Chapter 15: Spring Returns to Two Pearls (1) Evil Snake.
"Wintersweet?"
"Are you Chimonanthus?"
Meng Xuanli was surprised to see Meng Xiuyu's personal maid Lamei here.
Lamei opened the curtain, looking anxious, stepped forward, and whispered, "I've seen you..."
Meng Xuanli shook his head slightly, indicating that the formalities were unnecessary. Lu Guanque sat beside him, his expression as calm and composed as the cold waters of winter, without a ripple.
"Your servant... Your servant has something to ask the second young lady..." La Mei looked embarrassed, her lips and teeth trembled, and the words rolled in her throat, and she couldn't even utter a complete sentence.
Meng Xuanli thought she must have some concerns, so he gently tugged at Lu Guanque's sleeve and whispered in his ear, "Although this Lamei is close to Meng Xiuyu and has done me a favor in the past, she must have come here today for an urgent matter. Could you please, my Lord, please step aside for a moment?"
"Yeah." Lu Guanque nodded, stroked her shoulder lightly with his palm, indicating that he understood, and then stood up and left.
Soon, there were only two people left in the room facing each other.
It is spring outside the window. Through the carved window, it is warm, but still carries the lingering winter chill.
Meng Xuanli was silent for a moment before he spoke calmly, "Now, can you finally tell me?"
La Mei hurriedly knelt down, her voice lowered to a whisper: "In the past few months, the fourth daughter of the He family has been visiting the mansion frequently. Every time she left, Madam Pan would speak coldly and sarcasticly to the eldest daughter. The eldest daughter is stubborn and refuses to give in. Whenever an argument breaks out, the son-in-law is caught in the middle, feeling annoyed and always asking the eldest daughter to be more patient."
"Young Miss, you are well aware of the strong temper of the eldest lady. How can you endure this?"
Meng Xuanli's tone turned cold when he heard this: "Lamei, you are the most aware of the relationship between me and your eldest daughter. What is your intention in saying this today?"
Meng Xuanli truly didn't want to see Meng Xiuyu. In their previous encounters, Meng Xiuyu's sharp tongue had pierced his heart. Although she hadn't actually struck a blow, her words had still wounded Meng Xuanli.
La Mei shook her head, crawled a few steps on her knees, and tightly grasped Meng Xuanli's hands. Tears welled in her eyes, and she choked out, "The young lady has been feeling uneasy lately, and last night she had a high fever, a frightening one. I saw that she was in a trance and looked haggard. I was really at my wit's end, so I took the liberty of coming here."
"Please, Second Miss... please comfort the eldest girl and stop her from being angry."
After saying this, Meng Xuanli was stunned. He never expected that Meng Xiuyu would end up in such a situation.
She sighed inwardly, forcing herself to ignore these trivial matters: "How can I comfort her? In my current situation, I am also a clay Buddha crossing the river, unable to save myself. Who can comfort me?"
"The master is old, and I dare not disturb him. Please, Second Miss..." La Mei's tears were hot and dripped on the back of Meng Xuanli's hand.
Meng Xuanli was silent and shocked, and finally said helplessly: "Forget it, forget it."
"Lamei, please go back first and bring her some medicine. In a few days, if I have time, I will go to Pan's house to talk to her."
"Yes!" La Mei cried with joy and bowed repeatedly, "Thank you, Second Miss! You must take care of yourself too, this servant..."
"Go ahead." Meng Xuanli interrupted her and didn't want to listen anymore.
After Lamei left, Meng Xuanli sighed deeply. She hated herself for always softening her heart when she heard others crying and pleading.
Lu Guanque frowned, lifted the curtain and went back in, walking slowly to Meng Xuanli's side.
He paused briefly, leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Your eyesight isn't healed yet, why are you looking for her?"
Meng Xuanli paused. "I didn't want to go at first. But her condition is not good for herself or the child in her womb."
"Besides, I've been living in the Duke's Mansion for two or three months, and during this time, I haven't been anywhere. This time, I'm going to talk to her for a while, just to relax."
"She..." Lu Guanque was speechless, then suddenly changed the subject, his tone brooking no room for argument, "Have you forgotten about her Mid-Autumn Festival banquet?"
He said arbitrarily: "You are not allowed to go."
If Lu Guanque had tried to persuade her with kind words, Meng Xuanli might have given up. However, his overbearing behavior only provoked her rebellion. Meng Xuanli raised her head and said firmly, "I haven't forgotten."
"Just this once."
Seeing her so stubborn, Lu Guanque had no choice but to give in: "Then... then I'll go with you."
"No, I can go by myself."
"Ali..." Lu Guanque seemed defeated, his voice weak, "Does it have to be like this?"
Meng Xuanli leaned back, puzzled: "My Lord, why do you always follow me?"
As soon as he said this, Lu Guanque suddenly leaned over, lifted her chin with one finger, and his warm breath brushed across her cheek.
He stared at her slightly opened red lips, wishing he could bite them down to let out the pomegranate juice and see if she would dare to say such words again in the future.
In a flash, Lu Guanque seemed to remember something. He turned his back abruptly and said in a deep voice, "Well, I'm being nosy. Let's call the doctor in."
"No..." Meng Xuanli was stunned, regretting his hasty words, "That's not what I meant..."
Before he finished speaking, he heard the corner of Lu Guanque's robe fluttering, and he left quickly, and the footsteps disappeared outside the door.
*
Since that day, Lu Guanque had not set foot in Chengju for seven or eight days. Meng Xuanli was initially worried and angry about him, but after hearing Uncle De say that his health was improving and he was often in and out of the palace, he stopped asking about him.
That morning, the air was damp and drizzly. Meng Xuanli lay on the bed, opened his eyes, and saw the tassels on the curtains swaying slightly, like the reeds in a dream, with shadowy figures.
Meng Xuanli suddenly felt something strange and raised his hand to touch his cheek, and was shocked to realize that what he saw was not a dream...
She sat up in disbelief, staring at her own slender fingers, examining them several times before she was sure—
Her eyes recovered.
Chen Bi knew that Meng Xuanli would drink a cup of tea after waking up. When she brought the tea in, she saw Meng Xuanli sitting on the bed, staring at his fingertips and laughing softly.
Chen Bi swallowed and said worriedly, "What's wrong with the girl? If you didn't sleep well, why not sleep a little longer?"
Meng Xuanli covered her lips with her hands, blinked her eyes, and said excitedly: "Chen Bi, you are wearing a green dress today!"
"Ah?" Chen Bi was stunned. He quickly put down the teacup and ran to the edge of the bed. He looked at her carefully in surprise. "The girl's eyes...are healed?"
Meng Xuanli smiled and nodded heavily.
Chen Bi didn't care about anything else, leaned over and hugged her tightly, his nose sore: "Oh my God, my girl's eyes are finally healed! If it doesn't get better, I'm afraid I'll have to go to the south of the Yangtze River to find Doctor Su."
Meng Xuanli was amused by her, but suddenly remembered something and asked, "Is the carriage ready?"
"It's all ready." Chen Bi came back to his senses and sniffed, "But the lady's eye disease has just healed, and you're going out now? Why don't you rest for a few days before going?"
"Look." Meng Xuanli blinked hard, "Let's go today."
"Mrs. Pan and the Fourth Young Master are out praying today, so it's convenient for us to go to the Pan Mansion."
Chen Bi hummed, and was about to stand up when Meng Xuanli grabbed his wrist and said, "Don't tell the prince that your eye disease has healed yet. I'll tell him in person tonight."
Chen Bi lowered his eyes and responded vaguely.
*
Meng Xiuyu was sitting on the warm kang, sewing a tiger-head hat for her child. The silk threads on the kang table crisscrossed like puppets hanging on silk, as if pulling something.
Through the screen, Meng Xiuyu saw Meng Xuanli's figure. She was shocked and put her needlework aside, just staring at her.
"What are you doing here?" Meng Xiuyu asked in a stern tone, sitting stiffly on the kang. "Your eyes...are healed?"
Meng Xuanli looked at her face carefully, trying her best to find some traces of her illness, but no matter how hard she looked, Meng Xiuyu was still the same Meng Xiuyu.
"What? Elder sister doesn't like me like this?" Meng Xuanli smiled, waved his sleeves and sat down.
"No, I just thought that since my sister braved the rain to come to the Pan Mansion, she must have something to ask of me." Meng Xiuyu sneered and rolled her eyes at her. "Since you're here, just tell me directly."
Meng Xuanli shook her head, her gaze set on the ball of silk thread and the tiger-head hat on the kang table. Her expression grew calmer. "Lamei, your girl, came to me at the pharmacy a few days ago and asked me to come and help you. To be honest, I didn't want to come, but thinking of our sisterly bond and blood relationship, I came anyway."
Seeing her frozen like a stone statue, Meng Xuanli continued, "It's clear that Madam Pan treats my elder sister with no kindness. My brother-in-law also doesn't treat my elder sister the same way he used to. If they hadn't gone out to pray today, I wouldn't even be able to enter the Pan Mansion."
"Even an outsider like me can see this clearly, let alone my eldest sister herself."
"Heh!" Meng Xiuyu stood up suddenly, arms hanging stiffly at her sides, and said with forced composure, "Meng Xuanli, what are you talking about here? Who in the Pan family dares to disrespect me? Pan Lang treats me with even greater affection and love, a hundred times more than that sickly person!"
"Go away quickly. I don't want to see you."
Meng Xuanli didn't get angry when he heard this. He just looked at her back dimly: "Nonsense?"
She sighed softly, "Eldest sister, don't be angry with yourself anymore. In the end, the only ones who will be hurt are you and the child in your womb."
"Wait until the weather is clear and bright, then go out and walk around more. Staying cooped up in this small courtyard all day will make you sick."
Meng Xuanli stood up and walked slowly outside. "I've said everything I needed to say. Whether you listen or not is entirely up to you, elder sister. Since you're happy to marry into the Pan family, then look forward to the future. You have your own life to live, so don't make it too hard on yourself."
"I've kept everything from my father, and I won't be visiting him again. Take care of yourself."
After Meng Xuanli left, Meng Xiuyu sat alone on the edge of the kang, lost in thought. She'd been clutching a white handkerchief in her hand, but it had slipped away, soaked in cold sweat. She lowered her head, a tinge of regret welling up in her heart.
Meng Xiuyu shook her head vigorously to get rid of the thought.
She won't regret it.
no way.
As soon as Meng Xuanli returned, he sent a messenger to the palace to tell Lu Guanque that he had something to tell him. Lu Guanque already knew what it was, but he refused to return early, citing the busy palace affairs as an excuse.
When Meng Xuanli heard this, he simply closed the windows and doors, poured himself a drink, and enjoyed his dinner happily in Chengju.
It was completely dark, and the sound of rain outside the window continued. Having been out all day, Meng Xuanli wanted to bathe to relieve her fatigue. She closed her eyes and immersed herself in the warm water. The steam was faint and pleasant.
As he was putting on his clothes, Meng Xuanli glanced at the ground and suddenly saw a black shadow moving silently and approaching quietly, like a ghost asking for his life.
Her throat tightened, and she hastily wrapped her coat around her, turning quickly barefoot, her eyes fixed on the screen.
In the darkness, the shadow seemed to disappear out of thin air.
Meng Xuanli thought he was dizzy, but the next moment, his wrists were suddenly grabbed by hands like iron hoops. He staggered backward and fell straight into the arms of a man.
The man held her in his arms, his strength so brutal that it almost cut into her bones. His other hand caressed her shoulder, his hot breath spraying against her ear.
The whole situation was like walking in the dark and accidentally stepping on a vicious snake on the ground.
Meng Xuanli tried to struggle, but the skin on the back of his neck suddenly felt cold...
The snake's tongue brushed past, leaving a hot, numbing kiss.
In an instant, Meng Xuanli's pupils suddenly shrank and his whole body became stiff and cold.
The author has something to say:
----------------------
Post it in advance and catch bugs later~ [laughing]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
