Chapter 74 April (Part 2)

The previously bustling room was now even more bustling with 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 could hear the Third Lady's cheerful voice.

"Nothing." The first wife smiled, "She was just 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 needlework anymore."

Someone laughed and said, "I've heard that Miss Eleven is very good at sewing and has inherited the skills from Xianling Pavilion? Is this true?"

The eldest wife laughed and said, "I invited an embroidery girl from Xianling Pavilion to come home to teach me needlework. I didn't expect that I would win her favor and be able to do weaving and double-sided embroidery!" She said it humbly, but there was a hint of pride in her voice.

The man said, "If that's the case, let Miss Eleven make some silk for me 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 head adorned with emeralds, wore a bright red gown with a ruyi pattern, had her hair done in a ponytail bun, and wore lapis lazuli earrings. She was dressed very gorgeously.

Seeing Shiyi Niang, she immediately came over and said, "I said I was going to see you, but the first lady wanted to ask you to come. Are you feeling better?"

Eleventh Lady knelt down to greet her and said with a smile, "Thank you for your concern, Third Madam. I just felt a little weak a few days ago. I have been resting for a few days and now I am fine."

"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, please bring some more after a few days when the palace has picked them!"

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, with no name or status. What was the point of saying that?

Eleventh Lady looked at the eldest wife and said with a smile, "These few days are good days for Fifth Sister, but there are many things going on. I was planning to thank the Taifu Madam in a few days, but today the Third Madam is coming, so it's a good opportunity for me to bring something over." Then she called Amber who followed her, "Bring the fan I embroidered a few days ago to the Third Madam." Then she turned to the Third Madam and said, "Thank you, Third Madam, for passing it to the Taifu."

The third lady smiled and said, "Our lady-in-waiting is lucky. She exchanged a plate of cherries for a fan."

Everyone laughed along.

The eldest wife also smiled, but there was a glimmer of satisfaction in her eyes.

The Third Lady mentioned the cherry blossoms in front of everyone, but she just wanted to say that the Lady Dowager had a different view of Shiyi Niang. But Shiyi Niang and the Marquis had officially decided that 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 Yuanniang's will 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 pride turned into sadness.

How great it would be if Yuanniang were still alive...

The third lady's smile was somewhat 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. If anything important happened, she would have to get the right cards from that little girl... She would not be able to get over this unless she gave her a stab first.

Eleventh Lady's smile was faint.

People who can reveal their thoughts like this are not to be feared; what is to be feared are those who hide everything!

Everyone had their own ideas. After laughing and chatting for a while, Amber's things were delivered.

Eleventh Lady handed the red lacquered and gold-painted box to the Third Lady: "Sorry to trouble you!"

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 bamboo handle, embroidered with a lifelike blooming peony. The needlework is really good!

She praised it in her heart and said with a smile, "It's really 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 teach needlework at home. Our Fifth Lady and Tenth Lady also learned a little bit from her."

Everyone gathered around, you took it and looked at it, I took it and looked at it, and there was no one who failed to praise it.

You should fight when you should fight, and fight when you should fight, but you should stick together when you should stick together. Otherwise, if your family members start fighting 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 couldn't help feeling 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 front of him, so it would be better to do it now!

Just as she was thinking about it, a little maid ran in and said, "The Second Madam is back!" As soon as the words fell, the Second Madam came in, covered in dust, 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, "They are rich, and ours isn't much worse. Some things are better left to be done slowly!"

The eldest wife knew what she meant and couldn't help but sigh: "I heard that the new law implemented by Chen Ge has achieved remarkable results. The Northwest Army's expenses are quite high, all thanks to the income from last year's tea tax... The eldest master is dying. If we don't go out and about, I'm afraid some people will come to see our house."

"But, just in case something unexpected happens..." 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 notes of 100 taels each, so she estimated that there were 2,000 taels in total.

"This is too much..." The second wife shook her hands hurriedly, "When Dad was here, we never worried about family matters. We just took the money from the public treasury to supplement the family income every day. Now that the family is in trouble, it's time for us to help. Sister-in-law, please take it quickly, otherwise I won't be able to explain to my father 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 hold back her nerve, and couldn't help but smile and say, "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 to pay attention to and a lot of money to spend. But my master's job is not very rich, and although we don't have much money, we can still do the errands."

The first wife took the second wife and the third wife at the same time: "We are one family and we don't talk about different things. Fourth aunt is in great luck now. In two years, Xingge will come out, 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. Moreover, the Yu family has so many brothers and sisters...

Over there, Qi Niang washed up, changed into Shiyi Niang's new underwear, and lazily leaned on the big kang by the window: "...It's only been a year since I last saw you, how come you've grown so tall... Slightly taller than me. You should eat less in the future, it will be hard to find a husband if you grow too tall."

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 by the pit and sewing the edge of her robe, and whispered, "Hey, did you have your period?"

"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 a knot already packed in it to Eleventh Lady.

Eleventh Lady took it and started sewing it, and even looked up at Seventh Lady. Her hands were indeed not slow at all, and her steps were not off the mark at all.

Qi Niang looked at him and praised him: "How much needlework do you have to do every day? I'm afraid even those in the needlework team can't compare to you."

If I don't do needlework and think about all those messy things every day, 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 me a purse?" Qi Niang's eyes turned slightly, and a red cloud rose on her face as white as the first snow. Shiyi Niang looked suspicious, but when she thought of what she had just asked herself, she remained calm and called Dong Qing: "I embroidered a few purses a few days ago, bring them over and let Qijie choose!"

Dongqing responded and quickly brought a small rattan blue purse. There were all kinds of them, some small and cute, some simple and generous, and some gorgeous and beautiful. Qinniang was dazzled by the sight. She thought this one and that one were good, and she wished she could take them all away.

She flipped 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 and asked, "What's wrong?" Her eyes were extremely serious.

Qi Niang'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 naughty 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 will never 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!"

"That means I saw it!" Qi Niang's eyes lit up, "Tell me quickly, what kind of person is Fifth Brother-in-law?

"People?" He looked very curious.

The last time Wu Niang went to the temple, she didn't pay much attention to Qian Ming. Later, she found an opportunity to go and see him, and she never heard him complain 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 back, "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 locked up at home every day in Yanjing."

He added, "It's better to get married. Then you can go out with a clear conscience." He looked very yearning.