thought that the Marquis suspected that I was involved in this matter, and I couldn't help but feel a little discouraged..."

Xu Lingyi was stunned.

He didn't expect that Eleventh Lady would express her displeasure to him so frankly, but what he felt more was the throbbing in his heart because of Eleventh Lady's sincerity towards him.

"Little fool." Xu Lingyi's voice unconsciously lowered, warm and thick, like thick brown chocolate, warming people's hearts, "I saw Zhun Ge suddenly decided to go out but was frightened, I was afraid that someone would take advantage of the situation to scare you, so I asked my mother to take care of you." He also thought that the way Shiyi Niang accompanied Xiao Xin was very cute, smiled and rubbed her head, and couldn't help asking: "Then when did you know that I didn't doubt you?"

Eleventh Lady stroked her hair and called out "Marquis" in a reproachful manner. Then she said, "I heard from the little maid that you found a mask behind Yanrong's room, but asked people to continue investigating. Only then did I realize that I misunderstood the Marquis." Her cheeks flushed. "If the Marquis suspected me, he could have made Yanrong a scapegoat and stopped there. But the truth will come to light sooner or later. Yanrong's use of the scapegoat will be discovered sooner or later. By then, I will inevitably be pointed at. The Marquis believed that I had nothing to do with this matter and didn't want me to have any chance, so when he heard that the figure flashed into the main house, he made up his mind to investigate further..."

Xu Lingyi felt joy in his heart that his good intentions were felt by others.

He held Eleventh Lady in his arms: "You are so slow to realize things!"

Although he spoke words of blame, his tone was very intimate.

Eleventh Lady shyly put her arm around Xu Lingyi's waist and smiled with her face buried in his shoulder.

She also thought that since she married into the Xu family, she had never done anything shocking, but Xu Lingyi trusted her so much, which was still a bit rash.

She endured it for two rounds in her heart, but because of her frankness before, she couldn't hold it back anymore and whispered, "How can the Marquis believe that this matter has nothing to do with me?"

Xu Lingyi hugged her gently and said, "Our Eleventh Lady is delicate and hypocritical, but she has a strong character and would not do such a dirty thing!"

Shiyi Niang suddenly felt her eyes a little sore.

She closed her eyes.

There is no surprise and touching feeling in my heart, but a mess that is difficult to sort out and even difficult to disentangle.

Xu Lingyi didn't understand what was going on. He just felt that the body in his arms was soft as if it had no bones. It seemed that it was only because of his support that it didn't melt into water. He couldn't help but pat her body gently to comfort her. "It's okay. I'll take care of this!"

Eleventh Lady indulged herself for a moment, then gathered her emotions, sat up straight, and said softly, "By the way, have you found out who scared Zhun-ge?"

When mentioning this matter, Xu Lingyi's expression became slightly solemn.

"I haven't found out yet." His voice was a little low. "I locked the door first and asked the maids and old women in the room to check with each other to see if anyone was left alone." As he said this, he frowned, "I found out that the only people who were not in the room during Xu Zheng's stay were Yan Rong and Qin Shi."

"Aunt Qin!" Eleventh Lady was stunned. Something flashed through her mind and then disappeared without a trace, leaving her unable to catch it.

"Hmm!" Xu Lingyi nodded slightly, "Cui'er in Qin's room said that Qin went to visit Aunt Yi in Third Brother's room. I called Aunt Yi to ask her, and Aunt Yi and Cui'er's statements matched. Later, I asked Yanrong, and Yanrong said that she went to Cao An and asked Cao An to help bring a letter home. Linbo went to ask Cao An, and Cao An's statement was the same as Yanrong's, and he also took the letter as evidence."

Eleventh Lady listened carefully and said, "Since they are not in the yard, the gatekeeper should know when they left the house and when they came back. Did they leave from the front door or the back door..."

Seeing that she spoke one sentence after another, but every word she said made sense, Xu Lingyi smiled and said, "You know a lot," and then said, "I asked, and it happened that both of them went out the back door. Aunt Qin went out first, and Yanrong went out less than a cup of tea later. Because they both asked to help hold the door open, the old woman thought it was still early, so she didn't lock the door, but just left it ajar. As for when the two came back, if Yanrong hadn't asked her to lock the door, she would probably continue to play cards with others, and how could she tell clearly when the two came back!"

"Where are the shoes?" Shiyi Niang frowned slightly. "It rained earlier. I heard from Chaxiang that the shadow suddenly appeared, so he definitely wasn't wearing clogs. The trees next to him are all covered with moss, so there must be some dirt, moss, or something like that on his shoes."

"We checked." Xu Lingyi said, "Both said they wore wooden shoes when they went out, and although the soles of their shoes were a little wet, they were clean, without any dirt or anything like that."

"So, all the blame is directed at Yanrong?" Eleventh Lady's face grew heavy.

"I know that if it was Yanrong, why would he bring the mask back if he had just thrown it somewhere else?" Xu Lingyi said sternly, "So I asked all the people who were checking to disperse, leaving only Linbo and Zhaoying in the wing room to guard the detained Yanrong. I also asked Xiaowu to go to the place where the incident happened to see if he could find anything, and I went back here myself."

To play hard to get.

In this way, that person might let down his guard and reveal his true colors.

* * * * * *

"So, the Marquis asked Lin Bo and Zhao Ying to arrest Yan Rong?" Madam Wen's expression seemed a little uncertain.

Dong Hong nodded and whispered, "Not only that. The Marquis has also returned to the Madam's place."

If Xu Sizhun was frightened and the incident was blamed on Eleventh Lady, and Eleventh Lady was so angry that she had a miscarriage, then I'm afraid Xu Siyu would be the one ruling the mansion!

Thinking of this, Madam Wen couldn't help but pursed her lips tightly.

Does she have to make a living under the Qin family?

And Zhen Jieer, Qiu Hong...

Madam Wen's expression became more expressive.

She told Donghong: "Go find me a coin. I want to sell odd and even coins."

It was the middle of the night, and the guards had finally dispersed. My aunt didn't want to have a good sleep to rest up, but instead wanted to sell out single and double numbers.

While she was muttering to herself, she went to get a coin.

Madam Wen put her hands together, sandwiched the coin in between, and muttered, "If it's an even number, I'll tell you. If it's an odd number, that means I shouldn't tell you," and threw the money on the table on the kang.

It’s single!

"This time doesn't count, try again!" she said, picking up the coin and tossing it again.

It’s double!

She smiled widely.

* * * * * *

Aunt Qin yawned loudly, "Finally they left!" Then she sat down on the bed and said, "I think everyone will have black eyes tomorrow."

Cui'er did not find this interesting. She squatted down to take off Aunt Qin's shoes, but she was thinking about something else in her mind.

"Aunt," she said a little worriedly, "this matter should be over now, right? They won't ask you to question them alone again, right?"

"Of course." Aunt Qin smiled, "Since the investigation has led to Yan Rong, if we continue to investigate, we will only find Madam. Given the character of the Marquis, he will definitely come up with a plausible reason to end this matter."

"Then the fourth young master..."

"It's his bad luck!" Aunt Qin said disapprovingly, "There's nothing we can do about it!"

Cui'er still found it a little unconvincing.

"You've only been in the mansion for a few years." Aunt Qin sneered, "Go to sleep! You'll know after you've been in the mansion for a long time."

Cui'er said "yes" and helped Aunt Qin to rest.

* * * * * *

Qiao Lianfang had gone to bed early, but the noise had made her sleepy and she didn't feel like sleeping anymore. She was talking to Xiu Yuan about something completely unrelated to this: "You don't have to worry about me. These days, Mother Song is looking for young maids. When the time comes, go pick one. Just think of it as you serving me by my side."

Xiu Yuan's eyes were a little wet, and she said, "Auntie, how about I stay in Xu's house too! At least there's someone to take care of me!"

"No need." Qiao Lianfang was very firm. "Once you marry into the Xu family, your life or death is not up to us. You might as well take this opportunity to get married."

Xiu Li said nothing and turned over gently.

* * * * * *

Yang tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep.

If all the arrows in this matter point to Eleventh Lady, what will Xu Lingyi do?

Such an open attempt to murder the prince should be dealt with severely, both in terms of reputation and in the heart! But the second wife who was in the prime of his favor was pregnant...

It seems that the Marquis will have to rack his brains to find a plausible excuse.

Poor prince, he is a child without a mother after all.

Although I thought so in my heart, I always felt a little uneasy, as if there was something very important that I had overlooked.

* * * * * *

"Did the Marquis take a rest first? Or is he waiting for news from the Fifth Master?" Eleventh Lady asked Xu Lingyi.

"Let's wait for Xiaowu's news!" Xu Lingyi pondered, "It rains one after another. If I don't check it carefully tonight, I'm afraid it will be washed away by the rain tomorrow morning." He added, "You should rest early! Don't stay up with me."

Eleventh Lady was taking care of the baby in her belly. Just as she responded, a maid came in and said, "My Lord, Madam, Donghong from Madam Wen's side wants to see you!"

※

I can’t open my eyes anymore, so I’ll post a draft first.

PS: This is to make up for the extra update on March 5. As for this weekend's update, it will be added together with the Qingming Festival holiday!

(*^__^*) Hehehe…