Jing'er was in the warehouse with the lady.

"This one looks good!" He pointed to a pomegranate from a row of brocade boxes.

The pomegranate was only the size of a fist. Its skin was carved from jadeite, its flesh was ruby, and on top rested a small white butterfly carved from ivory. It was very cute.

The lady laughed and ordered the jade tablet: "Put this away!" Then she lowered her head and asked Jing'er softly: "Which other one looks good?"

Jing'er took a look and pointed to the Maitreya Buddha who was about three inches tall.

The Maitreya Buddha was pitch black, and it was impossible to tell what it was made of. His chest and abdomen were exposed, and he was smiling, looking very happy.

The lady ordered the jade tablet: "Put that up too!"

Yuban smiled and replied "yes".

The Second Lady could not help but say, "Mother, Brother Jin is still young. This is too expensive. If you have this intention, you can give it to him when he is older."

"It's okay, it's okay." The lady waved her hand disapprovingly, "Our Jin Ge'er is not the kind of person who doesn't know the seriousness of the matter!" As she said that, she hugged Jin Ge'er and kissed him, looking at him with a smile, "Isn't that right, Jin Ge'er!"

Jing'er nodded repeatedly.

The lady asked him softly, "Take a look, what else do you like?"

Jing'er's eyes were moving among the brocade boxes.

The second wife looked at the excited grandparents and grandchildren, smiled helplessly and shook her head.

* * * * * *

When Xu Lingyi and Shiyi Niang went there, the Madam was leaning against the east side of the big kang by the window in the west room. Xin Jieer sat obediently beside the Madam, and the Second Madam sat on the armchair beside the kang. The black lacquered kang table with flowers and birds inlaid in the middle of the kang had been moved away, and Cheng Geer, who was almost eight months old, sat there. Jing Geer and Shen Geer stood at the west corner of the kang, one holding a rattle and the other clapping their hands and standing at the kang.

"Come to me, come to me," the two of them said to each other, teasing Cheng Ge'er.

Cheng'er opened his round black eyes wide, looked at his familiar brother, then looked at the rattle in Jing'er's hand, looking like he didn't know what to do. The lady laughed at him.

The Fifth Lady, who was standing by the kang, touched her second son's black hair in anger and said, "Silly boy!"

Cheng'er took the opportunity to climb into his mother's arms, then pointed at Jing'er and said "ehhhh" for a long time, as if asking Madam Wu to help him get the rattle back.

Xu Lingkuan had already greeted Xu Lingyi and Shiyi Niang with a smile: "Fourth brother, fourth sister-in-law!"

Xu Lingyi smiled at his brother and said, "You don't have to be on duty today!"

"Yes!" Xu Lingkuan bowed to Xu Lingyi and Shiyi Niang, "The emperor has gone to the West Mountain Villa to escape the summer heat and has not returned yet. We who stayed in Yanjing have nothing to do, and the weather is hot. Deputy Commander Liu has adjusted the shifts, so everyone works three days and rests four days. Everyone is happy and relaxed."

The Emperor, along with the Empress, the Crown Prince and others, went to the Western Hills Palace in mid-June. Cabinet ministers and officials from the six ministries followed them. The originally quiet and empty Western Hills suddenly became bustling with people rubbing shoulders with one another and their sleeves flying high, forming a shadow.

As they talked, adults and children beside the kang all looked over. As soon as Xu Lingkuan finished speaking, Jing'er jumped up and said, "Dad, Mom!"

The lady also looked at them with a smile: "You are here!"

Xu Lingyi and Shiyi Niang replied "yes" respectfully and stepped forward to pay their respects to the lady-in-law. The sisters-in-law exchanged greetings with each other. Zhihong led two maids to serve tea and water. Jin'er wanted to get off the kang, and Yuban hurried over to help him put on his shoes. Chen'er saw this and also clamored to get off the kang, so Yuban helped Chen'er put on his shoes. The room was noisy with adults and children, but there was a warm and lively atmosphere.

The lady's eyes narrowed with smile.

After being busy for a while, everyone finally sat down according to their priorities.

The Second Madam asked about Xu Lingkuan's shift change: "Didn't the Emperor keep Elder Liang in Beijing? How come Elder Liang didn't even tell you about your shift change?"

"Deputy Commander Liu asked Elder Liang." Xu Lingkuan said with a smile, "Elder Liang said that this is the business of the Imperial Guards and he doesn't understand it. He only knows that the post must be kept empty and nothing can happen."

The Second Madam laughed and said, "No wonder others say that Elder Liang is very good at dealing with people. However, I'm afraid someone will find fault with him."

Because it concerns Xu Lingkuan himself, Xu Lingkuan's expression tensed up when he heard the words, and he said hurriedly: "What handle do you want to catch? I just go with the flow. I neither stand out nor drag my feet."

Seeing Xu Lingkuan's nervous expression, the second wife laughed and said, "I'm not talking about you. I'm talking about Elder Liang." She added, "The elders in the past have all reached retirement age, and we have to turn a blind eye to them in order to show some sympathy. But now Elder Dou and Elder Wei, who have just joined the cabinet, are in their prime. It's time for them to make great plans. It's fine if nothing happens. If something happens, Elder Liang may have a hard time explaining it."

Xu Lingkuan immediately figured it out. He couldn't help but frown: "Now that the country is peaceful and the people are safe, can't they do less trouble?"

"The country is peaceful and the people are safe?" The second wife smiled disapprovingly, "I heard that since June, there have been frequent incidents of Japanese pirates coming ashore in Fujian to burn, kill and loot. We live in Yanjing, at the foot of the emperor, in the capital, so we naturally don't feel it. But the people in the Jiangnan area are in dire straits, and they are terrified by the Japanese pirates..."

Seeing that the Second Lady was getting more and more serious and the topic was going further and further away, and it was all about her husband, the Fifth Lady hurriedly said with a smile, "Oh, these things are naturally taken care of by the Emperor and the other gentlemen. The rest of us just need to take care of ourselves and not cause any trouble." Then she asked Eleventh Lady with a smile, "Why didn't you see Yu'er and Zhun'er?" Her attitude of changing the subject was obvious.

The second wife looked a little sad, then she lowered her head to drink a sip of tea as if to hide something. When she looked up again, everything was fine.

No one noticed her loneliness.

The eyes of the lady and others fell on Shiyi Niang, who was lowering her head to straighten the collar of Jin Ge'er's clothes. Hearing this, she smiled and looked up and said, "I asked them to come directly after dinner. Judging from the time, they should be here soon!"

The lady then asked about Xu Siyu's exam: "...I'm afraid you still have to pick an auspicious day to burn some incense in front of the God of Literature!" As she spoke, she looked at Xu Lingyi.

"I've checked the almanac." Xu Lingyi had obviously made plans. "In two days, it will be an auspicious day. I'm planning to go there with Yu Ge'er."

"I'm resting at home." Xu Lingkuan said with a smile, "You can accompany Yu Ge'er for a walk when the time comes!"

"Sure!" Xu Lingyi said with a smile, "The scenery there is pretty good."

As they were talking, Xu Siyu and his three brothers came over.

Madam Wu asked curiously, "How did you get together?"

Usually Xu Siyu was always alone, while Xu Sizhun and Xu Sijie were inseparable.

Xu Sizhun glanced at Xu Siyu and said, "It was my second brother who invited us."

"Everyone lives in the outer courtyard," Xu Siyu said with a smile, "it's just a detour." He tactfully acknowledged what Xu Sizhun said.

Xu Lingyi nodded slightly.

The lady invited the three brothers to sit down and asked Xu Sizhun, "Are you busy with your studies? Do you have enough ice? Has that Mr. Dou come to play with you again?"

"The homework is not tight." Xu Sizhun answered respectfully one by one, "There is enough ice. Yesterday, mother sent Sister Zhu Xiang to ask about it. Mr. Dou went to the West Mountain with Dou Ge Lao and has not come these days."

The lady was very moved and said to Xu Lingyi, "I didn't expect that Lord Dou would bring his son with him when he went to Xishan!"

There is a hint of "Look at how others raise their children" in his words.

Xu Lingyi smiled bitterly.

However, Eleventh Lady saw Xu Sijie, who had been silent since entering the room, looking at Xu Sizhun with a surprised expression.

She looked at Xu Sizhun, who had a calm expression, as if thinking about something.

* * * * * *

Everyone sat and talked for half an hour, then the Second Lady stood up to say goodbye, and everyone else followed suit.

On the way, Eleventh Lady curiously asked Xu Lingyi: "How does Second Sister-in-law know so much about the affairs of the court?"

"When I was in my hometown, some news couldn't be delivered directly to the residence." Xu Lingyi whispered, "So Xiangyi would use the excuse of bringing me clothes to send to Second Sister-in-law, and then Second Sister-in-law would use the excuse of greeting the Empress to send the news to the residence. Later, there were more and more things, and Second Sister-in-law couldn't come forward in some places, so Second Sister-in-law asked a loyal companion to help in the Office. Although this companion is no longer in the Office, his knowledge is better than that of ordinary people. Sometimes he comes to give Second Sister-in-law the income from the property and talk to her about things outside."

"No wonder the second sister-in-law knows everything..." Eleventh Lady laughed, but behind her, a woman's breathless voice came: "Marquis, Fourth Madam!"

The two turned around and saw Yuban walking towards them quickly.

"My Lord, Fourth Madam!" She took a deep breath, bent her knees and saluted, and handed over a purple-red bag with peony flowers embroidered in gold thread. "This is something that the Sixth Young Master left with the Madam. The Madam specially sent me to deliver it."

Eleventh Lady was a little surprised.

When Jing Ge'er went there, he didn't bring anything...

The jade tablet said: "Madam is still waiting for me to go back and help her wash and dress..."

What she meant was that she could leave after she got the things.

Shiyi Niang asked Zhu Xiang to take the bag with full of suspicion.

The bag seemed heavier than Zhu Xiang had expected, and she almost dropped it when she took it.

Eleventh Lady was secretly surprised and opened the bag as soon as she returned.

The glittering jewels and precious stones came towards us, making the room brighter.

Xu Lingyi was stunned: "This is..."

Eleventh Lady smiled bitterly: "Mother said that this was left there by Jing'er!"

Xu Lingyi frowned slightly: "Why did mother suddenly think of rewarding Jin'er with so many things, and each of them is extremely valuable! Could it be that mother's body..." As he spoke, his voice began to tremble.

"At the beginning of autumn, I specially invited Doctor Liu to take the pulse of everyone in the family." Eleventh Lady pondered, "If mother is not feeling well, given Doctor Liu's character, even if he doesn't tell me, he will tell the Marquis!" She suddenly thought of Fifth Lady's visit and told her the situation at that time, "...could it be because of this reason?"

Xu Lingyi was stunned at first, then he thought about it carefully: "This is also possible!" Then he laughed, "This kid is usually stingy, but I didn't expect that he would know how to be filial to his elders at the critical moment! Not bad, not bad!" At the end, his smile gradually faded, "Eleventh Lady," he put his arm around Eleventh Lady's shoulders, "It's because you taught me well!" He looked at her with deep and distant eyes, appearing particularly serious and sincere, which made Eleventh Lady feel a little embarrassed.

She coughed lightly and answered irrelevantly: "My Lord also said that I have a headache and I don't know who to ask to take Jing'er to pick oranges."

Xu Lingyi was a little surprised, with a faint smile in his eyes: "There is such a good candidate standing in front of you, and you don't even think about it carefully!"

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Sisters, there have been random power outages during this period, and the war has started again!

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