The next morning, Mei Niang got up and asked Xu Junying if he had gone out. Cui Xi said that she didn't pay attention to when Hou Ye would come back last night. She got up in the middle of the night to take Heng'er into the inner room to pee. She deliberately looked at the curtain that was hanging down, but didn't see any light coming out. She got up early but didn't see Hou Ye, so she couldn't figure out whether Hou Ye had come back last night.
Cui Lian said, "He should have returned, but he probably returned too late to worry about disturbing the eldest lady and Heng'er, so he didn't come to the upper room. The maid on duty last night said she saw a light on in the Wenjin Pavilion in the east courtyard."
Mei Niang heard this and deliberately said, "Wenjinxuan is under repair because of a leak. Can people still live there? I'm afraid it's haunted, right?"
Cui Xi hurriedly said, "Grandma, please don't talk nonsense like that. That's Lord Hou's study!"
"I know. If it weren't for Lord Hou's study, I wouldn't dare to say that!"
Mei Niang joked and looked at Cui Xi and Cui Lian combing her hair in the mirror. She thought carefully for a while, then asked Wang Mama to come, saying that there was an important matter in the mansion which would probably take some time to deal with and she was afraid of missing the auspicious time. So she coaxed Wang Mama to take Cheng'er and Apple into the carriage, and went back to Qin's house with the gifts, telling Madam Qin the reason why she could not go back early so that she would not have to wait too long.
At the same time, he asked Cui Xi to reply to Bai Jingyu: The eldest grandma slept late last night and felt a little dizzy when she woke up this morning. She needs to lie down for a while. When she feels better, she will have to go to Qiuhua Courtyard to take care of the eldest lady after washing up and having breakfast. It seems that she cannot go to Qin's house too early. The grandmas who are going to congratulate and congratulate her don't have to rush. The third day of the newborn baby's bath is a common thing and you don't have to watch the baby's bath. The eldest grandma can lead everyone there later to express their regards and courtesy.
Bai Jingyu heard this strangely. The three-day baby-washing ceremony was attended by relatives and friends, especially the women, who came to congratulate her just to watch the ceremony. What did the great grandmother mean? But she was only the second grandmother after all, and the people who followed her were the great grandmother's relatives from her mother's family. Although she was confused, she couldn't just run to ask her. She could only listen carefully and be ready to go out with the great grandmother when she called.
Cuisi went to inform Baizhan to escort Mama Wang and the others back to Qin's house. He agreed verbally and hesitated for a while. After Cuisi left, he immediately arranged for four people to go with Mama Wang and the others. He himself remained in Hou Mansion, and he would follow whenever the grandmother left.
Who would have thought that Cui Si would return to the side hall of the second gate within less than half an hour after leaving, and stood at the entrance of the hall, and nodded to Bai Zhan: "Follow me!"
Bai Zhan was startled at first, but soon calmed down, stood up, bowed to Cui Si and said, "Sister Cui Si, what instructions do you have? Is the grandmother going to go to the Qin Mansion?"
Cui Si glanced at him and said, "I am not worthy of being your sister. Do I need to tell you where the grandmother is going? You are not a rabbit. With your method, who can you protect? Just follow me and I will ask you a few questions!"
Bai Zhan's face turned slightly red, that was because he was angry. This girl was just like that and would not change. She was always so rude to him no matter what he said. He felt a little embarrassed in front of his subordinates.
He and Baoju are not just sitting back and waiting, they have actually woven a net to cover the entire mansion. Their purpose is of course to stop the big fish, Grandma. If they can't stop her, at least they won't lose her trace.
Bai Zhan held back his anger, stared at his subordinate who was winking at him, and asked tentatively: "Sister Cui Si, if you have anything to say, can't you ask it here? The Marquis is not back yet, so I can't enter the inner courtyard without permission..."
Cui Si said, "Master Hou is not at home, will you listen to Grandma's words? If not, forget it, I have told you - tell your sister not to do it in front of me, you are not a precious pearl!"
Bai Zhan was so angry that his head was smoking, but he couldn't get angry. They couldn't afford to offend the maids in Qinghua Court whose names contained the word "Cui". The master had said: Protect the grandmother and Heng'er with all your heart and soul. The maids who came with the grandmother as a dowry were the ones she relied on, so they couldn't be offended easily...
Bai Zhan followed Cui Si with his head down, all the way to the upper room of Qinghua Courtyard. Mei Niang was feeding Heng Er breakfast. She smiled gently and motioned Cui Si to invite Bai Zhan to sit down. Bai Zhan thanked her but did not dare to sit down. Mei Niang asked Bai Zhan if he had eaten breakfast. Bai Zhan said he had. Mei Niang said casually, "Master came back too late last night and had to go out before dawn this morning. He refused to eat a bite of the breakfast that was prepared and placed on the table. Is there something more delicious waiting for him outside the mansion?"
Bai Zhan was startled for a moment, then replied: "My master has something urgent to do today, so I have to leave the house early... When I'm outside, I rarely eat at other restaurants except Xiankelai..."
"So, you mean that Master went out to have breakfast at Xiankelai this morning?"
"Yes or no!"
Bai Zhan broke out in a cold sweat: Xiankelai couldn't possibly open its doors to welcome guests before dawn. Even if Lord Hou went there as a son-in-law and asked the people at Xiankelai to cook for him, that wouldn't make sense. Urgent matters should be dealt with immediately, and one can't go to Xiankelai just for breakfast. It would be better to eat at home if he did that.
I might as well say something that cannot be questioned: "To answer my grandmother: I was on an empty stomach this morning and didn't have breakfast!"
"I see. He went back to his room last night and went to sleep. I don't know whether he had dinner or not!"
Bai Zhan lowered his head very low, his voice a little unclear: "Replying to Grandma: Master came back too late last night, and was afraid of worrying Grandma, so he went to Wenjinxuan to read official documents. Although Wenjinxuan has not been repaired yet, it is still okay to take a break for a while!"
Mei Niang smiled slightly: Bai Zhan is quite smart, I am afraid that I won't get anything out of him if I ask him any more, so let's stop here. Bai Zhan will not tell her the truth, and she can roughly guess from his expression: Xu Junying may have left the capital yesterday.
"Go down and let Baoju come to see me. I have two questions for him!"
Didn't Xu Junying say to leave Baoju and Baizhan with her? If Xu Junying didn't leave, Baoju would still follow him. If Baoju arrived as soon as he was told, it meant that he had really left. Then, there was no need to wait for two days. Whether there was any movement from the Queen Mother in the palace today, Mei Niang could take Heng'er to live in Cen's house. Who could stop her
After Bai Zhan left, Heng'er was full. Mei Niang saw that the weather was fine and the flowers and plants in the courtyard looked particularly fresh and beautiful under the bright and warm sunshine. She took Heng'er to bask in the sun in the courtyard, helped him learn to walk, chase butterflies, took his little hand to touch the flowers, and let him smell the fragrance of the flowers. The mother and son played happily for a long time and sweated all over. After the noon hour, she asked someone to bring warm water to wipe Heng'er's hands and face, change his sweaty clothes, and let Xia Lian and Cui Si hold him. Mei Niang was about to go into the inner room to wash, put on makeup again, and take Heng'er to Qiuhua Courtyard, but she saw the old woman leading the housekeeper, Mother Lin, coming. Mother Lin looked a little flustered, and said hurriedly without even saluting:
"Reporting to the eldest madam: Several people have come to the palace. Among them is a eunuch holding a yellow satin scroll in his hand, shouting that the imperial edict has come down, and all the imperial eunuchs in the palace should quickly receive it! The second madam is arranging the matters for receiving the edict, and has sent someone to invite the old lady. The eldest madam, please quickly put on your makeup and go to the front hall to receive the edict!"
Mei Niang was pleasantly surprised and said, "I heard it clearly. It was the imperial decree, right?"
"To Grandma: I heard it right!"
Mei Niang immediately called Cui Xi and Cui Lian to follow her into the house, washed herself, changed her clothes and put on makeup, and told nurse Xia Lian to hold Heng'er and follow her, and walked briskly towards the front hall.
The old lady had already arrived and was chatting politely with the visitor from the palace. When she saw Mei Niang walk into the front hall and cross the courtyard, the old lady looked at her coldly and said to Eunuch Tan who was standing upright with the imperial edict in his hand:
"Father, have you ever seen such a granddaughter-in-law? She is so arrogant and conceited, and has no knowledge of etiquette. She doesn't even take father-in-law seriously, and she even leaves the elderly grandmother out in the wind!"
Eunuch Tan snorted, "The Queen Mother cannot tolerate women without moral integrity. Today, I will divorce the wicked wife for Marquis Weiyuan and expel this unvirtuous and unfilial grandson-in-law from the mansion for the old lady!"
Mei Niang couldn't hear what the old lady and Eunuch Tan were saying. She just looked at the expressions on their faces and guessed that she might not leave a good impression on Eunuch Tan. It didn't matter anyway. She deliberately didn't move forward. She just stopped far away and bowed slightly to Eunuch Tan and the old lady as a greeting.
Eunuch Tan was even more dissatisfied and raised his head arrogantly: "Kneel and accept the order!"
On the yellow pear wood incense table, three incense sticks were inserted in the golden censer, and puffs of light white smoke rose up. Old Mrs. Xu led all the men, women, young and old in the mansion to kneel in front of the table, looking straight ahead, listening attentively to Eunuch Tan reading out the imperial edict.
Eunuch Tan read: "... she has disregarded filial piety, disobeyed her elders, and has lost her female virtue... The Marquis of Weiyuan is allowed to divorce this evil woman, take back the imperial edict, remove her phoenix crown and bridal robe, and let her mother, brother or clan members take her back to raise her separately. Qin's son is young, so he is allowed to take him away from the Xu Mansion... From now on, marriage, life and death, illness and disability will have nothing to do with each other..."
Old Mrs. Xu let out a long sigh, and Mei Niang also felt extremely relieved. However, Zhuang Yulan, who was not yet qualified to kneel in front of the incense table with the rest of the family to receive the emperor's orders, hid behind a carved door in the front hall, her face flushed, and she pressed her hand against her chest, almost breathless with excitement.
Eunuch Tan finished reading the last sentence of the imperial decree in a drawn-out tone, glanced at the people from the Xu residence who were kneeling at his feet to express their gratitude, folded the imperial decree in half with both hands, and said:
"This is the evidence to remove the imperial edict and title and divorce the evil wife. Madam Xu, please accept the order on behalf of the Marquis!"
Old Madam Xu had a solemn and dignified look on her face. She knelt on the ground with her hands raised high. Just as she was about to receive the roll of yellow silk handed over by Eunuch Tan, she heard a voice shouting:
"Wait a minute!"
Everyone was shocked: Who has the guts to shout in the mansion to stop the imperial edict from being delivered
Just as Eunuch Tan was about to scold, he saw who was coming from the side and controlled his mouth in time.
The person who came was Ji Qing, who was beside the emperor. Although Eunuch Tan was older than Ji Qing and had more experience in the palace than Ji Qing, having been in charge of the affairs of the Cining Palace for many years, he was not the chief steward of the harem after all. Even if he did not take Ji Qing seriously, he still had to bow to Ji Qing according to the palace rules.
Ji Qing stepped forward, stretched out his hand and took the scroll of imperial decree from Eunuch Tan's bosom, unfolded it and looked at Eunuch Tan with slanted eyes:
"It is said that Eunuch Tan is careless and sloppy in his work. It turns out that it is not a rumor! Is this the Queen Mother's decree? Why is there a blank? Where is the Phoenix Seal?"
Eunuch Tan was stunned: he had drafted the Empress Dowager's edict last night, and it was approved by the Empress Dowager, who copied it personally. The phoenix seal was neatly stamped on the lower right side of the edict, so how could it be missing
He leaned towards Ji Qing and wanted to raise his finger to show Ji Qing, but Ji Qing slammed the imperial edict shut and said sternly:
"Eunuch Tan, once is a mistake, twice is a fault. You have done such foolish things more than once or twice. If this imperial edict, which was not copied well and not stamped with the phoenix seal, was handed over to Madam Xu, you would be convicted of falsely conveying the imperial edict!" (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)