Xu Lingyi showed approval: "You and Jie Ge'er should go and do this together!"

Xu Sizhun respectfully said "yes".

When Ting Ge'er saw that the adults had finished speaking, he ran to Eleventh Lady with a smile and said, "Grandma, when will Sixth Uncle come back?"

When she heard him mention Jing'er, Eleventh Lady's eyes dimmed, and she forced herself to smile softly, "Does Ting'er miss his sixth uncle?"

Tingge nodded and said with a smile: "Seventh uncle said that if only Sixth uncle was at home, they could go to Datong together." Then he jumped happily and said: "Grandma, Grandma, when I grow up, I also want to follow Sixth uncle and Seventh uncle to Datong!"

Eleventh Lady smiled and hugged Ting'er in her arms: "Our Ting'er is so well-behaved!"

As they were talking, Xu Sijie and Yingniang came over with Zhuang Ge'er.

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 Ge'er ran over immediately, and the two brothers shook hands with smiles on their faces.

Xu Lingyi had already ordered Xu Sijie to follow Xu Sizhun to close the rice shop, and he also told the two of them: "… send a few guards over there, in case someone steals the food!"

Xu Sizhun pondered and said, "Should we put up a notice saying that because of the city blockade, rice cannot be transported in and the rice shop has no rice to sell. When people 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 over..." He hesitated, "I'm afraid that there won't be enough people at home by then..."

"No!" Xu Lingyi objected immediately, "This will easily cause panic. Let's send more people! As for the guards at home, I will discuss it with Butler Bai."

The father and son discussed family matters while the women listened quietly. When everything was arranged, Xu Lingyi stood up and everyone followed him to the lady's place.

The lady was in the Buddhist temple, and when she came out, there was still a faint scent 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 the Tartars 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 a few more incense sticks to the Bodhisattva, and pray that the Bodhisattva will bless General Ouyang to win the first battle and return to the court as soon as possible, so that the world can be peaceful and prosperous!"

Knowing that Xuantong City had been captured, Xu Lingyi immediately brought back the lady and others from Xishan.

"Don't worry too much, mother." Xu Lingyi took the tea brought by the maid with a smile, and presented it to the lady himself, comforting her, "There are 400,000 troops! There will be good news from Datong soon." Then he changed the subject and told the lady that Xu Sizun had suggested closing the two rice shops in the family.

The lady looked at Xu Sizhun 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 responded respectfully.

Xu Lingkuan and the Fifth Lady came with Chen Ge'er and Cheng Ge'er.

After paying respects to the lady, everyone greeted each other. When they turned around, they found that the lady was actually dozing off while sitting there, 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 dazed look: "Why are you all silent?"

Xu Lingyi winked at Xu Lingkuan and said with a smile: "There is still something else going on in the outer courtyard. We are just about to leave!"

"Oh!" The old lady nodded, "Then you can get busy!" Then she told the second lady, "Take out the Diamond Sutra, and we will continue copying from yesterday."

The second lady responded with a smile, 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. She turned around and looked at Shiyi Niang, "Mother, are you still not fully recovered? Fourth sister-in-law is right. Let's ask a doctor to take a look!"

"No need!" After not sleeping well for two nights, and worrying about Jin Ge'er, how could she look good? Shiyi Niang said, "I'll just take a rest!" Then she said to Jiang, "You go and take care of the flower hall! If you are undecided about anything, come and ask me!"

Seeing her firm attitude, the two men didn't say much. They helped Shiyi Niang to rest. Jiang went to the flower hall to take care of housework. Ying Niang took her 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 could not fall asleep. Jing'er was all in her mind.

If it really came to that, what position would Gong Dongning assign to Jing'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 Jing'er charge into battle and gain military merit so that he could be given a title and a son?

Although I have never met Gong Dongning, from Xu Lingyi's description of him, I am afraid that Gong Dongning would rather die on the battlefield... That would be bad... He would most likely arrange for Jin Ge'er to fight the enemy...

Thinking of this, Eleventh Lady couldn't sleep anymore.

She simply sat up.

The waiter beside her stepped forward and whispered, "Madam, what do you want?"

She wants her son to be safe!

Eleventh Lady said silently in her heart that she had never hoped that Ouyang Ming would defeat those Tartars as much as she did at this moment.

She couldn't help but put her hands together and said, "Buddha bless you."

With a suspicious look on his face, he said softly, "Madam, what's wrong with you?"

She had not served Eleventh Lady for a long time, but she could tell that Eleventh Lady did not like to worship Buddha. At least, unlike other women from wealthy families, Eleventh Lady did not have a Buddhist temple or a shrine in her house. She also did not invite a nun to her house to preach or chat when she had free time.

Eleventh Lady listened and stood up, "Hanxiao, go call Amber!"

Hanxiao did not dare to delay and hurriedly called Amber.

"Amber," said Eleventh Lady, "I want to go to Ciyuan Temple to burn incense. Please go and tell Manager Bai if it's convenient!"

A trace of confusion flashed across 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 had to do everything he could to overcome it.

Early the next morning, Chief Steward Bai sent the steward of the Imperial Guard to accompany Eleventh Lady to Ciyuen Temple.

The incense of Ciyuen Temple was very popular. Many women knelt on their cushions and prayed fluently. The receptionist of Ciyuen Temple finally found an opportunity to welcome Eleventh Lady to the main hall.

"Please bless Jing'er to be safe and sound. As long as he can return safely, I am willing to be your believer from now on..." Eleventh Lady closed her eyes and prayed devoutly.

But things are still developing in an unsatisfactory direction.

A few days later, the battle report came in. Ouyang Ming divided his troops into three groups, one to support Datong, one to encircle and suppress the Tartars who had captured Xuantong, and one to station at a place 400 miles away from Yanjing. However, 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 into the palace.

Before noon, Eleventh Lady received the news.

The Ministry of War appointed Gong Dongning as the commander-in-chief of the Right Military Governor's Office, and Ding Zhi as the vice minister of the Ministry of War. Gong Dongning did not have to go to Beijing to express his gratitude, and he could immediately lead the troops of the Right Military Governor's Office 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.

"My Lord," her voice was a little softer than usual, "My Lady 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 Lord back?"

Amber looked hesitant.

Xu Lingyi had already lifted the curtain and walked in.

"I'm back!"

Eleventh Lady sat up with a rustle and sent away the maid who was serving her.

"Are the people you sent still with Jing'er?" The dim light from the curtains made her skin look as white as snow, and she looked a little weak.

Xu Lingyi sat down beside the bed and held her hand: "Stay with him all the time." He added, "I have sent someone to bring them a message, asking them to pay attention to Jing'er's safety..."

"Master Pang is not a military officer, can he go with us?" Shiyi Niang interrupted him, and the words "Don't worry" that he wanted to comfort her were aborted, which also made him unexpectedly freeze his tone. After a moment, he said, "I have asked people to help Master Pang, Huang Xiaomao, Liu Erwu and others get military status. With them around, Jing'er will have someone to use."

"Do you know where Gong Dongning arranged Jing'er?"

Xu Lingyi was silent for a long time, and whispered: "Gong Dongning is the commander-in-chief of the three armies after all. There are some things that I cannot ask about."

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 say, just call Amber!" After saying that, she closed her eyes.

Xu Lingyi looked at her pretty face with a slightly frown on her brows, and after a long while he let out a long sigh, then he gently stood up and left the inner room.

A crystal clear teardrop fell from the corner of Eleventh Lady's eye.

* * * * * *

Either they were waiting for the enemy to tire themselves out, or they alerted the enemy by making a move. Twenty days later, news came from Ganzhou that Gong Dongning's right army was ambushed by the Tartars near Liangzhou Wei, 500 miles away from Ganzhou. The right army suffered more than 1,000 casualties, killed more than 500 enemies, captured more than 100 Tartars, and seized more than 300 horses.

When the news came, everyone automatically ignored the casualties of the right army and focused on "killing more than 500 enemies, capturing more than 100 Tartars, and seizing more than 300 horses", which was especially 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 right army killed 3,000 enemies, captured more than 2,000 Tatars, and seized more than 1,000 horses.

The whole of Yanjing was in high spirits, and everyone on the streets was talking about Gong Dongning.

Xu Lingyi was even busier, and sometimes he was kept in the palace. When the couple met occasionally, Shiyi Niang always asked him, "Is there any news about Jing'er?"

"He's fine." Xu Lingyi's smile was a bit comforting, "Gong Dongning brought Jing'er with him. Now Jing'er is Gong Dongning's personal guard!"

※

Finally caught up... There will be a dinner party after the inspection~~~~(_