How can adults know what children are thinking?

After sending the two children away, Eleventh Lady yawned.

"Give mom how she is and then come back for a nap." Xu Lingyi's expression was indifferent, but to Shiyi Niang's ears it sounded a little teasing.

She pretended not to understand and said "hmm" casually, leaning lazily on the big pillow, not knowing that a blush appeared on her face.

"Brother, have you decided when to report to the Ministry of Personnel and return to the Imperial Academy?" Eleventh Lady asked casually, "What plans do the Marquis and Brother have for today?"

She could also order the kitchen to prepare meals.

The smile in Xu Lingyi's eyes became even more intense, and he didn't dare to tease her anymore, for fear that she would get angry out of shame.

"I will report to the Ministry of Personnel tomorrow." He said seriously, "I was originally planning to go to Wang Li's place with Zhenxing, but Zhenxing invited Jin Hanlin to ask about the situation of the Hanlin Academy. We can only talk about it another day!"

That being said, Luo Zhenxing was not planning to have lunch at Xu's house.

Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "I even specially asked someone to save some new wheat so that I could make lotus leaf cakes."

As soon as he finished speaking, Luo Zhenxing arrived.

Eleventh Lady smiled and stood up, handing the purse she had prepared to Luo Zhenxing: "I heard that there is a new person in your room, this is a little gift from me!"

Inside were a pair of hairpins with bits of red gold and a pair of oriental pearl flowers.

Luo Zhenxing took it with a smile, and went to pay his respects to the lady dowager together with Xu Lingyi and Shiyi Niang, and then returned to Gongxian Hutong. Xu Lingyi went to Wang Li, and Shiyi Niang went back to rest.

As soon as I lay down, Grandma Huang San came.

Eleventh Lady had no choice but to get dressed and get up.

Grandma Huang San came from the Third Madam's place. She seemed a little helpless: "Your Third Madam is really... she thinks the Fang family is easy to talk to. The Fang family sent someone to measure the house, but she actually asked me to lead them to the yard over in Sanjing Hutong."

After the bride came to measure the size of the new house, they would start to ask the craftsman to make the furniture for the dowry. They took the bride to Sanjing Hutong to measure the size. The Fang family might think that Sanjing Hutong was the new house... If the house was filled with several courtyards, the 10,000 taels of dowry from the eldest daughter of the Fang family would definitely not be enough. But if it was not filled, people would inevitably think that the dowry of the eldest daughter of the Fang family was a bit shabby.

Eleventh Lady also felt that this was a bit excessive. After thinking for a while, she said, "How about talking to Minister Liu's wife?"

Grandma Huang shook her head gently. "Mrs. Liu said that Miss Fang grew up with the Fang family's Madam. When the Madam passed away, she left a large fortune for Miss Fang as a dowry. So the Fang family didn't care much about money. I'm afraid that Mrs. Liu doesn't have an idea either."

But doing so is always inappropriate. If word gets out, people will think that the Xu family is defrauding their daughter-in-law's dowry.

"I think we should explain this to the Fang family. The Sanjing Hutong area is for Qin Ge'er, and the new house will be located in the Yongping Marquis Mansion. Let them make their own decision and measure the dimensions wherever they want."

Grandma Huang sighed, "I thought so too - I can't lead the Fang family to Sanjing Hutong."

Eleventh Lady had no choice but to smile and comfort her: "Otherwise, why would the Madam think of asking my sister to come forward - except my sister, there is really no one who can take on the responsibility."

Although she knew it was a compliment, Grandma Huang San's expression still brightened up.

"Don't play tricks on me." As he said that, the topic turned to Madam Zhou. "She is famous for being a matchmaker and she likes to be a matchmaker..." He also talked about Fang Jie'er giving birth to a daughter. "I heard that the Zhou family submitted a memorial to the emperor, asking him to find a concubine for the prince. The emperor didn't say anything, but the queen refuted it, saying that the two had been married for a short time and the prince had just been canonized, so they should put state affairs first and postpone this matter!"

For this event, the Zhou family sent newly-released cherries.

Eleventh Lady didn't say much, so she smiled and chatted with her: "Two children in three years, this is rare in the entire Great Zhou."

Grandma Huang San covered her mouth and smiled: "I think, this is a rare love, right?"

Eleventh Lady also laughed.

The two talked for a long time before Grandma Huang San said goodbye.

Mother Song came in to help Shiyi Niang rest.

"Forget it!" Seeing that it was almost noon, Eleventh Lady asked Mother Song to bring her a cup of ginseng: "Why not take a good rest at noon."

Mother Song smiled and said, "Why don't you go to the Chui Lun Waterside Pavilion and play for a while!"

When the house was renovated that year, Shiyi Niang and Xu Lingyi lived in Chui Lun Waterside for several months. Although they moved back later, the furnishings there did not change, and there were still maids and old women cleaning there. Mother Song said this to hint that she could go to Chui Lun Waterside to rest while playing. However, she didn't care about the affairs of the family, so if she wanted to rest, she didn't have to go to Chui Lun Waterside.

"We'll talk about it later!" She politely rejected Mother Song's proposal. Just as she was about to send someone to see why Xu Sijie hadn't come back yet, Si Xi, who was beside Xu Sijie, came over and said, "Madam, the fourth young master took the fifth young master to the madam's place."

Eleventh Lady frowned.

Xu Lingyi had requirements for Xu Sizun's daily routine - except for visiting the Dowager and Eleventh Lady in the morning and evening, he was not allowed to enter the inner courtyard without the Dowager and Eleventh Lady's message.

"Wait outside the house. As soon as the Fifth Young Master comes out, bring him back!"

Si Xi replied "Yes" and went to the Madam's place. After half an incense stick of time, he came back and said, "Madam, the Madam has asked the Fourth and Fifth Young Masters to stay there for lunch and rest."

Eleventh Lady asked the maid to prepare lunch, and was thinking about how to tell Nan Yong's wife about this matter.

* * * * * *

The lady looked at Xu Sizhun, who had a serious face, and laughed: "Your mother occasionally wakes up late, which doesn't necessarily mean she is sick! If you are worried, you should ask your mother in person. Don't jump to conclusions based on speculation in the future."

Xu Sizhun agreed somewhat embarrassedly.

The lady asked Ge Jin, who had followed with her, to serve Xu Sizhun and Xu Sijie to go to the warm room for a nap, and she couldn't help laughing.

Mother Du, who was listening to the whole story, couldn't help but laugh too.

The lady asked Mother Du to get a copy of "Shuowen Jiezi" and said, "I want to take a good look at it and think of a good name for my next grandson!"

* * * * * *

In the afternoon, Fourth Madam Luo brought her new concubine, Wang, to pay her respects to Eleventh Madam.

Eleventh Lady invited them to sit in the room, and while the maids served tea and snacks, she looked at Wang carefully.

She was only fourteen or fifteen years old, fair and pretty, with a round bun and a peach blossom silver hairpin, wearing a pink Hangzhou silk jacket and a blue-green Hangzhou silk moonlit skirt, slender and slim. She sat there with her eyelids slightly drooping, looking very quiet.

Seeing the maid bringing her tea, she hurriedly stood up. Seeing Fourth Lady Luo sitting there steadily, she sat down with a red face, looking a little awkward.

Fourth Aunt Luo was talking to Eleventh Aunt about Ying Niang: "...she caught a cold, so we left her at home." She caught a glimpse of Aunt Wang's actions and said to her with a smile, "Eleventh Aunt is a royal relative and is the most disciplined. Although you are a concubine, you are also half a master. What's more, you are a guest at my place, not at home. If the maid serves you tea, you just need to bow. There is no need to stand up." She actually looked like she was teaching her the rules.

Aunt Wang blushed even more and responded with a low "yes".

Grandma Luo smiled and explained to Shiyi Niang: "Like me, I grew up in the countryside. I can only give you a few more suggestions. Fortunately, my aunt is not an outsider."

Eleventh Lady smiled and said to Aunt Wang, "Whatever you want to do," and then continued what Fourth Lady Luo had said before, "Did Yingniang catch a cold? Is it serious? Did you see a doctor? What medicine did the doctor prescribe?"

One sentence after another, full of concern.

Grandma Luo said hurriedly, "It's not serious. I asked Doctor Wu from the Imperial Hospital to take a closer look. He said that it would be fine after taking two doses of medicine."

"That's good!"

After they chatted for a while, Fourth Madam Luo and Aunt Wang got up and said goodbye.

In the evening, she went to pay her respects to the Madam Dowager. The Madam Dowager took her hand and looked her up and down. She also asked how Shiyi Niang was doing these days. Did she eat two taels of bird's nest every day as the imperial physician said? She also asked if there was enough bird's nest in the warehouse. If not, she had some and asked her to take some to get better quickly. She ignored Shiyi Niang and scolded Xu Lingyi: "She has a gentle personality, and you should make the decision. Look at Shiyi Niang, her eyelids are blue... She is young now and can withstand it, but in a few years, her body will be broken! Do you really want to be known as a wife-killer?"

Xu Lingyi hadn't been scolded by his mother like this for many years, and he felt very uncomfortable. He went back to the room, afraid that Shiyi Niang would stare at him and ask him questions, but Mother Song said that Shiyi Niang had gone to bed a long time ago.

He went to bed, and Eleventh Lady was sleeping soundly without moving at all.

Xu Lingyi was surprised.

Looked at her carefully.

I didn't see any blue color under her eyelids, but it looked like she had lost some weight.

He held Eleventh Lady in his arms.

Eleventh Lady hummed softly, without opening her eyes, and continued to sleep with her head resting on his shoulder.

Xu Lingyi felt that the lady had exaggerated a bit. But after Shiyi Niang fell asleep for several days in a row, he couldn't help but regret it.

If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have indulged myself like that. This is like eating up all my food reserves. It's better to take it slow and have some fun with Shiyi Niang every day.

Eleventh Lady, however, didn't feel much.

She rested for a few days and gradually felt refreshed. Every day she listened to Grandma Huang complaining about the Third Madam, and also listened to the progress of Xu Siqin's marriage. Soon it was the end of April.

There is good news from Si Niang.

"Our wife gave birth to another little boy, who is white and plump, weighing eight kilograms."

Eleventh Lady rewarded the informant, attended the third-day bathing ceremony, drank the full moon wine, took care of the child, made summer socks for Xu Lingyi... She was busy, and the Dragon Boat Festival would soon be here. As the Dragon Boat Festival gifts were delivered, it was mid-June in the blink of an eye.

The fifth wife gave birth to a son smoothly!

The lady was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling. She hugged Jing'er, who would fall off the kang if he wasn't careful, and kissed him again and again, saying: "This is all the blessing brought by our Jing'er - not only did he come by himself, but he also brought a younger brother!" Her eyes swept over Shiyi Niang's abdomen.

Eleventh Lady's face turned slightly red. Fortunately, everyone's attention was focused on Xu Lingkuan, who was holding the child and laughing, and everyone was talking about the appearance of the newborn.

The fifth lady, lying on the bed with her forehead scarf tied around her neck, looked at her husband with a hint of pride in her eyes.

"Just in time!" The third wife, who stayed in Yanjing for her son's marriage, smiled and said, "After the baby's full moon banquet, it will be time for Qin Ge'er's wedding. After Qin Ge'er's wedding, it will be the baby's hundredth day. This child was really born on the right day."

Eleventh Lady was thinking about Xu Sijie, who was sitting upright at the table on the kang, tracing red characters meticulously.

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