Chapter 133: Mother's Home
The next morning, Mei Niang got up at about noon. Cui Xi and Cui Si hurriedly helped her wash, dress, and put on makeup. They pushed her to the table for breakfast. Only then did she wake up completely. She looked at the couch and asked:
"Is Lord Hou gone? No need to skip a word.
Cui Si replied: "At dawn, Lord Hou took Bai Zhan out, and before he left, he told Grandma to get some more sleep."
Mei Niang lowered her eyes and snorted, "It's already this late, can we still go to see Heng Er?"
Cui Xi said, "Grandma can't make it in time. After breakfast, she has to go to Ziyun Hall to listen to the maids' reply!"
"Can we not go today?"
"Grandma, you should go!" Cuixi poured a bowl of hot porridge and handed it to her: "Grandma, the eldest lady taught you: A year's plan begins in spring. There are many things to do in spring, so you have to be careful and strict. You can relax a little in summer!"
"If you don't let people relax in the summer, people will die. No one can stand the hot weather!"
Mei Niang said as she picked up the spoon and stirred the porridge vigorously, venting her anger: "Xu Junying! He ran away after finishing his work, leaving me exhausted and unable to sleep. She is not his...girl! Who would have the patience to serve him like that? There are so many rooms in the East Courtyard, are they all leaking? I don't believe it! Cui Lian is at home today, let her run over there and see if it is true."
As they were talking, Cui Lian happened to come in from outside. She heard what they said, walked over, bowed, and said, "To answer Grandma, it's true! Before leaving this morning, Master Hou asked me to bring Cheng'er and Ping'er over to help Ruizhu and Ruibao tidy up the study. The rain last night was not too heavy, but it kept raining. Wenjinxuan is leaking everywhere. The floor of the study is full of water stains. The bedrooms are unusable. Books have been moved into the empty rooms. The books that were soaked were opened one by one to dry... It's so crowded that it's hard to even stand!"
"What about the servants' rooms? Are they leaking too?"
Cui Lian said, "I don't know about other things, but there are one or two leaks in Ruizhu and Ruibao's rooms, and they use porcelain basins to collect rainwater on the ground."
Mei Niang's eyes widened and she put the bowl on the table. "This isn't the first rain in spring. They didn't say anything or repair things when the weather was fine. What are they going to do now? Could it be that Lord Hou wants to move in with us?"
Several maids looked at each other, and Cui Xi said carefully: "...Mr. Hou should have lived in the upper room. Grandma, you can't say anything. It's not good if others hear it. Even if mom knows, she will come and teach him a lesson!"
Cui Lian lowered her head and said nothing. Cui Si rolled her eyes and said, "Master Hou went to the ear room next door this morning to take a look. Maybe he will need the ear room!"
Mei Niang thought for a moment, then picked up the bowl to eat porridge again. "The three rooms on the right side are not occupied. Cui Lian will take people to clean them up, and let him live there first!"
Anyway, they couldn't live in the same room together. Apart from anything else, she didn't want to be a free servant anymore. He had tormented her enough last night, serving her tea and water, and asking her to eat snacks in the middle of the night, and he didn't want the maid to serve her, saying that it was a military secret and no one was allowed to get close to him.
She said: It seems that I am also an idle person. Xu Junying replied: I can defend you, but I can't defend others!
She was silent for a long time because of this sentence. She couldn't figure it out no matter how hard she tried. In the end, she simply gave up thinking about it.
She sat beside him while knitting a sweater, and from time to time she added hot water to the tea bowl at his request. At midnight, she was already extremely sleepy. She leaned over the edge of the table and just closed her eyes when she was woken up again: "I'm hungry, is there anything to eat?"
She stood up dazedly, walked to open the yellow pear wood chest of drawers that was specially used to store snacks, and took out a plate of cloud cake for him. He looked at it and said that this one must be too sweet. He changed it and took another one, and took corn cakes. He said he didn't like corn. Then he changed it to green tea cakes, but he said it was too soft. Mei Niang felt uneasy, and finally grabbed a bag of salty, sweet and spicy orchid beans that Lin Runan bought for her, and threw them in front of him: "This one has all five flavors, hard and crispy, it should suit your taste!"
Xu Junying ate one and nodded: "It's good, but it can't fill my stomach!"
Mei Niang said angrily: "If you want to eat something to fill your stomach, ask Baoju to run to the kitchen. There is everything there! I have to go to bed now, otherwise I won't be able to get up tomorrow and miss the time to go to Ziyun Hall. The maids will talk about me in private and refuse to obey my control!"
Xu Junying said, "Which servant dares to disobey the mistress? Even if you don't go for a few days and just let Cuixi pass on the message, the maids can't say anything! Since you are sleepy, go to sleep, but bring me a bed and quilt first. I am almost done with my reading and will rest on this couch in a while."
Mei Niang was used to being the eldest lady. She had everything she needed, and Cui Xi and Cui Lian took care of all the housework. There were several cupboards of different sizes in the room, but she seldom touched them. She had no idea which cupboard the quilts were kept in. She rummaged around and opened almost all the cupboard doors. After a long time, she finally pulled out two quilts, carried them to the couch and threw them down. Without saying a word, she walked into the room with the partition, lowered the curtains, climbed onto the bed, pulled up the quilt, and fell asleep. She didn't care about what Xu Junying was doing in the outer room, or when he turned off the lights and went to bed.
After breakfast, they went to Ziyun Hall. The housekeepers had been waiting for a long time. Mei Niang quickly dealt with the daily affairs of the mansion, took Cui Xi and Cui Si and hurried out. She thought Bai Zhan had followed Xu Junying, but when she walked out of the hanging flower gate, she saw Bai Zhan coming up to her and bowed to Mei Niang:
"I have prepared the carriage and horses and am waiting for your instructions!"
Mei Niang glanced at Cui Si, who glared at Bai Zhan: "Didn't you go out with Lord Hou? Why are you here again?"
Bai Zhan said, "The Lord has his own attendants following him, I will only escort him to the gate. The eldest lady is going out today, so I have to stay and drive the carriage!"
Mei Niang smiled: "Very good, you are indeed better at driving than Lin Amao. Let's go quickly, just like that day, and get to Qin's house in the west of the city within a quarter of an hour. If you can't make it, you don't have to follow us tomorrow!"
Bai Zhan watched the master and servant walk by, and was stunned: the west of the city is not like the east of the city. The east of the city is full of the homes of the rich and powerful, and there are many vacant private alleys. He holds a privileged department badge, and in the name of official business, he can just go in any direction and rush around, and naturally reach his destination quickly. The west of the city is where civilians live, with a dense population and narrow streets. Cars and horses coming and going from the south and north are often blocked in the streets and cannot move for a long time. Today is market day, and it is noon now. It is too difficult for him to get to Qin's house within a quarter of an hour!
Mei Niang didn't think so much, she was just unhappy that Xu Junying sent an informant to follow her, so she casually criticized Bai Zhan and that was it. Cui Si took it seriously, sitting in the car, urging from time to time:
"Bai Zhan, what are you doing? Is Grandma riding in a horse-drawn carriage or an old ox-drawn cart? Why hasn't she moved for such a long time?"
"If Lin Amao had driven the car, we would have arrived long ago!"
Bai Zhan looked at the crowded people on the street and felt furious, but he didn't dare to refute Cui Si. He had suffered at her hands before, but that was in the mansion. If he was caught by her accidentally outside, and with the support of his grandmother behind him, he would not be able to defeat her even if he had ten mouths.
I could only accompany her and answer carefully: "Sister Cuisi, please be patient. Today is market day. There are too many people coming from outside the city to attend the market. Look at the front and back. Cars like ours can only move slowly... We can't hit pedestrians, right? Once we walk out of this street and out of the other street, we will be fast!"
Cui Si pouted lightly towards the curtain of the carriage: "Now you can call me sister, in the yard..."
Cui Xi nudged her with her elbow. Cui Si looked at Mei Niang embarrassedly and said nothing more.
Mei Niang said angrily, "That's strange. Is there anything you can't let me hear? What did he do to you in the yard?"
Cui Si raised her eyebrows: "Grandma, you underestimate Cui Si, don't you? What can I do to him? Rui Bao didn't let me pick osmanthus flowers and had an argument with me. He came to help Rui Bao without asking why, but I scolded him and he ran away! He, Bao Ju and Rui Zhu Rui Bao are always on guard against us who go upstairs. When have I ever heard him call us sisters? They only shouted: Hey that girl!"
Mei Niang burst into laughter: "Is there such a thing? Then from now on you can just call him: Hey that kid!"
Cui Si couldn't help laughing: "That's what I've always wanted to call him!"
Cui Xi said hurriedly, "Grandma was just joking with you, don't you dare really call me that! He and Baoju have followed the Marquis since they were young, and have served in the battlefield and made military achievements. They have long escaped from slavery and have made achievements. We shouldn't treat them badly, or we will look ignorant!"
Cui Si snorted, "You have achievements? You are arrogant and don't know right from wrong. It's useless to be promoted to an official position or a noble title!"
Cui Xi said, "Why is Bai Zhan so arrogant? Is it good for him to respect you as a sister? It depends on whether you can accept it! She is older than you, capable and promising. What do you have that deserves his respect?"
Cui Si lowered her eyes: "I didn't tell him to call me sister. He can call me sister if he wants. I can't control him!"
Cui Xi was in tears and laughed, pointing at her. Before she could say anything, the carriage suddenly accelerated. She was caught off guard and fell sideways against the wall of the carriage. Cui Si hurriedly helped her up, then looked at Mei Niang who was sitting on the seat. She saw that she only stretched out her hand to fix her bun, and her body was not tilted. She turned her head and cursed at the curtain: "Bai Zhan! Do you know how to drive a carriage? If you make my grandmother fall, you will see what will happen to you!"
Bai Zhan hurriedly apologized: "Please punish me, Grandma! Just now a fast horse rushed over from the side. If I hadn't dodged it immediately, I'm afraid I would have been hit!"
Mei Niang said to Cui Si, "No matter how hard he tries, tell him to go faster. We have to go to Xiankelai soon!"
Cui Xi pulled aside the curtain and looked out, saying, "Don't rush me. We'll be there just around the corner!"
As expected, as they were talking, the carriage turned and circled and arrived at the gate of Qin's house.
After getting off the car, I saw that the shabby and mottled wooden door of the Qin residence was open. Outside the door, there stood a number of strong men wearing tight clothes and long robes, and they were all leading fat and strong horses. When they saw Mei Niang coming, Bai Zhan, Cui Xi and Cui Si followed behind, and they all stepped aside to make way for her. They bowed to Mei Niang, and the two leading men said loudly:
"Welcome, Madam!"
"Subordinates greet the young lady!"
Mei Niang was stunned. She looked at the swaying figure in the gate and guessed something in her heart. She turned around to look at Bai Zhan, but saw that the place where Bai Zhan had just stood was empty. A tall brown horse tilted its head and kept rubbing against a person. It would be strange if it wasn't him!
It is made by】.
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