"You mean, you want to be sent out?" Xu Lingyi glanced at Shiyi Niang.

Luo Zhenxing nodded.

Xu Lingyi thought Luo Zhenxing should first get familiar with the people in the six ministries before being sent out. Firstly, he would have someone to talk to in Yanjing if there was anything going on outside, and secondly, he would have more opportunities for promotion. But some things are "man proposes, God disposes", and no one knows who will have what kind of opportunity at what time, so he can't say anything for sure.

"Think about it carefully!" he said thoughtfully.

"I've been thinking about this all the way here," Luo Zhenxing said. "People leave their names behind, and wild geese leave their voices behind. If an official cannot benefit the people, then what's the point of that?"

Xu Lingyi showed admiration in his eyes, but said nothing.

This concerns Luo Zhenxing's future, but the official world is treacherous. The emperor has held great power in recent years. There is Fan Weigang in the north, He Chengbi in the south, Jiang Yunfei in the Five Military Commandery, and Ouyang Ming in the Imperial Guard. He kept a low profile, and the emperor gradually became kind to him. If Baoding Prefecture was an unintentional move, then going to Xuantong and Jiayuguan was a deliberate move that killed two birds with one stone. It not only affirmed his son's talent, but also knew the emperor's current view of him. But if he intervened in the seizure and dismissal of civil officials, I'm afraid the emperor would immediately be alert to him.

On the issue of Luo Zhenxing, he has no way to give him a guarantee now, so he will not express his opinion.

Xu Lingyi remained silent.

The atmosphere in the room became somewhat stagnant.

Eleventh Lady looked at her brother, then at her husband, and smiled softly, "Brother, how is Fifth Sister's wife doing over there? Last time she returned to Yanjing to report on her work, she said she had something to ask Elder Chen, and she met with the Marquis briefly before leaving."

"He is very thin," Luo Zhenxing said with a smile, the atmosphere became much better with his sister's interruption, "but he is in good spirits. When I went there, he was sitting on the ridge of the field talking about this year's harvest with several old farmers. He was so happy to see Jing'er that he let Jing'er ride a cow around the field. He also asked Jing'er whether he often met with Xin'er, how tall Xin'er was now, whether he was doing well in school..." At this point, he frowned slightly, hesitated for a moment, and said to Shiyi Niang, "If you have time, go and persuade Wu Niang. Zichun has worked very hard in recent years. Tell her not to be angry with Zichun, and take her two children to Wendeng to live with Zichun. She is born with a blessing but doesn't know how to appreciate it. She doesn't know that there are people who want to go to work with their husbands but can't, but she says that there is no good husband in Wendeng and she insists on staying in Yanjing. She doesn't act like a wife at all." His tone was very serious and dissatisfied.

"If that's the case, it's better for Big Brother to persuade Fifth Sister." Eleventh Lady said awkwardly, "After all, I am the younger sister..."

Luo Zhenxing couldn't help but think of Grandma Luo.

If she were here, I wouldn't have to worry about such things.

He sighed and didn't force it. Seeing that it was getting late, Xu Lingyi invited Luo Zhenxing to the small hall next to him and prepared a banquet for him. Eleventh Lady toasted Luo Zhenxing with a glass of wine, thanked him for taking care of Jing'er, and then returned to the main courtyard.

The banquet over there had already ended. The lady-in-waiting, the fifth lady, and several children were all sitting in the banquet room in the east side room, listening to Jing'er telling about what he had seen and heard along the way. The younger ones kept exclaiming "Wow", "Really", and "Sixth brother, tell me faster". Although the room was quiet, a lively atmosphere was felt.

Eleventh Lady stood under the eaves with a gentle smile on her face.

* * * * * *

When Xu Lingyi returned home, he only saw Shiyi Niang. He was shocked: "Where is Jin'er?"

"Go and stay overnight with mother." Eleventh Lady helped him change clothes with a smile.

"Why didn't you wait for me to come back!" Xu Lingyi couldn't help but mutter to himself.

Seeing Xu Lingyi's disappointed expression, Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "The child has been waiting for you, but you never came back... The child felt a little uncomfortable when he left!"

"Then I'll go and pay my respects to mother!" Xu Lingyi said hesitantly.

"It's too late now." Eleventh Lady said, "Mother and Jin'er have been talking for a long time and didn't even take a nap. I'm afraid she will collapse by now. My Lord, you should go tomorrow morning!"

"I have been discussing the matter of being sent out with Zhenxing!" Xu Lingyi muttered as he went to the bathroom.

Eleventh Lady followed and asked: "Brother, have you finally decided to be sent out?"

"Well!" Xu Lingyi washed his face. "Let him go! I can't say anything else, but if the assignment doesn't go well and he wants to return to Yanjing to be a secretary, I can still help him with Zhenxing's qualifications. I'm just afraid that he will retire by then... In this generation of the Luo family, Zhenxing is the only one who passed the imperial examination," he said, and walked over. "I told Zhenxing that we should hire a good teacher in Yuhang."

That's true. If the next generation of the Luo family doesn't pass the imperial examination, I'm afraid the family will fall into decline after Luo Zhenxing.

Eleventh Lady nodded slightly.

Someone knocked on their window.

Xu Lingyi and Shiyi Niang looked at each other.

Who is so bold...

The thought flashed through his mind, and Xu Lingyi's eyes lit up: "It's Jing'er..." Thinking that he should be serving in the lady's room at this time, he hurried to open the window and saw Jing'er's smiling face.

"Dad, do you miss me? I miss you so much!" He leaned his hands on the window slats, "Do you go to the horse farm to race horses as often as before? I've been in the south of the Yangtze River these days, taking a boat every day, and I've dreamed several times of racing horses with Dad in the northwest..."

Jing'er didn't say anything, but Xu Lingyi's eyes were already a little moist. As if to hide something, he patted his son's shoulder and said, "Why did you come back? Why didn't you go through the front door but knocked on the window? Where's your grandmother? Did she rest? Did she know you were coming?"

"I'm just afraid that Dad will miss me so much that he can't sleep." Jing'er said with a playful smile, but in Xu Lingyi's eyes, he just thought it was intimate. "I ran out to show Dad the excuse of going to the toilet!" After saying that, he turned around and ran away. "I have to go back, otherwise if grandma sees me and never comes back, she will think I fell into the toilet and go to the toilet to look for me herself. Sister Zhihong will be in trouble!"

Xu Lingyi was stunned.

When he came to his senses, Jing'er had disappeared.

"This kid runs faster than a rabbit!" His eyes were filled with doting, "How could he come up with such an excuse to come to the bathroom to see me!"

Eleventh Lady couldn't help but hide her sleeves and laugh.

* * * * * *

In the next few days, the couple did not talk about Jing'er's whereabouts. They just listened to Jing'er talking about his trip to the south of the Yangtze River, helped Jing'er pack up his things, and picked a new auspicious day to move to Qingyinju, which was the New Year's Eve.

After offering sacrifices to the ancestors, cleaning the yard and pasting up peach charms, the New Year celebrations began.

This year, the family had the most people present. Xu Lingyi was very happy and drank a few more cups at the New Year's Eve dinner. When he came back at night, he and Shiyi Niang had a lot of fun all night, so much so that when Shiyi Niang came to the palace to pay her respects the next day, she had to raise her sleeves to pretend to cough to cover her yawns. As a result, in front of all the ladies outside the palace, the Queen Mother asked her with concern whether she had caught a cold.

When they got home, Xu Lingyi was overjoyed. He hugged her and joked, "In the past, some people wrote lyrics under imperial orders. Why don't you follow the ancients and recuperate under imperial orders?"

"I'll give you a head!" Eleventh Lady pinched Xu Lingyi's arm lightly.

Xu Lingyi fell to the ground, holding the place where she pinched him. "Why can't I lift my arm? Go call the imperial physician."

The first day of the Lunar New Year is called the Imperial Physician...

Looking at Xu Lingyi who was like a child, Shiyi Niang didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "No wonder Jin Ge'er is so naughty, it turns out he has inherited the Marquis's temperament."

"Of course," Xu Lingyi said shamelessly, pretending to be a frivolous villain, "Don't you see whose son he is?"

Eleventh Lady bent over with laughter.

If Denghua hadn't come to ask when they would set off for Hongdeng Hutong to pay New Year's greetings to Old Lord Sun, the two of them would have been laughing and joking.

They were laughing and joking until the fifth day, when they received the news that Princess Changfu had passed away.

All the prominent families in the capital rushed to the princess's mansion.

Older people are particularly prone to sentimentality when they hear this. The old lady went to the princess's residence to offer condolences in person and met Zheng Taijun, who was older than her. The two old ladies gathered together and mourned for a long time, and the old lady felt a little uncomfortable when she returned home.

Xu Lingyi was taking care of the patient by his bedside.

After two days, there was still no improvement, so Xu Lingkuan took a leave and the third room also rushed over.

When the lady woke up from her sleep, she would ask "Where is Zhun'er?", "Where is Jin'er?", and occasionally "Shen'er". The three children stayed in the room. With the three Xu brothers, the maids and wives serving them, the air in the room became turbid. Eleventh Lady saw that this was not a good thing, so she discussed with Xu Lingyi and asked several people to take turns to stay in the room.

Considering that the back garden was too far from the lady's residence, Eleventh Lady arranged the people from the third room to rest in the small courtyard next to Dianchun Hall.

Their family of eight, plus maids and old women, seemed a bit crowded.

Jiang has been helping Eleventh Lady manage the household these days. Since the Madam was ill, Eleventh Lady focused her energy on the Madam and took on the daily affairs of the family. Seeing this, she took the initiative to discuss with Eleventh Lady: "Why not let the eldest and third uncles live with me? The first courtyard of my place is empty anyway."

Eleventh Lady thought about it and agreed.

Who knew that the Third Madam would keep Fang to serve by her side: "I have been feeling a little uncomfortable these days!"

Perhaps it was because he saw the always strong Madam suddenly become so weak and pale that the Third Master remained silent. After hearing what the Third Madam said, he unexpectedly glanced at her coldly: "Are you not feeling well again? Then go back. If it really doesn't work, I'll send you back to your parents' home to recuperate."

In front of so many people, especially the younger generations present, the Third Madam couldn't hold back the shame on her face and tears fell down her cheeks, but she didn't dare to say a word.

Fang said hurriedly, "Father-in-law, mother-in-law has indeed been feeling a little uncomfortable these days. I will just serve her here."

The gentle Third Master showed unexpected firmness and ordered his eldest son Xu Siqin: "Go, call your uncle and ask him to take your mother back to recuperate."

Xu Siqin and Xu Sijian were both stunned.

The third wife turned around and went into the inner room, crying, and shouted at the maids to pack their things. But the maids didn't dare to really pack their things and kept dragging their feet. After the two sons knelt down to persuade them, the matter was over.

But this is in the Yongping Marquis Mansion, nothing can be hidden from Eleventh Lady.

Soon it reached her ears.

Eleventh Lady couldn't help but sigh.

Thinking back to the first time I met the Third Lady... How could such a smart person do such an inappropriate thing? It can be seen that this temper is also cultivated!

I couldn't help but reflect on myself.

※

Additional update will be added on September 24th.

Post a draft first!

O(∩_∩)O~