It was still a little early, and the maids and old women were methodically arranging tea sets and moving flowers and plants, while two stewards accompanied Chief Steward Bai to check things out. When they saw Eleventh Lady coming in, the maids and old women bowed, and Chief Steward Bai stepped forward to salute Eleventh Lady, while the two stewards bowed their heads and retreated outside the small hall.

"You've worked hard these past two days!" Eleventh Lady greeted Butler Bai with a smile.

"This is my job." Manager Bai smiled, bowed to Brother Jin and Brother Chen, and said cordially, "Young Master Six and Young Master Seven are up so early!"

Jinger leaned against Eleventh Lady obediently: "Mother said that Second Sister-in-law will serve tea to the elders today, so we have to get up early."

Chen Ge'er said, "Sixth Brother said that if we come earlier, we can get more red envelopes!"

Manager Bai was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "What the Sixth Young Master said makes sense."

Eleventh Lady said nothing, her smile slightly subdued.

As Jin Ge'er gets older, he has more and more crooked ideas. But everyone thinks that it is just the childish talk of a child, or they just laugh it off as funny, or they just ignore it and go along with his ideas. But they don't know that everything starts from the small things. With so many people in the family, spoiling her from top to bottom, she can't always communicate and persuade them one by one to make others accept her point of view - even if she speaks at the top of her voice, others may think she is making a big deal out of nothing.

It would be better for her to keep Jinger with her. If there are any mistakes or opinions, they can be corrected in time. It will not be too outrageous if it is accumulated step by step.

While he was thinking about it, he saw his son glaring at Chen Ge'er.

Chen Ge'er immediately covered his mouth, but couldn't help but loudly defend himself to the steward Bai: "We are not here for the money, we are here to pay our respects to our aunt and sisters-in-law!"

It seems like he is trying to cover up his mistake.

Manager Bai tried to hold back his laughter, but he saw that Eleventh Lady only had a faint smile on her face. He quickly put away his smile and said, "Seventh Young Master is right." Then he straightened his face and asked Eleventh Lady respectfully, "Madam, do you think there is anything you can add or subtract from the furnishings in this room? I can also ask the stewards to arrange it."

There are certain rules for decorating a wedding hall. Not to mention Eleventh Lady, even Manager Bai might not dare to say that he understands them. These matters are handled by the steward of the ancestral hall who is familiar with etiquette.

Eleventh Lady knew that he was trying to change the subject, and she didn't want to talk about that either. She looked around the small hall with a smile and said something polite to Butler Bai. Mother Song came over and reported, "The Fifth Lady is here with the three grandmothers from Nanjing."

She went out to greet him, and just after she said a few words, the third wife came with her son and daughter-in-law.

Everyone greeted each other, chatted and laughed, and then went into the small hall.

Madam Huang, Wu Niang, Qi Niang and others arrived one after another.

Some people greeted Eleventh Lady, some greeted each other and reminisced about the past, and some played with the children.

The small hall was bustling with activity and laughter.

The Xu brothers came in with Zhou Shizheng, Huang Ziqi, the son of Marquis Yongchang, Luo Zhenxing, Yu Yiqing, Zhu Anping, Shao Zhongran and others. The women took their children to the west. The concierge came in and asked everyone to sit down according to age and status. Xu Siyu brought his bride in to offer tea and kowtow to everyone.

Mrs. Huang, who was in charge of Quanfu, brought Xu Siyu and Xiang to Xu Lingyi and his wife.

She was wearing a veil when worshiping heaven and earth, and when she entered the bridal chamber, it was inconvenient for Eleventh Lady, her mother-in-law, to watch the ceremony, so she couldn't help but look at Xiang carefully.

She had grown into a big girl, tall, wearing a scarlet silk jacket with a pattern of birds paying homage to the phoenix, thin but with exquisite curves. She had a fair round face, and the corners of her eyes and eyebrows showed shyness that could not be concealed.

Eleventh Lady took her tea with a smile, gave her a gift of ninety-nine taels of red gold, and then gave her a red envelope containing nine hundred and ninety-nine taels of silver.

Xiang kowtowed with a red face.

Mrs. Zhou, standing aside, burst out laughing and covered her mouth with her hands.

Everyone's eyes were on her.

She hurriedly said, "It's okay, it's okay." She added, "I was thinking that the fourth lady has already married, but I don't know where our daughter-in-law is!"

It would have been better if she didn't say it. After she said that, everyone couldn't help but look at Shiyi Niang carefully.

Perhaps because she was going to be a mother-in-law, she was dressed differently from her usual elegant and unique style. Today, she wore a red jacket with double happiness patterns, a bun, and gold jewelry, which made her look very well behaved. But her eyes were dazzling, like the finishing touch, making her look brighter and more ethereal. She looked two or three years younger than Xiang, who was standing in front of her with a respectful look. It made people smile immediately.

But in this situation, who would have the nerve to tease the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law? Although they tried to hold back their laughter, some weird expressions appeared on their faces.

Eleventh Lady was secretly puzzled and didn't know what was going on.

Xiang was nervous, recalling her every move from the time she entered the house until now, and couldn't figure out where she had behaved impolitely.

The two of them thought about it separately, but the etiquette was still completed meticulously.

Grandma Huang San took the two newlyweds to the east side to meet the men's guests and their relatives, and then went to the west side.

When getting married, the uncle and aunt sit at the head of the table. When recognizing relatives, it starts with the aunt and aunt.

Because Grandma Luo and Grandma Luo Four were not in Yanjing, the newlyweds first kowtowed to Grandma Luo Three. Also, because the daughter of the Xu family's generation was the empress, not an ordinary aunt, someone was sent to deliver the reward before it was bestowed. The newlyweds kowtowed three times towards the east, and Eleventh Lady gave the newlyweds a pair of jade ruyi given by the empress.

The room became lively.

Grandma Hongda took the hand of the Third Madam and said she wanted to see the Third Madam. The Third Madam teased Grandma Hongda and said that the guests came from afar and should go first. Grandma Hongda took Xiang's hand and joked, "You can see clearly that this one is not at a disadvantage at all, it is your Third Aunt." Then she took out a pair of twisted red gold bracelets and a red gold hairpin inlaid with tourmaline as a gift to Xiang, and smiled and said to the Third Madam, "We will see you!"

As a distant relative, this gift is a bit expensive. Not to mention Xiang who just came in and didn't know the situation, even Shiyi Niang who knew that the Fifth Madam was going to knock on the Third Madam was a little surprised, not to mention the Third Madam, whose smile immediately became a little stiff.

Xiang secretly looked at Eleventh Lady's expression, and seeing that she was sitting there with a smile on her face, she stepped forward to take the gift and handed it to the maid beside her, then stepped forward to kowtow to Grandma Hongda.

Fang, who was standing by, sighed secretly in her heart.

She reminded her husband early in the morning to tell her mother-in-law in a tactful way. Although Xu Siyu was a concubine's son, he was the eldest son and Xu Lingyi's first wife. With Xu Lingyi's gentle and kind nature, some people who had received his favors in the past would take this opportunity to return the favor. The scene would not be as grand as that of Xu Sizhun, who would become the crown prince in the future, but it would not be too shabby either. She asked her mother-in-law to prepare more gifts for the meeting, so that the sisters-in-law would not make a fuss and make people laugh at her for not being well prepared.

But judging from the look of things, my mother-in-law probably doesn't take it to heart at all.

She quietly called Jin and whispered her worries to her, asking her to take off the pair of flower hairpins inlaid with South China pearls on her head: "Just give this to mother-in-law quietly and deal with it for the time being."

Jin looked at the pearls, each the size of a fingernail and shining brilliantly, and couldn't help but feel sorry for Fang: "Sister-in-law, how much silver did you spend on these pearls? How about we each take half?"

"No need!" Her mother-in-law would fight with her every other day. Fang only hoped that Jin would stand aside and watch. She smiled and teased, "Next time you encounter this situation, I'll just pull yours out!"

Jin laughed.

She couldn't help thinking that if she really encountered this situation again, she would definitely not let Fang fill the hole for her mother-in-law. But her jewelry was specially made by her mother because she was afraid that her dowry was not enough and she would be looked down upon after marriage. How could she bear to give it away like this!

Thinking about it, I felt a little resentful towards my mother-in-law.

Every time they are so stingy, in the end it is the daughters-in-law who help to smooth things over. When they look back, they don’t see the mother-in-law giving them anything. In fact, what is the difference between this and using the daughter-in-law’s dowry!

When she saw her mother-in-law actually taking Fang's pearl hairpin to deal with the situation, she felt even more depressed.

When I go back to my parents' home to give New Year gifts, I can't help but complain to my mother.

Mrs. Jin was also a girl from a military family. She grew up in a guard post when she was young. She followed her brothers to ride horses and shoot arrows. She had a manly temperament. Later, her husband was in charge of the market. The people who came and went were all market women, who were more aggressive. When she heard her daughter say this, her eyebrows immediately stood up: "You should keep your things well. Your sister-in-law should be a virtuous person, let her do it. If your mother-in-law dares to make a move on you, don't confront her directly, but tell the lady immediately. Don't forget that your marriage is decided by the lady."

Jin hesitated: "My eldest sister-in-law has always been kind to me. A few days ago, my mother-in-law asked me why I hadn't had any movement yet, and my eldest sister-in-law spoke up for me. I turned my back on her like this..."

Mrs. Jin listened and immediately recalled her worries: "Why haven't you gotten pregnant yet? Does your son-in-law treat you well?"

"Okay!" Jin blushed, "My mother-in-law wanted to put a maidservant by her side into my room, but my husband refused to accept her and was even beaten several times by my mother-in-law!" As she spoke, she showed a heartbroken expression.

Mrs. Jin was furious when she heard this: "What kind of mother-in-law is she? She actually meddles in the affairs of her daughter-in-law's room." Even though she scolded her, she still felt a little guilty. After thinking for a while, she held her youngest daughter's face and said, "You are smart. You know how to work together with your sister-in-law. I think, this is it. In the future, you should listen to your sister-in-law if you have any problems. As for the pearl hairpin, you can give it to your sister-in-law in exchange for some silver." Then she asked Fang carefully about the appearance of the pearl hairpin.

With her mother's support, Jin did not suspect anything and told her mother how good the pearl hairpin was, somewhat exaggeratedly. After playing at home for a long time, she happily returned to Sanjing Hutong, weighed the silver and went to Fang's room without saying anything.

After sending her daughter away, Mrs. Jin changed her clothes and left messages at all the major silver shops in Yanjing, asking the shopkeepers to help make a pair of identical pearl hairpins. It was the New Year, but it was not the season for new pearls to be put on the market. Mrs. Jin exaggerated the quality of the pearl hairpins a little bit, saying that they were nowhere to be found at that time. Unable to help but ask in detail, Mrs. Jin exaggerated the story of the Third Madam. By the beginning of spring, the wives of some officials in Yanjing had heard about it. The news that the Third Madam was trying to deduct her daughter-in-law's dowry gradually spread. When the Third Madam learned about it from her sister-in-law, she was so angry that she gnashed her teeth and felt that Fang was hypocritical and gave her the pearl hairpin to frame her. She put the blame on Fang and was very angry when she saw Fang, but Fang behaved properly and did not make any mistakes no matter how she provoked her. She felt that Fang looked like a bodhisattva but was as vicious as a snake. After a few days, she was so angry that she fell ill in bed.

That’s all for later.

The next morning, Xu Siyu and his wife performed the temple worship ceremony, ate the Yuan rice sent by Xiang Yijia, and then went to Xiang's house.

Only then did Eleventh Lady have time to sort out what had happened in the past few days.

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Sisters, please give me pink votes...

O(∩_∩)O~