Although she said this, Eleventh Lady knew in her heart that it was not easy to change this situation.

She couldn't help but think carefully about Xu Sijie's future.

In the evening, Eleventh Lady pulled Xu Lingyi aside to talk: "Yu'er has passed the imperial examination, so he will study hard in the future; Zhun'er is kind-hearted and willing to take care of his younger brothers and sisters. With him guarding the family, both the Marquis and I can rest assured; Jin'er is still young, so take your time, there is no rush. It won't be too late to make arrangements for him when he grows up. Only Jie'er... since he has come to our house, we can't ignore him." As she spoke, she hesitated, "What plans does the Marquis have?"

Xu Lingyi was a little surprised. He smiled and said, "Jie'er is still young, so he should study hard with Mr. Zhao first. When he grows up, I will help him find a future."

He said it very easily and casually.

In other words, this guy just wanted to accept the person and didn't consider anything else.

Eleventh Lady was speechless for a long while, thinking of Xu Sijian's job.

"Donate a future?" She hesitated. "Is it easy?"

"Some things are easy and hard, but also easy and hard." Xu Lingyi said conceitedly, "It all depends on what you do? Who do you ask to do it? When do you do it?"

In other words, this kind of thing depends on chance and luck.

It's as if you said nothing.

Chance and luck are the most unreliable things.

Eleventh Lady was a little discouraged.

I found an opportunity to ask Xu Sijie: "What do you like to do most?"

Since being instructed by Mr. Dou that day, he has become much more depressed. I heard from Xier that after school, he practiced calligraphy and memorized books at home, and put aside everything else.

He thought for a long time and said, "I like playing the flute, making purple clay teapots, playing the piano, and making river lanterns..."

He likes a lot of things, but he can't tell which one he likes the most. Moreover, none of the things he likes are suitable for further study, and finally become the cornerstone of his foothold in this society - these things are things that cultivate one's character, and if they become skills to support a family, they will become low-class craftsmen.

Since he can't choose one from what he likes as his future career, he can only choose one from what he is good at.

Eleventh Lady first invited Mr. Zhao in and asked Xu Sijie about his homework through the screen.

"The fifth young master is very diligent and hardworking. He has already started practicing calligraphy. He is almost done with 'Children's Studies' and occasionally studies 'Sound and Rhyme Primer.'" Mr. Zhao sat there with his eyes lowered, but he couldn't help glancing under the screen out of the corner of his eye.

The moonlit skirt was green and embroidered with goose yellow twined branches, which were wrapped around the hem in circles. It was three inches high and looked extremely gorgeous.

"Thank you for your hard work over the years, sir." Shiyi Niang asked politely, "Has Jie'er started making couplets?"

"It has already started." Mr. Zhao was very respectful.

How he was recommended to the Marquis, how she hinted to him about the child, how she treated the child... Others didn't know, but he knew it best in his heart - the woman with a soft voice behind the screen was actually very bold and smart. When she asked about this, perhaps she wanted to know something else. All he could do was tell her the truth.

"How long?"

“It starts in the spring.”

"But it's a very amazing pair."

Mr. Zhao thought for a moment and said, "The Fifth Young Master's parallelism is very neat. He is not like him learning the flute. He can quickly feel what he wants to express, and then add his own understanding to it..."

Tell her tactfully that Xu Sijie has no talent in this area.

Eleventh Lady could not hide her disappointment and told Xu Sijie about her plan.

Maybe I can help Xu Sizun manage the household affairs at that time.

Xu Sijie mastered it quickly. But when Shiyi Niang asked him to do mental arithmetic, it took him a long time to come up with a result. Not only was his speed slow, but his accuracy was also low.

Managing such a large number of businesses, although you don't have to come forward to negotiate contracts and the like, but when the big boss is undecided and asks you to make a decision, you can't take out the abacus and fiddle with it for a long time before giving an answer, right? Professionals respect those who are more powerful than themselves.

Eleventh Lady couldn't help but frown.

Could it be that apart from his expertise in literature and art, Xu Sijie has no other talents?

But her worry did not last long, as Xu Siyu came back. Eleventh Lady wanted to focus on preparing his wedding, so she decided to put this matter aside for the time being.

"No matter what the result is, Mr. Jiang asked me to go back tomorrow when spring comes." Xu Siyu bowed respectfully to Shiyi Niang and Xu Lingyi, then smiled and greeted Jing'er beside him.

Jing'er responded indifferently and sat there obediently without moving.

In Xu Siyu's impression, Jing'er has always been lively and bright, but at this moment he looked like a vegetable that had been boiled in hot water, and he did not show any joy when he saw him.

He couldn't help but look surprised, and hesitated whether to ask, but Xu Lingyi said: "You have come a long way, and you are exhausted. Go down and rest first! If you have anything to say, we can talk tomorrow."

Xu Siyu had no choice but to retreat.

He returned to his yard and asked Yubian who stayed at home: "Do you know what happened?"

"The Sixth Young Master was taught a lesson by the Fourth Madam," Yu Bian smiled with her hands covering her mouth. "He has been staying by the Fourth Madam's side obediently these past few days and has not dared to go anywhere."

Xu Siyu was stunned.

Yubian told Xu Siyu about Jing'er raising earth dragons, "... they were cut into several pieces, and only a few insects survived, while the others died. The fourth lady asked the sixth young master to cut an earth dragon into two halves first to see if it could survive. If it could survive, she would try to cut it into three pieces to see if it survived, and asked the sixth young master not to rush. After hearing this, the sixth young master took Huang Xiaomao and Liu Erwu to dig earth dragons everywhere.

"One day, we dug near the greenhouse, but there were not enough small porcelain pots for the earthworms. The Sixth Young Master thought the discarded flower pots nearby were ugly, so he picked and chose and finally fell in love with a flower pot with a sweet white background and a picture of boating on a spring river in the corner wall of the greenhouse. He pulled out the flowers and trees and used the flower pot to install the earthworms. Who knew that the flower pot actually contained a Clivia, not just a Clivia, but also a Clivia with a weeping smile. The Second Madam had been raising it for six years, and it was about to bloom..."

Xu Siyu couldn't help but exclaimed softly, "No wonder that flower pot sounded familiar to me!" His voice became anxious. "It takes eight to ten years for a Clivia miniata to bloom. Second aunt has always loved it like a treasure. Why did she put it in the greenhouse like that?"

Yubian smiled and said, "The Second Madam felt that the flower had been on the desk for too long and was a little tired, so she asked Ji Ting's wife to put it in the greenhouse for a few days. She said that the lush vegetation in the greenhouse would be good for the Clivia. Ji Ting's wife didn't dare to be careless and sent a maid to take care of the flower. But it happened that it was the Sixth Young Master who went into the greenhouse to dig the ground dragon that day, and no one dared to stop him. The maid even went to help the Sixth Young Master move a small stool, and this happened as a result."

Xu Siyu couldn't help but said in a deep voice: "I'm afraid this matter..." His tone was hesitant, and there was a hint of worry in his voice.

Yubian's tone was cheerful, "After the incident, everyone was dumbfounded. Especially the Fourth Madam, who hurriedly took the Sixth Young Master to apologize to the Second Madam and promised to find a way to buy a pot of Clivia for the Second Madam. The Second Madam asked the Sixth Young Master why he had to pull up the Clivia."

"What did the Sixth Young Master say?" Xu Siyu asked.

"Sixth Young Master said that flowerpot is the most beautiful."

Xu Siyu felt both amused and confused, but also felt that it was reasonable.

Jing'er has liked beautiful things since he was a child and doesn't want anything that is not beautiful.

"After hearing this, the Second Lady smiled and said to the Fourth Lady: 'The child is still young and does not know much. We, as elders, should not be too fussy about it.' She then let the matter go. Not only that, she also gave Jin Ge'er another flower pot with a painting of fishing in the snowy mountains. She also said that it was rare for someone to know that this was a masterpiece by Shi Xiaohua of the previous dynasty. Beauty is given to beauties, and swords are given to celebrities. This flower pot has been put into the hands of someone who knows the value of things, so it is worth it.

"The Fourth Madam's face flushed red at that time. She tried every means to get a new pot of Clivia for the Second Madam. She also found a purple clay flowerpot to give to her. Now the two flowerpots of Shi Xiaohua have become the Sixth Young Master's. I heard that the pair of flowerpots are worth at least one thousand taels of silver!"

"So mother has detained Jing'er?"

Yubian nodded: "The Sixth Young Master has been depressed these days."

Xu Siyu thought for a moment and said, "What does father say?"

"My Lord?" Yu Bian said with a smile, "My Lord said that the flowerpot looked ordinary, but he didn't expect it to be an antique. Who knew there were such good things in the greenhouse? He didn't say anything else."

Xu Siyu laughed: "If it were me, I probably wouldn't know either!"

Just as he was about to ask more, Xu Siqin rushed over from Sanjing Hutong and said, "Let's go out for dinner. My eldest uncle specially prepared a banquet for you at Chunxi Tower."

"It's just right. I want to go see Brother Fang too." Xu Siyu smiled and went to wash up. "The teacher said that Brother Fang helped him copy the exam papers last time. He specially asked me to bring some Le'an local gifts to Brother Fang."

The two of them went to Chunxi Tower chatting and laughing, and came back very late.

The next morning, Xu Siyu went to pay his respects to the lady with a splitting headache.

The lady was hugging Jing'er and comforting him: "... In your own home, of course you can take whatever you want. Who would take a closer look at what it is? How could you know that a Clivia that blooms once every ten years would suddenly appear? Besides, what's the difference between that Clivia and orchids? Jing'er naturally doesn't recognize it. This incident is all the fault of the greenhouse keeper."

Xu Siyu saw that the Second Madam who was sitting beside him was not angry at all, and her eyes looking at Jin Ge'er were very gentle. Jin Ge'er, who was a little uneasy, quickly glanced at the Second Madam after hearing what the Madam said. Seeing that the Second Madam was smiling, he straightened his body and said, "That's right, that's right!" While speaking, he carefully looked at the Second Madam. Seeing that the smile on the Second Madam's face did not diminish, he became bolder and said, "I don't know what Clivia is? What is an orchid?" After saying that, he snuggled tightly in the Madam's arms.

The Second Lady looked at his cowardly appearance and could no longer hold back her laughter.

Jinger looked at it and rolled his eyes, leaving the old lady behind and running to the second lady: "Second aunt, second aunt, I will help you water the flowers in the future."

The second wife was stunned, and hugged Jin Ge'er with a somewhat stiff movement: "Okay!"

Jing'er laughed.

The big phoenix eyes are twinkling, very cute.

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I'll post a draft first and correct any typos tomorrow!

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

O(∩_∩)O~