11
Xu Junying was silent for a while, then said, "I have never seen such incompatibility between you and the old lady! But no matter what, it is wrong for you to treat the old lady like that - I am reminding you, and I also know that the old lady is suppressing you by seniority. If you don't accept it, you can bear it... Meimei, grandma gave birth to my father. Without her, there would be no me. We cannot forget her kindness in raising us. I take care of and respect grandma, but sometimes I cannot obey her and feel a little deficient in filial piety. But I am wholeheartedly devoted to you and willing to tolerate you in every way. Even if you do something wrong, as long as you can protect yourself from being harmed by others, I will stand behind you and never blame you!"
Meimei was mischievous and asked, "What if I piss the old lady off to death?"
Xu Junying stared at her blankly, gritting his teeth and saying, "You are still my wife, Xu Junying. I will protect you!"
Meimei snorted: "I won't believe you!"
Xu Junying sighed: "Why don't you believe me? Husband and wife share the same fate. I share the good and bad with you, and share the sins with you. What's so strange? Besides - I believe that the old lady will not be so easily angry to death, and you will not do such a stupid thing casually!"
Meimei stared at him, and Xu Junying smiled: "I'm not home either. The 100-day agreement remains the same. You just go back to the mansion in advance. Everything will be discussed after I come back."
When Meimei was reminded of the Hundred Days Agreement, she was furious: "It's basically an unequal treaty. You didn't keep your word!"
"How did I break my promise? You refused to return home before the 100th day, but this time it was not me who forced you, it was the Queen..."
"Don't mention the Queen, she is always nosy..."
"Meimei!"
After a pause, Meimei continued, her tone full of helplessness and resentment: "Power is indeed a good thing. Ever since you married Mei Niang, you have forced people to become addicted... You are unreasonable, and anyone can oppress me. Why am I so unlucky!"
Xu Junying lowered his eyes: "Meimei, maybe I did something wrong in the past, and I can't say anything. Everything I did for you was really from my heart. You may not be satisfied with the 100-day agreement, but we will never separate as husband and wife! After the 100 days, I will definitely abide by the agreements between husband and wife!"
Meimei sneered. She had made a fuss and fought for it, but the results were not ideal. So, forget it. If she wanted to live and live a decent and glorious life, she had no choice but to raise the flag of tolerance again.
"I'm tired. There's no point in talking about this kind of thing. I'm going to go out and see Heng'er, and by the way, tell Cuixi to go downstairs and prepare dinner!"
"Don't move!"
Just as she was about to stand up, Xu Junying came in front of her, helped her sit down, touched her face with the back of his hand, pulled up her hand to check it, and said with a smile: "You sit still, I'll go! Heng'er has been playing for a long time, it's time to bring him back to rest. Today, your face looks much better, and the wound on your hand is healing quickly. You must not touch water. Does your body still hurt?"
Meimei shook her head: "Much better, it doesn't hurt if I don't touch it!"
"You still need to take the pills! You shouldn't sit for too long either. Walk around in the yard and then go back to the room and lie down. Come, I'll carry you to the couch and rest for a while!"
"No! I..."
Before she finished speaking, she was picked up. Xu Junying laid her on the couch and pulled a quilt from the cabinet to cover her legs, waist and abdomen.
"Don't be greedy for coolness, you are injured here, you need to take good care of it!"
Meimei sighed helplessly: "I don't know what to say to you. I got up late this morning and took a nap. I've been lying down for a long time, so I just want to sit for a while... Can you ask me before you do anything to me and listen to my opinion? I don't like to act first and ask for my opinion later!"
Xu Junying was stunned for a moment, but then he was amused by her last sentence: "I was too impatient and didn't ask clearly. Madam, please don't blame me. I will definitely not do that next time!"
After dinner, Xu Junying did not go back to the study as usual, but played literacy games with Heng'er together with Meimei. Heng'er was very excited to see his parents were there. Following Meimei's instructions, he found the corresponding words from the pictures piled together in a mess, quickly and accurately. Xu Junying praised him a few words, and the little guy grinned, drooling all over, all dripping on Xu Junying's new robe. Xu Junying frowned at Heng'er, pointing at his robe, blaming him for getting it dirty. Heng'er didn't care about him and simply climbed onto him. Xu Junying deliberately blocked him from both sides, and Heng'er shouted and screamed. The father and son were in a mess, and the childish voice was full of joy. Looking at his innocent smiling face, Meimei couldn't help but be intoxicated and smiled.
The next day, Xu Junying didn't know whether he was taking a day off or staying at home on purpose to discuss moving with Meimei. In fact, there was not much to move. No furniture was moved. Just some clothes and valuables. Cui Xi and Cui Lian had to pack up the ten or so boxes. Bao Ju and Bai Zhan led a few people to move them and they were done.
Cui Si's face was already less swollen and almost healed. When she heard that she had to go back to the mansion, she was full of worry. Mei Mei comforted her: "Don't be afraid, don't you still have me? If you encounter this again next time, be smart and turn around and run. If you can't run away, shout for help. Don't lose your momentum and rebuke those women who want to beat you. Ask them how brave they are. Those who dare to beat me will pay the price!"
Xu Junying heard Meimei teaching the girl in this way and couldn't help feeling helpless and amused. He didn't say anything and just walked away.
After lunch, Cuixi and Cuilian followed the instructions of the Marquis and opened a small red sandalwood box brought in by Baoju, took out new clothes from it, and dressed Meimei up again - a slim-fitting dress with bright red satin embroidered skirt and jacket, and a cool and exquisite pearl waistcoat. Hundreds of thumb-sized pearls, each round and full, shone brilliantly under the light and shadow, gorgeous and magnificent. The phoenix hairpins on her head, the pearl flower jade hairpins, and the necklaces on her ears were all based on the latest styles in the palace, meticulously crafted, and magnificent. When the makeup was done, not only Meimei herself, but also Cuixi, Cuilian, and Cuisi beside her were shocked by the beautiful woman in the mirror. Cuisi murmured:
"Oh my god, even when the young lady was wearing her wedding dress, she wasn't as beautiful as she is today!"
Cui Xi came to her senses and pushed her: "What nonsense are you talking about? The young lady has been a beauty since she was a child. When did she stop being beautiful?"
Cui Lian stroked the purple pendant on Meimei's ear and said softly, "The Marquis is really thoughtful. He specially bought this dress for the young lady today when he was taking her back home. It is dignified, generous and elegant. It has the noble demeanor of the Marquis and the aura of a bride. She really looks like a bride, except for the red veil!"
Meimei's heart beat inexplicably: she thought Xu Junying gave her such an expensive and gorgeous new dress just to give her face, implying that he was returning home in glory, not running back in disgrace. She never thought that he remembered what she said: no sedan chair, no wedding ceremony!
The sedan chair was waiting in the corridor, but it was not the maids, but Baoju led four strong guards in brocade clothes. Baoju saluted and said:
"Master Hou will go ahead. Your subordinates have been ordered to escort Madam Hou back to the mansion! Madam Hou's ceremonial carriage is waiting outside the gate. Please get into the sedan chair!"
Madam Hou's guard of honor? Meimei thought to herself, it seems that it has never been used before - yes, it was used once, when she pretended to be pitiful and wanted to go back to see Qin Boqing. Xu Junying agreed and asked Bai Zhan to accompany her. As a result, she scolded Bai Zhan and asked him to take all the people and horses back to the Hou Mansion, and she left the city by herself.
A group of four or five cars, with hundreds of followers following in front and behind, drove from Cen's residence to Weiyuan Hou Mansion. The streets were unobstructed and they arrived in less than two quarters of an hour.
She stopped at the main gate and went straight to the second gate instead of the side gate. Meimei looked at the majestic and towering gatehouse of the mansion from behind the window screen. She was just thinking about how to get in when she suddenly heard Baoju's long roar, which startled her:
"Mrs. Weiyuan has returned home!"
There's no need to let the whole world know that the runaway wife has come back on her own!
Cui Xi and Cui Lian are missing. Where did Xu Junying go
As if hearing her inner voice, Xu Junying's voice rang out from outside the car: "Prepare the sedan chair!"
As soon as the car curtain was lifted, Xu Junying leaned half of his body in, and said in a gentle and soft voice: "Meimei, I'll help you get out of the car!"
Fortunately, I didn't force myself to say, "Come here, let me carry you down!"
Xu Junying supported her carefully, afraid that she would feel pain, and tried not to touch her. Meimei got off the bus and stood still. She looked at Xu Junying and couldn't help feeling embarrassed. This guy was also wearing a bright red robe embroidered with floral patterns. He didn't dare to be as blatant as the groom's attire, but he was also very festive and eye-catching.
Being under the watchful eyes of so many people, she felt a little embarrassed. Meimei held Xu Junying's hand and quickly pulled him toward the door. When she looked up, she saw a large group of people standing at the steps at the door. They were not outsiders. They were the four gentlemen, Xu Junlang, Xu Junya, Xu Junting and Xu Junqiao, who were with their wives and children, all of them were welcoming her with smiles on their faces. The unmarried Xu Junxuan was standing on the other side with his sisters, looking at her with a smile.
Next to the second young lady Xu Xiaorong stood a dignified beauty who looked like Zheng Meiyu. Meimei was slightly startled at first, but soon realized who it was—Xu Xiaojuan, the eldest young lady of the Hou Mansion, born to Madam Zheng. It must be her. Her face was calm and dignified, and her eyes were slightly cold. After a few more glances, she could tell whether she looked more like Madam Zheng or Zheng Meiyu. Meimei then realized that Madam Zheng loved Zheng Meiyu so much, probably because of Xu Xiaojuan. The two cousins looked so similar, and Xu Xiaojuan married early, and was asked to marry by the Li family as soon as she was old. Madam Zheng missed her daughter and gave all her love to Zheng Meiyu. It was a pity that the bad woman had a crooked heart and was not blessed to continue to enjoy it.
Looking at the people in front of her, Meimei felt really embarrassed. What was Xu Junying doing? These people did nothing wrong. Who was obligated to come to the gate of the mansion in the hot weather to greet her
But he had to step forward and greet all the uncles, aunts, and sisters-in-law one by one. Bai Jingyu smiled and whispered:
"We have to go back home eventually, but it will only be good if Big Brother welcomes Sister-in-law back like this!"
Ning Rulan was wearing a loose floral mid-length jacket, with her belly slightly exposed. She looked at Meimei kindly and tenderly, and said with a smile:
"Third Master always didn't let me come to see you, now come and see me!"
Gan and Fang also said a few nice words each, but Xu Xiaojuan just called her sister-in-law lightly, then stood aside and said nothing.
A few girls wanted to go in with Meimei, but Xu Junying said:
"Your sister-in-law has been feeling a little unwell these days, let me help her!"
He no longer paid attention to his brothers and sisters behind him, and led Meimei to walk into the gate of the mansion. He saw four men in brocade clothes carrying an exquisite and gorgeous sedan chair and stopping in front of them. Xu Junying smiled and said:
"Get on the sedan chair and go to the inner courtyard ancestral hall. You have to take the sedan chair!" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets at Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.) (To be continued)