Chapter 178

Chapter 181: Year-End (Part 1)

She had only commissioned the Imperial Household Department to make a Rubik’s Cube, so how did it end up being related to a chessboard and a stool?

When Eleven Miss handed the blueprint to Steward Bai, she had specifically instructed him to have the clockmakers from the Imperial Household Department take a look... Could it have been made incorrectly?

Baffled, she returned to her room and saw Lord Xu standing with his hands behind his back, examining an object in the center of the room—a square, waist-high structure with a red top, green on the left, yellow on the right, and blue on the front. Each side was adorned with nine shiny brass filigree enamel glass pieces, dazzling and exceptionally beautiful under the light.

Eleven Miss was dumbfounded.

This wasn’t a handheld Rubik’s Cube; it was more like an abstract sculpture.

She hesitated, frozen at the door. Hearing the commotion, Lord Xu turned to see his wife had returned. He beckoned her over, "What did you ask the Imperial Household Department to make? They said each small section could be twisted freely," he said, pressing a corner of the cube, "but I couldn’t find the mechanism no matter how hard I tried." A Rubik’s Cube needed to be twisted in one’s hands; placed on the ground like this, it was impossible to turn.

Eleven Miss was speechless, unsure how to respond.

"Maybe it’s some kind of treasure box..." Lord Xu murmured, but when he looked up and saw Eleven Miss standing motionless, he raised an eyebrow, "What? Did something happen at Bowstring Alley?"

Eleven Miss sighed in relief.

She feared Lord Xu would press further, so she quickly nodded. After dismissing the servants, she told Lord Xu about Patriarch Luo’s plans, "...I don’t know how to bring it up with Father. I thought it best to let him ask you directly."

Lord Xu was indeed distracted by this. He entered the inner chamber and sat on the large kang by the window, "I’ll speak with Zhenxing when he arrives."

Eleven Miss nodded, remembering the misunderstanding with Lord Xu the previous day. She personally brewed a cup of hot tea and smiled, "Thank you, Your Lordship, for preparing those silver ingots for me, otherwise, I would have been embarrassed today."

Actually, the silver ingots and banknotes were never used—she had intended to give some banknotes to Fifth Miss privately, but Fifth Miss had been busy serving the matriarch, leaving her no opportunity. As for the silver ingots, neither Fourth Miss nor Fifth Miss had made any other gestures, so she didn’t want to embarrass them by standing out.

Lord Xu said "Oh," his expression indifferent as he took a sip from the teacup, clearly unwilling to discuss the matter further.

Eleven Miss wasn’t sure if he still resented it, but thinking that everyone likes to hear flattery, and considering she had been in the wrong that morning, she decided to humble herself. She asked Lord Xu with concern, "Were you here all day today, Your Lordship? Why didn’t you go sit with my mother?"

"I had lunch with my mother," Lord Xu took another sip of tea, "Then Yuge and I visited Qin Yi. As it happened, Lady Wen and Qiao Lianfang were visiting Qin Yi. I listened to Qiao Lianfang play 'Melancholy Thoughts'." Playing 'Melancholy Thoughts' for Lord Xu?

Eleven Miss barely suppressed a laugh.

However, it seemed he was quite capable of entertaining himself. Seeing Lord Xu’s indifferent expression, no different from usual, she felt she had overthought things and relaxed.

"Qiao Lianfang’s musical skills are renowned," she smiled brightly, "Your Lordship has an ear for music." She quickly had someone bring out some snacks like silk candy, winter melon candy, and honeyed cherries, then stood up, "I’ve been traveling all day; let me change, then I’ll join Your Lordship for a chat."

Lord Xu observed her carefree smile, his expression darkening slightly.

Eleven Miss called for Lv Yun and Xiu Xiu, who had stayed at home, to help her change and freshen up. Once in the dressing room, she secretly instructed Shuang Yu, "Tell Amber to move that item sent by the Imperial Household Department to the storeroom."

Shuang Yu acknowledged and left, but soon returned, "Madam, five or six maids couldn’t move it. Should we call in some servants?"

Eleven Miss just wanted the item gone quickly, "Tell Steward Bai to move it to my storeroom."

"Yes!" Shuang Yu turned to leave, but Eleven Miss called her back, "Ask Steward Bai how much it cost."

"Understood!" Shuang Yu went to arrange the move, and by the time Eleven Miss had finished freshening up, she returned, "Madam, it’s been moved to the storeroom. Steward Bai said Prince Shun helped deliver it, and we only paid three hundred taels of silver. He also said the item was made of high-quality brass, and the enamel came from the official kilns. Just one piece alone would cost twenty to thirty taels, so three hundred taels isn’t expensive."

Each piece cost fifty to sixty taels, and the cube had six sides, each with nine squares. Steward Bai was hinting that although the Imperial Household Department had charged the Xu family three hundred taels, it was only because Prince Shun was in charge of the department, and the Xu family had merely paid a token amount.

Eleven Miss couldn’t help but facepalm.

She had thought it was a small matter, but it had somehow involved Prince Shun.

Perhaps Steward Bai had already explained it to him, but as the instigator, she felt she should still inform Lord Xu. After all, Prince Shun had shown favor entirely because of Lord Xu. She wasn’t sure if there were other interests involved. If anything happened, Lord Xu would ultimately be the one to resolve it. At the very least, he should know that she was aware of his efforts.

She left the washroom and sat down opposite Lord Xu with her head lowered. "Lord Xu, I wanted to make a beautiful jewelry box, so I drew a design. But no one outside the palace could make it, so I had to request the Imperial Household Department. I didn’t expect it to attract Prince Shun’s attention, and they only charged us three hundred taels of silver..." She looked up at him with concern, "What do you think I should do about this?"

Observing Miss Eleven's furrowed brows, Lord Xu felt a subtle tremor in his heart, and his own brows tightly drew together in the shape of the character "川."

"If someone wants to accuse me, they’ll always find a pretext. Whether it’s the Emperor wanting to punish me or the censors wanting to impeach me, one or two more incidents won’t make a difference. Don’t concern yourself with this; I’ll take care of it." Then he changed the subject, asking about her visit to her parents’ home, "...How is your mother doing?"

Though he said it was nothing, his expression was still serious.

Eleven Miss couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

This matter was still weighing on him...

But seeing that Lord Xu didn’t seem willing to discuss it further, she decided to put it aside for now and instead talked about her visit to Gongxian Alley. "Mother’s condition has been up and down; she can only take it slow. Before, my sister-in-law was the one tending to her at the bedside, but now my fourth sister-in-law and Third and Fifth Aunts have come, so my sister-in-law can take a break and doesn’t have to work as hard as before." She also mentioned Madam Zhou, "She seems quite capable and virtuous." And she spoke of Twelve Miss, "...She’s grown a lot taller, and her features look more like Fifth Sister’s than mine."

Freshly washed, Eleven Miss casually wore a moon-white silk jacket and a large-sleeved floral skirt. Her shiny black hair was pulled up into a bun, and her face was bare, with a slight blush on her cheeks. The soft yellow light cast a golden glow around her, making her features appear even more delicate than usual.

Lord Xu’s lips curled slightly, "Once my leg improves, I’ll go see her." His tone was calm, even carrying a sense of tranquility.

But Eleven Miss knew he had never been particularly fond of the matriarch and could tell that the matriarch was also dissatisfied with him. Now, with his resignation from office involved... she simply said, "Everyone knows about your leg issues. Whether it’s Father or Mother, I don’t think they’ll blame you. You should concentrate on getting better."

No one knew better than Eleven Miss if his leg problems were genuine.

Lord Xu listened and smiled faintly, then abruptly asked, "Did you speak with the concubines?"

Eleven Miss recalled how Fifth Aunt had advised her like a child before she left, and she couldn’t help but smile brightly. "Yes, she told me to look after Mother and serve you well."

Lord Xu’s eyes suddenly darkened, and his expression grew serious. He abruptly stood up, slipped on his shoes, and called for Chunmo and Xiayi to help him change and wash up. "...It’s snowing outside, so I’ll stay here tonight." With that, he turned and entered the washroom.

During this period, the two had maintained a certain distance, and Eleven Miss had gradually grown accustomed to him staying over.

Hearing this, she called for Lv Yun, "Go and inform Qiao Lianfang that His Lordship has something to attend to today and won’t be going over."

Lv Yun smiled and left to deliver the message.

Eleven Miss went to make the bed.

Soon, Lord Xu came out of the washroom and went straight to bed. He pulled out a copy of "Zuo Zhuan" from the bedside and leaned over to read it by the light of the goat-horn lantern placed on a small stool.

Eleven Miss suggested, "Lord Xu, why don’t we switch sides?"

Since their marriage, Lord Xu had always slept on the inside, while she slept on the outside. If Lord Xu wanted to read, the light would shine on her face, forcing her to turn toward him. Once, she woke up to find her face buried in his chest, which had been quite awkward.

Lord Xu glanced at her, "Too much trouble. We’ll talk about it tomorrow." Then he lowered his head again.

Eleven Miss was frustrated.

She really wanted to ask if all feudal aristocratic couples were like this, with the man sleeping on the inside and the woman on the outside... but there was no one she could ask.

She stood by the bed for a moment, thinking that in such cold weather, she should take care of herself, so she took off her clothes and got into bed.

But before she could pull up the covers, she was tightly embraced by a pair of arms, and her body was enveloped in warmth.

"Why are you so slow even when going to bed?" His tone carried a hint of complaint.

Who else could it be but Lord Xu?

Since the day they had started sharing a quilt, the other quilt had been left unused.

In the dead of winter, having someone to keep her warm was something Eleven Miss didn’t mind.

Eleventh Miss nestled obediently in his arms.

Marquis Xu helped tuck the blanket tightly around her while instructing, "Go to the storeroom early tomorrow morning and pick out a few suitable gifts. I’ll be visiting Prince Shun in the afternoon."

Eleventh Miss was stunned.

Why would he suddenly mention visiting Prince Shun at a time like this?

And during his "serious illness"... It reminded her of that suspiciously cheap magic cube!

"Marquis..." She didn’t know how to respond.

Her voice betrayed her worry.

"Stop overthinking," Marquis Xu interrupted her, leaning over to blow out the lamp. "Go to sleep!"

His hand casually slid under her clothes...