Eleventh Lady's attention was diverted. She looked at the ceiling of the tent and let out a long sigh: "So, if you have daughters, it's better not to send them to the palace!" She looked quite disappointed.
Xu Lingyi didn't say this to make her sad.
He was afraid that if she continued to act recklessly, he would lose his weapons and armor, and then Shiyi Niang would suffer...
The thought flashed through his mind, and his hand rested on her belly.
"The crown prince has just been canonized," he changed his posture, resting his chin on the top of Shiyi Niang's head, hugged Shiyi Niang intimately, and whispered, "You must be filial and considerate to the emperor and the queen; be tolerant and forgiving to your brothers and sisters; be smart and wise in front of your teachers; be calm and steady in front of the ministers and officials... There are so many things to do, how can you think about taking concubines? The princess's third-day bath ceremony will be held in two days. When you meet the queen, remember to mention it to her. Even if you are dissatisfied in your heart, you can't rashly take a concubine for the crown prince. You have to give Fang Jie'er a few years. If the Zhou family knows about it, they can only be grateful. If it still doesn't work, it won't be too late to discuss how to take a concubine then. Please be more tolerant in front of the emperor, queen."
There are differences between men and women. Although they are siblings, Xu Lingyi cannot often visit the Empress. Moreover, since one is an outsider and the other is a lady of the imperial court, they have to avoid suspicion. If there is anything, when Eleventh Lady enters the palace to pay respects as a lady of the imperial court, she can pass on a message to the Empress. This is a relatively inconspicuous arrangement.
Eleventh Lady understood and rested her head on Xu Lingyi's shoulder: "Don't worry, Lord Marquis, I will convey your intentions to the Queen."
Xu Lingyi hummed, then yawned: "Go to bed quickly! I have to discuss entering the palace with mother tomorrow." His voice was a little unclear, and it was obvious that he was very tired.
The Eleventh Lady said "yes" softly, closed her eyes and prepared to rest, but Xu Lingyi seemed to remember something and said, "If there is an order from the palace to let Jing'er enter the palace, you can find an excuse to refuse. Once he enters the palace, you can't take Jing'er with you to take care of him all the time. It would be bad if he bumps into something or gets into something!"
Maybe he is worried that his son will be looked down upon when he goes there!
Eleventh Lady put her arms around his waist, pressed her chest against his, and said crisply, "Okay."
Only then did Xu Lingyi touch Shiyi Niang's hair and fall asleep.
Eleventh Lady looked up and only saw Xu Lingyi's chin.
The jawline is beautiful, and because of the pursed lips, it seems a little tense, yet there is a sense of dignity and calmness.
Eleventh Lady laughed and gently leaned forward to give her a kiss...
* * * * * *
Is it because she is a strong mother, or is it because Eleventh Lady had too little contact with the Empress Dowager before and didn't know her well? During the third-day bathing ceremony, Eleventh Lady asked the Empress Dowager how she was. As soon as she said, "The princess is so beautiful. She looks like she was made from the same mold as the eldest princess," the Empress Dowager smiled and called her over. She took her hand and asked Jing'er in a low voice, "...Have you grown teeth? You should be able to sit with someone's support for a while, right? Do you eat well? How heavy are you? How tall are you?"
Eleventh Lady answered one by one.
Then the Queen Mother said in a mosquito-like voice: "Tell Madam Zhou. Just do what needs to be done. Don't worry. I'll take care of the palace affairs!"
Eleventh Lady nodded slightly and continued talking about Jing'er, as if the Queen had said nothing just now.
The Queen looked at it, a satisfied smile flashing in her eyes.
Eleventh Lady decided to tell Xu Lingyi everything the Empress said and did when she returned, so that Xu Lingyi would not always treat the Empress as a naive little girl.
While he was thinking, he saw the eldest princess walking in, surrounded by a group of eunuchs and palace maids.
Seeing Shiyi Niang standing beside her mother and talking, she trotted over and pulled Shiyi Niang's sleeve: "Madam Yongping Marquis, Madam Yongping Marquis, why didn't you bring Jing'er with you?"
A nanny whispered to the princess, "Princess, wait until the wife of Marquis Yongping pays respect to you before you speak."
The eldest princess ignored the nanny and said to Eleventh Lady, "Jin'er is so interesting! Last time, when father was holding him, I poked his face with my hand, and he twisted his face and put my finger in his mouth and started sucking it hard!" As she spoke, she stretched out her right index finger to show Eleventh Lady.
The eldest princess' fingers were white and delicate, her nails were neatly trimmed without a trace of dirt, and her small nails sparkled with pink pearls.
No wonder Xu Lingyi looked unhappy when he returned... Who knows what else Jing'er encountered?
Thinking of this, although Eleventh Lady was smiling, she felt a little unhappy. She felt that Xu Lingyi's decision not to let her bring the child into the palace was the right one.
At this moment, the Queen, whose eyes and heart were all on the eldest princess, did not pay any attention to Eleventh Lady, nor did she rebuke the eldest princess for her rudeness. Instead, she smiled and said, "Furong, do you like Jing'er very much?"
The Grand Duke nodded heavily: "He is good-looking! He doesn't look like my eighth brother, who would cry loudly if you touch him."
Some time ago, Concubine Song gave birth to the eighth prince for the emperor.
All the ladies in the hall burst into laughter, and the palace maids and eunuchs also lowered their heads, trying not to laugh.
The eldest princess felt that everyone was laughing at her and was very unhappy. She argued loudly: "I am telling the truth. Jing'er is the most handsome! He is the most handsome person I have ever seen!"
The teaching nanny's face turned purple and she wished there was a crack in the ground she could crawl into. She was so anxious that sweat broke out on her forehead.
Seeing that the eldest princess was angry, the queen smiled and hugged her: "Okay, okay. We didn't mean to laugh at you. We just think it's rare that you already know the difference between ugly and beautiful at such a young age!"
After hearing this, everyone said in unison: "Princess, everyone who has seen the Sixth Young Master of Yongping knows that he is handsome. We are not making fun of you, we just think you are very smart!"
The eldest princess's expression brightened up slightly.
"This is fate!" Someone suddenly laughed, "There are so many children in the palace. The third, fourth, and sixth princes all have study companions, but the eldest princess doesn't think any of them are good-looking. I think the queen and the Marquis of Yongping should get closer and let the sixth young master marry our eldest princess!"
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound in surprise.
The person who spoke was Li Ji's mother-in-law, Princess Ancheng.
Eleventh Lady was furious.
Princess Ancheng, how can she speak so inconsistently? Not to mention that they are cousins, only those from poor families would arrange marriages for their children. You have to know that the survival rate of infants in ancient times was very low. If the marriage was arranged too early, the woman would die young, and the man would inevitably be known as a wife-killer. If the man died young, should the woman remain faithful or remarry? People with a little wealth would start arranging marriages for their children when they were eleven or twelve years old. At this age, the child usually has a rudimentary shape, and it would be easier for the man and woman to arrange a matchmaker.
She glanced quickly at the Queen.
The Queen's expression was gentle, no different from before, but she did not answer.
It seems that he doesn't like what Princess An Cheng said either.
She looked at the lady beside her again.
The lady lowered her head and drank her tea, as if she didn't hear anything.
Eleventh Lady breathed a sigh of relief.
She hoped that her son could find someone he liked... If he liked the princess when he grew up and wanted to be her husband, she would not object. All the decisions must be made by her son himself!
The thought flashed through her mind, and Eleventh Lady's lips twitched slightly. She was about to say something witty to expose the matter, but someone had already said before her: "I think, after Princess Ancheng got a son-in-law, she wanted to match them up whenever she saw a pair of golden boys and jade girls." As she said that, she laughed twice and asked, "Speaking of which, your family's Sheng Ping has been married for three or four months. Is there any happiness for Meng Xiong?"
Eleventh Lady looked over.
The person who spoke was Ren Kun's mother, Princess Changning.
Princess Ancheng listened with a hint of pride in her eyes: "Ji'er shared the country's worries and returned to Fujian a few days after getting married..."
"That's what you did wrong!" Princess Changning interrupted before Princess Ancheng finished speaking, "They are a young couple, one in Yanjing and the other in Fujian... Although the Li family's rule is not to take concubines, as a mother-in-law, you can't keep the child with you just because of this. A daughter who is married off is like water spilled out. I think you'd better send Sheng Ping to Fujian as soon as possible." As she said that, she turned her eyes and said, "Could it be that Madam Li wants her daughter-in-law to set the rules by her side, so she doesn't want to send her daughter-in-law to Fujian?"
According to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, only the families of military commanders above the third rank can stay in Yanjing.
Sitting in this room were all royal relatives, ministers and nobles, while the wives of officials were all outside the hall.
Someone laughed and said, "Ancheng, if you don't know how to say it, we'll ask Madam Li to come and help you persuade her in front of the Queen. What do you think?"
Before Princess Ancheng could speak, someone immediately said in unison, "Yes! Although it is right for a daughter-in-law to set rules in front of her mother-in-law, our Sheng Ping is not the eldest daughter-in-law, and she is also a county lady. She is also a newlywed couple... Madam Li is too unreasonable!"
They were all daughters-in-law who had worked hard for many years and became mothers-in-law. They were all talking about other people's gossips. It was like a stone that caused a thousand waves. Everyone started talking at once.
Princess Changning, who threw the stone, sat on a brocade stool and looked at the people in the room with a smile, watching from the sidelines and withdrawing from the gossip circle.
Eleventh Lady looked at this and her heart moved.
The reason why Princess Changning is favored by the emperor is probably not just because her biological mother once raised the emperor!
What happened next was a bit dramatic.
The Queen Mother summoned Madam Li to come in for questioning.
Madam Li explained repeatedly that she had no such intention. She stayed in Yanjing because Fujian was not stable and she was afraid that the county lady would not be able to adapt to the life there.
Princess Ancheng also kept explaining that it was not that Madam Li wanted to keep her daughter-in-law by her side, but she was afraid that her daughter was too young and ignorant, so she asked Madam Li to keep her daughter by her side and teach her for two years.
As they were talking excitedly, Aunt Huang came in to report that the Crown Princess was ready.
Everyone surrounded the Queen and went towards Sister Fang.
On the way, Princess Ancheng had a gloomy face and seemed very unhappy; Madam Li walked dignifiedly among the ladies of state, without even looking at Princess Ancheng.
Eleventh Lady found it a little funny.
As his eyes moved, he saw Madam Zhou supporting Princess Fucheng.
The two were chatting and laughing with everyone when they were waiting outside the palace to be summoned by the Queen, but after entering the palace, they have been silent until now.
I guess you must be feeling bad!
She thought about it and found an opportunity to pull Mrs. Zhou's sleeve.