Chapter 515

Chapter 521: Loss (Part 1)

That evening, back in their room, Lord Xu pinched Eleven-Niang’s nose and said, "What mischief have you been up to?"

Eleven-Niang turned her face away with a laugh. "Did you see through it, my lord?"

"Danyang was laughing so conspicuously—how could I pretend not to notice?"

Eleven-Niang giggled. "I just thought Third Madam was too stingy and wanted to give her a taste of her own medicine. But I didn’t want to hurt her too much, so I came up with this plan. It kept up appearances, gave the gifts to Brother Qin and his bride, and didn’t leave Third Madam truly worse off!"

Lord Xu pondered briefly before chuckling. "This was Danyang’s idea, wasn’t it?"

"So sure of yourself!"

Eleven-Niang pouted. "How do you know it wasn’t my idea?"

"You?" Lord Xu tapped her nose playfully. "You’re not the type to hatch such a cheeky plot."

Eleven-Niang laughed. "Don’t underestimate me, my lord!"

Lord Xu hugged her. "Maybe after learning from Danyang for a few years, you’ll pick up a trick or two..." Then he added softly, "You lost a kingfisher-feather hair clasp—I’ll make it up to you tomorrow." With that, he headed into the washroom, smiling.

Eleven-Niang stared at Lord Xu’s retreating figure, not knowing whether to be amused or exasperated.

So, in his eyes, she was this naïve?

Still, thinking back on today’s events, she couldn’t help but admire Fifth Madam.

She had initially worried things might backfire, but Fifth Madam had confidently reassured her, "Third Madam will definitely take the bait, and Lady Gan will jump in to help once you speak up. Don’t worry—it’ll work!" Every piece fell into place—they’d pulled it off flawlessly.

I just wonder if Grandmother Hong has teamed up with the Fifth Lady.

At this thought, she couldn't help but smile faintly.

Mother Gu brought Jingge over: "Madam, look, this is the gift from the First Young Lady for the Sixth Young Master."

Jingge wore a tiger-head cap, intricately made and brightly colored, fitting him perfectly. Not only that, it even had a tiger tail at the back, quite an innovative touch.

Perhaps because the weather wasn't cold enough to warrant wearing a hat, Jingge kept trying to pull it off, but he couldn't, which made his little face turn red with frustration.

Eleven Lady smiled and took off the hat, and Jingge immediately pounced into her arms, pouting in a way that conveyed his grievance.

"Put the hat away!" Eleven Lady smiled and stroked her son's head. Looking down, she noticed that Jingge was also wearing a pair of tiger-head shoes, with the tiger's whiskers black and straight. Upon closer inspection, they were actually made of copper wire wrapped in black velvet.

"The First Young Lady really put some thought into it!" Mother Gu praised again, then took off the shoes and replaced them with black silk shoes with the character 'Fu' on them.

Suddenly, Eleven Lady felt a bit envious of the Third Lady.

If only Jingge could marry such a daughter-in-law in the future.

The thought flashed through her mind, and she found herself somewhat ridiculous for thinking about marriage so early. Xu Siyu's wedding was still far from certain!

She coaxed Jingge to sleep.

Meanwhile, the Fifth Lady was having a heart-to-heart talk with Grandmother Hong.

"Every time, she acts so pretentious. If I don't stir things up, the Xu family would lose face," the Fifth Lady said, serving Grandmother Hong with newly available persimmon cakes and oranges. "I really don't understand what the Third Sister is thinking!" She added, "But it did cost the three sisters-in-law a lot!" "Is there ever a time like this to show off!" Grandmother Hong picked up a Hangzhou cake with her chopsticks and laughed, "Don't talk about costs. Your eldest sister-in-law can afford these things. I just didn't expect the Fourth Sister-in-law to help you act out the drama. Otherwise, how would you have managed? You might have lost your hairpin for nothing!"

"Don't be misled by the eldest sister-in-law. The Fourth Sister is the best at calculating..." The Fifth Lady disagreed, peeling an orange casually, "Don't forget, she has four sons. She can easily make up for what she gives away." Grandmother Hong laughed heartily, "You're still young. Who knows, maybe next year I'll have to send congratulations again..."

The Fifth Wife pursed her lips and smiled.

He Xiang came in to report, "Madam, the fifth master said he will be drinking with Third Young Master Ding tonight and asked you not to wait up for him." The Fifth Wife acknowledged with an "Understood," then invited Madam Hong to stay, "Why not stay here tonight?" "I should head back first," Madam Hong declined as she stood up to leave. "With Siqin's wedding, your eldest and second cousins are both occupied. Third Uncle accompanied us here and is now drinking in the outer courtyard. As the eldest sister-in-law, I can't very well leave my two younger sisters-in-law alone. Besides, there's also your nephew’s wife..."

The Fifth Wife didn’t press further and smilingly escorted Madam Hong to the guest quarters. Early the next morning, she went to fetch Madam Hong and the others for breakfast in the flower hall, only to find Eleven Miss already there, chatting softly with Madam Fu and others. Seeing her enter, Third Wife pulled the Fifth Wife aside, "Who would’ve thought you’d be such a spitfire! Let me tell you, when our second son gets married, you’d better watch out!"

"No need to fret," the Fifth Wife laughed. "I’ll definitely make a trip to Nanjing. Then you can have your way with me..."

Amidst the laughter, they all went together to pay respects to the elder madam.

The elder madam spent a long time talking with the two granddaughters-in-law from Nanjing and bestowed some gifts upon them. Third Wife arrived with her daughter-in-law to greet the elder madam and presented Fang Shi’s wedding night cloth for inspection.

Pleased, the elder madam took the blushing Fang Shi, who dared not raise her head, to the flower hall for breakfast. Then, Lord Xu led them to the ancestral hall for the temple rites. Arrangements were made to send Xu Siqin and Fang Shi back to her family home. The rest of the day was spent chatting, playing cards, and drinking with Madam Hong and others, enjoying themselves thoroughly until Xu Siqin and Fang Shi returned from the borrowed Liu family villa before retiring.

Zhuxiang took the opportunity while helping Eleven Miss remove her makeup to whisper, "Since the wedding was held at the mansion, the arrangements were handled by the stewards and servants from the household office. All congratulatory gifts were also registered there. I heard that as soon as the eldest young master and his wife left, Old Gan went to the household office to inquire about the ledger. Seeing Manager Zhao in charge, he didn’t dare ask and left after a quick look. Third Wife seethed for a good while..."

Eleven Miss began to understand the elder madam’s intentions.

Since the wedding was held at the mansion, the expenses should naturally come from the household accounts, and thus the gifts should also go to the family treasury. There was no reason to take them out.

Those familiar with weddings and funerals know that funerals require rituals, monks, and Taoists for ceremonies, purchasing burial plots, hiring mourners, etc.—all costly affairs, with larger events incurring greater losses. Unlike weddings, where the biggest expense is the banquet, and more guests mean more gifts, especially for the bride. With over 300 tables at Xu Siqin’s wedding, the Xu family came out ahead. No wonder Third Wife became agitated.

But from the elder madam’s tone, it seemed she had no intention of settling accounts with Third Wife.

"Keep an eye out," Eleven Miss instructed Zhuxiang. "See what Third Wife does next." Zhuxiang acknowledged.

A few days later, after Madam Hong and the others returned to Nanjing, she quietly informed Eleven Miss, "Third Wife went to see the elder madam about Qiu Ling!"

Most in the mansion had heard what the elder madam said that day. Some even jokingly called Qiu Ling "concubine..." Lately, Qiu Ling had been avoiding public appearances.

Remembering Qiu Ling’s past kindness, Eleven Miss grew concerned about her future. "Hmm..." she murmured, "What was said?" Zhuxiang whispered, "Third Wife claimed she had long betrothed Qiu Ling to one of Third Young Master’s attendants. First, Qiu Ling’s humble status made it unworthy of reporting; second, the elder madam’s words that day were abrupt, leaving no room for rebuttal. Now that the second young master’s affairs were settled, she wanted to clarify. Loyalty and filial piety are hard to balance, so she acted as a foolish wife to spare Third Young Master the dilemma." Eleven Miss partly relieved, mused, "Was this betrothal arranged hastily, or was it truly prearranged, as Third Wife claims?"

Zhuxiang said, "I’d never heard of it before!"

Meaning it might just be an excuse to deflect the elder madam. Who knew what kind of man this attendant was?

Eleven Miss frowned. "The elder madam only meant to reprimand Third Wife. With this explanation, she surely won’t bring it up again."

"Mm," Zhuxiang nodded with a smile. "The elder madam simply advised Third Wife to ensure the young master has someone to look after him while away and said no more. Third Wife, as if afraid of complications, asked the elder madam to set a date for Qiu Ling. The elder madam consulted the almanac and chose the 18th of October..."

"So soon!" Eleven Miss murmured. "When the time comes, remember to give Qiu Ling ten taels from me as a wedding gift." Zhuxiang acknowledged, just as a maid entered to announce, "Madam, the elder madam requests your presence." What could it be about?

Eleven Miss and Zhuxiang exchanged a glance.

...

The elder madam was reclining on the window-side kang, playing cards with Madam Du, Yu Ban, and Zhi Hong, another lower-ranking maid. Seeing Eleven Miss enter, she immediately tossed her cards aside and patted the scarlet brocade cushion beside her. "Come, sit here." Madam Du and the others stood up at once.

Eleven Miss smiled and curtsied to the elder madam before sitting beside her. The elder madam took her hand as Zhi Hong swiftly cleared the cards and Yu Ban served tea.

Once the others had withdrawn, the elder madam mused, "Yuge’s fifteen now..."

Was she thinking of Xu Siyu’s wedding now that Xu Siqin was married?

After a moment’s thought, Eleven Miss smiled and replied, "He will turn fifteen on the twenty-fifth of October, entering his sixteenth year." Elder Madam nodded slightly, a satisfied look in her eyes, and said softly, "He's of a fitting age now and has already completed the mourning period. You should pay more attention to his personal matters. Pick two presentable and loyal girls to attend to him in his quarters." Eleven Miss was momentarily taken aback before realizing what she meant.

She couldn’t help but feel a chill of apprehension.

Xu Sizhun hadn’t even graduated from middle school yet!

However, this was the norm of the times, so she couldn’t oppose it. She smiled and agreed, then went back to discuss it with Lord Xu.

"There’s no need to rush this, is there? We should be careful not to harm his health..."

"He’s of a fitting age now," Lord Xu said dismissively. "It’s already late September now. If he returns to Le’an, the journey back and forth would take up too much time. I’ve written a letter to Mr. Jiang, suggesting that Yuge return to Le’an next spring instead. That would be the ideal time to arrange his household matters!" Eleven Miss could only say, "This isn’t something that can be done in a hurry. We can’t just place disruptive influences in his chamber—it’d be better not to assign anyone at all."

Lord Xu laughed and replied, "Where lies the difficulty in this? If his future wife is obedient and Yuge wants to keep them, then they can stay. If not, we can simply send them away..."