Chapter 555: Winner (Part 2)

It was just dusk when I 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 the Medicine King Temple with great interest. Seeing Eleventh Lady and Fifth Lady forcing themselves to pour tea, the Tai Madam smiled and pointed at the two of them and said to Second Lady, "See? They all grew up in a pile of brocade. They can't stand the slightest bit of trouble."

Eleventh Lady pursed her lips and smiled.

The Fifth Lady disagreed: "You sound like you are from the Hutian countryside."

The Second Lady laughed as she watched, "You are here to see the details, but they are here to see the excitement. Naturally, they don't know how grand the temple is today."

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

Everyone in the room burst into laughter.

The lady also smiled and waved at the two of them: "Go back! I only need Yizhen to accompany me here!"

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 show off, when a maid came in and said, "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.

The Fifth Lady 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 and saluted to the lady-in-waiting, then walked out of the door one after the other with the Fifth Lady.

The women 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 brightly under the lights.

Eleventh Lady and the Fifth Lady knelt in salute and followed 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 has returned from accompanying mother to the Medicine King Temple!"

"Well!" Fifth Madam smiled and rushed in front of Eleventh Lady and said, "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..." At this point, 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 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!", holding her waist with one hand and pulling Shiyi Niang's hand with the other: "My waist may have sprained when I got off the carriage just now..." She called the little maid standing under the eaves, "Go quickly and tell He Xiang to let her carry the small bamboo sedan chair." Then she looked as if 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 clearly wanted to know what the Madam would say to the Third Master. Eleventh Lady was also a little curious. After thinking for a while, she simply helped the Fifth Madam: "Since you sprained your waist, you should have told me earlier! How could you bear it?" She ordered the jade tablet, "Miss, 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 the Fifth Madam."

Yuban replied hastily, "Yes, I have sent a little maid to report the news," and stepped forward to help the Fifth Madam.

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

The Fifth Lady hurriedly said, "Don't alarm the Madam, or she will worry again."

Everyone then relaxed and entered the hall with the help of Yuban.

There was no light in the hall, so 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 was well aware of the principle of keeping a secret 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 them as they were both daughters-in-law. Since the lady-in-law did not ask the second wife to avoid the party, she would not care if the other two daughters-in-law knew about it.

She looked at Fifth Madam's back with doting eyes, shook her head, and said 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" of throwing objects in the inner room, followed by the stern voice of the Madam, "You are still talking nonsense here. Xu Lingning, I am not old and confused yet! Even if I am old and confused, I am afraid that your little tricks will not fool me..."

It actually looked like thunder.

Eleventh Lady and Mother Du looked at each other in bewilderment. They both hurried into the west room at the same time, approached the Fifth Lady and looked inside.

The lights were on in the inner room.

Because of the angle, they could not see the lady sitting on the kang. They could only see 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 filigree enamel teacup with flowers and birds rolling around his knees.

"Mom, I didn't hide it from you. I was wrong about this. You can beat me or scold me.

I just hope you don’t get too angry and make yourself sick!”

As he spoke, he kowtowed.

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

"Yizhen!" After a long while, the old 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 you should and scolding you when you should. You have also suffered a lot of grievances..."

Eleventh Lady was shocked when she heard this.

Since he is her own son, she can beat him if she wants and scold him if she wants. Why does she say "wronged"? The old lady obviously has some grudges in her heart. When the third master heard this, he must be panicked... "... As he thought about it, 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, and beating and scolding me is for my own good..."

As they were talking, the second wife's slightly cold voice rang out from the room: "Uncle San, please wipe your face before you talk! I sent everyone around me away because I didn't want you to lose face. If you leave like this, you will let down my mother's painstaking efforts."

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

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

From the tone of voice, you can tell that this is the end.

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

"I never thought 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 rates and took away the business of those idle gangs in Shanyang, which caused trouble." She added, "It's no wonder that Third Sister-in-law is so frivolous. If I had a husband who protected her like this, I would be so confused!"

"If you say that, I'm going to feel bad for Master Wu." Eleventh Lady teased her, "I don't know what Master Wu will do to make our Madam Wu so frivolous?"

The Fifth Lady blushed and said, "You seem so honest, but I didn't expect you to say such a thing."

The two of them stood in the yard while talking. Xu Lingkuan came in with a maid carrying a small bamboo sedan chair.

Under the light of the big red lantern, Lady Five was as charming as a spring flower.

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

The Fifth Lady's eyes and brows were full of tenderness and affection even though she didn't say a word.

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 my back for me and I feel much better!" Xu Lingkuan bowed to Eleventh Lady 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. "When did you come back? Why didn't you write a letter to your family before? Is there something urgent that brought you back to Beijing at this time?"

The third master didn't expect to meet Xu Lingkuan here. He was stunned for a moment and then smiled awkwardly.

"I just came 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 a few days ago..." He was talking to the Third Master excitedly.

Mother Du came out.

"Fifth Master is here." She smiled and saluted Xu Lingkuan, then nodded gently to Eleventh Lady, "Fourth 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, just as they were 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 place. Tell me as soon as you have any news." Then she served tea.

Eleventh Lady said "yes" in a low voice and left. Xu Lingkuan and the others were no longer in the yard. She returned to her own yard.

On the way, I met Zhu Xiang: "Madam, the medicine bottle is in the storeroom, so it's a little late..."

Eleventh Lady waved her hands 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 Reception Office to help deliver a golden box to the Qintian Observatory."

Manager Ma was promoted when the Second Lady was in charge. He is 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 was 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.