The originally lively wing was now even more filled with laughter and chatter.
"...I heard that you were not feeling well, and the lady was worried about you, so she specifically asked me to visit Miss Eleven when I came." From a distance, Eleventh Lady heard the Third Lady's cheerful voice.
"Nothing." The first wife smiled, "She just got tired from helping Wu Niang with her needlework a few days ago. I sent a maid to watch her these days and forbade her to do any more needlework."
Someone laughed and said, "I've heard that Miss Eleven is very good at sewing and has inherited the true teachings of Xianling Pavilion? Is this true?"
The eldest wife laughed and said, "We invited an embroiderer from Xianling Pavilion to our house to teach needlework. I didn't expect that after winning her favor, I can now do needlework and double-sided embroidery!" She said it modestly, but there was a hint of pride in her voice.
The man said, "If that's the case, let Miss Eleven make me some silk threads one day."
The eldest wife was about to agree when the little maid said, "Miss Eleven is here!"
"Please come in!" The eldest wife responded with a smile, and Eleventh Lady walked in.
The third wife had her hair covered with pearls and jade, wore a bright red jacket with a ruyi pattern, had her hair in a bun, and wore lapis lazuli earrings. She was dressed very gorgeously.
Seeing Eleventh Lady, she immediately came over and said, "I said I was going to see you, but the eldest lady wanted to call you over. Are you feeling better?"
Eleventh Lady knelt down to greet her and said with a smile, "Thank you Third Madam for your concern. I just felt a little weak a few days ago. After a few days of rest, I am fine now."
"That's good, that's good." He took her hand and sat on the rose chair beside him. "The lady asked me to come and see you. She also asked me to ask you if the cherries you sent last time were delicious. If they are, send some more in a few days when the palace gives them away!"
All the women in the room looked at her and smiled.
Eleventh Lady felt very uncomfortable.
What she had with the Xu family was just a verbal agreement, without any name or status. How could she say that?
Eleventh Lady looked at the eldest wife and said with a smile, "These few days are a good day for Fifth Sister, so there are a lot of things to do. I was planning to thank the dowager in a few days, but today the third wife is coming, so it's a good opportunity for me to bring some things over." Then she called Amber who followed her, "Bring the fan I embroidered a few days ago to the third wife." Then she turned to the third wife and said, "Please give it to the dowager."
The Third Lady smiled and said, "Our Lady made a good deal. She traded a plate of cherries for a fan."
Everyone started laughing.
The eldest wife also smiled, but there was a hint of satisfaction in her eyes.
The Third Lady mentioned the question of cherries in front of everyone, just to say that the Lady Dowager had a different view of Shiyi Niang. But Shiyi Niang and the Marquis had not officially made up their minds, and if this thing didn't work out, it would certainly hurt the Luo family the most. Others didn't know and would think so, but she knew in her heart that the memorial Yuanniang submitted to the Empress before her death was to ensure that this thing would work out. You know, the Empress, like Yuanniang, was most worried about the safety of her children!
Thinking of this, the eldest wife's satisfaction turned into dejection.
How great it would be if Yuanniang were still alive...
The third lady's smile seemed a little forced.
She was really fed up with the agreement between the Xu and Luo families. Apart from anything else, she would have to call a little girl, who was only two years older than her son, her sister-in-law. Moreover, if something important happened, she would have to get the right cards from that little girl... She could not get over this unless she stabbed her first.
Eleventh Lady's smile was faint.
People who can reveal their thoughts like this are not scary; what is scary are those who hide everything!
Everyone had their own ideas, and after laughing and chatting for a while, Amber's things were delivered.
Eleventh Lady handed the red lacquer and gold-painted box to the Third Lady: "Thank you for your help!"
The third lady's eyes turned and she said with a smile, "I want to see it first." Then she opened the box.
A round fan made of gauze, with a Xiang bamboo handle, embroidered with a lifelike blooming peony.
Good needlework indeed!
She praised it in her heart and smiled: "It's so beautiful!"
Turning it over casually, I saw two peonies with one stem, one in bud and about to bloom, and the other just budding.
The third lady was stunned.
The Third Madam saw it clearly and said with a smile: "This is the double-sided embroidery of our Eleventh Miss. It turns out that Master Jian, who is the head of the Xianling Pavilion, was invited by the eldest sister-in-law to come home to teach needlework. Our Fifth Lady and Tenth Lady also learned some of it."
Everyone gathered around, you took it to look at it, I took it to look at it, and there was no one who failed to praise it.
Fight when you need to fight, fight when you need to fight, but hold together when you need to hold together. Otherwise, if your family members start a fight first, others will not take you seriously!
The third wife looked at the first wife with some pride, and the first wife smiled and nodded to the third wife. The third wife felt a little regretful. If only she had given the fan to the old lady when she went to pay her birthday greetings that day! Then she thought again, the things she gave were all for the steward, and she couldn't show them off in person, so it would be better to do it now!
Just as she was thinking about it, a little maid ran in: "The Second Madam is back!" As soon as the words fell, the Second Madam came in, exhausted, followed by the tired-looking Qi Niang.
"Don't blame me, sister-in-law." She said hastily, "The northwest is transferring grain from Shandong, and the post road has been closed for three days, otherwise it would have arrived earlier."
"Thank you for your hard work!" The eldest wife said, holding Qi Niang's hand, "Are you tired? Come and rest with Shiyi Niang."
Everyone came forward to greet them. Eleventh Lady greeted everyone and then took Seventh Lady to her residence.
The third wife found an opportunity to say to the first wife, "Their family is rich, and ours isn't much worse. Some things should be put off for a while!"
The eldest wife knew what she meant and couldn't help but sigh: "I heard that the new law implemented by Mr. Chen has achieved remarkable results. The Northwest military expenditure is quite high, all thanks to the income from last year's tea tax... The eldest master is no longer able to do it. If we don't go out and about, I'm afraid some people will look down on us."
"But, just in case something goes wrong..." The third wife was still a little hesitant.
There were some things that the first wife couldn't say to the third wife, so she said vaguely, "Don't worry, I know what's going on."
The third wife couldn't say anything more.
As they were talking, the second wife came over and handed a stack of banknotes to the first wife: "This is a gift from the master and me."
The eldest wife took a quick look and saw that they were all 100 taels each, so she estimated that there were 2,000 taels in total.
"This is too much..." The second wife hurriedly shook her hands, "When Dad was alive, we never worried about family affairs. We just took the money from the public treasury to supplement the family expenses every day. Now that the family is in trouble, it is time for us to help. Sister-in-law, please pick it up quickly, otherwise I will have a hard time explaining to the master when I go back."
The third wife couldn't help feeling a little uncomfortable.
The second wife was too generous.
But at this moment, she couldn't muster up the nerve, and couldn't help but smile awkwardly: "Yes, sister-in-law, just accept it! I heard that the Wang family will come to propose marriage in a few days. There will be a lot of things to pay attention to, and a lot of money to spend. But my master's place is a low-income government office, and although we don't have much money, we can still do this errand job."
The first wife took the second wife and the third wife with her, saying, "We are one family and should not have different opinions. The fourth uncle is very lucky now. In two years, Xingge will come out too, and life at home will be better."
The third wife nodded as she listened, but the second wife's eyes darkened - no matter how good a son-in-law is, he is not as good as a son. Besides, the Yu family has so many brothers and sisters...
* * * * * *
Over there, Qi Niang washed herself up, changed into Shiyi Niang's new underwear, and lazily leaned on the big kang by the window: "...It's just that I haven't seen you for a year. How come you have grown so tall... Slightly taller than me. You should eat less in the future. If you grow too tall, it will be difficult to find a husband."
Eleventh Lady smiled and ignored her.
Amber on the side said: "Our young lady is already so thin. If she doesn't eat, she will be blown away by the wind."
After hearing this, Qi Niang turned her head to look at Shiyi Niang who was sitting on the kang and sewing a sash for her, and whispered, "Hey, are you having your period yet?"
"What?" Eleventh Lady pretended not to understand. She made a flower with her hands, tied a knot, cut the thread ends with a pair of scissors, and handed the needle to Holly beside her. Holly took it and handed another needle with thread and knot already threaded on it to Eleventh Lady.
Eleventh Lady took it and started sewing, looking up at Seventh Lady twice. Her hands were not slow at all and the stitch angles were spot on.
Qi Niang was amazed and praised: "How much needlework do you have to do every day? I'm afraid even the needlework team can't do as much as you."
If I don't do needlework, I will think about all those messy things every day, and I will either be worried to death or annoyed to death...
Eleventh Lady smiled but did not answer.
"You are so good at sewing, can you make a purse for me?" Qi Niang looked at him with a slight turn of eyes, and a red cloud rose on her cheeks as white as the first snow.
Eleventh Lady looked suspicious, but she kept calm when she thought of what she had just asked herself. She called Dong Qing and said, "I embroidered a few purses a few days ago. Bring them over here and let Seventh Sister choose!"
Dongqing responded and quickly brought a small rattan basket with purses of various shapes and sizes, some small and cute, some simple and elegant, and some gorgeous and magnificent. Qiniang was dazzled by the sight and thought that this one was good and that one was good, and she wished she could take them all away.
She was rummaging through the purse and suddenly shouted, "Great, Eleventh Lady, you actually embroidered a pair of lotus flowers on your purse."
Eleventh Lady looked at her: "What's wrong?" Her eyes were extremely serious.
Qinnan's face turned into a big piece of red cloth.
Eleventh Lady couldn't help laughing.
Qi Niang was so embarrassed that she jumped up and rubbed Shiyi Niang: "You are so serious on weekdays, but I didn't expect you to be so mischievous and tease your sister."
Eleventh Lady laughed so hard that she begged for mercy: "Good sister, I will embroider whatever you ask me to embroider for you, and I won't dare to say anything else!"
The two of them were laughing and making a lot of noise. Then they heard the little maid say, "Miss Eleven, Miss Five is here!"
As soon as Qi Niang and Shiyi Niang separated, Wu Niang walked in.
"You are such a good girl, you didn't even come to see me when you came!"
Qi Niang stood up and showed Wu Niang her hair: "Your hair is not dry yet?"
Wu Niang said as she sat down on the kang: "I was just joking with you!"
Qi Niang turned her dark eyes and asked: "Fifth sister, have you seen Fifth brother-in-law?"
Wu Niang blushed: "What nonsense are you talking about!"
"Then I saw it!" Qi Niang's eyes lit up. "Tell me quickly, what kind of person is Fifth Brother-in-law?" She looked very curious.
The last time she went to the temple, Wu Niang didn't pay much attention to Qian Ming. Later, she found an opportunity to go and see him, and he never complained about his miserable life again.
Eleventh Lady couldn't help but smile.
"Stop making a fuss here." Wu Niang's face turned even redder. She ignored Qi Niang's words and asked, "Is Shandong fun?"
Qi Niang nodded, her eyes sparkling: "It's fun. My mother and I went to the temple fair. It's not like being cooped up at home every day in Yanjing." She added, "It's better to get married. After getting married, you can go out with a clear conscience." She looked very yearning.
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Sisters, give me pink votes... If I add one more chapter, it will be 450!