Mei Niang walked out of the room and saw that the corridor was empty. Bao Ju was sitting far away on the right railing, holding a dagger and a piece of wood in his hands, carving something. The old women and servants who were originally standing on duty in the corridor were driven away by him. Cui Xi and Cui Lian stood opposite him, and the four eyes stared at him together. He was busy with his own things and ignored the two maids.
Mei Niang called out "Cui Xi", and Cui Xi and Cui Lian looked over at the same time. Bao Ju also stood up quickly. Cui Xi and Cui Lian walked quickly to Mei Niang and bowed. Cui Lian complained angrily:
"Reporting to Grandma, we heard Grandma calling for help, and Baoju is blocking us from entering!"
Mei Niang glanced at Bao Ju, who lowered his head and leaned forward to say, "Please forgive me, Grandma, I am on official business, and outsiders are not allowed to approach... You can only enter when I say so!"
Mei Niang smiled and nodded. Cui Lian was not convinced: "We are outsiders? Here..."
Mei Niang quickly continued: "There are indeed too many idle people here, so it's not very suitable for work. Well, Baoju has worked hard, and Hou Ye is also tired, let him rest for a while. I'm going out for a while, Cui Xi will come with me, Cui Lian, you stay at home and watch, where are Cui Si and mom?"
"Mom has been walking all morning and her legs are a little sore. After lunch, Cui Si took her back to her room and massaged her legs," said Cui Xi.
Mei Niang sighed, "Mom is so stubborn. She won't listen to me if I tell her not to move. Let Cui Si take good care of her. Make some medicine for her to soak her feet and coax her to sleep. Cui Xi, let's go!"
Cui Lian said hurriedly: "Cui Si is at home, grandma, take me there!"
Mei Niang looked at her and said, "Cui Si will take care of her mother, you can look after the house and take Cheng'er and Ping'er to do needlework in the side room..."
Cuilian said, "Cuisi can look after the house together. Cheng'er and Ping'er will help her. It would be better for grandma to have two people to follow her!"
Mei Niang smiled helplessly: "There are already two of them. If you want to go, then there will be three... Forget it, go ahead. One day, take Orange and Apple with you as well. I'll take you for sightseeing!"
Cui Lian smiled happily and bowed quickly: "Thank you, grandma!"
When the group reached the gate of the courtyard, Bai Zhan was already waiting there. Mei Niang looked at him and said, "You are quite capable. Have you investigated me thoroughly? Tell me, and I will fill in the blanks for you if there is anything I missed!"
Bai Zhan bowed his head deeply: "Please forgive me, Grandma! I am following your orders... I am afraid that something might happen to you, Grandma!"
Mei Niang sneered, "You have to understand, your master and I are husband and wife, we are a family, I can't do anything that is bad for him, he asked you to follow me, he was just afraid that I would meet bad people outside, you just need to be a good guard, if you dare to say something and stir up trouble in front of him, and ruin our relationship, you will be punished!"
Bai Zhan was stunned for a moment, his face turned pale: "I dare not... dare not stir up trouble!"
"Let's go, where's the car?"
Bai Zhan quickly led the way: "Reply to Grandma: The carriage is at the left door, Grandma, please go this way!"
"Let's go to Cen's residence in East City first, the sooner the better!"
"Yes! I'll drive the car and take a shortcut. We'll be there in a quarter of an hour at most!"
Mei Niang said to Cui Xi, "Let's ask Lin Amao to work as a errand boy at Xiankelai. His child is young, and his wife is about to give birth to another one. If he has a more stable job, he will be able to take good care of the family sooner or later!"
Cui Xi nodded: "I've got it in mind. I'll arrange it today!"
Bai Zhan's driving skills were indeed much better than Lin Amao's. He was faster, steadier, and bolder than Lin Amao. Lin Amao usually took shortcuts and only drove along the public streets, but Bai Zhan didn't care about that. He even dared to drive into the private alleys of the mansions of dukes and nobles and wealthy families. Sometimes, when he flew past people's gates, he could vaguely hear people shouting and trying to stop him, but Bai Zhan shouted even louder than them:
"It's an urgent business trip. Don't get in the way!"
No one dared to stop him, and he ran all the way like this, and in a short while he arrived at Cen's residence in East City.
Lin Runan had been waiting at the door for a long time. He pulled Mei Niang inside and asked her what happened last night. Mei Niang excluded the fact that she was a fake and told her the general situation. Lin Runan said:
"He has married a new wife, so it's good enough that he lets you go, but he's also willing to let you take Heng'er with you? It's a bit unbelievable!"
Mei Niang asked, "Why is it unbelievable? He and cousin Lan have been childhood sweethearts, and cousin Lan is the old lady's favorite. If she gives birth to a son, she will definitely find a way to make him the crown prince. They have always looked down on me for my humble background. Heng'er is my son, so no matter how outstanding he is, he will not be valued by them!"
There are other reasons that cannot be told. Heng'er is not Xu Junying's biological child. If she stays in Hou Mansion and is watched over every day, it will cause trouble every day. So he simply lets her take it away. Out of sight, out of mind, everyone is happy.
Lin Runan pondered, "Oh, forget it, it's good that you can get out. According to what you said, that house is not suitable for you to live in. Xu Junying has a wife and a concubine, and now he has married a concubine. Just wait and see, he will marry more in the future. I have seen many people like this! It is the right thing to do to leave the place of trouble. Make plans after you get out. It is up to you to marry or not."
Mei Niang glanced at her and said with a smile: "Why do you sound so old-fashioned? You sound almost like my sister-in-law!"
Lin Runan was startled, then her face turned slightly red, and she suddenly bit her lip and said, "If... my father hadn't done that, I really want to be your sister-in-law!"
Mei Niang opened her eyes wide: "No way, you... you like my brother?"
“Go!” Lin Runan pushed her away: “I just had that thought, I think your brother is a good person… I also knew that he was engaged at that time, so I didn’t dare to do anything to him.”
"You..." Mei Niang was overjoyed: "What a pity! If you were a good match for my brother, it would be a perfect match... But now it's not possible, don't think about him, my sister-in-law may not be as talented as you, but she is a good woman, worthy of my brother's true love!"
Lin Runan's face turned even redder: "Who missed him? I said it was just a thought... I have forgotten about it a long time ago. I am talking too much. Why did I tell you about it?"
Mei Niang smiled and said, "Why not tell me about it? It doesn't matter. There are people as good as my brother. I'll find them for you. Our Xiankelai..."
"Stop, stop! Those scholars who live in Xiankelai are all idiots and sour scholars. They are annoying to see. Who likes them?"
"Oh, so you went to see it secretly without telling me!" Mei Niang pointed at her.
Lin Runan said, "Do I need to do it secretly? During the days when you were hiding in the Hou Mansion, the King of Qi came to our house every day to harass us, saying that he was crazy but not stupid. He insisted on seeing where you lived. He took him to my room and asked me where I lived. I said we lived together. Do you want to hear what he said? He said that we were not allowed to live together in the future and we had to live separately! I was so mad that he wanted to control me! He couldn't wait for you to come back, and he wanted me to lead the way to the 'relatives' house to pick you up. I refused to go, saying that it was too rude. But he wanted me to follow him, and go to Xiankelai every day to watch singing and dancing, and watch those candidates who came to take the exam..."
Mei Niang laughed: "He actually helped me do this unintentionally. I took you to see him... By the way, who was sitting in the private room yesterday? You were so scared!"
Lin Runan snorted contemptuously, "Who else could it be? His playthings! Three or four male favorites, each of them looks like a flower. The tone of his voice gave me goose bumps and I hid far away. He always made fun of me and said that if you don't show up again, he will give me two handsome men and let them serve me well. Do you think he is vicious? I heard that those handsome men were given to him by Princess Sude when she brought them back from her fiefdom."
Mei Niang frowned: "Is there such a thing? Princess Su De, is this good for him?"
"Children of the emperor's family, can't they play as they please? This kind of thing is common! Come on, change your clothes and go over, he's already here. You should teach him a lesson quickly, I can't stand this guy! He's torturing me to death!"
Lin Runan usually wears men's clothes, but Mei Niang wants to change clothes. Lin Runan pulls her to the closet, opens it and shows her. It is full of men's robes in all colors, made of high-quality materials and with fine workmanship. Mei Niang is stunned for a moment and says:
"We make so many men's clothes, but we only wear them occasionally."
Lin Runan smiled and said, "I didn't make this. The King of Qi gave it to you personally. He told you to change into it!"
Mei Niang snorted, "Am I his male favorite? I want him to give me clothes, but I threw them aside! I'm still wearing the red one I usually wear home yesterday. Let's go with the royal blue one!"
She called Cui Xi and Cui Lian in, helped them change their clothes, comb their hair, and tidy up. Then, she and Lin Runan walked through the flower corridor, passed the mahogany door, and entered Suochun Courtyard. They saw King Qi sitting in front of the drum stand, carefully reading the music score written by Li Qiuge.
Before Mei Niang and Lin Runan came close, King Qi had already noticed them. He raised his head, slightly raised the corners of his lips, revealing a rare smile without any impurities.
After the two of them finished their greetings, the King of Qi looked at Mei Niang and said, "Don't you like the clothes I brought? Why don't you wear them?"
"I don't wear things given to me by others. I have to buy them myself to be comfortable!"
The King of Qi snorted, "It's not a gift, it's compensation for you. Last time I soiled your clothes, and your scarf!"
He stretched out his hand, and immediately a servant came running over and handed him a brocade box. He handed it to Mei Niang and said, "I'll compensate you with this today!"
A big red brocade box was handed to her, and Mei Niang had no choice but to take it with both hands. At the signal of the King of Qi, she opened the brocade box. Inside were neatly stacked white silk scarves. She didn't know how many there were. They were a beautiful and pure snow cherry color, soft and thin. They felt warm and smooth to the touch. If she tied them around her body, it would definitely be very comfortable.
The King of Qi smiled and said, "This is carefully woven with silk from the heavenly silkworm. You will definitely like it!"
Mei Niang really liked him, but found it hard to accept. Even in modern society, men and women would only give each other personal items, such as scarves and ties, when they had an ambiguous relationship. Of course, she understood that the King of Qi regarded her as Jian Yu's shadow, and she felt uncomfortable at the thought. However, he was of noble status and it was not easy to offend him. There was no other way except to endure and carefully avoid him.
She closed the lid of the brocade box, and with an embarrassed expression, she handed it back to the King of Qi with both hands: "Your Highness, I have many silk scarves, and this Tiancan silk is too precious. Please..."
The King of Qi put away his smile and his face turned ugly: "I said, this is compensation for you. Whatever I give you, no matter how valuable it is, it is naturally better than yours... If you like it, wear it. If you don't like it, just burn it!"
After saying that, he turned around and walked away, quickly walked to the drum stand, picked up the drumsticks, and said coldly: "Start playing!"
Li Qiuge led the musicians to play the "Farewell Poem". The King of Qi beat the drums without missing a beat and played smoothly. Mei Niang could not help but admire his intelligence and extraordinary musical talent. Although he complained a lot when his "master" was not here for a few days, he actually practiced hard. It's just that he was too jumpy and acted differently, so others couldn't see that he was putting his heart into it. (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)