Chapter 139 Engagement
After coming out of Ziyun Hall, Mei Niang looked back at the three maids and asked Cui Si if her mother had gone to patrol the garden again this morning.
Cui Si nodded and left again, taking Cheng'er and a few maids with her.
Mei Niang asked Cui Xi again, "Last time, Bai Zhan found out that Lin Mama and Yu Mama were the ones who led the way for us and guarded the gate. Is it still possible to go to the west yard now without skipping any words?"
Cui Xi replied that the Lord only asked us to check and did not touch them. Maybe he allowed us to come and go freely. I thought that grandma would not go around to the west courtyard. Yu Pozi was still in charge of the courtyards over there. It should be okay to leave, but Lin Amao had already gone to Xiankelai, and there was no one to drive the carriage! "
"That's right, there's no one to drive the carriage!" Mei Niang pondered, "I want to go out today, but I don't want to use the people and carriages of the Hou Mansion. If I don't let Bai Zhan, what should I do?"
Cui Xi said that if we go out from the back door, ask someone to go out of the back alley, turn out to the main street and rent a car, that would be fine, but it would take time.
"How much will it cost?"
"It should take half an hour!"
Mei Niang has made the decision, you go and do it! The one who is in charge of the back door is Zhang Pozi, right? There is Pingxiang outside the back door, and there is another door in Pingxiang. Once you reach the back alley, you can turn directly out to the street. The Fang Pozi who is guarding the back door of Pingxiang is very straightforward. She only does things based on the sign. You just take the sign! I will take Cui Si and Cui Lian back to the courtyard to change clothes and put on masks. We won’t be able to eat in time. When we get to the back door, your car will have arrived. Let’s go directly to Xiankelai for dinner!”
Fortunately, Mother Wang had not returned to Tsinghua Courtyard. Before her, Mei Niang went into the upper room to pack up. She left Cui Lian to look after the house and took Cui Si with her, going briskly to the back door under the pretext of inspecting the decoration of Jingyuan.
Cuixi's carriage was waiting at the back door. It was driven by an honest driver. Although the carriage was old, it was clean. Cuixi also took a few cushions from Jingyuan and put them inside. She didn't feel anything when she sat there. It was a smooth journey and soon she arrived at Xiankelai. She entered from the backyard again. Old man Zou, who was guarding the gate, heard Cuixi's voice and opened the gate to let her pass. They stopped in the yard. The master and servant got off the carriage, paid the fare, and sent the driver away. Lu Xiangfeng came out to greet them. Mei Niang said that we haven't eaten yet. It's noon now. There should be a lot of guests in the front hall. Let's go to the rest room and send some food up. Have lunch first!"
Lu Xiangfeng leaned over and said, "Please go upstairs and wait for a moment, I will arrange it right away and the hot meals will be delivered immediately!"
Cui Xi said that Shopkeeper Lu has something to do, so I'll go to the kitchen. It's better for me to choose the food for the young lady."
Lu Xiangfeng glanced at Cui Xi and said, "Thank you for your help!"
Cui Xi's face flushed slightly, and she hesitated to speak. Mei Niang found it interesting and said with a smile, "Manager Lu is a few years older than our Cui Xi, so there's no need to call him that. Just call him by his name!"
Lu Xiangfeng lowered his head when he heard this. Seeing this, Cui Si smiled mischievously and said, "Cui Xi, Cui Si, I think it sounds good!"
Lu Xiangfeng blushed to his ears, but he didn't dare to look up. Mei Niang held back her laughter and said, "You pointed at Cui Si and made fun of Shopkeeper Lu for no reason. Shopkeeper Lu is good-tempered and won't bother with you. Don't do this in front of other people in the store!"
After saying that, she turned and went upstairs. Cui Si stuck out her tongue lightly and left with Mei Niang, leaving Cui Xi and Lu Xiangfeng in the corridor, trying to get through. In the end, Cui Xi lowered her head and left first.
Several fresh and exquisite dishes were served. Cui Xi had just filled half a bowl of fragrant white rice and handed it to Mei Niang. Before she could eat, Lu Xiangfeng came again and said a little embarrassedly:
"His Highness Prince Qi is coming to the inn for dinner! The lady is here, His Highness wants to..."
Mei Niang was stunned for a moment. Cui Xi said that the prince of Qi had to tell her when to come. The young lady hadn't eaten a single bite of food yet. Shopkeeper Lu, you... couldn't you tell her that the young lady wasn't here? At least stop him!"
"Who dares to stop me?"
The clear voice of King Qi came from the door. Cui Xi was so scared that her hands trembled. Mei Niang patted her hurriedly, stood up, left the table, walked to the open space, bent down to greet King Qi.
"Greetings, His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi!"
The King of Qi was wearing a royal blue python satin embroidered robe, a jade crown to hold his hair together, a rhinoceros leather belt inlaid with gemstones tied around his waist, and thick-soled boots of the same color. He had a smile in his eyes, but his face was so cold that anyone who saw him would retreat a few steps away. He walked to the table and sat down. He looked at the masters and servants who were kneeling beside him and said:
"It's not like we haven't seen it before. Not even a sparrow comes here. Who are you doing all this empty ceremony for? Get up!"
Mei Niang led Cui Xi and Cui Si to stand up. The King of Qi raised his hand and pointed at Cui Xi, and said to Mei Niang, "Your personal maid? You dared to teach Shopkeeper Lu to deceive me, and even stopped her from coming up! Like master, like servant. You don't even take me seriously as a maid. Humph!"
Cui Xi was already frightened, and her face turned even paler. She quickly knelt down on both knees and kowtowed, saying, "It is my fault that I have offended Your Highness. It has nothing to do with the master. Please punish me, Your Highness!"
Mei Niang said that the master and servant are inseparable, and it is a common thing for servants to protect their masters. Isn't it normal? The people around His Highness treat His Highness the same way as Cui Xi! "
The King of Qi stared at her and compared your people with mine?"
Mei Niang lowered her eyes and dared not! It was just an analogy! "
The King of Qi snorted, glanced at her and said, "I only said I would not go to your Cen residence. I don't feel comfortable in that courtyard, but I didn't say I would not come to Xiankelai! You are very well behaved and never go through the front door. My people saw Manager Lu go to the back to greet you. If I don't follow you, you will refuse to come to the front hall to see me, right?"
Facing the still arrogant King Qi, Mei Niang sighed inwardly, looked at him seriously and said, "No, I will go to the front hall to meet His Highness!"
The King of Qi's eyes flashed, and he turned to Cui Xi and said, "Okay, get up! I think you are a brave girl..."
Pointing at the food on the table, he said, "Good food, good food. Why don't you eat it while it's hot? I'm hungry! Sit down and eat together!"
Mei Niang had no choice but to go and sit opposite him, so she took a seat to his right. Cui Xi and Cui Si came up to serve him. The King of Qi picked up his chopsticks and looked left and right:
"This is also a cyclamen dish. I've never seen it before?"
Mei Niang said that this is a dish on the regular menu. Your Highness usually orders the finest delicacies from the mountains and the sea, and doesn't eat these!"
"How ridiculous!" The King of Qi picked up a green fern and said, "You won't let me eat such fresh vegetables. What's the point of eating all those big fish and meat? What is this dish called?"
Mei Niang looked at Cui Xi, and Cui Xi reported the name of the dish to His Highness: This is stir-fried green fern, and the whole dish is called The Wizard of Oz!
King Qi asked where the immortal was.
"When you eat it, you will find tender, white and sweet spring bamboo shoots inside!"
The King of Qi smiled and pointed at the other dish. "What about that?"
"That's called 'The Three Musketeers of the Countryside'!"
"You!" The King of Qi stared at her and said, "She was eaten by someone. You are a swordsman! Who gave you this name?"
Cuixi lowered her head, and Mei Niang said, "Your Highness, don't worry about it. It's just the name of a dish. I came up with it because it's novel and interesting, and I didn't think of any other meaning. Cuixi has read some poetry and books since she was a child, and her handwriting is neat and beautiful, so she asked her to write the menu. When Your Highness asked, she also asked her to report the name of the dish."
As they were eating, the King of Qi looked at Cui Xi again and suddenly said to Mei Niang, "This girl is not good, you are good at it, give her to me!"
Cui Xi was about to move the two dishes when she was shocked when she heard this. She looked at Mei Niang in horror. Mei Niang was also stunned and looked at King Qi:
"I only have these two maids who are my personal servants. They have been with me since childhood and they take care of many things for me. If I give them to you, what will I do?"
The King of Qi said, "How many servants do you want? I'll give you this and that!"
He pointed at Cui Si, whose face turned pale and she was about to cry. The King of Qi continued, "The people around you are not brave enough. My subordinate has done something that I like. I was thinking of rewarding him. Here are these two girls. Let them be his concubines!"
Not to mention Cui Xi and Cui Si's miserable faces, Mei Niang was almost fainting. She put down her chopsticks and glared at the King of Qi, revealing her vicious look:
"You have so many beauties in your palace, can't you just give him as many as you want? Why would my people become concubines for your men?"
The King of Qi was stunned for a moment, then he laughed. "Look at you! Are you so fierce? You are my most capable confidant, a fourth-rank general. You have as many beauties as you want, but the girl next to you is different..."
"Are there any differences? They are all!"
The King of Qi was silent for a moment, and then said, "If I say it's different, then it's different! Then just take one, and give the other two to whoever you want!"
"Not even one!"
The King of Qi glared at Cen Meimei!
Mei Niang refused to give in to Zhao Bao, I tell you: my girl will not be a concubine! "
The King of Qi was stunned for a moment, then nodded. "Okay, how about being a concubine or a wife?"
"No matter! My girl must be the principal wife, the head of the family! And the man who marries her must have a concubine. We will be together for life, together till old age!"
The King of Qi looked at her for a long time before he said, "Forget it. You can't let someone divorce his wife and marry someone else, right?" "Leave it here. I have many unmarried men, so I'll give her a good place to go!"
Mei Niang looked at Cui Xi, who looked at her pitifully with tears in her eyes. Mei Niang thought for a moment and said to the King of Qi, "Your Highness, please don't worry about it. My girl has already been engaged and has not been released yet!"
"Tell me, who did you order it for?"
"He is also someone close to me. We are not married yet, so it is inconvenient to talk about it!"
"That's not true! You're still keeping your engagement a secret? If you tell me, I'll be compared to the people around me!"
Mei Niang glanced at Lu Xiangfeng, who was standing far away at the door, with his head down, looking like a transparent person, and said through gritted teeth:
"It's Shopkeeper Lu! Although he is not as good at fighting as the people around you and has no military merit, he is good at business and has talent, and is not inferior to them!"
"You are trying to fool me again!" The King of Qi slammed the table angrily. "How can a subordinate get engaged before the girl is married?"
Cuixi and Cuisi turned pale again. Mei Niang lowered her head and closed her eyes. "Forget about me. I'm already married!"
Lu Xiangfeng at the door looked up in surprise and saw the King of Qi staring blankly at Mei Niang, pointing his finger at her, "You, you, you are not allowed to do this, keep coaxing me again and again, I will really get angry!"
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