Chapter 737 Good Intentions (Part 2)
Xu Lingyi showed approval and said, "You and my brother should go and do this together!" Xu Sizhen said respectfully, "Yes."
When Ting Ge'er saw that the adults had finished speaking, he ran to Shiyi Niang with a smile and said, "Grandma, when will Sixth Uncle come back?"
When he mentioned Ting'er, Shiyi Niang's eyes dimmed and she forced a gentle smile: "Ting'er, do you miss your sixth uncle?"
Ting'er nodded and said with a smile, "Seventh uncle said that it would be great if sixth uncle was at home, so they could go to Datong together." Then he jumped happily and said, "Grandma, grandma, when I grow up, I want to go to Datong with sixth and seventh uncles!" Eleventh Lady smiled and held Ting'er in her arms, "Our Ting'er is so well-behaved!" As she was speaking, Xu Si'an called Mother and brought Zhuang'er over.
Zhuang Ge'er looked at Ting Ge'er in Shiyi Niang's arms with envy.
Eleventh Lady looked at him and waved at him with a smile.
Zhuang ran over immediately, and the two brothers shook hands with smiles on their faces.
Xu Lingyi had already ordered Xu Sizhen to follow Xu Sizhen to close the rice shop, and also instructed two people: "... send a few guards to go there, in case there is a grain robbery!" Xu Sizhen pondered and said, "Should we post a notice saying that because of the city closure, rice cannot be transported in, and the rice shop has no rice to sell. When others know that the rice shop is closed because of this, they will not rob it. In this way, we don't have to send guards to go there..." He hesitated, "I'm afraid that there won't be enough people at home when the time comes..."
"No!" Xu Lingyi immediately objected, "This will easily cause panic. Let's send more people! As for the guards at home, I will discuss it with Chief Butler Bai." The father and son discussed the affairs of the sect, and the female family members listened quietly on the side. After everything was arranged, Xu Lingyi stood up, and everyone followed him to the old lady's place. The old lady was in the Buddhist hall, and when she came out, there was still a faint smell of sandalwood on her body.
"You're going to worship Buddha so early?" Xu Lingyi asked with a smile.
"It's a mess outside, and I don't know when these idiots can be wiped out." The old man didn't look very good. With the help of the second wife, he sat down on the big kang by the window with a tired look. "I will burn more incense for the Bodhisattva, and pray that the Bodhisattva will bless General Ouyang to win the battle and return to the court as soon as possible, so that the world can be peaceful and prosperous!"
Knowing that Xuantong had been captured, Xu Lingyi immediately took back the lady and others. "Don't worry, mother." Xu Lingyi took the tea brought by the maid with a smile, and personally served it to the lady, comforting her, "There are 400,000 troops! Datong will soon send a victory message." Then he changed the subject and told the lady that Xu Sizhen suggested closing the two rice shops at home.
The lady looked at Xu Sizhen lovingly and nodded slightly: "This is the bearing of a prince." Then she glanced at the others in the room and warned, "You must remember, never compete with the people for profit, or you will be hated!"
Everyone bowed and responded “yes”.
Xu Lingkuan and the Fifth Lady came with Brother Qian and Brother Cheng.
After paying respects to the lady-in-waiting, everyone greeted each other. When they turned around, they found that the lady-in-waiting was actually dozing off, so everyone quickly dropped the topic.
The second wife gently shook the old lady and said, "Mom, if you are tired, go back to your room and rest for a while!"
The lady raised her head and looked at everyone with a bewildered look: "Why are you all silent?"
Xu Lingyi winked at Xu Lingkuan and said with a smile: "There is still work to do in the outer courtyard. We are just about to leave!"
"Oh!" The old lady nodded, "Then you guys go and get busy!" Then she instructed the second lady, "Take out the Diamond Path, and we'll continue copying from yesterday." The second lady smiled and responded, and the others stood up and said goodbye.
Before they left the yard, Xu Lingkuan pulled Xu Lingyi aside and said, "Fourth brother, I have something to discuss with you."
Xu Lingyi thought for a moment and said, "Let's go to the study!"
Xu Lingkuan nodded and followed Xu Lingyi.
Eleventh Lady and Fifth Lady exchanged a few words and then went their separate ways.
Jiang supported Shiyi Niang and said, "Mother, you don't look very well. Do you want to ask a doctor to take a look?"
Yingniang walked in front with her two children, smiling. After hearing this, she turned around and looked at Shiyi Niang: "Mother, are you not fully recovered yet? Fourth sister-in-law is right, let's ask a doctor to come and take a look!"
"No need!" After not sleeping well for two nights, and worrying about Jian'er, how could she look good? Shiyi Niang said, "I'll just take a rest!" Then she said to Jiang, "Go and take care of the flower hall! If you are undecided about anything, come and ask me!"
Seeing her firm attitude, the two said nothing more and helped Shiyi Niang to rest. Jiang went to the flower hall to take care of the housework, and Yingniang took the two children to play in the main courtyard. If Shiyi Niang needed anything, she could come whenever she was called.
Eleventh Lady closed her eyes and could not hear any sound. She was obviously very tired, but she could not fall asleep. Her mind was full of Jian Ge'er.
If it really came to that, what position would Gong Dongning assign to Zheng Ge'er? Would he keep him in the safe rear to save his life? Or would he, like King Yong, see this as an opportunity to let Zheng Ge'er charge into battle and gain military merits to be honored by his wife and children?
Although she has never met Gong Dongning, from Xu Lingyi's description of him, she is afraid that Gong Dongning would rather "die on the battlefield". "... that would be bad... he would most likely arrange for Zheng Ge'er to go into battle and kill the enemy... thinking of this, Shiyi Niang could no longer sleep.
She simply sat up.
Han Xiao, the servant beside her, immediately stepped forward and whispered, "Madam, what do you want?" She wanted her son to be safe!
Eleventh Lady said silently in her heart that she had never hoped that Ouyang Ming would defeat those villains as much as she did at this moment.
She couldn't help but put her hands together and said "Buddha bless you".
With a smile on her face and a look of suspicion, she said softly, "Madam, what's wrong with you?" She had not served Eleventh Lady for a long time, but she could see that Eleventh Lady did not like to worship Buddha. At least, Eleventh Lady did not have a Buddhist shrine or a god box in her house like other women from wealthy families. She also did not bring a nun to her house to preach or chat whenever she had free time.
Eleventh Lady heard this and stood up, "Hanxiao, go call Amber!"
Hanxiao did not dare to delay and hurriedly called Amber.
"Amber," said Shiyi Niang, "I want to go to Ciyuan Temple to burn incense. Please go and tell Chief Steward Bai if it's convenient!"
There was a flash of confusion in Amber's eyes, but she quickly regained her composure, responded respectfully, and quickly went to Butler Bai.
The atmosphere outside was a bit tense, but since it was Eleventh Lady's idea, Manager Bai naturally tried his best to overcome it.
Early the next morning, Chief Steward Bai sent the steward of the guard department to accompany Shiyi Niang to Ciyuen Temple.
Ciyuan Temple was very popular, and many women knelt on their cushions and stammered. The receptionist of Ciyuan Temple finally found an opportunity to welcome Shiyi Niang to the main hall. "Please bless Jiange'er to be safe and sound. As long as you can do this, I am willing to be your believer from now on..." Shiyi Niang closed her eyes and prayed devoutly. But things still developed in an unsatisfactory direction.
A few days later, the battle report came in. Ouyang Ming divided his troops into three groups. One group supported Datong, one group surrounded and captured Xuantong's Dazi, and one group was stationed 400 miles away from Yanjing. Xuantong could not be captured for a long time, and Datong was defeated step by step, with three tenths of its troops lost. The emperor summoned Xu Lingyi to the palace.
Before noon, Eleventh Lady received the news.
The Ministry of War appointed Gong Dongning as the commander-in-chief of the Military Governorate, and Ding Zhi as the vice minister of the Ministry of War. Gong Dongning did not have to go to Beijing to thank the emperor, but could immediately lead the troops of the Military Governorate to station in Ganzhou, and Ding Zhi went to Beijing to take up his post on the same day.
Eleventh Lady stood there blankly, speechless for a long time.
At noon, Xu Lingyi came back.
Amber came out to greet her.
"Marquis," her voice was a little softer than usual, "Madam is not feeling well and is lying in the inner room..." Before she could finish her sentence, Eleventh Lady's voice came from the inner room: "Is the Marquis back?"
Amber looked hesitant.
Xu Lingyi had already lifted the curtain and walked in.
"I'm back!"
Eleventh Lady sat up rustlingly and sent away the maidservant who was serving her. "Are the people you sent still with Jiange'er?" The light from the curtains was insufficient, making her skin look even whiter than snow, and a little weaker.
Xu Lingyi sat down beside the bed and held her hand: "Stay by his side all the time." He added, "I have sent someone to give them a message. Ask them to pay attention to Jiange'er's safety..."
"Master Pang is not a military officer, can he go with them?" Shiyi Niang interrupted him and asked him to comfort her, "Don't worry." The stillbirth in her abdomen also made him speak in a slightly stiff tone. After a moment, he said, "I have asked someone to help Master Pang, Huang Xiaomao, and Liu Erwu get military officers. With them around, there will be someone available for Qin Ge'er." "Do you know where Gong Dongning has arranged Qin Ge'er?"
Xu Lingyi was silent for a long time, and then whispered, "Gong Dongning is the commander-in-chief of the three armies after all. There are some things that I cannot interfere with."
Eleventh Lady nodded, without asking any more questions, and lay down again: "I'm a little tired and want to rest for a while. If the Marquis has something to do, just call Amber!" After saying that, she closed her eyes.
Xu Lingyi looked at her pretty face with a slightly frown on her face, and after a long while he heaved a long sigh, then quietly stood up and left the inner room.
A crystal teardrop fell from the corner of Shiyi Niang's eye.
Perhaps it was a case of waiting for the enemy to tire themselves out, or perhaps it was a case of surprising the enemy by striking at the grass. Twenty days later, news came from Qianzhou that Gong Dongning's troop was ambushed by Da Zi near Liangzhouwei, 500 miles away from Ganzhou. The right army suffered more than 1,000 casualties, killed more than 500 enemies, captured more than 100 Da Zi, and captured more than 300 horses.
When the news came, everyone took the initiative to ignore the casualties of Fang's army and focused on "killing more than 500 enemies, capturing more than 100 Dazi, and obtaining more than 300 horses", which seemed even more precious when compared with the loss of Datong.
The emperor frequently summoned Xu Lingyi to the palace.
Not long after, good news came from Ganzhou again.
The Fang army killed 3,000 enemies, captured more than 2,000 people, and seized more than 1,000 horses. The spirit of Yanjing was lifted, and everyone in the streets and alleys talked about Gong Dongning.
Xu Lingyi became even busier, and sometimes he was even kept in the palace. When the couple occasionally met, Shiyi Niang always asked him, "Is there any news about Jian'er?"
"He's fine." Xu Lingyi said with a comforting smile, "Gong Dongning keeps Jiang'er by his side.
Now Jiang Ge'er is Gong Dongning's personal guard!"
Finally caught up... There will be a dinner party after the inspection~~~~(>_<）~~~~