Chapter 554

Chapter 560: Bowing Down (Part 2)

Eleven Miss voiced her confusion.

"It shouldn't be," Lord Xu replied firmly. "Mother wouldn't interfere lightly in the daughters-in-law’s affairs. Others might think the wives incompetent. Otherwise, Third Brother’s situation wouldn’t have gotten so out of hand." As he spoke, both of them paused in realization.

Xu Sijian, his cousin, was only a few days younger than Xu Siyu. Logically, his marriage should also be arranged soon.

However, Elder Madam had been rather distant toward Third Madam lately. Upon closer thought, the possibility seemed slim.

Fortunately, Lord Xu was open-minded and chuckled, "No matter who the match is for, Mother will surely discuss it with us parents first. We’ll cross that bridge when she brings it up." He quickly dismissed the speculation and asked about Jin Geer’s time at Yunju Temple. "From his tone, it seems you spent the whole afternoon together?"

"Yes," Eleven Miss couldn’t help but smile at the memory of her son. "Everything amazed him. If I hadn’t shown him picture books beforehand, he might not have recognized chickens, ducks, cows, or sheep." She sighed slightly.

Lord Xu fell silent for a long moment.

Two days later, Steward Bai delivered pheasants, mandarin ducks, white cranes, and peacocks, along with other exotic birds.

"What’s all this for?" Eleven Miss frowned. "The courtyard will be a mess of droppings!"

But Jin Geer shrieked with excitement and lunged at a peacock, grabbing its tail. The slow-moving bird was caught off guard, startled by the pain, and flapped wildly around the courtyard. Jin Geer triumphantly waved the plucked feather at Eleven Miss. "Fan! Like Father’s fan!"

A peacock-feather fan hung in Lord Xu’s study.

Eleven Miss didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She crouched down and chided him, "These are the peacock’s clothes. You can’t just take their clothes! See?" She pointed at his little white shirt. "You’re wearing clothes too!"

Jin Geer nodded eagerly and chased after the peacock, determined to stick the feather back on.

But the peacock, now frantic, wouldn’t let him, flapping madly around the courtyard. The pheasants leaped onto the artificial rockery, the mandarin ducks hid under the canna flowers, and the white cranes flapped their enormous wings. Maids and serving women shrieked and ducked for cover, while others rolled up their sleeves to help Jin Geer catch the peacock. Zhuxiang trembled as she shielded Eleven Miss. "Madam, you should go inside. A Jin is with Jin Geer—we’ll handle this. If these birds jump on you, it’ll be disastrous!"

But Eleven Miss was worried about Jin Geer. "Quick, bring him here!"

Hong Wen rushed forward but was swatted aside by a crane’s wing.

Amid the chaos, Lord Xu walked in.

"What’s going on?" He stared in disbelief.

Eleven Miss looked at him as if he were a savior. "My lord, quick—grab that crane!"

Lord Xu strode forward and seized the crane by its wings. The bird let out a piercing shriek, startling everyone in the Xu household.

"Who keeps sacred cranes in the courtyard?" Elder Madam scolded Lord Xu lightly as she fed Jin Geer, now bathed and in fresh clothes, some mung bean soup. "Have them moved to the back garden at once!"

Lord Xu had originally planned to let Jin Geer play with them for a couple of days before relocating them, but things had spiraled out of control.

Sheepishly, he complied and ordered Sui Feng, the newly selected attendant, to move the cranes and other birds to the back garden.

Jin Geer hastily swallowed his mung bean soup and protested, "Father! They’re mine! Mine!"

Elder Madam laughed heartily and instructed Sui Feng, "Go tie red ribbons around their legs." She hugged Jin Geer dotingly. "They all belong to our Jin Geer. They’re yours alone."

Jin Geer beamed at that.

His smile lit up the room.

Elder Madam adored it. She had Madam Du bring him a jade cicada carving. "Isn’t it pretty?"

The jade was translucent, gleaming with a watery light.

Elevenniang, being a connoisseur, couldn't help but exclaim, "Mother!"

Jin'ge held it in his hands, examining it left and right with great curiosity.

The Dowager waved her hand dismissively, "Everything comes to those meant to have it. Even if I give it to him, he might not necessarily want it."

Before the words left her mouth, Jin'ge had already tucked it into his pocket.

The Dowager broke into laughter and planted two loud kisses on Jin'ge's cheeks, "I knew you'd like it!"

Elevenniang didn't know what to say.

She shot a glance at Lord Xu.

Lord Xu remained unperturbed.

Elderly people dote on little ones, and Jin'ge was lively and adorable. Giving him some harmless little trinkets to play with was nothing worth fussing over.

He smiled and patted his son's head before going to see to Sui Feng's arrangements.

Zhi Hong entered, "Dowager, Third Madam is here."

The Dowager nodded absentmindedly, "Show her in."

Elevenniang moved to pick up Jin'ge.

"No need," the Dowager stopped her, "The child was just all sweaty and has only just settled down. Let him sit here and drink some chilled mung bean soup to cool off. Don’t make him run around with you again. The weather is too hot now, unlike usual."

Elevenniang had no choice but to remain where she was.

Third Madam entered all smiles. Seeing the Dowager feeding Jin'ge mung bean soup, she quickly said, "Our Jin'ge is here too!"

Jin'ge seized the moment before the Dowager's spoon reached him to shout, "Third Aunt!"

"Oh my," Third Madam beamed even brighter, "Our Jin'ge is so well-behaved, no wonder he’s Mother's favorite." Her tone carried an exaggerated flattery.

The Dowager ignored her and continued feeding Jin'ge.

Elevenniang felt ill at ease but stepped forward to greet her with a smile.

Only then did the Dowager look up and instruct a maid to bring a stool for Third Madam to sit on. She then handed the empty bowl to Elevenniang beside her, took out a handkerchief to wipe Jin'ge’s eyes, and finally turned to Third Madam, "I called you here to discuss something."

Hearing this, Elevenniang was surprised.

Could it be related to the matter between Third Madam and Fang Shi?

She listened intently.

The Dowager continued, "Sijian is not getting any younger, and you still haven’t found him a suitable match. I happen to know a family..." She briefly introduced Miss Jin, "That young lady is both beautiful and virtuous, an ideal match for our Sijian. I’ll make the decision for him. Decide on a matchmaker and go propose to the Jin family in the next couple of days."

Third Madam was struck dumb, unable to recover for a long time.

She never dreamed the Dowager would interfere in Xu Sijian’s marriage, let alone propose a family of such humble status...

"Mother, this won’t do!" Third Madam couldn’t help but cry out, "Making our Sijian call some lowly measurer from East Street his father-in-law..."

The Dowager favored her with an icy glare that sent a chill down Third Madam’s spine. But thinking of her son, she mustered her courage to continue, though her voice involuntarily dropped, "Our Sijian holds a position in the Imperial Guards, after all. If his colleagues find out, how will he show his face?" At this point, she trailed off with a shudder.

Her son’s post had been obtained by the Dowager, and now she was arranging his marriage... Had the Dowager had this in mind from the start when she found him the job?

Third Madam couldn't help but look up at the Elder Madam.

She saw a cold smile playing on the Elder Madam's lips: "So, you don't agree to this match?"

No, she didn't—not in a thousand years, not in ten thousand.

But if she said it outright, the Elder Madam would surely be furious. Would she summon her husband to reprimand him? Her lending money at high interest had already landed him in trouble, costing him his official position and leaving him idle at home. What if she even had Xu Lingkuan intervene with the Board of War to have their son’s position revoked...

Third Madam's mind was a tangled mess, her lips trembling without a word.

Though Jin Geer was too young to understand, he could sense the tension between the adults.

He quietly slipped out of the Elder Madam's arms and threw himself into Lady Eleven's embrace.

Lady Eleven held her son, gently patting his back to soothe him.

The Elder Madam watched and smiled faintly: "Since you have no objections, the matter is settled." Then she called for Madam Du, "Take my calling card and invite Madam Huang of the Yongchang Marquisate. I recall she handled Qin Ge'er's matchmaking with great propriety—let's trouble her again to act as matchmaker for Xu Sijian’s engagement to the Jin family."

Madam Du responded with a smile and left with a rustle of the curtain.

The sound of the curtain made Third Madam shudder.

No—there was already a scheming vixen in the house. Though she had kept her son in the inner chamber, he wouldn't even glance at the maids she sent. Just yesterday morning, Xing Jiao had reported that when Fang Shi came to pay respects and left the room, she had locked eyes with him, flirting shamelessly.

The audacity! To behave like that in public—where was the dignity befitting a proper young lady?

The thought made her blood boil.

She had to find someone who would stand with her. Otherwise, how could she suppress Fang Shi?

A family like the Jins—even she looked down on them, let alone Fang Shi. If such a girl married in, wouldn't she just become easy prey for Fang Shi to manipulate?

She could hold back no longer and knelt before the Elder Madam.

"Mother," Third Madam clutched the Elder Madam's sleeve, "It's not that I disagree with the match, but I haven't met the Jin family's daughter yet. I'm just worried..."

"I’ve lived longer than you’ve walked far," the Elder Madam pulled her sleeve free, "Do you think I can't judge the girl's character?"

Third Madam hurriedly said, "That's not—"

"Since it's 'not,' then say no more." The Elder Madam cut her off before she could finish. "The matter is settled. Remember to bring me Xu Sijian's birth horoscope tomorrow." She then pretended to ponder and added, "If I recall correctly, he was born in the hour of the boar, wasn't he?"

Birth horoscopes determined one's fate. If they fell into the wrong hands, they could even be used for curses. That was why newborns' birth announcements were delayed—to obscure the true timing from ill-wishers.

By specifying the hour, the Elder Madam had essentially revealed Xu Sijian's birth horoscope. Even if Third Madam refused to provide them, the Elder Madam could still write them for the bride's family.

Resigned, Third Madam mumbled, "Yes."