When Old Lady Fang heard that the eldest granddaughter-in-law of the Xu family had a fatal disease, she immediately withdrew her hand and took two steps back, thinking that no one would notice. Old Lady Chen frowned and also took out a handkerchief, pretending to sympathize and wipe her tears, but she was actually covering her mouth and nose, and took a step back behind Old Lady Xu, sighing:
"Oh! So you're sick, pitiful thing! Even in this state, you still have the nerve to come out to see the elders, it's hard for you... Hurry up and carry him back, and take a rest!"
Cui Lian said to her maidservant, "Why don't you come and carry the young lady back to her room? I'll go wash my hands and make tea for the old lady and the guests!"
Old Madam Liang waved her hands and said, "Forget it! Serving your young mistress is the most important thing, we won't bother you any more. Child, take good care of yourself, you will get better slowly, take a rest, we'll leave now!"
She pulled Old Lady Xu, who was standing there stupidly, and said, "Do you want to go home together? Or do you want to sit with your granddaughter-in-law for a while? It's up to you!"
"Take a good rest, let's go!"
Mrs. Chen held the maid's hand and walked faster than Mrs. Liang. Mrs. Fang followed closely behind, muttering as she walked:
"What's wrong with this Zhuang family's sister? Her granddaughter-in-law is so sick, but she still won't stop? I always felt something was wrong when I heard her talk about her granddaughter-in-law like that. But now she sees this child, who is just a little girl who gets spoiled by the slightest touch, with a timid face. How can she get past her palm?"
Old Madam Chen curled her lips, "You don't understand - that child is a little weak, but don't you see that she looks like a fairy? Who doesn't love beauty when he was young? She seduced the soul of Marquis Xu back then, but Old Madam Xu wants her eldest grandson to marry her niece's daughter, the one who was granted marriage a while ago... She can't be a good Marquis' wife, and she has to marry an old boy as a second wife. Old Madam Xu is so angry that she hates her granddaughter-in-law, who else does she hate?"
Old Madam Fang said with a spit, "You damn old woman! The child you marry into the family is your own, why are you so angry? You're already married, are you trying to break up your grandson's marriage? He already has a little great-grandson!"
"Don't say anything inappropriate! What are you talking about?"
Old Lady Liang caught up with him, looking righteous: "I heard that Old Lady Xu forced her grandson to marry her niece's granddaughter as his co-wife, and asked the Queen Mother to grant the marriage, so that she could be on equal terms with her grandson's wife. But her grandson's wife left the mansion, became sick from anger, and is now half dead. It's all because of this old lady! I heard a few days ago that the family was divided, and it was said that the eldest grandson wanted a share, and the mansion was divided into two. I think it was this old lady who did it, fearing that her grandson's wife would not die of the disease, and would go back to give her to them after she died - you don't know, right? Old Marquis, the father of the current Marquis of Weiyuan, grew up with his grandmother, and this old lady raised the second son herself, and she only loves the second son!"
"Oh, what a sin! She gave birth to the child after ten months of pregnancy, right? No wonder every time I go to the temple to do good deeds and pray for amulets, I always see her doing the second wife's first and then the eldest wife's. It turns out that she doesn't care about the eldest wife's and doesn't regard the eldest grandson as a treasure! How lovely is her niece's granddaughter? Isn't her own grandson important? She's only been married for a short time and just gave birth to a son. She's living a happy life. Why is she causing trouble for them? This old woman is confused and tired of living!"
The three old ladies went out while talking to each other. No one even suggested to wait for Old Lady Xu. As they walked along the corridor to the second door, they met Xu Junying who was hurrying in. Xu Junying recognized the three old ladies and bowed to greet them one by one. Old Lady Chen said, "Go back and see your daughter-in-law. She is so sick. Treat her well and heal her slowly. She will get better!"
Old Madam Fang said, "It is a life-threatening disease. You have to be careful. Wealth and honor are determined by heaven, and fate is not up to you. Treat her with all your heart and treat her with all your heart. Even if something happens to her in the future, you won't owe her anything!"
Old Madam Liang hesitated to speak, and just waved her hand: "We'll leave first, your ancestor is inside, you can take her back to the mansion later!"
Xu Junying was confused by what the old ladies said. When he saw them were about to leave, he tried to persuade them to stay, saying that they should have lunch first. But the old ladies were unwilling to stay, so Xu Junying had no choice but to call the guards, give them some instructions, and ask them to send the three old ladies back home.
In the inner courtyard, several maids finally helped Meimei, who was weak and powerless, to stand up and carried her to the upper room. The old lady stood there in a daze, staring at the door of the upper room with a huff. Cuixi bowed and invited her to go in, but she refused to move. Cuixi had no choice but to order the maid to run into the room and bring in a rattan chair. Mother Ji and Ruixue and Ruiyu helped the old lady sit down. The old lady took a breath and pointed at Cuixi and said:
"You, kneel down! Tell me, when did your young mistress get this disease? Hasn't she been fine all along? She was still in the palace with the queen a few days ago to help her recuperate after giving birth! How can someone with this disease enter the palace? You are such a stubborn girl, how dare you deceive your superiors and subordinates and talk nonsense... Come here, give me twenty lashes of the cane!"
Cui Xi knelt on the ground with her head down, and was shocked when she heard this: Twenty strokes of the cane? That would cost her life!
Mother Ji winked, and several maids came out from behind her. They looked around and pulled out a solid wooden board one inch thick and three feet long from the bushes. They couldn't find a long bench, so they grabbed Cui Xi and tried to lift her up to the stone table under the flower stand and pin her down. Cui Xi was startled and was struggling. Mei Mei heard it from inside, and without bothering to let Cui Lian fix her hair, she ran out and scolded her:
"Let her go!"
This shout was as clear as the collision of pearls and jade, as graceful as the singing of an oriole and the chirping of a swallow, and she was full of breath and sound. How could she look like a patient? Moreover, her face was ruddy and pink like peach blossoms. She walked down the jade steps step by step, her steps were light and steady, her waist swayed like the wind blowing the willows, and she was graceful as dancing. This was completely the usual Qin, but what happened just now? That pale face, weak body, and haggard look could not be faked!
Meimei walked up to the old lady, bowed deeply, and said, "Old lady, please control your men. This is the private residence of the Cen family, not the Xu residence. If they dare to touch Cuixi, I will not let them off!"
Old Mrs. Xu was shaking all over and pointed at Meimei: "You! You were pretending to be sick just now!"
Meimei glanced at the courtyard gate and saw Cuisi coming in evasively with her face covered with her sleeves.
She looked at the old lady, and her warm eyes suddenly turned cold as ice: "You are too cruel! If I didn't pretend to be sick, I would have suffered a loss from you! Look back at Cuisi, you used to have a pretty face, but now it has become a pig's head. Can you bear to see it? Cuisi, come here, let the old lady appreciate her masterpiece!"
Cui Si walked slowly in front of the crowd and put down her sleeves. Mei Mei couldn't help but be shocked: He really has become a pig's head! Both cheeks are swollen, and even the nose is almost gone. The eyes are just two slits, and the mouth is also hit. The two lips are swollen and turned up, and there are congealed blood stains.
Ruixue and Ruiyu raised their hands to cover their mouths in horror. Cuixi, who was sitting under the flower stand, broke free from the maids in Xu's mansion and ran over. Together with Cuilian, she supported Cuisi and wept silently. Cuilian said with tears in her eyes:
"I'm sorry! I... I followed you and ran away on my own!"
Tears welled up in Cui Si's eyes, and she said incoherently, "Fool, do you want to be beaten together? I am enough!"
"Like-minded girl, like-minded person! When she saw her master coming, she ran away instead of greeting him. Whose family rule is this? She is such a worthless person who is looking for death!"
The old lady shouted, "Hold this girl down. Cui Si just slapped her a few times. Fine her double the amount!"
Meimei said coldly: "Old lady, don't you know whose house this is? Let me remind you again: this is the Cen residence, the Qin family's private residence! It has nothing to do with your Xu family. If you want to punish someone, go back to your Xu family and punish them. My girl, I will let you beat one, and I will not bother with you because of your old age. If you dare to touch them again, try it!"
Old Madam Xu stared at Meimei, her lips trembling for a long time, and she blurted out, "Are you all dead? What did I bring you here for? Pin down that bitch Qin and slap her in the face!"
She slammed her cane hard, panting, "Don't let me stop! My good grandson, the Xu Mansion that has been famous for a hundred years, and the illustrious and noble Weiyuan Marquis Mansion are all ruined in her hands... The holy spirits of our ancestors cannot rest in peace, and they come into my dreams every night to warn me. How can I allow her to be so arrogant? If I don't punish her today, I will not rest in peace! Go ahead, I am not afraid of beating her to death, someone will come to pay for her life!"
Meimei sneered, "I'm not that capable. It's like I've harmed the whole family of your Xu Mansion! Who will pay for my life if you beat me to death? You, old lady? With your character, your grandson doesn't want you. He would rather run away with me, a stranger. Your life is worthless and I don't want it! So, mothers, don't bother. Please sit down. I'll treat you to a good meal. It's better than beating someone up and causing trouble. The one who was beaten was a first-rank imperial edict. If the old lady doesn't do anything, it won't be her fault. You can't escape. You won't know how you died then!"
The old women were hesitating to come over to harass her, but when they heard what she said, they stopped, looked at each other, and stopped moving.
Suddenly, Mrs. Xu covered her chest with her hands, and the cane in her hand fell to the ground with a thud. Mother Ji, Ruixue and Ruiyu hurried forward, and helped her to touch her chest and pat her back. Finally, she breathed a sigh of relief, pointed at the old women, and Mother Ji scolded:
"You slaves..."
Meimei said: "Mrs. Ji, it turns out you are not a slave!"
Mother Ji choked, and Old Lady Xu pointed a finger at Meimei: "Qin—bitch!"
Meimei's face changed. She wanted to scold her a few more times, but seeing her like this, it would be bad to lie here for a while, so she changed her words: "Old woman..."
Xu Junying arrived just in time, strode over, and shouted, "Qin Meimei, don't be rude!"
Old Mrs. Xu was startled when she heard a loud shout above her head. When she looked up and saw her grandson coming, her eyes rolled up and she fainted!
Meimei was stunned: Are you trying to harm her? Why didn't you come earlier or later? Now it's her fault if anything happens to the old woman!
She hurried forward and reached out to touch the old lady Xu's nose at the same time as Xu Junying. Xu Junying touched her breath, but Meimei pinched her philtrum. With her other hand, she protected the back of the old lady's neck and said to Xu Junying:
"Get out of the way! It's not that easy to die!"
Xu Junying stared at her with anger in his eyes. Meimei acted as if she didn't see anything and ordered: "Cui Xi, go out the second gate and ask Bai Zhan to go to Qiancao Hall immediately. Ask the old doctor to come over. It means that the old man has fainted! Hurry!"
Meimei pinched her for a long time, and finally Mrs. Xu slowly opened her eyes. Meimei stepped aside and asked Ruixue and Ruiyu to come forward to serve her. According to the method she taught, she gently pressed her to prevent her from moving. She stretched out her hand in front of the old lady and said softly:
"Old lady, how many fingers are these?"
The old lady blinked: "Five!"
"What about this?"
“Three!”
"Am I Ruiyu?"
"You are Ruixue! What are you doing, you silly girl?"
Meimei breathed a sigh of relief, and then said to Xu Junying: "You can go and talk to your ancestors for a while, and you can entertain the doctor yourself when he comes!"
"Wait a minute!"
Xu Junying held her back and refused to let her go: "Go and apologize to the old lady!"
Meimei sneered: "If you don't want your ancestors to die quickly, you'd better let me disappear!"
Xu Junying's face turned blue, he stared at Meimei, and finally let her go. (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)