Meimei returned to Qinghua Courtyard, and she and the maids bathed Heng'er. She also took a bath and changed her clothes. She was curious about how Laoliu would talk to the old lady, so she dressed up carefully and took Heng'er to Jinhua Courtyard very actively. Just as she reached the gate of the courtyard, she met Mrs. Lin who had inquired about the news. She turned back to the courtyard and asked Cuixi to take a cushion and sit on the stone bench. She listened to Mrs. Lin's detailed account of what happened in the garden today. Now Jinhua Hall was angry and wanted to beat and kill people. The second master and the masters who came earlier had all turned back without even greeting each other. Naturally, she didn't have to make this trip again.
Mother Lin was worried: "It is Mother Yu who is in charge of the inner courtyard patrols. Something like this happened... What do you think, Grandma?"
Meimei turned her eyes slightly and said, "If this happened somewhere else, and the son-in-law ran into a maid or a servant, you wouldn't be able to escape. Now, the old lady doesn't want to make it public, so just stay here. Let Yu Po-zi keep a close eye on the maids patrolling the garden. Keep a close eye on the north courtyard, especially Yuehua Courtyard and Xianglan Pavilion. Once the son-in-law walks out, even if he is with the eldest aunt or accompanied by maids, they must be careful not to let the girls run into him!"
After Mrs. Lin left, Meimei smiled and said to Cuixi, "What did I say? If I'm not allowed to manage it, I'm too lazy to look at it! I've inspected every courtyard before during the inspection. I specially drew a floor plan of the mansion. How could I not understand the situation in Xianglan Pavilion and Yuehua Courtyard? Living so close, if everyone was abiding by the rules, it would be fine. But the son-in-law is a playboy and the cousin is bold, just wait for chaos!"
Cui Xi said: "Luckily, it was my cousin who I met. What would we do if it was a girl from our family?"
"The young ladies in the mansion are taught by their mothers, and they are well behaved. When they go out, they are always followed by more than a dozen maids and servants. Even if they meet by chance, there are maids around, so there is no need for the young lady to talk to the eldest brother-in-law. But what happened to the young lady? Xianglanxie also has maids and servants, so how did she run into someone else's arms?"
Meimei didn't see it with her own eyes, so she couldn't figure it out. She didn't bother to care. She asked Cuixi to go to the kitchen to order food. She and a few maids took Heng'er to eat dinner happily. She took Heng'er to walk and play in the corridor for a while. The wet nurse and Xia Lian took Heng'er away. She went back to her room to look through the account books. Cuixi and others did needlework to keep her company. It was almost midnight when Yu Po came to report that there was something going on in Yuehua Courtyard and Xianglan Pavilion. It looked like a wedding. Many people from Jinhua Hall were standing in the courtyard, and the Second Madam was also there...
Meimei thought for a moment and said, "Mind your own business and just watch. If there's anything special, come back and tell me. Don't ask!"
At midnight, she had just turned over from her handstand practice when she heard Cui Xi laughing and saying outside the door:
"Second Grandma is here!"
Cuilian quickly put down her needlework and came over to help her straighten her clothes and hair. She stood aside with Cuisi, and then she saw Second Madam Bai Jingyu walk in with a smile on her face, shouting:
"I'm so tired! I'm hungry and thirsty. Give me some tea!"
Meimei was surprised and said, "Why are you so tired, hungry and thirsty? Who is so bold as to not feed the hard-working housekeeper?"
"Besides you, who else in this mansion would dare to do that?"
Bai Jingyu sat on the couch, stretched out his hand to pull the account book on the low table, and curled his lips: "There is not even any snacks or dried fruits. I am really hungry, but I can't help but come here in person to talk to you. At least give me something to eat!"
Meimei was stunned: "You really haven't eaten yet? Don't serve tea, give Second Madam a glass of boiled water. What do you want to eat? Tell someone who's quick to run to the kitchen to make it and bring it here!"
Bai Jingyu said: "I want to eat a bowl of hot noodles!"
"Would you like something spicy?"
"don't want!"
"Well, it's not to my taste. Cuilian, ask Cheng'er and Ping'er to go to the kitchen to serve supper. One bowl of three-fresh noodles and one bowl of beef noodles. The three-fresh noodles should be in a small bowl, and the beef noodles should be in a large bowl. There should be two side dishes with chili peppers. You can ask for the rest. By the way, who did the second grandmother bring? Let them stay outside. Ask them what they want to eat and have them make it for you. You can eat with them in the hall!"
Cui Xi brought a glass of boiled water, Bai Jingyu took it and drank half of it, Cui Si took away the account book on the low table, Cui Lian put out some fruits, and the maids left. Bai Jingyu picked up an almond and put it in his mouth to chew, while talking to Meimei about Li Zhao taking Xiangying as a concubine. He mentioned that the old lady was furious and didn't want Meimei to know about this, so she even paid for the items needed for the wedding herself. The two couldn't help laughing, and Bai Jingyu said:
"It's a good thing I came here. If you keep her as a concubine for the sixth son, you will have to pay 500 taels of silver. The old lady may have to handle it herself, and I'm afraid it will be more than that. I saved it for you, and I didn't touch a single penny in your storehouse. How are you going to thank me?"
Meimei laughed: "You know me, I am willing to support you like this, so what's the big deal if Sixth Master takes one or two concubines? But you, you took away the concubine that was originally intended for Sixth Master, and you are waiting for people to blame you!"
Bai Jingyu was furious: "It's all my work, it's a waste of effort!"
"Why don't you please me? The old lady still relies on you to do a lot of things. Just wait and see. If the marriage between the sixth son and the cousin of the Luo family is successful, you will still have to arrange it!"
"Will you let me arrange Lao Liu's marriage?"
"No! But you can do something like tonight that doesn't cost money or bother you!"
"Look at what you said, as if I only like to do this kind of boring thing!"
The steaming three-fresh noodles and beef noodles were quickly cooked. Bai Jingyu looked at the two bowls of noodles, each with its own unique flavor and fragrance, and said with a smile, "I didn't expect that even though Madam Cai was dragged away by us, the Hou Mansion kitchen could still make such delicious noodles! I'm so greedy, no, I want to try both! I'm not an ordinary person now, I'm pregnant, please forgive me, sister-in-law!"
Meimei was sweating. Pregnant women were really amazing. Bai Jingyu actually acted like a spoiled child with her. There was nothing she could do. She had to take out another bowl and share a small bowl of noodles. She said, "I had a full dinner. I'm only eating with you now. I'm not used to eating at night. These are all yours. Eat!"
Bai Jingyu was a real eater, and the noodle soup was delicious. She was also very hungry, and she had been served food at Yuehua Courtyard, but she was too lazy to move. Before she knew it, she had finished both bowls of noodles, one large and one small. She was stunned.
Meimei laughed so hard: "Just sit still and digest your food, then walk back slowly. Don't walk too fast, or you will have a stomachache, don't blame me!"
The two chatted and laughed for half an hour, and then a few maids from the West Mansion came to pick them up, saying that the Second Master was worried that it would be difficult to leave at night, so he asked for a sedan chair to be brought to carry the Second Madam back.
Meimei smiled and said, "Second Master is so considerate and caring... But how did he know you were here with me?"
"When I came here, I asked someone to tell him so that he wouldn't worry. He is really very good to me now!"
Bai Jingyu's face flushed red, and he stood up and bowed: "Since we are riding in a sedan chair, we can go back now, right? Sister-in-law, don't worry, everything will be fine. I'll take my leave now!"
Meimei sent her to the corridor and watched her get on the sedan chair. She still asked Cuixi to take two maids with her, and told them to wait until the second lady entered the yard safely before returning.
Because the Second Madam came over to chat, Heng'er was not carried to the upper room to sleep. Cuisi went to take a look and said that Heng'er slept well with the wet nurse accompanying him. Meimei then washed up and went to bed to rest, and asked the maids to go to sleep. It was Cuixi's turn to stay on duty. She helped Meimei lie down, blew out the lights, and then went to sleep on the couch in the outer room.
Meimei used to feel sleepy as soon as she laid her head on the pillow. Tonight, after Bai Jingyu told her about this, she couldn't help but go over it again in her mind. She turned over several times and finally felt really sleepy. She closed her eyes and half-drowsily, she seemed to hear the door open and the sound of whispers outside. She barely managed to stay awake and asked lazily, "Cui Xi?"
There was no response. She suddenly opened her eyes. Her sixth sense told her that someone was approaching the bed. She rolled over and sat up, hugging the quilt, and looked outside the tent with wide eyes.
Outside the bed, Xu Junying smiled helplessly and pulled aside the gauze curtain: "Meimei, it's me!"
Meimei was stunned for a moment, then threw a pillow at her: "What do you want to do? You're scaring me to death in the middle of the night!"
Xu Junying had already thrown off his outer robe, took off his shoes and got on the bed. He quickly came to Meimei and hugged her in his arms:
"Can you keep your voice down? People outside might hear you and laugh at you... I deliberately didn't wake you up. You usually sleep well and I can't wake you up even if I shake you. Why are you so alert now?"
Xu Junying kept talking, burying his head in Meimei's neck and hair. Meimei felt itchy and dodged away: "Cui Xi is outside!"
"No one is here. I asked the maid to come in and call her out!"
Xu Junying's hands became restless, moving around her shoulders and waist before slowly moving towards her chest:
"Meimei, are you okay? The bruises should have healed. I miss you so much!"
Thinking about it makes you feel uncomfortable? What does that mean? Meimei was stunned. She grabbed his hand, pressed it firmly on her waist, and deliberately changed the subject:
"Why, why did you come back in the middle of the night? Have you eaten yet?"
Xu Junying followed Meimei's strength, holding her waist with both hands, but his face was close to hers, getting close to her:
"I returned at noon. Meimei, please understand me. I also wanted to tell you earlier, but I have the emperor's order and cannot casually announce my return date. This time, I am here as an imperial envoy to inspect the border defense and investigate several other matters. I have to report back to the capital first. There are many things to take care of. The emperor stayed in the palace to eat, drink tea and talk. I got home at this time. I didn't want to wake you up, so I asked Bai Zhan to get ready and take a bath and change clothes in the East Courtyard... I wanted to come back quietly to hug you, but you are so smart!"
He kissed Meimei's eyes: "I want to see you... Don't you want to see me?"
Meimei said: "Okay, then I'll go down and light the lamp!"
Xu Junying chuckled, gently untangled her two little hands from his wrists, and with a little force, lifted her up and placed her on his lap. He turned her around to face him, pressed tightly together, held the back of her head with one hand, kissed her soft lips, and said with a slight gasp:
"Meimei, I miss you all the time. I won't let you go tonight. Be my bride!" (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)