On the evening of March 14, Meimei brought Heng'er back to the Cen residence from the palace. It was already dark. Heng'er had played too much during the day and fell asleep in her arms. Cuisi helped the wet nurse to pick up Heng'er from under the carriage. Meimei felt her hands lighten and breathed a sigh of relief. The boy was getting heavier and heavier, and her arms were numb from holding him.
The day before yesterday, the Queen asked Meimei to bring Heng'er into the palace for her to see. As a result, both the Emperor and the Queen fell in love with the lively and smiling Heng'er, especially the Queen. She pinched Heng'er's chubby face, held his white and tender arms, and said enviously:
"I hope our eldest prince can be as strong as this in the future!"
The emperor was full of confidence: "How could my son lose to Xu Junying's son? We will raise him to be fatter and stronger than Heng'er!"
The concubines in the palace were all flatterers. When they came to Kunning Palace to pay their respects, they saw that the emperor and the empress liked Heng'er, so they all came to flatter and please them. The empress was very defensive and the eldest prince could not get close to her, so they had to scramble to hold Heng'er to play. When Heng'er came back, he was tied with all kinds of pendants, gold, silver, jade, pearls and precious stones, all of which were finely crafted and very valuable. Meimei was stunned by them and immediately wanted to take them off and return them to the emperor. But Heng'er was a treasure protector. He regarded those beautifully carved and lifelike golden cicadas, silver butterflies and jade dragonflies as his own when they were hung on him. The mother and daughter wanted to take them off and pull them back, and they were busy all the time. The empress laughed at them. The emperor smiled and said:
"Forget it. Who wouldn't love such an interesting little thing? Since they gave it to me voluntarily, let Heng'er play with it! This kid is just like Xu Junying. If he likes something, he won't let it go!"
Since the emperor had spoken, it was no longer appropriate to be arrogant. Meimei had no choice but to hold Heng'er in her arms and follow the nanny appointed by the empress to thank the concubines who had given gifts one by one. She said so many polite words that her mouth was dry and she glared at Heng'er in hatred. However, Heng'er smiled at her, and his naughty and cute look made her laugh again, so she had no choice but to kiss him hard a few times.
The prince always slept during the confinement period. When Heng'er came, he would shout and laugh when he was happy. There seemed to be a special feeling between children. The prince didn't sleep so much. When Heng'er called, he would open his eyes and look around, making all kinds of naughty and interesting expressions on his face. The queen was very happy. The emperor said to Meimei:
"Bring Heng'er with you when you go to the palace from now on. They seem to get along very well!"
Meimei was unwilling: Isn't that the same old path that Xu Junying has taken? He has been playing with the prince since he was a child. On the surface, he is very glorious, but who knows how dark he is behind the scenes. She doesn't believe that Xu Junying and the current emperor have always been good friends since they were young. When they have conflicts and each holds his own opinions, it is the prince who has the final say. Xu Junying has no right to make any judgments!
She didn't want Heng'er to be like that, but she had no choice but to agree. It was so aggrieved and tragic for a soul that demanded fairness and longed for freedom to fall into a monarchy! Do you dare to refuse? If you anger the people in power, you will not be allowed to live first, and go to the underworld to find fairness and freedom!
Fortunately, the children are still young. Who knows what will happen when they grow up? Maybe the prince will not like Heng'er to accompany him by then.
Meimei sat at the table, daydreaming wildly while she watched the nurse and Cuisi wash Heng'er and put on soft fine-spun silk cotton pajamas. Cuixi helped put Heng'er on the bed. Cuilian prepared hot water and clean clothes and was about to invite her to take a bath when Madam Zou came in and leaned over to say, "Madam, there is a Mr. Qin outside the gate. He says he is your brother and insists on seeing you!"
Cui Xi and Cui Si both stopped what they were doing and turned back to look at Mei Mei. Cui Lian, who was standing nearby, even had a hint of joy on her face. Mei Mei's eyes swept over the three maids: after all, the dynasties were different. Although these girls followed her without hesitation, they still hoped that she would have someone to rely on. The people in the Qin residence had not come out for so long, and the girls were more anxious than her. The husband's family could abandon them, but at least her family could support them. A woman who was alone and helpless would have no one to make decisions for her when she got married in the future!
Meimei lowered her eyes and said to Zou's mother, "What Mr. Qin? I don't know him. Let him go!"
Mother Zou walked out quickly. Cui Xi and the other three maids looked at each other and ran over to advise:
"Madam! That's the master! The master is here, Madam, please meet him!"
"Master loves Madam the most!"
"Yes, that day when I went back to pass on the message, the master chased me out and told us to take good care of the lady and Heng'er!"
"Madam, please speak quickly and ask the master to come in!"
Meimei said lazily, "Whose master is this? If you know him, go and see him. I have lived here for many days and I have never heard of any master coming to see me!"
The three maids were silent, but there was a noise outside the door, the maids were shouting and arguing, and then Baoju's voice was heard: "Get out of the way, get out of the way, if you don't want to be beaten, get out of the way!"
Then came Qin Boqing's voice: "Let me see what she has become now! Doesn't she even recognize her brother?"
While Meimei was stunned, Qin Boqing, sweating and red-faced, rushed in with a stick in his hand, lifting the curtain. The brother and sister looked at each other, and Meimei's eyes suddenly misted up.
Qin Boqing saw tears dripping from Meimei's eyes, and he quickly threw away the stick in his hand, walked over quickly, and shouted:
"younger sister!"
Unexpectedly, the word "sister" made Meimei burst into tears. She didn't know what was wrong with her. She was obviously not her biological child, but she treated them as her family and relied on them. She said that she didn't care about the Qin family, but after so many days, she was sure that they really didn't want her anymore. She felt as sad as if a knife was stabbing her heart.
It is best for a person not to fall in love. If you do, you will definitely be hurt, even if it is family love!
Qin Boqing took Meimei into his arms and let her cry without saying anything. He just silently accompanied her in tears.
Meimei cried for a while, and when she had vented enough, she smelled a strong smell of alcohol on Qin Boqing, so she pushed him away and glared at him with red eyes:
"You actually drank alcohol! You are also taking Mr. Zhang's pills, which must be taken without alcohol!"
Qin Boqing searched in his sleeves but couldn't find the handkerchief. He wiped his eyes with his sleeves, raised his head and smiled at her, "Sister, I got the first place in the imperial examination! Are you happy?"
Meimei looked at him, smiled and nodded. Qin Boqing pulled her to sit down and said, "Today, an old man invited me to celebrate his old lady's birthday. I remember to abstain from alcohol, but it was hard to refuse such a kind invitation. I just wanted to have a drink with the birthday boy, but after one drink, I couldn't refuse it... But I don't regret it. If I hadn't drunk this little bit of wine, I wouldn't have had the strength to fight back and I wouldn't have seen you!"
Meimei was stunned: "Did you just call in?"
"Didn't they beat me in? I finally got this chance to come and see you, and I stood at the door waiting honestly, but they said something like: Our lady doesn't know Mr. Qin, you can go away! I was so angry that I snatched a stick from the person next to me and beat me in!"
Meimei chuckled. Baoju and Baizhan, who were guarding the front yard, recognized him as the master of the Qin family. Otherwise, it would be strange for a pale-faced scholar like him to break in!
Several maids nearby also covered their mouths with their sleeves while laughing. Qin Boqing said to Cui Si:
"What are you laughing at? Do you think your uncle won't hit anyone? Bring me a cup of tea!"
The three maids pushed and shoved each other, vying to go out. Everyone was so happy about the master's arrival that they even forgot to pour tea.
Meimei said hurriedly, "Give him a glass of warm water first. Cuisi will ask the kitchen to make him a bowl of hangover soup!"
"I'm a little drunk!"
Qin Boqing watched the maids go out, then he leaned on the table with his hand on his forehead, let out a long breath and said:
"Your sister-in-law said something to me, and I can understand how bitter you feel. A family of such high status and nobility is definitely not something that people like us can cling to! Our parents only gave birth to my brother and me, and we have been inseparable since we were young. I understand what you are thinking... When Xu Hou asked for your hand in marriage, my mother and the clansmen were overjoyed, thinking that it was a sign of wealth and status. I just felt vaguely uneasy, and then something really happened! Fortunately, my sister is alive and well. She has become a completely different person after dying once. No matter how you change, you are still my, Qin Boqing's, sister! Don't be afraid of anything that happens, because you have a brother - although he is weak and useless as a scholar, he is still your brother and he will stand by you!"
Cui Lian brought in a glass of water. Meimei took it with tears in her eyes, handed it to Qin Boqing, and motioned Cui Lian to take it down.
Qin Boqing drank the water in one gulp, and continued with a smell of alcohol, "This time you made a scene in Xu's house. The second master of Xu's house came to our house and said that you took advantage of the absence of Lord Hou to disobey the old lady and made her angry. Then you took Heng'er out of the house without permission. No one in the house could stop you, so you went to live in someone else's house! The second master of Xu asked my mother to come and persuade you and send you back to Xu's house as soon as possible, so that Lord Hou would not come back and it would be difficult to deal with it... "My mother fell ill on the spot and is still lying in bed. She has strictly ordered that no one in the family is allowed to come to look for you, not even Mother Wang and your two little girls! That's why I haven't been able to come to see you these days since you left. I see that my mother cries and becomes dazed every day, but she doesn't lose her appetite like she usually does when she's sad. She can still eat some porridge. Mother Wang made the bird's nest you brought back, and she also ate it. I guess she has two ideas: one is that she wants me to pretend to be deaf and dumb to avoid this matter and wait until after the palace examination in early April; the other is that my mother has thought it through, and she wants you to make your own decision and not to pick you up or visit you—she already knew from your sister-in-law that it was you who bought the Cen residence, and during the time you were away, she won't give you any support, and you have to think carefully about it. You are a mother now, so you can decide whether to return to the Xu residence or go out and live alone! After the incident, my mother is still your mother, and the door of her mother's house is still open for you! Sister, this is just my guess, and my mother may not think so. I hope it is so!"
Meimei felt relieved after hearing what Qin Boqing said. She cried and laughed at the same time. She thought Qin Boqing was adorable. She wiped her tears and asked, "Since mother strictly prohibited me from visiting you, why did you disobey and come here?"
Qin Boqing finally couldn't stand it anymore, and threw his head on his hands and fell on the table: "I came out to attend the birthday banquet. I said I would be back later at night. I discussed it with your sister-in-law. I was afraid that you would be sad, so I came to see you secretly... I came a few days ago, during the day, and the gatekeeper said that the madam went to the palace to see the queen. Why do you go to the palace every day? You can't come out at night. Your two nieces and nephews sleep during the day and cry at night... As long as their parents hold them, they are very clingy!"
Meimei leaned over to look at him: "Brother, you are really drunk now!"
"I'm not drunk... I'm clear-headed, just dizzy!"
"Then I will tell the truth to my brother?"
Qin Boqing sat up straight and looked at Meimei: "You say!" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation and monthly tickets at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.) (To be continued)