When she heard her eldest son addressing Wen, Lu frowned.
Xu Jingrong wanted to yell something, but Lu interrupted him: "Xu Jingrong!"
Mrs. Lu rarely called her two sons by their full names, and she was obviously angry at this moment.
Nanny Ji and the others who came back with Xu Yuxuan all stopped moving after hearing the anger in Lu's voice, and even their breathing became lighter.
They had heard about the Duke's wife's methods.
A small number of people were worried, thinking that Mrs. Lu was angry with them because they did not take good care of the young master.
Xu Jingrong didn't expect Lu to be so angry. She was stunned for a moment and still felt a little aggrieved.
Lu didn't even glance at him. She looked at Xu Yuxuan in Nanny Ji's arms, forced a gentle smile and said, "Give Xuan'er to me, and you can go down first."
Nanny Ji and others responded "yes" and then left the main house one after another.
Xu Yuxuan was familiar with Lu and knew that she was his aunt, so he did not resist Lu's embrace, but still did not let anyone touch the note on his face.
After seeing that there were only some pieces of paper covered with paste stuck on Xu Yuxuan's face, Lu did not let the maid tear them off by force, as it did not make much difference.
Currently, only Lu's mother and son, a group of confidants, and Xu Yuxuan, who still didn't understand many things, were left in the main hall.
Lu held Xu Yuxuan and sat at the top, and the atmosphere was quiet for a moment.
Xu Yuxuan pulled at the note on his face, sometimes lifting it up, sometimes covering it up, and amusing himself like this for a while, and no one paid any attention to him.
The batter was not very sticky, and as he pulled it back and forth, most of the paper strips on his face soon fell off, leaving clumps of batter on his face. I wonder if he was the little thief who stole some of the batter from somewhere.
Children's ability to perceive their surroundings is no worse than that of adults. Xu Yuxuan felt that the aunt who was holding him seemed angry, and his whole little body leaned into Lu's arms.
This was his usual behavior to appease Lu.
Lu was not angry with Xu Yuxuan, but before blaming someone, she also wanted to ask about the affairs of the West Courtyard.
Lu took the child out of her arms, brought him face to face with her, and asked softly, "Are you happy with your mother today?"
There were still two pieces of paper on Xu Yuxuan's face, stuck on his eyebrows. He reached out and touched them with his senses. He didn't know what he was thinking about, but his little eyes suddenly brightened up. He pointed his little hand outside and called out "Mother" twice.
When Mrs. Lu saw this, she knew there was no need to ask any more questions, so she asked her maid Bai Mei to take Xu Yuxuan back to the room to take a nap.
Then he turned his gaze to Xu Jingrong who had remained silent, and asked sternly, "Do you know where you went wrong?"
Xu Jingrong still remembered Lu's attitude towards him just now. He felt aggrieved. At this moment, his temper became stubborn. He turned his head and snorted, "I'm not wrong!"
Seeing that he still refused to admit his mistake, Lu stopped asking and said, "Since you think it's correct, copy the article twenty more times."
"Also, when your father comes back, I will tell him every mistake you made today without missing a single word."
Xu Jingrong's eyes widened, and he said with grievance and reluctance, "Mother! You don't love me anymore! Ever since my second uncle married a new aunt, you've been always criticizing me! What kind of magic potion did that evil... woman feed you?"
After saying this, he rushed out of the main courtyard, not giving anyone present any chance to prepare.
By the time Mrs. Lu reacted, Xu Jingrong was no longer outside the house. She was so angry that she immediately asked Nanny Xian to get the Duke's stick.
Why are you waiting for the Duke? She might as well teach him directly.
Nanny Xian quickly advised: "Madam, the young master was just impulsive!"
Mrs. Lu said angrily, "Look at him, he's already eight years old! And he's still so ignorant! Not only has he been disrespectful to his elders several times, but when did the Duke's Mansion teach him to speak such bad words to others?!"
Nanny Xian said, "The young master was not like this before. Madam, why don't you calm down first?"
Mrs. Lu gradually calmed down, and after Nanny Xian's casual reminder, she also realized that something was wrong.
She, Nanny Xian, and Qingxue and her daughter were the only ones left in the room. Lu glanced at them and said, "I remember that after Zi Tan and Wen's wedding date was set, Jing Rong and Jing Lin returned to the Marquis' Mansion and lived there for a while."
The marquis' mansion that Lu mentioned was the Ding'an Marquis' Mansion, her mother's family and the maternal grandparents' home of her two sons.
During that period, Mrs. Lu was busy with wedding arrangements and had no time to take care of the two boys. It happened that the two boys said they missed their grandparents, so she simply packed up the bags and sent the two brothers to live with her mother in the marquis's mansion for a few days.
Nanny Xian also remembered it now and nodded, "It seems like he has been here for more than ten days, almost half a month."
Lu didn't say anything for a long time.
After a long while, she said, "Go and call the second young master over."
Her two sons have always been inseparable, and perhaps she could get something out of Jinglin.
Xu Jinglin was practicing calligraphy in the house. He had to write twenty pieces in total. His mother would not accept them if they were not neat. He wrote for the whole morning and had not even finished half of them. He was so anxious that he did not even eat a few bites of lunch before starting again.
When Qingxue came over, she saw a little man sitting upright behind a desk, with a bitter look on his face, practicing calligraphy.
Her heart softened immediately, and she walked over and said, "Second Young Master, Madam wants you to go to the main courtyard."
Xu Jinglin's head shrank: "I am practicing calligraphy obediently."
Qingxue understood the meaning of his words and suddenly felt a little amused and said, "Don't worry, Second Young Master. Madam just wanted to ask if you had a good time in the Marquis' Mansion."
Xu Jinglin blinked his clear eyes: "Really?"
Qingxue smiled and said, "I won't lie to you."
Xu Jinglin came to the main courtyard with a feeling of trepidation and anticipation. Along the way, he kept thinking, could it be that his mother felt sorry for him? Did she decide to exempt him from the twenty large characters?
When Mrs. Lu saw her youngest son, she immediately called out, "Jinglin, come here."
Although Lu punished Xu Jinglin to practice calligraphy, in Xu Jinglin's heart, Lu was still the person closest to him.
Mrs. Lu held Xu Jinglin in her arms, and after a few words of concern, she began to ask, "Did you have a good time when you went to your grandparents' house with your eldest brother?"
Xu Jinglin simply said: "I'm happy! My uncle is so nice to us!"
The youngest brother of the Lu family, almost eleven years old, is very tough. When the two brothers Xu Jingrong and Xu Jinglin were in the Marquis' Mansion, they played best with him.
Lu asked again: "Anything else? For example, has your elder brother ever left you behind?"
Xu Jinglin seemed to remember something and suddenly said angrily: "Mom, my brother is very bad!"
Lu thought for a moment: "What did he do to you?"
Xu Jinglin clenched his fist and said, "My grandmother asked Aunt Zhao to make sweet-scented osmanthus cake, but he secretly ate it all by himself! He didn't leave a single piece for me! How mean!"
Lu: "...Nothing else? For example, has anyone talked to your eldest brother alone?"
Xu Jinglin: "Of course there is more! Grandfather specially bought some snacks from Furongji, and my eldest brother didn't leave any for me!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard his stomach growling a few times.
Lu: “…”
Is this her biological child?
Xu Jinglin realized that he was embarrassed, and quickly covered his stomach, his face flushed, and he said embarrassedly: "Mom..."
Mrs. Lu was quite helpless. She asked Qingxue to bring a small plate of snacks to Xu Jinglin, and then asked someone to take him back to the East Courtyard.
It seemed that she couldn't get anything out of her son. Lu turned to the person beside her and said, "Madame Xian, go check if anyone in the mansion has said anything to the prince."
Nanny Xian understood immediately and replied, "I will go right away."
Then Lu looked at Qingxue again and said, "Go back to the Marquis' Mansion tomorrow and look for my mother. Find out who the prince came into contact with during the few days he stayed in the Marquis' Mansion. Report back to me after you find out."
Qingxue leaned forward: "I understand."
After Nanny Xian left, Lu thought of Wen in the West Courtyard. She paused, turned around and said to Qingxue, "Go to my storehouse and get two thousand taels, and the pair of jade ruyi from last time. Find them and deliver them to the West Courtyard in person."
Qingxue understood that the first lady was trying to compensate the second lady because the prince had spoken rudely to her.
After sending the kid away, Wen Ye stopped playing soon after.
Because she calculated with her fingers that her luck today was average and not suitable for playing Landlord.
Taozhi put away the cards and heard Wen Ye's nonsense, snorting and laughing, "It's obvious that the madam's skills are not as good as others, otherwise why would she add the young master's face and not have enough space to stick it on."
Wen Ye frowned and said seriously, "Taozhi, your share of the roasted pig's trotters tonight is gone."
Taozhi was so angry when she heard this: "Madam, you are cheating! I said that if I win ten games in a row, I will have a share of roasted pig's trotters!"
Wen Ye simply closed her eyes, not looking at him, and meditated on the couch, saying, "You also said that I am the lady, so I have the final say."
Taozhi choked.
Yunzhi came in with tea at this time, and seeing Taozhi's aggrieved face, she immediately smiled and said, "Okay, what are you and the lady angry about?"
Taozhi huffed: "Humph~"
Yunzhi did not persuade her anymore, but came to Wen Ye, poured her a cup of tea, and then worriedly said: "Madam has put a note on the young master's face. I wonder if the Duke's wife will be angry when she finds out."
She had the same worry as Aunt Chang, fearing that Wen Ye would be looked at strangely after arriving at the Duke's Mansion because of her status as a stepmother.
Everyone knows how rich that young master is.
Wen Ye opened his eyes, sighed inwardly, and said, "Don't worry, nothing will happen."
Yunzhi was still worried: "How about I go and find out?"
It has been almost an hour since the young master left the West Courtyard.
Wen Ye: "No need to go. Your wife is already this old. For such a small matter, she will be confined for a few days at most."
If there are more, she won't be the only one to be embarrassed.
Besides, she will be returning home the day after tomorrow. Even if Mrs. Lu is really angry with her for this, she will have to wait until she returns home.
Not long after, Liu Ya came over and said that Miss Qingxue from the main courtyard wanted to see her.
When Yunzhi heard this, she felt that what she was worried about was about to happen.
After Wen Ye comforted her with a few words, he got down from the couch, put on his shoes, straightened his clothes, and walked out of the inner room.
Liuya had already led Qingxue to wait in the hall.
Wen Ye sat over and asked calmly, "Miss Qingxue, why did you come to the West Courtyard this time?"
Qingxue bowed and said respectfully, "Madam, this is something that Madam ordered me to bring."
After she finished speaking, she looked back and the maid holding the brocade box immediately came forward.
Qingxue walked over and opened it.
Wen Ye didn't understand what was going on, and after taking a glance, he couldn't look away.
It turned out to be two thousand taels of silver and a pair of jade ruyi.
Then Qingxue said, "The prince is in the main courtyard... These are gifts for the second lady."
The matter has not been investigated clearly yet. It would be bad for both the Second Madam and the Crown Prince if we make it clear now.
Wen Ye raised an eyebrow: "For me?"
Qingxue: "Yes."
Yunzhi and Taozhi were still confused by what they heard, but Wen Ye roughly understood it. She guessed that Prince Xiong had said something bad about her in front of Lu.
These things were given to her by Mrs. Lu as compensation because she felt bad about it.
She had seen a lot of naughty children. Wen Ye glanced at the silver bills in the jewel box again and thought to herself, she is a generous person.
Wen Ye asked Tao Zhi to accept the banknotes and the jade ruyi, and then said, "I understand what sister-in-law means."
Qingxue didn't stay in the West Courtyard for too long. After she left, Wen Ye immediately handed the two thousand banknotes in the brocade box to Yunzhi and said, "Find a chance to exchange them all for silver later."
A banknote is just a thin piece of paper and won't last long.
Taozhi had an idea: "Why did the Duke's wife give you these? Could it be that she approved of your act of sticking a note on the young master's face?"
Wen Ye glanced at her and said, "Maybe?"
Qingxue's attitude made Yunzhi feel relieved. She said, "At least everything is fine."
Wen Ye nodded, but felt a little regretful. Why wasn't Lu angry?
Silver bills and the like are indeed very tempting, but it would be even better if Lu could keep her away for another ten days or half a month.
Wen Ye was really not grateful for taking care of the child.
After the recognition ceremony ended at the hour of Mao, Wen Ye did not see Xu Yuejia until the end of the hour of Shen.
According to Wen Ye, Xu Yuejia has five days of wedding leave.
But as for men, it’s nice to meet them once in a while.
Therefore, Wen Ye expressed his heartfelt support for Xu Yuejia's behavior of making progress on the second day after her marriage.
"My dear, would you like to have dinner in the west courtyard?" Wen Ye put down the script in his hand and walked out of the west study.
Xu Yuejia glanced at her and said indifferently: "Yeah."
Wen Ye asked the maid to prepare dinner, and she walked past the man and went straight into the inner room.
When Xu Yuejia came back, the west study no longer belonged to her.
Wen Ye sat on the couch, his body tilted. After sighing deeply, he felt as if he had forgotten something.
After a few breaths, she suddenly sat up straight, lifted the mattress covering her knees, walked quickly out of the inner room, and went to the study on the west side.
At this time, Xu Yuejia had already picked up the storybook that Wen Ye had casually placed on the desk not long ago.
"Wait!" Wen Ye almost stuttered, but luckily he stopped himself.
She snatched the book that Xu Yuejia had opened and said gently, "This book is not suitable for you, my dear."
As soon as Xu Yuejia entered the study, he found an extra bookshelf, and then saw a copy of "The Analects of Confucius" on the desk. However, when he opened a page, he found that the content inside was not "The Analects of Confucius", but the content of the story books sold in the bookstore.
Before he could take a closer look, the book was snatched away by Wen Ye.
"Xuan'er came over at noon, and I was afraid that this book would affect him, so I just put on a shell," Wen Ye said casually, paused, raised his eyes and looked directly at Xu Yuejia, with a gentle and timid face, "My dear, you won't mind, right?"
Given their current relationship, it is not appropriate for him to know the contents of the storybook.
Although Xu Yuejia had not seen the contents of the script, he had been in the Ministry of Justice for many years and knew what a prisoner who did not tell the truth looked like.
Xu Yuejia glanced over, paused for a few seconds, and said, "I don't mind."
Wen Ye stuffed the storybook back into the bookshelf, turned around and changed his expression: "Dinner is ready, please enjoy your meal, my dear."
Xu Yuejia: "......"
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