"You are not Qin Meiniang, so I cannot force you to fulfill your wife's responsibilities. However, you have inherited Qin Meiniang's body and live with her identity. People only recognize you as my wife, Xu Junying, the daughter of the Qin family, and the mother of Heng'er. You must consider me, the Qin family, and Heng'er. If I hastily ask for permission to divorce you or divorce you, others will pry into the secrets and tell you all about it. My reputation will be damaged, and the Xu family will be disgraced. As for the Qin family, their daughter will be divorced and sent back. They will be criticized and ridiculed. Can Qin Boqing safely participate in the imperial examination? And Heng'er will bear the shame of being an abandoned mother. He may not be able to hold his head up for the rest of his life, and there will be nothing to say!"
Mei Niang looked at Xu Junying with a slightly contemptuous look: "You are exaggerating, it shouldn't be like this!"
"This is the truth," Xu Junying was a little impatient, and he didn't believe that he couldn't calm her down: "You can go back and ask your mother, Madam Qin, and see what she says!"
Mei Niang retracted her gaze: "Ask her? Of course she won't agree... But my brother and sister-in-law said it's okay!"
Xu Junying was speechless, and after a while he said, "They may be because... But they definitely don't want you to be divorced and sent home like this!"
Mei Niang sat on the edge of the couch, frowning: "What should I do? Otherwise, let Qin Mei Niang die again? Then I can escape and leave. Isn't this much simpler?"
Xu Junying was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly: "You, you really know how to think! The last time you came back from the dead, you already made me famous, and it's only been a few months, and you died again... I can't stand that kind of torment! In the future, you will be reborn as Cen Meimei, and you will have the appearance of Qin Meiniang. How long will this mess last?"
"Yeah, that won't work either. I can't live my whole life wearing a mask."
Mei Niang was at a loss, Xu Junying said: "If you must leave, it's ok, let me make a plan..."
Mei Niang's eyes sparkled: "How do you plan?"
Xu Junying looked at her deeply: "As the saying goes, a drop of water should be repaid with a spring. Only when you give and get something in return can you show your true kindness. You got Qin Meiniang's body, so you took it as your responsibility to take care of Qin's mother, helped Qin Boqing to revive the Qin family, and truly loved Heng'er. This is your return to them, but I... didn't I help you? You should treat everyone equally, do something for me, and keep some dignity..."
Mei Niang's eyes darkened and she turned her head away, "Haven't I done enough? It's not easy to be the eldest granddaughter-in-law of the Xu family! In order to please your ancestor, I have spent so much energy and energy, but I still can't get any good results. I am always calculated by her. Has she ever told you that I am not good? That I am uneducated and ignorant? She looks very kind on the surface, but she trips me up behind my back. It's okay to be your legal wife, but she has to force a concubine to fight with you... I think I am quite powerful, but she still doesn't take me seriously. If it were Qin Mei Niang herself, wouldn't she be stepped on by her on the spot? Who wants to marry me, Cen Meimei, in the future? If there is such a grandmother, forget it. I've had enough of it in the Xu Mansion! And the eldest wife, you are not her biological son, but you treat me as her legitimate daughter-in-law and bully me, and snatch Heng'er away. I don't want Heng'er to forget his mother, so I insist on going to see him every day. The old woman sets a time for me, and if I don't leave when the time comes, she will drive me away. She also forces me to take a concubine for you and accept it. Zheng Meiyu, if it was any other good girl, I would have done good things for her, but that witch, forget it. I have found excuses to stop her many times. This is for your own good. She is such a bad person! And I won’t talk about getting along with the second wife. It’s so boring! This deep mansion, with its old rules and regulations, constrains me to the point where I can’t breathe. I feel so wronged that I have to serve you grandparents and grandchildren well every day and eat the leftovers myself—the girls around me eat better than me! Speaking of respectability, I don’t think I have made you lose any respect!”
Xu Junying lowered his eyes, "They are elders, and we shouldn't talk about them like that... I know you've been wronged, but that's the rule. Every generation of daughter-in-law must do that, respect the elders, and care for the young. It's the same for everyone, not just the Xu family... Maybe the customs in different places are different, and you're not from this dynasty, so you don't understand the deep meaning of it. Grandmothers raising grandchildren has been the norm for generations - your father was raised by his great-grandmother!"
Mei Niang's eyes widened: "No wonder! The old lady obviously favors the second house and ignores your first house. It turns out that the old marquis was not raised by her!"
Xu Junying looked at her: "Don't talk nonsense! It's not you, it's us!"
"Okay, we will! I will still be the eldest grandmother of the first house for the time being." Mei Niang smiled and said, "It's a blessing in disguise. I ended up in the first house. What if I ended up in the second house? Bai Jingyu is so smart and strong-willed, and he's so messed up. What will happen if I go there?"
Xu Junying smiled slightly: "This is your fate. You can only be born in the eldest house!"
Mei Niang sighed: "That's right, among the women in this mansion, Qin Mei Niang is the only one who is easy to bully. She will die first... This is your fault. If you had made some arrangements for her before you left, the result would not be like this!"
Xu Junying's face darkened. "At that time, the border war was tense and the soldiers had to move quickly. I left immediately and had no time to think about it! When I arrived at the battlefield, the situation was complicated and there were many wars. It was too chaotic at that time. It can be said that I was in danger of death and could not take care of the rear at all... I left home when I was fourteen years old. I came back to visit my family every three to five years. Every time I came back, the house was full of laughter and joy. My grandmother was kind, my mother asked about my health, and my brothers and sisters loved me. I worked hard outside for many years and experienced life and death, but when I thought of home, it was a warm and beautiful scene. I could never imagine that the home I worked so hard to defend was hidden with dangers, and even my wife could not survive... Mei Niang died young, it was my fault!"
Mei Niang was stunned for a moment. She didn't expect him to admit his fault so readily. She couldn't help but feel a little guilty: Who am I to blame others
She cleared her throat to disguise the situation and changed the subject: "Well, it's over, let's not talk about it. The culprit is that bad woman Zheng Meiyu, and none of us want to do this! Um, let's talk about my business, why did you let me leave the mansion?"
Xu Junying exhaled lightly and said, "It is not possible to divorce or abandon hastily. For now, you still need to be patient and live here as the wife of the emperor. There are three reasons. First, we have to wait until the master of the Qin family has participated in the imperial examination, the palace examination, and passed the imperial examination, and everything is settled. Second, if I abandon the old one before I marry my new wife, someone will definitely point fingers at me and say that I am heartless. You should at least finish this wedding for me and wait until I am over the wedding period. Third, I will find a way to give Heng'er to you, which will also take some time. Are you willing to wait?"
Mei Niang listened to him carefully and asked, "I wonder how long it will take to get Heng'er back?"
Xu Junying said, "It's hard to say. The first wife is not easy to talk to, so it may take some time. I know you can't bear to leave Xiankelai, and Lin Runan lives in the Cen residence, so you have to visit from time to time. You also often care about the Qin family. I can allow you to enter and leave the Hou Mansion freely, and manage Xiankelai while taking care of the affairs of the Hou Mansion, but you must also respect me and treat me as a husband and wife..."
"Wait... I don't quite understand this husband-wife etiquette, can you explain it to me?"
Xu Junying stared at her and couldn't help but laugh: "Do as you did to me before!"
Mei Niang nodded: "Okay, I understand! Please continue!"
"You must still treat the elders and younger brothers and sisters in the mansion with respect and care as the eldest daughter-in-law and eldest sister-in-law. You must be reserved and polite outside, and you cannot talk and laugh with strange men casually. Without me, you are not allowed to drink and eat at the same table with others!"
"this… "
Xu Junying interrupted her: "This concerns my reputation, you have to take it into consideration!"
Mei Niang lowered her head, pouted, and said softly: "Is it not okay even if I wear a mask?"
"What?"
"Nothing, please tell me!"
"From today on, let Bai Zhan follow you and be your bodyguard!"
Mei Niang raised her head and opened her mouth, but Xu Junying spoke before her: "He won't follow you closely, but if there is an emergency, he will appear immediately - just like that, in three months, I will give you what you want!"
"Why three months?" Mei Niang was puzzled. "The imperial examination will be here in a few days, followed by the palace examination. You will marry a new bride in March, so it will be within a month. Heng'er's affairs are all up to you. Just say a word."
Xu Junying smiled and said, "Who said I will marry a new bride in March? We need to be cautious when granting marriages, it won't be that fast! The imperial examination is in early March, and the palace examination is one month apart, so we will have to take the palace examination in April. If Master Qin passes the examination, he will have to be given a banquet by the Imperial Academy, parade in red, thank his teacher, and be praised in the court. If we finish all the cumbersome ceremonies, it will be May, and we won't know if the new bride will be married by then. I will set a three-month deadline, so it should be within a hundred days!"
Mei Niang thought, three months is not too short or too long, and she is not in a hurry to go anywhere. It is probably not feasible to leave the capital and seek development elsewhere after just a few months in this dynasty. She is still not very clear about the streets and roads in the capital. She should stay patiently. Fortunately, Xu Junying is open-minded and allows her to enter and leave the mansion freely and manage Xiankelai, which means she can run around in the city, which is a pleasant thing! Let Bai Zhan follow her just because she is afraid that she will use Qin Mei Niang's identity and give him a colorful hat to wear. So let it be, no need to hide and cover up, it is already very good!
Mei Niang said to Xu Junying solemnly: "I agree with your plan, let's do it! Here are pens, ink and paper. Like you just said, it's a good idea to make a contract. I will keep it well and won't lose it!"
Xu Junying shook his head: "No need, I keep my word!"
Mei Niang stood up and said, "I believe you! Let's go. I'll go to Qiuhuayuan with you."
She accidentally glanced at the copper kettle hourglass on the cabinet and jumped up: "No, no! I can't go to Qiuhuayuan. I have to go out, otherwise something bad will happen... Cuixi, Cuixi, come in!"
Xu Junying was stunned for a moment: "What's the important matter? I'll take you there!"
"No, no, it's not a big deal... Well, that's fine! I can take Cui Xi out, Lord Hou, go and do your thing!"
Mei Niang ran into the partition, pulled out a pair of sheepskin boots from the shoe cabinet, and hurriedly put them on while saying to Xu Junying: "Everyone in Qiuhuayuan said that Zheng Meiyu was possessed by evil spirits. We asked three doctors to come and diagnose her pulse. One of them, named Jiang, knows acupuncture and looks very experienced. He gave Zheng Meiyu acupuncture and her eyes moved..."
Xu Junying said calmly, "When she was little, she was very well behaved. I really treated her well, but I didn't expect that she would change when she grew up. There is nothing innocent between her and me. It's not what you think... No matter how she is treated, she won't live for a few days. Going to Qiuhuayuan is to let the madam send her back to the Zheng family!"
Mei Niang was stunned for a moment: "You want me to go with you to persuade the wife?"
Xu Junying watched Mei Niang come out and said, "It's better for us to go together."
Mei Niang looked at the door and called out twice, but Cui Xi didn't come in.
Xu Junying said: "Baoju was watching outside. He wouldn't let me in unless I called for help."
Mei Niang was helpless and said in a negotiating tone: "I have to go out, otherwise I will break my promise. How about this: you didn't sleep last night, so take a rest now. When I come back, we can have dinner and then go to Qiuhuayuan together, okay?"
Xu Junying smiled and nodded: "I'll follow your instructions. Go, Bai Zhan is in the yard!" (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)