In the East Flower Hall, Xu Junying, Mei Niang and Zheng Meiyu were sitting around a small round table, with maids and old women quietly serving them. Baoju and Baizhan were also standing by, waiting for the master to finish his meal and go out.
Mei Niang picked up a dumpling with chopsticks and placed it on the small plate in front of Xu Junying, smiling gently and saying:
"Try this, my husband!"
Ruizhu, who was standing behind Xu Junying, came closer to take a look and said anxiously, "Madam, the Lord Hou doesn't eat scallion fillings!"
"Really?" Mei Niang raised her eyebrows and looked at Rui Zhu: "How long have you and Rui Bao been with me?"
Ruizhu bowed her head and replied, "In reply to the eldest young lady's question, we have been in Dongyuan for almost half a year!"
"In the past six months, I have been at home for less than two months. You have a really good memory. You can remember my eating habits so quickly. Not bad! Good girl! You need to be smarter in the future. Not only should you have a good nose like a puppy, but also have the eyesight of an owl. This dumpling is steaming hot. You can't smell whether it is filled with chopped green onions, but you should be able to tell that it is a crystal dumpling!"
Ruizhu lowered her head and whispered, "Madam, I smell the scent of chopped green onions!"
Mei Niang's eyes turned slightly, and she smiled and said, "Amazing! You've really trained your nose like a dog! The dumpling stuffed with chopped green onions that my cousin is biting right now!"
The maids behind them didn't dare to say anything. Baoju and Baizhan held back their laughter, with strange expressions on their faces. Xu Junying glanced at them and said:
"Ruizhu and Ruibao will serve you. You can all go down. Baoju and Baizhan, why don't you go eat now? What are you two doing here?"
The maids and servants retreated to the corridor, Baoju and Baizhan also left. Zheng Meiyu frowned slightly and said:
"Who made the breakfast? Why are they not the same? I thought they were all crystal dumplings, but I took a bite... I never eat chopped green onions either!"
Mei Niang looked at her: Isn't this just a lie? Yesterday at noon, I had lunch with Madam Zheng in her yard. Who didn't have a handful of green onions on their plate? Why didn't she pick it out then
Mei Niang smiled and said, "I asked the kitchen to make twenty dumplings with ten kinds of fillings, including chopped green onion filling, pork filling, beef filling, fresh shrimp filling, assorted fillings, etc., half meat and half vegetable, two of each. Cousin Yu, whichever you like, it's up to you!"
Zheng Meiyu was stunned, and Ruizhu Ruibao was also dazed: a few dumplings can be made into so many different dishes, is the eldest young lady worried that the people in the kitchen are too idle
Xu Junying handed his plate to Zheng Meiyu: "Since you don't like chopped green onion filling, try this crystal one!"
Zheng Meiyu took it obediently, stood up, picked up another identical dumpling from the large plate with a spoon, and said:
"My cousin and I have the same taste. We don't like strong-flavored food. This must also be made of crystal. Please eat it, cousin!"
Mei Niang had already placed a plate of two meat dumplings in front of Xu Junying: "Your cousin didn't eat anything after getting drunk last night. It's better not to eat those smelly fillings on an empty stomach... Eat meat dumplings, eat a few more, and you'll be more energetic when you go out to do things later!"
Zheng Meiyu stood there in a daze with a spoon in her hand, feeling sullen and angry: Since it is not good to eat crystal filling on an empty stomach, why did you give it to your cousin first
Mei Niang took a sip of porridge and looked at Zheng Meiyu with a smile: "Cousin Yu, don't stand, sit down and eat slowly. Don't be anxious, there are still dumplings, plenty more!"
Zheng Meiyu's face flushed. Xu Junying didn't look at her again. He lowered his head to eat. When he lowered his eyelids, a shrewd gleam was hidden in his eyes.
Mei Niang no longer paid attention to Zheng Meiyu. While she was eating breakfast leisurely, she told Xu Junying that today he would officially manage the household affairs of the Hou Mansion under the guidance of his mother. She promised that she would not cause trouble for Xu Junying, and that he should try to shorten his study period and take more time to return to Tsinghua Court every day to serve his husband. At the end, she sighed with a sad face and said:
"What should I do? My mother took Heng'er away. I am so sad without him!"
Zheng Meiyu showed a trace of alertness on her face, and her eyes quickly looked at Xu Junying. Xu Junying looked at her for a moment, then turned to Mei Niang:
"Is this why you cried yesterday?"
Mei Niang pouted: "I thought you were drunk and didn't understand anything. Now that you saw me crying like that, you still stopped me and made things difficult for me!"
Xu Junying was speechless: As the saying goes, a drunk person's mind is clear, he knew everything, but he just couldn't do it. He still remembered falling to the ground with Mei Niang, but he couldn't remember much after that. He came back and caught Bai Zhan to ask him, only to find out that he asked to go to the upper room...
Everyone in Tsinghua University knows that last night the old man got drunk and went to the upper room and slept on the soft couch with the old lady!
Xu Junying got a headache every time he thought about it. It was really unexpected that things would turn out like this!
The more you try to stay away and distance yourself from it, the more you get closer.
Mei Niang climbed out of the coffin, not only messing up everything, but also causing such a big impact. The wife of the Marquis, who was originally an insignificant and unremarkable person from a poor family, became a legendary figure that was discussed endlessly in the streets and alleys of the imperial city. That's not all. She actually had ambitions to take charge of the household affairs of the Marquis's mansion. Unfortunately, the old lady didn't know the truth and tolerated and supported her. Not to mention the eldest wife. When Bai Jingyu was managing the household, she only let her give orders openly. This time, she simply handed over all the keys to the account books to Mei Niang. Her purpose was obvious. And Mei Niang, did she really lose her memory or was she pretending to be stupid
If she really lost her memory, why did she still remember that she was a mother? As soon as she woke up, she ignored everything and ran back to Tsinghua Court to pick up Heng'er accurately. If she was pretending to be stupid, why was she so stupid as to tell him frankly that she needed to be in charge of power and money, and declare to him that she loved money and power? Wasn't she really afraid that he would never allow her to be in charge of the household affairs
Xu Junying turned his head slightly to look at Mei Niang, but saw that she was concentrating on looking at Zheng Meiyu who was drinking porridge with her head down. Her expression and eyes were full of contempt and vigilance.
Xu Junying smiled bitterly in his heart: A woman's heart is like a needle in the sea, and you can never figure out what she is thinking. Mei Niang has no feelings for him as a couple, but she is so defensive against Zheng Meiyu.
Could it be that she was really pretending to be stupid and remembered everything that happened in the past, and now she was here to take revenge on him and Zheng Meiyu
Mei Niang survived and came back to life. Although he had some concerns, he had to admit that he felt relaxed and even stopped dreaming so many times when he slept.
He had killed countless enemies on the battlefield, but how often had he felt guilty and nervous? Why did he feel that he had not allowed her to live and had forced her to death
It was obviously Mei Niang who let him down first. He took advantage of Zheng Meiyu's infatuation and acted in front of her sickbed, intending to let her know that he, Xu Junying, was also a caring man. Betraying him and losing him would be her loss. If she had shown a little regret towards him, he would have felt that it was worth it to marry her at all costs.
But Mei Niang refused to look him in the eye from beginning to end, let alone leave him any last words. He had completely given up. He thought that this woman was not meant to be with him. He had made a big mistake by not listening to his grandmother. Not only had he misjudged her, but he had also brought shame upon himself!
He gave instructions and stopped Mei Niang from drinking the old ginseng soup. Since she was determined to die, there was no need for her to hold on.
After Mei Niang died, he let go of his resentment: the dead are gone, all the honors and disgraces have been buried, and from now on, they owe each other nothing!
It was easy for Zheng Meiyu to see through his thoughts. He had always looked down upon women who came to him, but Zheng Meiyu knew too much. Once those secrets got out, it would bring shame to him and the entire Xu family. He had no choice but to stabilize her first, be gentle and affectionate to her, not refuse her to serve him, and allow her to manage all affairs of Qinghua Court including Mei Niang's room, creating an illusion in everyone's mind: after Mei Niang, Zheng Meiyu would be the one to take over Qinghua Court.
Zheng Meiyu was not polite at all, as if she had already been chosen as the wife of Weiyuan Marquis. She lived in the upper room with peace of mind, and accompanied him to read in the East Garden Study Room until late at night every night. If Ruibao and Ruizhu had not been watching covetously, she might have been willing to warm his bed. She dared to lean on him and act coquettishly in front of Mei Niang, scolded Mei Niang's dowry maids and old women, and also scolded Heng'er for not crying. At that time, Wang Mama and Cui Lian and Cui Si were sent to work. Cui Xi was at the other end of the room. When she heard the scolding, she hurried over to take Heng'er away. He saw tears in Mei Niang's eyes, but she did not hate him. He was unwilling in his heart. Mei Niang did not hate or get angry at his deliberate behavior, which made him even more painful.
Mei Niang put down her chopsticks and said to Xu Junying, "I'm done eating. This is my first day at Ziyun Hall to listen to the housekeepers' responses. I can't let my mother wait for me, so I have to go quickly. After finishing the chores, I have to check the accounts. I won't have lunch with you, Master. In the evening..."
Xu Junying said calmly: "Do as you please, don't bother with me, I'm with my friends at noon and at night!"
Mei Niang seemed to have just remembered: "Ah! Your friends said they wanted to see me!"
Xu Junying glanced at her and said, "No need for that. I was just talking casually after drinking. Go and get busy!"
Mei Niang is different now than before. She seems to be able to catch a wisp of wind and call for rain. It would be better to lock her up in the backyard. The more people know about her, the more complicated the relationship between her and me will become in the future.
Mei Niang had no idea what Xu Junying was thinking. Since Zheng Meiyu was there, she was not in a hurry to leave. She waited until Zheng Meiyu could no longer wait and had to put down her bowl and chopsticks. Then she smiled and invited her to sit in Ziyun Hall with her. Zheng Meiyu was about to refuse, but Mei Niang took her hand affectionately and pulled her out without saying anything.
After traveling to this strange world, a feudal society where status is the only factor determining one's status and men are superior to women, Mei Niang understood her situation too well after just a few days. Her husband showed signs of getting tired of the old and loving the new. She had a high status in the mansion but no money. Her husband's family looked down on her family as they were in decline and had no money, and therefore looked down on her. Her son was taken away by her mother-in-law to be raised. Was it because she was afraid that her humble background would affect her son's future, or was it because she was afraid that she could not live up to the dignity of a marquis's wife and would be unable to protect her son's rights
But no matter what, Xu Junying married her in the first place, so now he must be responsible for her!
He is the umbrella of protection for her and her son. This umbrella must protect Mei Niang and Heng Er from wind and rain. Unless the sky is clear and the sun is shining, it must not be lost! We must keep a close eye on him, especially the cousins. The one in the old lady's room still has some sense of shame and dares not come to the door. The one in the Zheng family is terrible. He is so shameless that he is willing to be a concubine. Humph! With Qin Mei Niang, the wife, here, how can we let her have her wish
Want to be Xu Junying's concubine? No way, unless Xu Junying is not Heng'er's father! (To be continued)