17 Leaving the House
In the Cining Palace, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor were shocked beyond words when they heard the report from the eunuch in charge of ceremonies - the first imperial edict sent to the Xu Mansion to allow Weiyuan Marquis Xu Junying to divorce his wife had been confiscated, but was forcibly taken back by the Prince of Qi on the way. The eunuch in charge of ceremonies refused to hand it over at first, but the Prince of Qi raised his hand and slapped him twice, and in a few seconds he took the offending imperial edict from his arms. Before the six or seven eunuchs who followed him could react, the Prince of Qi had already disappeared with his men.
Ji Qing then returned to the palace and went to the Cining Palace to meet the emperor. The emperor's face turned pale. He waved his hand and left the Cining Palace with the eunuchs and guards.
The Queen Mother could no longer sit still. The palace maids helped her put on her shoes and get off the couch. She watched the Emperor leave and called out to Eunuch Tan: "Hurry up, I want to go to Prince Qi's mansion! This evil creature, this enemy! What does he want to do? Ah? He is responsible for everything. He won't stop until he tortures me to death!"
Ji Qing followed the emperor in a quick pace along the wide corridor of the palace, while telling him in detail what he had seen and heard in the Xu residence. The emperor frowned as he listened:
"What is going on? The Prince of Qi and Qin Mei Niang—Qin Mei Mei, one is defending the border against the enemy, the other is living in the mansion, they don't know each other! The Prince of Qi has only been back in the capital for four or five months, when did he meet Qin Mei Mei? Xu Junying refused to take a concubine and treated Mei Mei wholeheartedly, what else could she be dissatisfied with? Could it be that what Mrs. Xu and the Queen Mother said about Qin's immorality is true? She has ulterior motives and insists on getting the imperial decree for divorce, and she even cries about it, causing the Prince of Qi to snatch the imperial decree halfway. What do they mean? Is there something hidden? But the Prince of Qi, he is not..."
The emperor stared at Ji Qing. Ji Qing shook his head in confusion at first, thought for a moment, and then said carefully: "Your Majesty, do you still remember that when the Prince of Qi was a child, he stood up for the young eunuchs who were bullied in the palace. Once, the Prince of Lu used a horse whip to punish his young eunuch, and he stepped forward to stop him. After arguing for a long time, he finally fought with the Prince of Lu until his head was broken and bloody..."
The emperor snorted, "That was in the palace. No matter what it was, as long as it was not allowed to be spread out, who would know? And he has always helped the little Tailin out of righteousness. Have you ever seen him help the little palace maid?"
"What does the Emperor mean?"
"There are almost no maids in the Prince Qi's mansion, that's because the Prince Qi doesn't like women, but now he treats the wife of Weiyuan Marquis differently, and he doesn't hesitate to go against my will for her! If he didn't have any intentions towards Qin Meimei, would he be so stupid? He is the prince, my brother, and Xu Junying is an important official in the court, my left arm and right arm. Why wouldn't he go after anyone else? Why did he go after Qin Meimei? What does he want to do if the subjects knew about it? Pass on my oral order, this matter is not allowed to be spread, and those who violate it will be punished!"
The emperor was once again infuriated by the prince of Qi's absurdity, and said bitterly: "After he gets into trouble, he will definitely not return to the palace of the prince of Qi, in case I go to find him. You go and tell those people in the palace of the prince of Qi: If the imperial edict does not come back before sunset tomorrow, I will definitely seal him off from the palace of the prince of Qi. Within a year, even if he grows wings, he will not be able to fly out of the palace!"
The Emperor and the Queen Mother were upset and angry about the Prince of Qi's willful behavior, but they could do nothing about it. The imperial edict with the Phoenix Seal would take effect if it was delivered to the people in Xu's residence. The Queen Mother actively issued an imperial edict to divorce Xu Junying because she had made Su De want to remarry. If it was just for Zhuang Yulan, she would not have done so. After all, breaking up someone's marriage is detrimental to one's virtue. As a result, the Emperor firmly disagreed to let Xu Junying marry the princess, and the Empress Dowager's wish to marry her daughter was dashed. It was right to withdraw the imperial edict. She knew the character of her eldest son Zhao Yu very well. He was tolerant and friendly to his younger brothers and sisters-in-law on weekdays, but he would never give in when it came to insisting on principles. The Prince of Qi dared to disrespect the Emperor's decision and forcibly took away the withdrawn imperial edict. The Empress Dowager was afraid that the Emperor would punish the Prince of Qi severely in a rage, so she hurried to find him. Unexpectedly, there was no trace of the Prince of Qi in his mansion. The Empress Dowager was angry and anxious, and she flew into a rage in the mansion. She arrested everyone in the mansion, from guards to male favorites, and beat, scolded, and sent away. She had a great time, and she vented all the bad anger that the Emperor had put on her.
In the Qinghua Courtyard of the Xu Mansion, Mei Niang unfolded a piece of bright yellow silk in disbelief. This was the long-awaited imperial decree of divorce. She was overjoyed and pulled Cui Si, laughing and dancing. Cui Si was also very happy, but her smile was forced - if Mother Wang knew that it was she who ran to the front door to bring this thing back to the grandmother, she would be beaten to death!
The King of Qi brought his men to the Xu residence and wanted to break into the inner courtyard again, but Baoju persuaded him earnestly and said a lot of words about the reputation of women. The King of Qi finally listened to him, but he wanted to give Mei Niang a gift - a rectangular brocade box, and he would not let Baoju bring it in, and insisted that Mei Niang come to get it herself. Mei Niang was in a bad mood and refused to come out, and did not let Cui Xi come. Seeing that Mei Niang ignored him again, the King of Qi was very angry and asked Baoju to pass on a message: If she doesn’t come out, I will break in! Cui Si bravely came to get the gift on behalf of the grandmother. The King of Qi trusted the maid next to Mei Niang and gave her the brocade box. Unexpectedly, when Mei Niang opened the brocade box, what she took out was this!
Mei Niang was filled with gratitude towards King Qi. No matter what his purpose was in helping her, at least now, she appreciated his kindness!
She immediately called three maids to pack up, hurriedly wrote two notes, and asked Cui Xi to deliver them to Bai Jingyu and Ning Rulan respectively. All the account books, various keys and other items in the house had always been well organized and sealed in a special large wooden cabinet. Everything was explained on the notes. Ning Rulan was completely trustworthy. After a period of contact, Bai Jingyu had also developed some friendship. She was a shrewd person and had not lost her true nature. Mei Niang knew that Bai Jingyu had the ability to deal with the aftermath, so just leaving like this would not affect the daily life inside the Hou Mansion and the external operations.
Taking advantage of the twilight, Mei Niang carried Heng'er in her arms and walked out of Tsinghua Court with the three maids, each of whom was carrying a bag. Fortunately, she sent Wang Mama and Cheng'er and Ping'er away first, which saved a lot of trouble.
Originally he only wanted to take his maidservant with him out of the house. Xia Lian and the wet nurse knelt on the ground and begged bitterly. In desperation, he had to promise that he would find a way to redeem Xia Lian when he had the chance in the future. Because Xia Lian was a person in the eldest wife's room, the indenture contract was not in her hands, so she could not take her away at will. However, the wet nurse was hired, so she could go with her.
Xia Lian cried as she saw them off through the second gate. Mei Niang comforted her, "Don't worry! I've memorized your parents' address. I'll send them some money in two days and ask them to redeem you. If you're still willing to take Heng'er with you, come to Cen's house in East City to find us!"
Xia Lian begged again and again: "Xia Lian is willing to follow Grandma, Grandma please remember!"
As expected, someone reported the news. As soon as she walked out of the second gate, she was stopped by Baoju and Baizhan. The two failed to persuade her, so they both knelt on the ground and begged Mei Niang not to leave. Mei Niang looked at the two people, as if she saw Xu Junying, and wanted to kick them twice. She said coldly:
"You are heroes who have killed enemies and made meritorious service on the battlefield. You are seven feet tall men and generals of the fifth rank. Do you have any backbone to kneel down to a weak woman? I respect you now and I am talking to you in a reasonable way. Don't be like Xu Junying, who said one thing in public and another behind my back. I hate being played like this the most. If you dare to stop me again, I will not be polite!"
Baoju raised his head and said, "Grandma..."
"Shut up! Who is your grandmother? I am Qin, the one whom the Queen Mother ordered Xu Junying to divorce!"
She hugged Heng'er tightly with one hand and shook out the imperial edict with the other: "Did you see clearly? The imperial edict of divorce is in my hand. It is legitimate for me to leave your mansion. Anyone who stops me will be disobeying the imperial edict!"
Baoju and Baizhan looked at the imperial edict and were stunned: the gift that King Qi just sent was actually this!
Mei Niang put away the imperial decree, hugged Heng'er, and said to Cui Xi, "Let's go! Staying one more step in this place will make people feel annoyed!"
Baoju and Baizhan did not dare to stop them, but they could not let them go. They stood up and followed closely, deliberately blocking the way from front to back, trapping the master and servant in the middle. Mei Niang suddenly got angry and handed Heng'er to the nurse, letting Cuixi take them away first. She turned around and instructed Cuilian and Cuisi:
"A good dog doesn't block the road. Beat them! If they hurt you, I'll pay for your treatment. If they dare to fight back and hurt you, I'll avenge you!"
Cui Si raised her foot and kicked, but Bai Zhan did not dodge or evade, and let her kick and hit him. Bao Ju was slapped twice by Cui Lian, but he did not move. The entourage and servants nearby were stunned to see that the grandmother actually ordered the maid to use violence, but they did not dare to surround them. The group of men watched Mei Niang take the maid and servant out of the cross courtyard and go towards the gate like wooden men.
Baoju and Baizhan realized that they couldn't keep the person, so they quickly asked someone to prepare a car and decided to follow Grandma wherever she went.
Unexpectedly, Mei Niang refused to take the carriage from the Xu Mansion. She coldly forced Baoju, who was inviting her to get on the carriage, to retreat and went to the side, preferring to walk until she was out of the alley of the Xu Mansion.
The King of Qi did not leave, but watched from a distance at the corner of the street. When the guard reported that Qin Er had walked out of the gate of the mansion with the maid, he laughed:
"As expected, you are right. You are in such a hurry to come out and can't stay even for a moment. It seems that you are tired of staying in Xu's house!"
Someone immediately sent a carriage to pick them up. Mei Niang did not hesitate to carry Heng'er and put him in the carriage. Surrounded by the King of Qi and the guards, she was sent back to the Cen residence in the east city.
Seeing this, Baoju and Baizhan quickly gathered their men and horses and followed closely.
By the time Bai Jingyu and Ning Rulan ran out of the second door with the men at home, Mei Niang had already gone far away.
The steward of the Hou Mansion replied that Baoju and Baizhan took their men and left. The eldest grandmother did not return to her parents' home. Baoju and the others said they went to the Cen residence in the east city.
Xu Junya was puzzled: "Cen's house? Whose house is that? How can you live in someone else's house?"
The butler said, "I heard that it's not someone else's house, but the house of my great grandmother's maternal grandmother's family. Now it has been transferred to my great grandmother. It's my great grandmother's private house!"
Xu Junting said anxiously: "Brother is not at home, and we can't just stay at a private residence! No, we still have to go and take a look!"
Xu Junxuan nodded: "Third brother stays at home with third sister-in-law, and fourth brother and I will go!"
Ning Rulan said, "It's okay for me. Let's go together and persuade the sister-in-law. No matter how angry she is, it's better for her to go home and live. We can talk about everything after the brother comes back!"
Xu Junya nodded, took his two brothers with him, asked the steward to prepare the horses, and went to East City together. (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)