The smile on Madam Wen's face gradually faded, and she became a little serious.
This eleventh lady is very young. The first two times I saw her, she seemed very obedient and humble, but I didn’t expect her to be so difficult to deal with!
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel tolerant.
Yuanniang would not have dragged her sister, whom she had only met a few times, to talk here for no reason, and Tao Mama would not have stood guard at the door for no reason, only allowing people to enter but not leave... and the Marquis. The servant said he had returned a long time ago. But the main house was ordered by Yuanniang to use realgar powder to kill insects. Zhun Ge had been taken to the Madam's room to keep Zhen Jie'er company. The maids and wives in the room all avoided it. No one was at Qin Yi Niang's place. As for "Ban Yue Pan", the two young ladies of the Gan family and a young lady of the Luo family were flying kites in the corridor. The Marquis could not go even if he wanted to.
In such a big mansion, she couldn't even find the Marquis!
She thought about it and realized that the small courtyard next to Dianchun Hall was the Marquis' study...that's why she followed him here.
Now that Eleventh Lady is so bold as to stop here, could it be that the Marquis and Yuan Niang are here?
If that's the case, there's nothing I can't say. But why did they stop me?
The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she became.
No one can guarantee that they have not done something that did not please the Marquis... The Marquis has always respected Yuanniang and left all matters in the inner house to Yuanniang. Yuanniang looks kind, but she is unforgiving when she gets angry. It is better to wait until night to find the Marquis... If there is anything, it can be resolved from big to small, and from small to nothing...
Having made up her mind, Madam Wen immediately put on a warm smile: "Look at me, I am too concerned and confused. I am too busy. Don't I worry about my young lady..."
What she meant was that her previous words and actions were all out of concern for Yuanniang!
Whether it was true or not, Eleventh Lady didn't care about the arguments. All she wanted was to stop Madam Wen from leaving the house!
Seeing that Madam Wen no longer insisted, Eleventh Lady decided to say a few good words to her.
But before she could open her mouth, Mother Tao's voice came from the gate: "The Madam is here!"
The two of them couldn't help but turn their heads and look towards the hall.
Then I saw the lady coming in from the rockery, supported by the Fifth Lady and Mother Tao on her right and left.
Seeing Eleventh Lady and Madam Wen standing under the eaves of the main gate, a hint of surprise flashed across the lady's face.
The two men hurried forward and saluted the lady.
"Get up, get up!" The lady looked at them with a smile, "Why are you standing here?"
Madam Wen looked at Eleventh Lady with an expression that said, "I don't know, you have to ask Eleventh Lady."
Eleventh Lady's eyes were filled with worry: "To answer Madam Tai's question, my eldest sister suddenly said that she was feeling unwell and wanted to be alone. We saw that my eldest sister looked unwell and we were panicked. We had no idea what to do, so we asked Madam Tai to come."
The lady nodded and said with a smile, "In that case. Danyang, wait here for me. I'll go in and take a look."
The Fifth Lady bent her knees and replied "yes". Eleventh Lady stepped forward and knocked on the door, saying in a low voice, "Sister, the Madam is here." Then she gently pushed the door open halfway.
The lady looked at Eleventh Lady deeply, then she stepped into the house and closed the door behind her.
There are really no stupid people in this family!
Only at this moment did Eleventh Lady breathe a sigh of relief.
When she turned around, she saw the Fifth Madam looking at her with a smile.
A smart person can tell at a glance that there is something fishy going on, but without evidence, something fishy will always remain fishy!
Eleventh Lady smiled calmly: "Fifth Lady, where is the show going? Has Zhao Wu Niang found Cai Bojie?"
"They are singing the fifth act, 'Meeting'." Wu Niang said with a smile, "Cai Bojie also missed Zhao Wu Niang, and played the piano in the study to express his thoughts. Niu heard it, found out the truth, and told my father..."
Eleventh Lady cried out "Oh my!", stepped forward and took Fifth Lady's arm, and said with a smile: "If Prime Minister Niu knew about this, would he send someone to capture Fifth Lady Zhao and force her to divorce Master Cai?"
The Fifth Lady smiled and said, "Prime Minister Niu was angry at first, but was later persuaded by Niu and sent people to pick up Master Cai's parents and wife to come to Beijing to enjoy the good life together."
"That's good!" Eleventh Lady walked forward affectionately, holding Fifth Lady's arm. "I don't quite understand their accent. It would be great if they could print a booklet with all the lyrics written on it!"
Madam Wu was slightly startled: "Your idea is good. I'll tell Master Wu. He will be very happy." As she spoke, a smile appeared on her face, which showed some sincerity.
Eleventh Lady thought of Fifth Master's half-painted face...
She decided to talk to the Fifth Lady about this topic.
"I heard that there are opera troupes in Yanjing that sing Kunshan and Yuhang operas. Is that true?"
"That's right!" Madam Wu nodded with a smile, "The most famous troupe that sings Kunshan dialect in Yanjing is the 'Changshengban', and the most famous troupe that sings Yuhang dialect is the 'Jiexiangshe'." At this point, she said, "Oh, come to think of it, the Yuhang dialect was spread to Yanjing from your place. How come you seem to know nothing about it?" She looked very surprised.
Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "I followed my father in Fujian before, and only returned to Yuhang to mourn my grandfather's death. I heard some things when I came to the mansion to attend the meeting. I was just looking for someone who knows the inside story to ask."
Madam Wu nodded in relief: "Master Wu, Geng Changsheng, the owner of the Changsheng Troupe, and Bai Xixiang, the owner of the Jiexiang Society, also know him." She laughed and said, "How about we invite all three troupes to perform in the hall someday?" As soon as she finished speaking, she became very interested in what she said, "Let me see if there are any other solar terms in March... Qingming Festival is not allowed, everyone has to go to worship their ancestors... Then there is the Bathing Buddha Festival on April 8th. It is not allowed either, mother has to worship the Medicine King..." She thought, "Then we can only wait until April 24th, mother's birthday!" After speaking, her eyes lit up, "Then the Marquis will definitely not be able to say anything. We invite all three major opera troupes, it will be lively."
The two of them walked into the hall while talking. Madam Wen stood on the steps, looking at the closed door and hesitated for a long time. Finally, she pursed her lips and hurried after them.
In the hallway, Mother Tao had already set up the seats.
The Fifth Lady and the Eleventh Lady sat down on either side. The maids served tea. The Fifth Lady was still happy about the idea just now: "... Geng Changsheng is best at singing 'Jia Zi' in 'The Story of Washing Silk'; Bai Xixiang is best at singing 'The Back Garden' in 'The Story of Pearls';" She became more and more excited as she spoke, "However, Yuhang Opera also has 'Pipa Xing'. When the time comes, we will let Geng Changsheng sing this part as well..."
Eleventh Lady accompanied her in talking about these things, but her heart was already in turmoil.
Yuanniang dragged herself to catch the adulterer. Was it a spur-of-the-moment decision or was it premeditated?
Does the first wife know about this?
Can it be understood that Yuanniang and the first wife have already chosen Wuniang to marry - Shiniang is definitely not an option, and if I show my face in front of Xu Lingyi under this situation, any man with blood will not like it. Yuanniang wants someone who can please Xu Lingyi, so she naturally cannot keep someone he hates around. Otherwise, not only can she not help Zhun Ge, but she may also harm Zhun Ge...
Madam Wen standing by was also very uneasy.
I don’t know what happened, but they invited the lady over…
She thought about what she had done during this period and didn't feel that she had done anything wrong.
What exactly happened?
While thinking, I suddenly heard the voice of the lady: "Danyang, come here!"
The Fifth Lady, Madam Wen, and Mother Tao all trotted to the courtyard, but Eleventh Lady followed slowly behind them.
After entering the courtyard, she saw the lady standing in the middle of the courtyard with a smile on her face. She was instructing the Fifth Lady, "…your Fourth Sister-in-law is not feeling well. Go and call the servants around me, and then send someone to invite the imperial physician." She then looked at Madam Wen and said, "Yuan Niang will rest here today. Go to my place and take good care of the children." She said to Mother Tao and others, "Send a few people to accompany Madam Wen, and leave a few regular servants here to take care of her." Finally, she asked, "Why is the eleventh young lady from the Luo family not here?"
Eleventh Lady felt quite bitter.
The amiable old lady quietly helped her son out of the predicament, and arranged everything reasonably and sensibly, which was a hidden trick. As she was in the middle of the situation, the old lady was naturally worried...but she didn't know how she would deal with it?
She didn't dare show any emotion on her face and responded with a smile, "Madam."
"They all have problems." The lady looked at her with a smile, "Can you give me a hand?"
Now that things have come to this, there is no point in thinking too much and we can only deal with them as they arise.
Eleventh Lady knelt down and responded, then stepped forward and helped the lady up.
The lady looked at everyone and said, "Everyone, go away!"
Everyone responded and left, doing their separate things, leaving only the Lady Dowager and Eleventh Lady in the yard.
The lady smiled and asked her, "How old are you now?"
"My dear Madam," Eleventh Lady said with a smile, "I am thirteen years old this year."
The lady nodded and said with a smile, "I heard that you are very good at needlework. What books have you read?"
Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "I learned a few words from the teacher. I read a whole volume of "Instructions for Women" and half of "Records of Heroic Women".
The lady-in-law smiled and said, "My dear young lady, you are very polite to me. I think the fifth young lady is going to look at the Second Prince's Palace copy of the Zhunhua Pavilion Calligraphy Collection!"
Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "My fifth sister is talented in this area. Unlike me, I just muddle along with the master."
The lady laughed: "I'm afraid that my dear young lady is too modest..."
The two of them just talked about everyday things, making Eleventh Lady completely confused about the Lady Dowager's intentions.
Soon, the Fifth Lady brought Mother Du, Wei Zi, and Yao Huang.
Several people bowed to the old lady, who smiled and said, "I've kept you company for a while, and I've delayed your viewing of the opera." Then she looked at the Fifth Lady and said, "You and your old lady should go back to Dianchun Hall and enjoy the opera."
Eleventh Lady's heart shuddered.
Don't tell her anything. Is it because you don't need to tell her, or because you don't need to say anything. The former is because she has no say, the latter is to show complete trust... Based on these few short meetings, trust is unlikely! But no matter what, she didn't have time to think too much, the Fifth Lady smiled and bent her knees to respond, holding the Eleventh Lady's arm: "Don't worry about the Fourth Sister-in-law, Mother is here!"
What else can Eleventh Lady say?
He said goodbye to the lady with a smile and went to Dianchun Hall with the fifth lady.
On the stage, Cai Bojie and Zhao Wuniang cried facing each other.
Some people were so engrossed in watching that they had no time to pay attention to anything else, some were so moved that they wiped their eyes with handkerchiefs, and some were paying attention to the people around them, and showed surprised expressions when they saw the two people walk in quietly.
Eleventh Lady sat down next to the First Lady, who whispered to her, "Why did you come back? What happened?"
Eleventh Lady was not sure how much the First Lady knew, but the First Lady and Yuanniang were, after all, biological mother and daughter, and there were some things that she should not say.
She smiled and said, "My eldest sister has something to say to the Madam, so she asked me and the Fifth Madam to come back and listen to the opera first."
The eldest wife nodded thoughtfully, with a hint of a smile on her face.
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So many votes... I'll add one more chapter first! (*^__^*) Hehehe...