Chapter 446 Returning Home (Part 1)

Ever since that night when Xu Sizhen got into trouble, Eleventh Lady has never seen the fragrance of tea again.

In the face of survival, everyone is an ant.

Eleventh Lady didn't want Xu Sizhen to be exposed to these things too early, but she also didn't want to lie to him.

"Chaxiang is your personal maid, and her responsibility is to take good care of you. In the middle of the night, she took you out without informing the Madam and Madam Du, and made a decision that she shouldn't have made. She has failed in her duty. It is impossible for her to come back to serve you."

Xu Sizhe was stunned.

He asked many people, including Mother Du, and they all said that as long as he took good care of himself and recovered, the lady would be happy and maybe let Chaxiang come back to serve people. This was the first time someone told him so clearly that Chaxiang would never come back.

"But," Xu Sizhen couldn't help but defend Chaxiang, "I asked her to take me out. Chaxiang was just following orders."

"She is older than you and knows more than you. That's why the lady let her serve in your room and let her take care of Biluo and the others." Whether it's adults or children, it's a rare opportunity for people to communicate like this. Shiyi Niang answered Xu Sizhen patiently and carefully, "You are wrong. She should point it out and stop you. If she can't stop you because of the difference between master and servant, she should tell her mother Du who is in charge of her. Instead of making a decision privately and taking you out."

Xu Sizhen lowered his eyelids.

What his mother said made sense, but for some reason, he always felt something was wrong!

After thinking for a long time, he said, "But, but she is just a maid?"

"Yes!" Eleventh Lady laughed, "So some maids and servants became managers and mothers, some maids were sent out to marry when they reached a certain age, and servants could only run errands for the managers until they were old. Some maids and servants could get a monthly allowance of two taels of silver and were often rewarded by their masters, while some maids and servants had no monthly allowance and were often punished.

This also depends on whether the person doing the work is serious or not.”

Xu Sizhen listened and nodded slowly.

Eleventh Lady smiled and hugged his shoulders: "Okay, let's rest early! Yesterday morning, we had to ask the steward of the outer courtyard to help Mother Tao deliver the three sacrificial animals!"

Xu Sizhen's face showed sadness again.

Some things need to be done slowly.

Eleventh Lady watched Xu Sinye lie down, covered him with a thin quilt, moved the lamp to the outer room, gave the wet nurse a few instructions, and then left the room.

The old lady hadn't rested yet, she was talking to Madam Du. When she saw Shiyi Niang coming out, she smiled and waved at her: "Come and sit down!"

Eleventh Lady smiled and sat down next to the Taifu Lady, who took her hand and asked, "Did you go and tell Brother Zhe about Madam Tao?"

Mother Du personally brought a cup of hot tea.

Eleventh Lady nodded: "I did!" She added, "I came out only after I saw him rest."

The lady sighed softly, and then said, "Mother Du went to see Aunt Qin today, and she is not in a good condition. Not only did she talk incoherently, but even Mother Du didn't recognize her. I think you should send someone to Le'an to get Yu Ge'er back as soon as possible."

Everyone present knew that Concubine Qin was ill. When Mother Du came back from Luoye Mountain, Concubine Qin's illness worsened... Eleventh Lady's expression was slightly gloomy, and she replied "yes".

At night, thinking about what happened during this period, I couldn't sleep at all, but I didn't want to wake up Xu Lingyi beside me, so I stared at the sachet on the top of the tent in a daze. Xu Siyu was not Xu Siyu, who could be comforted by a few words.

Reading a thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. In the past two years, he has been running between Yanjing and Le'an, and studying with the world-famous Mr. Jiang. He is no longer the second young master who was raised by his wife in the Marquis's house. Unfortunately, the people in the mansion rarely communicate with him and don't know much about his changes. Telling him everything that Aunt Qin did, for Xu Lingyi, the lady, and even herself, although the responsibilities have been clearly defined, what about the feelings?

Can feelings be separated by responsibility?

Who will come to comfort and guide this fourteen-year-old boy? Eleventh Lady thought of the Second Lady!

She still remembered that when Xu Siyu wanted to change his servant, Aunt Qin had hurriedly sent a letter to the Second Madam who was far away in Xishan... Aunt Qin did not look for the Madam Tai or Xu Lingyi, but only looked for the Second Madam, and the Second Madam did not disappoint her and immediately arranged for Xiaolu to serve Xu Siyu. Is it true that in Aunt Qin's heart, the Second Madam is a person she trusts more than the Madam Tai and Xu Lingyi? And Xu Siyu, after listening to the words of the Second Madam, put his worries aside and went to Le'an happily. Every time he came back from Le'an, he would respectfully pay his respects to the Second Madam and discuss academic matters with her. Is it true that in Xu Siyu's heart, the Second Madam is a person who is more trustworthy than Xu Lingyi and Aunt Qin?

When everything Aunt Qin did was laid out before Xu Siyu, given the relationship between the Second Madam and Qin's mother and son, could she be asked to come forward to comfort Xu Siyu?

While she was thinking, a pair of strong arms gently lifted her up.

"What are you thinking about?" Xu Lingyi's mellow voice sounded in her ears, with a kind of comforting warmth, "Can't sleep?"

"Hmm!" Eleventh Lady leaned into Xu Lingyi's arms, "Thinking about what happened these days..."

Xu Lingyi was silent for a moment, then said, "I also know...you are pregnant now...there are some things that your mother should help you with...but you will have to take over these things sooner or later..." There was a rare hesitation in his tone.

"My Lord, don't worry about me." Indeed, this was one of her responsibilities. Shiyi Niang whispered, "I'm just a little worried about Yu Ge'er. I'm afraid that when he finds out that Aunt Qin..."

Xu Lingyi lowered his head slightly and kissed Shiyi Niang on the forehead.

"Brother Yu is not like Brother Zhe." He said in a low voice, "He is smart, careful, and determined. It is still unclear whether he was involved in this matter."

Eleventh Lady was stunned.

Xu Lingyi said, "Even if he has understood the truth in the past two years with Mr. Jiang, if you don't tell him clearly, he will definitely guess and it will easily cause some trouble. Maybe, after a few years, he will accidentally bring up the matter of witches and snakes, which will make things worse. If you tell him clearly, even if he is sad, he will get over it quickly with his personality. It will be better for him in the future."

This was the first time that Xu Lingyi evaluated Xu Siyu so frankly in front of her.

If we exclude the difference between legitimate and illegitimate children, in Xu Lingyi's heart, he probably thinks Xu Siyu is more suitable than Xu Sizhen to be the heir of Yongping Marquis, right?

Is it because of this that his feelings are particularly deep?

Eleventh Lady held Xu Lingyi's big hand on her waist and said, "I don't think Yu Ge'er is that kind of person!"

Xu Lingyi knew what she was referring to.

Emotionally, he didn't believe it.

But rationally, he would be suspicious even without evidence.

This kind of thing makes people feel uncomfortable just thinking about it.

Xu Lingyi didn't want to talk more with Shiyi Niang.

"Go to sleep! If you have anything to say, wait until he comes back."

Yes, it’s all groundless to say anything now. We will know the truth only when Xu Siyu comes back.

The day soon came to late June, and the lotus flowers in Biyou Lake were in full bloom, filling the yard with the extremely rich evening fragrance of the lotus flowers.

Someone came from Cangzhou to discuss the betrothal gift.

There are many etiquettes for a wealthy family to marry off their daughter, and they emphasize that they should raise their heads to marry a girl and lower their heads to marry a daughter-in-law. In addition to being reserved, it is possible to discuss a marriage for three to five years. Calculating the date agreed upon with the Shao family, it is time for the two families to sit down and discuss the marriage.

At this stage of marriage, it was no longer the women's business. Xu Lingyi and the managers of the outer courtyard were in charge. Madam Wen was very nervous and repeatedly checked the dowry list with Donghong, fearing that something might be missed.

Eleventh Lady did some calculations.

Xu Lingyi first took out 20,000 taels of silver, and later added another 10,000 taels. But considering the dowry that Madam Wen prepared for Zhen Jie'er, it would be impossible to get it without 40,000 or 50,000 taels of silver. In addition, Xu Lingyi also prepared about 20,000 taels of silver worth of land and real estate for Zhen Jie'er... Zhen Jie'er, it seems, has become a little rich lady.

She couldn't help but wonder in her heart, with Xu Siyu, Xu Sizhen, Xu Siqi, and the baby in her belly, how much money would Xu Lingyi have to spend to complete all these tasks!

When she had time, Eleventh Lady went to the palace.

The eldest princess was pretty, lively and lovely, and the emperor and the empress loved her like a treasure. Contrary to their usual practice, they did not set up a separate room in the palace to give her to a nanny, but instead kept her in Kunning Palace with the empress.

When Eleventh Lady arrived, the one-year-old eldest princess was being led by the Empress Dowager and practicing walking.

The Empress Dowager exempted her from the formalities and went to the side hall to talk with her.

"It's such hot weather, and it's the heaviest month. If you have anything to say, just send General Xu to the palace and tell me."

Captain Xu is Xu Lingkuan.

Eleventh Lady thought of the good personal relationship between the Empress and the Second Lady, and that the Second Lady was a straightforward person, so she smiled and said, "I would never visit you for no reason, so why would I bother the Fifth Master?"

The Empress was not annoyed, and even smiled. She asked the maid to bring a golden stool for her to sit on, and ordered the Huang female official to bring lotus seed and lily soup for Shiyi Niang.

Eleventh Lady thanked him, half-sitting on the brocade stool, drank the lotus seed and lily soup, and explained the purpose of her visit: "...Sister Zhen is about to discuss marriage with the Shao family, and would like to thank you for your blessing to enjoy the first table of Fu Lu Shou San Weng."

"What's the matter? Why do you need to come to the palace?" The Queen said with a smile, "I'll go to the storehouse and take a closer look. I'll find three statues that are small but exquisitely crafted."

This was exactly what Shi Niang wanted, and the expression on Shiyi Niang's face relaxed a little.

The Empress looked at her and nodded secretly. She started to talk to her about her parents, and the topic naturally turned to pregnancy and childbirth: "…It's the beginning of October, right? The Marquis is having trouble having children, and Doctor Liu has come to report to me, so I've calculated the date. There's a woman named Peng in the palace, and she was the one who delivered me when I gave birth. She also knows a little about medicine. I think she's good, so I've kept her in the palace temporarily, just to prepare for your use when you give birth. When the time comes, let her deliver the baby for you. Don't worry about the wet nurse. When the time comes, I'll choose two or three good-looking ones from the wet nurse's mansion to serve you."

As he was speaking, a eunuch came over from the Crown Princess's side.

"Congratulations to Her Majesty, the Crown Princess is pregnant."

"Ah!" The Queen Mother and Eleventh Lady were both surprised.

The Queen Mother even laughed and said, "These two children have such a good relationship..." Then she said to Eleventh Lady, "I hope we can change the tire this time."