Having learned the lesson from the Winter Solstice Banquet, Mei Niang took into account Madam Zheng's feelings and felt that it was not appropriate to celebrate the New Year too ostentatiously. She gave the order to cancel the custom of hanging lanterns and decorations in the inner and outer courtyards and posting red couplets on the doors. She also explained this to the old lady. Unexpectedly, the second house strongly opposed it and was full of resentment. They said that the second master had just given birth to a son and the family had a new member, so it should be more festive than in previous years. But they wanted to suppress the joy, which showed that they deliberately disliked the second house. If they were concerned about the death of the seventh master, they should have stopped when the grandmother came back to life. Why did they still hold a banquet to celebrate, barbecue in the plum forest for fun, and drink until everyone was drunk? Why didn't they mention the taboo at that time? Isn't it obvious that the officials are allowed to set fires, but the people are not allowed to light lamps
Mei Niang was sitting in the Purple Cloud Hall. She was listening to what the maid had said. She and Ning Rulan were talking in silence. Madam Zheng came. Mei Niang and Rulan got up and made room for her. Madam Zheng sat down in the hall with a stern face and said:
"Don't pay attention to what anyone says! You are the wife of the Marquis, you are in charge of the entire Marquis Mansion, you set the rules, if there is a disagreement, I will ask the old lady, or at worst ask the Marquis to ask! What's wrong with the elders? Who is in charge of this family, who is the boss, you should know it in your heart! So, if anyone is dissatisfied, tell her to come to me, and I will talk to her in front of the old lady!"
With the words of the first wife, Mei Niang really ignored the complaints of the second wife. It was not easy to tell who was closer and who was more powerful between the first and second wives. Apart from anything else, as a proper mother-in-law, Heng'er was raised by her. Whether she was right or not, she had to side with her.
The Second Wife is now in a difficult position. After her son Xu Junlang had a child, she suddenly straightened her back. Her dizziness healed without treatment. She and the First Wife went to the Old Madam to pay their respects and speak to her without being weak as before. She also dared to speak with her head held high in front of the Second Master and made various requests of him. This time, she had to fight for the face her son deserves. No matter what, she would not let the shadow of the Seventh Master overshadow the joy of the birth of her grandson Wei'er.
In the Second Madam's courtyard, the Second Master Xu Xiping had just walked in through the curtains. Before he even sat down, Madam Gui started nagging him:
"You are the elder. The eldest master is gone. They only have you in their father's generation. How dare they not listen to you? Look at Qin Mei Niang. She has only been in charge of the family for a few days, but she has become so arrogant. She even dared to scold my companion a while ago and found fault with Jing Yu. Does she still have us elders in her eyes? It's the New Year, and she came up with this bad idea. It's obvious that she doesn't want the best for our second house. Lang Er is the only brother he has at his age. I was thinking about giving him more joy during the New Year. Now, she can't even post or hang anything with good luck!"
Zhenzhu brought hot tea, and the second master took a sip and said, "Don't worry, Wei'er is still young, wait until he is one month old and then give him some gifts!"
After hearing this, Madam Gui wiped away her tears and said, "You treat Lang'er like this! He is your eldest son, who worked hard to get an official position. You don't have to worry about him at all. But when something happened to you, he was worried and anxious for you, running around for you, but you just cared about your useless illegitimate son! Wei'er will grow up to be as old as Shen'er one day, and you will see how you have the nerve to listen to him calling you grandfather - I will not let Wei'er's blessing be cut off by the first wife. If you don't tell me, I will go and argue with her!"
The second master slammed the tea bowl on the table and shouted, "You ignorant and stupid woman! How could I not know that Lang'er is my eldest son? If I didn't love him, how could he be where he is today? When he was a child, I hired many famous teachers for him to study, and I also took the trouble to teach him personally! He passed the imperial examination, do you think he can be any official he wants? If I hadn't led him to visit colleagues and old friends everywhere, would he have been able to get that position when he first entered the officialdom? If you want to fight, this is not the time. It's New Year's Day, and you are making a fuss and making the whole family feel uncomfortable. Are you happy? The seventh brother just passed away, and you really shouldn't show off the festive atmosphere. I asked her to take off her plain clothes early, and the eldest sister-in-law was already dissatisfied with me. With the old lady around, she could endure it. Didn't you see her go crazy because we drank a little wine on the night of the winter solstice? Now you want to bring up the newly born Wei'er. Can Wei'er fight with the seventh brother? Even if the seventh brother is young and can't be enshrined, he is Wei'er's father after all!"
Madam Gui was not convinced: "So what? Qin Mei Niang can indulge in wine and pleasure when she is alive, but can't we have a little luck in having a baby?"
"That's their eldest branch's business! You have to understand this: this Hou Mansion belongs to the eldest brother Xu Junying in name only! We, the second branch, are living here and enjoying the glory because of the old lady. If the old lady dies one day, we will become a side branch! If Qin Meiniang doesn't drive you away by then, you won't have the face to live in this mansion!"
Madam Gui was stunned for a moment, then she whispered, "Why do you say that, Master? This title of Marquis was passed down from our ancestors, how can it be the eldest son's family alone that enjoys the benefits? All his descendants have a share!"
The second master sneered, "What share do you have? Do you have a share to be the Marquis of Weiyuan? If you were a bit tougher, you could go to the battlefield and fight to protect your country. You might be able to survive and win merits. It's useless to say anything now! Watch your mouth and stop making noise. My father and I still rely on Junying for many things. If you quarrel with Mei Niang over a small matter and let Junying know, you will be in trouble!"
After the Second Master finished speaking, his teacup was empty. He was too lazy to ask for more tea. He told Madam Gui that she didn't have to wait for him for dinner, then stood up and walked out.
Madam Gui stood up quickly and followed closely: "I have already sent someone to serve the meal. It is getting dark outside. Where else is the master going?"
The second master paused while lifting the door curtain and said, "Go to the outer study. There are some letters to be returned!"
The door curtain shook and the person disappeared.
Madam Gui clenched her hands, her face turned pale, her chest heaving: "You haven't even eaten yet, and you're going to the study room? I don't believe it! I stayed in this room last night, and now it's not dark, so you're in a hurry to go to Aunt Yan's bitch's courtyard, right
On New Year's Eve, the New Year's Eve dinner at the Xu Mansion started in the afternoon as usual, because they wanted to invite some old and young people from the side branches of the clan to come and have a reunion dinner together. This year, the clan members also sympathized with the new death of the Seventh Master in the Hou Mansion, and had already made up their minds to send more children to accompany the elderly. Children are free-spirited and love to play, and they want to make the house lively and warm. The originally planned five tables of people turned into seven or eight tables. The sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner was still placed in the double flower hall, with men on the left and women on the right. There were more people in the right flower hall. Except for the old lady who could sit still, the first and second wives also had to stand to receive the elderly in the clan. Mei Niang, Bai Jingyu, and Ru Lan assisted from the side, helping the old and the young, and leading them to their seats one by one. After everyone was seated, the first and second wives also returned to their seats. Mei Niang saw Bai Jingyu following the second wife, and stood beside the second wife to serve her for a while. The second wife pulled her, and Bai Jingyu sat down. However, Mei Niang and Rulan had to serve the first dish to the elders of the clan. The children at the nearby tables were being taken care of by Gan and Fang, and there were three or four tables surrounding the old ladies. After Mei Niang and Rulan served all the dishes, they were probably almost full.
Mei Niang glanced at the people in the room, and with a gentle and sweet smile, she walked to the eldest wife and served the dishes to the eldest wife and several elders, then leaned down and whispered in Bai Jingyu's ear:
"Are you sitting comfortably, Second Madam? I, the First Madam, have legs and feet that ache from standing! After all, you are from a rich and powerful family, so your upbringing is different. You know how to cherish and enjoy your blessings! All the elders in the clan are here, not just people from our house. If you don't come to help now, I'll call you when I get over there and get tired!"
Bai Jingyu raised his eyes and glared at her: "Second Madam is dizzy and sick, and she can't miss the reunion dinner today, so she came here to help her sick, and asked me to serve her by her side!"
Seeing that the Second Wife was slowly turning her face towards her, Mei Niang waved at Bai Jingyu and quickly walked away. She just loved teasing Bai Jingyu, so she didn't want to mess with the Second Wife.
Bai Jingyu was really afraid that she would embarrass her in front of her clan members. As soon as Mei Niang turned and left, she stood up and walked obediently to another table, serving food to the clan elders with a smile.
Mei Niang watched secretly and quickly exchanged glances with Rulan who was not far away, and they both smiled knowingly.
In the flower hall on the left, the men's table had already been opened. Xu Junying and Xu Junlang sat side by side. Through the carved partition, they both saw Mei Niang and the others' movements very clearly. After a short silence, Xu Junlang raised his glass to Xu Junying and said, "Sister-in-law must have misunderstood. Jingyu has not been feeling well these days..."
Xu Junying said: "As the eldest sister-in-law, she doesn't know how to care for her younger siblings. It's her fault. I will talk to her about it!"
Mei Niang walked around the chaotic New Year's Eve dinner without eating anything. She looked at the old people chatting animatedly and the children making a mess on the table. She had no appetite at all and simply stood aside as a waitress. Gan came over and said that there were few people at the table in the corner and the dishes were not touched much, so they could sit down and eat something. Mei Niang called Rulan over and asked Gan to invite Bai Jingyu. Fang had already placed several brocade stools by the table and was waiting for them. The half-grown children had already eaten their fill, and when they saw them coming, they slid down from the table to play by themselves.
Mei Niang sat down, stroking her legs with one hand, and pointed at the children with the other hand and said, "Tell the maids who are responsible for looking after the children not to let them get close to the pool!"
Fang said, "Don't worry, Madam, we won't let anyone leave the hall!"
Mei Niang nodded and looked at the dishes on the table again: "Well, only the dishes on the table have been touched. Let's eat hot pot and put the lettuce in to cook. I'm starving!"
But Chunyue came over and said with a smile: "Grandmothers, please take your time to eat. The eldest lady has asked the kitchen to put more food on the table for you. It will be here soon!"
Mei Niang said, "But I can't eat slowly. I have to eat something quickly to fill my stomach. I also have to go and serve the old and the young. I have to ask the maid to ask if the New Year's goods to be brought back to each family are ready."
Chunyue said, "The eldest lady has asked me to ask, everything is ready, so you ladies can eat without worry."
"Would you like to eat some too?" Mei Niang put a piece of green vegetables in the bowl with her chopsticks and said to Chun Yue with a smile, "Where's Xia Lian? Is Heng Er eating well?"
Chunyue said, "I will eat later. Heng'er and Shen'er are the grandchildren of the Hou Mansion. Their seats are set up in the left flower hall. Xia Lian and the nurse are with them. They have already been fed."
"That's good. Let them watch over them. The brothers and sisters are too young and the adults are busy. It's New Year's Day, and we can't let anything go wrong."
"Yes, I'll pass the message on right away." (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)