Chapter 50 Xie Jianing Returns
After Meng Min returned to the Marquis's residence, Xie Zhi'an felt it was inappropriate to stay out overnight. He didn't visit Ye Xizhu for two days. However, on the third day, Ye Xizhu's maid dared to come to the Marquis's residence, claiming that she was from Liu's Dried Fruit Shop and had come to deliver the cherry omelet that the Marquis had ordered.
When Xie Zhian heard the gatekeeper's report, he was having lunch with Meng Min. He was so frightened that his face immediately changed. He tried to appear calm and lied, saying that he had bought the cherry pancakes for Meng Min.
How could Meng Min not sense something fishy going on? Aren't the people at Liu's Dried Fruit Shop the same people who work for Widow Ye?
If it were before, she would have already lost her temper and started a fight, but now she just smiled and said, "I came in because I like sour dried fruit."
She hadn't told Xie Zhi'an about her pregnancy yet, originally planning to wait until the pregnancy was stable after three months, but it seemed that Widow Ye couldn't wait any longer.
She then said, "My birthday is the day after tomorrow, do you still remember, husband?" It was quite a coincidence that her birthday and Xie Yushu's birthday were only one day apart.
"Of course I remember." Xie Zhian would never forget. Half a month ago, the Meng family had been making preparations for Meng Min's birthday banquet, sending batches of cooks to taste the dishes, and the invitations for the birthday banquet had already been sent out.
“I invited Yushu and her mother to come along. It just so happens that Yushu’s birthday is only one day apart from mine, so we can all have a good time together.” Meng Min put down her chopsticks and gently instructed Xie Zhi’an, “Tell your husband in advance, so you don’t get upset and make things unpleasant for everyone.”
Is this what you call telling him in advance? This is just informing him!
Xie Zhian's face darkened. He slammed his chopsticks on the table and looked at Meng Min incredulously: "Why did you invite them to your birthday banquet? Aren't you ashamed? Who is Qiao Bao'er? Aren't you afraid of being ridiculed for inviting her..."
"She is now a disciple of the Jade Sovereign, and she is a guest I invited," Meng Min interrupted him. "Besides you, who would dare to ridicule her at my birthday banquet?"
Xie Zhian was speechless. Looking at Meng Min, he could clearly feel that she had changed. She no longer cared about his feelings or his face, and seemed too lazy to even talk to him about her anger.
"Alright, I've arranged everything. My husband doesn't need to worry about anything." She rinsed her mouth, and without asking if he had finished eating, she ordered the food to be taken away.
Xie Zhian, seething with anger, stormed off.
After leaving the Marquis's residence, he went to Ye Xizhu's place and vented his anger on her.
Ye Xizhu was due to give birth in a little over a month. Standing there with her big belly, she still softly apologized, her face full of tears. She said that the baby in her belly was moving a lot, and she was so scared that she asked the nanny to go find him.
Seeing her pitiful appearance, Xie Zhian's anger subsided considerably. He pulled her into his arms and touched her belly, hoping that she could give birth to a son smoothly, so that their Xie family would have an heir.
Her nanny then said that Ye Xizhu's fetal movements were very strong last night, and she might give birth prematurely. It was really inconvenient for her to stay here without anyone to take care of her.
Xie Zhian thought for a moment and had the idea of bringing Ye Xizhu into the Marquis's mansion ahead of time. Anyway, he and Meng Min were currently estranged, and the Meng family had no one to support her. He might as well take advantage of her birthday and the large number of people from the Xie family coming to visit. He could then speak with the Xie family and ask them to persuade Meng Min to back down and bring Ye Xizhu into the mansion first. If she gave birth to a son, he could then take her as a concubine.
He thought this way and did this. In the past two days, he met with the patriarch and brothers of the Xie family and gave them a heads-up.
On his birthday, Xie Yushu really brought Qiao Bao'er with him.
Xie Zhian felt worse than if he had swallowed a fly when he saw the mother and daughter. Yet Meng Min and her family personally went to greet them, warmly pulling them to sit beside them as if they were royalty.
Many people are already discussing who the female Taoist priest Xie Yushu brought was. How could she be delivering gifts on behalf of the female Taoist priest Yusu?
Those who knew the inside story whispered excitedly, almost pointing directly at Xie Zhi'an and saying: "That was originally the mistress of the Marquis of Yong'an. I heard that she kicked out the Marquis of Yong'an and got rid of her slave status. Now she is a disciple of the Jade Soo female Taoist priest. She is very capable!"
Xie Zhian felt a tightness in his chest. There was no man in Bianjing more shameful and pathetic than him! Meng Min was deliberately going against him, making him lose face!
Looking at Xie Yushu and her daughter beside Meng Min and Meng Jing, he felt that each of those women was more absurd than the last. Meng Jing, who had married into the family, had actually divorced her "husband" two years ago, and Xie Yushu was even more rebellious and unfilial. Today, she not only did not bring her husband Pei Shilin, but her mother-in-law did not come with her either.
They've given up all dignity and reputation!
Xie Zhian downed a few cups of wine, then got up to greet the Xie family's relatives, determined not to give Meng Min any face today.
The once bustling Hou Mansion fell silent after Song Jie's sudden arrival. Everyone avoided him like the plague, fearing him like the plague.
After the death of Song Jie's father, Duke Song Xingzhi, the only people from Bianjing who invited Song Jie were probably the British Guild. This was partly because he was always ill, had a withdrawn and eccentric personality, and never associated with anyone. It was also because of the rumors surrounding him.
If he hadn't now risen to the position of Prime Minister, no one would dare to discuss it; they would probably have been in an uproar if he had appeared at the Marquis's residence.
When Meng Min saw Song Jie, her face darkened. She disliked Song Jie even before Jia Ning disappeared, and she and her sister repeatedly warned Jia Ning to stay away from him. Now that Jia Ning is gone, why is Song Jie coming to her door on his own?
Song Jie was very polite. He came to wish her a happy birthday and brought gifts for Jin Yue, Yu Shu, and even Qiao Bao'er. He was unusually kind in his speech and addressed Qiao Bao'er as "Jingcun Nüguan". He said, "It's not a valuable gift, just some good writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones. I heard you've been practicing calligraphy recently, so they should come in handy."
Qiao Bao'er was surprised when she took the book. Only close friends and family should know that she was learning to write. Could it be that Yu Shu told Prime Minister Song?
She glanced at the jade book, unsure whether she should accept the gift.
Xie Yushu was looking at her gift. When she opened the box, she found a string of pearls, just like the one Jin Yue had given her. The difference was that her box contained a gold note worth ten thousand taels of gold.
She immediately closed the box, looked up at Song Jie. He was really eager to give her money, so she had no reason to refuse the gold. After all, it was a gift, not a deposit.
She handed the box to Jin Ye and also let Qiao Bao'er accept the gift.
Qiao Bao'er thanked Song Jie.
Meng Min didn't want to turn away the guest, so she invited Song Jie to sit in the men's section.
She thought Song Jie would take his leave, since Song Jie never liked to sit with others, but to her surprise, Song Jie actually took a seat.
As soon as he sat down, the other guests moved away from him as if they were afraid of him.
Two empty seats were left on either side of him. No one spoke to him; he just sat there alone, wrapped in a cloak, occasionally coughing. When he coughed so hard that his shoulders trembled, no one dared to approach him.
Across a row of chrysanthemum-decorated seating for female guests, Qiao Bao'er heard the cough and saw him sitting alone. Feeling sorry for him, she whispered to Xie Yushu, "Is Prime Minister Song alright coughing like this?" After all, Prime Minister Song had once helped her call the imperial physician.
Xie Yushu knew she was the most soft-hearted, so he smiled and said softly, "It's alright, he'll go back if he's not feeling well."
She secretly slipped a handful of dried walnuts to Qiao Miao'er behind Qiao Bao'er, gesturing with her hands that she should eat some to tide her over.
Qiao Mian'er smiled, holding the package in her hand, and secretly gave half of it to Jin Ye.
Jin Ye quickly waved her hand, saying she had already eaten.
She refused, but Yinya reached out and took it, whispering, "I'll keep it and eat it when I'm hungry."
This amused Xie Yushu, so he grabbed another handful and stuffed it into her hands.
Meng Jinyue, who was next to her, tugged at her sleeve, winked at her, and whispered, "Look, Zhang Youwei has gone over there."
Xie Yushu looked over and indeed saw Zhang Youwei walk quietly past the golden flower wall and go to Song Jie's side, as if she said something to Song Jie and handed him something.
Song Jie didn't answer, but looked directly at Xie Yushu.
Xie Yushu subconsciously looked away, but Meng Jinyue grabbed her arm and whispered, "He's looking at you again. He was looking at you just now. Could it be that he came here just to see you?"
"Don't talk nonsense." Xie Yushu pinched her lightly through her clothes.
Meng Jinyue, tickled, became even more excited: "Zhang Youwei is back, and it looks like she's crying..."
Did you cry?
Xie Yushu looked at Zhang Youwei and saw her leaving the hall quickly with her head down and her eyes red, her maid anxiously following behind.
All the female guests noticed Zhang Youwei and began to whisper among themselves.
Zhang Youwei did not return until the banquet began.
The banquet started with several cold dishes and steamed crab.
To Meng Min's left sat her older sister, Meng Jing, and to her right sat Fang Hui, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Xie family elder. She smiled and poured chrysanthemum wine for Meng Min to celebrate her birthday, and then said meaningfully, "The entire Xie family is hoping that the princess and second uncle will have a child soon."
Xie Yushu glanced at the other Xie family women at the table, and sure enough, they started chattering excitedly. One said, "Princess, don't be in such a hurry," while another said, "My sister-in-law had no children of her own, but after adopting a child, she brought her son into the family and got pregnant..."
Xie Yushu guessed that Ye Xizhu was about to give birth, right? Xie Zhian couldn't resist and informed the Xie family.
She couldn't help but sneer. How heartless and cowardly Xie Zhi'an was! He had to choose to put pressure on his wife on her birthday, not daring to say it directly himself, and letting this woman "fight on the front lines" for him.
What if Meng Min wasn't pregnant? She would still be besieged by the women's gossip, just like in the original drama, and forced by the clan leader and the men of the Xie family to accept her husband's illegitimate child at her birthday banquet.
Xie Yushu poured himself a glass of wine and slowly drank it. He saw Meng Min calmly push away Fang Hui's toast and said with a smile, "I am not in a good position to drink alcohol right now, so I will drink tea instead."
Fang Hui was taken aback.
Meng Jing pushed aside the peeled crab meat and said, "You can't eat crabs now, so you have to be extra careful for the first few months."
The other chattering women all fell silent, staring at Meng Min in astonishment.
"Princess, what's going on..." Fang Hui grabbed Meng Min's hand and asked in a surprised whisper, "Are you pregnant?"
Meng Min smiled and withdrew her hand: "I originally wanted to wait until the pregnancy was stable before saying anything."
The room erupted in commotion. Fang Hui was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, saying "good" several times.
A clever old woman quickly went to inform Xie Zhi'an.
Before Xie Zhi'an could even react, a servant rushed in from outside the hall, tripped on the threshold, and fell to his knees, stammering, "My lord, my lady, outside, outside..."
"What's going on outside?" Meng Min frowned. Before she could scold the servant for his recklessness, she heard footsteps approaching from afar. As if in a dream, she heard someone call out to her from a distance, "Mother!"
It was Jia Ning's voice.
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Author's Note: The real battleground has begun! [Thumbs up]
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