Chapter 106 Arrangement
The nurse cooked half a bowl of millet porridge and fed Heng'er. Zheng asked Mother He to bring some medicine. Heng'er immediately frowned and buried his face in Mei Niang's arms. Mei Niang held his little face and felt that his breath was still a little warm, but his lips turned pink, no longer red as if they were about to bleed. His spirit had improved. Medicines are three-quarters poisonous. The black and bitter Chinese herbal medicine, a little child, should not drink it if he can. [?]?
So he told Zheng to keep the medicine for now, as the fever has subsided. He was afraid it would come back in the middle of the night. How about I take Heng'er to stay for two days and come back after he gets better?
Zheng glanced at Xu Junying, his face gloomy. He was just a little hot. He had been given medicine once before. He would be fine even if you didn't come! Am I not better than you at taking care of children? Heng'er is only close to me now. He has to touch my ears to fall asleep at night. Why are you messing with him again? Give him to me. You and your wife don't have to stay by his side. It's late at night. Go back and rest!"?
Heng'er huddled obediently in Mei Niang's arms, silent and motionless, with one little finger gently scratching the embroidery on her clothes. Mei Niang couldn't help but feel sad, so she hugged Heng'er tighter and turned to look at Xu Junying, hoping that Xu Junying could be a good person again, help her say a word, and persuade Zheng to let Heng'er stay with her for a few days. ?
Xu Junying turned away her eyes and said, "Heng'er has been coaxed to sleep and is still with his mother. Here are the boiled medicines and his clothes and utensils. Don't worry, your mother will take better care of Heng'er than you!"
Mei Niang lowered her eyes in disappointment. Zheng's face relaxed a little. She told Zheng Meiyu that the tea had cooled down and to change a cup of hot water for your cousin Ying. "Do you still have the walnuts that Lao Wu gave you the other day? Bring some. Your cousin's wife is coaxing Heng'er to sleep, and you can crack the walnuts and eat them for fun. Ying'er has never liked snacks or fruits since she was a child. She only eats hard-shelled dried fruits."
Zheng Meiyu stood up, as graceful as a butterfly, and personally replaced the hot tea. She took a plate of walnuts from Qiuhong and put it on the table. Dongmei brought a finely cast iron hammer, which was placed on a two-inch thick, half-foot long and square stone slab. Zheng Meiyu carefully used the iron hammer, but still couldn't crack the walnuts. She had to ask Xu Junying for help. Xu Junying cracked four or five walnuts for her. Zheng Meiyu peeled the shells and smiled:
"I haven't forgotten that when I was a kid, my cousin Ying would crack walnuts with my cousin Lan in the old lady's yard and always bring a few back for me!"?
Xu Junying said, "Really? I don't remember it!"
"Cousin Ying is a man who does great things, how can he always remember these little things?"
Zheng Meiyu picked the biggest walnut and handed it to him. This one must have a lot of kernels. Cousin Ying, crack it open and see!"
Mei Niang had no time to watch her cousins cracking walnuts. She held Heng'er in her arms and gently patted him to coax him to sleep. While thinking, she told the nanny and also told Zheng:
"Heng'er drank half a bowl of water and ate porridge. He had to get up in the middle of the night. He should keep warm and change clothes in time when he sweats... Heng'er usually wears too many clothes, which makes him more susceptible to colds. When he has a fever, he is covered too tightly, which makes his breathing difficult... The weather is getting warmer. Heng'er has always been active. When he is learning to walk, there is no need to wear two cotton clothes. He can wear a small padded jacket and a quilted bellyband inside, and a thin cotton coat outside... Drink more water, wash hands frequently, and don't be afraid of cold and refuse to bathe him. Make sure to bathe him every day!"?
Heng'er fell asleep again. Zheng asked the nurse to take him back, and Xia Lian and he went back to their room to sleep. [?]?
Zheng Meiyu called out to her cousin Mei Niang in a sweet voice, "Come and have a walnut. It's fragrant and sweet. My cousin cracked it for me!"
Mei Niang couldn't stand her smug look, so while Zheng was concentrating on asking Mother He to look after the medicine jars, she said to Zheng Meiyu:
"I got tired of this a hundred years ago, but you're just beginning to think it's delicious! Be careful, this is hot in nature, and if you eat too much, you'll get pimples on your face. I think you'd better drink a few more bowls of cold water tonight, or you'll get a disfigured face tomorrow morning. I heard that even if pimples are cured, the marks won't go away within a month or two, and they can't be covered up with rouge or powder!"
Zheng Meiyu had just swallowed a mouthful of walnuts, and it felt like a fish bone was stuck in her throat. She couldn't spit it out or swallow it, and her expression was very funny. ?
Mei Niang was very satisfied with the desired effect. Just as she was about to smile, she saw Zheng coming over and hurriedly bowed and said, "Mother, you have worked hard tonight!" The daughter-in-law thought, Heng'er might have to get up several times in the middle of the night to drink water and take medicine. The nurse looked tired too. Why not let the daughter-in-law stay..."?
Zheng waved his hand and said, "You and Ying'er can go back and rest. I took a long nap today and I am very energetic. I can watch Heng'er if he gets up a few times! Besides, there are Mother He, Chunyue, Xialian and others who are used to serving him and understand his temper. You can go without worry!"
Mei Niang had no choice but to leave with Xu Junying.
All the way, Mei Niang was thinking about Heng'er, and she had to think about tomorrow's schedule: she had to go see Heng'er in the morning. If she wanted to stay with him for a while, she couldn't go to the old lady's place. She had to finish the affairs of Ziyun Hall as soon as possible, and then go out to see Lin Runan and King Qi. Xiankelai just needed Cui Xi to take a look... Come back before dinner, go to Jinhua Hall or Qiuhua Courtyard? Oh! Too many things! Mei Niang was so confused that she didn't have time to look at the people around her. She just followed Xu Junying. Fortunately, the road paved with terrazzo was smooth and clean. She didn't need to pay attention to her feet. She just followed mechanically. After walking for a while, Xu Junying stopped. Mei Niang couldn't pass by, so she was forced to stop and asked blankly, "You're not going anymore. Where else are you going?" ?
Cui Si whispered beside her, "Grandma, let's go back to the yard!"
Mei Niang was stunned for a moment, looked around, and couldn't help feeling embarrassed: I have returned to Tsinghua Court without realizing it. I am going to the East Courtyard to make some arrangements. ?
Xu Junying said calmly, "It's late, take a rest. Get up early tomorrow, see Heng'er, and go to Jinhua Hall. Rulan and Jingyu may not be able to go. If you don't go, there will be no one to serve the old lady!"
Mei Niang lowered her head and did not mention Zhuang Yulan's fourth and fifth grandmothers, who also went there often. "?
Xu Junying said that everyone should fulfill their filial duty! Let's have dinner together at Jinhua Hall tomorrow. I will come back early, have dinner, and then go to Qiuhua Courtyard to see Heng'er. "?
Mei Niang blinked her eyes: Didn't she hear that Xu Junying was willing to arrange for her to accompany her to see Heng'er? Then she could go and hug Heng'er tomorrow night, comfort him, and coax him to sleep, but the premise was that she had to go to Jinhua Hall to have dinner with the old lady. In this case, she had to hurry during the day and return to the Xu Mansion before Xu Junying returned home. ?
She didn't quite understand why Xu Junying insisted that she go to Jinhua Hall to accompany the old lady. She had lost interest in the old lady. Things were different now. Qin Meiniang didn't need to flatter anyone and cling to anyone. She just needed to follow the rules and be polite. ?
It wasn't that she was ungrateful or threw away her crutches after crossing the Yellow River. Old Lady Xu had supported her wholeheartedly in managing the household affairs of the Hou Mansion. She had bad intentions to begin with. Everything she did was just to pave the way for Zhuang Yulan's future. ?
The old lady was a shrewd person. It was rare for someone to come back from the dead. The eldest grandson's wife who came back to life became smart, clever, and seemed to be very scheming. So she kept calm and arranged for Mei Niang to be the housekeeper. Zheng had been in charge of the household affairs of the Hou Mansion for twenty years, so she had her own connections and prestige. The pillar of the Xu family was her eldest son. Although he was not her biological son, she was raised by him since childhood. The mother and son had a deep affection. Her eldest daughter, Xu Xiaojuan, married into a prominent family in Jiangyuan and gave birth to the seventh son, Xu Junjie, who died for the country. The court pardoned Zheng, a brave and valiant cavalry captain, and he could be considered to have made some achievements. With all these, Zheng's status in the Xu Mansion could not be measured. The old lady could restrain her as a mother-in-law, but there were some things that could not move her. Zheng refused to hand over the household goods to Bai Jingyu, so Mei Niang had to fight with her. The inheritance between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was natural. The old lady stood behind Mei Niang and was bound to let Mei Niang succeed. Mei Niang got the household goods, and then Zhuang Yulan came in. With the support of the old lady and Xu Junying, it would be too easy for her to take the housekeeping power from Mei Niang. ?
Mei Niang used her brain to speculate. ?
The old lady must be very puzzled: she was ready to see how Mei Niang and Zheng would fight overtly and covertly, so that she could take advantage of the excitement, but she didn't expect Zheng to quietly hand over all the household affairs of the Hou Mansion that she had been in charge of for 20 years to Mei Niang. She couldn't figure it out, haha! Even if she killed this old woman, she couldn't do it - Heng'er, who Zheng took away to raise by her side as a future support, turned out to be the flesh and blood of the seventh son of the Xu family! She probably didn't want to face such a scandalous thing?
Watching Xu Junying walk into the moon-shaped door, Mei Niang sighed and walked upstairs. She was unwilling to face the problem left by Qin Mei Niang and Xu Junjie. It was too difficult to solve. ?
When I returned to my room and looked at the copper clepsydra, it was already three o'clock in the morning. Was the so-called three o'clock in the night referring to this time?
After coaxing Wang Mama to sleep, I discussed with Cuixi and Cuilian, washed up in a hurry and went to bed. Perhaps I was too tired and slept very deeply. Before I could even dream, I was awakened by Cuixi:
"Grandma, wake up, it's time to get up!"?
After a while, probably only four or five minutes, Cuixi was so anxious that she kept pacing outside the tent, wondering if Buhengge'er was doing well or not. She was afraid that she would not be able to make it to Jinhua Hall in time!"
Yes, Heng'er, poor sick Heng'er, for him, today's time must be calculated accurately and cannot be left. ?
After counting one, two, three, she quickly got up and ran into the inner room to clean up, wash her face and brush her teeth. She took great pains, measuring and drawing, and had someone remodel the clean room. Xu Junying went in twice, once when he was drunk, and the time he was sober, he was reluctant to come out for a long time after entering, not wanting to see clearly whether there was a doorway inside. ?
After washing, she was completely awake and sat in front of the dressing table. Everything was left to Cui Xi and the others. They dressed up, packed up and went out, following the routine, doing one thing at a time. It was a new day, and the things she did were exactly the same, yet not exactly the same. Whether she liked it or not, she had to experience it. The free and beautiful life she had longed for in her girlhood was completely contrary to the life she is living now!
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