Mei Niang arrived at Madam Zheng's courtyard and walked into the upper room. She saw Madam Zheng and Zheng Meiyu sitting on the couch playing with Heng Ge'er. The nurse was standing by and watching with a smile. Heng Ge'er was giggling. When he turned around and saw Mei Niang coming in, he raised his arms excitedly and fluttered like a duckling. His mouth was wide open and drooling, but he didn't make a sound. Mei Niang couldn't help but think of the evening when she came back to life. She went to find Heng'er and he was like this. This child, what's wrong? If he cried out loudly, someone would come to hold him and he wouldn't be cold.
Mei Niang bowed to Madam Zheng, and Zheng Meiyu also got off the couch, called her "cousin", and stood aside with her head lowered.
Madam Zheng looked at Mei Niang and said, "Why did you take so long to come? Fortunately, Heng Ge'er is a good child and doesn't make a fuss. As a mother, you should always put your child first... Although I have to wait on the old lady, don't I have Rui Xue and the others?"
Mei Niang lowered her eyes and said, "My daughter-in-law came out from the old lady and went to see the third grandmother... It's my daughter-in-law's fault for causing trouble to my mother!"
Madam Zheng raised her eyebrows: "Is Rulan still not well? Alas, what's wrong with you kids? One is well and the other is lying down again... None of you know how to take care of yourself!"
"My mother is teaching my daughter-in-law to be more careful in the future!"
Madam Zheng looked at the docile Mei Niang and nodded with satisfaction: "The wives of the second house are not very capable. Jingyu is stronger, but Rulan is useless. You are the wife of our first house. You will be in charge of the household affairs of the Hou Mansion. In the future, the Hou Mansion will be inherited by Heng'er. You are his mother, and you are managing the household business for your son. It goes without saying that you should do your best. You need to be flexible and quick-witted... Your cousin Yu is the youngest daughter of my brother. She often comes to the Hou Mansion to accompany me. You have been ill these days, and I am not in good health either. I rely on her to take care of me. She knows Ying'er very well..."
Mei Niang's heart beat faster: Here it comes, here it comes, what is she going to say again!
But Mrs. Zheng's chambermaid, Mother He, stepped into the room. Behind her, three or four maids came in carrying food boxes.
Then, Chunyue and other maids came in with copper basins filled with hot water and trays with stacked cotton towels, and helped Madam Zheng, Mei Niang and Zheng Meiyu wash their hands in turn.
Xia Lian washed her hands, opened the lunch box and put the food on the table. Mother He helped to take the lid of the lunch box and said with a smile:
"You don't know, the maids in the kitchen are preparing a roe deer, saying it was sent by a friend of yours from the northeast!"
Another friend from the northeast, could he be the one who sent the ginseng? Mei Niang thought to herself, if it was that person, she would like to go and see if he looked like a big grower.
That ginseng was really good. She ate two slices and didn't feel anything physically, but she felt more energetic.
Qin Meiniang's body was actually very weak. If it weren't for her strong willpower, she would have to lie in bed for ten days before she dared to move around.
Mei Niang filled a bowl of soup and handed it to Madam Zheng with both hands, saying with a smile, "This soup is really well cooked. Mother, have a bowl of chicken soup first!"
Mrs. Zheng answered, "You should drink some too. You're just getting better. From time to time, ask the kitchen to kill a chicken and stew it for you to gain weight!"
"My daughter-in-law knows, thank you mother for your concern!"
Mei Niang also filled half a bowl of soup for Zheng Meiyu and handed it to her: "Cousin Yu, drink too!"
Zheng Meiyu waved her hands and said, "How can I trouble my cousin's wife to serve soup for my sister..."
Madam Zheng took a sip of the hot soup and her brows relaxed. "Take it. I'll serve it to you this time. You should be more obedient and serve it to me in the future!"
Zheng Meiyu looked up at her aunt and replied, "Yes! Thank you, cousin."
Mei Niang poured a bowl of chicken soup and asked the nurse to feed Heng'er. She returned to the dining table, looked at Zheng Meiyu, and smiled, "If you want to say thank you, I, the cousin's wife, should thank Cousin Yu! I have been ill for a long time, and it is all thanks to Cousin Yu who has taken care of the affairs of Qinghua Courtyard. I heard that she collected the monthly salary for me, so that the maids wouldn't spend it carelessly. She also took care of Heng'er. Heng'er is a good person, he doesn't cry or make a fuss, but he suffers because of this!"
Mrs. Zheng stopped drinking her soup and looked at her: "What do you mean?"
Mei Niang said, "Mother doesn't know: that day I walked back to Qinghua Courtyard to look for Heng'er, and found that there was no one in the whole courtyard. I don't know which cruel person threw Heng'er alone in the bamboo cradle. It was such a cold snowy day. He was wearing thin clothes and didn't cover himself with a small quilt. His hands and feet were flailing around, but he didn't cry or make a fuss! If he wanted to cry and make a fuss, how could no one come to hold him?"
Madam Zheng looked back at Heng Ge'er who was drinking soup obediently. Her eyes suddenly turned red and there was anger hidden in her voice:
"Which bitch is this who's looking for death? Mother He, go check it out. If you find out, beat her up severely. Beat her to death!"
Mei Niang said, "My daughter-in-law asked Mother Wang. Mother Wang took Cui Xi, Cui Si, Cui Lian, Cheng Er and Ping Er to the front hall to keep vigil for the two days. She was unable to return to Qinghua Courtyard. The nurse was not there at the time!"
Madam Zheng stared at the nurse and said, "Where else can the nurse go if she is not with Heng-ge'er?"
The nurse said hurriedly, "In reply to the Madam, I happened to have something to do and went back home that day. After leaving the mansion, I left Heng'er in the care of my cousin!"
Mrs. Zheng looked at Zheng Meiyu. Zheng Meiyu had accidentally spilled the soup earlier, and Chunyue was using a handkerchief to wipe her sleeves.
Seeing her aunt looking at her with burning eyes, Zheng Meiyu said aggrievedly, "It was indeed my niece who held Heng'er that day. She had a stomachache and left him to the old woman who was guarding the gate and sweeping the floor in the yard. I couldn't find him when I came out of the cleaning room. I was scared to death. Later I heard... I heard that my cousin's wife survived!"
Madam Zheng lowered her eyes, and Mei Niang sighed and said, "Cousin Yu is wrong. Why did she leave Heng'er to the person who sweeps the floor? She has rough hands and feet, how could she know how to hold Heng'er? Naturally, she put him back in the cradle. It was so cold, the wind was blowing, and the little baby's hands and feet were cold... If cousin Yu saw Heng'er's miserable state, I'm afraid she would be more sad than me as a mother!"
Madam Zheng looked up at Zheng Meiyu and said calmly, "Beat up the dumb woman guarding the gate. Considering that she is old and deaf, drive her out! Yu'er, remember not to make such a mistake again. Even if you love him so much, what's wrong with carrying him into the clean room? Such a young child..."
Zheng Meiyu's face was filled with shame, and she lowered her head: "Auntie is right! My niece will never make such a mistake again!"
"Well, your mother sent someone to come yesterday and said that your father was ill again... I asked them to take a bag back with them. You can go home to see your father in two days. I'll let Mother He take you there!"
Zheng Meiyu lowered her head, her eyes red: "It's all up to my aunt to arrange!"
Madam Zheng sighed: "Our Zheng family was once so glorious, but we all regret that your father was weak and could not read a few books. He could not enter the government, and he could not maintain the success..."
Mother He added a bowl of rice to Madam Zheng and said with a smile: "Madam, please eat some food. Although the old uncle is not in good health, the cousins he gave birth to are all blessed. They all married into good families... With the support of the sisters and brothers-in-law, the young master will definitely be able to revive the family business!"
Madam Zheng nodded slightly, "That's right! Of the three sisters, the eldest sister married Chen Hanlin's nephew, the second sister married the youngest son of Minister Zhou of the History Department, and the third sister married the family of Gan Sicheng. They are all considered respectable. Only Yu'er is left... Although the cousin is not a legitimate child, he was raised by the eldest sister-in-law, so at least he continued the Zheng family's incense. In the future, he will have to rely on the sisters to take care of him."
Seeing Mei Niang eating silently, Madam Zheng brought a chicken leg to her and said, "Eat more. You are too thin!"
Then he pointed to the chicken soup and a dish of Dongpo pork on the table and said to Mother He, "Take them to the wet nurse and eat them all while they're hot. If she eats well, Heng'er will have enough milk to drink!"
While they were talking, lunch was over and Mother He called the maid to carry the dining table out.
After Heng'er had eaten and drunk his fill, he snuggled in Mei Niang's arms and burped. Madam Zheng looked at him lovingly and asked the wet nurse to hold him. Xia Lian led him out to the corridor to watch the birds. He was having so much fun that he naturally forgot about the burping.
He then asked Zheng Meiyu to go back to her room to rest, and then told Mother He: "Have them carry it in!"
Six sturdy old women carried three boxwood and copper-cornered boxes of different sizes, walked into the upper room, and placed them in a row.
After the maids left, Mother He opened the boxes one by one. Mei Niang was stunned: in the first, slightly smaller wooden box, there were strings of black iron warehouse keys that were shining with a cold light.
The second and third large boxes were filled with account books, each as thick as a brick and neatly arranged vertically.
How many warehouses are there in the Hou Mansion? Many keys are needed. Xu Junying said that the account books were piled up in several rooms. It turned out to be a lie. Aren’t they just two boxes? No big deal!
After Madam Zheng explained, Mei Niang was stunned: Xu Junying really didn't lie to her! Those two boxes of account books, hundreds of thick bricks, were just indexes of all the account books in the Hou Mansion!
Mei Niang flipped through a few books and lamented in her heart: It's not easy to get some power and money, you have to check the accounts. She is not afraid of numbers, but traditional Chinese characters... Guanyin Bodhisattva, beautiful lady, please be kind and open my third eye!
Madam Zheng motioned for Madam He to stand outside the door and watch. Then she picked up the teacup, took a sip of tea, and looked at Mei Niang with misty eyes:
"While I still have a say, if Lord Hou doesn't want you to manage the household, I will let you do it! Although I'm not his biological mother, after all, I raised him, and he can't forget my kindness! In the future, we will be of one mind, and I will take care of you in everything. You can't hide anything from me... It's okay if you forget everything in the past, just remember one thing: I'm doing this for your and Heng'er's good. Heng'er... He calls me grandma, and I'm willing to give him my heart!"
Mei Niang looked at Madam Zheng with emotion. Madam Zheng and Xu Junying were not biological mother and son. No one told her this, and Mother Wang didn't say it either. She vaguely guessed it but didn't dare to be sure.
The relationship between Madam Zheng and Xu Junying seemed a little awkward, but she treated Heng'er sincerely, and as a mother, she must express her gratitude with all her heart:
"My daughter-in-law will teach Heng'er to respect and love his grandmother!"
Madam Zheng nodded with a smile: "This is your first time as a housekeeper, so you will definitely be busy for a while. Heng'er, stay with me from now on!"
ah?!
Mei Niang thought she had heard wrongly, so she looked up at Madam Zheng with wide eyes. Madam Zheng was still smiling gently:
"I feel better today. I am so happy to see Heng'er that I was able to eat half a bowl of rice just now... We are all at home, and there has always been such a rule that grandmothers love their grandchildren and keep them by their side. You just give birth to him and take good care of the affairs of the Hou Mansion. Heng'er will be raised by me!"
This is depriving her of her right to be a mother, you cunning mother-in-law!
Mei Niang stood up and bowed deeply to Madam Zheng: "Mother! Heng'er is still too young, I'm afraid he will tire you out. When he's older, send him here to accompany you..."
"It won't tire me out. I have plenty of capable maids around me! Don't worry, Heng'er is my apple of the eye. It will be several times better for me to take care of him than for you to take care of him!"
"Mother… "
"I'm tired. You can go back now. I'll have someone carry the account books and follow me."
"Mother... Heng'er will cry at night!"
"He won't cry as long as the wet nurse is here! Mother He, send Grandma away, I'm really tired and need to rest!"
Mother He and Chunyue half supported and half dragged Mei Niang out, with tears streaming down her face. She wanted to beg again, but Mother He dissuaded her:
"Grandma, Heng is being raised here with you. He will only be with you and won't be going anywhere! If you miss Heng every day, you can come and see him anytime!"
At this time, Wang Mama brought two maids. Mei Niang saw that they each brought some of Heng'er's clothes and the nurse's things. She knew that Madam Zheng had made up her mind to keep Heng'er, and she couldn't help crying again. Wang Mama stepped forward, gently stroked her shoulders, and whispered to her:
"Don't be sad, grandma. Just come and see Heng Ge'er every day!"
Mei Niang leaned on Mother Wang's shoulder and cried: She was too careless! In ancient feudal society, filial piety was the most important thing, and the order of seniority was strictly defined. If the elders said something right, you had to obey it. If they said something wrong, you didn't want to obey it and you couldn't refute it openly. Madam Zheng was her mother-in-law and Heng'er's grandmother. She wanted to raise her grandson by her side, and the daughter-in-law couldn't even hum. She didn't expect this, and she let Madam Zheng take Heng'er away without any defense in Jinhua Hall... This body gave birth to Heng'er, and she occupied this body. She lived with Heng'er day and night for a few days, and felt the joy and concern of the spiritual connection between mother and son. She loved this child deeply and couldn't accept that Madam Zheng took him away for a while. (To be continued)