Xu Junlang and Bai Jingyu both sat down and listened to the old lady's lecture. The second wife also said a few words that were incoherent. After that, the brothers and sisters-in-law persuaded them and they gradually calmed down.
Ning Rulan asked the maid to bring hot water for Bai Jingyu to wash her face. While Bai Jingyu was wiping her face with a towel, she looked at Mei Niang and quickly turned away. She didn't want to let Mei Niang see her like this.
It seemed like God was playing a joke on her. In just a few months, her and Mei Niang's lives had changed so much. The timid and weak woman survived a serious illness and became more and more energetic, completely the same as before. And what about her? She was almost in a dead end, with almost no way out.
Divorce your wife and send her back to her mother's home!
These were Xu Junlang's decisive and ruthless words, and he immediately told his long-time servant to find the third elder of the clan and others to come over, and he personally ground ink and washed the brush to write the document. She hurriedly asked Xiangyu and Xiangyun to get the second wife and the old lady over, and ran to the desk crying, and pushed over a row of pens on the table, knocking over the inkstone box. The thick black ink splashed all over Xu Junlang, and his sky-blue robe seemed to be painted with bamboo branches and plum blossoms. Xu Junlang was furious, and slapped her twice in the face, making her fall to the ground. It was not that she was lying on the ground throwing a tantrum and couldn't get up, but she really had no strength left. She felt dizzy and closed her eyes, wanting to just die.
He was no longer the Xu Junlang of the past, the gentle, modest, and affectionate husband. After he was promoted and his father-in-law's financial deficit was filled, he slowly changed. He loved his son and doted on his concubine. He warned her, said harsh words to her, and forbade her to get close to Wei'er, but he had never been so heartless to her, writing a letter of abandonment and beating her so hard...
She did nothing wrong, nothing at all. Although she couldn't sleep every night and wanted to kill those two bitches and that little bastard in her dreams, the Second Wife and Xu Junlang and his mother had joined forces and were too defensive, so she couldn't succeed even if she really wanted to.
She just glanced at the little bastard and brought trouble upon herself.
Before going to Jinhua Hall to serve the old lady dinner, she took a gift and went to visit Rulan in her yard. Rulan diagnosed that she was pregnant, and the second wife was so happy that she came to remind her, as a sister-in-law, to be sincere. She talked to Rulan for a while and then left. In the past, the sisters-in-law didn't talk much, but since Mei Niang became the housekeeper and Rulan followed her to manage things every day, she didn't have anything to say to Rulan.
She had no reason to hate Mei Niang anymore, nor could she look down on her, but she just couldn't interact and talk to her in a natural and friendly way like Rulan, Fang and Gan did. The reason was that she had treated her unfairly from the beginning, viewed her with disgust, and disdained to associate with her. Now that she wanted to reconcile with her, it would be like trying to curry favor with her, and she couldn't do such a thing. She would rather take another detour than take the straight path.
When she returned to the gate of the Second Madam's courtyard with the maids and old women, Xiangrui and the wet nurse were walking towards her with Wei'er in their arms. She was furious when she saw Xiangrui. She didn't know what luck that damn girl had. Ever since she gave birth to Wei'er and became a concubine, the Second Madam and Xu Junlang treated her more precious than anyone else. Not only did they let her raise the child by herself, they also allowed her not to go out to pay respects and offer tea to the legitimate grandmother. Bai Jingyu was so angry that her eyes went dark when she thought about it. That was her maid, and she just didn't believe that there was no law in this world!
Seeing Xiangrui trying to hide to the side, Bai Jingyu rushed over and slapped her twice. Xiangrui didn't dare to say a word and cried with her hands covering her face. The nanny next to her saw that the situation was not good and turned around and tried to run away with the child in her arms. Xiangyu shouted, "Where are you running to!" and blocked her way.
The nurse was so frightened that her face turned pale. Wei'er in her arms started to cry. Xiangrui rushed forward regardless of everything, hugged Wei'er, held him tightly in her arms, fell to her knees on the ground, and cried, "Grandma, please spare us mother and son. When Wei'er grows up, he will respect you as mother!"
Bai Jingyu pouted, "Who cares about a short-lived one? If you have the ability, you can raise him up and make him as successful as me, but I'm afraid he doesn't have that blessing!"
She originally wanted to beat and humiliate her a few more times, but seeing that the time had come, and since she had agreed with Xu Junlang to go to Jinhua Hall to accompany the old lady for dinner, she let her go for the time being. However, she could not help wanting to take a look at the bastard. Xiangrui refused to open the swaddling clothes, so several old women and maids came forward to hold her down and opened the swaddling clothes. Bai Jingyu saw the boy's rosy, chubby face and a pair of black and bright eyes that looked very much like Xu Junlang. At that moment, the piercing pain and resentment almost overwhelmed her. She gritted her teeth, resisted the urge to strangle the child, and turned away.
Unexpectedly, after returning from Jinhua Courtyard after having dinner, Xu Junlang still used sweet words to make her laugh all the way. He sent her to Huifang Courtyard, held her and played with her for a while, then said he was going to see the master and the mistress. Less than half an hour later, he came back a changed person, with a sullen face. He pointed at her face and cursed her with the most vicious words in the world. She was stunned and angry. She had never been able to win an argument with him. In desperation, they pulled and tugged at each other, and she slapped him in the face!
This was not the real reason why Xu Junlang wanted to divorce his wife. He just pressed her on the couch to prevent her from moving. It was not until the maid from Xiangrui Courtyard came to report that Wei Ge'er was burning all over and was about to die, and Aunt Rui had fainted from crying that he had the intention to divorce her. He let go of her and said those words coldly and resolutely.
Bai Jingyu didn't care when the old lady and the wife left. She sat there with a dull look in her eyes like a wooden man. She didn't see anyone off and didn't respond to anyone who spoke to her. She was frightened by Xu Junlang's determination to divorce his wife. She came from such a family. She was raised in luxury since she was a child. Her two grandfathers loved her in the palm of their hands. She was their pride and the most outstanding girl in the Bai family that many noble families wanted. Xu Junlang was the husband she chose herself. If she was divorced and sent back to her mother's home, it would be a big deal that she would not survive. Her parents and family would be ashamed of it!
She cannot be divorced. Even if she dies, she must die in the Xu family!
Someone patted her shoulder gently and handed her a cup of tea. She looked up and saw that it was Grandmother Qin Meiniang. She smiled and said to her:
"You are tired. The girls have prepared some fragrant soup for you. Take a bath and have a good sleep. It may rain again tomorrow, but the sky will always be bright. Don't think too much!"
Ning Rulan also whispered softly, "Brother Wei is fine now, he just had a fever and convulsions. The doctor came to check his pulse and gave him acupuncture. Just now the maid came to report that he can breastfeed now, so you don't have to worry."
Bai Jingyu looked around and found that everyone had left. Only Mei Niang and Rulan were left. They were also leaving and were saying goodbye to her.
Mei Niang held Rulan's arm and said to Bai Jingyu, "I have asked Xiangyun and several other mothers. If what you said is true, you did nothing wrong! Perhaps you opened the swaddling clothes too hard, causing a cold wind to blow. Wei'er happened to open her mouth to breathe in, and the cold wind entered her body, causing her to catch a cold and have a fever. This is a common occurrence for children. You raised a big girl, so you should understand this. Second Master was biased and believed everything. If the matter is really investigated, Xiangrui should kneel in the ancestral hall!"
Bai Jingyu stood up and bowed deeply to Mei Niang and Rulan. Tears began to drip from her eyes, which she thought were dry. She wanted to say something, but couldn't. It turned out that her throat was hoarse from crying.
Mei Niang looked at her, sighed, told Xiangyun to serve the Second Madam well, and helped Rulan to say goodbye and leave.
Outside the door, Xu Junying and Xu Junya were waiting. As soon as they came out, Xu Junya took Rulan by the hand, and Mei Niang followed behind Xu Junying, and they each took their people away.
Bai Jingyu walked out quietly, watched them leave, and cried in a hoarse voice.
She had let people down in the past, but she never expected that when she was in trouble, the one who stayed behind to comfort her and support her was Que Mei Niang!
Mei Niang, what kind of woman is she? Facing her cold and hateful gaze, why didn't he fight back? He just kept avoiding her. She is a truly talented person, and she is better than the first wife in managing the household affairs of the mansion. Bai Jingyu has seen this a long time ago, but she just doesn't show off her talents, pretending to be stupid and weak. If she doesn't make a sound, it's fine. But when she does, it's amazing. But she is the only one who is stupid!
We only know how to look down on those who are weaker than ourselves, but we never realize that we are the ones who are actually weak!
She was too conceited and trusted the old lady and the second wife too much. The old lady said that Mei Niang would not last long. She could not make it big by relying on her beauty and coming from a poor family. She asked her to learn housekeeping from the first wife, and sooner or later, the family would be handed over to her. But who knew that she only went back to her parents' home for two days, and Mei Niang came back to life and took the housekeeping power firmly in her hands. She could not compete with Mei Niang. She was just the second grandson's wife of the second wife, while Mei Niang was the eldest grandson's wife of the eldest wife, the wife of Hou. At that time, the household was in the hands of her mother-in-law, Madam Zheng. She did not need to fight at all. She just said that she was capable and willing, and she could get it!
But how long can this situation last? In fact, when Mei Niang quickly took control of the household affairs of the Hou Mansion, Bai Jingyu understood the old lady's intentions. Mei Niang, like herself, was just a chess piece in the hands of the old lady.
The wind blew in the garden, and the rain drizzled. There was no oilcloth or umbrella, but Mei Niang felt comfortable, as if she had returned to her childhood. She loved this kind of weather the most. Once she ran out to get caught in the rain, and came back with wet hair. Her mother scolded her. Her father rubbed her head with a towel until it looked like a chicken coop, and said to her: "I'm telling you this is not fun, it's so refreshing to get caught in the rain!"
Her mother heard it and thought that it was her father who instigated her to get wet in the rain. Both the father and daughter were punished. The father was responsible for mopping the floor for a week, and the daughter was responsible for washing the dishes for a week. She was only five years old at that time. After breaking three or four dishes, she grew up to be her mother's helper, a little dishwasher who washed dishes very carefully and cleanly.
Mei Niang thought of her parents, and her heart ached. She couldn't help but sigh. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.) (To be continued)