Chapter 605: Confusion (Part 2)

When Jian'er heard this, he ran to the lady as if he had found a soulmate.

The lady said to him, "This is a token of our brother's love. Thoughts are more important than anything else. Otherwise, how could there be the saying "A gift of goose feathers from a thousand miles away is a token of deep love"? Our brother worked so hard to pick the oranges, and he also wanted everyone to taste them! Isn't that right, brother?"

Jiang'er nodded repeatedly, nestled in the lady's arms, with his eyes and eyebrows smiling, smiling happily.

Just then Xu Siyu came over.

Seeing a pile of oranges on the table, he was surprised: "So many oranges!"

Jianger patted the blue cloth bag embroidered with chrysanthemums and boasted, "My mother made this for me! It can hold a lot of oranges."

Xu Siyu smiled and looked at the bag on his chest - the strap of the cloth bag was not long, and the opening of the bag was right on Jiange's chest. It looked a bit strange, but it was very convenient to use to pick oranges.

Seeing him staring at him, Jian Ge'er rolled his eyes, ran to the table, picked up an orange and handed it to Xu Siyu: "Second brother, eat an orange!"

Xu Siyu took the orange with a smile.

Xu Lingyi asked him, "Didn't you go out today?"

Xu Siyu said respectfully: "Everyone is thinking about the announcement of the results, and I don't have the heart to go out. I just read some books at home."

"Now that the exam is over, don't think about it anymore." Xu Lingyi was obviously dissatisfied with Xu Siyu's answer, and his tone was a bit of a teaching. "Just do what you need to do. If you can pass the exam, don't be arrogant, there is still a long way to go; if you can't pass the exam, don't be discouraged, there are still opportunities. You are still young, and you don't know how many life-and-death situations you will encounter in the future. Now it's just the first time you take the exam, and you can't keep your composure. Won't you be panicked and have no idea what to do in the future?"

Xu Siyu stood up after hearing this and replied solemnly, "Yes," "It's because I'm not well-educated. I will definitely remember what my father said!"

The atmosphere in the room became tense due to the questions and answers between the father and son.

Xu Sinian and Xu Siqi also felt quite uncomfortable sitting there.

The lady looked at him and laughed: "Okay, okay! It's a rare autumn day with nice weather and the children are all together again, so don't teach them. If you have anything to say, call the children to the study and talk to them carefully."

Xu Lingyi smiled and replied “yes”.

Xu Sinian and Xu Siqi both breathed a sigh of relief.

Jin Ge'er urged Xu Siyu: "Second brother, eat oranges!"

Are you trying to free yourself?

Xu Siyu smiled gratefully at Jiang'er, quickly picked up the orange, and broke off a segment to give to Jiang'er.

Jian'er shook his head: "Brother, eat!" His big phoenix eyes looked at him twinklingly.

When there is food, the elder eats it. Brothers should also respect the elders.

Xu Siyu didn't care and was about to put the orange into his mouth with a smile.

Eleventh Lady, Xu Sizhen and Xu Siyi all said in unison, one called "Yu Ge'er" and the other called "Second Brother": "That orange is sour!"

Xu Siyu was surprised.

Then he saw a trace of regret flash across Jiang'er's brows, and turned around to glare at Xu Sizhen and Xu Siqi.

He was a very smart man, and he understood a little. Without saying anything more, he put the orange slice into his mouth with a smile, chewed it a few times, and swallowed it.

"Although it's not sweet, it's not sour either!" Xu Siyu looked at Xu Siyi in confusion.

Xu Sinian and Xu Si'e were dumbfounded, and Shiyi Niang was also very surprised. Jian Ge'er was stunned at first, then he stepped forward, broke off a piece of orange and put it in his mouth.

But after chewing it for a while, Jiang'er spat out the orange with a "pop": "So sour, so sour!" He stared at Xu Siyu with wide eyes: "Second brother, you lied to me!" His face was full of anger.

Xu Siyu glanced quickly at Shiyi Niang.

Eleventh Lady was smiling silently with her hands covering her mouth, showing no sign of unhappiness.

He was relieved. He glanced at Jian Ge'er and said slowly, "When did I lie to you?" He looked indifferent, "It doesn't taste sour at all..." As he said that, he put another orange slice into his mouth. "It's really not sour!" He emphasized, without moving his eyes or eyebrows, and then handed the rest of the orange to him: "If you don't believe me, try it?"

Jiange couldn't help but hesitate.

"You little devil!" The lady scolded Xu Siyu with a smile.

After hearing the words, Jian Ge'er immediately understood. He ran into the arms of the lady and said, "My second brother lied to me! I won't be fooled!" He looked at Xu Siyu triumphantly.

Xu Siyu pretended to be helpless and sighed: "It's all my grandmother's fault!"

Jiange'er pursed his lips and smiled secretly.

Everyone watched and laughed.

Only Xu Siqi asked Xu Siqi quietly: "Is the orange sour? Why didn't you frown?"

"That was Second Brother deceiving Sixth Brother!" Xu Sizhen said, "If you want to deceive people, of course you have to pretend to be more convincing."

Xu Siqi nodded and said, "That's why some oranges are sour and some are not!" He added, "Wouldn't Second Brother's teeth fall out from the sour taste?"

Xu Sizhe said hesitantly: "Or, second brother is not afraid of sour food? Wang Yun is not afraid of spicy food!"

They thought they spoke in low voices, but they didn't know that the lady and others heard everything clearly. The adults couldn't help laughing, and even the maids and old women in the house laughed secretly.

The cool autumn wind blew through Lingqiong Villa, carrying the evening fragrance of hundreds of flowers, blowing joy to the winding paths in the woods, and the flowers and plants also swayed along.

Eleventh Lady looked at the scene in front of her with a smile, her heart feeling beautiful and peaceful.

But this good mood did not last long.

The next day, the results of the provincial examination came out.

Xu Siyu failed the exam.

The lady was stunned, but soon recovered her composure. "Life is full of ups and downs. It is better to meet someone when you are young than when you are older, have little time left, and don't know how to adapt."

Eleventh Lady nodded, thinking that what the lady said made sense.

"I'm afraid Yu'er must be a little sad!" she murmured, "and it just so happens that all his good classmates are in Le'an. Do you think we should let him stay at Xishan Villa for a few days to relax?"

"Okay!" said the lady, "You can take this opportunity to arrange his marriage properly.

Eleventh Lady nodded and stood up to go to the outer courtyard.

After exiting the Chuihua Gate, he met the servant beside Xu Lingyi.

"Fourth Madam, the Marquis asked me to come in and tell you something. The Marquis and the Second Young Master have gone out of town to climb the mountain, and they won't be back for dinner tonight."

Eleventh Lady was very surprised.

It seems that Xu Lingyi is rarely so tender.

She smiled and sent the servant away, then turned around and saw the Second Madam.

The second wife was a little surprised when she saw her.

Eleventh Lady smiled and asked her, "Are you going to see Yu'er, sister-in-law? The Marquis has gone out of the city with him to climb the mountain."

The Second Lady could not hide her surprise, and nodded slightly. She and Eleventh Lady went to the inner courtyard.

It was the fourth day of the eighth month, and in two days it would be the Mid-Autumn Festival. The flowers and plants in the yard had to be replaced with chrysanthemums and osmanthus flowers to suit the occasion, and from time to time, women handling the flowers and plants could be seen. When they saw them approaching, they all put down their work, knelt down and bowed, and stood against the wall with their heads down.

The second wife suddenly stopped.

She turned to look at Eleventh Lady and said calmly, "Master Liu took the exam twice before he passed. Master Liang did not take the autumn exam the following year, but passed the exam in the year of Yin and Mao. Masters like Master Chen and Master Dou studied hard for ten years after passing the exam before they were able to pass the imperial examination."

Although her words made no sense, Shiyi Niang understood what she meant.

She was probably comforting herself by not caring too much about Xu Siyu's failure!

But even such words, coming out of her mouth, sounded... a little stiff!

Eleventh Lady suppressed her smile and nodded: "Thank you for your concern, Second Sister-in-law. My brothers from my mother's family also did not have smooth sailing in the imperial examinations."

The second lady nodded slightly and parted ways with her.

Eleventh Lady looked at her back and shook her head, then turned around and went back to the main room with a smile.

Zhu Xiang was waiting for her in the inner room.

"Madam, Mr. Dou sent someone to deliver a letter to the Fourth Young Master this morning, hoping to invite the Fourth Young Master to come to his house on the tenth day of the first lunar month to appreciate the chrysanthemums. The Fourth Young Master declined the invitation due to his busy schedule!"

Ever since that day when Xu Sizhe said that Dou Jing had gone to the Western Hills with Dou Ge Lao, Shiyi Niang asked Zhu Xiang to keep an eye on Mr. Dou's whereabouts.

The Emperor has not yet returned to Yanjing, but Dou Jing's invitation has arrived...

"Did Mr. Dou return to Yanjing early?"

Zhu Xiang whispered, "I've asked Manager Zhao from the back office to help find out!"

Eleventh Lady said "hmm" and went to the flower hall.

The mothers who were talking in low voices immediately stopped smiling and stood up respectfully.

Eleventh Lady sat down on the Luohan bed in the hall.

The maid brought the tea quietly.

Eleventh Lady picked up the teacup and took a sip.

Mother Li, who was standing at the bottom of the kitchen, said respectfully: "According to the list given by the office, I carefully calculated that there are about 80 tables for each meal. On the day of the feast, it is estimated that there will be 120 tables..."

Eleventh Lady listened carefully, her mind focused on Xu Siyu's wedding.

Coming out of the flower hall, Zhu Xianglai replied, "Mr. Dou Ge took his eldest son with him, and Mr. Dou Jing did not go to the West Hill with him."

After hearing this, Eleventh Lady was silent for a long time, and then went to Xu Sizhen.

Xu Sizhe was not at home, but with Xu Siqi.

The two brothers were making river lanterns in the workshop.

Xu Sizhen sat at the small square table in the workshop with his chin in his hand: "I think it's better to make a Guanyin Bodhisattva. My grandmother has one in the Buddhist temple. I'm just afraid that it will be windy on the fifteenth day, and it might flip over then."

Xu Siyi sat at the small machine beside the square table and checked the shaved bamboo strips: "This is not easy. Why don't we add a string of garlands around the neck of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva? In this way, the body of the Bodhisattva will be as heavy as the lotus seat, so it won't be a problem even if the wind blows."

"Yes!" Xu Sizhen said, "Why didn't I think of that?" He sat on the small stool next to Xu Sizhen, "Then I will draw Yingluo, and you can give it a try..."

Shiyi Niang tiptoed out of Xu Siyi's yard and whispered to Xier, "Let them play! Don't tell them I was here."

Xier knelt down in confusion and said "yes" and walked her out the door.

After eating Xu Lingyi's Shou Noodles, many of Xu Lingyi's former subordinates heard that the eldest son of the Xu family was getting married, and either came to congratulate him personally or sent their trusted staff to deliver gifts and gifts. There was a constant stream of people in front of the Xu family, and everyone was busy.

"We have to make a big deal out of it!" Xu Lingyi felt a bit of a headache. "I can't just accept this gift and not that one, right? That would make everyone unhappy!"

"Then let's make it a grand event!" Eleventh Lady smiled and gently nudged Xu Lingyi, "What did the Marquis talk about that day? Yu Ge'er was in high spirits after returning. I think he was even more energetic than before he took part in the provincial examination."

※

I went home and took a shower yesterday, and then the power went out again. Today, the power came back at 10 a.m., and it went out again at 12 p.m., and it came back at 3:30 p.m.... I don't know what will happen today. If the above situation happens again, I will try to make up for the extra article tomorrow.

The situation is unclear, please forgive me!

ps: I'll post a draft first, in case there's a power outage and I can't update anymore! ! ~!