"Nothing much!" Xu Lingyi said, "We just went hiking together."

"Didn't you say anything?" Eleventh Lady asked.

"Nothing!" Xu Lingyi said, "He failed the exam, so it's not appropriate for me to ask him about his homework, right?"

Xu Siyu's requests were few and far between. Xu Lingyi's small actions would give him a hundred times more confidence.

Eleventh Lady looked at Xu Lingyi with a smile, then shook her head and sighed.

Xu Lingyi saw his wife's eyes twinkling and couldn't help laughing: "What are you thinking about again?"

"I just think the Marquis is very powerful." Eleventh Lady said, "No matter how much we say, it would be better for the Marquis to just walk around outside the city without saying a word!" Her expression was somewhat playful.

She probably wanted to use this seemingly relaxed attitude to tell him to pay more attention to his children!

Xu Lingyi smiled and lay down: "Go to sleep! We don't know who will come tomorrow!"

Eleventh Lady smiled and blew out the lamp.

In the darkness, she fell into a warm embrace.

*

Eleventh Lady woke up at dawn.

Turning his head to the side, he saw Xu Lingyi's face sleeping soundly.

She couldn't help but look at him quietly.

Xu Lingyi looked peaceful as he fell asleep, and he looked several years younger than he did during the day. He had two particularly long eyebrows at the peak of his left eyebrow.

She suddenly thought of a night talk at university, where a classmate said that boys with long eyebrows are afraid of their wives... Thinking of this, Eleventh Lady couldn't help but smile.

Perhaps he sensed something strange about the air flow around him, or perhaps he had slept well, Xu Lingyi suddenly opened his eyes.

Seeing Eleventh Lady looking at him with a smile on her face, he was slightly startled, and his face brightened up as if he had accidentally seen something that made him happy.

"Are you okay?"

Eleventh Lady blushed slightly and quickly grabbed his hand: "I'm fine!"

"Really?" Xu Lingyi looked at her and smiled.

"Really!" Eleventh Lady looked a little embarrassed and sat up as if to cover up something.

The royal blue brocade quilt emitting a faint blue light slid down, revealing her still youthful body, which made his eyes darken.

Eleventh Lady hurriedly turned sideways and put on her bellyband.

The goose yellow brocade made her snow-white skin crystal clear and tender.

Xu Lingyi supported himself with his elbows, and his warm lips fell on her back.

Eleventh Lady’s body stiffened and her hand, which was tying the belt, paused.

"My Lord..." Eleventh Lady's voice seemed a little fragmented, "The maids will be in soon... to serve... to wash and groom..."

"It will be done soon!" Xu Lingyi's tone was slightly smiling, and his body was already pressed closely against hers!

*

When she went to pay her respects to the lady-in-waiting, Eleventh Lady's hands and feet were still a little weak.

The lady thought she was too busy with Xu Siyu's wedding, so she asked Madam Du to serve her a cup of ginseng tea: "If you can't handle it, let Danyang help you. She is the best at entertaining guests. There are not many people in the family, you should help each other."

Eleventh Lady smiled a little guilty and replied "yes", saying: "I thought so too, and was just thinking about how to tell Fifth Brother's wife. Cheng'er is not even one year old yet, so it's a bit difficult to bring it up."

She didn't mean it.

The number of guests who came this time and their complicated identities far exceeded her expectations. Outside, she didn't have to worry about anything because she had Chief Butler Bai to take care of it, but the inner courtyard needed her to take charge of the overall situation. Apart from other things, the families of Chen Gelao, Liang Gelao, and Dou Gelao had all sent gifts, and several ladies were coming. She had to entertain them personally, right? But if she was accompanying these ladies, who would accompany Madam Huang, Madam Tang, Madam Zhou, and Grandma Lin? There were also banquets, tea, and snacks in the inner courtyard... She didn't have to do it herself, but she had to sit there and distribute the cards for the mothers in charge to take them, right? Originally, the third lady helped with this, but now that the third lady had been divided, it was naturally not good for her to worry about it. If she didn't keep the fifth lady in her hands, I'm afraid that even if she had three heads and six arms, it would not be enough.

Before Eleventh Lady finished her words, a silver bell-like voice came from the door: "Although it is Fourth Sister-in-law who is marrying her son, it is also me who is marrying my nephew's wife. I have long wanted to lend a helping hand to Fourth Sister-in-law, but I was afraid that Fourth Sister-in-law would despise me for being vulgar, so I didn't dare to ask for it. Since Fourth Sister-in-law doesn't despise me, I won't be polite!"

"Fifth brother's wife!" Eleventh Lady smiled and stood up to greet the visitor, "With your words, I feel relieved!" Then the two of them smiled and sat around the Taifu Lady, discussing that Eleventh Lady would receive the wives of the ministers and the assistant ministers, while the Fifth Lady would receive Madam Zhou, Grandma Lin and others, and as for people like Madam Huang and Madam Zheng, they would be led to sit with the Taifu Lady. Zhu Xiang was in charge of the tea, and Mother Song was in charge of the banquet. At this point, the Fifth Lady said "Ouch" and asked Eleventh Lady: "Which troupe did you invite to perform?"

According to convention, if a troupe is invited, someone must be assigned to be in charge of the performance.

"We invited the Xixiang Society." Eleventh Lady deliberately kept a distance from the Deyin Troupe, "They have a lot of new plays."

"A wedding party is not a party for entertaining guests and enjoying the scenery. It's for fun and novelty." The lady laughed, "Those few excerpts about the harmony of the zither and the harp must be sung." After saying this, she pondered, "I think we should invite all three major opera troupes! Set up a stage in Dianchun Hall and another stage in the outer courtyard. Invite 11-12-year-olds like Xiao Fenfang and Xiao Lianzhu to sing in Dianchun Hall, and famous actors like Bai Jushuang and Xiang Sanwan to sing in the outer courtyard. The office staff will prepare dozens of ingots of silver. Whoever sings best will be rewarded on the spot. Let the three opera troupes compete. Let everyone have fun!"

"Mother, this is a good idea!" Madam Wu nodded in praise. "This way, those people will do their best to sing in the hall for the reputation of the troupe." At this point, Madam Wu became a little excited. "It will definitely be a lively time."

"It has to be lively!" The lady said with a smile, "Even though Yu-ge-er failed the imperial examination, his wedding should still be held in a grand manner! He can't be looked down upon just because we are watched by outsiders!"

In this world, people always lift each other up.

If that's the case, we can just find an excuse to keep Xu Sijie in the inner courtyard.

Eleventh Lady nodded.

"Mother is really thoughtful." She asked Mrs. Wu with a smile, "Then let's ask Madam Shi to help arrange these little actors. What do you think?"

Both of them like to sing opera. Mother Shi has been influenced by them and knows more about the opera troupe than most people.

The fifth lady agreed readily.

A few people discussed some details, and as it was almost noon, the lady invited the two to have lunch.

When I went out, I encountered autumn rain.

"Madam," she knelt and saluted, "Gao Qing's seventh aunt and his wife have brought their son to congratulate the second young master!"

Eleventh Lady was very surprised.

She didn't tell Zhu Anping when she sent the invitation to Xu Siyu's wedding a few days ago, thinking that Bao Ge'er was too young and they were not planning to come.

"Qiniang is here!" The Fifth Lady was also surprised. "She wrote to me a few days ago and said that Bao Ge'er would meet someone, but he came to Yanjing without any mention." She laughed and said, "I often heard her talk about Bao Ge'er in her letters, but I haven't seen him yet. Maybe she got a closer look this time."

The two of them hurried to the main house.

After becoming a mother, Qi Niang still had a slim figure, and her expression was no longer impetuous. Her gestures were full of the cheerfulness of a young girl. She had the grace of a young woman.

She was holding a three or four month old baby in her arms, and a little boy of five or six years old was beside her.

Eleventh Lady was very surprised. Although she guessed the identity of the little boy, she still wanted to confirm it. She pointed at the little boy and asked, "Who is this?"

Qi Niang smiled and said, "This is my eldest son, Stepbrother." Then she told the child to shout, "This is your Eleventh Aunt, and this is the Fifth Madam!"

The child tightly pinched the corner of Qinniang's clothes and called for help in a soft voice.

Qi Niang apologized, "I grew up in the countryside and have never seen the world, so I am a little timid. I hope my eleventh sister and fifth lady will not be offended if I am rude!"

"Why are you being so polite to us?" Mrs. Wu smiled and looked at Qi Niang's adopted son, stepbrother. "He's just a little kid, he's afraid of meeting strangers. He'll be fine when he grows up. This is not some other place, and we are not others. There's no need to be rude."

Eleventh Lady went forward and hugged Baoger.

The child is white and chubby, and feels heavy in the hand.

"My nephew looks like his uncle." She laughed, "He looks 70% like my third brother and 30% like my seventh brother-in-law."

Baoger fell into her arms, twisted his body, looked at Qiniang and started crying.

Qi Niang hurried forward to take it: "I have held her since she was little, and no one else wants her. Even your seventh brother-in-law can't hold her."

Seeing that his stepbrother was somewhat like Zhu Anping, the Fifth Lady said, "Doesn't that mean you don't want your mother-in-law either?"

Qi Niang glanced at the Fifth Madam and smiled, as if to say, "Is there any need to ask this?"

The Fifth Lady chuckled.

The old lady of the Zhu family only thinks about her grandson. If Qi Niang raises her son so that he doesn't need his grandmother, one can imagine how anxious the old lady of the Zhu family will be.

Eleventh Lady also smiled, invited the two to sit on the big kang by the window in the west room, and gave Step-brother and Bao-brother a greeting gift with Fifth Lady. Knowing that Seventh Lady's family would arrive in the afternoon and rest in her own house in Yanjing, she came early this morning, asked about her arrangements for the next few days, and called all the children to greet Step-brother and Bao-brother.

Cheng'er was clamoring to follow his sister Xin'er to play with Bao'er. Before Jing'er and Shen'er came, they were playing Cuju together. They were impatient to sit here and listen to the adults talking, so they pulled Ji'er to go outside to play together.

Stepbrother was so frightened that his face turned pale and he hid behind Qiniang and refused to come out.

Qi Niang smiled and came to the rescue of her stepbrother: "He doesn't know how to play Cuju!"

Jin Ge'er disagreed: "I'll teach him. Even my mother has learned it!"

It seems like Eleventh Lady is very stupid.

Upon hearing this, Eleventh Lady couldn't help but cough lightly.

Qi Niang and Wu Madam burst into laughter.

※

It stopped working all night again, and the phone rang at ten o'clock in the morning!

~~~~(_