After the Little New Year, the festive atmosphere becomes stronger.

The mansion was cleaned from top to bottom. Big red lanterns were hung on the veranda, and lush flowering trees were placed in front of and behind the house. The kitchen was busy frying oil and making braised dishes. New Year's gift money and clothes were also received, and everyone's face was filled with happy smiles.

Eleventh Lady and Amber discussed arrangements for the New Year: "... before the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, try to give everyone two days off."

Amber smiled and nodded.

The needlework department delivered two Xiang skirts with twenty-four pieces that Eleventh Lady had hurriedly made.

"This plum blossom is embroidered really well." Amber said after looking at it, "I didn't expect that there is such a good skill in needlework."

Eleventh Lady nodded and asked the maid who delivered the skirt, "Whose craftsmanship is this?"

"It was embroidered by Ou'er." The old woman smiled and whispered, "It was Cui'er's sister who used to serve Qin Yi Niang and later died of illness."

Eleventh Lady fell silent.

The old woman was terrified and knelt on the ground with a plop. "Please forgive me, Madam. Please forgive me. It's because we were in a hurry to do this job, it was cold, and we caught a cold. Although Ou'er has just come to the mansion, she is very good at sewing, so we asked her to help embroider a few plum blossoms. It's all because of our inconsiderateness. We didn't expect that she was still in mourning..."

"Get up!" Eleventh Lady knew that the old woman had misunderstood and did not want to explain to her. She signaled the maid to help her up and said, "Cui'er is a good girl. Tell her sister that since she has entered the mansion, she must do her job well." Then she asked Amber to take five taels of silver to reward Ou'er, "...This flower is embroidered well, I like it very much."

Seeing that Eleventh Lady did not blame her, the old woman happily took the silver and left, thanking her profusely.

Eleventh Lady asked Yan Rong: "How is she doing?"

Amber smiled and said, "Very impressive. I think Brother Cao is a bit lacking in authority as a husband."

Eleventh Lady looked at the bright and beautiful Amber after marriage and couldn't help but joked: "I think our Brother-in-law Guan and Brother-in-law Cao should have endless things to talk about when they are together."

"Madam!" Amber blushed with shame and turned around to collect her skirt.

Xu Lingyi came in.

"Oh! I made new clothes."

Eleventh Lady stood up and helped him change his clothes: "Prepare them for the New Year's greetings."

Xu Lingyi said, "Make two silk-cut jackets for our Jing'er, too! He will also be visiting relatives when the time comes."

"It's only been a month. Using silk to make a small coat is not only a waste, but also likely to scratch the skin." Eleventh Lady objected immediately, and then asked, "Do we have to bring Jing'er with us to pay New Year's greetings?"

Ever since the day when the Madam Tai showed her desire to see Jing'er, Shiyi Niang would hold Jing'er in her arms every time she went to the Madam Tai's place. Although the weather was cold, she was still warm wrapped in a fox fur cloak. But it was different when she went to visit other people's houses. Sometimes she might not meet anyone, and most of the time she was traveling in the car. The child was too young.

"The Emperor, Empress, and Crown Prince have all sent eunuchs to ask us to bring the child into the palace for a look during the New Year."

There is no way around this.

"Then you can't make a silk jacket." Eleventh Lady laughed, "That's too extravagant."

"When going to the palace to pay New Year's greetings, who wouldn't take clothes from the bottom of the chest and wear them? It's not too much for Jin Ge'er to wear a small silk jacket." Xu Lingyi felt that Shiyi Niang was worrying too much, "But since you're worried about scratching your skin, then make a small cloak!"

If Xu Lingyi continues like this, it will be hard for Jin Ge'er not to become a playboy!

Eleventh Lady felt that her early education plan was bleak.

She couldn't help but say angrily, "My Lord, no matter how good something is, it has to be comfortable to use. Although Kesi is beautiful, it is too hard. It's better to use the Songjiang Three Shuttle Cloth that the Madam gave me, which is both soft and warm..."

Xu Lingyi didn't think much about it. Although Kesi is expensive, his family can afford it. Besides, he has several children, so he thought he should make one for Jing'er as well.

Hearing this, he smiled and said, "Then you decide! Make a nice new dress for Jing'er, and we'll take him out to pay New Year's greetings."

Just make some new clothes!

Eleventh Lady thought about it, then smiled and nodded.

A little maid came in and reported, "Madam, our fourth aunt's grandmother from Gongxian Hutong is here!"

Ever since Twelve Niang returned home on the third day and Eleven Niang and Xu Lingyi went back to recognize their relatives, the two have not met each other again.

"Please invite Fourth Aunt in!" Eleventh Lady said, and stood up and went to the hall to welcome the guest.

Grandma Luo Si wore a royal blue jacket with gold sleeves, her hair was neatly combed into a bun, and she wore a big red shawl. Although she looked very capable, there was a bit of anxiety between her eyebrows. It was obvious that she came for something.

"Eleventh Aunt," she smiled and bowed to Eleventh Lady, "Wu Xiaoquan's family brought some dried fish yesterday. Since there are still a few days before the New Year, my family will give some to you to try."

"I'm sorry to bother you, sister-in-law." Eleventh Lady smiled and welcomed Luo Si's grandmother to sit on the big kang by the window in the east room. Amber went out to get the maid's things. "Are you and your sister-in-law okay? Did you say when you will go to the capital?"

Grandma Luo Si laughed after hearing this, and her expression relaxed a lot.

"My eldest brother was originally planning to go to Beijing in early November." She took a sip of the tea served by the maid, "but my eldest sister-in-law got pregnant. My eldest brother decided to leave after the Lantern Festival. He was afraid that we would worry, so he sent someone to inform us."

"Sister-in-law is pregnant!" Eleventh Lady was surprised and happy, "Brother Xiu is eight years old this year... This is really a happy event!"

"That's right!" Grandma Luo smiled, "Otherwise, brother wouldn't have postponed his trip."

"I have to write a letter to congratulate her." Eleventh Lady smiled. The two chatted for a while before Fourth Lady Luo got to the point. "…When Twelfth Aunt got married, Duke Mao didn't even come to the wedding. I didn't want to put my face in the cold shoulder. But your eldest brother said that no matter what she does, we should just do our own thing with a clear conscience. I thought about it and it makes sense. I was thinking of sending her things first, and then coming to your place so that we can have a good talk. Who knew that I would meet Fifth Aunt in front of Tenth Aunt's door…" She stopped talking here, and her eyes looking at Eleventh Lady were a little obscure.

Eleventh Lady was very surprised. She paused holding the cup and asked, "Did you meet Fifth Sister?"

Grandma Luo nodded and said, "Grandma Wu told me that the New Year is coming soon, and she came to see Grandma Ten. Knowing that I was here to give her dried fish, she accompanied me to see Grandma Ten.

"Yin Ping was very embarrassed when she saw me. She said that Tenth Aunt was not in good health and could not see guests, and asked me to forgive her. I dropped my things and was about to leave. But Tenth Aunt suddenly came out and said to me loudly," she blushed a little, "A married girl is like spilled water. No matter how much money the Luo family has, it still belongs to the Luo family. She is now a daughter-in-law of the Wang family. She is a member of the Wang family in life and a ghost of the Wang family in death. She has no relationship with the Luo family anymore, and there is absolutely no reason for her to go back to the Luo family to ask for money. If Fifth Aunt feels uncomfortable and can't swallow this breath, just go back to the Luo family with Eleventh Aunt to ask for money. Don't think about her."

Eleventh Lady didn't know what to say.

Not only was Wu Niang obsessed with money, she also instigated them to go back and ask for money!

Shi Niang specifically mentioned her. Maybe Wu Niang said something to Shi Niang, and Shi Niang misunderstood that she was also involved in this matter. Otherwise, Luo Si Niang would not have sent her dried fish to test her mood!

Thinking of this, she said in a clear manner: "We are sisters, and it is difficult for others to say anything. When I got married, my mother did not treat me badly, and she would never ask my eldest brother to supplement the dowry. If Fourth Sister-in-law is worried about this, don't worry."

"Eleventh Aunt has misunderstood." Grandma Luo smiled bitterly, "Others may not know what kind of person Aunt is, but I do. It's just that after coming out of Tenth Aunt's place, I once blamed Fifth Aunt, but Fifth Aunt insisted that this was something she had discussed with you, because Tenth Aunt and you don't get along, so she was asked to be the middleman... I thought, I have to tell you about this matter, so that Aunt won't get a bad reputation without knowing it." She said implicitly, "There is still Twelfth Aunt between you sisters!"

"Thank you, sister-in-law!" Eleventh Lady was very grateful. "I will talk to Fifth Sister about it. I will also go and say hello to Twelve Lady."

"That's not necessary." Grandma Luo smiled, "I have to go to Twelve Aunt to deliver the fish jerky anyway. Just talk to Fifth Aunt."

Wu Niang is Luo Zhensheng's elder sister, so there are some things that Fourth Grandma Luo finds difficult to say.

Eleventh Lady thanked her, and Fourth Lady Luo greeted the old lady and returned to Gongxian Hutong.

She wrote a congratulatory letter to Luo Zhenxing in the study. But she kept thinking about Wu Niang. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that Wu Niang's story was too unreasonable. After all, she grew up in the eldest wife's house. Although she suffered a little financially when she married Qian Ming, she was much better off than ordinary people. How could she become so worldly!

Eleventh Lady put down her pen and sighed.

The Sixth Aunt only thought about gaining more benefits for the Twelveth Aunt, but she didn't think carefully about the Twelveth Aunt's position - even when she married into the Marquis's Mansion, the specifications of her dowry were not much different from those of the Fifth Aunt and the Tenth Aunt, in order to make it fair and avoid disputes between the sisters. Regardless of whether the Fifth Aunt gets the money this time, the knot between her and the Twelveth Aunt is likely to be formed.

Sitting cross-legged on a Zen chair covered with a bright red brocade cushion, Xu Lingyi felt that his wife had been absent-minded since Fourth Lady Luo left. Now her face was even more worried. He asked, "What's wrong?" Then he walked to Shiyi Niang in slippers and sat down next to her, saying softly, "Did you encounter any difficulties in Gongxian Hutong?"

Eleventh Lady was feeling depressed, and Xu Lingyi sat beside her with a gentle expression. She thought for a while, and then told Xu Lingyi what had happened: "...Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, we have to go after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month! But I'm worried that she might do something in the next few days..." She looked very embarrassed.

Xu Lingyi thought about it and said, "I think I should talk to Zichun about this matter!"

"This is not good!" said Eleventh Lady. "Once your man said it, he brought the matter out into the open. What if Fifth Brother-in-law doesn't know about this? Wouldn't that create a rift between the couple?"

Xu Lingyi disagreed: "If Zichun doesn't know, then she should tell him - she is doing this behind his back, she doesn't care about her husband at all, it will cause disaster sooner or later. Rather than being unable to deal with it when the time comes, it is better to let Zichun take good care of it. If Zichun knew..." His eyes flickered, "Doctors have their own ways and their own ways. If he is like this, even if he enters the officialdom, I am afraid he will not dare to become a big shot!"

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I’ll post the draft first, and then I’ll update it so you can read it tomorrow morning!

O(∩_∩)O~