The next morning, the sun shone into the yard. Meimei was still in bed. Lin Runan came and pushed aside Cuixi and Cuilian who were blocking her way, and walked into the room herself:
"Marquis Weiyuan has already gone out, who should I be afraid of?"
Walking to the bedside, he pulled aside the curtains and said, "Is there such a lazy lady in the world? Get up now! We agreed to learn horse riding today, but you are still sleeping. I am going to lift the quilt!"
Meimei hugged the quilt, but couldn't open her eyes: "Don't make noise! Let me sleep a little longer, a little longer..."
"Still sleeping! The sun is already high in the sky. Hurry up and get up! I've got a horse for you!"
"Why do you want to learn horse riding? Where's Heng'er? My son!"
Meimei slowly came to her senses and reached out to feel around: "Where is Cuixi?"
Cuixi started walking: "Replying to Madam: Heng'er got up early. Lord Hou played with him for a while before he went out. Now he is learning to walk in the garden with Cuisi!"
"Oh! What time is it? Not... what hour?"
Lin Runan said: "Chenshi!"
Meimei stretched and got up: "It's a bit too late to sleep until noon, why don't you call me? I'm making a fool of myself in front of Miss Lin!"
Cuixi said: "Replying to Madam: Master Hou said there is no need to wake you up. He didn't sleep well last night, so let you sleep well!"
"Oh, your Lord Hou is so considerate!" Lin Runan said with a smile, "Why should I be afraid of being laughed at? It would be bad if someone else came to watch!"
Meimei got out of bed and walked into the bathroom: "Who is it? King Qi is here again? Last night I was afraid that he wouldn't send you home!"
Lin Runan snorted, "He didn't want to see me off at first, and only asked two guards to follow me. Later, when he saw Xu Junying, Zhang Jingyun, and Lingxuzi seeing me off, he followed me again!"
Meimei smiled: "Zhang Jingyun and Lingxuzi are similar. Someone like Xu Junying can also be a flower protector. It really opens my eyes!"
"What is a flower protector?"
"It's the man who protects and cherishes girls!"
"Go! Xu Junying is protecting you, the flower!"
The door of the clean room slammed shut. No one could hear Meimei's answer. Xu Junying stood outside the partition, holding a red brocade box in his hand, with a melancholy look on his face.
He left home early and hurried back, and heard Meimei say bad things about him behind her back. Why couldn't he be a flower protector? He didn't love her enough? Maybe it was true, he didn't have the opportunity, he didn't have the time, well, from now on he would love her twice as much!
He went to the Hou Mansion and paid his respects to the old lady. The second master and the second wife were both there, but they still did not invite the old patriarch and the elders of the clan, which meant that they did not agree to split the family. The old lady cried and said that splitting the family was to separate flesh and blood. She blamed the eldest grandson for losing his original heart and abandoning even his closest flesh and blood for a woman. Xu Junying said calmly: "A big tree will have branches, and a big family will split up. This is common sense and human nature. Speaking of the most important flesh and blood, isn't my son a close relative? A wife is someone who stays with you for a lifetime and takes care of you. When you come back from a long journey, you almost lose them both. How can you bear it? No matter how big the family is, no matter how many merits you have made, what's the use? As the eldest son and grandson, I have done my part for the family and supported my grandmother with my salary. Except for the sixth brother, all my younger brothers have entered officialdom and have been settled. When my younger sisters get married, I will add dowries to them according to the quota. Brothers split up, but the family ties are not broken. When they need help, I will still help them. How can you say that you are abandoning flesh and blood?"
The old lady couldn't argue and said, "What does Qin know? She may know a little bit about managing household affairs and money receipts and expenditures, but she doesn't know anything about the ways of the world! Even if the family is divided, I will live with the eldest son. Without me, the mansion will be a mess!"
Xu Junying was stunned for a moment, then agreed. The Hou Mansion occupied a large area and half of it could be divided out. Jinhua Hall would belong to the second house. If the old lady lived with the eldest house, he could build a second Jinhua Hall. However, the old lady might not be satisfied, because her heart was with the second master, and she would not be able to live comfortably in the eldest house.
He realized that it was not Meimei who was afraid of the old lady, but the old lady was a little scared of Meimei. With the old and the young living together, it was unclear who would be the one to get hurt.
He really had never thought about dividing the family, but after Meimei's fuss, he felt that it had to be divided. It was really ridiculous that he couldn't even protect his own small family, but he still had to protect a big family that was indifferent to him.
After talking to the second master for a while, he explained that the division of the family was inevitable and asked him to prepare. After that, he went to Qiuhua Courtyard to see the wife. The eldest sister Xu Xiaojuan returned to her parents' home and cried beside her mother's bed. Xu Xiaojuan's temperament was a bit like Mrs. Zheng. She didn't talk much, but she was strong inside. She had never been close to Xu Junying since she was a child. Influenced by the old lady, she advised her brother to listen less to Qin's words. Qin was not virtuous, which led to the chaos in the family. Xu Junying saw that she had just returned to her parents' home and didn't want to say much. The brother and sister didn't get along well. After sitting for less than a quarter of an hour, Xu Junying left.
After returning to Tsinghua Court, he went into the small storeroom in the East Courtyard and looked around. He remembered that his mother had left a box of gold, silver and jewellery, which was originally given to the two concubines Zhou and Lin for safekeeping. When he was about to marry Qin Meiniang, the two concubines took it out and asked him to give it to the bride on the wedding day, explaining that it was a gift from his mother-in-law. He asked Baoju to keep it in the East Courtyard first, but he was so busy that he forgot about it until he went to the battlefield. Now he went to look for it again and give it to Meimei.
Meimei came out of the bathroom and sat in front of the dressing table, letting Cuixi do her hair. Lin Runan stood by and watched. She was wearing men's clothes and urged Meimei to wear men's clothes. Meimei said, "We're not going out. We're just staying in the Suochunyuan. Why are you wearing men's clothes?"
She was a little concerned about the King of Qi. She was wearing men's clothes, and the King of Qi looked at her with envy, which made her feel uncomfortable.
Lin Runan said, "It's up to you! It's not easy to ride a horse in a skirt."
Meimei thought about it and said, "Okay, let's find a men's suit with a better color to wear!"
Lin Runan smiled and said, "I'll look for it! Where is the closet of clothes you sent me last time?"
Cui Xi pointed: "Over there, the long cabinet in the corner!"
Lin Runan quickly picked out a royal blue brocade robe and also brought a long chiffon scarf. The two of them looked at the scarf and thought of the strange look of the King of Qi and laughed for a while.
Cui Lian came in holding a red brocade box: "Young Madam: The Marquis is back!"
"Oh, I see. What is this?"
Meimei and Lin Runan were laughing happily. Seeing the brocade box in her hand, they took it and curiously opened it. It turned out to be a box of jewelry. It looked like it had not been worn for some years and the color was a little dull. Lin Runan picked up a phoenix hairpin and gestured on Meimei's head, saying, "I have seen mother have this style of phoenix hairpin. Mother said that when she was young, the best and most expensive jewelry was this kind."
Meimei also picked up a hairpin and held it in front of her eyes: "This is so exquisite! Take it to a jewelry workshop to clean it, and it will be beautiful when you wear it!"
She picked up a string of beads and said, "Wow! So beautiful! Amethyst, very rare... Runan, come and see, it's a set! Wow, this hairpin is so beautiful!"
"This hairpin is even more beautiful! See? Green beads! I have never seen green beads before!"
Lin Runan shouted excitedly, and Meimei snatched it over and took a look: "This is a green cat's eye, idiot!"
Lin Runan was dissatisfied: "Where have you seen him before?"
"This..." Meimei took a breath. She couldn't say she saw it on Taobao, could she? She just made up a story: "I saw it in the palace. The ladies wore it!"
Lin Runan said: "Then give this to me, I like it!"
"Okay, take it, take it!"
The women talked about jewelry, not afraid of being overheard. The clear voices passed through the carved partitions and fell into the ears of Xu Junying in the small hall outside. He was drinking tea and heard Meimei generously giving away her mother-in-law's jewelry. He almost spit out a mouthful of tea. Fortunately, Meimei came to her senses and said:
"Wait! I don't even know where these came from! Cuilian, who gave you so many beautiful jewelry?"
Cui Lian said, "What the Marquis just brought back was the belongings of the late Madam. The Marquis said that it should be left for the Young Madam to wear!"
"Hey! Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Meimei took the green pearl jade hairpin from Lin Runan's hand: "Give it to me! You can't give this to anyone else!"
Lin Runan said, "Your mother-in-law's things can't be given away casually, and I don't dare to accept them. You can keep them and wear them!"
Meimei smiled bitterly: "I don't dare to wear it either... Come on Cuilian, seal the box first and lock it!"
Cui Lian locked the brocade box and walked out of the hall, but Xu Junying was gone.
After hurriedly eating some breakfast, Meimei and Lin Runan walked out of the upper room. Cuixi said that Mr. Hou had taken Heng'er to play somewhere, and Cuisi was with them. Meimei felt relieved and told Cuixi to settle Xia Lian's affairs as soon as possible and let her live in Cen's house. Xia Lian has a lively personality and a bit of childishness, and is more suitable to take care of children than the bold and straightforward Cuisi.
Xu Junying held Heng'er in her arms and walked into Suochunyuan through the moon gate. Li Qiuge made money and bought another house to live in, so Suochunyuan was empty again. The empty yard was still the same as before, with nothing planted and weeds growing all over the ground. Several horses were leisurely chewing the tender stems on the ground. Under the corridor not far away, the King of Qi was lying on the guardrail with his hands on the back of his head, looking like he was hanging in the air from a distance. Under the eaves on the other side, the guards were either standing or sitting, trying to hide themselves as much as possible and not wanting to be noticed.
Xu Junying gradually approached, and Heng'er in his arms finally spotted the King of Qi and shouted at him twice. The King of Qi raised his head to look at him, spit out the grass roots in his mouth, and said with a smile: "My dear son, you are here too?"
Xu Junying wanted to greet him politely, but when he heard this, he said angrily: "Your Highness should respect yourself!"
The King of Qi laughed and sat up: "How can I not respect myself? I told Meimei yesterday: Heng'er, be my foster child!"
Xu Junying looked at him coldly: "Who promised you? I am the father and she is the mother. If one of you doesn't agree, it won't work!"
"Heng'er is Meimei's biological child, so it's fine if she agrees! Come here, Heng'er, let daddy hold you!"
Heng'er looked at Prince Qi, then turned back to look at Xu Junying, and waved his hand to make a beating gesture towards Prince Qi.
The King of Qi said, "You little bastard, you dare to hit your father? Let me show you how I will deal with you!"
Meimei's voice came: "King Qi, you are acting wild in my house again. What did my son do to you?"
The King of Qi laughed and said, "How can I be considered as being wild when I teach my son a lesson?"
"Who is your son?"
"Cen Meimei, how dare you break your promise? You promised me last night that you would let Heng'er be my adopted son!"
"King Qi, you were drunk last night. The person who promised you was not me, but Lin Runan. Go ask her for your son!"
Lin Runan jumped up: "Qin Meimei! You are so mean! I helped you out, otherwise this man would not leave, and now you are selling me out!"
Meimei smiled charmingly and beautifully: "Can this be replaced casually? I only have one Heng'er, and I can't take care of him enough, how can I give him to someone else!"
The King of Qi looked at her with a smile and said, "Why are you in such a hurry? My son is still your son. I am just a father in name only. It is not difficult for you to call me."
Meimei's eyes turned: "Well, as long as you don't call you mother, I have nothing to say!"
King Qi and Xu Junying shouted at the same time: "What are you talking about?"
Lin Runan had already pulled Meimei away. When Heng'er saw his mother leaving and ignored him, he burst into tears in panic. Xu Junying coaxed and patted him, and did not stop using threats and inducements. Seeing that the situation was not good, the King of Qi hurriedly turned around, walked down the corridor, and followed them.
He can still look at a smiling baby, but he is so scared of a crying child that he won't even get close to him. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.) (To be continued)