Chapter 684: Alternation (Part 1)

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 just went to the flower hall at the beginning of the day." She smiled, "You can come over then."

Jiang replied respectfully, "Yes."

The little maid opened the window, and Qiuyu brought in a handful of seagrass and put them in the aquamarine 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 him.

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

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

Eleventh Lady asked about Madam Wen's accounts.

Madam Wen is a person who can't sit still. After returning the money to the Wen family, she learned needlework for a few days and then started to wander around the mansion. First, she helped the respectable mothers in the mansion to bring some southern and northern goods and earn the difference in price. Later, she turned her attention to the sweet-scented osmanthus trees and chestnuts planted at home. She encouraged the mothers to sell them outside. Seeing that she was competing for profit with those rough maids, Shiyi Niang gave her the task of reviewing the account books of the housekeeper mother. Only then did she stop.

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

Eleventh Lady nodded slightly. She told Madam Wen: "Remember to check the accounts with Amber before taking them to the office. This year, Madam Zheng is turning 80, and the eldest master in Nanjing is turning 50. In addition to sending gifts to the office, we also need to prepare some things here..." As the two talked, 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 old-kiln plum vases, but she left in a hurry without even having a meal. When the birthday gifts were collected, the mother who was in charge of the storeroom brought the pair of plum vases to the Madam 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 is also a set of tea sets from an old kiln and a pair of square flower vases." After putting the things down, she smiled at the mother in charge of the warehouse and said, "Thank you for remembering it. I think it's probably too old, and the Qiao family thought it was Madam's stuff and put it in the warehouse. Or maybe the accounts there are messed up, 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 vases from the old kiln have become good things to be kept at the bottom of the box."

Somehow the word got out.

Qiao Lianfang seemed to have a muscle pulled out. She lost all of 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 tea, saying, "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 Siyi and Yingniang came over to greet Shiyi Niang.

"How did you two get together?" Eleventh Lady smiled as the maid brought them a brocade stool for them to sit on.

Yingniang glanced at Xu Siqi, who in turn looked at Yingniang, meaning to let her speak first - since Yingniang came, her mother started making clothes and jewelry, and told Yingniang to dress up, and suddenly she became cheerful. He naturally had to give in to Yingniang. Seeing his modesty, Yingniang smiled and didn't say anything. She 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 brocade!" Yingniang said with a smile, "Didn't you give me a pin-threaded enamel target mirror yesterday? I want to embroider a tassel on it. Guan Qing's family said that a brocade with a plum blossom pattern would be good..." She was a little embarrassed, "I'm slow at making it and it took me some time."

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

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

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

"I have used it." Xu Siqi 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 look at it!" She showed complete trust.

Jiang smiled and said "yes" and handed the list to Amber - it was not that anyone took the right card to instruct the Relations Office, and the Relations Office would do it without any questions. In the past, it was Madam Du who dealt with the Inner Court and the Outer Court, but now it is Guan Qing's family.

The lady asked how people celebrated March 3rd.

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

After all the talk, the lady was very satisfied. She left Eleventh Lady to say, "Zhe'er, this daughter-in-law is not bad!" "I thought so too." Eleventh Lady smiled, "So I want her to follow me to get familiar with some old customs in the family."

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

Since the household affairs were handed over to Eleventh Lady, the Lady Dowager would not question her decision, let alone ask any more questions about it.

"He said his thigh bone was broken and he can only lie in bed to recuperate." Eleventh Lady whispered, "When I visited him last year, he talked to me for a few words and he seemed to be in good spirits."

As one gets older, one starts to miss people of the same generation as oneself. Although they are not very close to each other, the fact that Princess Fucheng slipped and broke her thigh two days ago still made the lady dowager very worried.

"Let him be raised!" The lady pondered, "He is old, I am afraid it will take a while to raise him." Then she told Eleventh Lady, "Send someone to send a letter to the princess's mansion. Let's go to the mansion and 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 burned benzoin in the room. Princess Fucheng was less awake and more drowsy. Her face, which was originally rosy, suddenly became pale and haggard.

The lady was deeply moved. After returning home, she asked Madam Du to count her private property.

"If he's like Fucheng, he wouldn't have said anything at all." For a moment, the atmosphere in the room became a little depressing.

Eleventh Lady often came to talk to the Lady Dowager.

The lady was only thinking about Xu Lingyi and wanted him to come back soon. She often held her hand and talked about Xu Lingyi's childhood, sometimes until late at night. Shiyi Niang thought about it and sometimes rested in front of the imperial concubine's couch next to the 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 they immediately took them to the kitchen to cook. Some had just caught a big fish and cooked it into three dishes, while others had only caught a few small fish and only fried one dish. Some were happy, while others complained. But none of them were short of food and clothing, and instead found it interesting. They were all smiling and very lively. Then they all praised the spring banquet and its meaning. Eleventh Lady took the opportunity to push Jiang out: "It was all our Fourth Young Lady's idea."

As a result, Jiang Shi had gained some fame in the noble families of Yanjing. Whenever there was a wedding or funeral, the person in charge would take a second look at Jiang Shi 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, slowly handing over some social activities to Jiang Shi, while she took the time to go and see Mr. Lu with the Fifth Lady.

The Fifth Lady was somewhat satisfied in her heart, but when she saw the man's elegant appearance, she was more willing. The marriage was soon roughly agreed upon.

Cao E brought her son Wen Ge'er to Yanjing.

Lan Ting went to Tongzhou in person to pick up his sister. He did not enter Uncle Zhongqin's gate, but went to the house in Si'er Hutong first.

The things had been packed up long ago, and Liu Taiping's wife, who had served the Second Lady in the past, was there to take care of them. Cao E took a look around and was extremely satisfied.

"I appreciate the favor from Eleventh Lady." Lan Ting touched Wen'er's head lovingly, "I just hope Wen'er will not let Third Sister down."

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

The nine-year-old Wen Ge'er looked like his father, but his temperament was like Cao E. But he said in a low voice: "Mother and 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."

Wen Ge'er nodded.

Liu Taiping's wife rushed in and said, "Mrs. Jiang, Mrs. Liang, our wife is here!

They were both stunned.

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

Cao E couldn't help but smile a little on her serious face: "If it weren't for your talent, why would you have given me a piece of red silk with a swastika pattern on it?"

For a moment, the two sisters became more intimate with Eleventh Lady. They went to greet her at the same time.

When I returned from Si'er Hutong, it was already dusk.

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. She didn't tell the maids and the old women, and no one knew how to treat Yingniang. 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 cousin has been taking care of the flowers and plants in your yard every day these days. She does some needlework when she is free."

"Is she living peacefully?" Amber was a little surprised and said thoughtfully, "She was a little overwhelmed in the first two days, but then the Fifth Young Master moved Gardenia over, and the eldest cousin had something to do, so she settled down."