She immediately called Chunmo and Xia Yi in.

The two went to the bathroom to help Xu Lingyi take a bath. Eleventh Lady put away some odds and ends, then changed her underwear and sat in the bathroom waiting for Xu Lingyi.

After a while, Xu Lingyi came out with slightly wet hair, pulled a quilt, and lay down on the bed: "Go to sleep! We have to go to the palace to thank the emperor tomorrow morning!"

Go to the palace to express gratitude?

Eleventh Lady was surprised, but thinking about the many gifts she had received today, she felt that she should say thank you.

She hummed and saw Xu Lingyi lying on his side.

Looking at the half of the bed he left for herself, Eleventh Lady let out a long sigh.

At least I'm not a self-centered person...

She arranged Dongqing to be on duty in the east room, and after Chunmo and Xiayi cleaned up the room, she tiptoed to the bedside.

A completely strange man, sleeping on a bed, spending a night together...

Eleventh Lady couldn't help but feel a little hesitant.

Who knows what will happen?

The thought flashed through his mind and his eyes fell on that person.

He had his back to her, his body slightly hunched, one hand resting on his head and the other hand hanging naturally on his waist. He looked like he was sleeping soundly.

She calmed down and observed again, and found that his breathing was long but even.

Really fell asleep!

Eleventh Lady couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and relaxed.

But then she found herself a little funny.

Although this man was a stranger, he had absolute power over her. Could she still scream if he pounced on her?

The thought flashed through her mind, and her slight hesitation gradually faded away.

In two lives, what does marriage mean? Don't you know it? Since you have married, it is like a handprint on the contract. Is it too late to regret now? Isn't it too hypocritical?

Eleventh Lady examined herself and her mood gradually returned to peace.

She smiled, bent over, and gently put his arm around his waist into the quilt. Then she turned around, blew out the light, pulled another quilt, and lay down beside Xu Lingyi quietly.

In the dark, people's hearing and sense of smell are more sensitive than usual.

The slight warmth emanating from Xu Lingyi's body and the faint aroma of wine from his breath made her feel mellow and warm, and she felt sleepy immediately.

I have to thank you tomorrow... I can't make any mistakes... I have to stay in good spirits...

In a daze, she felt a strong arm embrace her.

Eleventh Lady woke up suddenly.

A pair of big hands with thick calluses had reached into her clothes...

* * * * * *

Eleventh Lady opened her eyes wide, trying to see clearly what types of sachets were hanging on the four corners of the curtains.

But no matter how hard she tried, it was still pitch black.

A gentle hand gently stroked her head.

Eleventh Lady instinctively wanted to turn her face away from those hands, but this small movement made her gasp.

She never knew that doing something like this was so painful...

"Can I call my maid in?" She asked Xu Lingyi's consent in a low voice.

Xu Lingyi's body visibly stiffened.

Eleventh Lady is not in the mood to care about other people's feelings.

The experience just now was terrible.

One can't relax, the other is eager to complete a task...

For a long while, Xu Lingyi remained silent.

Forget it! Let’s wait until dawn...

While Eleventh Lady was pondering, Xu Lingyi sat up with a rustle.

"I'll go get your maid in!"

"Thank you!" Eleventh Lady said softly.

After a while, Dong Qing ran over nervously: "Miss, no, Madam, what's wrong with you?"

"Get me some water so I can take a bath and change my clothes."

Holly looked at her in surprise.

Eleventh Lady’s patience ran out: “Is it not possible?”

"No, no, no." Dongqing looked panicked, "I'll get you some water right away!"

The room lit up.

Eleventh Lady soaked in the wooden barrel for a long time before her body gradually relaxed.

After she put on her clothes and returned to the inner room, Xu Lingyi was sitting by the bed waiting for her.

"Go to sleep!" He said calmly, "You have to get up early tomorrow."

Eleventh Lady discovered that all the bedding had been changed.

She nodded and crawled into the quilt that still exuded a faint scent of jasmine.

Later, Eleventh Lady had a dream.

She dreamed that she was being chased by a giant. Because of her short legs, she was caught up after running a few steps... No matter how she begged for mercy, the giant was unwilling to let her go, and then he opened his bloody mouth and swallowed her in one gulp.

Eleventh Lady was sweating all over when she was awakened.

Xu Lingyi beside her was alert and immediately asked her, "What's wrong?"

"It's okay!" She let out a long sigh, "The quilt is too thick!"

Xu Lingyi said nothing, got up and called Dongqing to serve her.

What can I do?

Eleventh Lady smiled bitterly, fetched some water, wiped her body, changed her clothes, and lay down to sleep again.

But she could no longer fall asleep, and she listened with her ears perked up to hear the maids getting up, making their beds, and washing themselves outside.

* * * * * *

Mother Du came out from the inner room, with an unconcealable smile on her face.

She knelt and saluted Xu Lingyi and Shiyi Niang: "Congratulations, my lord, my lady!"

Xu Lingyi nodded, while Shiyi Niang lowered her eyelids uncomfortably.

Mother Du's smile deepened, and she put the white silk that had been spread on the bed last night into a carved red lacquer box. Then she asked the kitchen to bring lotus seed soup.

After Xu Lingyi and Shiyi Niang ate lotus seed soup, Xu Lingyi was "invited" by Mother Du to the main hall. Madam Quanfu gave Shiyi Niang a facial, then combed her hair into a round bun, and inserted the golden hairpin that the Xu family had given her as a betrothal gift.

Mother Du looked at the delicate Eleventh Lady and smiled deeply: "Let's go and pay our respects to the Madam."

Eleventh Lady, surrounded by maids, followed Xu Lingyi to the Dowager's place.

The Third Lady was serving tea to the Lady Dowager. When she saw Eleventh Lady, she hurriedly came out with a smile and said, "You said you want to go to the palace to express your gratitude first, and then recognize your relatives in the afternoon?"

"Yes!" Eleventh Lady nodded with a smile.

The third lady showed an envious look in her eyes: "Then let's set off earlier, so as not to delay the recognition of relatives in the afternoon."

Eleventh Lady smiled slightly.

Mother Du handed the carved red lacquer box to the old lady, and then whispered a few words in her ear. The old lady's eyes stayed on Xu Lingyi and Shiyi Niang, and she smiled with satisfaction.

Xu Lingyi and Shiyi Niang came forward to pay their respects to the lady-in-waiting - as it was their first time and it was also the second day of their wedding, they both kowtowed three times respectfully to the lady-in-waiting.

"Get up quickly, get up quickly!" The lady smiled, and then took out a red lacquered box with flowers and birds as a gift to Shiyi Niang, "Take some of my old jewelry and wear it!"

Because it was in a box, Eleventh Lady didn't know what was inside. She smiled, thanked him, and accepted it.

The lady smiled and asked Mother Du to see them out: "Go early and come back early!"

* * * * * *

Eleventh Lady followed Xu Lingyi into a corner gate facing south and north, and went to the courtyard where they received the imperial edict yesterday. They walked around the seven-room hall and went directly to the ceremonial gate of the outer courtyard, then got on the car and went to the palace.

The emperor was still in the morning court, so they went to the Empress Dowager's Cining Palace first.

The empress dowager looked to be no more than thirty-four or thirty-five years old, plump and white with a very ordinary appearance. If it weren't for the sense of superiority that revealed between her brows, if she were thrown into Ximen Street, people would definitely think she was some old maid.

Eleventh Lady couldn't help but be a little surprised by her appearance.

Xu Lingyi respectfully expressed his gratitude to the Queen Mother, but the Queen Mother gave Eleven Niang a long speech, saying something like "If a woman is not virtuous, she cannot serve her husband; if a woman does not serve her husband, morality will be lost."

Eleventh Lady stood respectfully with her hands down, listening to her teachings, and kept reminding herself in her heart that she must appear respectful and humble so as not to attract the attention of the empress dowager.

As he was speaking, a palace maid came to announce, "The Queen is here!"

The Queen Mother stopped talking and said to Xu Lingyi with a smile, "That's great. You don't have to go to the Queen on purpose."

The queen looked to be about the same age as Xu Lingyi. She was of medium build with curvy figure. She had a pair of big and long phoenix eyes like Xu Lingyi. She had a very sweet smile and was a rare beauty!

He is not as arrogant as I had imagined, but instead feels very friendly and easy-going.

After greeting the Queen Mother, she looked at Eleventh Lady and said with a clear and crisp voice: "This is the bride."

Xu Lingyi replied respectfully, "Yes."

The queen smiled and said, "It's hard for you to come to the palace to express your gratitude so early in the morning."

The Queen Mother smiled and said, "This is not only the dignity of the royal family, but also the dignity of the Xu family."

The queen smiled and replied "yes".

Xu Lingyi began to appreciate the ten mu of land given by the emperor, and then the topic gradually turned to the Empress Dowager's brother, Shouchang Bo: "... Although the products of Ding Kiln are good, they are expensive and not affordable for ordinary people. It has also become a school of its own and it is not easy to break into it. I think it would be better to find a place in Jingdezhen to open a kiln. The cost is low and the business is quick."

Shouchangbo was in the porcelain business for the imperial palace.

The Queen Mother was indeed very interested: "...Tell me about it in detail!"

Xu Lingyi started talking about the shipping business during this period, how to buy low and sell high, how to hire a ship to sail, how to guarantee a share... The Queen Mother was stunned and asked directly if Xu Lingyi was also doing the shipping business.

"I heard it from others as well." Xu Lingyi smiled. "I've been in the northwest for a long time, and my knees hurt when it's windy or rainy. The imperial physician said I have foot arthritis and need to take good care of myself for a few years. So I asked around to see if there was anything I could do to kill time."

Eleventh Lady looked at Xu Lingyi thoughtfully.

The Queen Mother nodded solemnly: "You have been fighting all these years, so you should take a few years off."

As he was speaking, the emperor came over after his morning court session.

Eleventh Lady followed the female officials of the Cining Palace to a side hall.

Someone secretly peeked at her, and whispered: "...Did you see it, the step-wife of Yongping Marquis..."

"You are so young..."

Eleventh Lady sat there calmly, allowing everyone to look at her.

After about an incense stick of time, a female official came to lead her back to the Queen Mother: "...The Emperor has left."

The queen also followed the emperor.

Xu Lingyi sat with Shiyi Niang for a while and chatted with the empress dowager for a few words. Then, on the pretext that it was almost noon, he left the palace and returned to the lotus garden.