There was still laughter and joy in Jinhua Hall. A maid brought the steward of the front yard in and said that two pairs of eunuchs from the palace had arrived at the residence and that the empress's carriage would be arriving soon, so the old lady was asked to get dressed and go to the front yard to welcome her.
Xu Xiping suddenly woke up: Yes, my nephew Junying said yesterday that the Queen will come to visit her sick niece-in-law today. He stood up hurriedly and urged his mother to get ready and go to meet her.
The old lady glanced at him and said, "Don't worry. The phoenix chariot will arrive at the door only after three pairs of eunuchs and palace maids are all present. Ruixue, help me change my clothes!"
As soon as he finished speaking, there was silence around him. Ruiyu and Ruiyun came to their senses and hurried forward to help the old lady up and took her inside to change clothes. The old lady realized that she had called the wrong person and did not explain much.
Li Songmao had already stood up and followed the steward out of the room. He took out a silver ingot from his sleeve and stuffed it into the steward's hand, asking him to inform the eunuch that Shi Songmao, a cousin of the Hou Mansion and a second-rank cabinet scholar, was a guest in the mansion and would welcome the phoenix carriage together with everyone in the Hou Mansion.
How could the head steward of the Hou Mansion dare to accept the gift money secretly? He hurriedly pushed it back, promised to talk to the eunuch, and bowed repeatedly before leaving.
The old lady, accompanied by Xu Xiping, Shi Songmao, Xu Junqiao and the second-rank imperial wife Zhuang Yulan, went to the front hall to welcome the phoenix carriage, along with the three young ladies from the Hou Mansion who had gone to sit behind a screen and embroider because Shi Songmao had gone to the Jinhua Hall to chat. Meimei had been waiting there in her best attire, deliberately painting her face pale. When she saw the old lady and the others coming, she took a step forward to greet them, bowed and said,
"Meimei pays respects to the old lady! Pays respects to uncle!"
The old lady raised her head and looked towards the gate expressionlessly. Xu Xiping raised his hand and said:
"You are still weak, forget it!"
Shi Maosong had already pulled Zhuang Yulan up. When a second-rank official meets a first-rank official, they naturally have to meet and pay their respects first. When Zhuang Yulan was in the Hou Mansion before, she deliberately ignored Meimei's identity as the marquis' wife and was arrogant and rude. She thought that one day she would be able to be on equal footing with her. Today, this wish was shattered. She had to bow obediently and pay her respects to Meimei. Shi Maosong also bowed diligently.
Xu Xiping said, "My niece, this historian is your cousin's husband. Have you ever met him?"
Meimei returned the greeting: "Forgive Meimei's poor eyesight for not recognizing Mr. Shi! My cousin's husband and I are a perfect match, and my cousin has diagnosed a pregnancy, which is the icing on the cake. Congratulations!"
She looked down on Zhuang Yulan from the bottom of her heart. She had to wait for her cousin to marry her. There were so many men in the world, but none of them could compare to her cousin who already had a wife and children? Thinking about her confident look, although she had obtained Xu Junying's consent, it was still very hateful. The "cousin's wife" was still living well in Tsinghua Courtyard. It was really speechless to squeeze in. If it was the real Qin Meiniang, she would definitely not be able to play with her and the old lady, and she would eventually succeed. Qin Meiniang had no choice but to stay in the deep courtyard. She cried to the sky and the earth, but no one would respond... Things in the world are often difficult to fulfill one's wishes. After all the twists and turns, the fake cousin's wife became the real cousin's wife, and Zhuang Yulan had to be temporarily married to a middle-aged son-in-law as a royal reward. No one could control whether she was satisfied or not!
Zhuang Yulan heard the sarcasm in Meimei's words, so she just lowered her head and bit her lips until they were bleeding. But Shi Songmao next to her didn't know what was going on, and kept trying to fawn on her. He said many nice things to Meimei and walked all the way to the gate. Zhuang Yulan wanted to step on him a few times.
The old lady watched all this coldly and snorted secretly. Before she could say anything, she saw clusters of flowers over there, and flags and canopies fluttering dazzlingly in the sun. The imperial guards were lined up on both sides to protect them, and eunuchs and palace maids were walking in pairs from afar - the phoenix has arrived!
Everyone knelt on the ground to welcome the Phoenix. The Queen smiled and said in the Phoenix Sedan: "Stand up!"
The voice was gentle and soft. Everyone looked up, but did not dare to stand up immediately. They saw the queen smiling and holding the hand of a palace maid as she walked down the phoenix chariot. She was wearing a splendid palace dress, and the pearls and gems of all sizes on the Hundred Flowers Pearl Crown made people's eyes shine. She stepped forward to support the old lady, exchanged a few words, and then walked to Meimei and held out her hand to her. Meimei gently held the queen's hand and stood up. The queen turned her palm over and looked at it, then looked at her face carefully, and said with a smile: "Princess Qi told me that it was incredible! You - you must learn to cherish yourself. This sick body must be taken care of carefully!"
The two of them walked towards the front hall hand in hand and talked quietly, leaving behind a group of people who followed slowly, and no one dared to interrupt.
The Queen sat down in the hall, dignified and beautiful, with a majestic presence without being angry. When everyone came to pay formal respects, the Queen allowed them to sit down and said a few dignified opening remarks. Cui Xi, Cui Lian and others presented tea and snacks, which Mei Mei took and passed to the Queen. The Queen took a sip of the hot tea and greeted everyone in order, starting from the old lady. The casual conversation lasted for half a quarter of an hour. Except for the old lady and Mei Mei, who received two more words of condolences, everyone else was treated equally and each was given one word.
The medicines and supplements they brought were given to the old lady, the mistress and Meimei. Everyone could see clearly that the old lady and the mistress got the same share, but Meimei got an extra brocade box.
Heng'er was also given various toys, which were put in a wooden box. He opened it for everyone to have a look. All they could see were bright colors and golden flashes, but they couldn't see clearly what they were, so they closed the box again.
The Queen smiled and said, "Marquis Weiyuan works hard for state affairs, leaving home early and returning late every day. Marquis Weiyuan's wife is weak and sickly, but she still has to serve the elderly, raise children, and manage the household with care. She is truly virtuous and benevolent. The family members in the mansion should be more considerate and support each other so that Marquis Weiyuan will not have any worries!"
She also asked which young ladies of the Xu family were engaged, and whether they had learned to read or embroider. She praised each of their looks and affirmed that the granddaughter raised by the old lady was elegant and outstanding. Old Lady Xu always had a smile on her face, and her attitude was humble and peaceful. She dealt with the empress neither humble nor arrogant, but gentle and decent. She had the demeanor of an old-generation lady of honor, which was indeed extraordinary. Meimei was a little attracted by her demeanor.
The Queen went out of the palace to visit Meimei this time on the order of the Emperor. The Emperor and Xu Junying had been together since childhood and knew each other's temperament very well. From his expression, he knew that Xu Junying still couldn't handle Qin Meimei, so he had to help him again. The Emperor had promised Meimei that she could live in Cen's house if she wanted, and he was embarrassed to go back on his word, so he asked the Queen to go out of the palace to visit the wife of Weiyuan Marquis in person, in the name of visiting the sick, but in fact it was forcing her. Seeing that Qin Meimei didn't obey, he quickly moved back to the Marquis's house!
The Queen had already met Meimei in the Houfu, and after trying her best to comfort her, she wanted to return to the palace. However, the last time she went out to burn incense and fulfill her vow, the prince stayed with the Queen Mother for two days. She didn't know what method the Queen Mother used, but the prince was actually very attached to her smell. When he started crying, the Queen Mother came over and held him and coaxed him to stop. The Queen Mother almost took her son away, but fortunately the Emperor came to protect her and prevented the Queen Mother from succeeding. Since then, the Queen did not dare to leave the prince easily. After being out for a while, she was already worried whether the prince was taken away by the Queen Mother again. She said a few intimate words to Meimei, gave her a delicate gold medal, and asked her to report directly to the palace if there was anything:
"With this badge, you can enter Kunning Palace directly without being stopped. I gave one to Runan. Junying is afraid that you will be suppressed by the old lady, so she wants to ask two maids from the palace to accompany you under the pretext of learning embroidery, calligraphy and painting. I don't think it's necessary. You don't want this, right?"
Meimei nodded: "Thank you, Queen, for your understanding. I don't need a nanny in the palace, and there will be no trouble between me and the old lady. Don't worry, Queen!"
The queen smiled and said, "I am facing the queen mother, and you are the grandmother. You should deal with it well. Remember: don't let others hold you in a bad light, and don't lose your filial piety!"
Although the queen appears gentle and graceful, her arrangements are compact and quick, without any procrastination. She came to the Hou Mansion just to go through the motions, took a tour of Tsinghua Courtyard, praised the gardening layout, and said everything she needed to say to Meimei along the way. She met Heng'er, declined the prepared meal, and was about to return to the palace!
Meimei knew that she was worried about the prince, so she did not try to persuade him to stay. She just knelt down with the old lady and others to see him off.
From beginning to end, the most disappointed person was Shi Maosong. Together with Xu Xiping, they followed the phoenix carriage around the mansion for half a day, but were always kept at the periphery by eunuchs and palace maids, and could not get a chance to talk to the queen.
As Zhuang Yulan followed the old lady, she had several opportunities to stand close to the Queen. Shi Maosong stood far away and even saw the Queen smiling at her, but Zhuang Yulan lowered her head slightly shyly, not daring to look at the Queen or move her lips. Shi Maosong was so anxious that he stamped his feet. She just threw away such a great opportunity to become close to the Queen!
Not long after the Queen left, the gentlemen from the Hou Mansion and the West Mansion returned one after another. The meal they had carefully prepared for the Queen had already been prepared. Without saying anything, the people from the two mansions ate together. However, Shi Songmao and his wife wanted to take their leave and go back. Xu Xiping and his nephews repeatedly invited Shi Songmao to have dinner before leaving. Shi Songmao politely thanked them and said that he would visit his great-aunt and cousins again in a few days. He took Zhuang Yulan with him and said goodbye and left.
Three banquet tables were set up in the large flower hall of the Hou Mansion. Someone was sent to invite the second wife and grandmothers from the West Mansion over. Even though Meimei pretended to be sick, she still had to pretend to be welcoming. She bowed to the second wife and greeted each other with Bai Jingyu and Ning Rulan. Fang came later with her eldest sister and Shen Ge'er, and she had to greet them again. The eldest sister recognized her and called her "Aunt" obediently. Her sweet voice was pleasant to hear.
They simply arranged for the brothers and sisters to eat at the same table. It was fun for the children to be together. Fang and Gan took the lead in eating with the children. Heng'er, Shen'er, Meilian, Meihui, and Yi'er, the young master of the Li family brought by Xu Xiaojuan, and Wei'er, who was six months old and brought by the second wife, were given to Fang's care. The table really became a Lilliput country. Under the leadership of Fang and Gan, with the help of their respective wet nurses and personal maids, they ate happily, with crying and laughter coexisting, and it was very lively.
Compared to the innocent children, the adults at the table were very quiet and boring. They almost ate without talking. The men occasionally talked about current affairs, who got a good job, who messed up, there was nothing good to hear. Meimei wanted to sit with Ning Rulan but failed. Bai Jingyu sat next to her. In front of everyone, the old lady at the table had a gloomy face again. The two did not say anything, but just urged each other to eat, praised the exquisiteness of the dishes, and ate slowly. The old lady put down her bowl, and everyone else stopped eating.
The old lady said she was tired, Xu Xiping looked at Meimei, and Meimei said, "Please bring the sedan chair and take the old lady back to Jinhua Hall to rest!"
The old lady glanced at her and said coldly, "You are unlucky enough to sit on that fancy wooden frame! Ruiyu Ruiyun, come and support me, and walk a little to stretch my muscles!"
Meimei thought, do you want to sit on that fancy wooden stand? Sorry, no, that's for my wife only!
She looked at Xu Junting and Xu Junxuan. The eldest son of the Hou Mansion was not at home and the old lady ignored her, so the two brothers would go and coax her. If that didn't work, she would have to let whoever she loved be the next one. You want people from the West Mansion to serve you, right? Go ahead!
Xu Junting immediately turned around and went outside the hall, telling the maid, "Prepare the sedan chair, quickly!"
After returning, he and Xu Junxuan helped the old lady and advised her, "It's very hot outside. Even though we are walking under the flower-shaded corridor, it's still very hot. Don't tire the old lady. Let your grandson help her sit in the sedan chair!"
The old lady did not move. Xu Xiping glared at Xu Junlang and Xu Junya. The two brothers joined in the persuasion, and the old lady finally agreed. They helped her up, walked to the door of the hall, and got on the sedan chair. Xu Xiping followed her and escorted her back to Jinhua Hall.
Meimei couldn't help but shrugged as she watched them leave. Bai Jingyu touched her hand and said, "It's so hot, are you cold? Are you shivering?"
Meimei smiled and said, "No, my shoulders hurt."
But he couldn't take his eyes away. He turned a corner at the entrance of the hall and met Xu Xiaojuan who was holding her son. He was attracted by Xu Xiaojuan's cold and unreasonable eyes. The two pairs of eyes stayed in a glued state for a moment, and then separated.
There is no reason. Why would she, a married girl, look at her elder sister-in-law like this? She looked down on her. Is it because she is older than her sister-in-law? If you want to talk about this, your elder sister is 26 years old this year, older than your brother! (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)