Chapter 114

Chapter 116: Past Events (Part 2)

Amber smiled, "Later, Eldest Miss sent Qiu Luo to Half Moon Pond to serve Lord Xu, which was a gesture of reconciliation. Gradually, they made up." As she spoke, a hint of hesitation appeared in her expression.

"You were sent to gather information, not to tell half the story and leave the rest!" Eleven Miss frowned, looking displeased.

Amber quickly explained, "I only heard this from Auntie Xiang, and I'm not sure if it's true. It seemed a bit strange, so I wasn't sure whether to mention it." Her voice lowered, "Auntie Xiang said that Qiu Luo bore a striking resemblance to the late Qin Yi Niang, about five or six parts similar. She also said that there were rumors in the mansion that Eldest Miss had caused Qin Yi Niang's death, and now she was making amends by sending someone who looked like Qin Yi Niang to serve Lord Xu, which finally appeased him."

Would Lord Xu really get angry with his legitimate wife over a concubine?

Eleven Miss thought of his cold demeanor and couldn't help but laugh, "Do you really believe that?"

Amber stammered, "Of course not."

If she didn't believe it, why did she stammer?

Even someone as perceptive as Amber felt that Lord Xu had held Qin Yi Niang in high regard, let alone others.

Eleven Miss smiled slightly and changed the subject, "After Qin Yi Niang's death, did elder madam say anything?"

"Elder madam didn't say anything," Amber replied. "But Second Miss had Qin Yi Niang serve in elder madam's room. According to Auntie Xiang, before the second young master was born, Qin Yi Niang and Second Miss ate, slept, and went everywhere together. Eldest Miss even confronted Second Miss about it, but I don't know what Second Miss said. After that, Qin Yi Niang stayed in elder madam's room to rest during her pregnancy."

No wonder there were rumors in the mansion that Eldest Miss had caused Qin Yi Niang's death...

Eleven Miss pondered, "Do you know how Qiu Luo died?"

"She had a hemorrhage during childbirth!"

"And what about the child?"

Amber's voice dropped, "They say the child was born unhealthy. Eldest Miss invited the three most skilled pediatricians from the Imperial Hospital to stay at the mansion and treat the child, but they still couldn't save it."

"Elder madam and Lord Xu must have been heartbroken, right?"

In the Da Zhou dynasty, there was a practice of "losing the title without an heir." If one wanted to adopt, a special decree from the emperor was required. Therefore, heirs were not just descendants for noble families...

"I heard that Lord Xu didn't sleep that entire night," Amber said. "Not only was Lord Xu heartbroken, but Eldest Miss was also devastated—she had originally planned to raise Qiu Luo's child as her own. Because of this, they ended up living together again."

Eleven Miss listened, her thoughts drifting slightly.

Perhaps hardship makes people more forgiving!

Seeing Eleven Miss's mood dip, Amber smiled and said, "Madam, I found out something else that will surely make you happy!"

"Oh?" Eleven Miss stopped dwelling on the gloomy past and smiled, "What good news did you find?"

Amber chuckled, "Auntie Xiang said that when the family divided the estate, each branch had already taken their share. Fifth Miss was young, so her share was managed by elder madam. Later, when the family urgently needed money, Second Miss and Fifth Miss both contributed their shares. So when Fifth Miss got married, Lord Xu not only gave her what she was originally entitled to but also provided her with seventy to eighty thousand taels worth of farmland, land, and shops. A few years ago, Eldest Miss and Lord Xu had a dispute over the properties under Second Miss's name, so Second Miss had her own steward take over the properties managed by Lord Xu. Lord Xu continued to manage the household expenses as he had done when the old lord was alive.

So, the family's funds are essentially Lord Xu's money, and the accounting office handles our gifts. We just need to send a note, and Manager Zhao from the accounting office will arrange the appropriate gift money according to custom. We only need to decide whether to attend based on the depth of the relationship. Madam, don't you think this is good news?"

This aligns with what Madam Tao said.

Eleven Miss pondered, "But last time when Father returned to Yuhang, the gifts from each branch, including Lord Xu's, were given to me to deliver. I thought each branch handled their own social obligations... I was even thinking how disorganized the family affairs were, with no clear rules. I didn't realize I had misunderstood!"

Amber covered her mouth and laughed, "Thank goodness Auntie Xiang came to help us tidy up the house!"

Eleven Miss also laughed.

"So, the fifty taels for Fifth Miss can be handled by sending a note to the accounting office..."

"That fifty taels of silver was given to Fifth Miss privately by me, not from the household funds. We can't submit a formal request to the accounts office for this," Eleven Miss shook her head. "Besides, these social customs follow established precedents. Some situations call for gifts, while others don't. You still need to look into it. If Fifth Sister opens a shop and the Xu family sends a congratulatory gift, even officials from the Five City Military and Police Command or the Shuntian Prefecture would think highly of us."

Amber chuckled, "I'll go and find out for sure." She added, "Even though we still need to give to Fifth Miss, Miss Seven should receive a gift too, right?"

"That gift is only for Third Uncle; Miss Seven's dowry addition still needs to come from us!" Eleven Miss smiled. "When the time comes, we'll just select a few more valuable pieces of jewelry."

As they were talking, a young maid came running over, "Madam, Lord Xu is back!"

Eleven Miss stood up to welcome him.

Lord Xu had already pushed aside the curtain and entered.

Xiayi helped him change, and Eleven Miss personally went to brew tea.

Lord Xu sat on the kang, took a sip, and said, "Zi Chun is planning to open a dried fruit shop on West Street. Did you know?"

"Fifth Sister mentioned it to me once when I visited home," Eleven Miss saw his tone was very calm and smiled. "At the time, she invited me to invest, but I politely declined through Sister-in-law. There was no further discussion after that. I didn't expect Fifth Sister and the others to act so quickly, already looking for shops to open." She asked him, "How did you know, Lord Xu?"

Lord Xu then asked, "Why did you politely decline?"

Eleven Miss smiled, "When doing business together, there are inevitably times when opinions differ. We're relatives; why create rifts over such matters? So I politely declined."

Lord Xu nodded slightly and said, "Zi Chun wants to rent a shop from Prince Shun. Prince Shun specifically told me about this today, so that's how I found out."

That makes sense.

Although Qian Ming is pragmatic, he also has his own principles and wouldn't casually seek out Lord Xu. Or rather, such matters don't require personally seeking Lord Xu; as long as he's related to Lord Xu by marriage, others will naturally treat him with respect. And Prince Shun dealing with Qian Ming, out of respect for Lord Xu, would definitely inform Lord Xu.

"Since Prince Shun told you, he must have agreed to rent the shop to Fifth Sister's husband," Eleven Miss smiled. "We should send someone to find out when Fifth Sister's husband's dried fruit shop will open. We'll have to congratulate them then!"

"You're clever," Lord Xu laughed upon hearing this. "Knowing that Prince Shun agreed to rent the shop to Qian Ming."

Eleven Miss smiled, "Lord Xu, you let such a hint slip to me, how could I not catch it!"

"Oh?" Lord Xu raised an eyebrow. "What hint did I let slip to you, I myself do not know?"

"If Prince Shun had not agreed, you would have surely told me 'specifically explaining this matter.' Since you said 'specifically told me about this,' it must mean he agreed."

Lord Xu looked at her faintly smiling face and laughed.

Why is he in such a good mood today?

Eleven Miss wondered silently in her heart.

Could something have happened in the court that made him happy?

Lord Xu was indeed very happy.

The matter of Fan Weigang was finally confirmed to be the Emperor's disappointment...

"Opening a shop, according to old customs, does not require a gift," his expression carried a hint of joy, his face thus appearing warm and bright. "But since they are sisters, it's not appropriate to go empty-handed. I think we should give forty taels as a gift, and then you privately give them another hundred taels of silver, as our congratulations."

No need for Amber to inquire, Lord Xu has already made it clear, there is no precedent for giving gifts for opening a shop!

But if I give a hundred taels of silver, wouldn't that make Sister-in-law look bad.

Eleven Miss smiled, "A couple of days ago, Sister-in-law came to discuss this with me. She said if Fifth Sister opens a dried fruit shop, we should each give fifty taels, as a token of sisterly affection."

"It's good that you know about these things!" Lord Xu smiled. "Then fifty taels it is!" Then he and Eleven Miss went to elder madam's place, not mentioning where the ninety taels of silver came from.

Eleven Miss thought about the hundred taels of silver she still had and decided to temporarily get through this difficulty first.

Amber whispered to Eleven Miss, "Should we talk to the eldest lady... and ask for a month's extension?"

"No need," Eleven Miss said. "She helped with the arrangements for Five Miss's wedding and Ten Miss's wedding. If she had the intention, she would have asked already."

Hearing this, Amber couldn't help but feel a bit downcast.

"Has that Ji Ting replied?" Eleven Miss, educated to believe that women must be financially independent to be spiritually independent, still wanted to find a way to make a living, even though the big issue of the gift money had been resolved.

"He has," Amber said. "He said it's possible to cultivate, but we would need a large greenhouse."

This raised cost issues!

"Tell Jiang Bingzheng to go out and check the market prices of flower dew."

Amber left to carry out the task, and Steward Bai came to see her, bringing silver: "...Lord Xu said it's for private use and had me allocate this thousand taels from the treasury to hand over to you."

Eleven Miss didn't understand Lord Xu's intentions, but she couldn't admit her confusion in front of Steward Bai, so she smiled and accepted it. When Lord Xu returned, she handed him the thousand taels in silver notes: "They said it's for your private use and had it delivered to me first to hold."

Lord Xu didn't even glance at the silver notes, saying indifferently, "In the future, if there are matters like Zi Chun's, you can draw from this account."

When Steward Bai delivered the silver notes to her, Eleven Miss had already sensed it coming. Now that her premonition had come true, her emotions were mixed.

Although Lord Xu was reserved, he was tall and handsome, thoughtful, gentle, and considerate... exactly the kind of man she admired. Unfortunately, their different educations destined them to have their own steadfast beliefs, and they could never become lovers.

This faint regret in her heart was faithfully mirrored in her body—when he entered her, she broke out in a cold sweat, feeling even more uncomfortable than the first time.

Lord Xu whispered softly into her ear, gently caressing her.

But she only felt that the process was too drawn out, wishing it would end sooner...