Eleventh Lady had just gotten up and was sitting on the kang drinking goat milk. When she heard that Jiang had come, she was slightly startled: "So early!"

Amber smiled and said, "Didn't you ask the fourth young lady to come earlier?"

Just so she doesn't be late.

Eleventh Lady muttered to herself, and asked Amber to invite Jiang in, and asked Qiuyu to bring a cup of goat's milk to Jiang.

"I'll be in the hall at the beginning of the day." She said with a smile, "You can come over then."

Jiang replied respectfully, "Yes."

The little maid opened the window, and Qiuyu brought in a bunch of Haibin flowers and put them in the water jade vase by the window. The atmosphere in the room immediately became fresh, bright and full of vitality.

Madam Wen and Qiao Lianfang came over together to greet.

Qiao Lianfang only nodded slightly to Jiang, but Madam Wen smiled and saluted Jiang: "The fourth young lady is here too!"

Thinking of the account book that had been copied for her, Jiang dared not be careless. She stood up and called out "Madam Wen" as a return gesture.

Eleventh Lady asked about Madam Wen's accounts.

Madam Wen was a person who could not sit still. After returning the money to the Wen family, she learned to do needlework for a few days in the house, and then she started to wander around the mansion. At first, she helped the respectable mothers in the mansion to bring some northern and southern sundries and make a profit from the difference in the middle; later, she set her sights on the sweet-scented osmanthus trees and chestnuts planted at home, and encouraged the mothers to sell them outside. Seeing her competing for profits with those rough maids, Shiyi Niang gave her the task of reviewing the account books of the housekeepers, and she stopped.

"I have checked the accounts for the New Year with the Office of the Outer Courtyard." Madam Wen said with a smile, "I have also calculated the expenses for the Inner Courtyard this year. I will check with the manager of the Office in a few days, and the funds for the first half of the year will be allocated."

Eleventh Lady nodded slightly and instructed Madam Wen: "Remember to check the accounts with Amber before taking them to the office. This year, Madam Zheng is celebrating her 80th birthday, and the master in Nanjing is celebrating his 50th birthday. In addition to sending gifts to the office, we also need to prepare some..."

As the two were talking, Qiao Lianfang sat there with a blank expression.

The Chengguo Mansion has been declining over the past two years. Last year, on the birthday of the Madam, Mrs. Qiao gave her a pair of plum vases from an old kiln, but she left in a hurry without even having a meal. When the birthday gift was put into the storehouse, the mother who managed the storehouse took the pair of plum vases and muttered, "Why do they look like something from our family?" Then she called Mother Du to have a look.

Mother Du put on her tortoise-shell glasses and looked at it for a long time, then pointed to the inscription on the bottom of the plum vase and said, "It's really our family's stuff - we sent it to Old Madam Qiao on her birthday. There's also a set of tea sets from an old kiln, and a pair of square flower vases." After saying that, she put the things down and smiled at the mother in charge of the warehouse, "You're lucky to still remember it. I think it's been so long that the Qiao family mistook it for Madam's stuff and put it in the warehouse. Or maybe the accounts over there are in disarray, and even they can't remember it clearly."

The mother who was in charge of the warehouse laughed when she heard this: "It seems that the plum bottles from the old kiln have become the best treasures to be kept at the bottom of the box."

Somehow the word got out.

Qiao Lianfang felt as if her muscles had been pulled out. She suddenly lost all her energy and could not even leave the room.

After Shiyi Niang finished asking Madam Wen's questions, Madam Wen stood up and said goodbye without waiting for Shiyi Niang to bring her tea. She said, "I'll show it to you after Guan Qingjia and I have come up with a plan."

"Yes!" Eleventh Lady nodded with a smile, and Qiao Lianfang followed Madam Wen.

Xu Sijie and Yingniang came over to greet Eleventh Lady.

"Why are you two together?" Eleventh Lady smiled and asked the maid to bring them a brocade stool to sit on.

Yingniang glanced at Xu Sijie, who in turn looked at Yingniang, meaning to let her speak first - since Yingniang came, her mother started making clothes and jewelry, and also told Yingniang to dress up, which made her happy all of a sudden. He naturally had to give in to Yingniang. Seeing his modesty, Yingniang smiled and said, "I got up late and ran into my fifth cousin when I went out."

"What did you do last night?" Shiyi Niang really liked Ying Niang's frankness and her confidence in telling anyone anything. "I woke up late."

"I'm making a lace!" Yingniang said with a smile, "Didn't you give me a cloisonné target mirror yesterday? I want to add a tassel to the handle. Guan Qing's family said that a lace with a plum blossom heart would be good..." She was a little embarrassed, "I'm slow at making it, so it took me some time."

Eleventh Lady smiled slightly, and her smile was very gentle.

The maids and wives in the room naturally cheered and laughed, and the room suddenly became lively.

"Have you had breakfast?" Eleventh Lady asked Xu Sijie.

"I have used it." Xu Sijie said with a smile, "I greeted my mother and then went to Tingtao Pavilion."

Eleventh Lady nodded, invited Yingniang and Jiang to have breakfast, and then went to the lady's place with Jiang.

The lady did not even look at the banquet list and said to Jiang, "It's enough for your mother to have a look at it!" She showed complete trust.

Jiang smiled and said "yes", and handed the list to Amber - it was not that anyone could instruct the Huichu Office with the right card, and the Huichu Office would do it without any questions. In the past, it was Mama Du who dealt with the inner and outer courtyards, but now it is Guan Qing's family.

The lady asked how they celebrated the March 3rd Festival.

Eleventh Lady looked at Jiang with a smile and asked her to perform in front of the lady dowager.

After all these words, the lady was very satisfied. She left Eleventh Lady to talk: "Zhun'er, this daughter-in-law is not bad!"

"That's what I thought, too." Eleventh Lady smiled, "So I wanted her to follow me and get familiar with some of the old customs at home."

The lady said "hmm" and asked about Princess Fucheng's illness: "...Is she still not well? What did the Zhou family say?"

Since the household affairs were handed over to Eleventh Lady, the Lady Dowager would not question her decision, nor would she ask any more questions about it.

"He said his thigh bone was broken and he can only lie down and rest." Eleventh Lady whispered, "When I went to visit him, he said a few words to me and he seemed to be in good spirits."

When you get older, you start to miss people of the same generation as you. Although they are not close to each other, the fact that Princess Fucheng slipped and broke her thigh two days ago still made the lady very worried.

"Let him take care of her..." The lady said thoughtfully, "She is old, I am afraid it will be difficult to take care of her in a short time." Then she told Eleventh Lady, "Have someone send a letter to the princess's mansion, and we will go to the mansion to take a look."

Eleventh Lady agreed, sent an invitation to the princess's mansion, prepared gifts, and went to the princess's mansion with the lady dowager.

Princess Fucheng's condition was more serious than the lady had thought. Because of her leg injury, she was in so much pain that she couldn't sleep or eat. The imperial physician had to use some sedatives and burn benzoin in the room. Princess Fucheng was less awake and more drowsy. Her rosy face suddenly became pale and haggard.

The lady was deeply moved after reading this. After returning home, she asked Mother Du to count her private property.

"If it's like Fucheng, there won't be any explanation at all!"

The atmosphere in the room became a little depressed.

Eleventh Lady often came to talk to the Lady Dowager.

The old lady was only thinking about Xu Lingyi, hoping that he would come back soon. She often held her hand and talked about Xu Lingyi's childhood. Sometimes they talked until late at night. Eleventh Lady thought about it and sometimes rested on the chaise longue next to the old lady's bed.

By the time March 3rd came, the house was filled with guests and filled with laughter and chatter, and the lady's mood gradually improved.

That day, everyone moved to the flower boat and sat down. The maids caught fish from the Biyi Lake and showed them to everyone, then immediately took them to the kitchen to cook. Some caught big fish and cooked three dishes out of one fish; some only caught a few small fish, enough to fry a dish. Some were happy, some complained. But none of them were short of food and clothing, on the contrary, they found it interesting, smiling, and very lively. Then they all praised the spring banquet and the meaning of spring. Eleventh Lady took the opportunity to push Jiang out: "It was all our Fourth Young Lady's idea."

As a result, Jiang Shi gained some fame in the noble families of Yanjing. Whenever there was a wedding or funeral, the person in charge would take a closer look at Jiang Shi who was following behind Shiyi Niang, and ask, "Is this the fourth young lady who hosted the March and Spring banquet?" Shiyi Niang smiled and introduced Jiang Shi to the person in charge, and slowly handed over some social activities to Jiang Shi, while she took time to go and see Mr. Lu with the Fifth Lady.

The Fifth Lady was already somewhat satisfied, and when she saw his handsome appearance, she was even more willing. The marriage was soon roughly decided.

Time passed quickly and it was the end of March. Cao E brought her son Wen Ge'er to Yanjing.

Lan Ting went to Tongzhou to pick up his sister in person. He did not enter Zhongqinbo's gate, but went directly to the house in Sier Hutong.

The things had been packed up long ago, and Liu Taiping's family was helping to take care of it. Cao E took a look around and was extremely satisfied.

"I appreciate the favor from Eleventh Lady." Lan Ting patted Wen Ge'er's head lovingly, "I just hope Wen Ge'er will not let Third Sister down for her good intentions."

Cao E listened and pursed her lips without saying a word.

Nine-year-old Wen Ge'er looks like his father, but his temperament is like Cao E. His little face was tense, and he said sternly: "Mother, aunt, don't worry, I will study hard."

"You have to study hard," Lan Ting sighed, "but you also have to learn how to be a good person."

Brother Wen nodded.

Liu Taiping's family rushed in: "Mrs. Jiang, Grandma Liang, our wife is here!"

The two were stunned.

Lan Ting smiled and said, "Eleventh Lady is a thoughtful person."

Cao E's serious face couldn't help but break into a small smile: "If you didn't have a good heart, why would you have given me a piece of red Hang silk with a continuous swastika pattern?"

The two sisters felt more intimate with Eleventh Lady and went up to her at the same time.

* * * * * *

It was already dusk when we returned from Si'er Hutong.

Eleventh Lady asked Amber: "What is Miss Cousin doing?"

In the first few days after Yingniang arrived, Shiyi Niang took Yingniang with her wherever she went, and the two were very close. But these days, Shiyi Niang ignored Yingniang and left her alone in the yard without telling the maids and old women. No one knew how to treat Yingniang, and Yingniang didn't know where she could go and where she couldn't go.

Amber was very confused, but when Eleventh Lady asked, she still said respectfully: "My eldest cousin has been taking care of the flowers and plants in your yard every day these days, and doing some needlework when she is free."

"Is she living peacefully?"

Amber was a little surprised, and said thoughtfully: "I was a little overwhelmed in the first two days, but then the fifth young master moved the gardenia over, and the eldest cousin had something to do, so she settled down."

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Please read the updated version tomorrow at noon!

O(∩_∩)O~