After the noon hour, Mother Wang, along with Cui Xi and Cui Lian, and four or five carefully selected maids and servants, escorted Mei Niang out of the inner courtyard, got on a carriage at the Chuihua Gate, and headed straight for Qin's residence in the west of the city.
The carriage drove for quite a while. Mei Niang thought that they had left the mansion long ago, so she breathed a sigh of relief and asked Cui Xi, who was sitting beside her:
"I was in such a hurry to get on the bus that I didn't even bother to take a look. How many cars were there? Who was following us?"
Cui Xi said, "In addition to the eldest grandmother's carriage, the maids took two smaller carriages. The third grandmother personally led people to select the gifts and goods. Three carriages were loaded with gifts and goods, a total of six carriages. Bai Zhan brought 20 to 30 people to follow on horseback!"
Mei Niang lifted the thick velvet curtain and peeked outside the carriage through a layer of gauze. As expected, she saw a row of strong servants in black robes riding horses, holding whips in their hands, slowly following two steps away from the body of the carriage, separating the Hou Mansion's convoy from the bustling crowd in the street.
Seeing this situation, Xu Junying didn't even consider asking her to get off the bus halfway to buy something. What was this? Rejecting various invitations on her behalf, not allowing her to go out, not allowing her to meet the ladies outside. If it weren't for Bai Zhan's report, she might not even know any news about her brother, let alone going back to her parents' home!
Xu Junying was always making things difficult for me. What did he mean? Did he have a grudge against Qin Meiniang
This is outrageous!
The Qin Mansion, or it would be more appropriate to call it the Qin House, was indeed a small household with no main entrance or even a gatehouse. Due to years of disrepair, the white coating on the courtyard wall had long since peeled off, revealing the blue-grey bricks. The two relatively heavy black wooden doors were guarded by an old servant who was deaf and blind. Bai Zhan asked people to help open the door wider, but he resisted. It was not until Mother Wang hurriedly stepped forward and gestured at him twice that the old servant stopped, opened his mouth with only a few teeth left, and smiled.
Mei Niang stood beside the car and watched, and couldn't help feeling sad.
Walking up the bluestone steps and entering the gate, there is at least a screen wall with exquisite carvings that symbolizes flowers and a full moon. Turning around is the outer courtyard, which is also very shallow and narrow. Once the people from the mansion come in, they almost take up half of the place.
Mother Wang led Mei Niang into the hall. Seeing that she was only looking around, she realized that she had been seriously ill and had forgotten about her parents' home. She hurriedly reminded her in a low voice:
"When grandma was a girl, she didn't live here. Our family originally had a big house, but then the master passed away... Grandma married into the Hou Mansion, and then the wife and the master moved here."
Mei Niang nodded and said in understanding, "The master is gone, and the mansion was sold to pay off the debt. This is our villa, right?"
Mother Wang lowered her head and said, "This is the courtyard that the ancestors of the Qin family gave to a steward. It only has two entrances, one inside and one outside. The steward was grateful and returned this courtyard to you after he built a new one."
Mei Niang was stunned, and inexplicably felt a slight heat on her face: the Qin family had fallen to this point, and what they had given away was actually asked to be taken back!
Looking at the dilapidated courtyard of her mother's house, and then looking back at the servants and maids in the Xu Mansion, wearing fancy clothes and with undisguised contempt on their faces, she could not help but feel annoyed. She sat down in the hall and told Cui Xi:
"Call Bai Zhan!"
Then he said to Mother Wang, "Mother, look at my mother in the back. She hasn't come out to greet us for a long time. I'm afraid she is too sick to get up. So just stop her in the back hall. I'll let Bai Zhan arrange these people, and I'll go in with Cui Xi!"
Mother Wang nodded and said, "Yes, Madam, I think her old knee coldness has come back. She can't stand up. I'll go in and take a look first. Grandma, come quickly, too!"
Mei Niang responded, and then she saw Bai Zhan hurried over, bowing and greeting: "What do you want, Madam? I was just about to ask Madam to ask the imperial physician to come and check my uncle's pulse!"
Mei Niang said, "You don't need to go and ask for the imperial physician. Just take the servants and maids back, and leave Wang Mama and Cui Xi to serve me. You can see how small my family's house is. Not only is there no place to sit and rest, but there is also not enough rice, grain, and tea for you to eat and drink. Go back and pick me up when the time comes!"
Bai Zhan said in embarrassment: "I'm afraid this won't work. Lord Hou has instructed that we take Grandma back home after noon. It doesn't matter if these people don't eat or drink. Let them stand outside the door..."
"Damn it!"
Mei Niang suddenly became angry and slammed the table, which frightened Bai Zhan so much that he quickly bowed down and said, "Grandma, calm down!"
Mei Niang said sternly, "You are standing at the gate hungry. When I return, you will be criticized by the people in the mansion! You are so smart. Did your idiot master teach you that?"
Bai Zhan raised his head in shock: "No, no! Grandma! Master Hou... Master Hou is not a bastard!"
Mei Niang sneered: "Isn't he a bastard? You are also a man, and you will get married in the future. Tell me, will you live in a mansion but bear to see your mother-in-law's family in such a state of ruin?"
Bai Zhan didn't dare to say anything, and after a while he whispered, "Grandma, don't be angry. Lord Hou is always fighting at the border, and he just returned to the capital not long ago... Besides, my wife and uncle also just returned to the capital, and they didn't live here before."
Mei Niang opened her bright eyes and stared at Bai Zhan, making his forehead sweat. Mei Niang softened her tone and said, "You came to my house last time and helped repair the broken roof. I don't believe you didn't mention it to Lord Hou. Forget it, it's none of your business, no need to embarrass you. See? I've been back here for a long time, and my mother's house is deserted. Who will come out to pick me up? They are all sick and lying in bed. I can't go back tonight anyway. You take people away and tell Lord Hou: I want to serve my mother and show my filial piety. Please forgive me. Tomorrow afternoon, if someone comes to pick me up, I will go back. If not, forget it! You don't need to invite the imperial physician. Just say that my brother doesn't need the imperial physician anymore, and he will understand!"
Bai Zhan stood still, Mei Niang said coldly: "What? Even you don't like me, a grandmother? You don't want to listen to me?"
Bai Zhan lowered his head and bowed slowly: "As you command, I will take the people back and report to Lord Hou - Grandma, take care!"
Seeing Bai Zhan leave, leading the servants and maids away in a clean manner, Cui Xi couldn't help but feel worried:
"What if Grandma gets angry if she does this?"
Mei Niang snorted: "I want to see what he looks like when he gets angry! Don't panic, I'm not afraid of him now!"
As she was speaking, a thin little girl with two buns tied with red silk came over, bowed to Mei Niang, and said:
"Madam has difficulty walking, please come to the back hall!"
Mei Niang hurriedly got up and took Cui Xi and the little maid out of the hall, walked along the curved corridor to the back, passed an open space paved with blue bricks like a patio, climbed the stairs, walked into a simple door with hanging flowers, and entered the inner courtyard.
The inner courtyard looked much more comfortable than the outer courtyard and was quite spacious. Although there were no pavilions or terraces, the houses were rationally laid out and well-proportioned, divided into two courtyards, east and west. Cui Xi told Mei Niang that the Madam lived in the west courtyard and the master Qin Boqing lived in the east courtyard.
Mrs. Qin was sitting in the second hall, looking forward to it. She had just gotten up from the bed with the help of a little maid. She had been suffering from leg joint pain for days, and it was inconvenient for her to go to the east courtyard to visit her son and daughter-in-law. She just heard that her daughter was back, and she was happy and sad at the same time. She was happy that she could see her daughter again, but sad that the state of her parents' home was a disgrace to her daughter.
Mei Niang came in, and the mother and daughter met again. Mrs. Qin's eyes were filled with tears, and she said in a trembling voice:
"Mei Niang, my poor child! You are back, but no one is there to greet you..."
Mei Niang patted Madam Qin's back soothingly and said with a smile, "My daughter has hands and feet. If she wanted to see her mother and brother, she would come back on her own. Who would welcome her? It's not like she doesn't know the way home!"
Mrs. Qin wiped her tears and nodded repeatedly, but she was speechless.
A stout woman brought in a brazier. The charcoal was just ordinary black charcoal. The wisps of green smoke made Mei Niang burst into tears. She coughed a few times, and Madam Qin hurriedly said:
"Sister Lian, take the brazier out first, and bring it in after the fire has burned out!"
Lian Sao responded and quickly took the brazier away. Fortunately, Mei Niang had put on as much as possible when she went out, so she was not very cold at this time. Seeing that Madam Qin was not wearing thick clothes, she felt uncomfortable and walked over to hold her hand and said softly:
"Why don't you buy some good charcoal, mother? Why save money? If you need it, just send someone to tell your daughter!"
Mrs. Qin stroked her daughter's hand. Before she could answer, Cui Lian suddenly came in. Mei Niang asked curiously:
"Where have you been? How come you're nowhere to be found when I walked in? Now even Mother Wang is gone. What are you busy with?"
Cui Lian came forward and said with a smile: "To answer the question from the great grandmother: I went to the backyard door, and the third grandmother asked her to load three trucks of goods. They are all carefully selected good things. Our wife, grandfather, and great grandmother don't have to buy any new year goods for the New Year. What's rare is that there are five large baskets of silver frost charcoal. It's said that it's very cold and hard to buy outside. Our great grandmother is pregnant, so she needs it..."
Mei Niang was overjoyed: "Rulan naturally knows that my family is not doing well. The things she packed personally must be useful to this family!"
"That's right. Third Grandma asked her people to load the truck. The truck was sealed tightly, so no one knew what was inside. The driver was also found by Third Grandma and her family. She taught them to only listen to me and Mother Wang. I asked them to drive the truck to the small door in the backyard. Mother Wang was watching and they were moving the things!"
Mei Niang nodded with a smile. Rulan was kind and honest. She knew that the Qin family had no manor, and the old and sick were sick. Maybe even vegetables and radishes were stuffed in. She was afraid that people would gossip about it, so she simply sealed the car and did not allow anyone to see it. In fact, there was nothing to be ashamed of. Except for Bai Jingyu and Ning Rulan, whose parents' families were wealthy, they took whatever the mansion gave them and did not care about the amount of gifts. Who else would not want to take more good things back to their parents' home? The second wife brought the most things to her parents' home. Madam Zheng was smart. She only sent the maids to take a light car to see her brother from time to time. The maids each carried a bundle, and the things inside were not ordinary items.
He hurriedly ordered, "Hurry up and light the silver frost charcoal so that Madam can make a fire. Take the black charcoal to the kitchen to cook food. From now on, only use the silver frost charcoal for making fire!"
Cui Lian walked out of the door, pulled up Lian Sao, who was blowing the fire in the yard with her cheeks puffed out, said a few words to her, and went to the backyard together.
Madam Qin said to Mei Niang anxiously, "It would be great if you could come back and have a look. Why did you bring back so many things from the mansion? Don't let people laugh at you... Don't bring them again in the future!"
Mei Niang smiled and said, "Even if I marry him, I am still your daughter. Shouldn't I bring something back to show my filial piety? Are you afraid of being laughed at? If a daughter doesn't love her mother, she should be laughed at!"
As she was talking, Madam Qin hurriedly asked the little maid to serve tea to her aunt. Mei Niang said she was not thirsty and wanted to go see her brother and sister-in-law. Madam Qin sighed:
"Your brother is the root of the disease. I'm afraid it can't be cured... He couldn't sleep last night because of coughing. This morning, Li'er said that my uncle was coughing up blood. I was scared..."
She wiped her tears with a handkerchief and said, "Your sister-in-law is so pitiful. She is five months pregnant and has to take care of him. She is so tired that she is sick!"
Mrs. Lian brought in a basin of burning silver frost charcoal. Mrs. Qin said, "Send it to the master's room and replace the smoking black charcoal!"
Mei Niang called Lian Sao: "Leave this with Madam, and take the rest to Master's room and put a few more fires to keep them warm!"
Madam Qin raised her head and looked at Mei Niang in surprise: "Son, you can't do this. This silver frost charcoal is expensive. When it's used up, where can you get more? We can't afford it now!"
Mei Niang held Madam Qin's hand and said, "I won't let you use them all up. I'll have them delivered back on time until the weather warms up."
"No! I can't let you..."
"Mom! Please listen to your daughter!"
Mei Niang waved to Cui Xi, and Cui Xi took off the embroidered bag on her back and handed it to her. Mei Niang then handed it to Madam Qin:
"There are seven hundred taels of silver in here. Five hundred taels are from your good son-in-law, Marquis Weiyuan, and two hundred taels are from my daughter. Mother keeps them for daily expenses. There is also a branch of old mountain ginseng. Mother, keep it and use it when it is absolutely necessary. I will find a way to diagnose my brother and sister-in-law. I must make my brother get better as soon as possible, review the scriptures, take the imperial examination next spring, pass the exam, and seek an official position. Our Qin family depends on my brother to revive the family, and mother and sister-in-law will not have to worry about it in the future."
Mrs. Qin held the embroidered cloth bag in both hands and looked at Mei Niang with tears in her eyes. Mei Niang was afraid that she would say something unfair to her daughter and bring trouble to her daughter, so she took out a handkerchief to wipe her tears and said with a smile:
"I want to see my brother and sister-in-law!"
Madam Qin hurriedly ordered the little girl beside her: "Tao'er, take my aunt to the master's room!"
Tao'er took two steps forward, bowed and said, "Auntie, please follow me!"
Mei Niang stood up and Cui Xi followed. Mei Niang thought for a moment and said to Cui Xi, "We are at home now. Tao Er is the guide. Madam's legs must be sore. The charcoal fire is burning brightly and the room is warm. You stay here and follow the method I taught you before. Be gentle and massage Madam for a while to relieve her discomfort."
Cui Xi agreed, and Mei Niang smiled and said to Madam Qin: "Mother, take a rest. I will be back soon!"
Madam Qin nodded and said, "Go ahead and talk to your brother and sister-in-law. Mother will ask the kitchen to make your favorite dish. It will be ready soon!"
Mei Niang followed Tao'er and went straight to the east courtyard.
In the upper room of the east courtyard, in the scarlet gauze tent, Qin Boqing lay on the bed with a pale face, unconscious. The petite and frail Feng, supported by Li'er, slowly walked to the bed and sat down. She reached out and gently touched his face, and called out in a choked voice:
"Husband, wake up, it's time to take medicine!"
She called out three times, but Qin Boqing didn't respond at all. Feng retracted her hand, covered her mouth, and couldn't help crying:
"My dear husband, if anything happens to you, what will I do? I won't be able to survive!"
Li Er patted Feng's back and advised, "Grandma, please stop crying. You have cried several times today. This is not good. I heard from Madam that the little boy in your belly will not be able to bear it!"
Feng stopped crying, took out a handkerchief to wipe her tears, and asked, "Just now when I was lying down, what did Ju'er come over to say?"
"Oh, I was helping you wash and dress just for this. Juer said: My aunt is coming!"
"Ah! My aunt is here? You little girl, why didn't you tell me earlier!"
Feng helped Li Er stand up, and then she heard someone outside the door say with a smile, "Brother and sister-in-law, my little sister is here. Why is there no one in the corridor? Can you come in?"
Feng hurriedly pushed Li'er and said, "Go quickly and welcome Auntie in!"
As soon as Li'er opened the curtain, Feng felt a flash in front of her eyes. A tall, gorgeously dressed beauty walked in front of her. She was stunned and turned to look at Qin Boqing lying on the bed. The brother and sister did not look very similar, but they were equally stunning. (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)