When Xu Lingyi heard that all the relatives had sent birthday gifts, he had to go to the Madam to discuss the birthday celebration: "…Although we won't have a grand celebration, we will definitely have to invite a few tables of wine."
The lady shook her head and said, "It's not a New Year's Eve celebration. It's enough for the family to just have a meal."
Xu Lingyi was about to persuade him again, but the lady said, "By the way, I heard that the emperor is going to send troops to the northwest?"
"You are more informed than I am." Xu Lingyi knew that his mother was worried about him, and said with a smile, "I am in mourning now, and there are many brave generals in the court. The emperor originally promoted me only because of the queen's kindness. Now that I have achieved success and fame, I naturally know how to retire at the right time."
The lady nodded: "It's best if you think so."
"But someone said something in front of you?" Xu Lingyi smiled, "Or who wants to do grain business?"
"You're so clever." The lady smiled, "It's your third brother. He said someone from the Lin family wanted him to join the gang and asked me if it's okay."
From the tone of the lady's voice, Xu Lingyi knew the answer, but he just smiled and said nothing.
The lady sighed and said, "When the moon is full, it wanes; when the water is full, it overflows. Many people know it, but few can do it." She looked very emotional.
Xu Lingyi wanted to comfort his mother, but he didn't know where to start. Just as he was struggling, a little maid came in and said, "The Fifth Master and the Fifth Madam are here!"
The lady listened with a smile on her face.
Xu Lingyi couldn't help but feel relieved.
My fifth brother always makes my mother happy...
A man and a woman walked in side by side.
The man was wearing a jade hairpin and a moon-white brocade robe, with a face as beautiful as jade and hair as sharp as a knife. The woman was wearing a plain face with a flowery jacket, her black hair was combed into a bun, her eyebrows were full of affection, and she was as beautiful as a flower. The two of them standing together were even more elegant than the golden boy and jade girl in front of Guanyin.
"Come, come, come," the old lady looked at him with great joy from the bottom of her heart, "come and sit next to me!"
After hearing this, Xu Lingyi stood up and gave his seat to Xu Lingkuan and his wife.
When Xu Lingkuan saw his mother, his face was full of joy. He just called her "Mom" affectionately, but when he looked up and saw his fourth brother standing up, his joy diminished by seven points.
He subconsciously took two steps back and weakly called out "Fourth Brother...", which left the Lady Dowager and the Fifth Lady stunned.
"What did you do outside?" The lady winked at her youngest son.
"No, no." Xu Lingkuan, who was usually very smart, was a little dull at this moment. "Really not. I listened to operas in the garden every day during this period. I didn't go anywhere else."
The lady could not help but become very anxious.
Xu Lingyi could see that his mother was trying to protect his brother.
When his father passed away, his third brother was busy with family affairs, and he was busy with things outside. Only his younger brother was by his mother's side to take care of her. The relationship was different. He himself could not comfort his mother, so he acquiesced to his younger brother being by his mother's side, which cultivated his younger brother's somewhat frivolous character. Strictly speaking, he was responsible, and he could not always blame him for being impetuous...
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but smile and speak to excuse his younger brother: "He has been reporting to the Imperial Guards every day these days, and their Deputy Commander Li also praised him highly! Mother, don't worry."
The lady heaved a long sigh of relief after hearing this, and her smile became more comfortable: "Okay, okay, okay. You being so obedient is better than anything else."
"Mom," Xu Lingkuan immediately came to life and sat down next to his mother with a smile, "Please don't blame me if you see me. Since my fourth brother taught me a lesson, I know I was wrong and I have changed now."
The lady laughed and said, "I know, I know. I will never say that to you again." Her tone was very doting.
The Fifth Lady smiled and stepped forward to greet the Lady Dowager and Xu Lingyi.
The lady pointed at Jinwu who was standing nearby and said, "Xiaowu, go sit there. Leave the seat to your wife."
Xiao Wu deliberately grumbled, "You've spoiled Danyang so much that he'll start bullying me in a few days."
"Danyang is not the person you said." The lady laughed, "Come, Danyang, sit next to me."
The Fifth Lady hurriedly lifted her skirt and sat on the kang, and a maid brought a throne for Xu Lingyi to sit on.
The maids served tea, and a little maid reported: "Madam, the second lady is here!"
"Please come in!" As soon as the lady finished speaking, the second lady came in holding a carved red lacquer box.
Seeing Xu Lingyi, she was slightly startled: "The Marquis is here too!"
Xu Lingyi stood up and respectfully called "Second sister-in-law".
Xu Lingkuan brought the brocade stool he was sitting on to the second wife and said, "Second sister-in-law, please sit down!"
The Second Madam smiled and thanked Xu Lingkuan, then bowed to the Madam Tai and Xu Lingyi, then sat down and handed the box in her hand to Yao Huang who was serving beside her: "Thank you for fulfilling your mission!"
It contained the plaques and account books of the Xu family's inner and outer residences.
Xu Lingyi hurriedly said, "Thank you, second sister-in-law. I'm sorry for your hard work these past few days."
"You are too polite, my Lord!" The Second Lady stood up quickly. "Everyone usually tolerates my laziness. Now that I can help, I can do my best. How can I say that I am working hard?"
The lady smiled and said, "We are one family and we should not talk about our own differences. Please sit down!"
The two smiled and sat down again.
The lady said, "Yizhen, this time it's all thanks to you. Otherwise, Yuanniang's funeral wouldn't have been so dignified."
The Second Lady laughed and said, "Mother asked me to sit down and talk with the Marquis, why are you being so polite?"
Everyone laughed at this remark.
A maid came in and reported, "Madam, the inner court said that they sent two baskets of cherries on the orders of the Empress."
"Quick!" The lady was delighted when she heard it, "Bring it in and let us see it."
A little maid brought in cherries.
We are talking about two baskets, weighing no more than 20 kilograms in total, and they are covered with green leaves, which are very cute.
The lady immediately had one of the baskets taken away for cleaning, and then instructed Wei Zi: "Go, call the third lady and the children to come and taste the fresh food."
Yuanniang's funeral had just ended, and Third Uncle Xu Lingning went to thank those who had sent sacrificial offerings but were not present - such as Lei Gong, the eunuch beside the Empress. Such people were not at home, but Qiao Lianfang was at home...
The Fifth Madam opened her mouth to remind the Madam Dowager, but then she remembered that Qiao Lianfang was not as good as she used to be, so she swallowed her words.
Wei Zi responded and left.
The lady pointed to another basket and said, "Send it to the Gan, Sun, and Luo mansions."
The second wife's parents have passed away, and she only has an adopted brother who is the prefect of Xinyang, and she has no relatives in Yanjing.
Yao Huang hurriedly arranged for someone to deliver the cherries.
Soon, the third wife came with several children.
The room was filled with a lot of chatter, and even Zhun Ge, who had just lost his mother, smiled.
The old lady handed the carved red lacquer box to the third lady and said, "You can still take care of it!"
The third wife lowered her head in shame and said, "Mother, let the second sister-in-law take care of it. I really have the will but not the ability!"
The lady knew she was referring to the Spring Banquet, and said with a smile, "No failure, no gain. This time you watched how your second sister-in-law acted, and you should be able to learn something. Just be more careful next time."
"Yes." The third lady lowered her head and answered.
Madam Wu pulled her to sit down and said, "Third sister-in-law, eat your cherries quickly, or they will be snatched away."
This made everyone laugh, and the third lady felt more at ease.
Xu Lingkuan took the opportunity to discuss the matter of the lady's birthday: "... In the morning, we brothers will come to celebrate your birthday and have a birthday banquet. After the banquet, Geng Changsheng will sing two pieces for you. In the evening, we will go to Dianchun Hall and let Xiao Wufu's juggling troupe perform magic tricks for you..."
The lady-in-waiting watched her youngest son speak with great joy, knowing that he had put a lot of thought into the arrangements. Then she looked at Xu Lingyi, who was smiling at his brother, but his gaze was far away, and the joy he had just felt faded a little.
"...Geng Changsheng's business will surely be good in the future. Just because of his name, he will be invited to sing at birthday parties..."
Xu Lingkuan was still speaking his mind when his wife interrupted him with a smile: "There are so many people coming and going these days. Tomorrow is my birthday, you brothers can just come to my place for the birthday banquet."
"Oh!" Xu Lingkuan was a little disappointed.
* * * * * *
When he returned home at night, Xu Lingning, the third master of the Xu family, learned that the third wife had regained the housekeeper's key, and couldn't help but smile and said, "Mother still has you in her heart..."
The Third Madam smiled coldly and interrupted Xu Lingning: "What do you know? She is afraid that it will be difficult to deal with when the Eleventh Lady of the Luo Family comes in, so she lets me, an illegitimate daughter-in-law, take charge. Then she can take the key back at any time..."
"Why are you talking about this again?" Xu Lingning couldn't help but whisper, "Although I am a concubine's daughter, mother has never treated me as an outsider..."
"Stop talking!" The third wife interrupted her husband unhappily, rolled her eyes, and put her hand on her husband's shoulder affectionately, "What are you going to do about what the Lin family said last time?"
Xu Lingning snorted a few times.
The Third Lady raised her eyebrows and said, "I'm asking you a question. Why can't you just speak clearly? How come you can answer everything clearly in front of the Lady Dowager, but when you come to me, you can't explain anything clearly."
Xu Lingning said unhappily, "Mom said this won't work!"
"Why not?" The Third Madam's face darkened. "Marquis Jianning and Earl Shouchang are still doing business with the Ministry of Works' Dushuisi. And they are doing business without any capital. We are investing real money, why can't we do that?"
The Marquis of Jianning and the Earl of Shouchang are the two elder brothers of the current Empress Dowager. The Ministry of Works and Water Resources is in charge of the rivers, lakes, vehicles and ships in the country...
"That's different. The Empress Dowager has given the Emperor a second life..." Xu Lingning said vaguely, "Even if the Emperor knew, he would turn a blind eye!"
The third wife laughed angrily: "What do you mean by giving birth to a son? She just couldn't give birth to a son and didn't want to be deposed, so she raised the emperor under her name. If it weren't for the Xu family, if it weren't for the emperor, she would have been pulled down by Concubine Ye..."
Xu Lingning was so frightened when he heard her say such outrageous words that he quickly covered his wife's mouth: "Keep your voice down, keep your voice down, don't let anyone hear us. Before my father died, he told us not to mention the Xu family in the past in front of others."
The third wife pulled away her husband's hand that was covering her mouth and said, "The brave will die of overeating, and the timid will die of starvation. Xu Lingning, I'm telling you, you still have two sons to raise! They are your own flesh and blood..." As she spoke, tears began to fall.
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Well, there’s a problem with the chapter title. However, the content is fine. I’ll find a way to change it...⊙﹏⊙bSweat!