In the next few days, the baby in her belly was playing hide-and-seek with Xu Lingyi. If Xu Lingyi casually put his hand on Shiyi Niang's belly, the baby would move impromptu, but if Xu Lingyi touched him carefully, he would remain motionless.

Xu Lingyi was looking forward to this child: "He will definitely be a very lively person!"

Eleventh Lady smiled brightly.

There's only a fine line between being lively and being naughty!

A few days later, the Gan family sent a red invitation with gold sprinkled on it.

Cao E's wedding date was set on the tenth day of September.

"It's better to get married sooner." Eleventh Lady and Xu Lingyi sighed, "If I stay in that house, I don't know what will happen! Although I am unfamiliar with my husband's family, I will feel more at ease knowing that I have a dowry in my hands."

Xu Lingyi smiled and said nothing.

Not every family can resist the temptation of a daughter-in-law's dowry. Without a strong family, it is difficult for a woman to keep her dowry.

"When Cao E gets married, will you send her off?" He is worried about this issue now.

Eleventh Lady knew Xu Lingyi's intentions and said with a smile, "I won't go on the day she gets married. But I want to personally deliver the extra boxes of things to her, and also take this opportunity to say goodbye to Cao E."

But Cao E married to Fujian, so maybe we will never have the chance to meet again in this life!

Xu Lingyi nodded slightly.

Eleventh Lady took advantage of the cool day after the rain to go to the residence of Marquis Zhongqin.

There was no joy of marrying off a daughter in the mansion. Instead, the faces of the maids and old women were filled with cautious fear.

Madam Gan took the plum blossom cold enamel tea set that Eleventh Lady had added to the box for Cao E and gave a somewhat forced smile: "Thank you for trouble, Madam Fourth, to come all the way here." Then she accompanied Eleventh Lady to Cao E.

Seeing that Madam Gan's eyes were a little cold, Cao'e poured a cup of tea for Shiyi Niang herself. Her expression softened a lot and she asked Shiyi Niang, "Are you okay?" Her eyes fell on her bulging belly.

"Very good!" Eleventh Lady smiled and tactfully explained the purpose of her visit.

Cao E had guessed the purpose of the visit and said with a smile, "It's my own fault for not choosing well."

Madam Gan was a little displeased when she heard this and said, "This date was calculated by the Imperial Astronomical Observatory. If we had listened to your eldest brother and set it in October, which happens to be the day when the fourth lady gave birth, then it would be even more impossible for it to come!"

Cao'e didn't even look at her, let alone answer. When she finished, she smiled and said to Shiyi Niang, "I just didn't expect you to come so early." Then she ordered the little maid beside her, "Go, take out my royal blue bundle." She turned her head and looked at Shiyi Niang, "Mother said that she was a widow and was afraid that it would be unlucky. So she asked me to make some clothes, shoes and socks for the unborn young master... and a cloak, but it's just a few stitches away. I'll have it done in two days and send the little maid to deliver it." As she spoke, the little maid came in with a big bundle.

Eleventh Lady was very grateful and hurriedly stood up to thank him: "You have needlework to do yourself, so please help me make small clothes."

"My mother has already prepared my things." Cao E said with a smile, "I just took them out from the storehouse. Madam, you are welcome!"

Every word was directed at Madam Gan. Madam Gan stood aside, feeling embarrassed and looking very unhappy, but she couldn't say anything in front of Eleventh Lady.

Every family has its own problems.

Eleventh Lady pretended not to see it and asked Zhu Xiang to pay her respects to Madam Gan on her behalf, then she stood up and said goodbye.

When she returned home, Amber, dressed as a woman, was talking to Mother Song under the eaves.

Seeing Eleventh Lady, they hurried forward to pay their respects. Mother Song smiled and said, "We came specially to pay our respects to you, but you ended up going to the residence of the Earl of Zhongqin."

At the end of July, Shiyi Niang asked Madam Wen to arrange Hubo's marriage, and asked General Manager Bai to vacate three rooms in the West Group House for Hubo to use as a new house. On the first day of August, Hubo was happily married off. She was told to return to the house to work in October, but she didn't expect to come today.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Eleventh Lady was helped into the house by Amber, "But what's the matter?"

"I have something to ask of you!" Amber said, looking at Mother Song with a smile.

Mother Song also smiled.

Eleventh Lady climbed onto the kang awkwardly and said with a smile, "What's the matter? You're so mysterious."

Mother Song smiled and sent the servant away: "Guan Qing wants to ask Madam to keep someone!"

The one belonging to Guan Qing’s family is Amber.

It took Eleventh Lady a while to get used to this title.

These days, she is selecting a maid in her room.

"I heard about this incident accidentally, and that's why I had this idea." Amber explained in a low voice, "There's a girl named Xiulian who has been engaged to a guard named Wu Liu from the Outer Court since she was a child. I heard from Guan Qing that Wu Liu's father was originally a bodyguard, and his family has inherited good martial arts skills, which is highly valued by the manager of the Sui Dai Office. As for Xiulian, I also secretly went to see her. She is fair-skinned, good at needlework, and has a gentle temperament. Whether she can become a maid depends on her luck, but she can afford to be a second-class maid."

The outer courtyard of the Marquis's mansion has a general manager who manages the general affairs of the outer courtyard. He has thirteen managers under him, who are in charge of the Huihui Office, the Suiwei Office, the study, the office, the storehouse, the ancestral hall, the kitchen, the tea room, the sewing room, the watch room, the stable, the farm, and the shop. Among them, the Huihui Office is responsible for the interpersonal relations and reception of guests in the mansion; the office is responsible for the account books and money transactions in the mansion; the Suiwei Office is responsible for the guards of the mansion. These three offices can best reflect the movements of the entire Marquis's mansion.

Now Wan Daxian is in the office, Guan Qing and Cao An are in the warehouse, and Chang Xuezhi is in the Huihui Office. Guan Qing can no longer stay in the warehouse because of Amber. Huihui Office and the farm are the most profitable. The former can receive red envelopes from customers, and the latter can falsely report the rent of the farm to make a profit. These two places are either the lady's people, or Xu Lingyi or Xu Lingkuan's people. It is not easy to get in, and it is also difficult to get in. In addition, Guan Qing has no martial arts skills, so the best result is to arrange him to a nearby shop or farm.

The story of Aunt Qin made Eleventh Lady deeply feel the fragility of life under the hierarchy.

Perhaps this kind of thing also existed in her original society that emphasized equality and freedom, but she was not a member of a special class, so the impact was not as strong as this time.

This also made her more determined in her plan - since she couldn't be as decisive and ruthless as the Madam Dowager, she should slowly hand over the power of managing the household affairs to the Crown Prince's wife after the Ninth Miss Jiang came into the family!

But Shiyi Niang knew very well that people change with the environment. After she handed over her power, if she relied entirely on Xu Sizun's filial piety to live a dignified life, it would only be an ideal, and she would only become the second Mrs. Gan! She needs to keep abreast of the Xu family's movements at all times and know everything. Make correct judgments when encountering conflicts and protect her own rights and interests. Otherwise, how could there be the aphorism "Don't have the intention to harm others, but be on guard against others"?

But to achieve this, you need connections. To be more precise, you need people in the office, the response office, and the reception office...

Eleventh Lady instructed Mother Song without any hesitation: "You should handle this matter yourself."

Mother Song responded solemnly.

Eleventh Lady went to the lady's place.

"Amber came to greet me today." She said to the old lady when a game of mahjong was over. "I want to find a job for Guan Qing. I thought they just got married and are a young couple, so I came to ask Madam for a favor and give Guan Qing a job in the capital."

The lady laughed and said, "I don't care about these things now. Just discuss it with the fourth brother!"

Eleventh Lady sat down next to the Dowager Lady and said, "You should talk to the Marquis about it!" She looked as if she was not sure what to say.

The lady looked at her and laughed.

I specifically talked about this matter with Xu Lingyi in the evening.

Xu Lingyi was slightly surprised. Looking at Eleventh Lady, who was sitting hand in hand with the Lady Dowager affectionately, he responded respectfully.

When he returned to the house, he couldn't help laughing at her: "You really only know how to please your mother!"

"What do you mean by flattering me?" Eleventh Lady said angrily, "I am showing respect!"

"Oh!" Xu Lingyi raised his eyebrows and looked at her with an ambiguous expression, "Then how about you respect me, the one who arranged this!"

Eleventh Lady thought of the excitement that was ready to come out of him when he stuck to her buttocks in the mornings these few days... Her face flushed, but she didn't respond to him. She took the tea from the maid and handed it to him, bowing respectfully: "My lord, please have some tea!" Her eyes were sparkling with a hint of teasing.

Xu Lingyi laughed, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her hard on the cheek.

He thought that such a clever Eleventh Lady was very cute.

* * * * * *

Within a few days, Fangxi and Qiuyu in Eleventh Lady's room were promoted to second-class maids, and three new maids, Xiulian, Yumei and Honglian, were added.

Eleventh Lady focused her energy on finding a husband for Luyun, and before she knew it, it was time to enjoy the feast and eat crabs.

Ji Ting had already planted some famous species, and had piled up a small mountain of crabs in the Madam Tai's courtyard. He also placed crabs in vases and cups in each room. Looking around, the entire Yongping Marquis' inner courtyard was full of crabs. Grandma Hongda from Nanjing had four baskets of crabs sent over. Xu Lingkuan clamored to have a banquet at home, to listen to operas, appreciate flowers, and eat crabs.

Crabs are cold food, and Shiyi Niang cannot eat them cold, and Xu Sizhun dare not touch them.

The lady laughed and said, "Why have a banquet with four baskets of crabs? If you want to eat and play, go outside and do it. Don't stay at home and keep people's mouths full." She asked Madam Du to give the four baskets of crabs away: "One basket for the old marquis in Hongdeng Hutong, one basket for Madam Huang in Yongchang Marquis's Mansion, one basket for Madam Lin next door, and one basket for Fourth Aunt."

The Fourth Aunt that the Lady Dowager mentioned was referring to Eleventh Lady's cousin, Fourth Lady.

Eleventh Lady and Fifth Lady both thanked the Lady Dowager with a smile.

Si Niang sent four jars of Jinhua wine as a return gift.

"My wife is pregnant." The maid who came to return the gift stood respectfully at the door. "She is in a lot of trouble. I had no choice but to send this servant here. She also asked me to tell the Madam that when the child stops making trouble in a few days, I will come to thank her in person."

The lady was delighted to hear this and asked a lot of questions like "How many months are you pregnant? Is the pregnancy going well?" before letting the old woman go.

The Fifth Master Xu Lingkuan got the advice from the Madam and went out with his colleagues and friends every day. A few times, he even asked the Fifth Master to dress up as a servant and go with him. Xu Sijian was very envious and kept shouting that Mr. Zhao should be given a holiday so that he could dress up as a servant and go out with Mr. Zhao to climb mountains, visit sights and visit friends.

Xu Siqin was in a state of confusion, but Xu Sijian's words reminded him. He found a few famous chrysanthemums in the greenhouse, and took Xu Sijian to Fallen Leaf Mountain during the bathing break.

※

The update is a bit late, everyone should get up tomorrow morning and read it!

O(∩_∩)O~

PS: Post a draft first!