Mr. Xu?
For a moment, even the Duke of Rongguo didn't realize which Lord Xu it was.
Lian Chun raised her eyes and glanced at Old Madam Xu discreetly: "It is Vice Minister Xu with his wife, Madam Liu, their two children, and...and Vice Minister Xu's birth mother, Madam Wang."
The Vice Minister Xu was none other than Xu Huaijiang, who had been promoted to the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites a few days ago. Everyone understood that Xu Yunyang was now a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Personnel.
Duke Rong rubbed his palms together, then turned to look at Madam Yang. The couple's gazes turned to the silent Old Madam Xu.
Li Shiyue paused, surprised that the second branch of the family would take the initiative to visit. After all, they had never sent anyone to visit since the family split up, regardless of the occasion.
Even on the day the family divided, it was at the second branch's insistence that their name be removed from the family genealogy; the Duke of Rong even tried to dissuade them. And what kind of behavior is this today, bringing their birth mother and concubine along?
Before Wang Shi went out with the second branch of the family, she knew her place and never left the west courtyard, much less appeared in front of Old Madam Xu.
"The second son's family can come over. As for that Wang woman, she never had the right to come out of the mansion before, and she doesn't now, so she shouldn't come in and get in Mother's way. If she doesn't want to, tell her whole family to leave."
The Duke of Rong waved his hand, his gaze darkening, clearly not welcoming the arrival of Concubine Wang.
Madam Xu remained silent throughout. Madam Yang looked at her, understood, and instructed Lian Chun, "Go and spread the word that since the family has been divided according to their wishes, it is best to send a visiting card in advance beforehand. We will not receive guests today. In the future, if we need to visit and send a visiting card, it should only be to the masters of the Vice Minister's Mansion. Do not bring any irrelevant people to the Duke's Mansion."
Lianchun looked up and saw that Old Madam Xu remained silent, so she replied "Yes" and went out.
Yang's words were still somewhat considerate, without directly naming Wang. She withdrew her gaze, picked up her teacup, and took a small sip.
"My elder sister-in-law is too gentle. If she were really kicked out, what kind of face would she have? Wang Shi, an old concubine, dares to come and call herself 'master'? The rules of the Vice Minister's mansion are really different." Zhou Shi said indignantly, but still wanted to say something. She then shut her mouth after seeing Xu Laofu's expression.
Li Shiyue picked up a plate of pastries and handed it to Madam Xu: "Grandmother, please try today's Double Ninth Festival cake. Is it any different from previous years?"
Chongyang cake is also known as "chrysanthemum cake". Li Shiyue was worried that Madam Xu's spleen and stomach were not good at digestion, so she specially ground all the meat pieces in the cake into minced meat and sandwiched it between the two layers of milky white cake, with some chrysanthemums scattered on top.
The noodles are made with sugar syrup, but they don't taste that sweet.
Seeing that Madam Xu hadn't moved, Li Shiyue leaned closer and softened her voice: "Please try a bite."
"Grandmother, please try some. Yan Yan has been thinking about how to make this Chongyang cake for several days, hoping that you would have more today." Xu Lingzi walked over, picked up the top piece, and handed it to the old lady Xu's mouth.
"Since Grandmother won't lend a hand, then I'll just have to offer it to her."
Madam Xu chuckled, looking helplessly at the two sisters on either side. The one on the left held up a Chongyang cake, waiting for her to open her mouth, while the one on the right held up a plate, looking expectantly at her.
"Alright, let's see if this year's Double Ninth Festival cake is delicious."
Everyone looked at the Chongyang cakes placed on the small table beside them and took a bite out of interest.
Xu Yunci took a bite, looking at the half-eaten pastry in his hand. It tasted sweeter and less cloying than anything he had ever eaten before. After finishing the whole piece, he took a sip of tea to calm the sweetness rising in his throat.
"It's much softer than in previous years. Yan Yan really put a lot of thought into this." Madam Yang was a little surprised to see that even her eldest son, who doesn't usually eat sweets, had used a piece.
Duke Rongguo had already picked up the second piece, praising with a smile: "Not bad, Yan Yan's heart is even more precious. Mother dotes on Yan Yan, and Yan Yan loves Mother even more. Very good, very good."
"Of course it's good. Since Yan Yan has been with her, my mother has been smiling more and her health has improved a lot. When she had a headache before, I was worried that Yan Yan wouldn't take good care of her, but she was more thorough than I thought."
With her usual gentle demeanor, Madam Yang pushed the plate beside her toward Duke Rongguo, and the couple looked at each other with smiles.
Li Shiyue withdrew her gaze. She hadn't expected that, just like in her previous life, the Duke of Rongguo was the one who loved his wife the most. Even in this situation, he would still give Yang Shi his undivided attention.
This is truly an enviable sentiment.
As she looked up, someone had already put down their teacup and was smiling at her. Under her gaze, Xu Yunci picked up a second piece, chewing slowly and carefully, and soon finished another piece.
“Father loves it so much, then we must take some back with us later. Yan Yan made extra, and I was the first to eat it.” Xu Lingzi smiled and leaned closer to Old Madam Xu, lowering her voice, but everyone sitting in the room could still hear her clearly.
"Grandma, you don't know this, but every time Yan Yan makes something, she makes me taste it first. If it doesn't taste good or anything else, she will carefully consider it, just so that you can use more of it, because using more of it will give you more energy."
"If you use more, not only will we be happiest, but even Yan Yan, who made it herself, will be the happiest."
Madam Xu felt a warmth in her heart, swallowed the last bite, and lovingly took the hands of her two sisters: "Alright, then use more."
Today is the Double Ninth Festival, and the moon shines exceptionally brightly after nightfall.
Xiangzhi was confined to the room, with guards even standing at the door. When she pushed the door open, someone walked in. She looked at the person with suspicion; they were completely unfamiliar. However, their clothes seemed to belong to someone from Shousongtang.
"Auntie, these are Double Ninth Festival cakes made by my cousin. The old lady instructed that they be distributed to everyone."
After putting it down, the maid ignored Xiangzhi's strange expression and left. She was gone, but the sound lingered.
"Being a concubine isn't much of a joy; you're always being watched, and you can't even leave the room."
The maidservant guarding the door spoke up: "A maidservant who climbed into the young master's bed while he was drunk, nameless and without status, is already incredibly fortunate to be favored by the young master and become his concubine. What can she say? Besides, now that the mistress is here, she'll have plenty of good days ahead when the young mistress enters the house."
"Our cousin is really something else; she's hosting her own birthday banquet in a few days."
"That's why I say, my lord, you're blind! You actually slapped the old lady's face for such a vulgar maid. If it weren't for that, we could be enjoying the benefits of Miss Biao's favor right now."
The sounds at the door gradually subsided, and Xiangzhi's expression grew increasingly grim. The one talking to the maid who delivered the pastries was the same one who had returned from Shousong Hall during the day, and whom Zhou Shi had specifically ordered to be watched and not allowed to leave the house.
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