What happened next went so smoothly that it was a little beyond Eleventh Lady's expectations.

Huang San's grandmother went to the Jin family to propose marriage, and the Jin family readily agreed. They asked the wife of the commander of the Wucheng Military Command, Mr. Wei, to be the matchmaker and received Xu Sijian's engagement letter. On the Xu family side, the third master came to greet the old lady early, happily placed Miss Jin's engagement letter in the ancestral hall, and took the initiative to discuss Xu Sijian's marriage with the old lady: "Sister Zhen will get married in October. I think our brother Jian should get engaged by the end of the year and get married in the spring tomorrow. What do you think?"

The lady drank her tea leisurely and said, "Whether you have money or not, it's good to have a wife for the New Year. Zhen Jie'er has been ready for two or three years. There's nothing to rush about. I think we should make the decision in July and choose a date for the wedding in August."

The Third Master looked at the Madam in surprise, but soon recovered and said with a smile, "August is the time when the sweet osmanthus is fragrant, and it is neither too cold nor too hot, which is the best time to hold a wedding. Mother is really thoughtful."

The lady told Madam Du to bring the calendar over: "I think August 20th is a good date. Zhenjie will get married on October 12th, and the bride will be sent on October 6th. After two days of preparation, it will be Jinger's third birthday." The lady said with a smile on her face, "Then we can have fun again!"

The Third Master replied “yes” with a smile.

The Fifth Lady brought the list over and said, "Mother, take a look!"

In about ten days it will be Brother Chen's first birthday celebration. Xu Lingkuan and the Fifth Madam decided to hold a grand ceremony and started preparations early.

When the Third Master saw this, he stood up and said goodbye - this was the business of the women in the inner courtyard, and it would be inappropriate for him, a grown man and the child's uncle, to stand here.

The lady did not keep him and said with a smile: "Danyang is becoming more and more capable. I think this list is well drawn up. When Mingjian'er gets married, you and your fourth sister-in-law should go to Sanjing Hutong to help."

The Third Master had one foot inside the door and one foot outside. His figure paused, and then the foot inside the door slowly stepped out.

The lady took a sip of tea and returned the list to the Fifth Lady with a smile: "Go show it to your Fourth Sister-in-law. She will also know how to help you arrange it."

The Fifth Lady responded with a smile and went to Eleventh Lady's place.

"...It's hot in June. I have a glass screen in my warehouse. I'll put it in the flower hall. I'll also tell the greenhouse so I can put fresh flowers on the table!"

Madam Wu nodded repeatedly: "Use blue and white porcelain for all the utensils, and put on a bright red tablecloth!"

"Bright red!" Eleventh Lady pondered, "How about lake color? Although not as festive as bright red, it looks refreshing."

"Lake color?" Madam Five's brows were eager to try it out. "I'm just worried that it will be difficult to clean if it gets stained by wine?" She seemed quite tempted.

Silk is dyed into lake color, and if it is dirty, it cannot be washed.

Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "It's better to use coarse ramie cloth. It can be washed if it gets stained!"

"Let's go!" Fifth Lady pulled Eleventh Lady, "Let's go ask the needlework."

Eleventh Lady was also quite interested and wanted to know whether the coarse gauze cloth could be dyed into lake color.

The two of them stayed in the sewing room for the entire afternoon and had dinner together, deciding how to present the first birthday gift for Brother Xu.

It was a little late when I went to pay my respects to the lady.

The lady looked at the two and shook her head. She said with a smile, "You put so much effort into dyeing a tablecloth? Can you finish it in ten days?"

"Mother," Madam Wu refused, "Our son Chen has just celebrated his first birthday. We can only invite relatives and friends to gather together like this when he celebrates his coming-of-age ceremony. Can you let us dye the cloth?"

"When did I tell you not to mess around?" The lady smiled and hugged Jing'er, who was sitting beside her concentrating on playing the nine-linked rings, in her arms. "Just keep dyeing. I'm afraid that if the cloth is not dyed well, you will change the tablecloth to green and the blue and white porcelain to sweet white porcelain... It will make us all restless!"

"No, no." Madam Wu assured her hurriedly, "The needlework people said that they asked the dyeing room to start working overnight, and the design will be ready in five days at most. If it doesn't work, we will just change to aqua blue. My fourth sister-in-law and I tried it today, and the aqua blue is also very beautiful, but it doesn't look as good as the lake blue."

The lady of the house couldn't help but break into a delighted smile as she watched her two daughters-in-law discussing things with each other. She caught a glimpse of Jing'er who was pouting as he tried to untie the nine-ring chain over and over again, and her heart was even happier. She kissed Jing'er with a smile and said, "I don't care about you. You can do whatever you want. As for me, I will only play with our Jing'er and our Shen'er!" As she said that, she kissed Jing'er on the cheek again.

The fifth wife went to hold her son's hand and said, "Brother Chen, did you hear me? You must grow up quickly. You must be filial to your grandmother like your sixth brother."

However, Brother Chen turned his head and pointed at a plate of lotus seed cake on the table on the kang of the lady, and made some noises as if he wanted to eat it.

Madam Wu gently slapped her son's hand and said, "You foodie!"

Everybody burst into laughter.

When no one was in the room, Madam Du quietly reminded Madam Tai: "You are old, and Jing'er is getting heavier. Let Yuban and the others hold the Sixth Young Master!"

The old lady disagreed: "I know it." She paused, but could not help but argue, "Jin'er had a hard life, and he looks chubby, just like the fourth brother when he was a child. When I look at him, I think of the fourth brother when he was a child." As she spoke, she showed a reminiscent expression, "At that time, the second brother was also there..." As the old lady spoke, there was a bit of sadness in her eyes.

This is the old lady's sad story, like a scar that will bleed if opened, and no one dares to touch it easily.

Mother Du smiled and changed the subject: "Would you like to try the little dress embroidered with white lotus that the Fourth Madam made for you a few days ago..."

"You don't have to interrupt." They have been together for decades and they already know each other very well. The old lady was refreshed after hearing this and smiled, "I used to feel unhappy when I saw the mess in this family. I often thought that if the second son didn't leave... this family would be in a different situation. But now, I gradually think it through. Everything has its destiny. If the second son didn't leave, how could the title fall to the fourth son. If the title didn't fall to the fourth son, this family would probably not be as prosperous as it is now!" As she spoke, the old lady sighed softly and talked to Mother Du in private, "The old marquis said that. Although the second son is both virtuous and talented, he has a gentle temperament and a kind heart. He is hesitant and lacks drive. He will take over the business without losing the spirit of benevolence and righteousness, and with the support of Yizhen, he can keep the family reputation intact.

"The fourth son is strong-willed and resourceful, while Yuanniang is smart, capable and decisive. No matter how the world changes, they can make a living, and when the time comes, let them set up their own family. If the emperor can favor one of his sons, we will make the fifth son the emperor - he is the youngest, and we spoil him more than we discipline him. I am afraid that he will not be able to achieve great things in the future. We only hope that he will not make mistakes, not bring honor to our family. That is why we have decided on the marriage with Danyang."

The lady said, her tone slightly paused.

"Though the third son is kind, he is easily influenced and has no opinion. He only wants to be a good person. I originally wanted to marry him to a daughter of a scholar, so I hired a teacher to teach him at home. But it is not easy to find a daughter of a scholar. The famous family despised him for not having any achievements and being born out of wedlock. As for the poor family, I was afraid of being labeled as being unkind to the son of a bastard. So I asked Gan to marry him.

"When Gan first came into the family, she followed the rules and never made a single mistake. I was happy to see her like that. But the old marquis said that her eyes often flickered when she looked at my sister-in-law and brother-in-law. I'm afraid she is not a quiet person. If anything bad happens, it's probably caused by her. He asked me to give her a good beating whenever I have time.

"I didn't think so at the time. I always felt that she was the daughter-in-law and I was the mother-in-law. The master in charge also said that the third child had no talent for studying and could only make up for his shortcomings with hard work. I thought that if he continued to take exams, it would take at least ten or twenty years. During these ten or twenty years, they would live under my nose. If she did something wrong, wouldn't I be able to control her? Besides, I have always been kind to Yizhen and Yuanniang, so how could I be so rude to her!

"The old marquis has criticized me for this a lot! I've argued with him a lot, too!"

The lady smiled bitterly.

"I didn't expect that everything the Marquis said was right!"

This was the first time that Mother Du heard these words.

But no matter what, she was a servant, and the lady-in-waiting told her that she looked up to her, but she could not forget her own status and position and get involved. Once she got involved, the fate between her and the lady-in-waiting would be over.

Mother Du could only say nice things: "The old marquis has a sharp eye when encountering things. Among the lords, only the marquis can compare with the old marquis."

"Alas!" The old lady shook her head gently and murmured, "At that time, Yuanniang wanted to separate and live alone. I saw the fourth child hesitating in front of me, and I felt very uncomfortable. I thought, if they want to live alone, then let them live alone! Anyway, the old marquis also wants them to start their own business. Who knew that the old marquis disagreed. He said that the court situation is now turbulent, the family has few descendants, and that branch is far away in Nanjing, where there is no one to help. If the fourth child is separated at this time, the family will lose its prestige. Let's keep them for a few years and see how they develop. He also joked that if the world is peaceful, it will be fine. If it is not peaceful, I am afraid that I can only rely on the fourth child to revive the family..."

The lady's eyes became sore.

"Sometimes I think, maybe this is fate!"

Before he could finish his words, tears started falling.

* * * * * *

When the lady and Mrs. Du were talking about their son and daughter-in-law, their son and daughter-in-law were also talking about the lady.

"So, mother wants Jian'er to get married in Sanjing Hutong?"

The third lady's face turned red and purple, and she paced around the room like an ant on a hot pan.

Although San Ye looked calm, his brows revealed some frustration that he could not hide: "There's nothing wrong with being in Sanjing Hutong! Everyone knows we moved out anyway!"

"How are they the same?" The third wife became anxious. "The guests, the gifts, and the wedding scene will all be different... It is already very unfair for Jian'er to marry the daughter of a seventh-rank deputy commander, and now he has to..." As she spoke, she sat on the kang with her back to the third master and started crying.

※

There was a power outage at home, and I was writing at get off work. When I got off work, the power was out. I rushed to upload a draft. I don't know when the power will come back at home, so I'll catch the bugs then.

⊙﹏⊙b sweat