He already said he was scared, but his mother still wanted him to apologize?

"Mom..." Jing'er's eyes widened and he bit his lips tightly.

There was suddenly no sound outside the door, and Eleventh Lady's hand rested on the lattice of the door fan with ice cracks.

The mother and son, one inside and one outside, stood facing each other across the door.

With a loud bang, the heavy rain was blown down by the strong wind, like the sound of waves sweeping over, one wave higher than the other. The trees in the yard swayed wildly, humming in the dark night, which was thrilling.

"Mom, mom!" Fear took over. Jing'er no longer cared about anything and knocked on the door hard. "I'm going to apologize to Master Pang, I'm going to apologize to Master Pang..." As he spoke, he began to cry.

Eleventh Lady took a long breath and realized that she was sweating profusely and her whole body was sore as if she had walked through the mountains.

She took a deep breath, tried to make her movements appear calm and composed, and opened the door.

"Mom!" A familiar figure threw herself into Eleventh Lady's arms, "Mom..." and hugged her neck and began to cry.

Eleventh Lady held the little body tightly in her arms.

Amber's eyes were moist. She stood in the hall, wiping her eyes and shouted loudly outside: "Lights, lights quickly!"

There was cheering outside.

The big red lanterns lit up one by one, illuminating everyone's excited faces.

"Don't do this again!" Eleventh Lady let go of Jing'er who had stopped crying.

"Yeah!" Jing'er nodded with a pursed mouth, the tears on his face sparkling under the light.

Eleventh Lady touched her son's head.

Amber came in carrying a red lacquer tray with gilded crabapple flowers: "Madam, Sixth Young Master, have some ginger soup." Then she added, "The hot water is ready."

Eleventh Lady smiled and nodded slightly to Amber, feeding Jing'er ginger soup: "After taking a bath, we will go and apologize to Master Pang."

Jing'er's stomach was growling with hunger, but he dared not make a sound and just nodded obediently.

Eleventh Lady called Hongwen and Ajin to come in and help Jing'er take a bath.

Zhu Xiang walked in with a smile: "Madam, the Marquis has sent someone to deliver the letter. Dinner is also ready and can be served at any time."

"Let's serve the meal to the Madam and the Marquis first!" Eleventh Lady said, "The Sixth Young Master and I will go and accompany Master Pang and then come back for dinner."

Zhu Xiang went to the study with a smile.

"I said, our Jing'er is not the kind of child who doesn't like to be discussed." The lady sighed, and the sound of rain was much more pleasant to her ears. "I want to go and see." The old lady murmured, "I wonder how the child is doing now?"

After hearing this, Madam Du stepped forward to support the Madam and asked, "What about dinner?"

Xu Lingyi helped the Madam before Madam Du did: "It's raining hard outside. The ground is wet, be careful not to slip. I'll go with you!"

He is thinking about it too, right?

The lady dowager smiled and told Mama Du, "Let's have dinner at Eleventh Lady's place! It's just right for her to accompany our Jing'er. He has received such a severe punishment, he doesn't even know how uncomfortable it is!" After saying that, she was supported by Xu Lingyi and walked out of the door.

Amber and the others were cleaning the room. When they heard the noise, they hurried out to greet them: "My Lord, Madam, Madam and the Sixth Young Master have gone to Master Pang's place."

The two were stunned and exchanged surprised looks.

"Don't be so anxious!" The lady looked at the heavy rain outside.

Xu Lingyi thought of the conflict between the Madam and Shiyi Niang just now, and said hurriedly: "Let's finish today. It's better to finish this matter as soon as possible!"

The lady didn't pursue the question any further. Amber helped her sit on the big kang near the window and asked about Jing'er's condition: "...did you sneeze? Did you cough? Did you feel unwell anywhere?"

"No!" Amber smiled and offered the Madam a cup of hot tea. "Madam was also worried that the Sixth Young Master would catch a cold, so she specifically ordered him to take a hot bath!"

As the two were talking, Xu Lingyi was listening at the side.

* * * * * *

"Madam!" Master Pang quickly glanced at the elegant, beautiful and confident woman in front of him, his face flushed, "No, no. The Sixth Young Master didn't mean it!" He seemed a little flustered, "Besides, the Marquis, the Madam, and the Fifth Madam have all given me money for the medicine."

"The cost of medicine is the cost of medicine," Eleventh Lady's voice was pleasant, neither high nor low, neither fast nor slow, with a kind of calm and soothing feeling that made people feel comfortable listening to it. "He did something wrong, so he must apologize to the master!" As she said this, she smiled encouragingly at Jing'er.

Jing'er looked at Master Pang's rough face and thought of his usual stern gaze. He clenched his fists tightly, his mouth twitched, and he couldn't utter a word for a long time.

When has a nobleman like him ever been so humble? The adults in the family have condescended to bring their children to accompany him, which has given him enough face. He should know what is right and what is wrong!

Master Pang was a man of rough but thoughtful. He walked up to Jing'er and put his arm around his shoulder, saying with a smile, "I already know what you mean. A real man is one who can correct his mistakes." Then, trying to liven up the atmosphere, he chuckled twice and said, "Just remember to come to Xiumu Courtyard early for class tomorrow! Without you here today, Xiumu Courtyard will be empty!" He helped Jing'er out of the predicament.

Jing'er breathed a sigh of relief and looked towards Shiyi Niang.

Eleventh Lady shook her head gently and said to Master Pang: "Jin'er has been confined by his father. He will not be able to come to class for two more days!"

Master Pang was very surprised.

They have to pay for medicine, put the child under house arrest, and give gifts... It seems that the Xu family is quite strict in managing their children!

"That means it will take another two days for me to see the Sixth Young Master!"

Eleventh Lady smiled and glanced at Jing'er.

Jin Ge'er did not dare to hesitate and said with a stiff upper lip: "Master, I was wrong. I will never do this again!" His voice was weak, but he finally said it.

"It's okay, it's okay!" Master Pang waved his hands quickly, "I'm fine, aren't I? It's okay, it's okay!" He added, "Sixth Young Master is a straightforward person. Let's talk about it and don't mention it again. Otherwise, I will be angry!" As he said this, he pretended to be angry.

Jing'er let out a long sigh, and his expression became much brighter.

Eleventh Lady smiled and said a few words like "Master Pang, please take good care of Jin'er in the future. If he acts naughty, just ask the servant to tell me," and then she took Jin'er away.

The rain seemed to have eased a little, and the bluestone floor was washed clean, looking particularly smooth under the light of the big red lanterns.

Shiyi Niang and Jing'er walked along the corridor to the inner courtyard.

"It's not that hard to say you're accompanying someone, right?" She asked Jing'er with a smile, "Master Pang didn't lose his temper with you, did he?

Thinking of the discomfort he felt when he said "no" and the lightness he felt after saying it, Jing'er lowered his head a little embarrassedly and said "hmm" softly.

Ever since he gave in, he became a little timid in front of Eleventh Lady.

We can't go too far!

Eleventh Lady thought about it, stopped, and hugged her son affectionately as usual: "But, Brother Jin was really good just now. Mother is very happy!"

Jing'er looked up in surprise, with a hint of uncertainty in his eyes.

Eleventh Lady smiled and nodded firmly at him.

As Jing'er looked at him, the corners of his mouth slowly curled up, and a little bit of his former excitement reappeared in his eyes.

"Everyone makes mistakes!" Eleventh Lady held his hand and walked slowly forward, "We made mistakes and we just need to correct them..."

The dim light stretched the two people's shadows out.

The maid followed them at a distance on tiptoe, afraid of stepping on their shadows.

* * * * * *

The next day, the news that Jing'er went to apologize to Master Pang spread throughout Xu Fu.

The grass in the forest was wet after the rain.

Chen Ge'er's servant was lying in the grass, and Chen Ge'er stepped on the servant's back and threw stones at Jing Ge'er's window frame.

There was no movement in the room for a long time.

"Hey!" Chen Ge'er jumped down with the help of another servant, "Could it be that Sixth Brother was scared by Fourth Uncle's beating?"

"That shouldn't be the case, right?" The servant who was helping him said attentively, "Isn't the Sixth Young Master under house arrest? Maybe there's someone in his room, and it's inconvenient for him to speak!"

Chen Ge'er showed an expression of sudden enlightenment: "Could it be that Fourth Uncle is in his room? No, Fourth Uncle and my father went to the Weibei Marquis Mansion next door... Could it be Fourth Aunt?" At this point, he laughed, "Let's go and play at Sixth Brother's place..."

"Seventh Young Master..." The two servants hurriedly stopped him, "If the Fourth Madam tells the Fifth Madam..."

They ran away secretly.

"No!" Chen Ge'er disagreed, "Fourth Aunt never tells people these things." He said as he went to the back door of the main courtyard, "Fourth Aunt is the kindest to everyone, and there are a lot of food in the house! If we go there, there will definitely be silk candy, rose paste cake..."

The two servants did not dare to delay, and quickly responded and trotted after him.

In the yard after the rain, the leaves are green and the air is filled with the unique fragrance of grass.

"Seventh Young Master!" The maids and wives who met them all knelt down to greet them and stepped aside.

Without even looking at him, Chen Ge'er went straight to Jin Ge'er's room.

Ah Jin winked at him and whispered, "The fourth lady is in the room urging the sixth young master to write!"

He is not my fourth uncle. Chen Ge'er is not afraid. He rushes in with a smile.

The room was quiet. Shiyi Niang was sitting by the kang doing needlework, while Jing'er was sitting at the table on the kang tracing red characters.

When he saw Chen Ge'er, Jin Ge'er was surprised.

“Seventh brother!” He shouted and was about to stand up. Seeing that Chen Ge’er’s hands were tightly wrapped in white cloth, he said in astonishment: “This…”

"Oh!" said Chen Ge'er, embarrassed, "I was beaten by my mother!"

Was Brother Chen also beaten because of Master Pang’s matter?

Jin Ge'er grinned and wanted to laugh, but he glanced at Shiyi Niang sitting next to him and sat down dejectedly, "I, I still have two pages of red characters to trace, wait a moment!"

Mother said that when doing something, you must concentrate and persevere. Once you start, don't give up halfway. If it were in the past, when Chen Ge'er came to see him, he would play with Jin Ge'er for a while, and then trace the red when he was tired. But now, he is a little afraid...

Eleventh Lady had heard the news of Brother Chen being beaten early in the morning and went to visit him in person.

"Here comes Brother Chen!" She greeted him with a smile, "Go to the living room first and have some fruit snacks. I'll play with you after Sixth Brother finishes his red painting, okay?"

She was very satisfied with Jing'er's performance.

In the past, she asked him to finish his homework before playing, and she always had to force him to do so. Now he knows that he has restrained himself, no matter what the reason is, this is a big improvement!

※

I arrived in Chengdu at midnight yesterday. It was already 3am when I settled down. I had a meeting and dinner at 11:30am. During that time, I went to Wenshu Monastery. I met many great masters. Tonight, I went to Du Fu Thatched Cottage with Nalan. I will write in the hotel tomorrow.

O(∩_∩)O Haha~