Xu Sizhun returned to Danbozhai in a bad mood. He lay in bed, unable to sleep, and began to whisper in his father's ear with his eyes closed.
Are we just going to abandon Tao Cheng like this...
He felt uncomfortable when he thought about it.
I was a little absent-minded when I went to Shuangfuyuan for class in the afternoon.
Mr. Zhao hesitated to speak and finally asked nothing.
Xu Sizhun will be the one who manages the Yongping Marquis Mansion in the future. It was easy to say when he was young, but now that Xu Sizhun has grown up, Xu Lingyi has begun to teach him how to handle things. There are some things that Xu Sizhun doesn't say, so he can't ask them actively.
Fortunately, after greeting the lady, Xu Sijie and Xu Sizhun returned to Danbo Zhai together.
"Is it about Tao Cheng?" The weather was still cool on that mid-spring night. The fragrance of tuberose floated in the yard. The two brothers sat on the beauty's chair under the eaves and ate cherries that Biluo had washed.
"Hmm!" Xu Sizhun's brows were tightly locked together, "He is the companion left by mother!"
Xu Sijie had met Tao Cheng several times and felt that he was no different from those stewards who fawned on everyone they met. He had neither a good impression nor a bad impression.
"You can treat him the same way as other stewards." Xu Sijie thought for a moment and said, "If he has any problems, you can give him some money in private. Just like mother treats Guan Qing's family. Do what you should do when you are supposed to do it. If you make a mistake, you will be punished in the same way. But she often gives her own clothes, jewelry and other things to Guan Qing's family. I think you can learn from mother's way. In this way, you can take care of him and not make other stewards feel unfair."
The one belonging to Guan Qing’s family is Amber.
Xu Sizhun's eyes lit up: "Why didn't I think of that!"
Xu Sijie was very happy to be able to help his brother.
"Worrying makes you confused!" He laughed, "Fourth brother is too worried!"
Xu Sizhun nodded and admitted sincerely, "Yes. I feel depressed when I think about the fact that I can't even take care of the people left behind by my mother..." Then he smiled and said, "Your words reminded me. I remember that the lady was the same. When she wanted to reward the people around her, she would take out her own money. I have to think about how to deal with Tao Cheng..."
* * * * * *
Eleventh Lady patted her son's white and tender little feet hard and said, "All right!" Then she signaled the maid to take away the foot washing water.
Jing'er covered his feet and cried out "Ouch".
"Mom!" He pouted, looking aggrieved, "Your hands are so heavy. My feet hurt so much!"
"It hurts?" Eleventh Lady smiled and sat down on the kang. "You are such a big kid, but you still ask your mother to wash your feet. If I don't spank you hard, your little tail will be up in the air."
Jin Ge'er laughed and hugged Shiyi Niang from behind.
"Mom, today we went to Fourth Brother's farm!" He came back in the morning and took a nap before going to Xiumuyuan to do horse stance. In the afternoon, he was copying in Xu Lingyi's study. He didn't have time to whisper to Eleventh Lady, "Fourth Brother's farm is so big that the carriage took a long time to leave. Daddy also taught Fourth Brother a lesson today. He said Fourth Brother shouldn't have given so much silver to Tao Cheng..."
Eleventh Lady knew it a long time ago.
Xu Lingyi also lay in bed the whole morning this morning. Although he did not sigh, he was in a bad mood.
"You little idiot." She smiled and patted her son's hand on her shoulder. "Go to bed! We have to go to Xiumuyuan early tomorrow morning!"
"Yeah!" Jing'er got into bed obediently. "If I had known that Daddy was going to stay out overnight, I wouldn't have gone. It made me almost unable to squat." He complained, "But I think that although Tao Cheng was wrong in this matter, Fourth Brother's fault was even greater."
Eleventh Lady was stunned.
"One hundred taels of silver can buy several maids. Fourth brother gave such a large sum of money to Tao Cheng, so Tao Cheng's eyes must be red with envy. He would definitely have some ideas. But fourth brother didn't say it clearly, and just said it was a reward to him. It would be strange if Tao Cheng didn't think about it! As a result, he was scolded by father and couldn't even give him a punishment." As he spoke, he turned over and looked at Eleventh Lady, "If it were me, I would tell him clearly: twenty taels of silver will buy you wine, and eighty taels of silver will buy you paper money. Do you think he dares to spend only ten taels of silver on paper money?" He imitated the voice of an adult and spoke in a deep voice.
Eleventh Lady understood what her son meant.
It was made clear which tasks were assigned to Tao Cheng and which were rewards. If Tao Cheng was found to have not followed instructions, he could be severely punished. Xu Sizhun's words were vague, and Tao Cheng could argue that he understood it as using ten taels of silver to buy paper money for Tao's mother, and the rest was a reward. Of course, it was almost impossible to argue with the master, but Xu Sizhun's approach was not rigorous after all.
"Who did you learn this from?" Despite this, she was still surprised by her son's precocity.
"The horse farm in Baoding Prefecture wants to send horses to the Ministry of War, and that's what Dad said to the farm manager." Jing'er looked a little proud, "Dad gave the man two thousand taels of silver. He said that one thousand eight hundred taels were for him to take care of things, and the remaining two hundred taels were for the manager to drink. The manager was overjoyed at the time and kowtowed to my father!"
Eleventh Lady couldn't help laughing: "You, you mess around with these messes all day long." Then she said seriously, "Look, you saw your father deal with similar things, so you know how to do it. Your fourth brother has never seen it, so he naturally doesn't know. You must not be complacent about it. Think that your fourth brother is not as good as you and blame him. You must know that if a couple is not harmonious, neighbors will bully them, and if brothers are not harmonious, slaves will bully them. He is your brother. As a younger brother, it is not good to talk about your brother's faults like this! You must remember mother's words. Do you understand?"
"Got it!" Jing'er smiled embarrassedly, slid down and covered his face with the quilt.
"You were just praising yourself!" Eleventh Lady pulled the quilt down, revealing Jin Ge'er's face. "What? Are you shy now? Be careful not to hold it in."
Jing'er pursed his lips and smiled.
Eleventh Lady went to turn down the wick, half lying down and patting Jing'er: "Close your eyes."
Jin Ge'er giggled, hid his face in Shiyi Niang's arms, and soon fell asleep.
Eleventh Lady stared at her son's rosy face under the light, with the corners of her mouth curled up. After a long while, she gently tucked in the quilt for Jing'er and tiptoed out of the room.
"Fell asleep!" Xu Lingyi put down the book in his hand, looking a little disappointed.
"About Zhun'er's matter?" Eleventh Lady smiled and sat beside him. "Zhun'er has a kind personality, and this involves his mother's matter, so it's possible that he can't think it through for a while. The Marquis reminded him today, and he will definitely think about it carefully later. Don't be anxious, Marquis, just wait and see. If it still doesn't work, it's not too late for you to be sad!"
These words made Xu Lingyi laugh.
Eleventh Lady took the opportunity to joke, "My Lord, please don't do this again. If you feel uncomfortable, I will have to see your face. I am not the one who caused the trouble. It's useless to be implicated by all this..."
“Yes, yes, yes…” Xu Lingyi pulled her hand, “It’s all my fault…” As he spoke, the smile on his face gradually faded, and his gaze towards Shiyi Niang became serious, “Moyan, this family is built thanks to you…”
Such solemnity made Shiyi Niang feel a little embarrassed.
"I have an appointment with my eldest brother to settle accounts tomorrow." She stood up and said, "I'll go wash up first..." Before she finished her words, Xu Lingyi exerted a little force with his hands, and Shiyi Niang fell into his arms.
"I haven't washed either!" Xu Lingyi whispered in her ear, "Let's do it together..."
* * * * * *
Early the next morning, the maid came to report that Luo Zhenxing had arrived. Shiyi Niang went to the flower hall - the bathroom, in a state of embarrassment. The inner room was wet everywhere. Qiuyu and the others were either cleaning up the bathroom or changing the curtains and bedding.
"Has Zhun'er's wedding date been set?" Luo Zhenxing asked as soon as he sat down.
"We asked the Imperial Observatory to help set a few dates, and have asked Madam Huang San to deliver them to the Jiang residence. We are just waiting for news from there."
Luo Zhenxing nodded and said hesitantly: "My Lord... aren't you coming over?"
Over the years, Xu Lingyi has never asked about the property left by Yuanniang.
"The Marquis went to the Duke Dingguo's Mansion." Eleventh Lady felt a little embarrassed when she thought of Xu Lingyi, who was sitting steadily on the big kang by the window in the inner room reading a book.
Luo Zhenxing sighed softly and was about to say something when Xu Sizhun came. Everyone stopped talking and started talking about the handover.
Xu Lingyi was paying attention to Xu Sizhun.
A few days after Yuanniang's dowry was handed over to Xu Sizhun, Xu Sizhun set the wedding date. He called Tao Cheng into the mansion and first told Tao Cheng politely that he had to go to Daxing a few days ago and visited Tao Mama's grave. He also gave Tao Cheng thirty taels of silver and asked him to use it to buy paper money and offerings for Tao Mama and to tell her the date of his wedding. Then he asked him if he needed money. If he did, he could ask him for it. And for the first time, he did not invite Tao Cheng to eat in the mansion.
Tao Cheng walked away feeling ashamed and embarrassed.
Xu Lingyi heaved a sigh of relief, and wholeheartedly prepared for Xu Sizhun's wedding with Shiyi Niang: "... September 26th is a good day. The new house can be renovated before June. Curtains, draperies, window screens and the like should be replaced before July. We will start inviting guests in August, and we will schedule the banquet as soon as September arrives. I think we still have enough time." He added, "Any news from Yuhang?"
"Big brother has already sent people to Yuhang." Eleventh Lady said with a smile, "Big sister-in-law and the others will definitely come, but I don't know if Dad will come."
"Everyone from Nanjing is coming." Xu Lingyi talked about the Xu family's relatives, "You should have people clean up the courtyards over at Baihua Pavilion as soon as possible, so that we won't be left with nowhere to live when the time comes."
The two discussed for a long time, and Eleventh Lady held a birthday party for the lady, and after the Dragon Boat Festival, the new house was repainted.
Eleventh Lady asked people to move Yuanniang's things back again: "There are left and right wing rooms in front of the hall, which can be used as study rooms or reception halls. When Jiang comes in, she can arrange them herself. The second room will be your bridal chamber. Your mother's things will be placed in the third room. You can also go in and pay respects during the New Year or on her death anniversary."
"Mother!" Xu Sizun looked excited, his eyes a little red, "My mother has passed away for so many years, I think I should just forget it..." Although it was a rejection, his tone was hesitant.
If Xu Sizhun hadn't been concerned about her feelings, why would he have hesitated? This was an affirmation of her as a stepmother.
"That's all!" Eleventh Lady brought the tea with a smile.
Xu Lingyi looked at her with a complicated expression and sighed.
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I have been resting at home for a month due to illness, and I have to go back to work tomorrow. I don't know what the situation is like at work, so tomorrow's update may be late, so please forgive me.
O(∩_∩)O~
Once again, I wish you all a happy Mid-Autumn Festival and a happy family!