Eleventh Lady was in a very good mood. She went back to her room, found the "Records of the Nine Regions of the Great Zhou Dynasty", and read it while leaning on the kang near the window.
Dongqing called Amber outside to talk.
Knowing that the marriage was almost impossible and that Shiyi Niang was going to become a nun, they both felt very sad and didn't know what to say. They looked at each other and saw Madam Xu and several maids coming in, surrounding Madam Du, who was beside Madam Xu.
The two were shocked. Mother Du had already seen Amber and Dongqing and greeted them with a smile: "Why are you two standing here? Where is Miss Eleven?"
Amber and Dongqing hurried forward to greet Mother Du and said with a smile, "Our young lady is reading in the room. We are afraid of disturbing her, so we came out for a walk."
"Oh!" Mother Du's eyes flickered and she smiled, "I am carrying out the orders of the lady dowager to bring something to Miss Eleven. Please inform the two girls." Her tone was very polite.
How could the two dare to neglect the people around the old lady, so Dongqing went to report it in person, and Amber opened the curtain to welcome Mother Du into the room.
Mother Du saw that the flower tables and long desks in the room were decorated with orchids and green leaves, and were very elegantly decorated. She nodded secretly, and then looked at Eleventh Lady, who was wearing a half-new, half-worn stone-blue plain jacket with floral patterns, which set off her plain face. Although her eyes were red, they were exceptionally sparkling.
She smiled and bowed to Eleventh Lady, saying, "The Madam said that the fan is embroidered delicately and she likes it very much. It happens that the apricots at home are ripe, so she asked me to bring some for Miss Eleven to try." As she spoke, the little maid behind her handed her a box.
Amber, who was standing by, took the box. Eleventh Lady thanked the lady for her kindness. After a few pleasantries, Mother Du stood up and said goodbye.
Sent apricots...
Eleventh Lady felt something was wrong and ordered Amber to open the box.
A box of green apricots, not much bigger than lotus seeds, were obviously not ripe and could not be eaten at all.
Her face changed slightly, and she immediately ordered Amber: "Go and ask what Madam Du said to the first wife?"
After hearing this, Amber understood something and immediately went to Coral.
After a while, she came back and said, "Miss, Madam Du didn't come alone. She came with Old Marquis Huang from Yongchang Marquis's Mansion. He said that Old Marquis Huang was asked by the Madam to propose marriage. The eldest master has already agreed and personally wrote down Miss's birth date and asked Old Marquis Huang to take it to Yongping Marquis's Mansion."
Eleventh Lady was slightly startled: "Could it be that what Fifth Brother-in-law said is untrue?"
"No." Amber shook her head gently, "The lady knew about this, so she sent Madam Du to see the first wife. She also said that the Xu family is not the kind of ungrateful and treacherous people. Since the two families have made a marriage contract, they should abide by it. Let the first wife just prepare the dowry. They will get married when the marquis comes back. The first wife is very happy and is discussing with the eldest grandmother about buying a dowry for the young lady!"
Eleventh Lady took a breath of cold air.
It's not like she hadn't thought about it before. Since the emperor prevented the empress dowager's family from entering the palace, on the one hand, it shows that the emperor now has the ability to stop them, and on the other hand, it also implicitly shows the emperor's attitude towards the empress dowager's family being close to the core political circle. She thought that Xu Lingyi was not at home, and the Xu family might not be able to see it. Unexpectedly, the lady was a woman who was as brave as a man. Not only did she see it, but she was also decisive and responded immediately...
She underestimated the Xu family of Yongping Prefecture!
Eleventh Lady's expression gradually became solemn.
Dong Qing was very happy: "God has mercy on us! The Marquis did not let our young lady down."
What are you talking about?
Eleventh Lady couldn't help but frown.
What the Xu family didn't want to betray was the family's honor...but thinking that Dong Qing meant well, she swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.
Bin Ju agreed with what he said and nodded repeatedly: "Who said it wasn't true? The Marquis won't be back until May, so we must make sure nothing unexpected happens." Then he asked Amber: "Don't you think so?"
Amber seemed a little absent-minded. When Binju asked her, she said "Oh" and said vaguely, "If everyone agrees, I have no objection!"
Binju was slightly unhappy.
Ever since Amber went to Shi Niang's room to show off, she couldn't get close to Amber.
But Eleventh Lady saw this and felt slightly moved.
* * * * * *
"…When I went there, he was reading a book. It was The Records of the Nine Realms of the Great Zhou Dynasty. The cover was a little hairy from being rubbed, so he must have read it often. He was wearing a half-new stone blue jacket, and his eyes were red, as if he had been crying. But he looked very calm."
The lady nodded slightly. "I didn't expect that she could be so calm at such a young age. I was a little worried about her, but now it seems unnecessary."
"How is it unnecessary?" Mother Du said with a smile, "You are protecting her! If she knew, she would be so grateful." She added, "When I went there, I saw the faces of the Luo family, they must have known about this. When I told them the purpose of my visit, they all looked happy. I was a little worried about Miss Eleven, just like you. Who knew that when I met Miss Eleven, she was no different from usual. Apart from anything else, this kind of self-restraint is worthy of the Marquis."
The lady nodded, a trace of relief flashing in her eyes: "That's good, that's good. I just hope that after she marries in, she can abide by the rules of being a wife, support her husband and raise children, and expand our Xu family." Then she asked: "What does the Luo family say?"
"The eldest lady said that Miss Ten's marriage will be arranged in the next two days. Don't worry, the wedding will go smoothly."
The lady was quite surprised: "Is Miss Ten's marriage already in sight?"
Mother Du smiled and said, "From the tone of voice, I can tell that he has already been chosen. However, the eldest wife didn't say much, so I can't ask too much. How about I send someone to find out?"
"No need." The lady shook her head disapprovingly. "She always likes to play tricks. We'd better not meddle in her business." The topic of the two gradually turned to Xu Lingyi's marriage. "The date is set so urgently, but the etiquette cannot be omitted. Let the third son repaint the small courtyard to the east of the upper house and make it a new house. The Luo family doesn't need to make furniture or anything like that. In a hurry, you can't buy anything good. I remember I still have a set of rosewood dowry, give it to them! You can see where to plant some flowers and plants in the small courtyard when the time comes. Do it quickly before the beginning of summer. I heard that when the Luo family married the fifth lady, they had four maids and two accompanying rooms. At this rate, I'm afraid it won't be enough for Eleventh Lady to come. If she wants to keep Yuan Niang's former people, she can keep them. If she doesn't want to stay, she can still work in the original courtyard. You should carefully select a few smart maids and kitchen maids for her..." Every detail was explained very carefully.
* * * * * *
The master had sent someone to invite Lord Wang. Hearing that the Luo family wanted to hold the wedding in advance, and thinking about the rumors about the Yongping Marquis's Mansion in the past two days, he understood a little bit, and smiled and set the date for the wedding on May 12 with the master, and the wedding date on May 20.
The eldest wife was very satisfied after hearing this.
The eldest master couldn't help feeling a little uneasy: "I'm sorry for wronging Shi Niang!"
The eldest wife curled her lips and said nothing, and started discussing the dowries for the two with the eldest master.
"For Tenth Lady, I'll give her the same as Fifth Lady. For Eleventh Lady, I want to give her more. Although it's still twenty-four loads, the quality of the items will be better, and there will be more... This will also prevent her from having a hard time living in the Xu family after marrying!"
The master was too lazy to discuss these trivial matters with the mistress, and only said: "You are the one who decides these matters. Just don't let people gossip about it!"
The eldest wife smiled and said, "Don't worry, Master. I won't let anyone gossip about it."
Who would have thought that the next day when the Wang family's steward accompanied Lord Wang to get the dowry list and go to the government to get the marriage certificate, the steward muttered in a low voice: "There is only one yard and a hundred acres of land!" His tone was full of disdain.
The eldest master heard it clearly, and his face turned purple with anger. He said, "We only have one daughter in our family. We won't let one down, nor can we let one down and embarrass others. If you think it's not good, then return our daughter's horoscope!"
The people in the Wang family didn't expect the eldest master to be so tough, and they were a little at a loss at the time.
Lord Wang also looked unhappy when he heard this. He stared at the steward fiercely and said coldly: "Am I the matchmaker or are you the matchmaker?" He then explained, "Miss Luo's land is near Hangzhou Prefecture, not near Baoding Prefecture. I really can't figure it out!" Only then did he suppress the steward of the Wang family.
Eleventh Lady was sad when she found out.
Hangzhou is a densely populated city with very little land. A family with 20 or 30 acres of land is considered wealthy. It is not like the north, where thousands of acres are not a problem. Looking at the Wang family, they are not only ignorant, but also lack self-cultivation... Unlike Qian Ming, you can tell at a glance what the Luo family has given. In comparison, he also has his merits.
Eleventh Lady thought with a smile on her face.
Come to think of it, she has a lot of troubles of her own.
Judging from the current situation, the marriage may still have some twists and turns. But the Xu family dared to do this, so they must have some confidence.
Thinking about the lady dowager... Eleventh Lady had a vague feeling that she would definitely marry into the Xu family in the end!
She never left her life to chance and had to consider the people around her ahead of time.
When Wu Niang got married, she brought all the servants with her except for the two concubines. These days, the eldest grandmother bought two maids and two concubines, and it was said that they were prepared for Shi Niang. According to this, I can only bring four maids and two concubines... No matter what, the Luo family must treat everyone equally.
Who to take with you is still a question!
Eleventh Lady deliberately asked Amber: "...What do you think we should do?"
Amber couldn't help but show a bit of caution on her face.
She knew that this was a crossroads, and also an opportunity she had gained by serving Eleventh Lady wholeheartedly over the past year.
Although she was given by the eldest wife, the Eleventh Miss would definitely take her to the Xu family. But what would happen after that? How could the eldest wife turn against the Eleventh Miss for a maid? Moreover, she had been observing the Eleventh Miss carefully and found that she was not just gentle and kind as everyone said - her gentleness was alienated and polite, and her kindness was low-key and forbearing. What shocked her the most was that the Eleventh Miss never complained.
No matter whether she was treated unfairly or heard unbearable rumors, she was always calm and composed, neither anxious nor irritable... After all, Miss Eleven was only a little girl of thirteen or fourteen years old!
Whenever Amber thought of this, she felt a little scared.
What would happen if Miss Eleven got angry?
The thought flashed through her mind, and she said without hesitation, "Sister Dongqing is already 20 years old this year, and there are many things going on at home. The eldest lady didn't think about it for a while. If you leave, I'm afraid she will just find a random servant to marry you." Amber said everything she could think of frankly, "Sister Dongqing must be taken away. Binju serves the young lady very attentively. Although Zhuxiang doesn't talk much, I think she is a good person introduced by the aunt. As for Qiuju, although she is smart, she is a family child... When we go to the Xu family, there are some things she may not be able to find out."
This means that Dongqing, Binju and Zhuxiang are all loyal to her. Qiuju used to have parents in the Luo family who could help her get information, but now that she has gone to the Xu family, her advantage is gone. If you have to eliminate one of the five, then eliminate Qiuju.
Very insightful.
However, one of the important reasons why she kept Qiuju was because she didn't want to put Qiuju in a dilemma. After all, no one knew what would happen after she went to Xu's house? Especially no one knew what the eldest wife would ask of her. If it was just to save Zhun Ge's life, that was what she should do, and it was fine. But she was afraid that the eldest wife might have some other ideas...
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Sorry to disappoint everyone. (*^__^*) Hehehe... Eleventh Lady can't go to the temple!