Chapter 200: Looking for Trouble

Xu Junying did not follow in. Meimei sat in the inner room at the yellow pear wood carved round table in silence. She did not even know when he left. Heng'er's noise disappeared. Cuixi came in and whispered:

"The Lord asked the nurse to carry Heng to the Lord's residence. Cui Si wanted to follow, but the Lord said: Xia Lian is over there, so there's no need."

"Can you pack Heng'er's spare clothes and take them with you?"

"Cui Lian packed a bag and only brought two sets of clothes, and a few more pairs of pants... Lord Hou said that he would be back early in the evening."

Meimei secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but said, "It doesn't matter where we live. Heng'er is grown up now, I don't worry about where he lives."

Cui Xi glanced at her and thought: It's easy to say, but mother and son are connected by heart. If Heng'er doesn't come back, I'm afraid that she, who is so sleepy, won't be able to sleep that night.

Meimei remembered something and asked Cuixi, "Didn't Sixth Master come here last time? He came to tell me the good news and thank me after he got his degree. He said it was because of the purple gold inkstone I gave him. At that time, Master was not at home, so I asked you and Cuilian to prepare a gift. But Master Hou just blamed me for not congratulating his sixth brother on his success. This is really strange. Why didn't Sixth Master tell his brother about this? Instead, I got blamed."

Cuixi said: "The gifts that Cuilian and I prepared together were rewards from the palace. According to the young lady's wishes, we chose the most expensive ones. I think it's possible that Sixth Master had too many social engagements after passing the imperial examination and was too busy to remember them."

Suddenly, Cui Lian ran in hurriedly, almost bumping into an embroidered stool. Cui Xi asked in surprise: "What's the matter? It's not Cui Si, who doesn't even look when walking."

Cui Lian's face was pale: "Cui Si was in the garden in front, kneeling on the side of the road, and was slapped in the face... I was just about to walk over, but they didn't see me, so I ran back as if I was escaping."

Meimei was stunned: "Cui Lian, what are you talking about? This is our family. Even Lord Hou wouldn't touch you guys casually. Who would be so bold?"

Cui Lian's eyes were red. "Young Madam... Young Madam, please get dressed and go out to greet her. The old lady is here, and with her are several old ladies of the same age whom I don't recognize. Their clothes and manners are similar to our old lady's. I think they are the wives of our clan or other noble families. Young Madam, please don't be angry for a while, you have to talk to the old lady in a good way..."

Cui Xi understood Cui Lian's meaning and hurried forward to help Mei Mei up. "Come in quietly like this and don't let the doorman and the butler spread the news. The old lady is deliberately looking for trouble. Madam, quickly fix your makeup and don't contradict her. You can only be respectful and try to go along with her and coax her for a while. Bai Zhan is at the door. He must have gone to report to the Marquis. How can the Marquis be at ease when the old lady comes? He will come back quickly - Cui Lian, you can ask Bai Zhan now, but did you go to call the Marquis?"

Cui Lian looked at Mei Mei, and suddenly came closer, pulling her hair into a mess with her hands, saying, "I've sent someone to ask, I guess she'll be back by now."

Meimei pushed her away: "Cui Lian, what are you doing?"

Cui Lian said: "Young Madam was the one who contradicted the old lady first. I heard that the old lady is the one who holds grudges the most. I'm afraid it won't work to coax her with nice words. Young Madam is just acting like a patient now, and she has to pretend to be weak and frail..."

Meimei was angry and amused, but she was helpless. There seemed to be no better way at the moment: "You stupid girl, you are the only one with so many ideas."

As they were talking, the voices of the maids came from the yard. It was obvious that Cui Lian had given instructions. They shouted, "The old lady is here. The servants are here to see the old lady."

Old Madam Xu stood in the yard with a cold face, leaning on the diamond wood walking stick that Xu Junying brought back from the palace and given by the emperor, with her left hand supported by Ruixue, panting slightly, staring at the door of the upper room with bright eyes. On her left stood Old Madam Fang from Changle Marquis's Mansion, and on her right stood Old Madam Chen from Anyuan Marquis's Mansion and Old Madam Liang from Changxing Marquis's Mansion. These four old imperial officials of the same rank were all over sixty years old. They usually ate vegetarian food and chanted Buddhist scriptures on time, went to temples to recite scriptures and listen to the masters' lectures, so they always made appointments to go together and had some interactions. This day, she invited the three old ladies to go to Qingya Pavilion, the most famous jade shop in the east of the city, to choose Buddhist beads. When they passed the street in front of Cen's house, she told the old imperial officials that her grandson Xu Junying's villa was nearby, but they didn't know where it was exactly. Old Madam Liang laughed and said, "You don't even know where your own villa is, how can you be a grandmother?"

When Old Lady Xu heard this, she ordered Mother Ji to send someone to find the way, and then brought the old officials along, saying that they would have a cup of tea and take a break before leaving.

But she didn't expect that when she arrived at the door of the Cen residence, the doorman didn't recognize the old lady and stopped her from entering. She wanted to report inside first, but the old lady scolded her. The family members who followed her grabbed the doorman and slapped him in the face without saying anything. Old lady Chen said:

"He doesn't even know his master deserves to be punished. What kind of servant is he?"

The next one to come was the housekeeper, who was also slapped in the face. Bai Zhan came out and saw the old lady, and was startled. He hurried to meet her and was about to report it, but the old lady said, "I can't even get into my own house, so what's the point of changing the servants guarding the gate? People who don't know would think that I am fooling around and now I have to report it. Who am I showing off to? If anyone dares to go, I will break his legs."

Bai Zhan didn't dare to move. He let the old lady and her group rush into the second gate. He immediately ordered his men to ride at full speed to report to Lord Hou.

Cui Si was unlucky. When she came out, she ran into the old lady. She was stunned for a moment, thinking that she was dreaming. The old lady looked at Mother Ji coldly. Mother Ji shouted, "You rude girl, how can you behave when you see an old lady? Why don't you kneel down?"

Cui Si dared not disobey, and quickly knelt on the ground, saying in a trembling voice: "This servant pays respects to the old lady."

Mother Ji said: "I'll teach you a lesson. Come on, give her ten slaps."

Immediately a strong old woman came up and started beating with bows left and right. Cui Lian, who came later and was hiding behind the flowers, saw this and was so scared that she ran back quickly.

Standing in the yard at this time, Old Lady Xu pointed at the door of the upper room, smiled bitterly, and deliberately whispered to the old ladies: "Look at my granddaughter-in-law. With such a loud noise, she sat quietly and didn't say anything to greet grandma and the guests... You can see it with your own eyes this time. It's not that I usually say bad things about my granddaughter-in-law. Girls from poor families don't have many rules, but they are also unruly and don't know etiquette. They are really not presentable. There is still a young master in Anyuan Marquis's Mansion who is unmarried, right? Old sister, you have to keep an eye on it, don't marry such a girl for your grandson... Our Marquis' Mansion is so chaotic, it's because we married unvirtuous wives..."

Old Mrs. Xu said, without taking out her handkerchief, she raised her sleeves to wipe away her tears: "I am disheartened now. My eldest grandson, whom I raised with great effort, has been ruined by her like this. Our family used to live together, with one heart and one mind, but now we are all scattered... scattered"

Seeing how old Madam Xu was, Madam Liang and Madam Fang felt sorry for her and hurried to comfort her, "Don't cry, don't cry. We are old and don't know how many days we can live. Don't be angry. If you can't catch your breath, you won't be able to see anything."

Old Mrs. Chen was more angry. Seeing that there was no movement in the upper room, she could not hold back and said, "What's this? The grandma didn't even greet the granddaughter-in-law. Let me go and see her."

She asked her maid to help her. Just as she was about to go forward, she heard a cry from the door of the upper room: "Madam, Madam, please go slower."

The old ladies were startled and looked up together, only to see Meimei, supported by Cuixi and Cuilian, staggering out of the door with disheveled hair, pale face, and drunkenness. Cuixi was still shouting:

"Madam, are you okay? You've been ill for so long, and you suddenly feel dizzy when you get out of bed. You can't just hold on. Madam, I'm kind. I know you're not feeling well and can't come to meet you. I won't blame you."

Old Mrs. Xu stared blankly at Meimei, who was swaying from side to side. Her whole body was limp. She came to her with the help of Cuixi and Cuilian. She knelt on the ground with a thump and bowed her head. Her voice was as weak as that of a dying patient:

"Grandson...granddaughter-in-law pays respects to...grandmother and...the distinguished guests."

Seeing her like this, Old Lady Fang was flustered at first, forgetting that she originally sympathized with Old Lady Xu, and hurriedly leaned over to help her up: "My son is so sick, why are you getting out of bed? Girls, help him back to lie down quickly. The ground is cold, be careful not to catch a cold, or your illness will get worse."

Meimei just lay on the ground and couldn't get up. Cuixi had just secretly peeked out through the window and guessed that the status of those old ladies was not low. The three of them discussed in the room and figured that this time Old Lady Xu was determined to destroy Meimei's reputation. She deliberately found Meimei's faults and exaggerated them. Then they would be spread by these famous and prestigious old ladies. Meimei's reputation as a bad woman in Beijing would spread. Not only would she be abandoned and despised by the ladies, but her natal family, Qin Boqing who had just won the top spot in the imperial examination, and Heng'er who was growing up would all be affected.

Meimei thought about this and couldn't help but feel angry. It was really tiring to have an grudge with this old lady. She refused to let her go. She was about to ignore her, but then she remembered the queen's words and thought that she had nowhere to go except this place. She gritted her teeth and made up her mind: I'll fight these people, entangle them, and scheme against them, right? Let's see who is more ruthless than who.

He immediately adopted Cui Lian's idea, thinking that pretending to be sick was the most reliable way. There was no need to talk too much. He could just pretend to be pitiful and weak. Can you eat me?

Old Madam Chen looked at Old Madam Xu suspiciously, then at Meimei: "Oh, my granddaughter-in-law is so sick, could it be that she has come to this other courtyard to recuperate?"

Cuixi and Cuilian had already knelt down on the ground following Meimei, supporting Meimei on both sides. Cuixi kowtowed to the old ladies while crying and said:

"I, your servant Cui Xi, greet the old lady and all the distinguished guests. Our young lady has been weak since she died of illness and came back to life years ago. She is sometimes better and sometimes worse. She is afraid of cold and noise. Because there is a lotus pond in the courtyard where she lives in the Hou Mansion, there is heavy moisture and she can never get better. The doctor said that the young lady has a lung disease that is easily transmitted to others, so she has to move to another remote courtyard in Dangyang to recuperate. She should not see too many people to avoid infecting others. The young lady thought that there were many relatives in the Hou Mansion and she couldn't let the whole family suffer, so she moved to the other courtyard and lived there for two months. She got better for a few days and went to the street to buy some embroidery. Who would have thought that she would fall ill again when she came back? She hired a doctor and took a lot of medicine, but she didn't get better. She was in a daze all day. She just woke up and took medicine when she heard the maid in the courtyard report that the old lady had come. She struggled to get out of bed, saying that she couldn't go back to pay her respects for a long time, and it was against the rules and etiquette for the old lady to come to visit, so she came here anyway..."

It is made by】.