It turned out that the old lady didn't want Mei Niang to sit in the room for a long time. Seeing that she didn't speak and kept looking at Heng'er, she said to her: "Ying'er finally got a day off, and now you have to take care of your mother-in-law. This is something you should do! Serve your mother-in-law, send someone to take some silver and other things to the Zheng family, and complete the etiquette of our Xu family. Speaking of it, Miss Yubiao is just an unmarried little girl who died of illness. If it weren't for the fact that she grew up in our house since she was a child, there would be no need to even ask! Well, considering that your mother-in-law loves her, prepare some money for her funeral. If you do it now, you have to take care of the affairs of the house, so you will not be able to take care of Heng'er. Leave Heng'er with me and let Lan'er take care of him. Lan'er cares about children the most. Look how close Heng'er is to her and how happy he laughs!"
As if to confirm the old lady's words, Zhuang Yulan stretched out her hand and said with a smile: "Heng'er, come here!"
Heng'er then obediently opened his arms and threw himself into Zhuang Yulan's arms. Zhuang Yulan happily hugged him and instructed Jinsuo:
"Tell someone to go to the kitchen and bring Heng'er's lunch to Jinhua Hall. Heng'er wants beef porridge and fish porridge. His lunch needs to come quickly. Children need to eat when they are hungry. After lunch, he needs to take a nap!"
The old lady nodded with satisfaction. Bai Jingyu looked at Mei Niang and said with a smile, "Sister Lan seems to know more about Heng'er's preferences than your sister-in-law!"
Zhuang Yulan said shyly, "I know what Heng'er likes to eat and play. I heard some of it from my cousin Yu a while ago..."
Bai Jingyu suddenly realized: "No wonder Heng'er became so close to Sister Lan as soon as he arrived!"
As Zhuang Yulan was talking, the two bright red flowers on her head trembled, attracting Heng'er. The little guy reached out to grab them, but when he saw her avoid him, he thought she was playing a joke on him. He giggled and tried even harder to climb up and grab them. Zhuang Yulan had to take care of her hairstyle and couldn't hold him steady, so she kept shouting, "Heng'er, Heng'er, stop messing around! Jinsuo, come here quickly!"
Jinsuo ran over and hugged Heng'er away. Heng'er was unhappy, shaking his hands and kicking his feet, and yelling. Zhuang Yulan quickly took off the bunch of gauze palace flowers on her head and quickly handed them to him. Only then did he stop, took the flowers and looked at them for a while, then put them in his mouth to bite. Zhuang Yulan didn't feel sorry for him, but just smiled and said, "Look at you, you can eat anything?"
Mei Niang walked up, snatched the gauze flower from Heng'er's hand, and threw it onto the round table. It just happened to fall into the blue and white porcelain bowl filled with preserved fruits. It looked very much like a cold bowl decoration on the dining table. It was bitten to pieces by Heng'er, but it was still bright and attractive.
Mei Niang tapped Heng Er's forehead and said with a stern face, "If you dare to bite anything again, and put all kinds of messy things in your mouth, I will pull out your little rabbit teeth!"
Heng'er looked up at her blankly, with a look of nervousness on his face. Zhuang Yulan hurriedly said, "What are you doing? You scared Heng'er!"
The old lady was also dissatisfied: "How can you talk to a child like that? No wonder Heng'er doesn't like you. You are not acting like a mother!"
Mei Niang bowed to the old lady and said with a smile: "My granddaughter-in-law has a bad temper, please don't be surprised! Since cousin Lan is willing to take Heng'er with her, that's great. My granddaughter-in-law will leave now and go back to work!"
The old lady waved her hand and said, "Go, go! You have another busy day. If you are too tired at night, you don't have to come!"
Mei Niang did not look at Heng Er either. She just raised her voice slightly and said to Cui Xi: "Let's go, let's go back!"
As soon as he turned behind the screen, Heng'er couldn't see her and suddenly exploded, crying loudly and struggling hard in Jinsuo's arms. Jinsuo almost let him break free and screamed in fear: "Hurry up! Sister Ruixue, Sister Ruiyu! I can't hold on anymore, my brother is going to fall!"
Zhuang Yulan wanted to come up and hug him, but Heng'er's two chubby little paws scratched her. Her hair was untied, her hairpins and rings fell to the ground, and one of her earrings was held in his hand. Zhuang Yulan screamed in pain. The old lady was so anxious that she pointed east and west with her hands and shouted, "You, why don't you go up and see what's going on!"
Bai Jingyu, Fang, Ruixue, Ruiyu, and even Ji's mother came out and rushed to help. Heng'er was really scared this time. In fear, he used more force on his hands, grabbing whoever he caught and not letting go easily. The adults didn't dare to do anything to him, and just wanted to pry his hands open, but he didn't understand this and just refused to let go.
In the chaos, Xia Lian came up and shouted, "Heng'er! Heng'er, look who's here? Your mother is here!"
Hengger pricked up his ears and turned to look at Xia Lian. He loosened his hands and looked left and right but couldn't see Mei Niang. He closed his eyes and burst into tears. Tears and snot flew everywhere. The louder he cried, the louder his voice became. The old lady couldn't stand such a noise. She felt her head buzzing and stars flashed before her eyes. She shouted hurriedly:
"Hurry, hurry! Run and call his mother back, and take him back!"
A maid had already run out and gave instructions to the maidservants in the corridor. As soon as one of the maidservants ran out of the gate of Jinhua Courtyard, she saw Mei Niang and her servant walking slowly in front of them, so she quickly invited them back.
Mei Niang returned to the hall and saw Zhuang Yulan and several maids with disheveled clothes and messy hair. She was so amused: "Oh my! How come they are like this after I was away for a while? Who did this?"
He took Heng'er from Xia Lian's hand, patted him and said, "Why are you crying? Man, aren't your tears worth anything?"
Heng'er raised his tearful eyes and looked at her carefully, then he leaned into her arms, yawned, and stopped moving.
Xia Lian looked down at him and smiled, "Close your eyes. I want to sleep!"
Bai Jingyu breathed a sigh of relief: "No wonder some children always make a scene before going to bed..."
Mei Niang looked at Zhuang Yulan and said with a smile, "Heng'er will fall asleep soon. When he falls asleep, can you stay here and let cousin Lan take care of him?"
Zhuang Yulan turned her head away, pretending not to hear, and walked inside with Jinsuo in hand: "Go back quickly and comb my hair again!"
The old lady waved her hands tiredly: "Take him back, and let the nurse and Xia Lian take care of him carefully. Don't let him fall again!"
Mei Niang responded readily and obediently, holding Heng'er and quickly walked out of Jinhua Hall.
Heng'er was indeed very heavy, and even heavier when he was asleep. Mei Niang carried him to the curved corridor in the garden, and she felt tired. However, she liked the feeling of Heng'er sleeping in her arms. She could not get enough of looking at his pretty, chubby, and tender little face. She was reluctant to leave him to the nurse or Xia Lian, so she simply held him and sat under the curved corridor. She took the swaddle from the nurse and wrapped Heng'er up, while telling Cui Xi and Cui Si to go and do something. Before Cui Xi left, she reminded her:
"Grandma, you should go back quickly and let Xia Lian hold my brother. It's windy in the garden and I'm afraid he'll catch a cold!"
Mei Niang smiled and replied: "I know, I'll be back soon, you guys go!"
While stroking Heng'er's face, Mei Niang saw Xu Junying coming from the curved corridor. She felt unhappy: Why is he here again? Didn't he go to accompany his stepmother
Xu Junying walked closer and said, "Let me hold Heng'er!"
Without waiting for Mei Niang's consent, he bent down and stretched out his arms to carry Heng'er away. Mei Niang had no choice but to stand up and walk behind him, asking, "Why are you here? How is the wife?"
Xu Junying sighed, "Madam is not feeling well! You should have been there to serve her, but now you can't. The chief steward just reported that someone from the palace is waiting in the second hall to announce the imperial edict... Let's go back to the courtyard quickly. You still have to put on your make-up, and then we will go to the second hall in the front courtyard to receive the imperial edict. Heng'er will be left in the care of Madam Wang and Cuixi."
Mei Niang was delighted: "Yes, the Queen summoned me to see you?"
Xu Junying glanced at her and said, "The queen is about to give birth. If she summons you to the palace to meet her, you must not say anything nonsense. If you disturb her mind and something goes wrong, we will not be able to bear the consequences!"
Mei Niang pursed her lips and thought to herself that it was true. Giving birth to a child was a big deal and the Queen really couldn't be distracted at this time. So she sighed and nodded:
"I see!"
Two young eunuchs came and read out the emperor's edict. An incense table was set up in the second hall of the mansion. All the men with official titles and women of noble rank who had been bestowed with titles had to come out and kneel to receive the edict. Mei Niang, wearing a phoenix crown and a bridal robe and solemn makeup, walked out with Xu Junying, who was wearing a dragon robe and a jade belt. The women of the mansion who were waiting for news at the second porch were stunned. After Mei Niang got married and was bestowed with titles, there was almost no chance to see her wearing this gorgeous dress. The splendor and noble temperament she exuded were a perfect match for the handsome and mighty Lord Hou.
Zhuang Yulan and Mother Ji also accompanied the old lady over. When she looked at Xu Junying, the admiration and love in her eyes grew, but when she looked at Mei Niang, she was like a daze. In her mind, Mei Niang's face turned into hers. The one wearing a phoenix coronet and leaning against cousin Ying like a little bird should be herself, not her - Qin Mei Niang!
The old lady and the second wife were already waiting in front of the hall. The second master Xu Xiping and his nephews were also waiting on the side. As soon as the Weiyuan Marquis and his wife came out, the eunuch holding the whisk sang: "Kneel—receive the order!"
The family members knelt in a row, with men on the left and women on the right, in order of rank. Another eunuch then opened the imperial edict and read it out. It was just as Xu Junying had guessed: the queen was about to give birth, and dozens of women from other dynasties were selected to enter the palace. A famous nun with great accomplishments led them to chant Buddhist scriptures to pray for the queen and the dragon fetus in her belly.
The ladies summoned to the Weiyuan Marquis's residence were originally Madam Xu and Young Madam Qin. Madam Xu was ill and bedridden, so Madam Gui was not qualified. So the old lady had to go. They chanted Buddhist scriptures for two days and one night. Fearing that the old lady would not be able to bear it, the father-in-law said, "Chanting scriptures and praying for blessings is for smooth sailing. You must be sincere. If it is inconvenient for the old lady, she doesn't have to go. Young Madam can go alone!"
The old lady said hurriedly: "Of course I sincerely pray for the Queen and the prince. Although I am a little old, I am still strong... But it would be better if I could bring one or two granddaughters with me!"
The father-in-law nodded and said, "That's fine. Bring a well-behaved child in so that we can take care of him better!"
The old lady thanked her eunuch and a smile appeared on her face: Bring Lan'er to the palace and let everyone in the mansion see her. Although she has not married Junying, she has a status and can enter the palace to pray for the queen!
If I can still take advantage of the opportunity to be summoned by the Queen Mother, that would be even better. I can take Lan'er to see the Queen Mother and urge her to issue an imperial decree to let them get married quickly. The sooner Lan'er gives birth to a legitimate son, the better. Heng'er is still young, and Junying is now living in the upper room. Even if Mei Niang is favored again, what does it matter? As long as Lan'er gives birth to a boy, with the ancestors around, he will definitely be able to become the prince in at least three to five years! (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)