A few days after making the decision, Xu Lingyi moved his troops back to the capital.

The army stopped at the Xishan camp, 60 kilometers away from Yanjing. Xu Lingyi will lead his 3,000 officers and soldiers to hold a prisoner presentation ceremony at the Meridian Gate at noon on June 6.

That day, all the streets were deserted, watching Xu Lang...

Eleventh Lady, however, took Amber and Holly home to dry clothes and quilts, and took this opportunity to collect the boxes and cages.

Zhu Xiang brought them some mung bean soup to quench their thirst.

"Take a break!" Eleventh Lady looked at the scorching sun and called Amber and Holly who were busy in the yard.

The two of them entered the house with the burning heat, and drank the mung bean soup in one gulp before putting the bowl down.

"Did you add rock sugar?" Dong Qing asked Zhu Xiang with a smile.

Zhu Xiang nodded: "I said it was Miss Eleven who asked for it, so the kitchen put rock sugar in it."

Before she married into the Xu family, people already viewed the people in Eleventh Lady's room very differently.

Zhu Xiang hesitated and said, "Mother Shen in the kitchen said that her niece is very capable. When the young lady leaves, can she take her niece with her?"

Everyone looked at Eleventh Lady.

Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "Tell her that mother has to make the decision on this matter."

Zhu Xiang nodded, collected the bowl and took it to the kitchen.

Amber said vaguely: "Miss, do you want to see a few people... There is always a way..."

Eleventh Lady said nothing.

Dong Qing looked up at the sky and said, "It's so hot, I wonder if the Marquis can stand it? I hope he doesn't get sick from the heat!"

Eleventh Lady couldn't help but smile: "Don't worry, the Xu family has already made the engagement. No matter what happens to him, I will always marry him."

Dong Qing listened and said seriously: "Miss, the Marquis is so good to you, you can't say such things again!"

The "good" she mentioned was the five thousand taels of silver that the Xu family gave to Eleventh Lady as a betrothal gift... Compared to the one thousand taels that the Wang family gave to Tenth Lady and the two hundred taels that the Qian family gave to Fifth Lady, it was really a great honor for her.

Eleventh Lady decided to remain silent.

She and Dongqing really couldn't agree on this issue.

The betrothal gift was openly displayed, which was not only for the Luo family's face, but also for the Xu family's face. Moreover, because the total price of the Xu family's betrothal gifts exceeded 10,000 taels of silver, the eldest wife had to increase the price and buy her a dowry of 10,000 taels of silver. Of course, this result was what Eleventh Lady was very happy to see - who would complain that their dowry was too much! In addition, the truly valuable gold and silver jewelry, clothing and cloth in the betrothal gifts given by the Xu family would be given to her, and she would go to the Xu family as her dowry. In fact, the Xu family only spent two or three thousand taels of silver, but she brought two farms and two courtyards with her, which alone were worth more than five thousand taels of silver... The Xu family really earned both face and money.

In comparison, the Luo family suffered a great loss.

If I were to find a wife for my son, I would probably do the same!

However, the generosity of the eldest wife also exceeded her expectations.

After all, when Wu Niang and Shi Niang got married, she treated them equally, giving them a hundred acres of paddy fields and a yard...

Dongqing saw that Shiyi Niang didn't say anything and knew that she didn't like her saying these things, but she really couldn't help it.

The husband is the leader of the wife. After marrying into the Xu family, life or death, good or bad, all depends on the Marquis. If you don't serve the Marquis well, how can you have a good life? If the young lady doesn't understand this, she will suffer a great loss in the future!

She couldn't help but persuade Shiyi Niang: "Miss, you have read more books than me, and you know more than me. Only when the husband and wife follow each other can the family prosper..."

A little maid ran in and said, "Miss Eleven, the sedan chair that went to pick up Fifth Aunt is back!"

Eleventh Lady stood up immediately: "Really? Where is it?"

The little maid smiled and said, "We just entered the alley. Now we are probably in the yard."

This is also one of the benefits of being engaged to Xu Lingyi - if there is anything happening at home concerning her, everyone will actively inform her.

Eleventh Lady asked Amber to reward the little maid with a few copper coins.

The little maid took it and left, thanking him profusely.

Eleventh Lady sat down slowly.

Dong Qing asked curiously, "Aren't you going to greet Auntie?"

"When the time comes, mother will naturally call me." There was a hint of sadness on Eleventh Lady's face.

Some things are mutually dependent. Otherwise, how can there be a saying that a mother is honored by her son and a son is honored by his mother? Only if she is good, others will naturally not dare to neglect Fifth Aunt...

But after a long time, no one came to call her.

Shiyi Niang couldn't help but get anxious. She sent Qiuju to ask, "See if anything happened?"

Qiu Ju went away in response, but soon came back: "Miss, Fifth Aunt is not here!"

Eleventh Lady was shocked: "He didn't come? Why didn't he come? Is he not feeling well? Or is there something else going on?"

"I don't know." Qiu Ju shook her head. "But this time Wu Xiaoquan and his wife are here, so Wu Xiaoquan's family should know."

Eleventh Lady was extremely anxious, but she pretended to be calm. It was not until the afternoon that Wu Xiaoquan's family arrived.

She was also straightforward and said, "My aunt said that if you find a good home, it is better than anything else. She will not come here. She will not embarrass your son-in-law when you get married. She also asked me to bring you a letter, asking you to respect your mother-in-law and your son-in-law when you get married, and not to do anything immoral."

Eleventh Lady was a little dazed.

Fifth Aunt, no matter what time it is, the first thing she thinks of is her daughter...

Wu Xiaoquan's family saw that Eleventh Lady's eyes were red, and hurriedly said with a smile: "Eleventh Lady, you don't know yet? Our Fourth Master is going to get married."

Eleventh Lady was indeed attracted by the news and asked in surprise, "Fourth Brother is going to get married?"

Wu Xiaoquan's family nodded and said, "She is the daughter of the Zhou family in Linqiao, Yu County. She can be considered a scholarly family. Her grandfather was once the prefect of Daming Prefecture, but her father died early, and the family fell into decline."

Eleventh Lady nodded.

If it were good, the first wife would definitely not agree.

Seeing that Eleventh Lady was not disgusted by this topic, Wu Xiaoquan's family took a few steps forward and whispered, "However, I heard that Miss Zhou's personality is very fierce, and the neighbors dare not offend her. That's why she hasn't talked about her husband's family until she turned 18."

"You haven't talked about your in-laws at the age of 18 yet?" Amber whispered, "Doesn't that mean you are older than our Fourth Master?"

Wu Xiaoquan's family covered their sleeves and laughed: "I'm twenty years old this year, which is exactly what the saying goes, 'A woman three years older than a man is a treasure.'"

"Who arranged this marriage?" Eleventh Lady couldn't help but ask, "Does Third Aunt know?"

"It was the wife of Mr. Zhou, the prefect of Hangzhou, who acted as a matchmaker." Wu Xiaoquan's wife laughed, "The eldest wife personally asked Mrs. Zhou to help find a match. I don't know if Third Aunt knows anything important. I heard that Mr. Zhou once worked with Miss Zhou's grandfather, and since they share the same surname, they even discussed the order of seniority. So, the tenth day of September has been tentatively set, and I was specially asked to come to discuss the marriage."

The so-called "discussing marriage matters" means coming to ask the eldest wife for money, right? After all, whether it is making a betrothal or getting engaged, it is always difficult to move forward without money. Moreover, during the Chinese New Year this year, the eldest wife sent someone back to Yuhang to bring back 20,000 taels of silver...

While Wu Xiaoquan's family was talking to Shiyi Niang, the eldest master was worried: "I told you sisters to be more alike, but you didn't listen. Now what about Brother Sheng's marriage?"

"What's so difficult about it?" The eldest wife said coldly, "Just decorate the place where he used to live. The furniture and other things are ready. But when you make the reservation, add some gold and silver jewelry, silk and satin, etc., which will cost less than two hundred taels. Add the chicken, duck, fish and meat for the banquet, and four hundred taels will be enough at most."

"No!" said the master, "If you ask me to marry a daughter-in-law with 400 taels of silver, the neighbors will laugh at me. It must be at least 1,000 taels of silver."

"One thousand taels of silver?" The eldest wife sneered while holding a teacup. "Don't you see what kind of family the Zhou family is? If you take one thousand taels of silver, how will the Zhou family return the favor? Don't forget that the Xu family's betrothal gift of twelve thousand taels of silver has cost us twenty thousand taels of silver to marry Eleventh Lady. The Xu family is used to big occasions and has always been generous. We should always think about the Zhou family, right? Maybe the Zhou family will have to go into debt just for these four hundred taels to marry their daughter."

The master could only mutter: "That's too little. When Xing Ge was young, he spent more than five thousand taels..."

The first wife glared at her husband impatiently: "My daughter-in-law's dowry is also more than three thousand taels!"

The eldest master had never won against the eldest mistress in accounting, so he turned around and went to drink tea in a frustrated mood.

"The date of September 10th should also be changed." The eldest wife pondered, "The Xu family came to ask me two days ago. They said that the Imperial Astronomical Observatory said that only the 10th of September is a good day. Otherwise, we have to wait until October 22nd. I think the Xu family wants to set it on September 10th. Let's wait until the Xu family decides on the date for Brother Sheng!" After that, she called Madam Xu, "Go and pick up the fifth uncle and the fifth aunt - Brother Sheng's marriage is a big deal, we have to discuss it with the couple."

Now Wu Niang listens to Qian Ming in everything. Qian Ming, like the first wife, always takes care of the Xu family first. The first master has no choice but to keep silent. He can only wait for the Xu family to report the date.

The Xu family really set their sights on the tenth day of September.

Since the master had already discussed it with the eldest wife, he agreed immediately.

Luo Zhensheng's wedding was changed to October 22nd.

The couple had just finished discussing it when they received a letter from Shandong saying that Qiniang's wedding date had been set for the tenth day of the eleventh month.

"Didn't it say it would be in the spring of next year? Why was it changed to the end of the year?"

Mother Yu, who came to report the news, smiled and said, "You don't know how sincere our son-in-law is. The second wife said it would take time to make furniture, so the son-in-law hurriedly sent the furniture over; the second wife said the sewing could not be completed in a short time, so the son-in-law invited ten sewing masters from Xianling Pavilion to come to our house to do the sewing... Seeing this, the second wife dared not say anything - is the son-in-law's family going to pay for the marriage of the seventh lady? So, firstly, he asked me to report the news to the eldest master, the first wife, and the third wife, and secondly, he asked me to go to Lao Jixiang to make a headdress for the seventh lady."

The first wife glanced at the first master and said, "It looks like Brother Sheng's wedding date will have to be changed again."

When their son gets married, parents will always be happy!

The master waved his hand and said, "Brother Sheng's wedding will be scheduled for the beginning of next spring!"

"Next year, Miss Zhou will be twenty-one!" The eldest wife objected again.

Between niece and son, of course the son is more important.

The eldest master did not hesitate at all and immediately said, "Then let Xingge send Qiniang off, and we will return to Yuhang!"

The eldest wife's face darkened.