Chapter 79 Countermeasures (Pink Ticket 510)

  Eleventh daughter was in a very good mood... returned home and found "The Grand Sui Nine Regions Gazette" leaned against the window on the big kang to read.

  Dong Qing invited Hu Po outside for a talk.

  They knew that the marriage was not going to work out. The eleventh daughter still wanted to become a nun, and both of them felt heartbroken, not knowing what to say. Just as they were staring at each other in dismay, they saw Mrs. Xu's mother and several maid-like people surrounding Du's mother, who had just walked in with Mrs. Xu.

  The two were startled, and Mrs. Du had already seen Amber and Wintergreen, smiling and greeting them: "What are the two girls doing standing here? Where is Miss Eleven?"

  Amber and Wintergreen hurried forward to pay their respects to Du's mother, smiling: "Our young lady is reading books in the house, we're afraid of disturbing her, so we came out for a walk."

  "Ah!" Madam Du's eyes sparkled slightly as she smiled and said, "I've brought something on behalf of the elderly madam to give to Eleventh Miss. I also trouble the two young ladies to inform her." Her tone was extremely polite.

  The people around Tai Fu Ren didn't dare to slack off. Dong Qing personally went to report, and the amber curtain was lifted to welcome Du Mama into the house.

  Du's mother saw that the house was decorated with orchids and green leaves on the long table, and the arrangement was very elegant. She couldn't help but nod her head in approval. Then she looked at Shiyi Niang, who was wearing a half-new, half-old stone blue bottom white face embroidered jacket, set off by a plain face. Although her eyes were red, they sparkled exceptionally brightly.

  She smiled and bowed to the eleventh girl, saying: "Madam said that the fan is embroidered finely and she likes it very much. It just so happens that our apricot tree has borne fruit, so I brought some for Miss Eleventh to try." As she spoke, a small maid behind her handed over a box.

  Amber took the box from the side, Eleventh Girl thanked Madame Tao's kindness, and after a few pleasantries, Du Mama stood up to bid farewell.

  Brought apricot child...

  The eleventh girl felt suspicious and ordered Amber to open the box.

  A small box of green apricot kernels, only slightly larger than lotus seeds, obviously unripe and inedible at first glance.

  Her complexion changed slightly, and she immediately ordered Amber: "Go ask quickly, what did Madam Du say to the old lady?"

  Amber heard this and vaguely understood something in her heart, so she immediately went to Coral.

  She came back after a while: "Miss, Du's mother didn't come alone. She was accompanied by Old Master Huang from the Yongchang Marquis' manor. It is said that Old Master Huang was entrusted by the old madam to propose a marriage. The master has already agreed and personally wrote Miss's birthdate and handed it over to Old Master Huang to take back to the Yongping Marquis' manor."

  Eleventh Sister was taken aback: "Could it be that Fifth Brother's words were untrue?"

  "No." Amber shook her head gently, "The old lady knew about this matter, so she sent Du's mother to see the madam. She also said that the Xu family is not a person who forgets gratitude and betrays trust. Since the two families have agreed on the engagement, they should follow through with it. Let the madam just focus on preparing the dowry. The wedding will take place when the duke returns. The madam was delighted and was discussing with the eldest sister-in-law about preparing the dowry for the young lady!"

  The eleventh girl took a deep breath of cool air.

  She had considered it before. Since the emperor stopped the empress dowager's family from entering the palace, on one hand it shows that the emperor now has the ability to stop them, and on the other hand it also subtly reveals the emperor's attitude towards the empress dowager's family approaching the core of politics. She thought that since Xu Lingyi was not at home, the Xu family might not have noticed. Unexpectedly, Madame Xu turned out to be a woman who didn't yield to men. Not only did she notice, but she also took decisive action and immediately reacted...

  She underestimated Xu's family of Yongping Prefecture!

  The expression on Xiāng Niáng's face gradually became somewhat solemn.

  Dong Qing was overjoyed: "Heaven is merciful! Master Hou has not let our family's young lady down."

  What's this?

  Eleventh Sister didn't bat an eyelid.

  Xu's family didn't want to disappoint was the honor of their family... but thinking that Dong Qing was kind-hearted, she swallowed back the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

  Binju nodded in agreement, nodding repeatedly: "Who says it's not. Master Hou will be back in May, but hopefully nothing unexpected happens." Then asked Huopo: "You say is that right?"

  Amber seemed a bit distracted, and when Binju asked her, she responded with an "oh" and said vaguely: "Everyone agrees, I don't have any opinion!"

  Binju was slightly displeased.

  Ever since Amber showed off at the Tenth Girl's house, she had been keeping a distance from Amber.

  Eleventh Sister saw it with her own eyes, but her heart was slightly moved.

  "...I went when he was reading a book. It was "The Nine Regions of the Great Zhou". The cover was worn and had some hair on it, it should be something he often reads in his daily life. He wore a half-new, half-old stone blue robe, his eyes were red, as if he had cried. But his expression looked very calm."

  The old lady nodded slightly: "I didn't expect that at her young age, she could be so calm. I was still a bit worried about her. Now it seems, it was unnecessary."

  "What's the excess?" Du's mother laughed, "You're being protective of her! If she knew, who knows how grateful she'd be." She continued, "When I went there, judging from the looks on the faces of the Luo family members, they should have known about this matter. At that time, when I mentioned my intention, everyone in the Luo family showed joy on their faces. I also had some worries about Miss Eleven, just like you. Who knew that after meeting Miss Eleven, she seemed no different from usual? Not to mention anything else, just her composure alone is enough to match up with His Excellency."

  Madam Xu nodded her head, a few threads of comfort flashing in the bottom of her eyes: "This is good, this is good. I only hope that after she marries into our family, she will be diligent and virtuous, teach her children well, and bring prosperity to the Xu family." She then asked: "What did the Luo family say?"

  "Madam said that in these two days, Miss Ten's marriage will be settled. Let you not worry, the marriage can proceed smoothly."

  Old Mrs. You was somewhat surprised: "Has Miss Wei's marriage already been settled?"

  Du's mother smiled and said: "I heard that tone, it's already settled. However, the old lady didn't say much, so I couldn't ask more. Otherwise, I'll send someone to inquire about it."

  "No need." The old lady shook her head disapprovingly, "She's always liked to pretend and play tricks, it's better if we don't get involved in trivial matters." The conversation between the two gradually shifted to Xu Lingyi's marriage. "The date is set so hastily, but the formalities can't be neglected. Let San'er renovate the small courtyard on the east side of the upper house, make it a new house. As for furniture and such, there's no need to bother with the Luo family, rushing about won't get us anything good anyway. I remember I have a set of flower pear wood dowry, let's give it to them! You take a look later, see where in the courtyard needs some flowers and plants, hurry up and do it before the summer solstice arrives. I heard that when the Luo family married off their fifth daughter, they had four maidservants and two accompanying rooms. If eleven niang comes over, I'm afraid it won't be enough. As for Yuan niang's original servants, if she wants to keep them, she can keep them, otherwise they'll just stay in their original courtyard as servants. You carefully select a few clever maidservants and kitchen staff..." Every detail was meticulously entrusted.

  On the other side, the old master had already sent someone to invite Master Wang. Hearing that the Luo family wanted to advance the wedding, and thinking of the rumors about the Yongping Hou Mansion in the past two days, he understood a few points in his heart, smiled and fixed the date with the old master on May 12th, and the welcoming day was set on May 20th.

  The lady was very satisfied with what she heard.

  The old master couldn't help but feel a little uneasy: "I've wronged you, Shi Niang!"

  The lady turned up her nose and didn't say a word, discussing with the old master about their dowry.

  "For the tenth daughter, it's the same as for the fifth daughter. As for the eleventh daughter, I think we should give her a bit more. Although they both have twenty-four dowry boxes, the quality of the items is better and there are more things in them... also to avoid her having a hard time when she marries into the Xu family!"

  The old master was too lazy to discuss these trivial matters with the old lady, and simply said: "You're in charge of these things. Just don't let people gossip!"

  The old lady smiled and said: "Don't worry, sir, I won't let people gossip."

  Who would have known that the next day, when Wang's steward accompanied Master Wang to take the dowry list to the government office to handle the marriage certificate, the steward whispered: "Only one courtyard, a hundred acres of land!" with an extremely disdainful tone.

  The old master heard clearly, his face turned purple with anger. He said: "Our family is not just one girl, neither will be wronged nor can we lift one and make others lose face. If you think it's not good, then return the eight characters of our daughter!"

  The people of the Wang family did not expect the old master to be so tough and were at a loss for what to do at the time.

  Mr. Wang's face also looked very bad. He stared at the manager fiercely and said coldly, "Am I the matchmaker or are you the matchmaker?" Then he explained, "Miss Luo's fields are near Hangzhou Prefecture, not near Baoding Prefecture. It's really unclear!" Only then did he suppress the manager of the Wang family.

  The eleventh girl knew and felt depressed.

  Hangzhou is a place of prosperity, with very little land. Having 20 or 30 mu of land is already considered a wealthy household. Unlike the north, where having over a thousand mu of land is nothing out of the ordinary. Look at the Wang family - not only do they lack knowledge, but also refinement... Compared to Qian Ming, one can tell at a glance what kind of people the Luo family are. In comparison, he also has some redeeming qualities.

  Eleventh daughter thought happily in her bitter situation.

  She has her own worries too.

  Judging from the current situation, there may still be some twists and turns in the marriage. But since Xu's family dares to do this, they must have some confidence.

  Thinking of Tai Fu Ren... Shi Yi Niang had a faint feeling that she would eventually marry into the Xu family after all!

  She never lived a life of chance and had to consider the people around her in advance.

  When the fifth daughter-in-law got married, she brought all her personal maids with her except for two who stayed behind to attend to the rooms. These past two days, the eldest daughter-in-law bought two more maids and two people came into the house, supposedly to prepare for the tenth daughter-in-law's arrival. It seems that I can only bring four maids, including the two room attendants... Anyway, the Luo family wants to maintain a fair balance on the surface.

  Who to take with me is still a problem!

  Eleventh Sister asked Amber: "...... What should we do?"

  A few serious expressions flowed out on Amber's face.

  She knew this was a crossroads and an opportunity she had been working hard for eleven years serving the eleventh lady.

  Although she said that the big wife would reward her, going to Miss Eleven Xu's house would definitely take her there. But what about after taking her there? How could the big wife turn against Miss Eleven for a maid? Moreover, she had been carefully observing Miss Eleven and found that she was not as gentle and kind as everyone said - her gentleness was accompanied by estrangement and politeness, and her kindness was accompanied by low-key and tolerance. What made her feel most shocked was that Miss Eleven never complained.

  No matter if she was treated unfairly or heard some unpleasant rumors, she remained as calm as water, neither anxious nor impatient... Come to think of it, Miss Eleven was still just a 13- or 14-year-old little girl!

  Every time she thought of this, Amber's heart was slightly afraid.

  What would be the scene if Miss Eleven got angry?

  She didn't hesitate for a moment and said, "Dongqing sister is already 20 years old this year, there are many things at home, and the old lady hasn't thought of it yet. If you leave, I'm afraid she will casually find a young man to marry her." Amber frankly said everything she could think of, "Dongqing sister must be taken away. Binju serves the miss very diligently. Zhu Xiang may not speak much, but he was introduced by his aunt, and I think they are all good. As for Qiujie, although she is clever, she is a born child... We went to the Xu family, and there are some things that she may not be able to find out."

  That is to say, Dong Qing, Bin Ju and Zhu Xiang are all loyal to her. Qiu Ju used to have an advantage because her parents were in the Luo family and could help her gather information, but now that she's gone to the Xu family, her advantage is gone. If one of the five people has to be eliminated, then eliminate Qiu Ju.

  Very insightful.

  However, one very important reason she let Qiu Ju stay was that she didn't want to put Qiu Ju in a difficult position. After all, no one knew what would happen after she went to the Xu's house. Especially since they didn't know what demands the madam would make of her. If it were just a matter of saving Ge Er's life, then that was something she should do, and it wouldn't be a problem. The thing is, she was afraid the madam had other ideas...

  Sorry to disappoint everyone... Hehe... The eleventh girl can't go to the temple!