After the guests left, the house became quiet.

Eleventh Lady leaned on the pillow and watched her wet nurse, Gu, bathing her son. Hongwen, Ajin, Yumei and others were beside her, either helping to twist the towel or taking the clothes.

Mother Wan came in with the medicine soup.

"How many days do I need to take this medicine?" Eleventh Lady drank it all in one gulp.

Mother Wan smiled and said, "Once the bad blood is gone, you can stop taking the medicine."

Mrs. Gu had already wrapped the child up and sent him over.

Eleventh Lady kissed her son's little face, tucked in the corner of the quilt, and put him in her own quilt.

Mother Gu hesitated to speak.

Normally, the child should sleep with the nurse. But these days, the lady seemed to be unaware of such a rule. The child slept with the lady, while she rested on a beauty couch beside the bed.

Eleventh Lady pretended not to see it.

It had been three days, and she was sure she couldn't breastfeed her son. As a mother, if she didn't try to spend more time with her child, she was afraid that the child's memory would only be filled with the smell of his nurse.

Fangxi and Qiuyu both got the hint from Amber and knew what Shiyi Niang meant. One of them smiled and helped Madam Gu carry in the bedding, while the other reminded Madam Gu, "It's getting late. You should wash up and go to bed!"

Mother Gu didn't dare to say a word more. She bowed and retreated.

Seeing this, Mother Wan smiled and said, "Madam, you are so tired. I have something to say, but I don't know if I should say it or not."

Eleventh Lady was not one to make things difficult for others, so she followed her words and said, "Mother Wan, just speak directly if you have anything to say."

Mother Wan smiled reservedly and said, "I noticed that there is no one in charge of the Sixth Young Master's room, and you are busy with everything. I want to recommend a mother who can take charge to you!" After saying that, without waiting for Eleventh Lady to ask, she said directly, "As the saying goes, one should not avoid relatives when selecting virtuous people. My third daughter-in-law is in her prime, and she has given birth to two sons and a daughter. Not only is she fair and dignified, but she also acts cleanly and efficiently. All the neighbors praise her. If Madam likes her, I will bring her in to show you one day!" After saying that, she looked at Eleventh Lady expectantly.

Eleventh Lady was very surprised.

I didn't expect that Mother Wan would recommend her daughter-in-law in this way.

She changed her mind and thought this was not a bad idea.

Mother Wan is old and will not be able to work in two years. I heard that her sons are honest and do errands in the mansion. She took such a big risk to recommend her daughter-in-law. I guess she really had no other choice but to take the risk to find a way out for her family's future life.

"Then when you are free, mom can bring him in and let me see him!"

Mother Wan was overjoyed, thanked again and again, and then left.

Amber couldn't help but frown: "This Wan Madam, she is still someone close to the Madam, how could she not know the importance of things. She came to you directly and asked for it, and if you don't agree, it would be a loss of Madam's face. If you agree, what if the person is not suitable? I think it's better to just turn her down when the time comes. It will offend people anyway - instead of saying to send her out of the house when she is no longer useful, it's better to refuse her right away from the beginning."

"You don't have to jump to conclusions before you meet the person." Eleventh Lady said with a smile, "Mother Wan is so anxious, it shows that she is determined to get this job. I have also thought about it carefully. The mother in charge is so undecided, I don't know how many people are plotting against her. Today, Mother Wan boldly came to me and said, if the Madam Tai, the Second Madam, or the Fifth Madam also wants to recommend someone, should we agree or not? It is better to use Mother Wan's daughter-in-law. As long as she is obedient!"

Eleventh Lady's ultimate goal is to keep her son by her side. Although Mother Wan is valued by the Lady Dowager, in the final analysis, it is because she has some experience in taking care of pregnant women and postpartum women. She cannot be considered a housekeeper who holds real power in the mansion.

Amber nodded.

Eleventh Lady asked Xu Lingyi: "...Is the Marquis still in Banyuepan?"

During the third-day bathing ceremony and the full-month celebration, my aunt-in-law sat at the table of honor. The show was performed by the female family members and all the guests were female. Xu Lingyi went to Banyuepan early in the morning.

"The Marquis is still in Banyuepan." Amber smiled, "He hasn't come out all day today."

Maybe she was still in confinement, Shiyi Niang always felt very tired. She told Amber a few words, "When the Marquis comes back, you should serve him carefully," and then slept with the child.

It was autumn, and the weather was clear and the garden was full of flowers. Xu Lingyi painted a picture of flowers and returned to the house. He saw the dim light of the side room shining through the window lattice onto the green stone bricks, which was dim and warm. He turned around and went to the side room.

Fangxi was on duty. She was surprised to see Xu Lingyi, but Xu Lingyi signaled her to keep quiet and tiptoed into the house.

Mother Gu had just arrived and had not yet figured out Shiyi Niang's personality. How could she really sleep if they lived in the same room like this? She got up when she heard the noise and stayed by Fangxi's side anxiously. Then she saw Xu Lingyi sitting by the bed, carefully looking at Shiyi Niang and Jing'er for a long while, gently stroked his son's head, and then got up and left.

* * * * * *

The next morning, the Emperor and the Empress sent eunuchs to inquire about Jing'er's condition. Xu Lingyi thought that if the Emperor had not shown mercy and immediately summoned Doctor Wu to go out of the palace with him, he would not have left the palace so early. He simply went to the palace to thank him. After leaving the palace, he met Prince Shun, Yu Yiqing and Jin Hanlin again. They hadn't seen each other for a long time, so they went to Chunxi Tower together.

Mother Wan brought her third daughter-in-law over.

Just as she said, this daughter-in-law seems to be a smart and capable person.

Eleventh Lady asked her with a smile: "Have you ever worked as a servant in the palace before?"

"Yes." She smiled. "I was a second-class maid in the outer courtyard, serving tea and water in the flower hall."

"Then do you know what is the most important thing for a mother in charge?"

Mother Wan had repeatedly reminded her before coming, and she said without thinking: "Follow instructions, be humble and obedient."

Eleventh Lady nodded slightly, half in a warning, half in a meaningful way, and said: "You must remember this." Then she asked Amber to take the Wan family's wife to the lady's place, as a sign of agreement.

Things went so smoothly that Mother Wan was naturally overjoyed. After waiting for the Madam's "yes", Eleventh Lady gave the daughter-in-law of the Wan family five days to arrange the family affairs. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law knelt down and kowtowed, and a servant ran in: "Madam, there is a letter from Yuhang."

Eleventh Lady was waiting, and upon hearing this, she couldn't help but smile and said, "Bring it in quickly."

The Wan mother-in-law and daughter-in-law took the opportunity to retreat.

The letter was written by Luo Zhenxing. He said that Yuyao was thousands of miles away from Beijing, and after the three letters and six ceremonies, it would take half a year to set a wedding date, let alone get married. There were still some things and property at home that needed to be dealt with, and he would not be able to leave until mid-November. After receiving the letter, he specially sent Luo Zhensheng and his wife and the sixth concubine to bring Twelve Niang to Beijing. He asked Eleventh Niang to take good care of her and set Twelve Niang's marriage, and marry her in Gongxian Hutong.

Eleventh Lady calculated the days and said, "So, Fourth Brother and Sixth Aunt should be here in the next two days!"

Amber smiled and said, "Should we tell the Third Master so that he can clean up Gongxian Hutong? And as for Madam Zhou, she should raise her head to marry a girl and lower her head to marry a daughter-in-law. When Madam Zhou gets the news, she can also tell the son of Zhennan Marquis so that he can ask for a date for the wedding."

At the beginning, Twelve Niang's marriage was to the young master of Zhennan Marquis, and the bride to Yu Yiqing.

Seeing how thoughtful Amber was, Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "I'll leave this matter to you!"

* * * * * *

When Xu Ling returned home in the evening, it was already the beginning of the night.

There was a faint scent of sandalwood wafting through the yard.

It's not the inferior sandalwood mixed with agarwood, but the finest South Sea ambergris.

Xu Lingyi frowned slightly.

At this time... Eleventh Lady is not someone who worships Buddha... He winked at Lin Bo.

Lin Bo also smelled the scent of sandalwood when he entered the yard. He thought of what happened to Aunt Qin a few days ago. His face changed slightly and he followed the scent.

"My Lord," he quickly turned back, "the fragrance comes from the East Courtyard."

Xu Lingyi's eyes flickered slightly, and he said in a deep voice: "Go and have a look!"

Lin Bo took the lantern from the servant, motioned for them to stay where they were, and went to the east courtyard with Xu Lingyi.

In the long alley, someone set up a small incense table with an incense burner and was praying towards the west.

It was October 14th, and the moonlight was bright. Because she was facing away from them, they couldn't see who she was. They only saw that she was very slender, and her manners were very elegant, but she was wearing a bright blue vest that maids usually wear... Lin Bo walked as lightly as a cat, walked up to her, grabbed her hand, and said sternly: "Who is here in the middle of the night and not sleeping..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the man exclaimed and looked up, revealing Zhang Yi's charming and angry face.

Lin Boru was holding the hot potato, and hurriedly let go, took a few steps back, and shouted "Aunt Yang" in surprise.

Yang was even more surprised than them. She was trembling with fear. She twisted her body slightly and knelt in front of Xu Lingyi: "My Lord, My Lord..."

Xu Lingyi stood under the high wall, with half of his face exposed to the moonlight and the other half hidden in the shadows, appearing obscure and unclear. He looked at Yang in silence.

Yang explained hurriedly, "I heard that the Sixth Young Master was not well a few days ago, so I made a wish in front of the Bodhisattva." Her voice was slightly trembling, and in the quiet moonlight it was as clear as a touch of porcelain. "Today, I specially set up an incense table here in the dead of night to fulfill my wish." She raised her head, her eyes like water, "I didn't expect to offend the Marquis. It's all my fault."

Xu Lingyi stared at them quietly for a long time, then whispered, "It's too late, don't do this again!"

Yang hurriedly bowed her head in response, and when she looked up again, Xu Lingyi had already left the hall, and she only saw a fluttering sleeve of his clothes.

She hurriedly asked the maid to clear the incense table, only then she realized that her vest was wet and she felt cold all over.

* * * * * *

A few days later, Luo Zhensheng and others arrived in Beijing, bringing with them a little guest - Yingniang, who was only two months away from turning two years old.

"Oh, come to think of it, our Yingniang and Jinge were both born on the tenth day." Grandma Luo held Jinge'er in her arms, looking left and right, and she didn't know how much she loved him. "Yuhang hasn't received the news yet, right? If we had known this earlier, we should have hurried on the road overnight, maybe we could have caught up with Jinge's third-day baptism ceremony."

Shiyi Niang touched Ying Niang who was standing on her bed and said, "Is everything okay at home? I heard from my eldest brother that there is some property to be disposed of, so he can't come until the middle of the twelfth lunar month. What property is it that needs to be disposed of?"

Fourth Grandma Luo's smile froze for a moment, but she quickly calmed down as if to cover up the fact that nothing had happened: "I don't know the details - you know, your fourth brother and I are both idle people. We would rather avoid such things than ask." The last sentence, however, had a self-joking tone, which livened up the atmosphere in the room.

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A friend said that my writing was like a running account, with deletions and writings, and I hope the progress will be faster.

O(∩_∩)O~

PS: Let me update the update on March 13th first!