Chapter 102

Chapter 104: Anger (Part 2)

Lord Xu's suggestion left everyone silent.

The two concubines' real intention was not to become nuns but to escape the Luo family. Only by becoming nuns and leaving the secular world could they avoid any further consequences. Building a family temple, even if the elder master agreed, would probably not be accepted by the two concubines.

However, Luo Zhenxing said, "Lord Xu's idea is excellent. I'll discuss it with my father first."

Lord Xu nodded and smiled, "I'll go pay my respects to my father-in-law, and then Eleven Miss and I will return."

Outside, the lights were already flickering.

Everyone hurriedly escorted Lord Xu to the elder master's place, where they only mentioned that they had heard the elder madam was ill and had come to visit.

The elder master thanked Lord Xu for his kindness, said it was "nothing serious," and insisted on inviting him to stay for dinner. Lord Xu, using the excuse that it was too late, firmly refused. Seeing the chaos at home, the elder master didn't press further and saw Lord Xu and Eleven Miss off.

Each got into their own carriage, and an older woman who had come with the carriage suddenly handed a greasy paper package to Dongqing, who had returned with them: "Miss, have this to fill your stomach."

The item's origin was unclear, and Dongqing didn't dare let Eleven Miss eat it, so she politely thanked the older woman.

The older woman, who was used to traveling with the carriage and had sharp eyes, smiled and said, "Miss, don't be disdainful. It's from Lord Xu."

Hearing this, Dongqing happily handed it to Eleven Miss: "Lord Xu is thinking of you!"

Eleven Miss smiled and opened the package.

It was a steaming hot meat bun.

She took a bite.

It was stuffed with pork and cabbage.

Eleven Miss found another benefit of marrying Lord Xu—anyone around him would be protected and cared for.

Returning to Lotus Lane, the two first went to pay their respects to the elder madam.

The elder madam inquired about the elder madam's illness.

Before Eleven Miss could answer, Lord Xu calmly said, "It's nothing. The two concubines want to become nuns, and she's a bit angry."

The elder madam nodded, "As long as the in-law isn't seriously ill, that's good."

Eleven Miss thanked the elder madam for her concern, and the elder madam asked Lord Xu, "Have you eaten? If not, I'll have the kitchen make something."

"We've eaten!" Lord Xu said indifferently, "But I'm not used to Jiangnan cuisine, so I didn't eat much. I'll just have some noodles later."

Eleven Miss was surprised, not expecting Lord Xu to say this. She was also grateful, as it prevented the elder madam from thinking that her son had been neglected by his in-laws—today's situation was indeed special. If they had stayed for dinner at the Luo family, they might have returned very late.

The elder madam laughed, "Since when have you become so picky?"

Lord Xu smiled without saying anything.

The elder madam, recalling that her son had never liked his mother-in-law, suspected that he simply didn't want to eat the Luo family's food. She didn't press further and smiled, urging them to return quickly.

The two bowed to the elder madam and returned to their residence.

Eleven Miss quickly arranged to make noodles for Lord Xu.

The cook, originally gifted by the elder madam, naturally knew Lord Xu's tastes well. A bowl of fragrant fried noodles, accompanied by a clear soup made from chicken and duck bones, was devoured by Lord Xu, leaving Eleven Miss somewhat stunned.

Eleven Miss wondered how she managed to keep her figure so well.

Lord Xu watched Eleven Miss sip the soup, having only eaten two strands of noodles, and asked, "Don't you like it?"

"I can't eat much," Eleven Miss replied, thinking about Ten Miss's situation.

She hadn’t gone back to see her, whether it was because she was really unwell or just an excuse...

Lord Xu, thinking of the sick elder madam, hesitated and said, "If you want to go back to see your mother-in-law, you should tell mother yourself."

Thus, Lord Xu agreed that she should go see elder madam. He wanted her to tell elder madam herself, fearing that elder madam might think she wasn’t being straightforward enough, even for something as reasonable as wanting to return to her parents' home, she would secretly ask her husband to speak for her, which would make elder madam unhappy.

Eleven Miss quickly nodded, "I understand. I will go and tell mother."

Seeing that she understood his meaning, Lord Xu nodded and went to the washroom to change and wash up.

Eleven Miss carefully made the bed, even going so far as to shake out the square buckwheat pillow and neatly arrange it again.

In the evening, she asked Lord Xu, "Do you need to go to court early tomorrow morning?"

"Yes!"

"Do you need to go to court every day?"

"No, on the 10th, 20th, and the last day of each month, I get a day off. Also, during New Year's Day, Lantern Festival, Zhongyuan Festival, and Winter Solstice, I can rest."

"Oh!" Eleven Miss smiled, "In four more days, you can rest!"

"If the Emperor doesn’t take a break, how can the ministers?"

"That’s true," Eleven Miss sighed, "Being an emperor is also a very tiring role."

"Yes!"

After a moment of silence, Eleven Miss suddenly changed the topic, "Do you know Ji Ning Nun? What kind of person is she?"

Lord Xu was silent for a while, then said, "She seems to know some medicine, so she frequents high society, treating small ailments like corns and athlete's foot. Over time, women prefer to consult her for medical advice." He added, "The wife of Marquis Jianning and the wife of Marquis Shouchang trust her very much. The two gold-plated Guanyin statues in Ziyuan Temple were donated by their families..."

Was he hinting at something?

Eleven Miss pondered.

At this moment, far away in Bowstring Lane, after sending off Qian Ming and Fifth Miss, the Luo father and son had been discussing the matter of the two concubines: "...Lord Xu said, establish a family shrine. I understand that he definitely doesn’t want any trouble. Father, for the sake of appearances, let’s just let this matter go!"

Father Luo remained silent for a while before saying, "Since you all say to let it go, then let it go! But what about your mother..."

"I have already issued instructions," Luo Zhenxing said with relief, "Anyone who dares to speak carelessly in front of mother will not be spared."

Father Luo nodded, feeling melancholy, "I don’t know how it came to this? Back then, neither of them wanted to be taken as concubines, and I didn’t force them. Later, they had a change of heart and wanted to stay by my side, and I treated them with much affection..." Suddenly realizing he was speaking in front of his son, he suddenly stopped.

Luo Zhenxing felt a bit awkward and quickly stood up, smiling, "It’s getting late, father, you should rest early! I have already taken time off and will go to the famous Songhe Hall in Yanjing early tomorrow morning to invite a doctor to check on mother again."

Father Luo nodded, saw his son off, and turned back to the inner room.

A lone lamp illuminated elder madam’s haggard face, casting a cold light over the room.

Sixth Concubine came to invite Father Luo to bathe, "Tonight, let Xu Mama accompany elder madam!"

Father Luo shook his head, "No need, I will take care of her myself!" Saying this, he tucked the quilt corner for his wife.

Sixth Concubine was stunned.

Eleven Miss despised this dreadful routine; she had to rise at 3 a.m. every day.

After seeing Lord Xu off, Eleven Miss yawned and flopped onto the bed.

Dongqing hurried to help her undress.

"No need," she said with her eyes closed, her tone lazy. "I have to go pay respects to elder madam in two hours."

Dongqing couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh.

Eleven Miss mumbled sleepily, "You should arrange shifts for Chunwei and Xiayi too. This is wearing me out! But the best way is to have them share their experience; otherwise, they'll just have to serve like this every day." Dongqing agreed with a smile, and Eleven Miss snoozed briefly before getting up.

The three concubines were already waiting under the eaves.

Waiting under the eaves? That's unusual. Even when paying respects to elder madam, no one was made to wait under the eaves.

Eleven Miss gave a small smile and instructed Amber, "From now on, have them wait in the hall."

Amber nodded and ushered the three concubines inside.

After paying their respects, Lady Wen immediately smiled and said, "I heard elder madam is ill? What's wrong with her? Is she feeling better? Does she need any medicinal herbs?"

"It's nothing major. Just the usual aches and pains of getting older," Eleven Miss replied vaguely, then went to see elder madam.

After bowing and showing her respects, Eleven Miss expressed her wish to visit her family.

The elder madam immediately agreed and even had Madam Du fetch some medicinal herbs for Eleven Miss: "Deliver these for me. When she feels better, I will visit her."

Eleven Miss thanked the elder madam and returned to the Luo family with Dongqing.

At the entrance, she encountered Fifth Miss.

Both were momentarily surprised, then smiled and bowed to each other before walking in together.

The eldest daughter-in-law, upon hearing the news, immediately came out to greet them.

Eleven Miss handed over the medicinal herbs sent by the elder madam to her: "A token of the elder madam's goodwill!"

The eldest daughter-in-law expressed her thanks, passed the herbs to Xinglin, who was standing nearby, and led the two into the inner courtyard.

Xu Mama stopped the three outside.

"We are currently assisting the elder madam with her morning routine!"

The eldest daughter-in-law couldn't help but glance at the sky: "At this hour..."

Xu Mama's eyes darkened, and after a long pause, she said, "The elder madam has had an incontinence episode."

The three exchanged uneasy glances.

Xu Mama, too busy to attend to the young ladies, turned and went back inside.

The eldest daughter-in-law and the others waited in the courtyard for some time.

"Your eldest brother left early this morning for Songhetang to bring back a doctor," the eldest daughter-in-law said with a bitter smile, "hoping to treat mother's illness."

"This matter can't be rushed," Eleven Miss was now certain that the eldest lady had suffered a stroke. "We just need to help her recuperate slowly."

"Let's hope so," the eldest daughter-in-law sighed, as a young maid came in to report, "The eldest master has returned, and he's brought a doctor with him."

They quickly retreated to the east wing and didn't come out until after the doctor had left.

Luo Zhenxing took the prescription and sent someone to fetch the medicine, while the eldest daughter-in-law anxiously asked about the condition.

He could only smile bitterly, "We can only take it slow and make sure she doesn't get upset again!"

The eldest daughter-in-law and Fifth Miss sighed and lamented for a good while.

Luo Zhenxing then said to Fifth Miss and Eleven Miss, "You both have your own families now. Mother's illness won't get better overnight, so you don't need to come back every day. Just visit when you have time. If anything happens, I'll send someone to inform you."

They both nodded, and as soon as Xu Mama finished tidying up, they all went in to see the eldest lady.

Seeing her unable to speak, just glaring and puffing her cheeks, they all felt a little sad.

Eleven Miss asked about Luo Zhensheng's wedding, "Should we postpone it?"

"No need," Luo Zhenxing said. "Father will set off in a few days, and once Fourth Brother's wedding is done, he'll return!"

That was the only option.

Then she asked about Ten Miss, "Have we sent someone to deliver the message?"

"Yes," Luo Zhenxing's expression darkened. "She said that Duke Mao's wife is also feeling unwell and will come back to visit when she finds some free time in a few days."

Fifth Miss snorted coldly, and Eleven Miss quickly added, "I heard that Duke Mao's wife is also in her fifties this year, and it's autumn now, so occasional discomfort is quite common."