“My Lord,” Eleventh Lady looked at Xu Lingyi with some concern, “What does the Emperor mean by this? Not only did he confer a hereditary official position on Jing’er, but he also conferred it on the Xiaoling Guard, which is specifically for the royal family…”

"Aren't we royal relatives?" Xu Lingyi was obviously in a good mood. He made a joke to Shiyi Niang first, then whispered, "It's okay. It's not like before. The emperor has his eyes on the world. I'm no longer someone he's afraid of." After that, he laughed, "I think the emperor is just like 'Xiang Zhuang dancing with a sword, aiming at Pei Gong'!"

Aiming at Peigong, that is to say, there are other plans! But no matter what the plan is, using Jinger as a bait makes people feel that this is not a good thing!

"What did the Marquis see?" Eleventh Lady pondered, "But I can't see anything!"

"It's normal that you can't see it." Xu Lingyi teased her, "If you can see it, how can the emperor manipulate those court officials?"

“Oh?” Eleventh Lady raised her eyebrows and simply flirted with Xu Lingyi, “From the Marquis’ tone, it seems like he is bragging about himself—the Emperor manipulated even those court officials, but our Marquis saw through it! Tsk tsk tsk tsk, our Marquis is really amazing!”

Xu Lingyi couldn't help laughing, and hugged Shiyi Niang affectionately, then said: "You are usually so smart, why is your brain not working well today? Use your brain and think carefully! Why is this matter so strange?"

Strange?

Eleventh Lady suddenly had an idea and her face darkened: "Could it be that the Emperor wants Jing'er to marry the eldest princess?"

The Emperor's casualness, the Empress's calmness... and the Princess' age. This is the only explanation!

"You're half right." Xu Lingyi said with a smile, "It's usually hard for princesses to get married, not to mention that the eldest princess has already reached the age of marriage. If we don't discuss the matter of a prince consort now, it will be too late. But if you want Jin Ge'er to marry the eldest princess, I'm afraid it may not be possible!"

Regarding her son's future happiness, Shiyi Niang didn't care to joke with Xu Lingyi, and hurriedly urged Xu Lingyi: "My Lord, please explain clearly!"

"If you want Jin'er to marry the princess, the first thing to do is to find someone who is close to our family to quietly pass on the message. Otherwise, if our Jin'er is already engaged, wouldn't it be a big joke? If there is no news in advance, then the emperor must have other plans for the eldest princess's marriage." Xu Lingyi said slowly, "The eldest princess can enter and leave the inner and outer palaces at will. Because she can play with the eldest princess, the eldest princess not only looks at the youngest son of Yongping Marquis, who has always been on guard against, differently, but also grants him the hereditary commander-in-chief of the Xiaoling Guard... You say, this is such a great grace..."

"I understand!" Before Xu Lingyi could finish his words, Eleventh Lady's expression was already slightly excited. "Others will see that the eldest princess is so favored by the emperor. If he really becomes the eldest princess's consort, wouldn't he be extremely rich and powerful? The emperor is trying to build momentum for the eldest princess's marriage! What's more, this benefit is given to our family, so it's a matter of killing two birds with one stone!"

"Not bad, not bad!" Xu Lingyi pretended to be relieved, "Finally you are smart for once!"

"My Lord!" Eleventh Lady laughed, "Can't you be more serious?" Then she stopped smiling, "Then, what about Jin'er? Should we send someone to bring him back with a letter? Should we send Jin'er to the border guard post?"

"Jin'er has to come back to receive the imperial decree," Xu Lingyi said seriously, "As for whether to send Jin'er to the garrison or not," he thought, "Once the eldest princess starts to arrange a marriage, there will be nothing for Jin'er to do. Besides, the Xiaoling Guards don't have to report for duty or do any work. We should just do what we should do!" At the end, his tone was already somewhat decisive, "I'll find a way to deal with this matter, don't worry about it."

Eleventh Lady nodded slightly: "I am afraid that if he gets such an official position, he will have nothing to do all day long, and a good child will be wasted by playing around!"

"I know!" Xu Lingyi held Shiyi Niang's hand, "Don't worry, it's better to teach someone how to fish than to give him fish. I know what I'm doing."

Eleventh Lady felt relieved and went to the lady's place with Xu Lingyi.

The lady was describing the scene vividly to the second lady, Jiang and others: "...You didn't see the look in their eyes. They all wished that the commander-in-chief would end up in their family."

Everyone laughed.

Yingniang said, "Grandma, shouldn't we have a banquet to celebrate?"

"Celebrate, celebrate!" The lady nodded repeatedly, "Our Jing'er is a lucky man. I don't have to worry about him anymore." At the end of her words, there was a hint of sigh.

"Mother is the lucky one." The Second Madam gently comforted the Grand Madam, "Third Uncle, Fifth Uncle, Qin'er, and Zhun'er have all received favors, and now there is another Jing'er. You are surrounded by flowers and good days are waiting for you in the future!"

The lady was very pleased and nodded continuously.

Xu Sizhun watched and joined in the fun: "Grandma, I will write a letter to tell my second brother, and also send someone to Sanjing Hutong to report the news. This is a great happy event!"

"No need to be so anxious!" Xu Lingyi's voice rang out in the room. The people who were only concerned with discussing the matter only then noticed him and Shiyi Niang, and stood up to greet them. Xu Lingyi nodded, and sat down on the armchair next to the Madam with Shiyi Niang. "Let's wait until the imperial edict comes down. The hereditary succession must be discussed by the cabinet. Although I won't refute the emperor's words, there are still some formalities to go through."

"It's better to be calm!" The lady said this, but she told Shiyi Niang, "Go and order a fourth-rank commander's official uniform for Jin'er. After receiving the imperial edict, he will go to the palace to express his gratitude."

Eleventh Lady smiled and replied “yes”.

The topic of the old lady returned to the matter of Jing'er being granted an imperial title: "We can't hide the emperor's oral order on the Wanshou Festival even if we want to. Speaking of which, our Jing'er is only twelve years old this year! He is probably the first commander-in-chief in the whole Great Zhou at the age of twelve." The old lady's expression was somewhat proud, and it was obvious that she liked talking about this matter very much. "When the time comes, we will not only hold a big banquet, but also invite the three major opera troupes in Yanjing to perform..." At this point, she said, "Oh", and said to Shiyi Niang, "Remember, the silver ingot for rewarding people is five thousand taels. Everyone who comes will be rewarded. Take it out of my own money..."

"You don't need so much!" Eleventh Lady was shocked. This was a bit beyond the normal range. "You can't use your own money. We will pay for it."

"You have yours, and I have mine." The lady was unhappy, "This is my reward..."

The lady was talking there, and the fifth lady looked a little dazed.

Although there were few commanders at the age of twelve, there were many things in this world. Her son-in-law was not the only one who inherited the rank of the fourth rank at the age of one!

She didn't realize that there was a hint of envy in her expression.

* * * * * *

The Xu family suppressed their joy and waited for the imperial edict, and Eleventh Lady even tilted her ears to listen to the noise outside.

A few days later, the Zhongshan Marquis family and the Zhennan Marquis family began to ask the Queen about the eldest princess' marriage in a tactful way. Even the Dingguo Duke's Mansion, which was always calm and low-key, could not sit still. The Duke's wife personally visited Shiyi Niang and implicitly asked Shiyi Niang to be the middleman.

The matter was of great importance, so she discussed with Xu Lingyi: "Should I enter the palace?"

"Go, why not!" Xu Lingyi said with a smile, "If you don't go, won't you offend the Zheng family? Besides, we can't make the decision on such matters. Whether it works or not depends on the words of the Emperor and the Empress. You can only say something."

Eleventh Lady smiled and handed the sign into the palace.

The Empress was lying in the warm room, talking to Huang Xianying. When she saw her coming, she asked the maid to move a brocade stool and put it beside the bed, saying, "You've come just in time! I'll issue an order in ten days. Can Jing'er come back in time?"

Eleventh Lady calculated the days and said, "I should be able to make it back in time!"

"Then let's issue the decree in fifteen days!" The Queen Mother said with a smile, "With more time, Jing'er can be more relaxed." She added, "If he comes back, let him enter the palace. The New Year is coming soon, and I have another reward for him."

Eleventh Lady hurriedly expressed her gratitude on behalf of Jing'er.

The Queen Mother smiled and said, "It's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early. I am choosing a suitable person for the eldest princess. You can also listen and see which one is suitable." Then she motioned Huang Xianying to continue.

Eleventh Lady didn't have the chance to explain her purpose, so she calmed down and listened carefully to what Huang Xianying said.

There were about twenty families who wanted to marry the eldest princess, all of them were the second sons or youngest sons of noble families. Some of the children were really outstanding.

The Queen Mother also seemed very satisfied. After Huang Xianying finished speaking, she asked Shiyi Niang: "What do you think, should we buy 10,000 acres of fertile land for the eldest princess as her dowry in Huguang? Or in Shandong?"

The starting point is 10,000 acres... what a big deal!

"Each has its own advantages." Eleventh Lady smiled, "Huguang is a land of fish and rice, and Shandong is rich in products. I think both are good!"

The Empress thought for a while and said, "Then Huguang is the best choice! People cannot live without food."

That tone is just like what modern people say, "People can't live without money."

However, it is indeed the same.

In ancient times, there were no banks or insurance companies, and people only felt at ease if they had land to provide for their old age.

Huang Xianying hurriedly wrote it down with a smile.

The Queen then asked about Eleventh Lady's purpose of coming.

Eleventh Lady said it tactfully.

The Queen Mother asked Huang Xianying to take note and talked to Eleventh Lady about the eldest princess' dowry. Seeing that it was getting late, she rewarded her with a meal before letting her leave the palace.

When they got home, as soon as the car stopped, Amber shouted, "Madam, Madam, the Sixth Young Master is back."

Eleventh Lady, who was resting with her eyes closed, was startled and quickly lifted the curtain to look.

Several black lacquered flat-roofed carriages were parked inside the gate of Yongping Marquis's Mansion, and Jing'er's follower Chang'an was directing several servants to move boxes and cages.

"Chang'an!" Amber sat on the shaft of the carriage.

Chang'an trotted over and bowed hastily. Before they could speak, he said, "The Sixth Young Master is in the study with the Marquis now."

Eleventh Lady got out of the car and went to the study.

※

Make up for the extra update on October 4th!

PS: I’m catching bugs from the previous chapters one after another these days…O(∩_∩)O~.