Inside the palace, Xiao Shu'er had already received the news. She was sitting idly admiring the flowers when her expression suddenly changed, and she swept the teacups and pastries on the small table to the ground.
"Useless! You bunch of useless people! You can't even handle the smallest things!" Xiao Shu'er cursed, her face contorted with rage.
The place was a complete mess, and no one dared to step forward to clean it up; everyone knelt down on the ground.
Just then, someone else came to report the news. Upon seeing this, Bai Mei quickly stood up, pulled the person aside, and listened to what the person had to say. Then, she frowned and waved the person away.
"What happened?" Xiao Shu'er asked, her face pale.
Bai Mei, however, was hesitant to speak.
"Speak!" Xiao Shu'er shouted sharply.
Bai Mei immediately knelt down and said tremblingly, "It is said that General Meng carried Chang Lili into the mansion."
For a moment, there was a deathly silence, with only Xiao Shu'er's heavy breathing audible. No one dared to breathe loudly.
After that, nothing was known about what happened at the Scarlet Smoke Palace. All that was known was that not long after, several corpses were carried out.
Bai Mei stood pale-faced beside Xiao Shu'er, suppressing her trembling as she poured tea for Xiao Shu'er.
The aroma of tea filled the air, and Xiao Shu'er's face no longer showed any anger, only a cold expression.
She gave a disdainful smile: "It seems I can't count on you useless trash. I'll have to personally deal with that little bitch."
At the general's mansion, the doctor had already examined Chang Lili and said that she was fine, but it would be difficult to make the red marks on her neck disappear immediately.
He prescribed some topical medicine and some oral medicine, both of which are for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis. They can help the recovery faster, but they cannot remove the red marks immediately.
This worried Chang Lili greatly, wondering if her mother-in-law would faint from fright if she saw the shocking red marks on her neck.
Knowing her distress, Meng Yuxiu immediately sent people to prepare external medicine and internal medicine, which he then applied and administered to her.
The red marks on my neck have faded somewhat, but they are still quite red.
Chang Lili looked at herself in the bronze mirror from left to right, her delicate eyebrows furrowing deeper and deeper.
"What should I do? My mother-in-law will definitely be worried." She looked troubled.
If the old woman gets anxious and learns that the military manufacturing plant is such a dangerous place, she might not let her go there again.
Meng Yuxiu stood to the side, stroking his chin with a solemn expression, as if he were in the midst of a battle, concentrating intently on how to deploy his troops.
"I can't tell the truth, I absolutely can't let my mother-in-law know!" she said firmly through gritted teeth.
She didn't want to lose this hard-won opportunity.
Meng Yuxiu suddenly relaxed his furrowed brows and said with a smile, "I've got it, wait a moment."
Then he led his maid Jingmei over, and Jingmei glared at Chang Lili and moved closer.
By the time I returned to the courtyard, it was completely dark.
Although Chang Lili used to come back at this time often, she felt particularly guilty today.
She tiptoed into the courtyard and jogged towards her room.
The lights in the courtyard were off; it seemed that Grandma had already retired for the night.
She skillfully took out a tinderbox and lit the candles in the room, but when she looked up, she was startled.
"Grandma...Grandma! What happened to you..." Chang Lili said, still in shock.
At this moment, her mother-in-law was sitting in her room, at the table, with a dark face, looking at Chang Lili with displeasure.
"How did I end up here? I should be asking you why you're so late!" the mother-in-law said unhappily.
Chang Lili's heart started pounding, but she forced herself to remain calm and said in a coquettish tone, "Oh, Grandma, I usually come back around this time too when I'm busy."
The mother-in-law snorted and scolded, "I heard everything. You returned to the General's Mansion early today, and you even came back with General Meng. You two...you..."
She seemed unable to say the rest.
But before she could even say it, Chang Lili's face had already turned as red as a ripe tomato.
Meng Yuxiu's words rang in her ears: "Wouldn't it be better if it reached Mother-in-law's ears? That way she would know what happened, and I wouldn't have to tell her anymore."
Just moments before she didn't understand the meaning of his words, but now she did.
The news that Meng Yuxiu had carried her into the room had already spread throughout the General's Mansion, and her mother-in-law naturally knew about it as well.
Her face turned even redder, almost as if it were about to bleed.
Just as her heart was pounding and she didn't know how to explain or evade the question, her mother-in-law sighed and said, "I know you young people can't control yourselves when you're deeply in love, but you are a young lady, you should be more reserved."
Chang Lili felt as if something had exploded in her mind. Her face burned with embarrassment, and she stood up abruptly, exclaiming, "Grandma! What are you saying!"
She knew her mother-in-law was misunderstanding, but her relationship with Meng Yuxiu had long been ambiguous. However, times had changed, and the two situations were completely different.
Speaking of this, Chang Lili still felt so ashamed that she wanted to crawl into a hole.
The mother-in-law was genuinely worried: "He is indeed a general, but you are also... you are also the most beloved and noble girl in my heart. There is nothing about you that is not worthy of him, but you must not belittle yourself."
Seeing how serious she was, Chang Lili chuckled.
She felt an indescribable warmth in her heart and immediately snuggled into her mother-in-law's arms like a child.
"I know, I know, Mother-in-law, you believe me, I'm not like what you think. Don't believe those rumors," she said in a soft, gentle voice.
At this moment, she felt that she was probably the happiest person in the world. She had a mother-in-law who loved her so much, Meng Yuxiu who stood by her side and protected her, and she had even become an imperial blacksmith. Her life was complete.
Her mother-in-law pulled her out of her arms and stared at her neck with suspicion, saying, "Why is your neck wrapped up so tightly with bandages?"
Chang Lili was at a loss for words when she saw her mother-in-law ask in alarm, "Are you hurt?"
She waved her hands repeatedly: "No!"
"Let your mother-in-law see, why are you wrapped up like this if you're not here?" The mother-in-law said, reaching out to untie the bandage around her neck.
Chang Lili persisted, pulling her hand away as she said, "Grandma, I'm not hurt. Don't overthink it. It's so late, go back to sleep. I want to sleep too, I'm so tired!"
Her tone carried a hint of coquettish pleading.
To everyone's surprise, her mother-in-law was extremely adamant, insisting on removing the bandage to see what was going on.
Perhaps because of what happened at the hunting grounds, she was still shaken and afraid that something might happen to Chang Lili.
"Your mother-in-law knows you're a child, and she doesn't want to worry her. But how can she feel at ease when you keep hiding things like this?" The mother-in-law said sadly as she saw Chang Lili pulling her hand away.
Chang Lili gently patted her forehead and said helplessly, "Grandma, I'm really fine. If you don't believe me, then I won't stop you. See for yourself."
As she spoke, she indeed withdrew her hand, looking completely helpless.
The mother-in-law was no longer sad, and she eagerly reached out to untie the bandage from Chang Lili's neck.
Her fair neck looked smooth and flawless in the candlelight.
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