"It will plant hundreds of crops, and the courtyard will be fertile." Xu Lingyi put down the brush in his hand, looked at the cursive script on the rice paper with satisfaction, and smiled and asked Shiyi Niang beside him, "What do you think of calling it 'Ting'?"
Here, "庭" means upright and straight. Adding the character "硕" at the end, it also implies "many".
"Okay!" Eleventh Lady nodded slightly: "This is a good name!"
On September 26, Jiang gave birth to her eldest son successfully.
Xu Lingyi is giving him a name.
Xu Lingyi listened, took another piece of rice paper, wrote the word "庭" in neat official script, and called Denghua in: "Send it to the fourth young master!"
Because Jiang gave birth to the eldest grandson, everyone in the mansion received rewards. Everyone was very happy!
Denghua smiled and replied "yes", and hurried to Xu Sizhun.
Xu Lingyi discussed things with Shiyi Niang: "After Ting'er's third-day bathing ceremony is over, I will go out for a while."
Eleventh Lady was stunned: "Aren't you waiting for Ting'er's full moon gift?"
"No more waiting!" Xu Lingyi said, "It will be too late if we wait for his full moon ceremony."
"Where is the Marquis going?"
"Take the road from Xuantong to Jiayuguan."
Jiayuguan is a military stronghold, and Xu Lingyi has visited such places during his recent trips. With Xu Lingyi's experience, he would visit these places where he fought and brought him glory when he was young, and relive the years of high spirits. Shiyi Niang can understand this very well.
"My Lord, be careful," she warned, "bring more guards and escorts. It's very remote over there, and it would be troublesome if anything happened."
"It's okay." Xu Lingyi smiled, "I will do the same as last time, taking the post road and staying at the post station." After hesitating for a moment, he said, "I think I should let Jing go with me this time." He added, "There are not many opportunities like this, let him go and see for himself."
In ancient times, transportation was not as developed as it is today, and it was very difficult to go out. Some people never left the area within a radius of ten miles of where they lived in their entire lives. Opportunities like this were indeed rare.
Eleventh Lady naturally agreed.
Xu Lingyi instructed her: "During the days when we are not at home, you and Manager Bai should discuss tidying up Qingyin Residence in the outer courtyard. Add what needs to be added and renovate what needs to be renovated. After the New Year, move his things over."
In this way, Jing'er really became independent from her arms.
Eleventh Lady felt uncomfortable just thinking about it.
Thinking about the time when Xu Sijian had a rash, the Third Lady kept him for another year. Eleventh Lady thought that the Third Lady spoiled the child too much. Only when it was her turn did she understand the Third Lady's feelings.
"I see."
Qingyinju is a relatively large courtyard in the outer courtyard, with four entrances and three rooms. The west waist gate to the west of the palace is only about twenty years away from it, making it very convenient to enter and exit.
In the afternoon, Eleventh Lady took Amber to see the yard.
The doors and windows of the yard were in good condition, but they were carelessly cleaned and dusty. No one had lived there for a long time, so it was a bit empty and even desolate.
"Let's plant some flowers and trees first?" Amber said with a smile, "Then the yard will be lively when spring comes tomorrow. The house will also be full of life."
"You're worried that it won't be lively if he moves in!" Eleventh Lady laughed, "Let alone other things, just his birds and dogs, I'm afraid this yard won't be able to accommodate them."
Amber covered her sleeves and laughed when she heard that.
The lady knew this but frowned: "You left without waiting for Ting'er's full moon ceremony... Chinese New Year is coming soon, why not go after the New Year!"
Now, the lady's greatest pleasure is to visit her great-grandson Ting'er.
"It's only fun to go to Jiayuguan in winter," Xu Lingyi said with a smile, "but it won't be fun in spring."
Seeing that her son insisted, the lady said nothing more.
The Fifth Lady, however, started to make a fuss.
"I want to go too. I want to go too." Chen Ge'er followed his mother around, "Jin Ge'er has been out for several times, but I haven't been out even once."
The Fifth Lady has been busy arranging a marriage for Xin Jie'er these days, and she hasn't held Cheng Ge'er in her arms and taught him to read for some time.
"Mother Shi, take the Seventh Young Master out." She was extremely worried.
Xu Lingkuan felt that his daughter was still young, but the Fifth Lady was afraid of delaying the marriage. The two of them had some ambiguity about this matter, and none of the proposed marriage families were satisfactory. Either the family was not rich enough, or the mother-in-law was too young, or the man was not good-looking... She was thinking about whether to ask Eleventh Lady to help inquire about it. One more person means one more way!
Chen Ge'er hugged the table leg and refused to leave: "I'm going, I'm going... If you don't agree, I'll tell grandfather."
Madam Wu was in a state of great headache: "Your fourth uncle is going to Jiayuguan, not Jiangnan. That place is full of wind and sand, and there are many Hu people. Be careful not to be robbed and sold."
Jin Ge'er was unmoved: "If Jin Ge'er can go, I can go too."
"Your fourth uncle is already struggling to take care of Jing'er, there's no way he can take care of another one."
"Why don't I just bring my grandfather's guards with me?"
The mother and son were talking with red faces when Xu Lingkuan came back.
"Fourth brother is going to Jiayuguan!" He was very excited, even more excited than Chen Ge'er, "I wanted to go there back then. But mom wouldn't let me, so I didn't go!" As he said that, he picked up Chen Ge'er and said, "Let's go talk to your fourth uncle, and we'll go together!"
Brother Chen jumped up and shouted.
The fifth lady, on the other hand, didn't care anymore - with her husband following her, there was nothing to worry about.
The lady dowager personally selected an auspicious day, and the two brothers took Jing'er and Shen'er out of Yanjing City.
Xu Sizhun was in charge of the general affairs of the outer courtyard. Eleventh Lady was busy decorating the house for Jing'er, attending the banquet for the birthday party, sending New Year gifts, and buying New Year goods. Fifth Lady was busy looking for a husband for Xin'er. Every day, the old lady went to see Ting'er with a smile on her face, and sometimes she would keep Yingying, who came to pay her respects, to play for half a day. The days soon arrived in December.
Xu Lingkuan and Chen Ge'er came back and didn't see Xu Lingyi and Jin Ge'er.
"Fan Weigang left my fourth brother in Xuantong." Xu Lingkuan said embarrassedly, "I have something else to do, so I brought Brother Chen back first."
"They're not going home for the New Year?" Eleventh Lady was very surprised.
"It looks like I can't come back." Xu Lingkuan smiled at Shiyi Niang embarrassedly.
"This Fourth Brother, not only was he not at home for Ting's full-month and hundred-day ceremonies, he even spent the New Year away from home." The Madam was a little unhappy, "Why don't you persuade your Fourth Brother?"
"I advised him!" Xu Lingyi cried out in injustice, "Why would my fourth brother listen to me!"
The lady said nothing more and called Xu Sizhun in. "I'm counting on you to take care of all the family matters." After thinking for a while, she said, "If you don't understand, ask your mother."
Xu Sizhun replied "yes" respectfully, feeling that the responsibility was great. Instead, he was worried about gains and losses. He would ask Shiyi Niang for even the smallest things, fearing that he would make mistakes. Shiyi Niang was thinking about Prince Yong. While Xu Sizhun came to greet her, she called the chief steward Bai in and said, "It's almost the New Year. Is there anything special you want to do when the Marquis leaves?"
"No!" Chief Steward Bai was also thinking about this matter. "Everything else is easy to deal with, but I don't know what to give as a New Year's gift to Prince Yong's Mansion!"
Eleventh Lady's gaze fell on Xu Sizun.
Xu Sizhun knew that Prince Yong wanted to borrow money, so he thought for a moment and said, "How about we secretly send some banknotes?"
Eleventh Lady nodded slightly. She asked Manager Bai, "Please prepare two thousand taels of silver for me."
Manager Bai understood and said, "I'll go get it ready."
Eleventh Lady said to Xu Sizun implicitly: "I will bring it to Princess Yong when I go to deliver the New Year's gift to Prince Yong's Mansion."
Xu Sizhun nodded. When he got home that night, he quietly told Jiang about it.
The child was being fed by the wet nurse. Jiang had recovered her figure after giving birth. She was a little worried after hearing this: "Since the father-in-law didn't tell us when he left, will we get too close to Prince Yong's Mansion? What if we are implicated by Prince Yong?"
"No, no?" Xu Sizhun had never thought about this question. He felt that since they were relatives, they had to take care of each other. The family was not short of money, and the gifts were sent by his mother, so he never thought there was anything wrong. But if it weren't for Jiang's persuasion a few days ago, he wouldn't have been forgiven by his father so quickly. He felt that his wife's words made sense, so he couldn't help but hesitate.
Jiang just said this. Seeing that Xu Sizun was a little undecided, she started to think carefully.
If Prince Yong honestly acts as his prince, and the crown prince ascends the throne, he will naturally be the most noble person. Having a good relationship with him will only bring benefits and no harm. But if Prince Yong has any idea...
Besides, the eunuch had not given any special instructions about sending the silver to Prince Yong's Mansion.
Jiang felt scared when she thought about it: "Don't worry. I'll write a letter to my father and see what he says." She gave Xu Sizun some advice.
Xu Sizhun nodded.
A few days later, Jiang Bai's wife sent her maid to the inner room to talk in private, under the pretext of visiting her child.
"Your father and your uncle both mean the same thing. They want you to stay away from the one in the palace or the one outside the palace. The emperor is at the peak of his powers and has a long time to live. It is obviously not appropriate to do anything at this time."
Jiang told Xu Sizun this and asked him to pass the message to Shiyi Niang: "Mother is in the inner courtyard, and father is not at home. Things in the court change rapidly, so it is better to be careful."
"The Marquis and Prince Yong are uncle and nephew. If something like this happens, it would be fine if they didn't ask for help. But since they have, and your father has found a way to pay off the debt, and it's almost the end of the year, we have to go there anyway. We can't take out the extra silver, and this one or two thousand taels of silver can be saved from anywhere. Even if the emperor knew, I'm sure he wouldn't say anything!"
Xu Sizhun thought about it and it made sense. He went back and told Jiang.
Jiang smiled bitterly: "Should I go to the Crown Prince's place as well? I heard that the Crown Princess and my mother-in-law have a close personal relationship. Now that something like this has happened, I must tell the Crown Princess!"
Xu Sizhun reminded Shiyi Niang tactfully.
Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "I've already been to the Crown Princess' place."
Privately, he said to Amber, "The Jiang family has put a lot of thought into Jiang Shi."
Amber didn't dare to comment, and talked about the letter from Yuhang: "My cousin will leave after the Lantern Festival, so she will arrive at the end of February. You see, where is a good place for my cousin to stay when she comes?"
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Post a draft first.
Make up for the extra update on September 9th!
PS: I’ve been a bit busy these past two days and only have time to write after get off work. Today’s update will be postponed to around 21:00. I hope you can understand!