The prescription that Bai Jingyu got was sent to Huifangyuan by Cuisi before dinner. Cuisi also received an embroidered purse from Bai Jingyu, which contained a silver ingot weighing two taels, two bags of fine tea leaves, and two boxes of exotic balsam, which were given to the Lord and the Grandmother respectively. Bai Jingyu was not a person who was bored. She came to visit in the middle of the night to tell him something important - she brought news about Jinhuatang.
Cui Lian and Cui Si took Heng'er into the partition and put him on the bed to play. They both did needlework and watched him. Cui Xi went downstairs to make tea. Mei Niang invited Bai Jingyu to sit on the couch. After listening to Bai Jingyu's retelling of the old lady's words, she was secretly happy: It's done! I guess we'll know the result tomorrow!
Bai Jingyu was worried about Mei Niang: "I heard the maid report this morning that my eldest sister-in-law was irritating the old lady in Jinhua Hall, so I hurried to see what was going on. But when I arrived at Jinhua Hall, no one was there: my eldest sister-in-law was missing, and the old lady said she went to the palace to see the empress dowager. I was shocked at the time, and couldn't find my eldest sister-in-law anywhere, so I thought you had also gone to the palace a long time ago. I wanted to talk to Rulan, but I was afraid that she would worry too much, so I had to order the maids to keep their mouths shut and not gossip. I thought about it for a while, and then went to finish other things first, while keeping an eye on it. I secretly felt that the old lady should not be able to see the empress dowager, because today is the third baptism of the prince, how could the empress dowager have time to go to the palace? Not busy? The old lady is old, and she was not invited to watch the ceremony. If she went without being invited, she might not be able to enter the palace gate! Who knew that after waiting for a long time, the old lady still didn't come back until dinner time, so I had to eat first. Just after dinner, the second master sent someone to call me, saying that he had just picked up the old lady and asked me to go to Jinhua Hall to serve. I hurried over. The old lady was sitting in the hall, looking good and smiling. Cousin Zhuang was making tea, and the second master and the fifth master were chatting with her. Someone was sent to invite the second master and the second wife. The second master didn't come back, but the second wife came. I heard the old lady say that, and my heart was chilled. She said... Qin has a serious illness, is arrogant and rude, is unvirtuous and unfilial, and disobeys her elders. The Queen Mother is angry this time. She can issue an imperial decree to divorce her tomorrow or the day after tomorrow! What should I do? Sister-in-law should quickly find Brother to come back and discuss how to save the relationship. Issuing an imperial decree to divorce her is a serious matter! After Sister-in-law leaves the Xu Mansion, no matter how good everything is, I am afraid it will be difficult for her to marry again!"
Mei Niang laughed and said, "Thank you! But don't worry about me. I'll just divorce you. What's there to be afraid of? The old lady said that I have a serious illness, I'm arrogant and rude, I'm unvirtuous and unfilial, and I disobey my elders. These charges were made up by her. I don't admit any of them!"
Bai Jingyu lowered his head slightly: "People in the mansion naturally know what happened... But no matter what, the old lady is always the oldest generation in the mansion and even in the clan. Even the clan leader must respect her. Sometimes even the second master cannot disobey her when she says something. How dare my sister-in-law contradict her? Now the only one who can save this matter is my brother. Sister-in-law, what do you think, should we send someone to find him and bring him back quickly..."
Mei Niang knew that Bai Jingyu sincerely wanted to help her now. The relationship between people is subtle. People who originally disliked each other and were hostile to each other, after getting to know each other under certain circumstances, found that they could become friends worthy of mutual trust. I just don’t know if she would be shocked if she knew that the current Mei Niang was actually a different person.
Mei Niang decided to maintain her usual peaceful attitude and not tell anyone what she was thinking. There was no need to explain anything to Bai Jingyu. It would not be too late to talk about it after the result. No one would really help her. She had to find a way to leave the Xu Mansion by herself. As the saying goes, it is better to destroy a temple than to break up a marriage. People who were close to her, such as Cui Lian, who had seen how the Marquis treated her daughter badly in the past, were reluctant to let her leave the Xu Mansion, not to mention the people in the Xu Mansion who had a little affection for her.
Finally she could leave, and she would never let go of this opportunity. Apart from a few people she got along well with, there was nothing else for her to stay in the Xu Mansion. There was the hypocritical old woman, the moody and oppressive Madam Zheng, the second wife who would secretly compete with her and make her upset, and the second master who she didn't have much contact with and always had a stern face and didn't look at people straight in the eye. She couldn't afford to serve these top-notch elders. Then there was Xu Junying. A military general should be simple and direct, but his personality was unclear. After being together for so long, she seemed to see more of his lukewarm side. He would lecture her at every turn, just like the old lady and the first wife, who would use rules to oppress her. In fact, the old lady had a good eye. Zhuang Yulan was his best match. She would absolutely obey him and he didn't need to waste her breath to teach and admonish her.
She was willing to destroy her own virtuous image and had already gone this far. With so many charges against her, it was inevitable that she would be expelled from the Xu Mansion. This was the result she wanted. The only thing that made her feel a little guilty was that she had ruined the reputation of the Qin family, especially the unmarried girls of the Qin family, whose future would be affected. They might even want to chop Qin Shiliu Niang to death. There was no way. She didn't want this to happen. Things were developing a little too fast. She also wanted to minimize the adverse effects caused by this incident, so she made a three-month agreement with Xu Junying. Now it seems that the old saying is true: Man proposes, God disposes!
At worst, after divorcing her, she would never set foot in the Qin family again, and then ask for grace to leave the Qin family. As for Madam Qin, Qin Boqing and his wife, and the two newborn babies, she had done nothing to let them down. She had done what she should do. If they were willing to acknowledge her, she was still their flesh and blood. If they refused to acknowledge her, she could not force them, and she would not disturb them again.
When Mei Niang thought of this, her nose felt sore and her eyes were covered with tears. Bai Jingyu thought that she was sad because she was about to be divorced, and his eyes also turned red. She had experienced that kind of pain. At that time, when Xu Junlang held a wolf-hair brush and wrote the divorce letter quickly, she wanted to kill herself.
The two sat facing each other in silence. Cui Xi brought tea to Mei Niang, who then remembered the two bags of tea and precious balsam that Bai Jingyu had given her, and she thanked her. Bai Jingyu shook his head:
"Sister-in-law really treats me well, I know it in my heart, and I don't have any good things to give her, just these two things. The balsam was brought back by the fleet at sea, it has a unique fragrance, delicate and smooth. When I was at my mother's house, I always asked people to buy it. It is different from the homemade ones locally. Sister-in-law, use it first, and ask me to buy it back when I go out to sea. The tea is the last batch of autumn tea last year. Sister-in-law, have you heard of Yuxi Late Autumn? This is it, a world-famous fragrant tea, which may not be available even if you have money. I found it specially for Second Master as a gift. Now he is not on the same side with me, and I can't care about him. I only got four boxes of this tea in total. I gave one box to Rulan, kept one box for myself, and these two boxes are for you and Big Brother!"
Mei Niang wanted to say something but hesitated. In the end, she could only smile and say thank you again. Sometimes, you have to accept other people's kindness.
After taking a sip of hot tea, Bai Jingyu continued, "My father-in-law has twins. We received the good news and sent a gift yesterday. Tomorrow is the third day of the baby's birth. I asked the housekeeper to prepare according to the usual practice. The old lady, the first wife and the second wife each prepared a gift. The sisters-in-law of the same generation in each room came to discuss with me. I originally wanted to make a big gift together, but then I thought that since my father-in-law's son and daughter are twins, it should be divided more clearly. According to the rules, each person's gift is to pay a cent and choose according to their own wishes. Sister-in-law, do you think there is anything wrong with it? Because the first wife is ill, I had to go and discuss it with the second wife. The second wife said that when the second master comes back and asks, we will decide who will lead the way to the house to congratulate tomorrow. Rulan is pregnant and the month is not yet full, so it is not appropriate for her to go. No matter what the second wife decides, I will go with the eldest sister-in-law!"
Mei Niang thought that there was no need to reject Bai Jingyu's kindness at this time. The old lady came back from the palace and spoke so arrogantly and confidently, which meant that the empress dowager had given her a positive answer. The decisive moment that would determine her whole life was about to come. She might not even go back to Qin's house tomorrow, so she would have to wait for half a day to see what was happening in the palace.
So he said to Bai Jingyu, "Thank you for your trouble, Second Madam! Do everything according to the usual rules. You know the routine better than me, so there is no need to explain everything. You can sign the slip and do it for expenses below 300 taels. You don't have to ask me all the time. Director Rulan did the same before. I trust you. We will talk about He Sanchao's matter tomorrow. When the time comes, I will naturally take the lead. The elders are not feeling well, so it's okay not to go!"
Bai Jingyu felt a little sorry, as if she was an elder in the mansion. Mei Niang smiled and said, "It's okay. You know I've been in the mansion for a long time. I don't care about those empty things anymore!"
The two chatted casually, talking about Ruolan, the Second Master and the Second Mistress, the second wife's concubines, and Xu Junlang, the concubine who gave birth to his son. Bai Jingyu was more relaxed than before, and finally let go of some of his worries. He smiled and sighed, and while they were chatting, the maid from Huifang Courtyard came to report that the eldest sister woke up from her dream and cried for her mother. She was startled to realize how late it was, and hurriedly got up and said goodbye with an apologize. Mei Niang asked Cui Xi to hold the lamp, and the master and servant sent them out of the courtyard. When they saw them walking far away, they turned back and asked the maid to close the door and rest, not caring whether Xu Junying would come back or not. He still had another way to come and go freely, the small corner gate of the east courtyard. It hadn't rained in the past few days, so it would be best for him to rest in the east courtyard.
The gate of Tsinghua College closed, and two people walked out from the bushes not far from the gate. They were Baizhan and Baoju.
Baoju looked around and whispered to Baizhan, "Today at noon, after entering the palace to see the emperor, I left the city and took Xiao Chengzhi and others to the north. This time, the emperor still doesn't trust others when investigating the private soldiers and weapons of the King of Wei. I am a man of insight. I will know the truth after patrolling the King of Wei's fiefdom. Xiao Chengzhi and others can be assured to follow me. What I am worried about is the eldest grandmother. I am afraid that she will fly away. You and I have a heavy burden. You keep a close eye on the movements in the mansion. The few of us are only on the outer streets. The emperor is here for everything. Nothing serious should happen, but we can't be careless. You say that the eldest grandmother treats me like this now? And our master is a little shorter in front of her for no reason. He is really not like the old master! The master doesn't allow me to show up too quickly. He is hundreds of miles away from the city, and he doesn't allow me to say it, just to prevent the eldest grandmother from knowing that he has left the city... It would be fine if we could keep it a secret, but what if we can't? Grandma has a deep prejudice against us. The last time we were in Xiankelai, it was still a light punishment. I'm afraid we will have to endure a heavier punishment this time!"
Bai Zhan smiled bitterly: "As long as she doesn't run away, punish her! The grandmother is so smart, there is nothing she can't do to get rid of us!" (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)