Marrying to Support My Husband, For the Sake of Our Child

Chapter 48: Get ill

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A stupid person does stupid things. Mei Niang feels that she is extremely boring.

But she never had the chance to do such boring things again.

Zheng Meiyu sent a message to Madam Zheng, saying that her parents wanted to keep her at home for the New Year. She wanted Madam Zheng to send someone to pick her up and take her back to the Hou Mansion. However, Madam Zheng only asked someone to prepare a few bags and send them back, but did not send a message asking her to come to the Hou Mansion to accompany her. She probably felt that her niece had been with her long enough, and as children, they should stay with their parents during the New Year holidays.

Mei Niang carefully helped Madam Zheng pack the luggage to be sent back to the Zheng family. Imagining Zheng Meiyu's disappointed expression, she thought straightforwardly: It's better not to come again, and the family should find someone for her to marry.

Mother He took the maids and took the bag out. Chunyue and the maids retreated to the corridor outside the door. Madam Zheng looked at Mei Niang and said,

"I know you don't like Yu'er, but when you were seriously ill, she, an unmarried girl, served you and your wife in Junying's room without any scruples, which damaged your reputation. Whether it's outsiders or us elders, we all have that feeling in our hearts. With a family background like our Zheng family, she is willing to be a concubine, so don't say anything more. Heng'er can't be raised by you. With me, I only need to ask Junying about this matter and it will be settled!"

Mei Niang was stunned: Madam Zheng is forcing her to take advantage of him and saying such things. She doesn't care whether she, the wife, agrees or not. She must take this cousin as a concubine!

What do you mean by damaging your reputation? She was clearly stealing a man, okay? My cousin's wife is not dead yet, but she is so shameless that she is trying to get close to my cousin. I didn't scold her for being shameless because of her ancestors. As a girl, she didn't avoid suspicion. She asked for it on purpose!

Although I thought this in my heart, I couldn't say a word.

Ever since the Winter Solstice banquet, when everyone was laughing and drinking, which made Madam Zheng cry, Madam Zheng became much colder towards Mei Niang. She turned her back on her husband for two days in a row. Not only did she not listen to her reports on government affairs, she even refused to see her son. Mei Niang had no choice but to be cautious and did not dare to refute her.

After a long pause, he said with a worried look:

"Since mother has brought Heng'er with her, he will be the grandson that mother loves the most in the future. However, Lord Hou seems to be very cold to Heng'er. If cousin Yu marries into the family and has a deep relationship with Lord Hou and gives birth to another son whom he loves, then Heng'er will not... Heng'er is the eldest son. I am worried that Lord Hou loves his other sons and will not like Heng'er in the future!"

Mrs. Zheng's stern face softened a little, and she pointed to the couch and said, "You've been busy all morning, and you must be tired. Sit down. When Heng'er wakes up, you can see him."

"Thank you, mother!"

Mei Niang had been standing in front of Madam Zheng for quite a while before she could finally sit down. She was secretly delighted at the unexpected opportunity to get close to her son.

In ancient times, young wives could not afford to get hurt. If they accidentally offended their mother-in-law, she would get angry and they would be in big trouble.

Madam Zheng nodded and said, "You are Heng'er's mother, you must always remember to think about him. Don't worry, since I have brought Heng'er here to raise, I will take better care of him than you do! Your cousin Yu has feelings for Junying, and it would be great if she could serve him in a proper capacity, but she can't have children!"

Mei Niang was surprised: "Mother..."

Madam Zheng looked at the door and said in a flat tone: "No one can take Heng'er's things away! He is the prince, and the family business is his! You don't have to be afraid, Yu'er is my niece, I support her, and she will only take care of me. It is normal for young girls to like good-looking men who have never seen the world. She is fascinated by Junying, so put her in your room, and she will be of some use when the time comes to help you contain the girl from the Zhuang family. The old lady must give her to Junying. She comes from a wealthy family, and her uncle is still an official. Her status is much higher than that of our Yu'er. She can't be a concubine, but only a co-wife. If she gives birth to a son, Junying will be biased towards her side and will naturally love her child. I have thought about all this and made preparations long ago. No matter whether it is Yu'er, Zhuang, or even the two concubines, no one can give birth to a son or a daughter. Junying only has Heng'er as a son!"

Mei Niang was stunned and asked, "Mother, are you going to let them take contraceptive soup?"

Madam Zheng snorted, "Do I have nothing to do? Even if I am willing to make contraceptive soup for them, they have to be willing to eat it. Besides, the old lady won't allow it. Anyway, remember, everything is for Heng'er. With me here, you don't have to worry about this!"

Mei Niang opened her mouth slightly and looked at Madam Zheng in admiration: What a true iron-fisted woman! She knew what it meant to plan and win battles from afar. If she had known that there was such a solid defense, no woman would be able to give birth to Xu Junying's child and threaten Heng'er's interests. She wouldn't have to jump up and down and work so hard.

Just as I was secretly feeling relieved, Madam Zheng said, "As for you, you have just recovered from a serious illness, so it is important to take care of your body. You don't have to rush to have a baby for now. It won't be too late to have another baby when Heng'er is seven or eight years old!"

Mei Niang blushed and lowered her head and said, "I understand! I and Lord Hou... are still estranged."

Mrs. Zheng showed an understanding expression and said in a strange tone: "Don't worry, take your time. Junying is a kind child, and you are a rare beauty. Even if he has a new wife, he will not be willing to give you up!"

Mei Niang pondered over her words, but couldn't figure out what she was trying to express. Xu Junying already had a new wife, but he still couldn't bear to let her go. Was it because he was kind or because he was lustful

Who cares? I don’t care who he marries from now on. He can have as many hens that don’t lay eggs as he wants.

After happily playing with Heng'er for half a day, Mrs. Zheng was kind enough to let her and her son stay for dinner. Then she asked Xia Lian to take Heng'er away. Mei Niang had no choice but to bow and say goodbye to her mother-in-law and walked out of Qiuhua Courtyard unhappily.

But she felt much more relaxed, as many small problems had been solved: she had obtained the forgiveness of Madam Zheng, who had relieved her, and she no longer had to worry about Xu Junying's lover. Finally, she met Heng'er, who still remembered the trick she taught her: kissing his mother on the cheek whenever he met her, smearing her face with saliva, but she didn't feel sick even though it was wet, instead she hugged Heng'er and kissed him again and again, with love bubbling in her heart like a spring, that was motherly love. It was a pity that Qin Meiniang's soul had long gone, but her heart of pity for her son was still alive, and one had to praise how great a mother is.

It was completely dark. Cuixi and Cuilian walked ahead with lanterns in hand. Cuisi supported them. The road was hard to see. There was thick snow everywhere. It was soft underfoot. Cuisi kept reminding her:

"Grandma, be careful, don't step into the snow pit!"

She joked: "Just don't lead me into the pool!"

The master and servant were chatting and laughing. As soon as they entered the gate of Tsinghua Courtyard, they saw Mother Wang rushing towards them:

"Oh my grandma, why did you come back just now? Master Hou... he is not feeling well!"

Mei Niang looked at her and said, "If you are not feeling well, please ask a doctor. What can I do?"

Mother Wang blinked her eyes and said, "Of course we have to invite the doctor. Baoju has already gone. Ruibao came to the upper room to report it, and said that Master Hou asked that it was just a minor discomfort and not to let the old lady know... You are the grandmother, Madam Hou, you have to go and look after Master Hou!"

Mei Niang missed her warm room with several charcoal fires, and walked straight in: "The East Garden is as cold as an ice hole, can't I not go?"

"Grandma, listen up. This is no joke!"

Mei Niang paused and turned to the moon gate of the East Garden: "Okay, listen to mom and go and guard it!"

It was cold in Xu Junying's bedroom. There was not even one extra light on. The light was a little dim. Mei Niang walked in and gave instructions repeatedly:

"Bring in two more pots of fire, and some more lamps!"

Walking over and drawing aside the curtain, Xu Junying took off his outer robe, wearing a white fine cotton undershirt, half lying on the bed, covered with a thin satin quilt, frowning and closing his eyes:

"You go back, I'm fine. I'm going to sleep, no fire, no need to light a lamp!"

Just as he said this, he suddenly threw off the quilt and jumped up, put on his cloth shoes, and hurried to run to the inner room. In his chaos, he knocked over a stool and nearly tripped over it. Mei Niang helped him up and found that his body was terribly hot.

Mei Niang said, "Master Hou, you are feeling very uncomfortable, right? I will help you in."

Xu Junying waved his hand: "Go back, there are girls here!"

Watching him disappear into the inner room, Mei Niang asked Rui Bao: "When did Lord Hou fall ill?"

Ruibao said, "Mr. Hou has always been in good health. I have never seen him sick. When he came back this afternoon, I heard Baoju say that Mr. Hou had a stomachache, then a headache. He lay on the bed for a while, then started running to the inner room and vomited several times... Mr. Hou has always refused to let him see a doctor, saying that he would be fine after carrying him. Just now, Baoju came to beg him again, and he agreed. Baoju is going to see the imperial physician, but the imperial physician's office is far away. Mr. Hou has been running back and forth like this, and he has diarrhea more than dozens of times. What can we do, grandma?"

Mei Niang estimated that Xu Junying had almost finished this round, so she told Ruizhu: "There is hot water in the corridor. Pour a bucket and ask Baizhan to bring it in. Then continue to boil water for later use."

She crossed her arms and leisurely tapped her forehead with one finger: "Let me think: stomachache, vomiting and diarrhea, it should be because of eating something bad and catching a cold... Caught a cold? Oh! Why haven't you brought in the fire yet? Where's the lamp? You only listen to Master Hou and not me, right? I tell you, you have to listen to me tonight, otherwise Master Hou won't get better so quickly!"

Immediately two pots of blazing fire were brought in, followed by four or five lamps, lighting up the room brightly.

Mei Niang sat comfortably beside the brazier and continued to talk to herself: "I have a fever and a headache again. Why? A cold? A severe cold at that!"

Ruibao and Cuixi stood by and watched her. Mei Niang ordered: "Go, bring me a copper spoon, a bottle of vinegar, some salt and a small silver spoon!"

Ruibao turned around and left. Mei Niang saw Bai Zhan helping Xu Junying out, so she stood up and helped him get on the bed:

"Master Hou is busy!"

Xu Junying glanced at her and said, "What are you doing? You're lighting so many lights. They're too bright. I don't like the smell of fireworks. Take them all away!"

Mei Niang said, "We use top-grade silver frost charcoal in our house, which doesn't produce much smoke. Lord Hou's room is too cold. When the imperial physician comes in later, he will also need a fire to warm himself and write prescriptions, so he needs a bright light!"

“You don’t need so many lights, do you?”

Mei Niang covered him with a blanket, turned back to look, and laughed, "That's a bit exaggerated, Ruizhu, take two lamps!"

She touched Xu Junying's quilt and blamed him, "How did you serve him? Lord Hou's quilt is so thin. It's winter, don't we have thick quilts or what?"

Ruizhu lowered her head and said, "Reply to grandma: Yes..."

Xu Junying said: "I don't want a thick quilt, this one is warm enough!"

Knowing that Xu Junying didn't like her touching him, Mei Niang suddenly reached out and touched his forehead, which was burning hot: "Master Hou, you have caught a cold, a cold! It's because you didn't cover yourself well or wear warm clothes!"

Xu Junying really turned his head away: "That's not the case!"

That was indeed not the case. He returned home in the afternoon and went straight to see the old lady, thinking that he would not have to come over for dinner in the evening. However, Zhuang Yulan, Xu Xiaowan and Xu Xiaomin were roasting some kind of fruit on the fire. Seeing that Xu Junying had said a few words to the old lady and was about to leave, she hurriedly held two of the fruit in both hands and asked him to eat them, saying with a smile that they were very nutritious. It was hard to refuse such a kind offer, so he took them and ate them. But when he came back, he felt unwell all over. He had a headache and a stomachache, and he vomited after having diarrhea. Finally, he just had a fever.

I didn't let it spread because I was afraid that the old lady would be anxious if she knew about it, and Yulan would be embarrassed. She couldn't have any intention to harm him. Maybe the fruit was not baked well, or he had eaten something that conflicted with the fruit. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.) (To be continued)