Chapter 45: The True Colors Revealed
Xie Zhi'an only heard about the attack on Yuqing Temple last night after noon, and that even the Emperor had rushed to see the nun Yusu.
He hurriedly left Ye Xizhu's place and returned to the Yong'an Marquis's residence, thinking that Meng Min would definitely give him a hard time again, and might even interrogate him about whether he was at the residence last night and where he went.
He felt a deep sense of frustration that he couldn't suppress. What kind of marquis was he? All these years of marrying Meng Min, he had been treated like a grandson. He couldn't blame her for not bearing him any children, nor could he take a concubine to have more offspring.
Meng Min had no sympathy for the immense pressure he faced in not taking a concubine. The Xie family even began persuading him to adopt a nephew to prevent him from truly dying without an heir.
She didn't want to think about any of that; she was only immersed in the pain of losing Jia Ning, and she was sickly every day. Didn't he suffer too?
Xie Zhian felt more and more that he couldn't continue living like this. Ye Xizhu was now six months pregnant, and several doctors said it was a son. He was so old and had finally gotten this son, so he couldn't afford any mistakes.
He couldn't afford to wait any longer, so he made up his mind to bring Ye Xizhu back to the Marquis's mansion before she gave birth and take good care of her. Meng Min had no choice but to accept.
Along the way, he thought of several ways to persuade Meng Min, and finally decided to coax her for the time being, make her happy, and then have the Xie family patriarch come to talk to her. The Xie family must have an heir, and she can't have a falling out with the patriarch.
With that in mind, he bought some of Meng Min's favorite braised dishes on the way back.
Unexpectedly, Zhenniang stopped him outside the bedroom door, saying that Mengmin hadn't slept all night and her headache had flared up again, so she had just gone to bed.
He peeked into the room through the gauze curtain but saw nothing. He only smelled the scent of plaster and guessed that Meng Min was really having a headache and had used the plaster to massage her. He didn't want to wake her, so he handed the brine to Zhenniang and said softly, "I won't wake Madam. I'll come over when she wakes up. I'll eat in the courtyard tonight."
Zhenniang took it and said, "I'm afraid Madam won't be able to dine with Master tonight. The Meng family is worried about Madam, so they sent someone to fetch Madam to return to the Meng family for dinner tonight."
The Meng family was Meng Min's maternal home. After Meng Min's father, Prince Kang, passed away, only Meng Min's older sister lived in the Meng family.
“Then I will accompany you, Madam,” Xie Zhi’an said.
Zhenniang refused again: "If Madam wants to take Miss Yushu with her, then there's no need to trouble you, sir." After saying that, she bowed to him, as if to see him off.
Xie Zhi'an was rebuffed and felt even more frustrated as he left the courtyard. What did Meng Min mean by this? Knowing that he and his unfilial daughter Xie Yushu had fallen out, she was still getting so close to Xie Yushu! Wasn't she encouraging Xie Yushu to turn against him?
He really couldn't understand whether Meng Min had been bewitched by Xie Yushu and had become so clueless!
He immediately summoned the steward and ordered, "Go to Mao'er Hutong and kick Qiao Bao'er out of the house. Since she dares to cause trouble, she can stop living in my house. I want to see who dares to take in my mistress."
Even if Xie Yushu could squeeze out the money to buy Qiao Bao'er a house to live in, with him standing here, who would dare to sell it to her?
The steward must have gone in a hurry and returned in a hurry, his robes covered in mud.
Xie Zhian frowned as he looked at it: "How did it get like this?"
The butler was also quite angry, saying, "Master, when I went down there, Qiao Bao'er and the others were moving their things out of the house. Before I could even ask what was going on, Miss Yu Shu's coachman pushed me over the head..."
"Where is Qiao Bao'er moving to?" Xie Zhi'an interrupted him, asking, "Where can she go?"
The steward wiped the mud off his face and said, "I asked, but I was scolded and couldn't get any answers." Xie Yushu's two maids had sharp tongues; they scolded him so badly that he couldn't retaliate.
He quickly added, "However, my men have been following Qiao Bao'er's carriage; they'll definitely be able to find out where they moved to."
Xie Zhian said with a grim expression, "Send someone over there directly. No matter whose house it is, they are not allowed to rent it to Qiao Bao'er. Tell the homeowners that anyone who dares to rent a house to Qiao Bao'er should not stay in Bianjing."
With Xie Zhi'an's words, the steward knew that his master had no regard for the father-daughter relationship, so he would not be polite.
He brought five or six servants from the Yong'an Marquis's mansion with him on this trip, intending to teach Xie Yushu's servants a lesson.
Little did they know that once they caught up with Qiao Bao'er's carriage, they followed it all the way to Yuqing Temple.
Undeterred, the steward followed them into the temple and witnessed the distinguished nun Yu Su holding Xie Yushu's hand. She then told Qiao Bao'er not to stand on ceremony and led the two of them to meet the abbess of Yuqing Temple.
He didn't want to go in directly, so he found a female Taoist priest and subtly inquired about what Xie Yushu and Qiao Bao'er were doing there. Unexpectedly, the female Taoist priest said that the nun Yusu wanted to take Qiao Bao'er as her disciple.
The steward was extremely surprised and immediately returned to the mansion to report to Xie Zhi'an.
Xie Zhian's expression changed upon hearing this, and he asked again and again if he had heard correctly. Was it that the Dowager Consort Yu Su, the female Taoist priest, who wanted to take Qiao Bao'er as her disciple?
The steward repeatedly said, "It's absolutely true. Even the abbot of Yuqing Temple was alarmed and personally witnessed it."
Xie Zhi'an wasn't stupid; how could he not have imagined that Qiao Bao'er could be freed from slavery once she was accepted as a disciple by the nun Yu Su?
With a cold expression, he strode into Meng Min's courtyard, ignoring whether Meng Min was still resting or not, and pushed the door open without waiting for any resistance.
The candlelight in the room flickered.
Meng Min seemed to have just gotten up, her hair loose as she sat on the side couch drinking tea and rinsing her mouth. When she saw him come in, she lazily raised her eyes and told the maid who was trying to stop her to leave.
Xie Zhian, seething with anger, sat in his chair and asked coldly, "Did you ask the nun Yusu to accept Xie Yushu's mother as her disciple?"
Meng Min frowned at the question and turned to look at him: "Master didn't come home last night, and when he saw me, he didn't explain or ask me if I had a good night, but instead questioned me about this matter?"
Xie Zhi'an had long anticipated that she would make trouble over his lack of concern for her. "How do you know I didn't ask? Something happened at the Xie family's old house last night. I went back and was busy all night without sleeping. When I heard about the incident at Yuqing Temple, I rushed back in a hurry. I even brought you your favorite braised dishes because I was worried that your headache might have flared up. But what did you do? Behind my back, you actually helped that unfilial daughter Xie Yushu and went against me!"
Meng Min wanted to laugh. He always used the Xie family as a shield, and the Xie family, though blood was thicker than water, would cover up all his dirty deeds. The Xie family probably already knew about Widow Ye's existence, and might even have encouraged Xie Zhi'an to take her into the family.
Her headache had subsided, and she was too lazy to argue with him, only saying, "It was the nun Yusu who wanted to take on disciples."
"Do you think I believe that?" Xie Zhi'an questioned, "What is the identity of the nun Yu Su? She is the birth mother of the Fourth Prince. She has never taken on any disciples in all these years. Why would she suddenly want to take on a servant girl as a disciple? Everyone in Bianjing knows that you are on good terms with the nun Yu Su..."
His voice was loud and incessant, which annoyed Meng Min to no end. She slammed her teacup back onto the table, interrupting him, and glared at him coldly: "Xie Zhi'an, are you never going to stop? I said no, and if you don't believe me, go and find out for yourself. I really don't understand why you, the Marquis of Yong'an, are so fixated on Qiao Bao'er. She did give birth to your child, after all. Even if you have no feelings for her anymore, you don't have to force her into a corner, do you?"
"She chose me herself!" Xie Zhian was also furious, slamming his hand on the table and saying, "I could have taken a liking to a mere servant girl, and it would have been an honor for her to have children for me. She dared to abort my bloodline, she deserves to be beaten to death!"
Meng Min sat blankly on the side couch, looking at Xie Zhi'an's face and feeling that it was ferocious and terrifying. When did the gentle and refined young man turn into such a terrible face?
Qiao Bao'er was born a servant, but wasn't it a servant he took a fancy to in the first place? Over the years, Qiao Bao'er has served him diligently. Even if you keep a cat or dog, you wouldn't beat it to death or force it to its death if it disobeys and runs away, would you? Besides, that was a human life.
She looked at him incredulously: "How did you become like this?"
"How did you become like this!" Xie Zhian stood up and looked at her with extremely disappointed eyes: "Where did Meng Min, who was once of one mind with me, go? These days you seem to have gone mad, focusing all your attention on a concubine's daughter, and repeatedly going against me for her sake. I think you are really so confused that you treat her as Jia Ning and can't tell the difference! I am your husband. Jia Ning is gone, and you can only rely on me."
When Meng Min heard him mention Jia Ning, she was immediately provoked, her eyes reddening and her voice trembling as she asked, "What do you mean? What do you mean Jia Ning is gone? She's just missing, she's not dead!"
"Madam, please calm down." Zhenniang quickly supported her trembling hand and said anxiously, "Master, why do you have to use Miss Jianing to provoke Madam..."
Seeing her in this crazy state again, Xie Zhian felt annoyed. Jia Ning had been missing for so long, and she still hadn't accepted it. Was she going to live in the pain of losing Jia Ning for the rest of her life?
He didn't want to stay any longer and stormed off.
Meng Min was left holding Zhenniang and crying bitterly: "My Jia Ning is just lost. She will definitely be found. She is still alive, isn't she?"
"Yes, yes, Madam, our young lady is blessed with good fortune and will surely return safely." Zhenniang hugged Meng Min and couldn't help but shed tears. She hated Xie Zhi'an to the core. He knew that Miss Jianing was the Madam's heartache, yet he still chose to provoke her like this! Ever since the death of the old Prince of the Meng family, the Meng family has had no successor, and Xie Zhi'an has become increasingly arrogant. He only revealed his true colors because he was certain that no one in the Meng family could support the Madam! Now he doesn't even bother to pretend anymore!
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It was only evening when Zhenniang arrived at Yuqing Temple.
The ceremony for Yu Su, the female Taoist priest, to accept disciples had just ended when she settled Qiao Bao'er in a side room of Su Xin Zhai.
Xie Yushu was helping Qiao Bao'er pack her clothes and prepare her luggage when Zhenniang was brought in.
She turned around and saw Zhenniang's red, swollen eyes, and thought something had happened.
Zhenniang came over, took her hand, and told her about Xie Zhian and Meng Min's quarrel. She also said that Meng Min had returned to the Meng family, but had been crying and was in a bad mood. She was really worried that the madam might do something rash, so she asked Miss Yushu to spend some time with the madam.
Qiao Bao'er felt extremely guilty and immediately went over to say, "Yu Shu, everything is settled here. You should go and see Madam."
She was grateful to Meng Min. Over the years, Meng Min had never made things difficult for her. Even when she was pregnant with Xie Zhi'an's child, Meng Min knew to send her to live in the outer residence and never beat or scolded her. It was only after Miss Jianing disappeared that Meng Min became emotionally unstable. But she could understand. If something happened to her Yushu... she was afraid she wouldn't even be able to survive.
Xie Yushu glanced at her and, seeing that she was indeed free of business, nodded and went to bid farewell to the nun Yusu.
The nun Yusu originally wanted to invite her to dinner, but when she heard that Mengmin was in trouble, she became worried and sent someone to give her some medicine to Mengmin, saying that it was specially prescribed by the nun Yumiao of Yuqing Temple to regulate Mengmin's body.
Not long after Xie Yushu left, Xiao Zhen rushed over from the palace. He said he was going to accompany the nun Yusu, but his eyes were looking for Xie Yushu.
※
We descended Yuqing Mountain as the sun set.
Xie Yushu didn't go directly to the Meng residence. Instead, he turned onto the long street near the Imperial Hospital and sent someone to invite Zhao Shu, the massage therapist, over. He then took her to the Meng residence with him.
Zhenniang didn't say anything this time. This Zhao Shu was indeed skilled in massage. The lady's headache had already stopped after being treated by him, but she got so angry again.
She led Xie Yushu and Zhao Shu directly through the main gate of the Meng residence. This was the Meng family home, and their mistress could do whatever she wanted.
This was Xie Yushu's first time visiting the Meng residence, and the huge mansion was deserted and quiet.
The Meng family was not large. Meng Min's father, Prince Kang, only married her mother and had two daughters. Later, he adopted a son from the clan, who was Meng Tingchun's father.
Unfortunately, Meng Tingchun's father passed away early, and now only Meng Min's sister Meng Jing and Meng Tingchun and her son remain in the Meng family.
She remembered that Meng Min's older sister, Meng Jing, had married into the Meng family and lived in the Meng residence. However, Meng Jing was not in good health and did not give birth to a daughter until she was over thirty. The Meng family doted on her, and before the Prince Kang passed away, he requested that she be granted the title of County Princess.
Xie Yushu followed them inside and met Meng Tingchun in Meng Min's courtyard, as well as Meng Jing's daughter, who seemed to be named Meng Jinyue.
A thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl was angrily shouting that she was going to find Xie Zhi'an to avenge Meng Min, holding a whip and a sword.
Meng Tingchun stopped her, coaxing her in a low voice, "Jin Yue, put down the whip, put it down first and let's talk properly..."
Zhenniang also rushed over and stopped Meng Jinyue, saying, "Good Miss, this is unacceptable. Madam and Master only had a few words exchanged."
"Why did Auntie cry like that after just a little argument?" Meng Jinyue asked, displeased. Before she could say anything more, she saw Xie Yushu, paused for a moment, then frowned and said, "Why did you bring her here?"
Meng Tingchun took away her sword, carefully put it away, and looked at Xie Yushu, his mind already wandering.
Xie Yushu didn't say much to them, just nodded slightly, and led Zhao Shu to knock on the door and enter Meng Min's room.
In the dimly lit room, Meng Min lay on her side on a narrow couch under the window, holding something in her hands, lost in thought and shedding tears.
"Madam?" Xie Yushu called out, tiptoeing over before seeing that Meng Min was holding a small tiger-head pillow, which he guessed was Xie Jianing's pillow from when she was a child.
Even the most hard-hearted person would feel heartbroken seeing this scene. Xie Yushu reached out and gently wiped away Meng Min's tears. "Does Madam's head hurt again?"
Meng Min noticed her momentarily stunned before calling out, "Yu Shu... why are you here? Is your mother settled in?"
Meng Min looked haggard and listless, but she didn't mistake Xie Yushu for someone else. How could she mistake the person who loves you the most?
"It's all settled," Xie Yushu replied softly, touching her cold face. "Does Madam believe it or not, Sister Jia Ning will be back safely in less than three months." She remembered that time was passing quickly.
Meng Min looked at her, tears welling up in her eyes, and asked tremblingly, "Really? Yu Shu, you believe that Jia Ning will be found safely, right?"
"Of course, of course." Xie Yushu sighed inwardly. Although she knew that the female lead would definitely cause trouble for her when she returned, at this moment she sincerely hoped that Xie Jianing would return soon. She didn't want to see Xie Zhian drive Meng Min into a "crazy woman".
Meng Min cried in her arms for a while, then leaned back wearily on the side couch, her head throbbing so badly she couldn't open her eyes.
A pair of warm hands gently pressed on her temples, with some cool ointment melting on their fingertips, slowly rubbing away the pain.
When she opened her eyes again, she saw those eyes with the beauty mark on them.
Zhao Shu said in a low but calm voice, "Would it be convenient for you to lie on your side, Madam? I'll massage the knots in your neck and shoulders to make you more comfortable."
Helped by Xie Yushu, Meng Min turned to the side. She felt his warm hands, through the fabric, firmly massaging her tense neck and shoulders. He then gently parted her hair and applied some ointment to the skin behind her ears with his fingertips. She had never been touched there by a strange man before, and the touch was unfamiliar yet not unpleasant...
The room quieted down, and Meng Min had stopped crying.
"Host, you have gained 1 point of green hat value, from Song Jie." The system exclaimed in surprise.
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Author's note: My shoulder has been hurting for the past two days. I thought it was my frozen shoulder acting up again, but it turns out it's just a symptom of yang deficiency... [clown] I will try my best to keep updating daily. If I really can't take it anymore, I will ask for a break.
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