Chapter 431: Crossroads (Part 2)

The second wife was always neat and tidy. She came in and asked, "How is Brother Zhe now?"

Xu Lingyi briefly explained the situation and led her to the kang where Xu Sizhen was sleeping.

In just one night, Xu Sizhen's face, which had just become a little rounder, became pointed again.

The Second Lady sat down on the kang, touched Xu Sizhen's forehead lovingly, and asked Eleventh Lady, "Where is mother?"

Before he finished speaking, the lady came out from the bathroom: "You're here!" She looked a little tired.

The second lady hurried forward to help the lady.

The Madam sat on the armchair beside the kang. Seeing Eleventh Lady following behind Xu Lingyi, she pointed to the armchair opposite her and said, "Sit down too. You are a married woman now. If not for yourself, you should also think about your children." She asked her again, "Are you hungry?" Without waiting for her to answer, she turned around and told the maid, "Go, ask the maids to prepare breakfast. The Fourth Madam can't be hungry."

The little maidservant left immediately.

Everyone sat around the lady.

Xu Lingkuan and his wife came over.

Because Xu Sizhen was ill, the Fifth Lady did not bring Xin Jie'er with her: "...for fear of disturbing Sizhen'er."

You're probably worried that Xu Sizhen might scare Xin Jie'er!

Everyone knows it and can understand it.

Xu Lingkuan looked at Xu Lingyi and said, "Fourth brother, I'll take a few days off. If you need anything, I can help you run errands."

"No need." Xu Lingyi said sternly, "Just do what you need to do! Making a big fuss will only attract the attention of outsiders."

Xu Lingyi thought for a moment and replied in a low voice, "Yes," "Then if Fourth Brother has anything to say, just tell me!"

Xu Lingyi nodded. The Madam looked at the two brothers discussing and thinking about Xu Lingkuan's good performance last night, and showed a relieved expression. She told Xu Lingkuan to "do his job well" and so on. The maids' breakfast was ready, and Madam Du came back and said, "We have arranged a carriage to pick up the fourth young master's wet nurse!"

The lady nodded helplessly, leaving Mother Du to take care of Xu Sizhen while they went to the east room to have breakfast.

Xu Lingkuan was going to be on duty, and the Fifth Lady didn't want to be involved, so she winked at the Second Lady, but the Second Lady had no intention of leaving. The Fifth Lady didn't force her either, and she said goodbye with Xu Lingkuan, using the excuse that Xin Jie'er was still alone at home.

Xu Lingyi entrusted Shiyi Niang to the Madam Dowager: "The matter in the main house is not over yet. Wait for two days, when everything is calm, I will come to pick up Shiyi Niang."

"Go and do your thing!" the lady said hurriedly, "I'm here!"

Xu Lingyi gave Shiyi Niang a deep look, then stood up and said goodbye to the lady.

The Dowager Lady, the Second Lady, and Eleventh Lady returned to the inner room and sat down on the kang. The Second Lady then asked, "What's going on?" and then told her about the Fifth Lady's visit.

The old lady did not hide anything from the second lady and told her the whole story.

When she heard that something used to make witches was found in Qin Yi Niang's room, she could not hide her shock: "Is she crazy?" Thinking of the abnormal behavior Qin Yi Niang had occasionally shown in front of her in recent years, she felt that it was reasonable and could not help but shook her head slightly, "She is too brave!"

"Who says it's not true!" The lady smiled bitterly, "I thought she was an honest and decent person, but it turns out that her foundation is too poor. She becomes arrogant at the slightest movement. In the final analysis, it's still her fate that makes her unable to bear this blessing."

The second lady thought of Xu Siyu.

When he was in swaddling clothes, he never cried or made a fuss, sleeping obediently on the kang, and giggling when he saw someone passing by. Later, when he grew up, he was very naughty. When he was sent to her, he could not sit still for a moment and fell asleep on the table with his books. She hit his palm with a ruler, and he stubbornly pursed his lips into a slit, and refused to admit his mistakes no matter what. Now, when he comes back from Le'an, he greets her politely and discusses knowledge with her in a gentle manner. All his joys, sorrows, anger and happiness are deeply hidden in his eyes, so that others will miss them if they are not careful...

Her eyes suddenly felt a little sad.

How embarrassed he was to have such a biological mother!

The second wife lowered her head, blinked, and when she raised her head again, everything was as peaceful and calm as before.

"So, Yanrong is still detained in the chamber?" she asked Shiyi Niang. "For things like this, the longer it goes on, the more rumors there will be. Some people are so obsessed with acting that they don't care about the stage.

There was nothing wrong but something has been spread, not to mention that the maidservant beside you was indeed involved. I think we have to find an excuse to release Yanrong as soon as possible!" His tone was sincere and a little worried, "And there is also Aunt Yi. We have to send a message to Third Uncle as soon as possible. No matter what she says, she cannot be tolerated for not reporting it. But she has served Third Uncle after all. Although mother has the final say, she still has to inform Third Uncle. How to deal with Aunt Yi will inevitably require discussion with Third Uncle and Third Brother's wife."

The Second Lady had considered the matter very carefully, and Eleventh Lady also agreed with her opinion on how to deal with it. However, this matter had to be discussed with Xu Lingyi.

"Second sister-in-law is right." She said tactfully, "The Marquis has already dealt with it. Besides, I don't know exactly what happened yesterday. If I say something, I will inevitably lose sight of the big picture. It's better to listen to the Marquis."

The Second Lady understood what was said and knew that this topic was not suitable to be discussed any further. She smiled and said, "That's good," and then changed the subject, and said to the Grand Lady with concern, "Mother, you are old, the Fourth Sister-in-law is pregnant, and the Fifth Sister-in-law is still worried about Xin Jie'er. I'm fine anyway, mother and the Fourth Sister-in-law can go and rest! I'll take care of Brother Zhuan here."

The Madam Tai was not polite to the Second Madam. She said, "That's fine." Then she said to Eleventh Lady, "You go to sleep. I'll take a rest too. Let Yizhen help look after Brother Zhe here."

Eleventh Lady was afraid that the baby in her belly could not bear the fatigue, so after a moment's thought, she smiled and said "yes", thanked the Second Lady, and went back to the East Branch Room to sleep, helped by Zhu Xiang and Lu Yun.

The lady went to the warm room to rest.

Shiyi Niang slept until she woke up naturally, and it was almost time for lunch.

While helping her wash and comb her hair, Zhu Xiang whispered, "Sister Amber asked the maid to come and pass on a message. She said that the Marquis went to the main house early in the morning, and did not say anything else. She asked Yan Rong to be released, and then asked Chief Steward Bai to send a few servants to arrest Yi Niang. She wrote a letter, took her name card, and asked someone to borrow the government post road to send the letter to the Third Master who was far away in Shanyang at an urgent speed of 600 miles. Everyone in the mansion was talking about it, saying that it was Yi Niang who frightened the Fourth Young Master. They also said that Yi Niang had no children and was abandoned in Yanjing by the Third Madam. She had become a little crazy and would bite anyone she met!"

Shiyi Niang wiped her sweat and said, "If that's the case, do the maids in the mansion believe it?"

"I don't know whether they believe it or not." Zhu Xiang suppressed a laugh. "Anyway, everyone is talking about this matter, and you add a sentence. He adds a sentence, and everyone thinks that what they say is the truth. The more they talk, the more outrageous it becomes. Even a few days ago, when Yi Niang punished a little maid who broke a bowl and made her kneel in the yard, it was said that Yi Niang wanted to be the mistress and was crazy. She took advantage of the Third Madam's absence to show off her power as the mistress. She even held on to such trivial matters. It was also said that Yi Niang clearly ordered the kitchen to fry eggs for her, but the kitchen made them and sent them over. She insisted that it was fried quail that she was asked to cook, and she even went to the kitchen to make a scene because of this matter. Maybe her brain was not working well at that time!"

Silence can really make rumors fly!

"What about Concubine Qin?" Shiyi Niang pondered, "How was Concubine Qin dealt with?"

"The Marquis did nothing." Zhu Xiang's face flashed with admiration. "Sister Amber said that the Marquis asked Mother Song to pass a message to several concubines this morning, saying that the Fourth Young Master was frightened, and the Madam had to take care of the Fourth Young Master at the Madam's place, and that the morning and evening visits in the past few days would be omitted. When we arrived at Concubine Qin's courtyard, Concubine Qin's face was pale and yellow, with plasters on her temples, as if she had suffered a serious illness, and she looked ten years older. She was as frightened as a crow. She pulled Mother Song and said, She was dying, so she asked Mama Song to find a doctor for her, and asked Mama Song to take a letter to the second young master who was far away in Le'an, asking him to come back to see her for the last time. "As he spoke, his eyes dimmed, "And Cui'er, Mama Song hugged Mama Song's thigh as soon as she came in, saying that she knew nothing about Aunt Qin, let alone her family. She asked Mama Song to tell Madam to give her a bowl of medicine to drink, and not to involve her family. I will work like a cow or a horse in my next life to repay Madam's kindness."

Eleventh Lady was silent after hearing this. After a long while, she said quietly, "Tell Cui'er something. If you think about the time when you will be rewarded with a bowl of medicine, you can't say anything at this moment."

Zhu Xiang nodded.

The two of them combed their hair and put on their hairpins in silence, then went to the lady's inner room.

The second wife was sitting on the kang reading a book, while Xu Sizhen was still asleep.

Seeing her go in, the second wife put down the book in her hand, pointed to a burning incense in the corner, then quietly walked forward and whispered, "Brother Zhue was a little restless before, and Madam Du held him and coaxed him for a long time, so I lit a homemade sleeping incense."

Eleventh Lady nodded, and the Second Lady motioned for her to go out and talk.

The two of them sat down in the west room.

"I've been thinking about it for a long time. I have to give Brother Yu a letter."

It is not an exaggeration to say that Xu Siyu grew up under the Second Lady's wing. It is only natural for her to think about how to comfort Xu Siyu when Qin Yi Niang got into trouble. Eleventh Lady herself was also considering this issue.

Now that I heard Second Madam bring up this topic, I also want to hear her opinion.

She considered, "What does Second Sister-in-law mean?"

The Second Madam pondered, "Yu-ge'er is not young anymore, and he is studying under Mr. Jiang. I think we should tell Yu-ge'er everything about this matter! He knows the inside story. First, he will not hear some rumors and keep them in his heart when he returns home, which will ruin the father-son relationship between him and the Marquis. Second, he will also know his current situation. Even if Aunt Qin whispered something in his ear, it was all flowers in the mirror and the moon in the water. It is better to study hard and find a way to establish his own family. Third, he is in Le'an now. If there is anything he can't figure out, he can ask Mr. Jiang for advice. With Mr. Jiang's guidance, he will not be depressed to the point of decadence."

The evening extra update is a bit late, so let’s get up early tomorrow morning to watch it!