Chapter 610

Chapter 617: Fury (Part 2)

"Both of you must now write a pledge letter to your grandmother, promising to study diligently under your tutor and never make such a mistake again," Lady Eleven said sternly, leveling a stern look at Xu Sizhun and Xu Sijie.

The boys nodded obediently and said, "Yes," then turned to leave for the study to write the pledge.

Just as they reached the door, Lady Eleven called them back: "Come back. I still have something to ask."

The two boys immediately hurried back to stand before her, hands at their sides, awaiting her next words.

Lady Eleven slowly drank some tea before speaking: "Is this *Cold Kiln Chronicles* musical score especially valuable?"

She had said all that needed saying, and what needed to be taken responsibility for must be faced. To deal with outsiders, internal affairs must first be in order. It would be troublesome to explain to Wang Yun if they couldn’t return the score.

Xu Sizhun looked uneasy: "It’s a complete copy of *Cold Kiln Chronicles*. It’s the first time I’ve seen one."

Lady Eleven thought for a moment, then called Zhuxiang in: "Go to Bowstring Lane now and ask my brother to help borrow a copy of the *Cold Kiln Chronicles* score by any means necessary. Tell him it’s urgently needed for me."

Many in the Hanlin Academy were opera aficionados—they should be able to find a copy.

"Mother!" Xu Sizhun and Xu Sijie looked up, their eyes shining with excitement, bright as the morning star.

Lady Eleven set her face sternly: "Don’t think this matter is over. Starting today, both of you must copy *Primer for Youth* ten times and reflect on what Tutor Zhao taught you from this book..."

Before she could finish, the two were already nodding repeatedly, their faces alight with happiness.

"Don’t celebrate too soon," Lady Eleven said, still stern. "Whether we can borrow it is uncertain. Go write your pledge now so we can apologize to your grandmother sooner."

They both answered "Yes" in unison, smiling as they left the inner chamber.

Through the curtain, Lady Eleven heard the faint but cheerful laughter of Xu Sizhun and Xu Sijie.

The corners of her lips also curved upward.

She sat in the sitting room, waiting for the children’s pledge letters.

Bi Luo and the others tiptoed in nervously with some snacks.

Jin Geer sat there, his eyes roving restlessly. After calming himself enough to eat a pastry, he could no longer sit still.

"Mother, I’ll go see if my brothers have finished writing their pledges," he said, sliding off the heated bed and dashing out in a hurry.

Lady Eleven chuckled.

Then her smile gradually faded as she began to reflect on Xu Sijie’s circumstances.

For now, it was best to maintain the status quo.

In two months, it would be the New Year. Once Xu Sijie made offerings at Lady Tong’s ancestral tablet, certain issues could be properly resolved.

At this thought, she sighed softly.

In the past, she had always shielded him. Some things that should have been dealt with, she pretended not to know, and others, not wanting to contradict her, followed her lead. Now that it was time to speak up, she found herself at a loss for words.

Fortunately, Lord Xu had offered a solution.

She felt somewhat reassured, and she took a few more sips of tea.

Jin Geer came running in with thunderous footsteps.

"Mother, mother, mother," he climbed onto the heated bed (kang), wrapping his arms around Lady Eleven's neck and whispering, "I'll tell you, Fourth Brother and Fifth Brother don't know how to write a written pledge," with a look of someone sharing a secret. "They're sitting there worrying about it!"

A written pledge... it was something from her era. Asking Xu Sizhun and Xu Sijie to write written pledges was indeed a bit difficult for them. But let them figure it out themselves. At their age, if adults had to step in for everything, it would be hard to let go later.

Lady Eleven smiled and patted her son's little bottom. "Go find a book. Let's play 'Word Hunt.'"

Jin Geer cheered up, loudly saying "Okay," then got off the kang and fetched a copy of *Primer for the Young*, nestling into his mother's arms to sit.

Lady Eleven flipped to a random page and pointed to the character "eight" in the phrase "The Xun brothers earned the fine reputation of the *Eight Dragons*." Jin Geer immediately pointed to the character "three" in the next line, "The He brothers of Hedong had the glorious name of the *Three Phoenixes*," and read it aloud. Lady Eleven then pointed to the character "great" in "The Duke of Zhou upheld great righteousness to show kinship," and Jin Geer pointed to "kinship" and read it out... They continued flipping through, recognizing over thirty characters before Jin Geer began to wriggle. "Mother, can I go see if my brothers have finished writing their written pledges?"

He wriggled in Lady Eleven's arms.

After all, this method of learning characters was a bit dull, and children his age usually couldn't sit still for long.

"Alright!" Lady Eleven smiled and set the book aside.

Jin Geer ran off to Xu Sizhun's study. Soon, he returned to tell Lady Eleven, "Fourth Brother sent Wang Shu to ask Mr. Zhao how to write a written pledge!"

Necessity sparks ingenuity—Xu Sizhun and Xu Sijie were finally starting to find ways to adapt.

Lady Eleven nodded with a smile and kissed her son's little cheek. "Shall we continue playing 'Word Hunt'?"

Jin Geer nodded.

Mother and son continued their word recognition game.

It wasn’t until nearly dusk that Jin Geer grew tired of "Word Hunt," as well as cat's cradle, tossed beanbags, and jump-rope. Only then did Xu Sizhun and Xu Sijie finally arrive, handing in two awkwardly phrased "written pledges."

Apologies were about sincerity. Presumably, the Dowager wouldn’t press the matter too harshly.

Lady Eleven took the children to see the Dowager.

The Dowager sighed softly as she read the written pledges, merely saying, "Don’t let this happen again," before having the maids serve the children’s favorite osmanthus-flavored sweets and walnut cakes.

Xu Sizhun let out a relieved sigh, picking out walnut cakes with more sesame seeds for Jin Geer.

Xu Sijie, meanwhile, sat on a nearby armchair, eating flake pastries with an absentminded look—unlike before, when even a plain steamed bun seemed like a delicacy to him, eaten with a beaming, focused smile.

Lady Eleven sighed inwardly.

Growth always comes at a price.

If he could learn something from this, it would be worth it.

Remembering the pile of tasks waiting in the reception hall, Lady Eleven stayed only briefly before excusing herself.

The Dowager kept the children to entertain her.

By the time Lady Eleven finished her work, it was already evening.

Because her instructions had come so late, the housekeepers hadn’t even had time to eat, rushing to complete the day’s tasks. The inner courtyard of the Xu household was brightly lit, with maids and older women hurrying about.

Lord Xu found it somewhat odd.

Lady Eleven was usually very efficient—why were the inner courtyard staff still so busy at this hour?

His page, Lantern (Deng Hua), observing his expression, quickly whispered, "Her Ladyship didn’t start giving orders until after dusk. The housekeepers are scrambling to prepare things for tomorrow’s preparations."

The news of Her Ladyship bypassing the marquis to punish the outer courtyard stewards had already spread throughout the household. This was, after all, a breach of protocol. No one knew what would happen next. All eyes turned to Lord Xu and Lady Eleven. Lantern’s voice was not only hushed but also carried a note of wariness.

Though she had lost her temper over Jin Ge'er's matter, Lady Eleven was not the kind of person who acted willfully or prioritized personal feelings over the bigger picture. Knowing full well how many tasks awaited today, why had she only given instructions to the mothers after the late afternoon?

Lord Xu found it even more peculiar.

Upon entering the room, he saw Lady Eleven having her meal. Only four or five small dishes were laid out on the kang-side table, and with no attendants nearby, the scene seemed rather deserted.

"How come you're back so early, my lord?" She stepped down from the kang to help him change clothes. "Have you eaten? Has your seventh brother-in-law and the others left?"

"I've eaten." Lord Xu waved for her to keep eating and had Qiuyu call a maid to assist him instead. "Grandfather Shao's seventieth birthday is at the end of the month, so Zhong Ran must return tomorrow. Zhu Anping and Zhen Xing arranged to visit the Hanlin Scholar Jin—one of his disciples was just promoted to prefect of Quanzhou. So we broke up early." As he spoke, he headed to the washroom. After washing up and changing, he returned to find Lady Eleven sitting there staring blankly while holding her bowl.

Hearing the movement, she looked up with a smile. "Would you like some more, my lord?"

"No need!" Lord Xu sat on the edge of the kang and took a sip of tea offered by the maid. "Please, go ahead."

Lady Eleven gave a soft "oh" and said nothing more, lowering her head to eat.

An awkward silence settled over the room.

Lord Xu was puzzled.

This morning, Lady Eleven had handled the outer courtyard stewards swiftly and severely. Though justified, it was still somewhat improper. Given her temperament, he expected her to offer some explanation upon seeing him—yet she seemed entirely distracted.

Recalling the scene he had witnessed earlier... Could there be something else he wasn't aware of?

Lord Xu studied Lady Eleven closely.

Her coiffure had come loose, a few stray strands falling by her cheeks. Her lowered eyelids and faint shadows beneath her eyes gave her a weary appearance.

"Lady Eleven," he softened his voice, reaching to tuck the stray hair behind her ear, "what's the matter?"

She looked up, her gaze slightly dazed, the dim lamplight lending her a delicate beauty.

"Has something happened?" Lord Xu asked gently. "You seem exhausted."

Lady Eleven was preoccupied with thoughts about the day's events.

It wasn’t as if they were performing opera at home or sneaking out to listen to one—Xu Sizhun and Xu Sijie had merely been copying musical scores in their room. Yet Ge Jin had promptly reported this to the elder madam, who not only personally went to Danbo Residence at once but also reprimanded both boys... How had Ge Jin known the elder madam was paying attention to such matters? Clearly, she had been instructed... And while Xu Sizhun didn’t dislike opera, he wasn’t particularly fond of it either. So the elder madam’s focus couldn’t have been on him—it must have been on Xu Sijie... For so many years, the elder madam had treated Xu Sijie’s presence as merely an extra mouth to feed, neither fond nor resentful. He was never left out during rewards, but neither did he receive special attention... When had the elder madam’s gaze shifted to Xu Sijie? Was it after Third Madam’s grandson’s first month celebration? Or when Xu Sijie began accompanying the ladies to operas?

Though the elder madam had dismissed the matter lightly when she brought the children to apologize, what was she truly thinking? Would she later find another excuse to discipline Xu Sijie?

Lady Eleven was uncertain.

Startled by Lord Xu’s call, she looked up into eyes brimming with concern.

She had been so absorbed in her thoughts that she’d forgotten about Lord Xu!

Lady Eleven offered an apologetic smile.