Chapter 484: Congratulations (Part 2)
The winter noon sun shone warmly on the East Palace Gate. Most of the people who had entered the palace to pay homage had already left. Although the few soldiers on duty stood straight, their expressions were relaxed. They all looked at Xu Lingyi, who was talking animatedly with several colleagues not far away, with some boredom.
Seeing someone coming, several people's expressions solemnly returned to their previous seriousness.
The lady-in-waiting and Eleventh Lady, however, were filled with suspicion.
Xu Lingyi was chatting with people with a big smile on his face, while the Fifth Lady and Mother Gu, who was holding her brother wrapped in a sable fur cloak, stood at the palace gate. But there was no sign of Xu Lingyi.
The Dowager and Eleventh Lady were both a little confused. The Dowager turned her head and was about to say something to Eleventh Lady. Xu Lingkuan, who couldn't see the Dowager and Eleventh Lady, whispered a few words to his colleagues.
His colleagues looked at the lady, bowed, and left together.
Xu Lingkuan strode over.
When the Fifth Lady saw this, she followed the gaze of Xu Lingkuan's colleague and discovered that the Lady Dowager and Eleventh Lady had gone out of the East Gate.
"Mom!" She hurried forward.
Mother Gu saw this and followed over with Jiang'er in her arms.
The Fifth Lady slapped the Grand Lady and said, "Are you okay?"
There was a gleam of anxiety in the old lady's eyes. She raised her head and saw the eunuch who followed them out. She relaxed her brows and smiled slightly, her face kind and friendly.
"Where is your fourth brother?" The voice was neither fast nor slow, and very gentle.
"The emperor gave Jin'er a lot of gifts." Xu Lingkuan walked over and said with a smile, "Fourth brother and the eunuch went to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to sign the contract."
The expressions of Eleventh Lady and the Lady Dowager relaxed, and the Lady Dowager's smile became more gentle. Eleventh Lady walked lightly to the side of Mother Gu and whispered, "Jian'er is fine." Mother Gu quickly replied, "He is sleeping soundly!"
Eleventh Lady lifted up her cloak once more and looked at her son.
Jiang'er's face was flushed and he looked relaxed, and her uneasy heart finally calmed down a little.
The eunuchs over there had already respectfully saluted Xu Lingkuan and the Fifth Madam: "Master Xu, Princess, what a coincidence! The Empress Dowager and the Crown Princess have also given the Sixth Young Master many gifts... Although the weather is cold, we have no choice but to ask the Madam, Master Xu, the Marquis of Yongping, and the Princess to wait for a while. When the Marquis comes, it won't be too late for us to go to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to sign the bond before leaving the palace."
After hearing this, Xu Lingkuan bowed to the eunuch and said, "Thank you for keeping me waiting for a long time, eunuch." As he spoke, he took out two purses from his sleeves and stuffed them into the hands of the two eunuchs.
The two eunuchs smiled more respectfully, and one of them even started chatting with them: "Sixth Young Master is really good-looking. I don't know how much the Empress likes him.
I still remember when the family came to announce the good news, our queen put her hands together and chanted Amitabha several times! She also asked Aunt Huang to go to the temple to light three sticks of incense.
"I don't deserve the eunuch's compliment." The lady smiled and replied to the eunuch, "She is quite neat-looking. She is also quite obedient. She sleeps when she is full and eats when she is well-sleeped. She never makes noises. As they were talking, another eunuch suddenly said, "The Marquis is here!"
Everyone looked towards the palace gate and saw Xu Lingyi, wearing a seven-beam crown and a bright red spider robe, striding towards them.
He had a stern face and sharp eyes. There was no joy in his expression, but rather he looked very serious.
"Fourth brother!" Xu Lingkuan called out hesitantly.
Xu Lingyi's gaze fell on the Lady Dowager and Eleventh Lady.
His expression slowed down.
Two eunuchs hurried forward, bowed, and explained their purpose.
Xu Lingyi nodded slightly, said hello to the lady dowager, and went to the Imperial Household Department with two eunuchs.
Eleventh Lady and the others waited for more than half an hour and were already starving, before Xu Lingyi finally came out.
The lady said immediately, "Old Four and I will ride in the same carriage!"
After hearing this, Xu Lingyi took the lady out of the palace.
The black lacquered flat-roofed carriages of the Xu residence had already been waiting at the gate. The Madam Tai and Xu Lingyi got on the first carriage, Eleventh Lady and Mother Gu got on the second, and Xu Lingkuan and the Fifth Madam got on the last. Surrounded by guards, they headed towards the lotus flowers.
Eleventh Lady asked Mother Gu in a low voice: "You carried the Sixth Young Master to see the Emperor. Do you know what the Emperor said?"
"I don't know!" Neck Mama's calves were shaking. She felt like she was falling apart as she sat in the carriage. She felt powerless. "The eunuch in the palace asked me to wait at the gate of the palace. The Sixth Young Master was carried in by a eunuch named He, and was carried out by this eunuch named He."
Eleventh Lady pondered and said, "Then why didn't you go and say goodbye to the Empress?"
Mother Gu recalled: "I stood outside waiting for a long time. The third prince and the eldest princess came. After about an incense stick of time, Eunuch He came out holding the sixth young master.
After a while, the Marquis and the Fifth Master came out, followed by two eunuchs. "At this point, her tone paused, "The Marquis looked very bad at the time, but the Fifth Master was smiling and scratched the Sixth Master's nose, saying that the Sixth Master was a small rich man. The Sixth Master was sleeping and was woken up by the Fifth Master. He frowned and cried twice.
When the Marquis heard this, his face became even uglier. He asked the Fifth Master to go find the Madam.
The Fifth Master was stunned when he heard this and said, "The Madam is with the Empress Dowager. Do you want to go and say goodbye?"
The Marquis walked out without saying a word.
I had no choice but to follow Lord Hou and go out.
The two eunuchs called out to the Marquis twice from behind, but when they saw that he ignored them, they followed us to the East Gate.
Lord Hou found a sheltered place for me and let me stand there holding the Sixth Young Master.
The two eunuchs saw that the marquis had a bad look on his face, so they stood beside us submissively.
"After a while, the Fifth Master and the Fifth Lady came. They said that the Empress was still talking to the Dowager Lady and the Madam, and he had sent a young eunuch to report.
"After hearing this, the Marquis asked the Fifth Madam to look after the Sixth Young Master and me, and went to the Imperial Household Department with two eunuchs!"
Eleventh Lady became more confused as she listened.
What happened? Xu Lingyi seemed to blame the Empress Dowager. After finally returning to the mansion and getting off the carriage, Xu Lingyi was fine, but the Madam Dowager looked a little solemn.
Eleventh Lady looked on in amazement, and together with Fifth Lady, she helped the Dowager Lady onto the small oil cart with green curtains and returned to the Dowager Lady.
"You are all tired, go back and rest!" The lady asked Madam Du to help her change her clothes, and said to her son and daughter-in-law, "You still have to visit relatives tomorrow!" Then she ordered the jade tablet, "Go and call the second lady! It's New Year's Day, and she is staying alone in Shaohua Courtyard... The two of us can keep her company!"
"Mother, you're not right." Xu Lingyi sat down next to the old lady with a grin on his face. "The more people there are, the more lively it is. You and my second sister-in-law are alone, but it's still lonely." Then he said excitedly, "How about we play mahjong with you?"
Before the old lady could say anything, Xu Lingyi stopped Xu Lingkuan and said, "Mother is tired after a day's work. Let's go home first! Let her have a good rest."
Xu Lingyi couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed.
The Fifth Lady pulled Xu Lingyi's sleeve and said, "Mom, we'll come see you again later." The Old Lady smiled and nodded.
Everyone bowed and left.
The Fifth Lady asked Eleventh Lady, "When are you leaving?"
This year, Luo Zhenxing and Luo Si's grandmother are spending the New Year in Yanjing, so Shiyi Niang is going to bring the children to Gongxian Hutong to pay New Year's greetings.
Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "Greetings to the Madam and then we'll set off."
Since she married into the Xu family, she would go to greet the old lady at a quarter before the hour, rain or shine. The Fifth Lady did not ask the time, but smiled and said, "Well, I will also greet the old lady early. Let's go back together."
"Okay!" Eleventh Lady nodded with a smile, and returned to the main house with Xu Lingyi.
Xu Lingyi's face darkened as he entered the room. He ordered Hubo in a low voice, "Go, bring Jian'er over here!"
Amber didn't know what was going on and hurried to the warm room.
Eleventh Lady was just about to help Xu Lingyi change his clothes, but when she saw this situation, her heart skipped a beat: "My Lord, what happened?" Her heartstrings tightened.
Xu Lingyi said nothing, but his expression was a little cold.
Shiyi Niang was anxious and was about to ask again when Mother Gu came over with the sleeping Jiang'er in her arms.
Without saying a word, Xu Lingyi took Jian Ge'er and put him on the kang, then began to take off Jian Ge'er's clothes.
Jiange'er was awakened and burst into tears.
Eleventh Lady hurried over and said, "My Lord, what are you doing? Be careful not to catch the child cold." But Xu Lingyi remained unmoved. With his face tightly bound, he quickly stripped the child naked, and then carefully examined the child's body.
Eleventh Lady hurriedly took off her small jacket and wrapped the child, saying sternly: "My Lord, if you have anything to say, just say it nicely. The child is still young, and if he catches a cold, it will be no joke..." Mother Gu watched over there, and hurriedly put the cloak that Eleventh Lady had just taken off on her.
Xu Lingyi grabbed the exposed calf of Jian'er and then stopped. Shiyi Niang frowned and was about to ask for clarification, but when she looked up, she saw Xu Lingyi sighing with relief.
Thinking of his unusual behavior in the palace, Eleventh Lady couldn't help but grab his arm and called out "Marquis" in a cold voice.
"It's okay, it's okay!" Xu Lingyi responded to Shiyi Niang at this moment. He patted Shiyi Niang's hand, "Just now in Qianqing Palace, the emperor was holding Jin Ge'er, and the eldest princess suddenly rushed over. The emperor was in a panic, and Jin Ge'er leaned on the armrest of the throne for a while... and then he started crying. Eunuch He took him aside and comforted him for a long time, but I don't know if he was hurt!"
Eleventh Lady's heart was also lifted, and she checked the child in her arms. She found no external injuries, so she stopped. She wanted to blame Xu Lingyi, but seeing that he was also worried, she swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue. A thought came to her mind: Is this the reason why Xu Lingyi had a stern face all the way? Why did the lady look so solemn after getting off the carriage?
She wanted to ask carefully, but the boy in her arms was crying so hard that his heart was broken. He hadn't put on any clothes yet. A servant came from outside through the curtain and said, "The Ministry of Internal Affairs has sent the rewards from the Emperor, the Empress, and the Crown Princess." Xu Lingyi kissed the boy's cheek and told her, "Help the child put on clothes quickly. I'll go and take a look. By the way, ask a doctor to take a closer look at the boy."
Eleventh Lady had no choice but to say "Oh", and first she and Gu Mama helped Jian Ge'er put on his clothes, and then tried different ways to coax her crying son.
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