The door between Cen's residence and Suochunyuan was opened again and a dark red wooden door was installed. Lin Runan ordered that it be locked at ordinary times and opened whenever he wanted.
They entered Suochunyuan through this door. The King of Qi had already arrived and was standing there. He was wearing a dark blue python satin embroidered robe, a jade belt around his waist, and a golden crown on his head. He was tall and handsome, with eyes as fresh as a new one. The handsome man who had charmed countless noble ladies was actually a homosexual. Mei Niang thought, this is a waste of talent.
The King of Qi looked at Mei Niang and Lin Runan approaching with an unhappy face. Without waiting for them to salute, he said, "This is your way of entertaining guests! You asked me to wait in this broken yard while you lived in the other side. What is this?"
Mei Niang looked around: "How is this newly renovated yard broken? There is everything except flowers and plants. This is a place for practicing singing, dancing and drumming. There are children and old people in the yard over there, and it is very noisy. I am afraid you will not like it if you go there!"
The King of Qi waved his hand and said, "Forget it! I don't want to see any strangers. I just want to learn how to play the drums!"
He looked at them again and said, "I don't like the way you look. Go back and change into the clothes you wore last night!"
Mei Niang and Lin Runan looked at each other, and Lin Runan said, "How can you wear the clothes you wore last night? They are all dirty. You need to change them."
King Qi looked at Lin Runan coldly: "You can also play the drums?"
"Won't!"
"So what are you doing here?"
Lin Runan raised his chin and said, "Look at the drums!"
The King of Qi was speechless, and turned to look at Mei Niang: "Let's get started, that's it for today, remember to change your clothes later!"
Mei Niang was so annoyed. She had even taken a shower and changed her clothes, but he didn't appreciate it and wanted to change into men's clothes. His sister had so many quirks!
The King of Qi was very smart. He understood music, had strong coordination and sense of rhythm, and had excellent comprehension ability. When Mei Niang was explaining the drills, she sometimes unconsciously used modern language, and he was able to understand it. The only thing was that he did not have a good grasp of the striking power and the force was too heavy. He had beaten the war drum before, so it took a lot of patience for him to correct it.
Fortunately, he is interested in something. As long as he is interested in something, he will focus on it seriously and will not be afraid of lack of patience.
Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, three hours had passed. An attendant walked up to the King of Qi and reminded him softly:
"Your Highness, we should go back now. The Queen Mother has set a time and is waiting for you to have dinner together!"
The King of Qi was practicing a series of punches, and he was still not done: "Just wait, why are you in such a hurry? I'll just ride my horse faster later!"
The attendant said: "The Empress Dowager said that the Emperor and Empress will also come to the Cining Palace..."
The King of Qi missed a beat and became very angry: "I told you not to talk too much, watch out!"
He raised his hand and hit the servant with a drumstick. Mei Niang was shocked. With the force of his blow, wouldn't the servant's head be broken and bleeding
Unexpectedly, the docile attendant cleverly turned his head, and the drumstick hit nothing. The King of Qi glared at him and snorted:
"There has been progress!"
The drumstick was thrown and the servant caught it easily.
The Prince of Qi said to Mei Niang, "We'll stop here today and come back tomorrow... Well, how about I send someone to pick you up and take you to the palace tomorrow? My Prince of Qi's palace is much better than your shabby yard. There are people to serve you. Unlike here, there is nothing to eat and even tea to drink!"
Lin Runan said: "Your Highness, the tea is served to you, but you are too focused on learning the art and refuse to drink it!"
The King of Qi glanced at her and asked: "What kind of tea is that? Is it drinkable?"
Lin Runan's lips moved, but Mei Niang stopped her and said to the King of Qi, "Let's come here. It's not easy to make a multi-faceted drum. We only have two right now, one at the Xiankelai Restaurant and one here. Your Highness needs someone to clap along when he practices - look at them, they've been accompanying Your Highness for several hours!"
The King of Qi turned around to look at Li Qiuge and others on the other side, saying disapprovingly: "What's so difficult about that? We can just pull the people and drums over with the carriage. These people will live in the King of Qi's mansion from now on, so it won't be a hassle, right?"
Mei Niang shook her head: "I won't leave home!"
The King of Qi was helpless: "Are you going to guard this broken house for the rest of your life?"
"Your Highness, haven't you heard that a nest of gold or silver is not as good as your own doghouse? Besides, this family is not broken!"
Doghouse? The King of Qi was moved and lowered his eyes. Jian Yu had said this.
When he got up in the morning, Jian Yu teased him that his bed looked like a doghouse. He was a prince, how could he be compared with a dog? As a result, the two of them had a fight in the barracks early in the morning. After the fight, they each took a change of clothes as if nothing had happened and ran to the nearby river to take a bath and play in the water.
Those days of intimacy and love are gone forever, and the joy and true love that Jian Yu gave him may never come back in this life.
The King of Qi raised his eyes and looked at Mei Niang: "It's up to you. I'll come again tomorrow. Have someone make another drum and send it to the King of Qi's mansion. I'll practice on my own if I have nothing else to do!"
After the King of Qi left, Mei Niang and Lin Runan returned to the Cen residence, sat down and drank a sip of tea, then Mei Niang said goodbye. She wanted to hurry back to her parents' home as the examination was approaching, and she hoped that nothing unexpected would happen to Qin Boqing.
The journey from east to west, through the entire capital city, is not short. Lin Amao drove the car, trying to take streets with fewer people and cars. His speed gradually increased. Unexpectedly, he collided with someone at the corner of a three-way intersection. This time it was a reasonable collision, as the person coming from the opposite side was riding a fast horse.
Mei Niang felt a vibration in the carriage, and then heard Lin Amao talking to someone outside. She listened carefully for a few words, then pulled aside the curtain, stood beside Lin Amao and shouted:
"Zhang Jingyun, Lingxuzi, it's you!"
Zhang Jingyun and Lingxuzi did not know Mei Niang's coachman and were accepting his apology when they suddenly saw Mei Niang coming out of the car, calling their names with a smile. They were surprised and happy.
Zhang Jingyun said, "Cen Meimei, you...what happened last night? You said you wanted to go home early, but you didn't want to. You made a scene, didn't you?"
Lingxuzi said, "As soon as we entered the city, we heard from our friends that there was a commotion in the store last night. What happened? We were just about to go over and ask you. Seeing you like this, are you okay?"
Mei Niang smiled and said, "Nothing else. I kicked and hit someone, and my legs and feet hurt, and my body hurts too. Lingxuzi, do you still have those pills? Give me a bottle!"
Lingxuzi leaned over and took out a small cloth bag from the cloth bag on the horse's back, and handed it to Zhang Jingyun who was near the carriage. Zhang Jingyun then handed it to Mei Niang:
"Take one pill a day. Don't take too much. Take care of yourself slowly. Is he really okay? He..."
Mei Niang opened the small cloth bag: "So many bottles? Okay, I'll keep them - I have to hurry now, I'll talk to you another day. Don't worry, he recognized me and didn't make it difficult for me. When we meet again in the future, we can just pretend that we met in the store... It's getting late, let's go!"
Mei Niang waved her hand and got into the carriage. Lin Amao bowed to Zhang Jingyun and Lingxuzi, waved the whip, and the carriage turned the corner and disappeared.
Zhang Jingyun and Lingxuzi also pulled the reins, turned their horses around, and headed towards another street.
Since Mei Niang was fine, there was no need for them to go to Xiankelai again.
Everyone was in a hurry and anxious, and no one was paying attention to the people on the street. At the door of a stationery and calligraphy shop at the corner of the street, Xu Junying was standing with his hands behind his back. Baoju was behind him, holding a pile of pens and books in his arms. The conversation between Mei Niang, Zhang Jingyun and Lingxuzi was in full view.
Zhang Jingyun called her Cen Meimei, the young master of Xiankelai. Her appearance and voice were surprisingly similar to Mei Niang. She actually knew Zhang Jingyun and Lingxuzi! Moreover, they didn't seem to be meeting for the first time, but rather old friends. What was going on
After Xu Junying returned to Beijing, he was busy with government affairs and was often by the emperor's side. Zhang Jingyun and Lingxuzi stayed in the capital to treat Prince Qi and recuperate the queen. The two of them moved between Prince Qi's mansion and the inner palace, the imperial farm outside the city, and Guiyun Villa. It was common for friends to meet, but they would part after saying a few words. It was rare for them to sit down to eat and drink, but before and after the New Year, he had two meals at Xiankelai with his two good friends, but I never heard them mention that they knew the young owner of the store.
Maybe there were too many people at the banquet and it was hard to say
Xu Junying frowned. Why did Cen Meimei always look like Qin Meiniang? Too suspicious!
Mei Niang did not stay at her parents' home for long. She asked Madam Qin to hold her hand and give her some advice. She said some encouraging words to Qin Boqing, then she touched Feng's belly with a smile, asked Cuixi to give Feng an embroidered cloth bag with 10,000 taels of silver in it, and took Cuixi and Cuisi out to return to Xu's house. Qin Boqing wanted to send her back, so she whispered in Qin Boqing's ear:
"I ran away secretly. If you send me back like this again, do you want me to be scolded?"
While Qin Boqing was stunned, Mei Niang had already got on the carriage with a smile and left.
Xu Junying regretted letting Baizhan take the horse home first. He walked with Baoju and visited bookstores along the way. After meeting Cen Meimei, Zhang Jingyun and Lingxuzi, he no longer had the heart to go to other bookstores. He quickly walked back to the Hou Mansion, entered the Tsinghua Courtyard, and went straight to the upper room. Cuilian was taking Cheng'er and other little girls to appreciate roses in the yard. When she saw Lord Hou coming, she hurried over to pay her respects.
Xu Junying asked: "Where is your great grandmother?"
Cui Lian replied, "My Lord, Grandmother woke up from her afternoon nap and went out to patrol the garden. She hasn't come back yet!"
"Patrolling the garden? Is it necessary for her to do such a thing?"
Cui Lian lowered her head: "The eldest wife said: the maids are greedy for wine and gambling, and they will always be partial to each other. The eldest lady is in charge of the entire mansion, and she can't be lazy and slack. She has to go to inspect every two or three days!"
"How long does it take to patrol the garden?"
Cui Lian thought for a moment: "It's hard to say for sure - the eldest grandmother is weak and can't walk fast. Sometimes when she passes by a courtyard, such as the third grandmother, the fourth grandmother or the girls, she will sit down to rest her feet, drink a cup of tea, and talk a few words..."
"Alright, alright," Xu Junying couldn't stand Cui Lian's nagging anymore, so he waved his hand and said, "Did my message get through this morning? I'll go to Jinhua Hall after I change my clothes, and ask her to go to the old lady's place for dinner!"
Cui Lian bowed her head and said, "The servants have told Master Hou that the eldest lady went to Jinhua Hall in a hurry this morning and served the old lady breakfast before going to Ziyun Hall."
Xu Junying looked at Cui Lian: "She went in the morning, and it's not too much to go again in the evening. It's her duty to visit her every morning and evening!" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets at Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.) (To be continued)