The main courtyard is covered with green shade and the sound of cicadas chirping.

The Xiangfei bamboo curtain with purple spots hung quietly at the door of the hall, and the little maidservant stood there in a daze, bored.

Hearing the noise, she immediately stood up straight and then came over in the direction of the sound.

Seeing that it was Eleventh Lady, she quickly opened the curtain and shouted inside: "My Lord, the Madam is back!"

Xu Lingyi walked out from the inner room: "I'm back!"

He wore a royal blue silk gown with a swastika pattern and plum blossoms, and his black hair was neatly combed and a boxwood hairpin was inserted in it. He was dressed very formally, not as casually as he usually wore at home.

Eleventh Lady was slightly stunned.

Xu Lingyi had returned to the inner room: "What's going on over there? Who won?" His voice was calm and a little mellow, no different from usual.

Eleventh Lady had a strange feeling in her heart.

"It's hot, it's rare for us to get together like this." She smiled and went into the inner room, "Everyone is very happy..."

Her voice stopped abruptly as her figure disappeared behind the curtain of the inner room.

In the inner room, Xu Lingyi stood in the middle of the room with his hands behind his back with a serious expression. His cold gaze was like a mountain pressing down on one's head, making the air in the room heavy.

Eleventh Lady's heart sank.

What is the matter? Even the maidservants around him have to hide it from everyone...

She couldn't help but walk quickly to Xu Lingyi's side: "What happened?" The trembling voice echoed in the room, sounding timid and fragile.

Xu Lingyi opened his arms and held her in his arms.

Through the thin clothes, she could feel his muscular chest and strong arms…and her uneasy heart suddenly calmed down.

She put her arms around his waist, raised her head and gazed at Xu Lingyi, her quiet gaze flowing slowly and gently like a spring stream.

The little bit of caution Xu Lingyi had before disappeared without a trace.

Moyan looks weak, but when the time comes, he is stronger, calmer and more rational than he imagined!

He tightened his arms slightly and held the body, as flexible as a spring willow, in his arms.

"The Qu family accused Wang Jiubao of instructing his old subordinates to pretend to be pirates and engage in secret trade. The evidence is irrefutable." Xu Lingyi lowered his head and whispered in her ear, "Although I don't know how the emperor will deal with him, just in case, Wang Jiubao entrusted his three-month-old grandson to me..."

Like a bolt from the blue.

Eleventh Lady's face was filled with astonishment.

Why did Marquis Jinghai choose to sue Wang Jiubao at this time? Why did Wang Jiubao entrust his family's bloodline to Xu Lingyi when there were so many civil and military officials in the court?

Too many questions.

But she trusted Xu Lingyi's judgment and decision more.

"My Lord, what do you want me to do?" Her voice was a little trembling at first, but when she said the last word, her tone had become very calm and composed.

"I'll have the Wang family's assassins dump the child in the orchard guarded by Wan Yizong at midnight tonight." Xu Lingyi's voice was calmer than hers. "Now find a way to get Wan Daxian and his wife to return to the manor, and then adopt the child under their name."

"I know!" Eleventh Lady didn't ask any more questions and said, "I'll ask Bin Ju to come to the mansion right away." As she spoke, she thought, "It's already the beginning of the afternoon, and it will take Bin Ju a day to get back... I'm afraid it's too late."

"Let Wan Daxian help take care of the child. First, he is your companion and loyal to you. Second, the place is an orchard, very remote, and no one will pass by easily," Xu Lingyi said calmly. "If the child cries, Wan Yizong is a kind and honest person. He will not ignore it. When Wan Daxian returns home tomorrow, just say that the child is pitiful and wants to stay!"

Everything has been considered!

Eleventh Lady nodded.

"Then I'll go to Wang Li's place." Xu Lingyi said softly, "If anything happens, send someone to report to me."

Eleventh Lady said "hmm" and let go.

Xu Lingyi hugged her quietly for a while before letting go and leaving the inner room.

Eleventh Lady looked at the swaying Xiangfei bamboo, took a deep breath, and slowly walked towards the big kang by the window - only then did she realize that her knees were a little weak.

* * * * * *

The shadows of the trees outside the window are reflected on the transparent glass window, and the ticking of the Western floor clock makes the room more quiet.

Eleventh Lady called Qiuyu in loudly: "Go, ask Binju to come into the mansion immediately."

Qiu Yu felt a little strange, but still bowed his knees respectfully, replied “yes” and retreated.

Eleventh Lady sat cross-legged on the big kang, staring at Jing'er's agarwood pony toy on the kang in a daze, until Qiuyu came to report, "Wan Daxian's family is here," and then she looked away.

"Let her in!" She smiled.

"Madam!" Bin Ju bent his knees and saluted her, with joy on his face to see her.

Eleventh Lady asked the maid to bring a small stool for her to sit on and served her some tea and snacks.

Bin Ju repeatedly said "I dare not" and took the initiative to ask: "You called me here at this time, do you have any important instructions?"

"Yes, there is something!" Eleventh Lady pondered.

Qiuyu, who observed the expressions on people's faces, immediately retreated with the maid who was serving in the room.

Only then did Eleventh Lady's expression become serious and she motioned for Binju to come over and talk.

"It's like this!" She whispered, "The Marquis has a friend whose concubine gave birth to a son, but his mother didn't allow him to be accepted. She asked the Marquis to help take care of the child. The Marquis couldn't refuse, so he had to agree. But you know the situation at home. How can the Marquis take the child home to raise? If he entrusts someone outside to raise him, he is afraid that rumors will spread. After thinking about it, he wants to entrust the child to you to take care of."

Binju was shocked.

Since he is the Marquis's friend, he must be either rich or noble.

Their Daxian is just a small steward...

"Madam, can I, can I do it?" She grabbed her clothes tightly, looking a little frightened.

"The child is only three months old. You can only look at a person's face but not his heart. I am worried about leaving the child to a stranger." Eleventh Lady said, "I know you and Wan Daxian very well. I feel relieved to leave the child to you."

Bin Ju was also a mother, and her heart softened immediately when she heard that the child was only three months old.

There have been such things in the past. Some people, for the sake of money, would make exaggerated statements in front of their employers, but then turn around and not treat their children as human beings. Some even deliberately abused the children, then extorted money from their employers by saying that the children were sick, or sold the children and ran away with the money...

"Ma'am, don't worry!" She assured, "I dare not say anything else, but the child comes first, and then our family's safety can be guaranteed. I will definitely take good care of the child."

Eleventh Lady was ashamed. She said, "That's not necessary. Just treat the child the same way you treat Chang'an. This will prevent others from getting suspicious. Let the child's stepmother come over."

There are many secrets in a wealthy family. Bin Ju nodded repeatedly: "I know what to do!"

Shiyi Niang was still a little worried that Binju's excessive treatment of the child might arouse other people's suspicion, so she gave him detailed instructions for a long time before letting Qiuyu send Binju out.

But she was no longer in the mood to play.

After sitting in the room for a while, Eleventh Lady got up and went to the fishing pavilion.

A little maid ran towards them with a panicked look on her face.

When he saw Eleventh Lady, he immediately knelt down and saluted: "Fourth Madam, something bad has happened, the Sixth Young Master and the Second Young Miss are fighting..."

Without waiting for her to finish her words, Eleventh Lady ran towards the water pavilion.

From a distance, she heard a burst of crying.

Eleventh Lady was so anxious that she stepped on empty air. If Qiuyu, who was standing beside her, had not quickly helped her, she would have fallen down the stairs.

"What happened?" She hurried into the hall of the waterside pavilion and saw Jing'er in Xu Siyu's arms and Xu Sizhun and Xu Sijie who were trying clumsily to comfort Jing'er so that he wouldn't cry.

"Mom, mom, mom!" Jing'er's face was covered with tears, and he twisted his body to ask Shiyi Niang to hold him.

Eleventh Lady took two steps at a time and went forward to hug Jing'er. She immediately found a red mark on Jing'er's face, as if he had been hit by something.

Her face changed slightly.

The Fifth Lady has come forward and bowed to apologize.

"It's all our sister Xin'er's fault. She couldn't snatch the cards from Brother Jing, so she slapped him." Her face flushed, feeling ashamed and embarrassed. "I've already slapped Sister Xin. I'll tell Master Wu later and teach her a lesson."

Eleventh Lady was furious, but when she saw Xin Jie'er and Jing'er, who were held in the arms of their wet nurse, crying so hard that they couldn't breathe, she suppressed her unhappiness.

"The children are all young, and it's common for them to quarrel and fight." Having said that, the expression on her face was a little stiff.

The Fifth Lady could see it, so she lowered her head and kept greeting him.

Eleventh Lady didn't want to go too far: "It's okay, our Jin brother will be fine after some comfort! You should also go and see Xin sister! The children didn't mean it."

The lady stepped out to act as a peacemaker: "It's all right once it's said out loud. The upper teeth are fighting with the lower teeth, not to mention that they live under the same roof!"

The Second Lady also went over to comfort Xin Jie'er: "Okay, stop crying. If you keep crying, be careful that Chen Ge'er will laugh at you! You are my sister!"

Because he was too young, his wet nurse had taken him to the garden to play while everyone was rowing. He had just woken up and was held in his wet nurse's arms. He was still a little dazed. When he heard someone mention his name, he opened his eyes wide and looked around.

After hearing this, Sister Xin's crying gradually became quieter.

The second wife laughed and touched Xin Jie'er's head.

Jin, who was standing by with bated breath, watched and also stepped forward to coax Xin Jie'er: "I'll make clothes for your Baibai and Lulu, okay?"

Sister Xin nodded and stopped crying.

Xu Sijian ran over to Shiyi Niang and teased Jing'er: "Look, Xinjie has stopped crying, but you are still crying!"

Jin'er ignored him and sobbed in Shiyi Niang's arms.

Xu Sizhun stepped forward and took Jing'er's hand: "I'll take you to release river lanterns!"

Xu Sijie said: "I will play the flute for you to listen!"

Jing'er lay in his mother's arms without even raising his head.

"Look, your brothers are here to see you!" Eleventh Lady said softly, "Stop crying. If you keep crying, you're not a good child anymore!"

Jing'er buried his face in Shiyi Niang's arms.

Xu Siyu thought for a moment and said, "Jin'er, stop crying. I'll take you boating tomorrow, okay?"

Jing'er listened and raised his head.

Xu Siqin walked over with a smile and said, "You can't lie to Jing'er just because he's young! He has a good memory. Be careful that he'll come after you when he grows up!" He added, "Don't forget, you'll be taking the college entrance examination in a few days. How can you have time to accompany Jing'er to row a boat?"

※

Sisters, if you have pink tickets, please give us your support!

Thank you!

O(∩_∩)O~