Chapter 679 Walking (Part 2)

Eleventh Lady thought for a moment and said with a smile, "Since you are here to accompany me, you can live in the west room in the backyard!"

Generally, families with daughters would arrange for them to live in the western wing in the backyard.

Amber smiled and replied "yes", and discussed with her how to decorate the house and how many maids and servants to prepare, changing the subject.

In the evening, I went to pay my respects to the lady, and Shiyi Niang asked Qian Ge'er, "Is Jiayuguan fun?"

"It's fun, fun!" Brother Qian nodded repeatedly.

It has been two days since he came back, but the excitement of the journey has not yet faded. Whenever anyone mentions Jiayuguan to him, he will talk endlessly about what he saw and heard in Jiayuguan.

"Their walls are this high." He opened his arms and ran from one end of the house to the other, "the plaque is this long," and then ran from there to this end. "I couldn't see the corner tower even if I looked up...there was sand everywhere...I had to cover my face with a scarf...the mutton was delicious...I also saw a yellow-headed man with green eyes...riding a camel..."

Everyone listened to him with laughter.

Seeing that it was getting late, Xu Lingkuan pulled his collar and said, "Okay, okay. Go and have a rest! We'll talk tomorrow."

Brother Qian bowed to the lady awkwardly.

Eleventh Lady went out with them and asked Qian Ge'er with a smile: "It's so much fun outside the Great Wall, why don't you go with Jian Ge'er? With your fourth uncle here, are you afraid of being captured?"

"Daddy wouldn't let me go." Qian Ge'er felt very aggrieved and pouted, "He said they had gone too far and he dragged me back."

Shi Niang looked at Xu Lingkuan with a smile.

Xu Lingkuan's face flushed. "Sister-in-law, yes, it was my brother who didn't allow me to say it. He was afraid that you would worry... It's okay, it's okay. My brother is just taking Jiang'er to see where he was stationed. The general of Jiayuguan will be accompanying him personally, so it will be fine."

She knew why Xu Lingyi would spend the New Year in Xuantong Mansion because of Fan Weigang's request. Shiyi Niang couldn't help but worry.

In winter, people in the grasslands have less food and clothing, so they like to attack those border guard posts in winter. Will they encounter any danger when they go out of the border? Moreover, Xu Lingyi fought in the northwest. To the Great Zhou, he is a hero, but to those people in the northwest, he is an irreconcilable enemy. "Why don't you persuade your fourth brother? This is not a joke." She couldn't help but frowned, "What if something goes wrong?"

Xu Lingkuan murmured, unable to utter a word.

Madam Wu, who had heard everything clearly, could not help but get anxious and blamed Xu Lingkuan: "How could you be so foolish? Fourth brother didn't listen to you, and you didn't know to write a letter and tell mother. You ran back without saying a word, and even helped Fourth brother to keep it a secret from the family. How can I say good things about you!"

Eleventh Lady is his sister-in-law, so she can just say whatever she wants. But this is his wife, so Xu Lingkuan couldn't help but say, "Now that things have come to this, if I don't keep it a secret for Fourth Brother, how can I tell Mother? If Mother gets hurt, I will be blamed even if I die a thousand times."

The Fifth Lady ignored him and discussed with Eleventh Lady directly: "Fourth Sister-in-law, Fifth Master is right. Now that things have come to this, I think this matter cannot be known to Mother no matter what..." If she didn't want to hide it from the Madam, why would she ask about Jian Ge'er after leaving the house. "I think so too." Eleventh Lady sighed and asked Xu Lingkuan, "Did the Marquis tell us where to go when he comes back?"

Xu Lingkuan chuckled, "I'm afraid we won't set off until the beginning of next spring. As for where we're going, Fourth Brother didn't tell me."

Eleventh Lady pondered for a moment and said, "I want to write a letter to your fourth brother. How can he receive it?"

"Just send it to Jiayuguan!" Xu Lingkuan said with a smile, "The general of Jiayuguan was originally Fourth Brother's lieutenant general." Then he comforted her, "Don't worry, Fourth Sister-in-law. The general of Jiayuguan knows that Jin'er is Fourth Brother's youngest son. Even if he loses Fourth Brother, he won't dare to let anyone hurt Jin'er..."

How can this be comforting?

The Fifth Lady hurriedly said to Xu Lingkuan, "Fifth Master, Fourth Sister-in-law knows that Fourth Brother has gone outside the Great Wall and is worried. You should ask Fourth Sister-in-law to write a letter first, and then send someone to deliver it to Jiayu Pass as fast as possible. It's getting late. If we continue, it will be dawn soon. We have delayed him for another day. In a few days, it will be the Little New Year. Don't let us have money but can't find someone to deliver the letter." "Yes, yes!" Xu Lingkuan hurriedly said, "Fourth Sister-in-law, write the letter quickly."

Maybe Fourth Brother has received your letter and changed his mind."

Even if I change my mind, it's impossible to come back to celebrate the New Year.

Eleventh Lady sighed secretly in her heart.

After agreeing with Xu Lingkuan that he would come to pick up the letter early the next morning, he hurried back to the house.

Xu Lingkuan looked at her receding figure and couldn't help but ask, "How does the fourth sister-in-law know that the fourth brother is not with Fan Weigang?"

Eleventh Lady barely slept all night. The next morning, she asked Hubo to deliver the letter to Fifth Lady.

Xu Siyi came to greet her and saw that she was not in good spirits. He asked someone to bring a cup of hot goat milk and said, "Mother, you should drink less hot tea." He added, "Every year during the New Year, we follow the old rules. The youngest of the housekeepers has ten years of experience and knows what to do even with their eyes closed. Mother, drink the hot goat milk and take a rest! During the New Year, we worship our ancestors and stay up all night. We have to go to the palace to pay respects early in the morning. If you don't take good care of yourself these few days, what will you do when the time comes?" He insisted that she take a rest and said, "I'll come to see you after school!"

Eleventh Lady could not bear to reject his kindness, so she asked the maid to spread the bedding on the big kang next to the window, and then she lay down on the kang. Xu Siyi watched her drink the goat milk, and then went to school.

"Fifth Young Master is so filial." Amber said with a smile, "I just hope that all your wishes will come true!"

You mean Ying Niang's matter?

Eleventh Lady just smiled.

A little maid came in and said, "Madam, the third young lady of the Liang family is here."

Eleventh Lady hurriedly sat up: "Please come in!"

The little maidservant responded and led Lanting, who was wearing a bright red gown with gold sleeves, into the room.

"Why are you lying down in the broad daylight?" She was slightly startled when she saw the quilt on the kang. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing!" Eleventh Lady asked to sit on the armchair, "I didn't sleep well last night, so I'm going to lie down for a while."

Lan Ting breathed a sigh of relief and took the tea from the maid.

Mrs. Liang caught a cold last winter and has not recovered to this day. Lan Ting is in charge of the Liang family's food supply.

"The New Year is almost here, how come you have time to come to my place?" Eleventh Lady asked curiously.

The two of them knew each other before they got married, and they were both straightforward people, so there was no need for too much politeness.

"Don't you have a house in Goldfish Lane? I want to rent your house. What's the price you think is suitable?"

Eleventh Lady was shocked: "Why are you renting a house?"

Although it was not easy to live in Yanjing, both the Liang family and the Gan family could still vacate a small house.

"She is my third sister." Lan Ting treated Shiyi Niang as his best friend and never covered up the embarrassing things in his family in front of her. "She wants to take her son Wen Ge'er back to Yanjing after the New Year."

"What happened?" Eleventh Lady couldn't help but hold Lanting's hand tightly.

Lan Ting smiled bitterly: "My third sister didn't want to see the dirty things at home, so she moved back to the farm when her child was three years old, saying that she was not in good health and needed to recuperate. The first two years were fine. The Jiang family sent her food, clothing and other expenses on time. My third sister planted flowers and grass in the yard and taught the child to read and write. She was happy. But since the old lady of the Jiang family passed away three years ago, the money from the Jiang family has been delayed again and again. Until the year before last, , and said that she couldn't afford it, so she asked my third sister and the child to move back to the old house. My third sister thought that the child had grown up and needed to study and be educated, and couldn't live with her on the farm like this. So she went back. "Speaking of this, Lan Ting paused, "Who knew that my brother-in-law actually kept a prostitute in the house. My third sister was afraid that Wen Ge'er would follow suit and wanted to sell the girl. My brother-in-law simply kept the girl outside.

Seeing that the house was already filled with smoke and miasma, my sister made up her mind and said in front of the Jiang family that she would take Wen Ge'er back to Beijing to visit her relatives. In fact, she was going to live in Beijing for a long time and then find a better teacher for Wen Ge'er. When Wen Ge'er had some progress in his career, she would consider whether to return to Jian'an. "You also know that it is really inconvenient for me. Don't even mention my parents' family, so I have to come to you for help!"

After the fall of Jianning Marquis Yang, Liang's third young lady Yang died of depression within two years. After the mourning period was over, Liang's third young master remarried. Not only was the new third young lady good-looking, but she was also seven or eight years younger than Liang's third son. Liang's third son became afraid of her and made the third young lady very strong-willed. She stared at Lan Ting with one eye, hoping that she would do something wrong. If Cao'e lived in the Liang family's house, even if she rented it, she would probably be accused of taking advantage. As for Madam Gan, Cao'e was eager to get married before she got married, and now that she is married, they will not keep her.

"This house is renovated every two years. Each time it is renovated, it is decorated. Each time it is decorated, things are changed. Those calligraphy and paintings, utensils, tables, chairs, beds and stools are everywhere. It's not enough to use all seven back rooms as warehouses. It looks big, but there is not much room for you." Shiyi Niang pondered, "I also have a small house in Si'er Hutong. Although it only has two entrances and three rooms, it is small and exquisite, and quiet in a hustle and bustle. If you want to rent a house, you might as well rent the one in Si'er Hutong!"

I've heard that Shiyi Niang's Xipu has good business, but I didn't expect that she actually bought a house in Si'er Hutong.

"That's too expensive. We can't afford it." Lan Ting said frankly, "And I chose your house in Goldfish Lane because you have a concubine living there. My third sister will have someone to take care of her there."

But the four stone pillars under the grape trellis in the courtyard were all antiques from the previous dynasty. Liu Yuanrui and his family lived there, just to guard the warehouse. How could she rent the house to Cao E?

She thought for a while and said, "How about this. My concubine Liu Yuanrui's eldest son got married, and his family of seven or eight people are squeezed in there. A few days ago, he told me that he wanted to build a back room. How about this, I rent the main room and the small kitchen behind it to you, and you only pay the rent for three rooms. Liu Yuanrui's eldest son will move to the back room. In this way, the rent problem is solved, I don't have to build a back room, and Sister Cao'e will also have a brave man. What do you think?"

Si'er Hutong is near the six ministries, and most of the people living there are officials from the six ministries. Not only is it quiet, but it is also very popular. For a woman like Cao'e with a young child, living there is perfect.

Lan Ting knew that Shiyi Niang was helping her, but she had no way to refuse.

She said nothing, but just nodded to Eleventh Lady.

The weekend I had been looking forward to for a long time is gone - because of the disaster relief, there is no holiday this weekend!

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