It was already dusk when we returned from the bustling Yaowang Temple.

Eleventh Lady couldn't help but let out a long breath. Fifth Lady was also a little exhausted. Only the Tai Madam and Second Lady were talking about the Taoist temple in Yaowang Temple with great interest. Seeing Eleventh Lady and Fifth Lady forcing themselves to pour tea, Tai Madam laughed and pointed at the two of them and said to Second Lady, "See? They all grew up in a pile of splendor. They can't stand the slightest bit of tossing."

Eleventh Lady pursed her lips and smiled.

The Fifth Lady refused to agree: "You sound like you came from Hutian Township."

The Second Madam laughed as she looked at him: "You are here to see the doorway, while they are here to see the excitement. Naturally, they don't know how grand the dojo is today."

The lady nodded: "These two are still suitable to go to Ciyuan Temple!"

Everyone in the room laughed.

The lady was also smiling and waved at the two of them: "Go back! Yizhen is here to accompany me!"

Both Eleventh Lady and Fifth Lady felt a little embarrassed.

The Fifth Lady sat on the edge of the kang next to the Madam Dowager, pouting and about to act coquettishly, when a maid came in and reported, "Madam Dowager, the Third Master is back. He's waiting outside!"

The smile on the lady's face slowly faded.

The atmosphere in the room turned cold.

Madam Wu immediately stood up obediently and said, "Mother, I will go back first. I will bring Sister Xin and Brother Shen to greet you tomorrow morning!"

The lady said "hmm" softly.

Eleventh Lady also hurriedly stood up, bent her knees to bow to the lady-in-waiting, and walked out of the door one after another with the Fifth Lady.

The maids were just about to light the lamps.

The Third Master stood under the eaves.

The purple and gold floral patterns on the royal blue gown sparkled under the light.

Eleventh Lady and Fifth Lady both knelt down and saluted, following the children in addressing him as "Third Uncle".

Although the Third Master's smile was as simple and honest as before, it was somewhat lonely. He greeted them and said, "My sister-in-law accompanied mother to the Medicine King Temple and is back!"

"Yes!" Fifth Madam smiled and said before Eleventh Lady, "Mother said she was a little tired, so let's go back and rest first!"

The Third Master's smile added a hint of embarrassment: "I've been running around all day, I should go back and rest early..." Having said this, a little maid standing on the steps said with a smile: "Third Master, the Madam invites you in!" Upon hearing this, the Third Master hurriedly nodded at the two of them, lifted the corner of his robe, and quickly walked into the hall.

The Fifth Lady pulled on Eleventh Lady's sleeve and said, "Why did the Third Master suddenly return to Yanjing at this time? You must know!"

This matter cannot be concealed, and it is only a matter of time before it is exposed.

Eleventh Lady succinctly recounted what had happened.

As the Fifth Lady listened, her eyes rolled, and she saw Yuban and several maids who were serving in the room retreating.

She suddenly cried out "Ouch!", supported her waist with one hand, and pulled Shiyi Niang's hand with the other: "My waist - maybe it slipped when I got off the carriage just now..." She called the little maid standing under the eaves, "Go quickly, tell He Xiang to let her bring the small bamboo sedan chair." Then she looked like she had just discovered Yuban, "Hey, why are you all out?" Without waiting for Yuban to answer, she turned around and said to Shiyi Niang, "Fourth sister-in-law, help me sit inside! I really can't stand anymore. My waist feels like it's broken."

Eleventh Lady watched and laughed secretly.

She obviously wanted to know what the Madam would say to the Third Master?

Eleventh Lady was also a little curious. After thinking about it, she simply helped Fifth Lady up: "Since you sprained your waist, you should have told me earlier! How could you bear it?" She instructed the jade tablet, "Young lady, send a little maid to tell Zhu Xiang to bring the safflower oil that the Marquis gave you two days ago. I will rub it on Fifth Lady."

Yuban replied "yes" hastily, sent a little maid to report the news, and went forward to help the Fifth Lady.

There were clever little maids who opened the curtains and greeted those who were welcome.

Madam Wu hurriedly said, "Don't alarm Madam Tai, lest she worry again."

Everyone then relaxed and walked into the hall with the help of Yuban.

There was no light in the hall, and it was dim.

Mother Du, who was guarding the hall, couldn't help but feel surprised when she saw this.

Yuban said something in a low voice and immediately retreated.

The Fifth Lady is well aware of the principle of keeping secrets from her superiors but not from her subordinates.

She winked at Mother Du, smiled, and quickly went to the west room.

"I want to see what mother said." The Fifth Lady lifted the curtain of the inner room and looked inside.

Mother Du did not stop her - they were all daughters-in-law, and since the lady-in-law did not ask the second lady to stay away, she would not care if the other two daughters-in-law knew about it.

She looked at Fifth Madam's back with a doting look and shook her head, saying helplessly to Eleventh Lady: "Fifth Madam is a mother, yet she is still so childish..."

Before Mother Du finished her words, there was a sudden "clang" sound of throwing objects in the inner room, followed by the stern rebuke from the Madam: "You are still talking nonsense here. Xu Lingning, I am not senile yet! Even if I am senile, I am afraid that your little trick will not be able to deceive me..."

It actually looked like thunder.

Eleventh Lady and Mother Du looked at each other. They both walked quickly into the west side room and approached Fifth Lady to look inside.

The lights were lit in the inner room.

Because of the angle, they couldn't see the lady sitting on the kang. They only saw the Third Master kneeling on the ground, his head and face covered with water stains, his hair, eyebrows, and shoulders covered with tea leaves, and the lady's usual cloisonné enamel flower and bird teacup rolling beside his knees.

"Mom, I didn't hide it from you. I was wrong about this matter. You can beat me or scold me if you want. I just hope you don't get sick from being angry!"

As he spoke, he kowtowed.

The sound of "dong dong dong" echoed in the silent room, making people feel upset.

"Yizhen!" After a long time, the lady's voice sounded again, "Go get a basin of water for your third brother to wash his face." The old lady's voice was a little tired, "Third brother, you should get up too! These years I have treated you like my own son, beating you when I should and scolding you when I should. You have also suffered a lot of grievances..."

Eleventh Lady was shocked when she heard this.

Since he was her own son, she could beat him if she wanted to, and scold him if she wanted to. Why did she say "wronged"? The old lady clearly had some grudges in her heart. The third master would definitely be panicked when he heard this...

While thinking, the Third Master's expression changed drastically.

"Mother," he interrupted the lady and said hastily, "I have never felt wronged. You have been so kind to me. You beat me and scolded me for my own good..."

As they were talking, the second wife's slightly cold voice rang out in the room: "Third Uncle, please wipe your face before you talk! Mother sent the people around her away because she didn't want you to lose face. If you leave like this, you will let down mother's painstaking efforts."

The third master replied "yes" with a shameful look on his face, then stood up and washed his face.

The lady said, "You must be tired from traveling these days. Go back to Sanjing Hutong and rest early. I will talk to you again in a few days."

Judging from the tone, the meeting is over.

In order to avoid being discovered by the Madam, the three of them hurriedly left the west room. Eleventh Lady and Fifth Lady even left the hall.

"I never expected that even after such a thing happened, Third Uncle still protected Third Sister-in-law." Fifth Lady whispered to Eleventh Lady, "From what Mother said, Third Uncle resigned because Third Sister-in-law lent money at high interest and took away the business of those idle gangs in Shanyang, which caused trouble." She added, "It's no wonder Third Sister-in-law is so frivolous. If I had a husband who protected his shortcomings like this, I would not know the directions either!"

"If you say something like that, I'm going to cry out for Master Wu." Eleventh Lady teased her, "I don't know what Master Wu will do to make our Madam Wu so arrogant?"

Madam Wu blushed and said, "You look so honest, but I didn't expect you would say such a thing."

The two of them stood in the yard while talking.

Xu Lingkuan came in with a woman carrying a small bamboo sedan chair.

Under the light of the big red lanterns, the Fifth Lady was as beautiful as a spring flower.

Eleventh Lady laughed teasingly: "Look, who is this?"

The Fifth Lady said nothing, but her eyes and eyebrows were full of tenderness and affection.

Seeing the Fifth Madam standing there in good health, Xu Lingkuan could not help but be surprised: "Didn't you say you sprained your waist?"

The Fifth Lady glanced at Eleventh Lady and said with a smile, "Fourth Sister-in-law rubbed me, and I feel much better!"

Xu Lingkuan bowed to Eleven and said, "Thank you, Fourth Sister-in-law!"

Eleventh Lady accepted Xu Lingkuan's gift gracefully: "Fifth Uncle, you're welcome." She smiled at the Fifth Madam.

The fifth lady’s eyes widened.

The Third Master walked out with a depressed look on his face.

"Third brother," Xu Lingkuan was surprised and happy, not knowing what was going on. "When did you come back? Why didn't you write a letter to your family before? Why did you come back to Beijing at this time? Is there something important?"

The Third Master didn't expect to meet Xu Lingkuan here. He was stunned for a moment, then smiled awkwardly.

"I just got back." He said evasively, "How has Fifth Brother been these days?"

"I'm fine!" Xu Lingkuan smiled, "It's just that I almost got promoted to commander-in-chief a few days ago..." He was talking to the Third Master with great interest.

Mother Du came out.

"Fifth Master is here." She smiled and saluted Xu Lingkuan, then nodded gently to Eleventh Lady, "Fourth Madam, Madam, please come in!"

Eleventh Lady responded and followed Mother Du into the inner room.

The room had been cleaned up. The old lady and the second lady were sitting on the big kang by the window, one on each side. They both looked calm, no different from when she left.

"Is there no news from Huzhou yet?" The old lady did not avoid the second lady.

"There should be news in the next two days!" Eleventh Lady said respectfully.

The lady nodded and said, "Keep a close eye on that side. Tell me as soon as you have any news." Then she brought tea.

Eleventh Lady murmured "yes" and walked out.

Xu Lingkuan and others were no longer in the yard.

She returned to her yard.

I met Zhu Xiang on the way: "Madam, the medicine bottle is in the warehouse, so I'm a little late..."

Eleventh Lady waved her hand and said with a smile, "No need. Fifth Madam is already well."

Zhu Xiang breathed a sigh of relief and accompanied Shiyi Niang back to the house.

"Madam," she whispered to Eleventh Lady, "This morning, Second Madam sent Manager Ma from the Registrar's Office to help deliver a brocade box to the Imperial Observatory."

Manager Ma was promoted when the Second Madam was in charge. He is calm, steady and capable, and is the most capable person under Manager Zhao.

"Do you know what it is?" Eleventh Lady looked a little solemn.

"I heard it's a book." Zhu Xiang said, "but I don't know what book it is."

Eleventh Lady's heart moved.

Sometimes, it is not necessarily money that can impress people, especially those who are educated.

※

The update is a bit late, please get up early tomorrow morning to read it!

O(∩_∩)O~