The willow breeze is not cold on your face. It is mid-February. The spring rain is moistening everything and the air is humid. The sky is often covered by rain clouds and is gray. The sun is rarely seen, but it is not very cold anymore. The southeast wind is light and gentle, blowing across your face, which is very refreshing and there is no more chilly feeling.
Mei Niang has been extremely busy these days, with the affairs of the mansion, the business of the Xiankelai Restaurant, and the imperial examination that her brother from her natal family is about to take. She is overwhelmed and holds Ning Rulan tightly, asking her to support Ziyun Hall with all her strength. Ning Rulan is so easy to talk to that she doesn't ask for reasons or refuse, so she just obeys.
In fact, Ning Rulan was in a particularly good mood during this period. Her husband Xu Junya got an official position, a seventh-rank official in the capital, and had experience in the Tongzhengsi. The couple were used to staying together. Once they got an official position, they had to be separated for a few hours every day. They missed each other and loved each other more when they met again at night. Ning Rulan reluctantly sent her husband out every day, and then waited for him to come home with expectation. This feeling was both beautiful and novel to her. She wanted to share her feelings with Mei Niang, but she was worried that she and Xu Junying were still in a stalemate, and she was afraid that she would be in a bad mood after hearing it, so she could only secretly be sweet by herself. During the day, she was free anyway, and she was also good at helping Mei Niang to manage the household. If Mei Niang didn't want to do anything, she would take over. She was happy to let Mei Niang relax and take more time to see her son. Her husband had already decided to marry a new wife, and it would be unfair to Mei Niang to be estranged from her son.
The 350,000 taels of silver that I borrowed were finally repaid in full! This was something that had been foreseen. Mei Niang couldn't help but have a good time that day. She rewarded all the employees of Xiankelai, booked a private room, asked the kitchen chef to cook the restaurant's famous dishes, and drank happily with Zhang Jingyun and Lingxuzi who came uninvited. Although Mei Niang was a woman, she could drink a lot. Zhang Jingyun and Lingxuzi naturally didn't want her to get drunk, so they stopped her from pouring wine. Mei Niang didn't appreciate it, and frequently raised her glass to toast, and each glass was empty. Finally, she had a bottom line and knew that she had to keep her dignity in front of her male friends. She only ended up slightly drunk, which was enough for her to speak wildly:
"From now on, I, Cen Meimei, will have real money! You, don't be polite. If you need money, just come and get it... I was born with talent and it will be useful. I will get it back even if I spend all my money!"
Her bold and daring spirit, which was no less than that of any other man, made the two grown men laugh so hard that Cui Xi and Cui Lian beside them were all speechless.
Back at the Qinghua Courtyard in Hou Mansion, they had another delicious meal and were as happy as a child. If it weren't for Mother Wang suppressing her, she would have played with the girls all night long.
Their celebration had somewhat alarmed the people in the East Courtyard. Xu Junying asked Ruizhu to go and see what was going on. Ruizhu went and came back with the reply: "The maids in the corridor were drinking, saying that it was a reward from the Grandmother. Today is the little girl Cheng'er's birthday, and the Grandmother is celebrating for her!"
Xu Junying lowered his eyes: She really has time to spare. It seems that she has not been seen for many days. He can only see the orange light reflected by the flower window in her room, and imagine her looking at the account book and knitting a sweater in the house. Cheng'er said that the grandmother has been very busy recently. In addition to taking care of the affairs, she also chats with the sisters-in-law and learns to grow flowers from the gardener. She has seen too many gardens of other people and envied them. She also wants to have a better garden...
The old lady urged him to ask about the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother was taking care of the King of Qi. Sometimes she wanted to worship Buddha sincerely, and sometimes she wanted to accompany the King of Qi to live in the imperial farm outside the city. She had no intention of meeting relatives outside the palace. The old lady wanted Xu Junying to ask the emperor when he saw him, saying that she missed the Queen Mother, and see if she could attract the Queen Mother's attention and think of her cousin, and then summon her to the palace to meet him, and then everything would be done.
Xu Junying felt a little depressed. He suddenly felt that remarrying was really boring and tiring. He didn't know what the future would be like. Zhuang Yulan, the well-behaved and gentle cousin Lan, had been with Zheng Meiyu for some time. Xu Junying was surprised that their faces were so similar. He had never felt this way before. After a closer look, he found that cousin Lan and Zheng Meiyu had the same hair buns, and even the flowers on their hair and the colors of their clothes were almost the same. They were about the same height. At first glance, they looked like twins. He felt very depressed.
About seven or eight days ago, Mei Niang met him in the courtyard and invited him to the upper room for tea and snacks. The two talked for a long time. As the housekeeper, she dutifully followed the old lady's order and came to discuss with him about marrying a new grandmother. She also mentioned the eldest wife's opinion and said that the old lady also nodded and agreed to Zheng's cousin as a concubine. The eldest wife thought that since it was a wedding, it would be better to marry one big and one small at the same time. Taking a concubine is not a small matter. The etiquette must be thorough. Taking advantage of the ceremony of the new eldest grandmother, it can save time, worry and money, and there is no need to go through other troubles. Mei Niang drew a picture and pushed it across the table to show him: After the wedding, Qinghua Courtyard will rearrange housing, Zhuang Yulan will live in the upper room where Mei Niang is living now, Xu Junying and Zheng Meiyu will live in the east courtyard, the small side yard next to the big pond in the front yard is a bit damp and not suitable for long-term residence, the two concubines can move to the side room opposite the corridor on the right side of the upper room, which is also convenient for serving the master and the eldest grandmother. The most urgent task at the moment is to renovate all the rooms in Tsinghua University as soon as possible, making sure they look brand new and ready for the wedding.
Mei Niang was eloquent and spoke in an orderly manner. Xu Junying looked at her two plump, bright, moist and translucent lips that kept closing and closing. Her clear eyes met his without any avoidance, and she looked at him seriously with an intention of consulting and discussing. This was how Xu Junying looked every time he saw her talking to the sixth brother Xu Junxuan, completely acting like an eldest sister-in-law. Did she also have to treat him like a brother and arrange his marriage for him
Xu Junying waited for Mei Niang to finish speaking, then asked, "The newlyweds will live in the upper room, where will you live?"
Mei Niang pushed another piece of paper to him: "This is the Jingyuan, it's empty inside, I've already planned it out, I'll move in and plant a yard of flowers, I can get some good flowers and trees from the Dingguo Mansion and the Changle Marquis Mansion, then the Xu Mansion will also have a nice garden to hold a flower banquet!"
Xu Junying said, "Aren't there many courtyards with beautiful flowers and trees in the mansion? They also held flower banquets in previous years. If it weren't for you who issued a ban, no one would dare to hold banquets to entertain guests. There is a large open space next to the pond in this courtyard. If you take good care of it, you can plant many flowers and plants. The quiet courtyard is far away in the back yard, close to the back door, and close to the outer wall. It is too secluded... Didn't anyone tell you? A concubine who committed a crime lived there before and hanged herself in it!"
Mei Niang was stunned for a moment, obviously frightened, and asked softly: "What did she do wrong?"
"Talk back to the mistress!"
"Oh!" Mei Niang breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "I brought so many people in, why would I be afraid of a dead person?"
Xu Junying looked at her: "You are very brave!"
"No, I'm very timid. Without Cui Xi and the others on duty, I would be afraid..."
Mei Niang finally lowered her head, which made him feel better. He actually admired women with personality, but for some reason, he couldn't stand seeing Mei Niang acting too strong in front of him.
He did not immediately agree to her so-called two-for-one plan, saying, "You can first have someone start decorating and tidying up the rooms in Tsinghua Courtyard and marry the new bride, and we can talk about that later when it's really decided."
Mei Niang said, "It will be too late to wait until it is decided. To redecorate, we need to vacate the space. We also need to paint the walls, doors, windows, beams, carved partitions, and all need to be repainted."
Xu Junying glanced around the room and said, "There aren't too many furniture items. There are plenty of people at home to help. What's wrong with moving them? It will only be a mess for two days, and then it will be fine!"
Mei Niang wanted to say something, but Xu Junying said he had official documents to read, stood up and left, without letting her finish her words.
If it were in the past, he would have agreed to let her move out without hesitation, but now he couldn't make up his mind. What would Tsinghua be like without her? He lived next to her, separated by a wall, but they didn't have to see each other. He was used to seeing the light on her window every day. Thinking of her inside, he felt inexplicably at ease.
Bai Zhan was lucky. He accidentally met the woman who whipped Zhang Qichun, the fourth son of the Duke of Jingguo's mansion that day on the street. He first recognized her coachman, and then the carriage stopped in front of a shop selling various salted fruits and honey-refined dried melons. The woman got off the carriage, looked around, went into the store to buy some dried fruits, and hurriedly got back on the carriage and left. But she was also smart. She changed to a new carriage, an ordinary boxwood carriage, exquisite but not luxurious. Bai Zhan followed the carriage and followed it all the way to a not small house in the east city, which seemed to be a wealthy family. He watched the carriage go around the main gate, enter from the side door, and then close the small bronze door.
After asking around, I found out that it was the residence of Cen Guiquan, the owner of Xiankelai. In other words, the woman whose stature, demeanor and voice were very similar to Mei Niang was a member of the Cen family.
Since it has a history, it cannot be related to Qin Meiniang.
There are many unexpected things in the world. Qin Mei Niang was dead, but she was able to climb out of the coffin two days later, breathing hard, and running around. Not only did her temperament change drastically, but she also forgot many things in the past, as if she had changed her mind. Xu Junying couldn't help but suspect that she might also be like Zhang Jingyun, wearing a mask to change her appearance and boldly running out to wander the streets.
Another fact made him no longer doubt: Mei Niang was so weak that it was impossible for her to catch the whip wielded by the man, let alone burst out such force. The girl could not have done it without solid leg skills. And to practice such skills, it would take at least ten years. Mei Niang was born in a family of poetry and literature. She only learned piano, chess, calligraphy and painting since she was a child. Would Qin's parents let her practice this? (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation and monthly tickets on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.) (To be continued)