Volume 1 Chapter 90 Return to the Door

  Madam Tai hastily invited Luo Zhenxing to come in.

  Lu Zhenxing made a bow to the madam, and presented her with a red lacquer decorated golden food box containing a ceramic bowl of glutinous rice, two carp, and a plate of meat pie.

  Du's mother received them and served Xu Lingyi and Eleventh Lady a meal.

  Madam Tai then invited Luo Zhenxing to sit down and talk.

  Xu Lingyi and Shiyi Niang symbolically ate some, then bid farewell to Tai Furen, and followed Luo Zhenxing to Gongxian Hutong.

  Luo Zhendai, Yu Yiqing and Qian Ming waited at the gate, saw the carriage, and went forward to greet them.

  After dismounting from the carriage and exchanging greetings, Xu Lianyi and Shier Niang went to see Master and Mistress.

  Second Lady, Third Lady, Fourth Girl, Fifth Girl, Tenth Girl, Big Nai, San Nainai and others including Luo Zhenkai, Luo Zhenyu, Wang Lang were all waiting for them in the house.

  Eleventh saw tenth and was quite surprised, but looking at her calm expression, she felt a little comforted in her heart.

  Wang Huan saw Xu Lingyi's expression was somewhat unpredictable, but he still stepped forward and saluted him.

  Xu Lingyi smiled and nodded at Wang Lang, her attitude very cold.

  The women, however, were different. They surrounded Shiyi and chattered away, with Erniang laughing loudly: "Our First Lady has returned." This made Shiyi somewhat uncomfortable - after all, being ignored for so long and suddenly being thrust into the spotlight was a process that anyone would need to get used to. Fortunately, Shiyi had encountered many strange things before, and she smiled as she called out to Erniang and Sanmei one by one, drowning out Erniang's words.

  Third Aunt smiled and pulled Eleven Girl: "Come on in, your uncle and aunt are waiting for you!"

  Xu Lingyi and Shiyi Niang went to the Western Wing Chamber.

  The old master and mistress had been sitting on the kang by the window waiting for a long time.

  Xu Lingyi and Shiyi knelt down and kowtowed to the two of them.

  Luo Zhenxing and Da Nai separately took them away.

  The old master smiled and looked at them warmly, asking Xu Lingyi kindly: "Has the eleventh lady given Master Hou any trouble?"

  The eleventh girl couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

  As a father-in-law, isn't Old Master's attitude too humble?

  Xu Lingyi's response was even more unexpected for her.

  "Eleventh daughter is gentle and polite, everyone in the family likes her."

  The eleventh girl couldn't help but take a glance at Xu Lingyi.

  His eyes were calm and his expression was solemn, not thinking it was a joke or a humble remark. But because of this attitude, the old master didn't know what to say for a moment, and his face showed a few hints of hesitation.

  The lady looked at him with a smile and said, "Master is worrying for nothing! The young master has always been generous to others, who has he ever spoken ill of?" As she spoke, she gazed at the eleventh daughter-in-law, "When you were with me, I also told you that you had read 'Female Precepts' and 'Biographies of Exemplary Women'. Your husband is humble and courteous, so you should respect him even more. Your mother-in-law loves you, so you should be even more cautious... You must not become arrogant because of your favored position, nor must you become flattering because of the love shown to you..." She actually began to admonish the eleventh daughter-in-law.

  Eleventh Girl listened naturally with reverence.

  For a moment, the atmosphere in the house was somewhat depressing.

  Xu Lingyi slightly furrowed her brow.

  Qian Ming immediately laughed and interrupted Mrs. Yue's words: "Mother-in-law, we guests have been waiting with empty stomachs for this meal since yesterday, our stomachs are already performing a play of calculations. If you continue to lecture us, it will be unbearable."

  The lady's face was slightly displeased, but others laughed, and she couldn't say anything else, vaguely humming a "hmm".

  Qian Ming then pulled Xu Lingyi: "Let's go drink, let's go drink!" And to Luo Zhenxing said: "Today we are the best masters of ceremonies, you must not say that you don't have good wine and good dishes."

  Everyone burst out laughing again, and the atmosphere became more lively.

  The old master and Xu Lingyi went to Luo Zhenxing's place, while the eleventh lady stayed with the ladies at the big wife's place.

  The maids set up a black lacquer drum stool in the hall.

  The elder lady took her seat with Shi Er Niang: "Today is the day of our young mistress's return..."

  The second lady and the third lady sat down on either side of the host, smiling. The fourth daughter-in-law sat next to the second lady, and the fifth daughter-in-law sat next to the third lady. The third grandmother and the tenth daughter-in-law sat opposite the first lady and the eleventh daughter-in-law.

  The old lady called out to the maids to bring up the dishes.

  The fifth daughter's pair of clever eyes kept staring at the eleventh daughter as she turned around.

  Unlike her usual simple and elegant appearance, today's Eleventh Young Mistress is dressed very luxuriously. Her black hair was combed into a peony bun, with a golden hairpin inlaid with purple jade, a bi xi stone treasure knot, a golden clasp with a red gemstone phoenix hairpin, a large red embroidered gold-threaded sleeveless shirt, and an apricot-yellow embroidered plum bamboo orchid edge underskirt.

  The amethysts on the hairpin were all as big as fingernails, and the jadeites on the treasure knot were of varying sizes and depths, but when stacked together, they had a dazzling beauty. There were also rubies in the mouth of the phoenix hairpin, each about the size of a lotus seed, shining brightly and radiant with color.

  A hint of envy flashed in her eyes.

  Si Nang sitting opposite her couldn't help but smile slightly, saying: "Wu Mei's eyes stared at Shiyi Mei without blinking, I'm afraid the young master has bullied your younger sister?"

  Being seen through by others, Wu Niang couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed, and forced a smile: "I just wanted to see what the First Lady looks like? No matter what, Eleventh Sister is also the best among us sisters."

  Everyone couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  The first one, the first one is Yuan Niang... But at this time, who else remembers her.

  The madam's eyes flashed with a cold light, but she smiled and raised her cup: "Come on, come on, everyone, let's drink."

  Apart from Shi Niang, everyone else raised their cups in response to Madame Wang, who had already started eating on her own.

  The banquet has officially begun.

  Mrs. Dai took the lead and picked up a piece of dried fish and put it in Shier Niang's bowl: "This is brought from Yuhang, I'm afraid there will be few opportunities to eat it in the future."

  "With you here, I'm sure we'll get to taste it."

  The lady listened and nodded in satisfaction, then added crab meat to her bowl: "This is your favorite dish!"

  The eleventh girl smiled at the old lady and said in a low voice, "Thank you, mother."

  The big wife smiled kindly and chuckled.

  There was already a hint of desolation in Wu Niang's eyes.

  Third Aunt sighed: "It turned out that the group of little girls running in front were now grown up, married and even knew how to care for their mothers."

  The second lady smiled and said: "Don't be envious, in a few years you'll also become a mother-in-law. Someone will spoil you too."

  Third Aunt smiled and shook her head: "How can a daughter-in-law compare to a daughter..." The topic then turned to Luo Zhen Sheng's marriage. "...Jie Ge and Yu Ge are too spoiled, I really can't manage them. Luckily, Father wrote saying he wants two grandsons. I'll ask Mr. Zhao's opinion, and prepare to have him take them back to Datong, to be taken care of by my father, and study together with my nephew. The two children will set off on September 18th, and I'll follow later to Sichuan - there's no one to take care of the old master, I'm really worried. Only afraid that when Sheng Ge gets married, I won't be able to return to Yu Hang."

  Third wife said, looking at the big wife with a face full of apology.

  The old lady just smiled and said: "It's still more important for San Shu to take care of things. Just remember to give a big red envelope to your nephew's wife."

  "Definitely, definitely."

  Second Mistress complained, "Why mention the Zhou family? I heard that their whole family only has three mu of paddy fields and there are four or five younger brothers under him." Second Mistress was somewhat disapproving. "If I had known it was a family like this, I would have agreed to be the elder sister-in-law! Not to mention other things, those few thousand taels of dowry are not available."

  The second lady is also from Yu County, and has a brother who made a fortune in business. She had always wanted to arrange for her niece to marry Luo Zhenxing, but put it off due to the mourning period for the old master. Unexpectedly, the first lady quietly arranged this marriage for Luo Zhenyin, so she naturally had something to say about it.

  Everyone's eyes fell on the lady.

  The lady smiled faintly: "You all know Brother Sheng's temperament, don't you? We need to find someone a bit older to take good care of him. The Zhou family has a good reputation and is also related to Governor Zhou of Hangzhou. I thought that in the future, we could support each other, so I agreed to this marriage."

  The second lady sighed and said, "This is really not destined," and then sighed again: "This matter is also a coincidence. You all know that Qiuniang's wedding is set for October 10th, and I won't be able to leave. At that time, I'm afraid we can only ask Dage to represent us two on a trip back to Yuhang."

  "Will Third Brother return to Yanjing for New Year's?" Wu Niang heard this and suddenly laughed, "If he returns to Yanjing for New Year's, it would be perfect to send me back!"

  Everyone was stunned, but a few threads of smile flashed at the bottom of Mrs. Big's eyes.

  The Fifth Girl looked at the Eleventh Girl with some complacency and said, "Master said that I should accompany Mother back to Yuhang. At that time, Father and Mother will stay in Yuhang, but I have to hurry back to Yanjing for New Year's. If Da Ge returns to Yuhang, he can escort me back."

  I didn't expect Qian Ming would actually let Wu Niang return to Yu Hang... Shi Niang was quite surprised.

  The second lady's smile became somewhat forced: "Fifth Uncle is indeed a thoughtful person! Da Ge naturally wants to return to Yanjing for the New Year. Otherwise, who would take care of the house on the old gentleman's side? At that time, let your third brother send you back." As she spoke, she couldn't help but glance at the first lady.

  Originally, because she served her parents-in-law when they were ill, the three brothers of the Lu family looked at her with different eyes. Now one son-in-law is a jinshi, one son-in-law is the heir of the Duke's mansion, and one son-in-law is the powerful Marquis, I'm afraid she can walk sideways in the house now.

  "Eldest sister-in-law is really lucky." She couldn't help but have a few sour notes in her words, "A married-out daughter can still serve by your side. Unlike us four sisters-in-law, with parents-in-law above and children below."

  It is said that Mrs. Dai relied on her wealth and deliberately deceived Ming into supporting the Luo family, so much so that their daughter only had a maternal home but no paternal one.

  The big wife smiled and seemed not to have heard the second wife's words, and directly persuaded everyone to eat: "...... This mushroom was sent by Lord Hou when he came to propose"