After coming out of Ziyun Hall, Mei Niang looked back at the three maids and asked Cui Si, "Did Mom go to patrol the garden again this morning?"
Cui Si nodded: "Yes, I went again, with Cheng'er and a few maids."
Mei Niang asked Cui Xi again: "Last time, Bai Zhan found that Lin Mama and Yu Mama were leading the way for us. Can we still go to the west courtyard now?"
Cui Xi replied: "Mr. Hou only ordered an investigation, but did not touch them. Perhaps he allowed us to come and go as we please. I thought that grandma would not go around to the west courtyard. Mrs. Yu is still in charge of the courtyards over there. It should be okay for us to leave, but Lin Amao has already gone to Xiankelai, and there is no one to drive the carriage!"
"That's right, there's no one to drive the carriage!" Mei Niang pondered, "I want to go out today, but I don't want to use the people and carriage of the Hou Mansion. What should I do if I don't want Bai Zhan to know?"
Cui Xi said, "If we go out from the back door, have someone go out the back alley, turn out to the main street and rent a car, that's fine, but it'll take time."
"How long will it take?"
"It should take half an hour!"
Mei Niang made a decision: "You go and do it! The one who is in charge of the back door is Mrs. Zhang, right? There is a flat alley outside the back door, and there is another door in the flat alley. Once you reach the back alley, you can turn directly out to the street. Mrs. Fang who is guarding the back door of the flat alley is straightforward and will only do things based on the sign. You go with the sign! I will take Cui Si and Cui Lian back to the courtyard to change clothes and put on masks. We won't be able to eat in time. By the time we get to the back door, your car will have arrived. Let's go directly to Xiankelai for dinner!"
Fortunately, Mother Wang had not returned to Tsinghua Courtyard. Before her, Mei Niang went into the upper room to pack up. She left Cui Lian to look after the house and took Cui Si with her, going briskly to the back door under the pretext of inspecting the decoration of Jingyuan.
Cuixi's carriage was waiting at the back door. It was driven by an honest driver. Although the carriage was old, it was clean. Cuixi also took a few cushions from Jingyuan and put them inside. She didn't feel anything when sitting. It was a smooth journey. They soon arrived at Xiankelai. They entered from the backyard again. Old man Zou, who was guarding the gate, heard Cuixi's voice and opened the gate to let them pass. They stopped in the yard. The master and servant got off the carriage, paid the fare, and sent the driver away. Lu Xiangfeng came out to greet them. Mei Niang said, "We haven't eaten yet. It's noon now. There should be a lot of guests in the front hall. Let's go to the rest room and send some food up. Have lunch first!"
Lu Xiangfeng leaned forward and said, "Miss, please go upstairs and wait for a moment. I will arrange it right away and deliver the hot meals and dishes immediately!"
Cui Xi said, "Manager Lu has something to do, I'll go to the kitchen. It's better for me to choose the food for the young lady."
Lu Xiangfeng glanced at Cui Xi and said, "Thank you, sister!"
Cui Xi's face flushed slightly, and she hesitated to speak. Mei Niang found it interesting and said with a smile: "Shopkeeper Lu is a few years older than our Cui Xi. You don't have to call her sister, just call her by her name!"
Lu Xiangfeng lowered his head when he heard this. Seeing this, Cui Si smiled mischievously: "Go ahead! Sister Cui Xi, Sister Cui Si, I think it sounds good!"
Lu Xiangfeng's face turned red to his ears, but he didn't dare to look up. Mei Niang held back her laughter and pointed at Cui Si: "Why are you making fun of Shopkeeper Lu for no reason? Shopkeeper Lu is good-tempered and won't bother with you, but don't do this in front of other people in the store!"
After saying that, she turned and went upstairs. Cui Si stuck out her tongue lightly and left with Mei Niang, leaving Cui Xi and Lu Xiangfeng in the corridor, trying to get through. In the end, Cui Xi lowered her head and left first.
Several fresh and exquisite dishes were served. Cui Xi had just served half a bowl of fragrant white rice to Mei Niang, but before she could eat, Lu Xiangfeng came again and said in a somewhat embarrassed tone:
"His Highness the Prince of Qi is coming to the inn to eat! Knowing that the young lady is here, His Highness wants to follow..."
Mei Niang was stunned for a moment, and Cui Xi said, "When will the Prince of Qi come? The young lady hasn't even had a bite of food yet. Shopkeeper Lu, can't you just say that the young lady isn't here? At least stop him!"
"Who dares to stop me?"
The clear voice of King Qi came from the door. Cui Xi was so scared that her hands trembled. Mei Niang hurriedly patted her, stood up, left the table, walked to the open space, bent down to greet King Qi.
"Greetings, His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi!"
The King of Qi was wearing a royal blue python satin embroidered robe, a jade crown to hold his hair together, a rhinoceros leather belt inlaid with gemstones tied around his waist, and thick-soled boots of the same color. He had a smile in his eyes, but his face was so cold that anyone who saw him would retreat a few steps away. He walked to the table and sat down. He looked at the masters and servants who were kneeling beside him and said:
"It's not like we haven't seen it before. Not even a sparrow comes here. Who are you doing all this empty ceremony for? Get up!"
Mei Niang led Cui Xi and Cui Si to stand up. The King of Qi raised his hand and pointed at Cui Xi, saying to Mei Niang, "Your personal maid? How dare she teach Shopkeeper Lu to deceive me, and even blocked her from coming up! Like master, like servant. She doesn't even take me seriously as a maid. Humph!"
Cui Xi was already frightened, and her face turned even paler. She knelt down on both knees and kowtowed: "It is I who have offended Your Highness, it has nothing to do with the master, please punish me, Your Highness!"
Mei Niang said: "Masters and servants are inseparable, and servants protect their masters. Isn't this normal? The people around His Highness treat His Highness the same way as Cui Xi!"
The King of Qi looked at her and said, "You, compare your people with my people?"
Mei Niang lowered her eyes: "I dare not! It's just an analogy!"
The King of Qi snorted, glanced at her and said, "I only said that I would not go to your Cen residence. I don't feel comfortable in that courtyard, but I didn't say that I would not come to Xiankelai! You are very obedient and never go through the front door. My people saw Manager Lu go to the back to meet you. If I didn't follow him, you would refuse to come to the front hall to see me, right?"
Facing the still arrogant King Qi, Mei Niang sighed inwardly, looked at him seriously and said, "No, I will go to the front hall to meet His Highness!"
The King of Qi's eyes flashed, and he turned to Cui Xi and said, "Okay, get up! I think you are a brave girl..."
Pointing at the food on the table, he said, "This is delicious food. Why don't you eat it while it's hot? I'm hungry! Come and sit down, let's eat together!"
Mei Niang had no choice but to go and sit opposite him, so she took a seat to his right. Cui Xi and Cui Si came up to serve him. The King of Qi picked up his chopsticks and looked left and right:
"This is also a vegetable of Cyclamen, how come I have never seen it before?"
Mei Niang said: "This is a dish on the regular menu. Your Highness usually orders the finest delicacies from the mountains and the sea, and doesn't eat these!"
"How ridiculous!" The King of Qi picked up a green fern and said, "Why don't you let me eat such fresh vegetables? What's the point of eating all those big fish and meat? What's the name of this dish?"
Mei Niang looked at Cui Xi, and Cui Xi announced the name of the dish: "Your Highness: This is stir-fried green fern, and the whole dish is called The Wizard of Oz!"
The King of Qi asked, "Where is the immortal?"
"When you eat it, you will find tender, white and sweet spring bamboo shoots inside!"
The King of Qi smiled and pointed to another plate: "What about that one?"
"That's called 'Three Musketeers of the Countryside'!"
"You!" The King of Qi stared at her. "You were eaten by others. What kind of swordsman is that? Who gave you the name?"
Cuixi lowered her head, Mei Niang said: "Your Highness, don't worry about it. It's just the name of a dish. I came up with it because it's novel and interesting. I didn't think of any other meaning. Cuixi has read some poetry and books since she was a child, and her handwriting is neat and beautiful, so I asked her to write the menu. When Your Highness asked, let her report the name of the dish."
As they were eating, the King of Qi looked at Cui Xi again and suddenly said to Mei Niang, "This girl is good. You have trained her well. Give her to me!"
Cui Xi was about to move the two dishes when she was shocked when she heard this. She looked at Mei Niang in horror. Mei Niang was also stunned and looked at King Qi:
"I only have these two maids who are my personal servants. They have been with me since childhood and take care of many things for me. What should I do if I give them to you?"
The King of Qi said, "How many servants do you want? I will give you this and that!"
He pointed at Cui Si, whose face turned pale and she was about to cry. The King of Qi continued, "The people around you are all very courageous. My subordinate did something that I liked. I was thinking of rewarding him with something. Here are these two girls. Let them be his concubines!"
Not to mention how miserable Cui Xi and Cui Si looked, Mei Niang almost fainted. She put down her chopsticks and glared at the King of Qi, revealing her vicious look:
"You have so many beauties in your palace, can't you just give him as many as you want? Why should my people become concubines for your men?"
The King of Qi was stunned for a moment, then he laughed: "Look at you! How fierce are you? You are my most capable confidant, a fourth-rank general. You can have as many beauties as you want, but the girl next to you is different..."
"What's the difference? They're all women!"
The King of Qi was silent for a moment, then said, "If I say they are different, then they are different! Then we only need one, and you can give the other two to whomever you like!"
"Not even one!"
King Qi glared: "Cen Meimei!"
Mei Niang refused to give in: "Zhao Bao, I tell you: my girl will not be a concubine!"
The King of Qi was stunned for a moment, then nodded: "Well, how about being a concubine or a wife?"
"No matter! My girl must be the principal wife, the head of the family! And the man who marries her must have a concubine. We will be together for life, together till old age!"
The King of Qi looked at her for a long time before he said, "Forget it. You can't let her divorce her and marry someone else, right? Keep her. I have many unmarried men and will marry them. Give her a good place to go!"
Mei Niang looked at Cui Xi, who looked at her pitifully with tears in her eyes. Mei Niang thought for a moment and said to the King of Qi, "Don't worry, Your Highness. My girl has already been engaged and has not been released yet!"
"Tell me, who did you order it for?"
"He is also someone close to me. We are not married yet, so it is inconvenient to talk about it!"
"That's not true! You're still keeping your engagement a secret? If you tell me, I'll be compared to the people around me!"
Mei Niang glanced at Lu Xiangfeng, who was standing far away at the door, with his head down, looking like a transparent person, and said through gritted teeth:
"It's Shopkeeper Lu! Although he is not as good at fighting as the people around you and has no military merit, he is good at business and has talent, and is not inferior to them!"
"You are trying to fool me again!" The King of Qi slammed the table angrily and said, "How can a subordinate get engaged when the girl is not married yet?"
Cui Xi and Cui Si turned pale again. Mei Niang lowered her head, closed her eyes, and said, "I already have someone!"
Lu Xiangfeng at the door looked up in surprise, and saw King Qi staring at Mei Niang blankly, pointing his finger at her: "You, you, you are not allowed to do this, coaxing me again and again, I will be really angry!" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation and monthly tickets at Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.) (To be continued)