Zheng Meiyu's carriage entered the mansion from the side door and stopped at the second gate. The maids from Qiuhua Courtyard were already waiting there. They helped her get off the carriage and walked into the inner courtyard. She saw Chunyue and a few maids coming towards her. They smiled and said,
"The eldest lady is really amazing. She calculated that the girl would enter the hospital right now. She was afraid that the mothers would be tired, so she asked us to pick up the girl!"
Zheng Meiyu smiled and said, "Thank you for your concern, Auntie! Thank you, Sister Chunyue! I just told Mother He that my legs and feet are sore after sitting in the car for most of the day. I need to walk for a while!"
Chunyue asked two maids to help Zheng Meiyu up and said with a smile, "That's right, you must be very tired. The hot and fragrant soup is ready. Go back and take a bath, change your clothes, and you will feel refreshed!"
Surrounded by more than a dozen maids, chatting and laughing all the way, Zheng Meiyu walked slowly in the inner courtyard of Xu's mansion. She saw the exquisitely carved railings and galleries, pavilions, towers, beautiful forests and rockery, curved bridges and stone boats, smelled the familiar atmosphere of wealth, and enjoyed the wonderful feeling of being surrounded by groups of servants like the moon surrounded by stars, as if this was really home.
Her mood at the moment was not as excited and happy as when she was taken back before. Her heart was beating very fast. A certain desire would not be suppressed anymore. She couldn't wait! Her aunt's idea was not suitable for her. Should she submit to Qin Meiniang and wait for her nod? It was ridiculous! Qin Meiniang was as cheap as the dirt under Xu Junying's feet. She would eventually be trampled to the ground. How could she be willing to form an alliance with Qin Meiniang? That would be courting death. Zhuang Yulan was soon granted marriage, and she should lean on her side. Xu Junying followed the old lady's words and married Zhuang as his wife. He was not young anymore and was eager to have children. He still needed to take concubines. Those two concubines were useless. She would be the only choice for a good concubine! With the way cousin Ying treated her on weekdays, if she worked harder after getting married, she would not worry about not being able to catch his heart. After a long time, she would have children. What wife and concubine, she would always have a way to deal with it!
And now, she wanted to bring down someone first, Qin Mei Niang! Why could she still live in Tsinghua Courtyard with the title of Madam Hou? She was too shameless, she had to be driven away! That row of spacious and bright upper rooms, that beautiful courtyard with exotic flowers and plants, rockery and fish pond, was not her turn to live there yet, so she would let Zhuang Yulan live there first, and she would live in the East Courtyard. Cousin Ying liked to stay in the East Courtyard, wouldn't it be better to have more opportunities to get close to him
A sweet smile appeared on Zheng Meiyu's face. A group of people had already walked to the gate of Qiuhua Courtyard. A loud cry of a baby was heard, breaking her cheerful mood: Heng'er, that little devil, she almost forgot his existence!
At dusk, Mei Niang and Ning Rulan came to Jinhua Hall together, but they did not go directly to the upper room. Instead, they took the housekeeper to walk around the yard, pointing at the garden flowers and trees. Spring is here, and some places should be repaired in time. After looking at the lotus pond and the rockery forest where rare birds and animals are kept, they walked towards the purple leaf forest and plum forest on the other side of the flower corridor. Ning Rulan smiled and said to Mei Niang:
"The purple-leaf forest is fine. When spring comes, branches sprout and new leaves cover the trunks that were smoked by fireworks, so you can't see anything. But the plum forest, those few green plum trees are really damaged. We have to ask the gardener to take good care of them. After a year, I don't know if they can recover."
Mei Niang stuck out her tongue mischievously: "The old lady has been scolding for a few days, but there is nothing she can do. You can't blame me for everything. How could I know that those dukes and wives were so ruthless and desperate to climb up, one after another, those who got it laughed like fools, and those who didn't get it went up to snatch it... That day, everyone went crazy!"
Rulan laughed and said, "You are drunk! I asked someone to help you go back, and you said: I am not drunk, come again, bring another jar! You scared me to death."
The two were talking and laughing happily when they suddenly heard a sharp voice saying, "What good news is there? Why are you so happy?"
Looking back, they saw Zheng Meiyu and Zhuang Yulan walking towards them from the gallery with smiles on their faces.
The one who spoke was Zheng Meiyu, who had double spiral buns on her head, a flower inlaid with jade beads on her head, and a cheerful face. She was wearing a pink and blue dress, which was a little thin on this windy day, but it made her slim and graceful figure appear even more obvious. It seemed that she did not eat enough during the Chinese New Year and did not gain much weight.
Zhuang Yulan had her hair combed in a flowing bun, with a pink flower in her hairpin, a red gold pearl hairpin with two phoenix hairpins, two strings of red coral earrings, a cherry-colored satin embroidered cotton gown, and a red begonia skirt, which made her face look rosy, not as pale as usual. She was full of joy, and those who didn't know the details thought it was a big festival, and the aftertaste of the New Year's joy had not yet dissipated. Ning Rulan and others knew it well, she was in high spirits, she secretly asked Ruixue, and it was the news released by Jinhua Hall: the Lord had personally agreed, and the old lady was in charge, and they were going to give an engagement to marry Miss Zhuang, and make her the principal wife alongside the eldest grandmother. In order to show the dignity of Miss Zhuang, they just had to wait for the Queen Mother to summon the old lady and ask for an imperial decree to grant the marriage, and then they could hold a grand wedding banquet.
Mei Niang and Ning Rulan each smiled and took a few steps forward politely. However, when the two saw them approaching, they stood there without any courtesy. Zhuang Yulan didn't even bother to call her sister-in-law, and just smiled and said:
"Let's go into the corridor and talk. When it gets dark, dew will fall and we'll get sick."
Sick as hell, why are you running out here if you're so scared of death? You little white flower, it would be a waste if the dew hits you!
Although she knew that Qin Meiniang had no right to compete with Zhuang Yulan, she still disliked her. She was annoyed by her arrogance and conceit. She refused to pay her respects to her sister-in-law first when she saw her. What was she thinking? She hadn't even officially gotten married yet, but now she was acting like a concubine
Zheng Meiyu and the other two approached, bowed on the spot, and asked with a smile: "Is sister-in-law okay?"
Ning Rulan looked at Mei Niang with a smile, and Mei Niang replied, "I'm fine! Cousin Yu has lived back home for so long, and she didn't come to see us during the New Year. I'm afraid she has forgotten about her aunt and cousin and his wife. Alas, as the saying goes, a golden nest or a silver nest is not as good as your own doghouse. Cousin Yu is too homesick! If it weren't for the fact that the eldest wife missed you, I wouldn't be that bad person and drag you here in the first month of the year. You must hate me to death, right?"
Zheng Meiyu's face turned pale and then red, and she forced a smile and said, "How dare I forget my aunt and my cousin's wife? I don't dare to hate my cousin's wife either. After the festival, I should come back to see everyone!"
Mei Niang patted her hands affectionately and said, "Stay a few more days, but don't make a fuss about going home!"
Zheng Meiyu hid beside Zhuang Yulan and said, "Sister Lan and I have agreed that the peach blossoms in Fangyuan are in bloom, so we need to embroider a picture of spring. It will take some time!"
"Really? That's great! Then this spring painting can be used as a dowry for cousin Lan!"
Zhuang Yulan blushed: "You are making fun of me!"
Even Ning Rulan couldn't stand it anymore, so she pulled Mei Niang and said, "Sister-in-law, let's go back. The old lady should serve dinner!"
Mei Niang turned around and faced Ziye Lin: "Um, where is Manager Cui? What did the gardener say? Ziye Lin..."
Zheng Meiyu and Zhuang Yulan also came to see it. Zhuang Yulan said, "The old lady cherishes this purple-leaf forest the most. It would be a pity if it were destroyed like this!"
Mei Niang looked at her and said, "How did Cousin Lan know that it was going to be destroyed?"
When Zhuang Yulan was looked at by her, she lowered her eyes timidly: "Isn't it the smoke from the fireworks?"
"We only smoked the bark, but the inside is fine. A few spring rains will make it better again."
Zheng Meiyu said: "If a few spring rains can cure the disease, then people won't have to burn the mountains and weeds and trees!"
Mei Niang looked at Zheng Meiyu with some surprise: "You know a lot! But I can guarantee that those trees will get better!"
Zhuang Yulan raised her head: "What if it's not good?"
Mei Niang saw two bright little stars in Zhuang Yulan's eyes and knew that she had the confidence to compete with her. She suddenly wanted to tease her, so she tilted her head slightly, smiled happily and sweetly, and said:
"The Lord came to see me before the New Year. He said that the fireworks only smoked the branches and leaves, and did not hurt the trunk of the tree. When the spring breeze blows again next year and the spring rain nourishes it, it will get better! I also asked the same question as my cousin Lan: What if it doesn't get better? The Lord comforted me: If it doesn't get better, the compensation and fine will all be on him! Seeing that I was worried day and night, the Lord was afraid that I would get sick again because of this, and he personally invited the gardener from the palace to diagnose it. He also said that it will get better, so I dare to make such a guarantee!"
Zhuang Yulan looked at her suspiciously: "The Lord invited the gardener from the palace to check the flowers and trees? How come I didn't know?"
Mei Niang looked at her like she was a monster: "Why should I let you know? That was all agreed upon in the room. Husbands and wives have a lot of private conversations. If you were to overhear them all, you wouldn't be ashamed. We're afraid of being scolded by our elders!"
Zhuang Yulan's face tingled as if it was on fire. Fortunately, the dusk was getting darker, and it was estimated that the meal should be served in the upper room. Mei Niang and Ning Rulan were in no mood to chat with them anymore, so they said, "Go back!"
Then they left together. Ning Rulan couldn't help laughing all the way and gently pulled Mei Niang's sleeve: "You, say these things at this time. With cousin Yilan's temper, I'm afraid she won't be able to sleep for a few nights."
"It's good that I can't sleep. It's even better if I get sick and become a skinny bride. Haha!"
“Sister-in-law!”
"I'm not sad, really! It's none of our business if they want to marry each other!"
Ning Rulan turned around and saw that the two women in the gallery did not follow her. She snorted inwardly, walked forward, took Mei Niang's hand, and walked up to the upper room.
The personal maid and the old woman had already told them to wait under the corridor of the upper room and did not follow them.
Under the gallery, Zheng Meiyu lowered her head as Zhuang Yulan stared at her. Zhuang Yulan said coldly, "I shouldn't have believed you in the first place! You've been home for a month, how do you know what's going on between them? Even Ruizhu said they lived together, and Lord Hou went to the upper room several times and didn't come out for a long time. What makes you say they can't reconcile? They got married first, and they have Heng'er, and she's beautiful. Lord Hou may not have been too close to her because of her illness. I'm afraid that in the future..."
Zheng Meiyu said: "Sister Lan, you don't have to believe me now, but you will know after we get married. Lord Hou...he really doesn't like Mei Niang anymore. I heard them quarreling with my own ears before, and they quarreled fiercely!"
"What are they arguing about?"
Zheng Meiyu looked at Zhuang Yulan carefully: "Sister Lan!"
Zhuang Yulan held Zheng Meiyu's hand and said, "Don't worry! You and I are both protecting Lord Hou, and I know this clearly. You and I will keep things that Lord Hou doesn't want others to know, and we... will become a family in the future, inseparable!" (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)