Fang and the third wife did not dare to be negligent and hurriedly and respectfully saw the lady out.

After returning to the room, the lady asked Shiyi Niang to stay and talk.

"A harmonious family brings prosperity, and a good wife is half the happiness." The old man lazily leaned on the large ink-splashed pillow on the kang by the window, "Your third sister-in-law was also a smart person, otherwise, I would not have married her. But people always change with time. Sometimes, change is a good thing; sometimes, it is better not to change." As he said, his expression straightened up, and his eyes looking at her suddenly became very sharp, "Your third sister-in-law is confused, but Fang is smart. The third house wants peace and tranquility, and there are some things that cannot be allowed to let your third sister-in-law do whatever she wants. Since you are the wife of Yongping Marquis, you should have an idea in your mind." Then he sat up straight, "Do you understand what I said?"

After listening to the old lady's words and thinking about her previous actions, Eleventh Lady understood a little.

The third wife is a person who is always fussy about trivial matters and can't see clearly the big things. If you live with such a person, if you are weaker than her, she will take advantage of you and step on you. If you are stronger than her, she will be jealous. If you give in to her, she will push for more. If you don't give in to her, she will complain and make trouble. There will be bumps and bruises in your life.

When the Tai Madam was around, the Third Madam was a daughter-in-law, so she naturally had to listen to the Tai Madam. But if the Tai Madam was gone, as a sister-in-law and a younger brother's sister, it would be difficult to restrain her. So the Tai Madam had to promote Fang and let Fang restrain the Third Madam. And because the Third Madam was a mother-in-law, she couldn't violate ethics and blindly suppress the Third Madam, so that Fang would be unscrupulous...

"I understand what you mean, mother." Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "I will grasp this scale."

The lady nodded slightly, with a look of relief in her eyes: "Go and have a rest! I'm tired too."

Eleventh Lady bowed and retreated.

After returning to the house, Qiuyu took a bag of bird's nest and a bag of Panax notoginseng to Fang, coaxed Jing'er, and took a nap together. When they woke up, Qiuyu came over and said, "The eldest young lady said thank you for the medicine. When the lady wakes up from her nap, she will come to thank you again."

Eleventh Lady smiled and nodded, then carried Jing'er to the kang to play.

Qiuyu hesitated for a moment.

Eleventh Lady asked, "What else?"

Qiu Yu thought for a moment and said, "When I went there just now, the Third Madam was yelling and shouting in her room. She was in a rage. The maids and old women in the whole yard were trembling with fear and didn't dare to say a word. When the little maid heard that I was looking for the eldest madam, she winked at me. Later, the eldest young lady came out of the Third Madam's room with red eyes, as if she had been crying. I saw that something was wrong, so I didn't greet the Third Madam and returned."

Eleventh Lady couldn't help but frown.

Apparently, the Third Lady got angry at Fang after the Lady Dowager left.

She is so confused.

Although the Madam gave face to Fang, she also gave face to the Third Madam. She happily said to Fang, "You see how much the Madam feels for you. After I leave, you should respect the Madam on my behalf." To confuse everyone, who would dare to say so confidently that the Madam was suppressing her! Now that there is such a commotion, it is like trying to cover up the truth. The people in the mansion are definitely watching the fun.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but sigh.

Qiuyu's heart couldn't help but tighten.

The reason why she told Eleventh Lady about this matter was because Third Lady was the most polite person. She did not greet Third Lady when she entered the yard, and she was afraid that Third Lady would blame her when she thought about it later.

Qiu Yu hurriedly said, "Madam, how about I go over and apologize to the Third Madam? At that time, I was also afraid that if I entered the room, the eldest young lady would lose face..."

"It's okay!" Eleventh Lady comforted her, "It is indeed inappropriate for you to enter the room under that circumstance." Then she let her leave.

The Third Madam's anger was directed at Fang at this time, and she probably didn't have the energy to argue with the maid!

Thinking of this, she hugged Jing'er and told Fangxi: "Let's go check on the Third Madam."

* * * * * *

"It's been eight or nine months since Third Sister-in-law returned to Beijing, right?" Eleventh Lady and the Third Lady, who still had some anger on her face, sat on the big kang in the banquet hall, one on each side. Jin'er was led by the eldest young lady and the maids to play in the hall. "Third Master is alone in Shanyang, which is really worrying."

The Third Madam's expression brightened when she heard this, and she said hastily, "That's right! I was so worried about both that I couldn't sleep well."

Eleventh Lady smiled and nodded: "Fortunately, the eldest young lady is a well-behaved and capable person, otherwise, Third Sister-in-law really couldn't leave without worry."

The Third Lady choked up when she heard this and said, "She is still young. She will need you aunts to take good care of her in the future." She said it reluctantly.

"Don't worry, Third Sister-in-law." Eleventh Lady smiled, "We all live under the same roof. Fifth Brother's wife and I have been taken care of by Third Sister-in-law. For Third Sister-in-law's sake, I will never be distant with the eldest young lady."

The third lady's expression softened a lot.

Eleventh Lady took the opportunity to get up and say goodbye: "Third sister-in-law will be returning to Shanyang in the next few days. I'm afraid she will be busy for a while. I won't bother you anymore. When Third sister-in-law sets a date, I will see her off."

The Third Lady nodded and sent Eleventh Lady and Jing'er out. When she returned to her room, she only said that she was worried that no one would take care of the Third Master, so she arranged for someone to pack up his box. When Fang went to greet her, she only told her to go back to her room and rest, and did not mention anything about what to do with the family after she left.

Fang couldn't help but feel puzzled.

My husband said that although he was young, he was a married man. He couldn't just follow Mr. Zhao like my third brother. If he didn't learn how to manage the affairs of the household, he should invite Mr. Zhao to study at his home and seek a good reputation.

But how could she, a new bride, say such a thing? She had no choice but to ask Xu Siqin in a roundabout way: "Should we send a letter to Dad about Mom's return to Shanyang?"

When the father-in-law receives the letter, he will definitely tell the husband what to do.

Mother was worried about father and wanted to go back to Shanyang. Xu Siqin knew this. But there were some rumors in the mansion these days, and he was afraid that Fang would misunderstand and think that the third lady's return to Shanyang was related to her sprained hand. He said, "Dad knows about this. A few days ago, Dad wrote to ask when mother would go back!"

Fang felt that there was something else behind these words.

The lady had only recently said that she wanted my mother-in-law to return to Shanyang, so why did my father-in-law write to her a few days ago to ask when she would return to Shanyang? Did my father-in-law and my mother-in-law have discussed this long ago?

She thought about the times she had accompanied her mother-in-law to pay her respects to the old lady, who had expressed her concern for her father-in-law being alone in Shanyang, but the old lady pretended not to know. When she twisted her hand, the old lady immediately changed her tone... Or was she being taken advantage of?

Thinking of this, she didn't want to ask any more questions.

Coming out of Xu Siqin's study, the maid brought chicken soup cooked with Panax notoginseng: "Madam, drink it while it's hot!"

Fang's swelling has subsided a lot.

She looked at the chicken soup and felt something move in her heart, so she went to Shiyi Niang's place.

Eleventh Lady was talking to Fifth Lady.

"Did Zhu Anping really kneel down to apologize to Qi Niang in front of Madam Yu?" Fifth Lady leaned over and asked Eleventh Lady, her eyes sparkling, as if she was watching a show.

Eleventh Lady was a little amused and helpless.

I think the Fifth Lady is very childish.

"How can I really kneel down?" She laughed. "Fourth brother-in-law was beside him, so he helped Seventh brother-in-law up."

"I told you, it's not okay for Qi Niang to fight with Zhu Anping like this." She was a little smug. "What did Qi Niang say?" She added, "I told her to cry and then go back to Gaoqing with Zhu Anping feeling wronged. Did she cry?"

Eleventh Lady couldn't help laughing: "She cried! Not only did she cry, she cried loudly. Zhu Anping also shed a few tears. Zhu Anping decided to stay in Yanjing for a few days and take Qi Niang to walk around and relax. She said that she felt very sorry for not being able to attend Jing'er's first birthday ceremony, so she attended Zhen'er's coming-of-age ceremony before leaving. Now the two of them went to Ciyuan Temple to worship Buddha. Fourth Sister was afraid that we would worry, so she sent her personal mother to pass on the message."

The Fifth Lady curled her lips when she heard this: "I knew it. She reconciled with Zhu Anping and forgot about me!"

Eleventh Lady laughed when she heard this: "I haven't forgotten, I haven't forgotten." Then she stood up and took out a carved red lacquer box from a tall cabinet beside her. "This is a gift from Seventh Lady. She also said that since Zhu Anping is here, it's not convenient for her to come and see you. She will have a good talk with you in a few days when Zhenjie has her coming-of-age ceremony."

"That's more like it!" The Fifth Lady smiled, "Tell her not to feel so guilty. We are good friends. If we become estranged because of this incident, Zhu Anping might even become suspicious. Let her behave the way she usually does!" Then she sighed, "Whose personality does she resemble? Can't she even beat a mother-in-law who was promoted from a concubine to the wife?" As she spoke, she had opened the box, which contained a pair of red gold hairpins with emerald tourmaline and phoenix facing the sun. "Oh, it's so beautiful." She took it out and looked at it carefully, then smiled with her sleeves covered. "If Zhu Anping knew that I was giving advice to Qi Niang, I wonder if he would be so distressed that he couldn't sleep at night?"

"Don't worry!" Eleventh Lady said helplessly, "Fourth sister said that Seventh sister was able to think clearly this time because you persuaded her to reconcile. According to Seventh sister-in-law, he will come to the mansion in person to thank her in the next two days."

The fifth lady's eyes became crescent-shaped when she smiled.

The little maid came to report that Fang was here.

"Why does she come to your place if she's not helping her mother-in-law pack the boxes?" Mrs. Five said with a smile.

"You'll know when you see her." Eleventh Lady instructed the little maid, "Quickly invite the eldest young lady in."

Fang was a little surprised to see Eleventh Lady and Fifth Lady together, and the atmosphere was relaxed and happy.

She smiled and bowed to the two aunts, then sat on the armchair beside the kang and talked.

"Thanks to the two aunts for caring about me, I sent them some medicinal herbs a few days ago." She said gently, "Because my mother-in-law has to go back to Shanyang, there are many things to do at home, so I haven't come to thank you. I took advantage of some free time today to come here, and I didn't expect that Fifth Aunt was here too."

"I just came to sit down!" Madam Wu glanced at Shiyi Niang, picked up the box and stood up, "You guys talk, I'm going to go back first!"

Fang hurriedly asked the Fifth Lady to stay: "I just came to say 'thank you' to the Fourth Aunt. The Fifth Aunt is here, and I just want to chat with the two aunts."

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Post a draft first!

PS: One update today, and more tomorrow!

O(∩_∩)O~