The next day, Xu Junying did not attend the wedding of the King of Qi. He just prepared a generous gift and asked someone to send it. Anyway, the King of Qi's wedding would have countless people trying to curry favor with him. It must be a sea of guests. Who could take care of so many? The gift list was presented to the Hou Mansion, and the gifts were delivered.
Early in the morning, the family of three sat around the small table to eat breakfast. Xu Junying asked Baoju, who was quite skilled in woodworking, to make two wooden armchairs for Heng'er, one high and one low. The little guy sat comfortably on the chair, surrounded by cork strips on all sides, and his hands could move freely. He could stand up if he wanted. A one-year-old could take a small silver spoon to scoop food by himself. Although the rice grains were scattered everywhere, he ate more in his mouth. With the wooden armchair, whether he had a formal dinner at the big table or breakfast and supper at the small table, he ate with his parents by himself. Occasionally, Meimei fed him a few bites, and Xu Junying would at most give him some snacks and encourage him a few words. Heng'er had a good appetite, and if he ate attentively, he could finish the rice in the bowl quickly.
Meimei likes watching Heng'er eat the most. He opens his mouth like a fish and feeds the food into it. His chubby little cheeks bulge out, which is both cute and funny. She intentionally feeds Heng'er some spicy shredded vegetables. Heng'er sucks his lips, kicks his legs with a bitter face, and Meimei hurriedly feeds him two mouthfuls of white rice. Heng'er chews it twice and swallows it. Then he is fine and continues to scoop rice from his bowl to eat.
Xu Junying looked at the mother and son and said, "Only Heng'er can bear the way you raise him. Who can eat spicy food when he's just a little kid?"
Meimei smiled: "Let him taste everything, whether bitter, spicy, sour or sweet! It's okay, just a little at a time, he will get used to it."
Seeing that she was in a good mood, Xu Junying said, "The eldest lady misses Heng'er very much. Let's take him back to the Hou Mansion to see the eldest lady today, shall we? She can't speak yet, but she is in much better spirits than before. She can half lie down and half sit for a while. My sister Xiaojuan didn't see you the last time she came back. This time, my sixth brother passed the imperial examination, and she and her brother-in-law returned to Beijing to visit their mother and congratulate him. She has been staying here until now. Let's go back to see the eldest lady, and you can meet her. You can also visit Jingyu and Rulan."
Meimei lowered her head and picked up the rice grains without saying a word. She went to the palace to see the queen a few days ago and heard some things about the division of the Xu family. She felt very uncomfortable. If it weren't for her making a fuss, Xu Junying would not have done such a thing that went against his wishes. The Xu family was divided like this. Xu Junying's kindness and filial piety were greatly reduced in the eyes of the clan members, right? Just because he married an unvirtuous woman!
During this period, Xu Junying accompanied Meimei and Heng'er to live in Cen's residence. He returned to Hou Mansion every now and then to pay his respects to the old lady and discuss the division of the family with the second master. Although the old lady strongly opposed the division of the family, in the name of filial piety and reunion, and even pretended to be sick, she used both soft and hard tactics to force him to give up the idea of division. But Xu Junying had made up his mind. After discussing with Xu Junting and Xu Junxuan, he would rather make the biggest concession. Except that the Hou Mansion was connected with the title and the division must be carried out according to regulations, the first house only wanted one-third of the property outside the Xu Mansion, and all the silver in the public account of the mansion was divided into the second house, eliminating all disputes and dissatisfaction caused by the division of the family. The second master had nothing to say. Xu Junying was a prominent figure in the court, and he had settled no less than ten matters, big and small, for him, eliminating many troubles and sins. Naturally, he was unwilling to make his nephew unhappy. The old lady finally found an opportunity to go to the palace to meet the empress dowager. She wanted the empress dowager to help say a word to stop Xu Junying from dividing the family. However, the emperor found out about it and specially sent Ji Qing to lead people to inspect the mansion. He pointed out that the Weiyuan Marquis Mansion built by She was the foundation of Weiyuan Marquis and in principle could not be divided. The residential land in the southeast direction should be kept as it was. Only about 20 acres of area from the west and north courtyards, half of the original site of Xu's mansion, was separated by brick and stone walls and given to the second room to live in. A new gate and a new way out were opened, and they could also ask Weiyuan Marquis to use his alley to enter and exit.
The emperor's intervention made Xu Junying feel helpless and embarrassed. The family had lived in the same mansion for many years. After all, they were blood relatives. Why was he so ruthless? According to his idea, he could just divide the house into two. However, the emperor insisted on putting the second house back in one corner. Then several courtyards would have to be moved away. It would be a mess and he would be filled with resentment.
The emperor smiled and said: A family cannot have two masters. It should have been divided in the life of the old Marquis of Weiyuan! There are many brothers, and if they are not divided, there will be chaos. There is nothing that can be done about it. The Marquis's Mansion is yours, and the old Xu Mansion should also have a share of the eldest house. You don't have to have half-brothers, because that is the ancestral property they should share. I knew you couldn't save face and were unwilling to make a decisive decision. Anyway, I have some free time, so I will be the bad guy for you, just as a pastime. The land of this house has its own Feng Shui essence. Among those who went to the Marquis's Mansion with Ji Qing was the director of the Imperial Observatory. He went to check out the land of the Marquis's Mansion. He knew where to mark out and where not to mark out. You are an important official of the court, and your fate is related to the country. The division of the house is such a big thing that it should not be underestimated!
Meimei thought about the words of the Queen: When a big family splits up, it usually conforms to the general situation and happens naturally, just like a ripe melon falling off a vine, without any reluctance, and everyone has no resentment. This time, the Xu family split up, and the old lady seemed reluctant. The elders were unhappy, and the brothers were separated. I am afraid it will be difficult for them to meet in the future, and there will be a lot of discussion in the family. After all, Weiyuan Hou is a filial person. He has been so cruel because of the injustice you suffered this time. The torment of family affection he has suffered must be heavy. You should be content! There is nothing perfect in the world. Even if Junying treated you badly and made you suffer, it was for the country and the family, not for his own selfish interests. He did nothing wrong, and you have no reason to blame him, so much so that you are unwilling to return to the Hou Mansion to live with him! The emperor sympathized with me and didn't let me know about your affairs. I just heard about it. Thinking about it, it is not easy for us women, but in life, we are destined to have parents, brothers, children and many relatives, involving many worldly affairs. We should not be ignorant and stupid women who only seek to be well fed and clothed, so we should take all aspects into consideration, and not just seek our own pleasure and comfort. You understand many truths, and I don't need to say it again. Whether a woman is good or not does not depend on how outstanding her character, temperament and temperament are. Just look at how she treats people and things, and you can tell whether she is virtuous or not. I think you are a virtuous and good woman, but you are a little stubborn in temperament. If you can't let go, you will easily make mistakes. Of course, these mistakes can be light or heavy. If someone can tolerate you, it is not wrong. You are lucky to meet Xu Junying, because he can tolerate you and is willing to change for you. I don't know what else you want? How many men in the world can care for their wives like him? Even if it is... Even if it is the emperor, if I bump into the queen mother like you bumped into old lady Xu, he will definitely not let me go easily! Men are all like this. They can love and care for you in private, but they will never compromise on major issues. Junying has gone beyond his limits for you! From now on, you can no longer indulge in your selfish desires. You must consider his face and follow the precepts of a woman. Otherwise, you will be immoral and ignorant. If you get into trouble again, no one can save you!
The queen, in the name of a heart-to-heart talk with her, actually hit her. Meimei was depressed: Has she become a bad woman? She didn't expect things to be like this. Xu Junying was serious and really divided the family just because he wanted her to have a relatively simple environment and be the master of her own house. There was also another unspeakable reason - not to be controlled by the elders.
Thinking of the agreement they made, it was purely out of anger, meaning that if he forced her to marry him, she could resist and not serve his elders, and he actually agreed. Thinking about it slowly, he was so calm and composed, in fact, it was not completely submissive and considerate of her, but he was sure that she could not escape! As long as she entered the door of his Xu Mansion, could she still hold on? Then she could do whatever she had to do, and the agreement document would be ignored!
Meimei was silent. Henger finished the rice in his bowl, slapped the chair and shouted, "Mimi, Mimi!"
Meimei smiled and pinched his bulging cheeks lightly: "It's rice! Heng'er, this much is enough, you can eat more later, okay? Come on, nod your head!"
Heng'er nodded heavily, then shook his head immediately, baring his white teeth and shouting at her stubbornly: "Mimi! Mimi!"
Xu Junying added a ball of rice the size of half an egg to his bowl: "Here!"
Heng'er lowered his head and waved the silver spoon to eat the rice. He finished it in a few bites, then tapped the bowl to amuse himself and stopped making noise.
Meimei was about to call Cuilian and the others to come in and clean up the dishes, but Xu Junying stopped her with a wave of his hand: "You didn't answer what I just said - let's go back to the Hou Mansion. Madam misses Heng'er, and you should meet Xiaojuan. Sixth brother passed the imperial examination, and you haven't congratulated him in person yet!"
He has done a lot for her, so it is not too much to ask for her. But for some reason, Meimei just can't get over it. She always feels forced and doesn't want to go back to that place!
She begged Xu Junying: "Take Heng'er to see the wife. The wife only wants to see him. I don't want to go now!"
"Meimei!"
Xu Junying looked at her with a little dissatisfaction in his eyes: "We have already separated the house, and the family cannot be left without a master. My wife is sick in bed, and the two concubines are in charge of the family. She is not satisfied and cries every day... We abandoned our sick mother at home without taking care of her. It is really unfilial. We have lived here for a long time, it is time to go back!"
Meimei was angry and looked up at him: "Lord Hou! Don't forget the 100-day agreement. We just tried it. You can't force me! I'm not Qin Mei Niang. I don't admit that I am your wife, so I don't want to fulfill the duties of a wife! I have seen everything you did. Is it all for me? The emperor restricted me and the queen blamed me. They all said that I was self-righteous, disregarded my husband's face, was unvirtuous and unfilial, and did not respect women's virtues. Am I? Everything has cause and effect, I don't admit it! All the charges and faults are on me, I don't care, the worst case scenario, I will leave your world and go back to my hometown!"
As she spoke, she stood up and walked inside. Xu Junying stopped her and stared at her nervously: "Go back to your hometown? Do you know which direction it is? How to get back?"
Meimei turned away and said, "There is no direction, no way - when you die, your soul will leave your body, and you can return your wife's body!"
Xu Junying's face turned pale, his fists were clenched, and his breathing was rapid and heavy. Meimei knew that he was furious at the moment and perhaps wanted to hit her. She was also very angry, so she didn't bother to care about him and just walked away.
Heng'er was screaming behind him, without looking back. He was the child of the Xu family, and Xu Junying wanted to take him back to see his wife. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.) (To be continued)