"The Emperor has decreed that the state should pay tribute to the achievements of the country and should honor the tradition of rewarding merit. The ministers who have made achievements in assisting the country should be granted titles. This is a great rule of encouragement, which is universal in ancient and modern times. Xu Lingyi, the Marquis of Yongping and the General of the Western Expedition, has served for many years with loyalty and diligence, and has made outstanding achievements. He is worthy of being a wise man and has lived up to the choice of the wise. He is given the title of the second-rank Prince's Junior Tutor. His first wife, Luo, was a good wife and a model for the family, so she was posthumously named the Lady of the Marquis of Zhenshun. His second wife, Luo, has a gentle and kind nature and is prudent, so she is named the Lady of the First Rank..."
Eleventh Lady lay quietly on the ground, but her mind was working rapidly.
The highest official positions in the Great Zhou Dynasty are the Three Dukes and the Three Orphans. The Three Dukes are of the first rank, and the Three Orphans are of the second rank... It is not that the Three Dukes and the Three Orphans were conferred at once, but that a prince's tutor was conferred... Can it be understood in this way that the emperor still wants to use Xu Lingyi - if he is conferred the title of the Three Dukes, once the war breaks out again, Xu Lingyi will no longer be able to lead troops to fight. Moreover, if there is no conferring of titles again, what will the future successor use to reward Xu Lingyi...
She couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.
Now, the safety of the Xu family is the most important!
The feudal system of collective responsibility is not fun.
As for bestowing the title on Yuanniang and conferring the title on himself...I'm afraid it was a compensation for not giving Xu Lingyi the corresponding title?
Eleventh Lady didn't have time to think about it.
After expressing gratitude, the Queen's reward arrived.
This time it was for her. A pair of hairpins and precious flowers, and four pieces of palace satin with the words "May everything go well", "Wealth and prosperity bloom", "Abundance every year", and "Playing with babies".
The eunuchs of the Queen Mother were sent away. The reward from the Queen Mother arrived.
It was also for her. A bronze mirror with the words "loyalty and loyalty" engraved on it, and a bronze ruler with the words "female precepts" engraved on it.
All the members of the Xu family knelt down for the third time to express their gratitude.
The eunuch smiled and said to Eleventh Lady: "Use the mirror as a mirror and the ruler as a warning. Madam, you must remember the teachings of the Empress Dowager."
After all, marrying into the family was an insult to the empress dowager, so giving her only a bronze mirror and a ruler was already a great respect.
"Thank you for your advice, eunuch." Eleventh Lady said respectfully, "I will keep in mind the teachings of the Queen Mother and will be careful in what I say and do and do my best to abide by them."
The lady could not help but glance at Eleventh Lady.
At such a young age, it was his first time to receive an imperial decree, but he was not afraid to act…
When she raised her eyes, she saw her son's eyes wandering over his wife.
The lady couldn't help but curl the corners of her mouth slightly.
Seeing Eleventh Lady's respectful attitude, the eunuch smiled with a bit of arrogance.
Xu Lingyi personally stepped forward to take care of the eunuchs - the eunuchs sent by the Emperor and the Empress to announce the decree and present rewards were taken care of by Xu Lingkuan.
The eunuch's attitude became more arrogant. He said to Xu Lingyi with a smile: "My Lord, you should visit the Cining Palace more often when you have time. The Empress Dowager is always thinking about you. She often tells us about the time when you were a child and followed the Emperor to destroy all the bird nests in Changchun Palace... I never thought that although you were so naughty when you were a child, you are now a pillar of the country and a key figure in the court." His tone was very arrogant.
It seems that although the Xu family married me with the support of the emperor, the process was not easy. It can even be said that the victory of the Xu family was not a one-sided absolute victory... It may also be an opportunity obtained in the cracks.
Eleventh Lady was thinking about it and found that everyone in the Xu family had a gloomy look on their faces.
I think it was this eunuch's attitude towards Xu Lingyi that hurt everyone in the Xu family.
Xu Lingyi smiled modestly and said, "I am sorry for my bad behavior when I was young, my father-in-law will laugh at me."
The eunuch seemed very satisfied with Xu Lingyi's attitude. He laughed a few times, whispered a few words to Xu Lingyi in a friendly manner, and then left.
Xu Lingyi personally saw him out.
The air in the yard relaxed.
Eleventh Lady hurried forward and bowed to the Lady Dowager and others.
The old lady accepted her gift with a smile, but the second lady was a widow, so she immediately avoided it: "It's too late, and the road is not easy to walk to where I am. I'll go back first."
No one wanted to keep her and just watched her leave.
The Third Lady returned the gift to Eleventh Lady: "Fourth brother's wife, congratulations. It seems that Fourth Brother couldn't wait to report to the Ministry of Rites and directly asked for an imperial decree for you."
According to the rules, after they got married, Xu Lingyi would write to the Ministry of Rites, and then the Ministry of Rites would report to the emperor for approval before she would be officially granted the corresponding rank. Moreover, Yuanniang was the legitimate wife, the first rank, and she was the second wife, so she should be the third rank. Unexpectedly, the emperor posthumously conferred a title on Yuanniang, and she rose in status and was granted the title of the first rank lady.
But how can I say such words at this time?
Not to mention that she had just entered the house, even the words in the Third Madam's words, such as "Fourth Brother can't wait to report to the Ministry of Rites", were very inappropriate. Once spread out, Xu Lingyi would inevitably be known as "indulging his concubines" and give people a sense of frivolity. It would be even worse for herself. Maybe people would say she was coquettish and frivolous...
When Eleventh Lady thought of the Dowager's decisiveness in her marriage, she looked at her with some fear.
As expected, the lady's face darkened and she said, "Our whole family is here to receive the imperial decree. All the ladies who are here to present gifts have been arranged." She looked as if she was asking her to go and entertain the guests quickly.
The Third Madam looked a little unnatural, and said with a smile, "It has been arranged."
Xu Lingning, who was standing by, said immediately, "Since there's nothing going on here, why don't you go to the backyard? I'm going to go to the front to entertain the guests. Four princes and two prince consorts are here today, not to mention the second and third rank officials... I'm afraid all the important people in Yanjing are here!"
The lady nodded: "Don't let others say we are impolite!"
Xu Lingning replied "yes" respectfully, and he and the Third Lady bowed to the Lady Dowager, and the couple left the yard together.
Shiyi Niang then discovered that the courtyard was located between two halls, the front hall with seven rooms and the back hall with five rooms. Both had large doors and bright lights. However, due to the viewing angle, the back hall was very clear - there was a long table and a chair, and it was a place for entertaining guests. The front hall was a little unclear. However, she could hear noisy laughter on the left and right sides of the front hall.
The banquet in the Xu family’s outer courtyard should be set up there, right?
As she was guessing, the lady came forward and took Eleventh Lady's hand: "Are you tired? Shall I ask the maid to take you back to your room first?"
Eleventh Lady didn't know where she was in the Xu Mansion, but the word "first" from the Madam made her realize that Xu Lingyi might come back here. She lowered her eyelids and said with a bit of embarrassment: "I'd better wait for the Marquis to come back together..."
The lady's smile widened a little after hearing this.
The Fifth Lady at the side said with a smile: "Are you afraid to be alone in the bridal chamber? I am pregnant, and the people from the Imperial Observatory said that you are born in the year of the sheep, so people born in the year of the tiger cannot enter the bridal chamber... I will come to see you in a few days."
"Ah!" Eleventh Lady looked at Fifth Madam with great surprise, "You have a baby? When will it be born?"
She loves babies.
I don’t know if it’s because the clothes are too loose or if it’s not the right month, but I can’t tell at all.
Madam Wu blushed slightly: "Just four months..."
Xu Lingkuan was just grinning foolishly beside them.
"Then you should be careful." Eleventh Lady was very happy for the couple. "You knelt several times just now. Did you feel uncomfortable?"
Madam Wu shook her head slightly: "It wasn't very good some time ago. It's all good now."
When the lady-in-waiting saw that she and the Fifth Lady were getting along well, the smile in her eyes became even more intense.
After saying a few words, Xu Lingyi turned back.
Seeing that they were the only ones there, he asked curiously, "Where are the third brother and his wife?"
"They are responsible for greeting the guests today." The lady smiled, "I asked them to go first." She added, "I just called you out in a hurry to receive the emperor's order. Haven't you had a drink yet? Go back to the bridal chamber! Everyone in the room is waiting for you to toast!"
After hearing what his mother said, Xu Lingyi glanced at Shiyi Niang.
Eleventh Lady immediately lowered her head and followed Xu Lingyi obediently.
Xu Lingyi bowed to the lady, then walked up the corridor and headed east.
Eleventh Lady blessed everyone randomly and followed Xu Lingyi back to the bridal chamber along the same route.
All the people who were watching the fun in the bridal chamber had left, leaving only the two wives of the Xu family and the two beautiful maids who were changing Xu Lingyi's clothes. Seeing the two men coming in one after the other, the two wives of the Xu family breathed a sigh of relief and came forward at the same time. One of them pulled Shiyi Niang into the room, and the other shouted to the maid outside, "Ask the kitchen to bring up the table."
As soon as Eleventh Lady sat down, the food from the kitchen was served.
They are nothing more than chicken, duck, fish and meat with auspicious names.
Smelling the delicious aroma of the food, Shiyi Niang felt a stomachache - from morning till now, she had only eaten three mouthfuls of lily, lotus seeds, red dates and peanuts soup.
She suppressed her greed and drank the wedding wine with Xu Lingyi under the guidance of the two ladies.
The wedding ceremony is over.
The two blessed ladies congratulated Xu Lingyi and Shiyi Niang with smiles on their faces.
Eleventh Lady gave each of them two big red envelopes, and the two ladies withdrew with a smile.
Xu Lingyi ordered the maid in the room: "Go and call the Madam's maid over."
One of the maids immediately responded and left.
"Change me into casual clothes."
Another maid immediately came forward and skillfully changed his clothes.
The new house was a four-story building. There was a corner door on the west side of the back house, which led directly to the corridor for receiving imperial edicts. The three halls each had two side rooms, and the five main rooms each had one side room. Their inner room was located on the west side of the main room.
Xu Lingyi changed clothes in the west room, and Shiyi Niang sat on the big kang by the window in the west room.
After a while, the maid helped him change into a purple-red robe with cloud patterns and round flowers, and he came out.
He was startled when he saw Eleventh Lady sitting upright on the kang.
Eleventh Lady had already gotten off the kang and bowed to him.
Xu Lingyi's eyes flashed with hesitation: "I'll go and make a toast."
Eleventh Lady replied with a low "yes", then escorted Xu Lingyi out of the main room.
Returning to the house, she smiled and asked the maid, "What's your name?"
The maid said respectfully: "My name is Xia Yi."
Eleventh Lady nodded: "What's the name of the other person who works with you?"
"My name is Chunmo."
As he was speaking, Chunmo brought Amber and Holly in.
It had only been two hours since they last saw each other, but to Amber and Dongqing, who had been worried about Eleventh Lady, it felt like two years had passed.
They couldn't help but burst into tears, and asked in unison: "Miss, are you okay?"
"It's okay, it's okay!" Eleventh Lady smiled. But in her heart she thought: I'm just very hungry! So she blurted out "Have you eaten yet?"
The two nodded repeatedly: "We have eaten. We have all eaten. Mother Tao personally brought the maid's mother to serve us the food."
Eleventh Lady smiled and nodded, and said to Chunmo and Xiayi: "You all can leave! I will be happy if they serve me."
The two hesitated for a moment, then bowed in greeting.
Eleventh Lady ordered Dongqing and Amber: "Can you help me change my clothes? This is too uncomfortable to wear."
The two men nodded and went to prepare bath water and clean clothes for Eleventh Lady, while Eleventh Lady sat down at the table and ate a small bowl of rice.
When Xu Lingyi walked in, smelling of alcohol, Eleventh Lady had already washed her face, tied her hair into her usual bun, changed into a lake green jacket, and was leaning on a large pillow reading a book.
"The Marquis is back!" She quickly put down the book, got off the kang and bowed to Xu Lingyi.
Xu Lingyi's face was slightly red, but there was no trace of drunkenness in his eyes, they were just a little brighter than usual.
Eleventh Lady, however, secretly became more alert.
There is a type of person whose eyes become brighter the more they drink, and even if they are drunk, you can't tell.
But usually drunk people have less control over their emotions... She didn't want to make Xu Lingyi unhappy.
Xu Lingyi didn't even look at her. He walked straight to the kang, picked up the book, and read under the sheep-horn palace lantern: "The Records of the Nine Regions of the Great Zhou Dynasty!"
This guy must be drunk, otherwise, he wouldn't be saying so many words at a time.
Just as Shiyi Niang was about to explain, Xu Lingyi had already thrown away the book and headed for the bathroom: "I want to take a bath!"
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Sisters, the update is a little late, don’t wait!