Madam Wu's words hit the mark exactly what Qi Niang wanted. I think Qi Niang would be able to accept them!

Eleventh Lady perked up and asked, "Then what does my Seventh Sister say?"

"Qiniang naturally agrees with me." The Fifth Lady smiled and said, "Speaking of which, there are only two ways to solve this problem. One is to take a concubine. The other is to adopt someone. But I think that if Qiniang agrees to take a concubine at this time, in front of outsiders, she will lose Zhu Anping's favor and her foothold in the Zhu family. Taking a concubine is absolutely not allowed."

This touched upon Qinnan's heart.

Eleventh Lady nodded slowly.

The Fifth Lady's smile had a bit of brilliance: "Didn't the old lady of the Zhu family insist on adopting a child? Let's adopt one. And whoever the old lady wants to adopt, we will adopt. When the time comes, we will feed the child with good food and drink, and wear money and silver. Since they are eager to give their son to someone else as an adopted son, I don't believe that the child's biological parents don't have any ideas. Even if they don't have any ideas, we can come up with some ideas. When the time comes, let the old lady suffer the consequences and have no words to say! Then find a chance to sue the adopted son for being unfilial. We have people in the government, so everything will be solved. Let's see how arrogant the old lady of the Zhu family is! If we can control the old lady, Zhu Anping will feel guilty towards Qi Niang because of this matter. When the time comes, it will be Qi Niang who has the final say on what will happen to the Zhu family. What's the point of fighting with Zhu Anping at this time? Zhu Anping is her lifelong support."

Eleventh Lady was sweating. The Fifth Lady was indeed someone who had been in and out of the inner palace for a long time.

Thinking of what Qi Niang said when they were leaving... Qi Niang was almost certain to adopt Wu Madam's opinion!

When the Fifth Lady saw that Eleventh Lady didn't say anything, she asked unhappily, "Why? Does Fourth Sister-in-law think my idea is bad?"

This is a solution, and the most important thing is that Qi Niang can accept this solution. Although the second master's words played a crucial role in adopting Si Niang's youngest son, it still depends on Qi Niang in the end. If Qi Niang agrees, I'm afraid that inviting Master Luo to come won't help much. If Qi Niang gives up, it will be useless even if the second master comes to Yanjing to find Yu Yiqing in person.

The Fifth Lady inadvertently completed her plan of cutting off the source of the problem.

"This is a great idea!" Eleventh Lady exclaimed, "This way, my second uncle won't be able to say anything."

It takes two to tango. Maybe both the old lady of the Zhu family and Qi Niang were wrong. But they only knew Qi Niang, and they only heard her one-sided words, and they also protected Qi Niang's interests.

She sincerely said "thank you" to the Fifth Lady: "Thanks to you for coming forward in this matter, otherwise we really don't know what to do!"

"We are family, why should we be polite?" Fifth Madam smiled and hid her sleeves. "Fourth sister-in-law was just too concerned and confused, and she just didn't think of it at the moment."

As they were talking, the carriage stopped - they were home!

Madam Wu advised, "It would be better for Fourth Sister-in-law to go back to Gongxian Hutong tomorrow. Although Qi Niang has made up her mind, Second Master is a father after all, and I'm afraid he still can't figure it out for a while. And there's Madam Yu. If there's someone who can speak up for her, it would be easier to relieve her of her responsibilities."

"I've made a note of that." Eleventh Lady said as she and Fifth Lady got off the carriage and sat in a small oil-drawn carriage with green curtains to go to the Lady Dowager's place.

"What? You remembered to come back!" The lady teased them, "Is Qi Niang okay?"

They explained to the lady that Qinnan came to Yanjing for medical treatment.

"I feel sad." The Fifth Lady sat down next to the Grand Lady. "She said she would come to greet you early tomorrow morning, but I stopped her." She spoke for Qi Niang.

"You were right to stop her." The lady nodded. "She must be in a state of confusion. Don't make things worse for her. When her illness is cured, she will come to see me happily. I will be happy to see her." Then she asked them, "Have you eaten yet?"

Just as Eleventh Lady was about to answer, Fifth Lady said, "We ate. We ate. Madam Yu invited us to dinner. That's why we came back a little late."

"Then you should go back quickly!" The lady said with a smile, "Xing'er and Jing'er haven't seen their mother for a whole day!"

The two men bowed and left.

Eleventh Lady apologized, "You asked my sister-in-law to cover up for me in front of the Madam... Why don't you come to my place for dinner? I'll make two side dishes to treat you."

"You are thinking about Qin'er, and I am thinking about Chen'er. Let's bother Fourth Sister-in-law another day!" Fifth Lady said, and was about to say goodbye to her. Third Lady and Fang came towards them.

"Come to pay respects to mother?" The Fifth Lady greeted everyone and they greeted each other.

"Yes!" The Third Madam laughed, "I heard that you went to visit Madam Yu?"

Madam Wu smiled and nodded, saying, "I heard from mother that Third Sister-in-law thinks that the eldest young mistress is well-educated, filial and virtuous, and does not need you to teach her the rules at all? Then Third Sister-in-law can go back to Shanyang? If Third Sister-in-law goes back to Shanyang, can the eldest young mistress go with her?"

The third wife was stunned and said vaguely: "It depends on what mother wants."

The Fifth Lady said "Oh my!" and said half teasingly and half seriously, "I don't care about that. Anyway, for Jin'er's first birthday, the eldest young lady gave Jin'er a priceless ancient book as a gift. When our Shen'er's first birthday is celebrated, the eldest young lady must also give our Shen'er a similar ancient book, otherwise, be careful or I will chase you to Shanyang to ask for it!"

The Third Madam, Mrs. Fang, and Eleventh Lady all changed their expressions slightly when they heard this.

"A priceless ancient book?" The third lady looked at Fang and murmured.

Fang seemed a little restrained and whispered, "It's the dowry given by my uncle. I just happened to need it!"

Eleventh Lady frowned and pulled the Fifth Lady, "It's been a long day. Third sister-in-law and the others still have to go and pay their respects to the Madame Dowager!" Then she urged the Third Lady, "The little maid has gone in to report. If you don't go in, the Madame Dowager will send someone to ask!" Then she pulled the Fifth Lady away.

The Third Lady stared at the backs of Eleventh Lady and Fifth Lady for a long time, then turned around and looked deeply at Fang, then turned and walked into the main hall.

Fang's eyes darkened, she sighed softly, and followed in on tiptoe.

Eleventh Lady couldn't help but persuade Fifth Lady: "As elders, why should we embarrass the younger generation!"

"One generation plants trees, and another generation enjoys the shade." The Fifth Lady disagreed, "Who wants Third Sister-in-law to be so harsh to others? Otherwise, I wouldn't pick on her." She added, "But, then again, I'm doing this for the good of the eldest young lady - Third Sister-in-law suddenly praised the young lady in front of others. But on weekdays, she is very strict with the eldest young lady. Not to mention the morning and evening visits, even for the three meals a day, the eldest young lady has to set the rules. We are also daughters-in-law, has mother ever treated us like this? She really wants to be a mother-in-law! Otherwise, mother wouldn't have oppressed her like this time and time again.

"I've simply made it clear this time. Given Third Sister-in-law's temper, she would definitely punish the eldest young lady if it were any other time. But now that she wants to go to Shanyang, she can only hold back her temper. Not only does she have to hold back, she also has to continue praising Fang in front of the old lady. What's more, this gift is the daughter-in-law's dowry. What does it have to do with her as a mother-in-law? This way Fang will know how to control her, and she won't have to act like a little daughter-in-law, submissively following her lead. And even if the eldest young lady does something wrong one day, Third Sister-in-law has praised her daughter-in-law like a flower before, so it's not easy to punish her openly later." She added, "After all, the Fang family is a prominent family in Huzhou, and they enjoy a good reputation among the literati. If word gets out about a mean daughter-in-law, we elders will also lose face. Fourth Sister-in-law, don't forget that our Xinjie'er, Chenge'er, and yours..." As she spoke, her tone stagnated, "Jiege'er and Jinge'er haven't got engaged yet!"

Eleventh Lady smiled helplessly.

It was obvious that he was the one who wanted to compete with the Third Lady, but he felt so confident about it.

Besides, the words have been spoken, and there is no point in blaming her. I can only look for an opportunity to mend the relationship between the Third Madam and Fang later.

* * * * * *

Back in the house, Xu Lingyi leaned on the big kang by the window in the inner room and read a book, while Jing'er slept beside him with a rosy little face.

"Jin'er isn't crying?" Eleventh Lady tiptoed to the edge of the kang and leaned over to kiss Jin'er's little face.

Xu Lingyi put the book down, stroked Jing'er's hair lovingly, and whispered, "They quarreled for a while at night. I played with him the whole time, and when I got tired, I fell asleep."

Eleventh Lady felt very guilty and kissed her son's cheek again: "I will never do this again!"

Xu Lingyi laughed when he heard this: "He's a boy, he can't be tied to your belt for life. You should let go when it's time to let go!"

Eleventh Lady was still very upset. She sat there holding Jing'er's little hand and looking at him for a long time.

"Go change your clothes!" Xu Lingyi said, "It's getting late. You've been outside all day, so you should rest early!"

Although she didn't have dinner, Shiyi Niang didn't feel hungry, but she still asked the maid to make her a bowl of noodles. Fearing that Xu Lingyi would be suspicious, she explained, "I didn't eat enough at Fourth Sister's house!"

"Then make a bowl of bird's nest porridge." Xu Lingyi instructed the little maid, "Be careful of indigestion if you eat too much at night."

Yes. From a nutritional point of view, bird's nest porridge is more healthy.

Eleventh Lady went to the bathroom with a smile.

In the middle of the night, I woke up because I was hungry.

She was hesitating whether to take two pieces of snacks from the porcelain vase on the bedside to fill her stomach, but Xu Lingyi beside her suddenly said, "What's wrong? Can't sleep?" His voice was sleepy, obviously he was woken up by her turning over.

"It's okay." Eleventh Lady said hurriedly, "I just woke up suddenly. My Lord, go to sleep! Don't worry about me!" She decided to wait until Xu Lingyi fell asleep before getting up.

In the darkness, she rustled and snuggled up to him.

The slender and soft body like a spring willow pressed against him, and he suddenly lost all sleepiness.

"You're not thinking about me, are you?" he said as he reached down.

"What?" Eleventh Lady said coquettishly.

She came here a few days ago and left yesterday.

Xu Lingyi didn't touch what he remembered, and laughed softly.

Then he grabbed her hand and pulled her down to him.

"I miss you, what should I do?" He blew into her ear.

Eleventh Lady's whole body was hot, and she pinched him: "Then keep thinking!"

Xu Lingyi bit her ear and laughed, pressing her under him...

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PS: I'll post a draft first and fix the bugs tomorrow.

O(∩_∩)O~