I heard Orange's voice outside shouting, "Dinner has arrived!"
Mei Niang tilted her head slightly, her eyes quickly flashed towards Cui Xi, and then she looked back and met Xu Junying's eyes. As a cover-up, she smiled at him, but then she thought it would be weird to smile at someone for no reason, so she made small talk:
"Do you want to eat more, Lord? The food at Jinhua Hall is very sumptuous today. The old lady likes the braised lion's head very much and has been eating it for several days in a row. The kitchen has also made many new dishes. Are they all to your taste? With all of you brothers here and the good news about Rulan, the old lady must be very happy!"
Xu Junying listened to her talking but said nothing. He watched Cui Xi walk away, knowing that they, the master and the servant, had originally wanted to prepare one table for food, but he came. If the dinner was brought in, it would be difficult to separate it in front of him. He would sit there all the time, and Mei Niang would have to eat alone, and the other maids would have to go hungry. Mei Niang had just winked at Cui Xi, asking her to go out and separate the food outside the door and only bring in her portion.
When did these women, Mei Niang and the maids, become so clever? When Mei Niang was seriously ill, these maids looked very bad, each one was more dull and wooden than the other, and they were ordered around by Zheng Meiyu, not daring to say a word. But now they are so confident and arrogant, and so eloquent. That night, Cui Si dared to say such words to the mistress, and tonight Cui Lian was even more outrageous, even saying that she would be divorced.
Who gave them such courage and confidence? Of course it was Qin Mei Niang, their master.
If Cui Lian's fault was investigated, Mei Niang would definitely take it all on herself. In order to maintain the dignity of the Marquis, she could not take her face into consideration. She had said that if it happened again, she would never let them off easily. If they were really asked about their crimes, he could not go back on his word and must punish them. Cui Lian and Cui Si would have to be dragged out. According to Mei Niang's current temperament, she would definitely not agree. He had heard about her excessive indulgence and pampering of her personal maid, and he had also seen it with his own eyes.
On second thought, he chose to let them go and didn't let them realize that he had heard what the master and servants said again. It was not his intention to make Mei Niang angry, although he really wanted to see her angry, but not tonight.
Mei Niang was embarrassed to see that Xu Junying did not answer her and just picked up the teacup to drink tea. She thought that this guy was good-looking but too boring, so she didn't bother to pay attention to him. She got up and walked to the round table. She was so hungry. When she smelled the chicken soup, she wanted to grab the food box and quickly take out the food and put it on the table. Cui Xi was too slow!
Cui Lian poured a bowl of soup and placed it in front of her. As soon as Mei Niang's hand touched the bowl, Xu Junying came over and said, "I'll eat with you. There were too many people just now, and we were busy talking and didn't eat much."
Mei Niang uttered an "ah", inadvertently revealing a hint of reluctance, and hurriedly pretended to be virtuous and gave him the bowl of chicken soup in her hand. Seeing Cui Lian serving her another bowl of soup, she sighed inwardly: A beautiful dinner, but he ruined it again! With him around, she had to act polite and grab the chicken leg with her hands. The chewy chicken feet and cartilage... I won't have the chance tonight!
Because she was hungry, she ate with relish. She was afraid that the food over there would get cold, so she sent Cui Xi, Cui Lian, and Cui Si away, and drank her soup and ate her meal in silence with Xu Junying. Mei Niang rearranged the four or five dishes on the table, and said to Xu Junying with a smile:
"You like to eat light dishes without chili peppers, which is similar to your cousin Lan's taste. But the old lady likes spicy dishes just like me. It's a bit strange!"
Xu Junying said calmly: "I eat everything. In the army, how can I be picky?"
"Don't you eat fish?"
“Fish meat is very bony and time-consuming!”
Mei Niang lowered her head and smiled, and stopped talking. Xu Junying looked at her with a somewhat depressed expression.
The meal was finished in such an unclear manner. Cuixi and Cuilian came in to clear the dishes and tidy up the table. Cuisi led Cheng'er and Ping'er to bring hot water and tea to wash hands and rinse mouths. Mei Niang sat on the couch to crochet a sweater. Xu Junying asked for tea. Cuixi looked at Mei Niang and Mei Niang said:
"Master Hou, please wait a while before drinking tea. You just drank two bowls of soup... Drinking tea right after a meal is said to help digestion, but it is actually useless. It is best to wait more than half an hour before drinking it."
Xu Junying looked at her and said, "Every time in Jinhuatang, we always drink tea after dinner. Why didn't you say anything?"
Mei Niang said: "It's hard to say. Even if I tell them, they may not believe it. Everyone has different habits. If others think it's good, why should I change it?"
Xu Junying was speechless and had no intention of leaving. The gentle woman in front of him, with her head down and winding woolen yarn, looked strange yet familiar. He was willing to just sit there and say nothing. She just went about her business and he would just watch her.
The people sent by Ning Rulan broke the silence in the house. Jinshu led two maids to report that there was a commotion in Huifang Courtyard. The second master beat the second mistress. It was a mess. The second master shouted that he wanted to divorce his wife, and the old lady was alarmed...
Xu Junying said: "I'll go and take a look!"
Mei Niang hurriedly stood up and walked him to the door: "Let the maid carry two lanterns and follow!"
Xu Junying turned to look at her: "You have to go too, change into a robe, I'll be waiting!"
Mei Niang was very reluctant. She didn't want to get involved in the Second House's affairs. "Master Hou can go. I'm a woman and I can't have a say. What's the point of going?"
"You are in charge of the household affairs, why shouldn't you go? The elders are all here, you have to wait on them!"
Instruct Cuixi: "Help Grandma change her clothes, hurry up!"
Mei Niang had no choice but to put on the outer robe with the help of Cui Xi. Cui Xi brought a pair of deerskin boots over:
"Grandma, wear this. It's drizzling outside and the road is wet."
"It's raining again? What a horrible weather!"
Mei Niang complained and walked to the edge of the couch and sat down. Cui Si put on her deerskin boots inlaid with silver beads, and Cui Xi followed to straighten her collar, stretch her sleeves, and tighten the silk tassel around her waist. Cui Lian looked left and right and thought her headdress was too simple, so she took a pearl hairpin and put it on, and also pinned a bunch of gauze palace flowers on her temples. Mei Niang snorted, picked the palace flowers and threw them to her. Cui Lian caught it and pinned it on her again, and Mei Niang let her do as she pleased.
Xu Junying stood by and watched quietly. It was not the first or second time that he had waited for Mei Niang to get dressed to go out. This time he got to see with his own eyes how they did it. He had not expected it to be so messy that she didn't even need to look in the mirror.
Xu Junying walked very fast to Huifang Courtyard, and Mei Niang followed closely in her comfortable buckskin boots. Halfway through the walk, she looked back at the maids and servants who were more than ten steps behind her. She suddenly thought of something, slowed down her pace, gradually distanced herself from Xu Junying, and walked with the maids.
Xu Junying noticed her little action, but ignored it and kept walking in front. He stopped at the gate of Huifangyuan and waited for her to go in together.
In the upper room of Huifang Courtyard, the old lady was sitting on the couch, the second wife was sitting beside her, and three couples, Xu Junya, Xu Junting and Xu Junqiao, were sitting on the side. Xu Junlang and Bai Jingyu were sitting in front of the old lady. Bai Jingyu had disheveled hair and was crying until she was hoarse. Her former arrogance was gone. She looked so pitiful that anyone who saw her could not help but shed tears of sympathy.
The old lady pointed at Xu Junlang and scolded him, "The Xu family is a well-known and wealthy family, with a history of a hundred years. They are all gentlemen and ladies. From your grandfather to your father, there are both scholars and warriors. Which of them has ever laid hands on their women? Even if your wife did something wrong, there are family rules to punish her. You beat her right away. How can you be so shameless? You studied hard and became an official because of your achievements. You are a gentleman, but how could you do such a foolish thing? You also want to divorce your wife. Did Jingyu commit the seven offenses for divorce? Hmm? Tell me about it!"
After the reprimand, the second wife winked at Zhenzhu who was standing beside her. Zhenzhu immediately went to fetch a cup of hot tea and leaned over to hand it to Xu Junlang. Xu Junlang knelt down and presented it to the old lady with both hands:
"Grandma is teaching me that my grandson is confused. Grandma, please don't get angry with me and get sick. Just drink some tea to moisten your throat!"
Ruixue took the tea. The old lady snorted, but her mouth was really dry. She took a sip of tea from Ruixue's hand. Just as she was about to say something else, she saw Xu Junying and Mei Niang coming in, and waved to them:
"Junying is here, come sit over here!"
He then said to Xu Junlang and Bai Jingyu, "Get up and talk. The weather is not cold anymore, but the ground is cold. Be careful not to get sick again!"
Xu Junlang got up from the ground by himself without even looking at Bai Jingyu. Fang hurried forward to help Bai Jingyu. Ning Rulan wanted to help, but the second wife stopped her:
"Don't move! You are pregnant and more delicate than anyone else. Be careful not to bump into anything. This place is so chaotic. You shouldn't have come here!"
The old lady also said hurriedly: "Yes, Rulan, be careful and don't get involved with them!"
Gan walked over, and she and Fang supported Bai Jingyu on both sides, and helped her sit on the chair below the second wife.
The second wife looked at her coldly and turned away.
Bai Jingyu's eyes were red and swollen, and his face was half covered with his sleeves. He looked haggard and lonely. Mei Niang couldn't help feeling uncomfortable when she saw him. How could such a smart and strong-willed man fall to this point
What's the use of having a good family background, a sweet mouth and being well-behaved? As long as you are an eyesore and block someone's way, you will not have a good life in this mansion.
Bai Jingyu has a strong background and is capable and knows how to behave, but he has ended up like this. The Qin Meiniang in the past would have ended up dying in the Xu Mansion if the Seventh Prince had not appeared and the First Lady had not taken care of her.
From another perspective, Qin Meiniang did something wrong before, but she should be forgiven, right? If she had done nothing honestly, had no love, no lovesickness, had not experienced the happiness and pain that a woman should have, had not even left a son, and just waited to be tortured to death, wouldn't that be too much of a loss
Xu Junying married her—strictly speaking, it was forced marriage. According to Lin Runan, Qin Meiniang didn't like Xu Junying at first. Maybe the man she wanted was not like him at all. Although she was from a poor family, she was a smart woman who had read poetry and books since childhood. The depth of her thoughts was immeasurable. How could you buy off a lifetime of love with a piece of imperial edict? What promise did Xu Junying make to her? Did he have a covenant with her? I guess not!
Given Xu Junying's cold personality, it would be strange if he could say sweet words that could move people!
While they were mediating a dispute between a couple, Mei Niang stood behind the old lady with her hands clasped together, not saying a word, thinking about her own random thoughts, and ignoring the people and things in front of her. Unexpectedly, her eyes bumped into Xu Junying's somewhat complicated eyes, and she suddenly woke up, turned around, took Ning Rulan's hand, and asked her very seriously about Xu Junlang and Bai Jingyu. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian. to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.) (To be continued)