Xu Lingyi raised his eyes, showing his majesty without even getting angry, and actually made the lady speechless for a moment.

"As for the matter of going to the Jiang family to ask for marriage," he sat down slowly and pondered, "I would like to ask mother to consider it carefully."

The old lady came back to her senses. She sighed softly and said with a wry smile: "I know you are unhappy. But I also have my intentions. Yuanniang was very excited at that time, and you refused to give in. There were many distinguished guests outside. If I didn't agree, who knows what would happen next! Besides, the Jiang family is noble and has produced two imperial teachers, who are deeply respected by the world. I'm afraid they may not want to have anything to do with our family. I thought, even if I go to ask, it is still unknown whether the Jiang family will agree or not? It is better to agree temporarily and make plans later." After that, she sighed, "The Jiang family has a clean and upright style. It seems that Yuanniang is very discerning. Moreover, your father once said that you should marry a virtuous woman. Most women from this kind of scholarly family are smart, elegant, and self-disciplined. That's why she ignored the ridicule of others and came to your house three times to ask for your second brother's wife. "Speaking of her deceased son, the wife's eyes were slightly wet, "You saw it too. Your second sister-in-law is just like what your father said - she was kind and gentle when she was in charge of the household affairs; after your second brother passed away, she was able to stick to her principles. This is all because the Xiang family taught their daughters well. If Zhun brother can marry Jiang's daughter, I don't know how happy I will be!"

Hearing his mother mention his deceased brother, Xu Lingyi's expression softened a lot. He said calmly: "Mother is afraid that this will make the emperor unhappy!"

"That's right." The lady's expression became solemn. "The emperor and the empress are still married, and the empress has given birth to three sons. You first pacified the Miao barbarians, and then conquered the northern border, and made great contributions to supporting the poor. Our family is now as prosperous as flowers and chopsticks, and oil is boiling in a raging fire. How can I not be afraid! I am afraid that the emperor will feel uneasy, that people with ulterior motives will say something in front of the emperor, and I am even more afraid that I will lose the big picture because of the small, and implicate the empress..." As she spoke, she looked at her son with burning eyes, "We can't make any mistakes now. We just have to wait..." As she spoke, she pointed to the sky, "The day of success will come!"

"Mom. The moon is full and then it wanes, the water is full and then it overflows." Xu Lingyi said calmly, "Nothing in this world will last forever. We can't just stop doing something because we're afraid of being remembered!"

The lady was slightly startled: "You mean..."

Xu Lingyi nodded, "I don't agree to marry into the Jiang family, not because I'm afraid that the emperor will be suspicious, nor because I'm afraid that the Jiang family won't agree. Since I've taken on the responsibility of revitalizing the family business, if I can't even choose a well-educated, respectful and honest daughter-in-law for my son, what else can I talk about? It's better to stick to the old business and live an honest life, why bother to go to the Miao barbarians and the northern border to compete with others!" As he spoke, he frowned slightly, "I mainly think that Zhun Ge is too young. If we talk about marriage now, we can only choose someone of the same age. If the child is too young, he will be unstable. It may look good now, but it may not be good when he grows up. There are many such examples."

The lady listened and nodded slightly.

"But if I find someone much older than Zhun Ge, I'm afraid they won't get along in the future." Xu Lingyi had a hint of worry between his brows. "I wanted to wait until Zhun Ge is older, and then help him take a closer look... He is the eldest son, and his future daughter-in-law will be in charge of the household and set an example for the whole family. We can't be careless!"

The lady nodded repeatedly, "You are right. But Yuanniang... we can wait, but I am afraid she can't wait any longer." As she spoke, there was a hint of helplessness in her tone, "Besides, she has always been smart and clever. Now that she is at the end of her rope, I am afraid she will not feel at ease unless she arranges everything properly."

Xu Lingyi said nothing, lowered his eyelids, lifted the lid of the teacup and brushed the floating leaves in the teacup: "So I would like to ask you to consider this matter carefully."

"You mean..." The lady was quite confused.

"When I came out of the courtyard, I asked someone to find out about the Jiang family." Xu Lingyi took a sip of tea. "Among the Jiang brothers, Jiang Bai, Jiang Song, and Jiang Gui are legitimate sons. Among them, Jiang Bai is the president of the Hanlin Academy. He has three sons and two daughters, of which the eldest son and the second daughter are legitimate. Jiang Song returned to Le'an and opened an academy called 'Jin Xi'. He has a son and a daughter, both of whom are legitimate. Jiang Gui is the prefect of Taiyuan. He has two sons and two daughters, of which the eldest son and the eldest daughter are legitimate. Jiang Bai's second daughter is two years old this year, Jiang Song's eldest daughter is four years old, and Jiang Gui's eldest daughter is twelve years old this year. I want to marry Jiang Song's eldest daughter for Zhun Ge!"

The lady pondered and said, "Although the child is young and has no fixed character, he will be like the person he is raised by. Jiang Bai has been up and down in his official career, so his children are bound to have some habits of wealth and nobility. Jiang Song teaches in the countryside, so his children may also have some noble character... For a noble family like ours who is at the forefront of the storm, we would rather she be self-admiring and noble than to let her be good at dancing with her husband to compete for fame and fortune..."

"That's exactly what I was planning." Xu Lingyi's eyes flickered, and a cold light like a knife blade flashed across his eyes. "I'm afraid Yuanniang doesn't think so. Besides, she likes to keep something back when doing things. I think this is no exception. Before I came here, I asked Ma Zuowen from the Xingren Division to speak to Jiang Bai on my behalf. If Jiang Bai has a long-term vision, he will naturally know that the so-called noble and elegant must be noble before they can be pure. The imperial tutor is an old story from decades ago. If their family wants to continue to be so prominent, they must find another way out. If he doesn't even have this vision, the Jiang family will soon be on the verge of decline."

"You are really thoughtful." The lady smiled and said, "Jiang Song has no official title, but Jiang Bai is the president of the academy and a candidate for the cabinet. It is naturally much better for us to marry Jiang Song than Jiang Bai. Moreover, if anything happens, our two families are relatives after all, and it is only natural for us to help each other. Even if the emperor knew about it, he would only think that we are forbearing and humble."

"So Yuanniang has to make a scene about this matter openly. Let everyone know why our family wants to marry into the Jiang family." Xu Lingyi nodded. "But secretly, you still have to do it yourself. Otherwise, you end up becoming a relative of Jiang Bai."

"I know it's powerful." The lady nodded slightly, glanced at her son, hesitated for a moment, and said, "There is one more thing. On the second day of February, when I went to the palace to pay a visit to the Empress, I met the Imperial Noble Consort. She asked about Yuanniang's illness. She half-jokingly and half-seriously said that she had a younger sister who was very beautiful. If you didn't already have a wife, it wouldn't be a disgrace for her to be with you..."

Xu Lingyi laughed: "In that case, then don't worry about the Qiao family's affairs - to avoid embarrassment for you!"

Seeing that her son was not surprised at all, the lady asked curiously, "Did you hear anything?"

Xu Lingyi's smile gradually faded, and he answered the question irrelevantly: "Let Yuanniang give it a try, so as to avoid such troubles in the future!" After saying that, he stood up and said, "It's getting late, and you've been tired all day, so you should rest early. I guess there should be a letter from Ma Zuowen tomorrow morning. If there is no reply, then don't mention the marriage with the Jiang family in the future - you are so slow to react, so as not to be implicated by his family!"

Too many things happened today, and the lady was indeed tired. She asked Wei Zi to send Xu Lingyi off.

Wei Zi brought two maids, carried an octagonal glass lamp, and escorted Xu Lingyi out of the yard.

Xu Lingyi's personal servants Lin Bo and Zhao Ying had been waiting at the door with two servants in green clothes and small hats. When they saw Xu Lingyi, the two servants hurried forward to take the lamp from the maid. At the same time, Lin Bo took two steps forward and bowed to Wei Zi with a smile: "Thank you for your hard work, sister!"

Wei Zi bowed and said, "I dare not." She bowed to Xu Lingyi again, then returned with the maid and closed the gate.

Xu Lingyi stood at the gate of the courtyard, looking up at the starry sky, and remained silent for a long time.

Lin Bo exchanged glances with Zhaoying and both saw uneasiness in each other's eyes.

"Let's go!" After a long while, Xu Lingyi walked towards the flower hall behind the lady's house.

The two men did not dare to hesitate. Lin Bo walked in front with two servants holding lanterns, while Zhaoying served on the side.

Halfway through, Xu Lingyi suddenly asked, "Have you asked clearly?"

"I have found out." Lin Bo said hurriedly, "Because Madam sent Yanhong to call him to ask questions, he saw that you had gone to bed again, so he followed you."

Xu Lingyi looked normal and asked, "What did the lady ask him?"

"They said they called him over, but Madam wasn't there." Lin Bo whispered, "Yanhong asked him to wait there, so he didn't dare to leave. That's why..."

"Let's hand him over to Manager Bai!" Xu Lingyi said softly, "Ask Manager Bai to find a smarter one."

Lin Bo replied respectfully, "Yes", and followed Xu Lingyi through the flower hall and onto the East-West Passage.

"My Lord!" After hesitating for a long time, he whispered, "I'm afraid the key to the back garden has been left behind by now."

Xu Lingyi was stunned for a moment, then stopped and stood in front of the flower window wall for a while, then said softly, "Then let's go to Aunt Qin's place!"

Lin Bo agreed and served Xu Lingyi to go to Aunt Qin.

I knocked on the door, and the person who answered was Yu'er, Madam Wen's personal maid.

"My Lord!" She opened her eyes wide, "Why are you here?" Then she realized she had said something wrong and said quickly, "No, I meant that I thought you would rest in the courtyard, so Madam Wen came here to keep Madam Qin company..." As she said that, she quickly stepped aside to make way and shouted "My Lord is here."

The people in the courtyard were immediately awakened and everyone hurriedly put on their clothes, lit lamps, or went forward to pay their respects to Xu Lingyi.

Xu Lingyi looked at the situation and without waiting for Aunt Qin and Aunt Wen to come out, he said, "Let the two ladies have a good rest," and turned to go to the lady dowager.

The lady had just finished her rest when she heard that her son had returned. She quickly put on her clothes and stood up, asking, "What happened?"

"It's okay!" Xu Lingyi said, "I'll stay in your warm room for the night!"

The lady looked at her son and without asking any questions, she ordered the maids to open the boxes and take out the half-new bedding that had been put away two days ago and spread it over his bed.

* * * * * *

Early the next morning, it started to drizzle, falling on the newly emerged tender leaves, making them greener than usual.

Eleventh Lady opened the boxes and asked Tenth Lady to pick out clothes and jewelry.

Bin Ju looked unhappy, and muttered to Dong Qing at the door: "Why don't you let her pick out Fifth Miss's things? She just thinks our Miss has a good temper."

"Stop talking!" Dong Qing whispered, "The eldest lady is still angry. Be careful not to get into trouble and burn our young lady too."

Binju couldn't help but murmured: "I'm just telling you this, right?"

Before she finished her words, someone behind her said, "Is Miss Eleven here? The eldest lady asked her to come over."

The two turned around and saw Luo Qiao standing behind them with a smile.