When Zhen Jie'er saw this, she also stood up and said goodbye.

Xu Lingyi was very gentle to his daughter and told Shiyi Niang: "The north wind is blowing outside, find a cloak for her to wear."

Sister Zhen was stunned.

Eleventh Lady responded with a smile and took Zhen Jie'er's hand to go to the inner room.

"How about this cloak?" Looking at the dazed Zhen Jie'er, she put a bright red cloak with carved silk and sable fur on Zhen Jie'er, "It goes perfectly with your royal blue plain Hangzhou silk jacket."

Only when she felt the weight of the cloak on her body did Zhen Jieer come back to her senses. She pulled Shiyi Niang's hand, her lips slightly pursed, but she didn't utter a word for a long time, but tears gradually flashed in the corners of her eyes.

Eleventh Lady understood what she meant. She gently patted the back of her hand and said, "You are a girl, and you should be taken care of by your mother. Even though your father loves you, he doesn't know how to do it well!"

Sister Zhen nodded heavily and smiled happily with tears in her eyes.

Eleventh Lady took out a handkerchief and wiped her eyes, teasing her, "Don't cry. If your father sees you, he will think I'm bullying you. I'll be in big trouble!"

"No!" Zhen Jieer hugged Shiyi Niang's arm, "Daddy respects mother the most. No."

Eleventh Lady smiled and put the handkerchief into her hand: "Then wipe your tears quickly." She added, "Your second brother is coming back today, and your father wants to give him a warm welcome. Go back and wash and dress up, and go to your grandmother's house for dinner. Dressing up elegantly and decently is also a kind of respect for others."

Zhen Jieer nodded, put on the cloak given by Shiyi Niang, and went to pay her respects to Xu Lingyi. Then she was served by Xiaoli and went back to the house.

Xu Lingyi said to Shiyi Niang, "As for Zhen Jie'er, has the Shao family come to urge her to get married again? If we delay in responding, will the Shao family think that we are playing tricks on her? That won't be good for Zhen Jie'er in the future!" He seemed quite worried.

"It was agreed before the marriage was granted." Eleventh Lady smiled, "The Shao family is doing this to respect the Xu family and give Zhenjie dignity. It makes others feel that this daughter-in-law is hard-won. Your Majesty, don't worry. If there is any change, they will hire a middleman to explain it to us like the Wang family did."

Xu Lingyi felt that this was completely making something simple complicated, and said: "You women always make everything roundabout. Since you know the ins and outs of this, you should pay more attention to Zhen Jie'er's affairs! There is no need to upset your in-laws over trivial matters. After all, Zhen Jie'er is marrying into another family, and she has to live in poverty every day. No matter how strong we are, we can't help her with everything." When he said this, he was actually very sad.

Eleventh Lady can understand it very well.

It's just like a mother-in-law trying her best to be nice to her son-in-law, just because she wants her son-in-law to treat her daughter better.

Despite this, she still felt that Xu Lingyi seemed a little sentimental today.

Eleventh Lady poured Xu Lingyi a cup of hot tea, sat opposite him, leaned forward slightly, and whispered, "My Lord, what happened?"

Xu Lingyi looked up and saw Eleventh Lady's concerned gaze.

"Nothing!" He answered habitually. But as soon as he said it, he felt that it was a bit perfunctory. He paused, "I thought of Zhun Ge'er!"

"Zhun'er?" Eleventh Lady asked curiously, "What happened to Zhun'er? I think he's doing well these days. He completes the homework assigned by Mr. Zhao seriously and meticulously, and he also knows how to play with Jie and help take care of Jing... Is there something else I don't know?"

Xu Lingyi shook his head, "He will be ten years old next year. According to the rules of the mansion, he should be separated and live in a separate courtyard. He is still thinking about playing with his brother, playing the flute, and making lanterns every day. When will he grow up?" As he spoke, his tone had a hint of negotiation, "I mean, I want to talk to Mr. Zhao when the museum opens next year. See if we can add some lessons on personnel etiquette, civil officials and military duties. Otherwise, Zhun Ge will always be like a child who never grows up and only knows how to play all day long."

Mr. Zhao’s studies must have started with playing!

However, he is Zhun Ge's teacher, and he must know Zhun Ge's academic situation best. Moreover, he has the ability to teach students in accordance with their aptitude, and he probably has his own plans and opinions for Zhun Ge's future. But facing Xu Lingyi, who is used to giving orders, it is obviously a very unwise move to refuse directly.

"Your Majesty, what you said makes sense." Eleventh Lady said with a smile, "We should discuss this matter with Mr. Zhao." After that, she changed her tone, "However, Mr. Zhao is a scholar, so Your Majesty should be more careful when speaking. We are all doing this for the good of Zhun Ge, so as to avoid any rifts."

Xu Lingyi nodded: "I'll see what happens then."

Seeing that the message had been passed on and it was getting late, Eleventh Lady called in the little maid to help her wash and dress, then changed into a chestnut fur coat and left the inner room.

"It's too windy outside. Let Jing'er stay inside!"

Xu Lingyi saw that she was thin, but her skin was as delicate as cream. She was wearing a chestnut leather coat and had two diamond hairpins in her black hair. She did not look frail, but rather had a sense of elegance and grace.

"Okay!" He stood up with a smile, "It would be bad if you caught a cold." As he said that, he walked up to her and hugged her gently, "Get dressed!"

Eleventh Lady looked at the maids who lowered their heads in the room, and her face turned red: "Dress up!"

She didn't push him away like she usually did.

* * * * * *

Looking at the room full of children, the lady couldn't stop smiling.

"According to what you said, it will arrive by the end of February?"

"Dad said we'll leave after the Lantern Festival." Xu Siqin had just received a letter from his father and was reporting it to his wife. He smiled and said, "I calculated the date and I should be able to arrive."

Xu Sijian quickly added, "Dad also said in the letter that he brought a lot of local specialties for everyone."

The lady laughed when she heard this: "What specialties does Shaanxi have? They are just some jujubes!"

Xu Siqin smiled along, but Xu Sijian ran to the side of the lady and said, "Grandma, we not only have jujubes, but also medicinal herbs. We have turmeric, schisandra, forsythia, honeysuckle, gastrodia, and eucommia."

The old lady laughed and pulled Xu Sijian's hand: "I have learned a lot." But she thought in her heart that even if there were these herbs, the local specialty of the third daughter-in-law would probably only be jujubes. The thought flashed through her mind, and her smile became even bigger. She nodded slightly and told Mother Du: "Remember, when the time comes, send someone to clean up the yard where the third daughter-in-law lives."

Mrs. Du responded with a smile.

The lady's eyes turned to Xu Lingyi and Shiyi Niang who had just entered the room: "Why didn't you bring Jin Ge'er with you when you came?"

Xu Lingyi hurriedly smiled and said, "It's windy outside, and I was afraid he would catch a cold. So I stayed at home."

The old lady listened, turned her head and said to the second lady sitting next to her jokingly: "This is really 'there is one less person among the people wearing dogwood branches'!" Her smile faded a little.

The Second Lady smiled and winked at Eleventh Lady.

Would you like to bring the child over?

As Eleventh Lady was hesitating, she heard Xu Lingyi say, "...You have to make your own decision on this matter. If you stay in the Imperial Guards, you will naturally have a lot of free time. If you go to the Five Cities Military Department, you will have to take care of all kinds of people and everything. It's not as prestigious as being in the Imperial Guards!"

When the Taifu and the Second Madam heard this, they pricked up their ears and looked towards Xu Lingyi and his brother.

"What's going on?" The lady looked even more anxious.

"Nothing!" Xu Lingkuan's eyes flashed with surprise. He didn't expect his brother to discuss this with him in such an occasion. "A few days ago, the commander-in-chief of the Wucheng Military Department told our commander that he wanted to ask a few people from our side. I happened to be there. Our commander asked me if I wanted to go." He glanced at Xu Lingyi and said, "If I go, I will be the deputy commander. I came back to discuss it with my fourth brother, and he told me to make my own decision."

The lady listened without saying anything, her face looking thoughtful.

This involved Xu Lingkuan's future. Everyone in the room looked at the lady with bated breath.

The Second Madam glanced at the Madam Tai and whispered, "Mother, I think we should just forget about this! The situation is so volatile now. It's better to have less trouble than more. Besides, the people that the Five Cities Military Department contacts are too complicated. If you are not careful, you may be involved. If you only want to command the Third Rank Tongzhi, I think it will be the same if you wait for some time and then seek a Tongzhi position in the Capital Guard. As the Marquis said, you should have a more noble status. Why bother dealing with those people who pull coal and sell vegetables every day."

The lady nodded slightly and asked the fifth lady who was sitting below her: "What do you mean?"

Madam Wu smiled and said, "Of course I will listen to mother and second sister-in-law." Then she said to Xu Lingkuan, "We have enough food and clothes at home, why do you have to go to that kind of place? I heard that the people of Wucheng Bingmasi often blackmail the people who do small business. Fifth Master, you are a noble, how can you do such a thing? If you don't do it, you will inevitably be alienated from your colleagues. I think it's better for you to stay in the Yingwei."

Xu Lingkuan was a little disappointed: "However, if I go to Wucheng Bingmasi, I will be promoted faster..."

"He is just a third-rank commander." Madam Wu glanced at Xu Lingyi with a smile, "Our family doesn't need that!"

Xu Lingkuan suddenly realized what was going on. He looked at Xu Lingyi with some guilt and said, "I was confused. I will report to the commander tomorrow."

The lady nodded with satisfaction, glanced at the fifth lady with relief, and told Xu Lingkuan earnestly: "A good wife is half of the happiness. You are a blessed person. You must know how to cherish your blessings."

Xu Lingkuan said "hmm" a little embarrassedly, raised his eyelids to look at Danyang, and smiled a little foolishly.

The lady was very happy and moved to get off the kang: "Okay, okay, it's getting late and the weather is cold, you can all go your separate ways after dinner."

The second wife hurriedly stood up and helped the old lady. Yuban and the others squatted down to help the old lady put on her shoes. The son, daughter-in-law, grandsons, granddaughters, maids and old women gathered together and went to the east room.

No one asked about Jing'er anymore.

Xu Siyu's expression was a little stiff.

Eleventh Lady, who was walking at the end, glanced sideways at Xu Lingyi, who was standing beside her with a solemn expression.

The big almond eyes, with clear black and white, glanced at him charmingly, causing Xu Lingyi's heart to skip a beat, and it took him a long time to calm down.

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PS: I have been so busy lately that I haven't been to the comment section for a long time. When I went there yesterday, I found that many old friends reported that their Qidian coins had been stolen. Alas, everyone should recharge less each time...