Chapter 178 Drunk
On the evening of March 14, Meimei brought Heng'er from the palace back to the Cen residence. It was already dark. Heng'er had played too much during the day and fell asleep in her arms. Cuisi helped the wet nurse to pick up Heng'er from under the carriage. Meimei felt her hands lighten and breathed a sigh of relief. The boy was getting heavier and heavier, and her arms were numb from holding him.
The day before yesterday, the Queen asked Meimei to bring Heng'er into the palace for her to see. As a result, both the Emperor and the Queen fell in love with the lively and smiling Heng'er, especially the Queen. She pinched Heng'er's chubby face, held his white and tender arms, and said enviously:
"I hope our eldest prince can be as strong as this in the future."
The emperor was full of confidence: "How could my son lose to Xu Junying's son? We will raise him to be fatter and stronger than Heng'er."
The concubines in the palace were all flatterers. When they came to Kunning Palace to pay their respects, they saw that the emperor and the empress liked Heng'er, so they all came to flatter and please him. The empress was very defensive and the eldest prince could not get close to her, so they had to scramble to hold Heng'er to play. When Heng'er came back, he was tied with all kinds of pendants, gold, silver, jade, pearls and precious stones, all of which were finely crafted and very valuable. Meimei was stunned by them and immediately wanted to take them off and return them to the emperor. But Heng'er was a treasure protector. He regarded those beautifully carved and lifelike golden cicadas, silver butterflies and jade dragonflies as his own when they were hung on him. The mother and daughter wanted to take them off and pull them back, and they were busy all the time. The empress laughed at them. The emperor smiled and said:
"Forget it. Who wouldn't love such an interesting little thing? Since they gave it to me voluntarily, let Heng'er play with it. This boy is just like Xu Junying. If he likes something, he won't let it go."
Since the emperor had spoken, she could no longer be arrogant. Meimei had no choice but to hold Heng'er and follow the nanny appointed by the empress to thank the concubines who had given gifts one by one. She said so many polite words that her mouth was dry and she glared at Heng'er in hatred. However, Heng'er smiled at her. His naughty and cute look made her laugh again, so she had to kiss him hard a few times.
The prince always slept during the confinement period. When Heng'er came, he would shout and laugh when he was happy. There seemed to be a special feeling between children. The prince didn't sleep so much. When Heng'er called, he would open his eyes and look around, making all kinds of naughty and interesting expressions on his face. The queen was very happy. The emperor said to Meimei:
"Bring Heng'er with you when you enter the palace from now on. They seem to get along very well."
Meimei was unwilling: Isn't that the same old path that Xu Junying has taken? He has been playing with the prince since he was a child. On the surface, he is very glorious, but who knows how dark he is behind the scenes. She doesn't believe that Xu Junying and the current emperor have always been good to each other since they were young. When there is a conflict and each holds his own opinion, it is the prince who has the final say. Xu Junying has no right to distinguish.
She didn't want Heng'er to be like that, but she had no choice but to agree. It was too aggrieved and tragic for a soul that demanded fairness and longed for freedom to fall into a monarchy. Did she dare to refuse? If you anger the people in power, you will not be allowed to live. Go to the underworld to seek fairness and freedom.
Fortunately, the children are still young. Who knows what will happen when they grow up? Maybe the prince will not like Heng'er to accompany him by then.
Meimei sat at the table, daydreaming wildly while she watched the nanny and Cuisi wash Heng'er and put on soft fine-spun silk and cotton pajamas. Cuixi helped put them in the bed. Cuilian prepared hot water and clean clothes, and just as she was about to invite her in to take a bath, she saw Madam Zou come in and lean over and say, "Madam, there is a Mr. Qin outside the gate. He says he is your brother and insists on seeing you."
Cui Xi and Cui Si both stopped what they were doing and turned back to look at Mei Mei. Cui Lian, who was standing nearby, even had a hint of joy on her face. Mei Mei's eyes swept over the three maids: after all, the dynasties were different. Although these girls followed her without hesitation, they still hoped that she would have someone to rely on. The people in the Qin residence had not come out for so long, and the girls were more anxious than her. The husband's family could abandon them, but at least her natal family could support them. A woman who was alone and helpless would have no one to make decisions for her when she got married in the future.
Meimei lowered her eyes and said to Zou's mother: "What Mr. Qin? I don't know him. Let him go."
Mother Zou walked out quickly. Cui Xi and the other three maids looked at each other and ran over to advise:
"Madam, that's the master. The master is here. Madam, please meet him."
"The master loves his wife the most"
"Yes, that day when I went back to pass on the message, the master chased me out and told us to take good care of the lady and Heng'er."
"Madam, please speak quickly and ask the master to come in."
Meimei said lazily: "Whose master? If you know him, go and see him. I have lived here for many days and I have never heard of any master coming to see me."
The three maids were silent, but there was a noise outside the door, the maids were shouting and arguing, and then Baoju's voice was heard: "Get out of the way, get out of the way, if you don't want to be beaten, get out of the way quickly."
Then came Qin Boqing's voice: "Let me see what she has become now. Doesn't she even recognize her brother?"
While Meimei was stunned, Qin Boqing, sweating and red-faced, rushed in with a stick in his hand, lifting the curtain. The brother and sister looked at each other, and Meimei's eyes suddenly misted up.
Qin Boqing saw tears dripping from Meimei's eyes, and he quickly threw away the stick in his hand, walked over quickly, and shouted:
"younger sister"
Unexpectedly, the word "sister" made Meimei burst into tears. She didn't know what was wrong with her. She was obviously not her biological child, but she treated them as her family and relied on them. She said that she didn't care about the Qin family, but after so many days, she was sure that they really didn't want her anymore. She felt as sad as if a knife was stabbing her heart.
It is best for a person not to be emotional. If you are emotional, you will definitely be hurt, even if it is family love.
Qin Boqing took Meimei into his arms and let her cry without saying anything. He just silently accompanied her in tears.
Meimei cried for a while, and when she had vented enough, she smelled a strong smell of alcohol on Qin Boqing, so she pushed him away and glared at him with red eyes:
"You actually drank alcohol and took Mr. Zhang's pills. The medicine must be taken without alcohol."
Qin Boqing searched in his sleeves but couldn't find the handkerchief. He wiped his eyes with his sleeves, raised his head and smiled at her, "Sister, are you happy that your brother passed the imperial examination?"
Meimei looked at him, smiled and nodded. Qin Boqing pulled her to sit down and said, "Today, an old man invited me to celebrate his old lady's birthday. I remember to abstain from alcohol, but it was hard to refuse such a kind invitation. I just wanted to have a drink with the birthday boy, but after one drink, I couldn't refuse it... But I don't regret it. If I hadn't drunk this little bit of wine, I wouldn't have had the strength to fight back, and I wouldn't have seen you."
Meimei was stunned: "Did you just call in?"
"Didn't they beat me in? I finally got this chance to come and see you, and I stood at the door waiting honestly, but they said something like: Our Madam doesn't know Mr. Qin, so you should leave. I got so angry that I grabbed a stick from someone nearby and beat me in."
Meimei chuckled. Baoju and Baizhan were guarding the front yard. They recognized him as the master of the Qin family. Otherwise, it would be strange for a pale-faced scholar like him to get in.
Several maids nearby also covered their mouths with their sleeves while laughing. Qin Boqing said to Cui Si:
"What are you laughing at? Do you think your uncle won't hit anyone? Bring me a cup of tea."
The three maids pushed and shoved each other, vying to go out. Everyone was so happy about the master's arrival that they even forgot to pour tea.
Meimei said hurriedly: "Give the old man a glass of warm water first, Cuisi will ask the kitchen to make a bowl of sobering soup."
“I’m a little drunk.”
Qin Boqing watched the maids go out, then he leaned on the table with his hand on his forehead, let out a long breath and said:
"Your sister-in-law said something to me, and I can understand how bitter you feel. Such a high-ranking noble family is indeed not something that people like us can afford to cling to. Our parents only gave birth to my brother and me, and we have been inseparable since we were young. I understand what you are thinking... When Xu Hou asked to marry me, my mother and the clan members were overjoyed, thinking that it was wealth that forced people to marry. I just felt vaguely uneasy, and then something really happened. Fortunately, my sister came back to life. After dying once, she was a completely different person. No matter how you change, you are still my, Qin Boqing's sister. You are not afraid of anything that happens to you, because you have a brother - although he is weak and useless as a scholar, he is still your brother and he will stand by your side."
Cui Lian brought in a glass of water. Meimei took it with tears in her eyes, handed it to Qin Boqing, and motioned Cui Lian to take it down.
Qin Boqing drank the water in one gulp, and continued with a smell of alcohol on his face, "This time you caused a commotion in Xu's mansion. The second master of Xu's mansion came to our house and said that you took advantage of the absence of Lord Hou to disobey the old lady and made her angry. Then you took Heng'er out of the mansion without permission. No one in the mansion could stop you, so you went to live in someone else's house. The second master of Xu's mansion asked mother to come and persuade you as soon as possible and send you back to Xu's mansion, lest Lord Hou come back and it would be difficult to deal with... Mother fell ill on the spot and is still lying in bed. She has issued a strict order: No one in the family is allowed to come to look for you, not even Mother Wang and your two little girls. That's why I haven't been able to see you these days when you were out. I see mother crying and being dazed every day, but she doesn't seem to be... Usually when she was sad she didn’t want to eat, but she could still eat some porridge. Mother Wang prepared the bird’s nest you brought back, and she ate it. I guess she had two ideas: one was that she wanted me to pretend to be deaf and dumb to avoid this matter, and wait until after the palace examination in early April; the other was that mother had thought it through, and she let you make your own decision, and she wouldn’t pick you up or visit you—she had long known from your sister-in-law that it was you who bought the Cen residence, and she wouldn’t give you any support during the time you were away, so you had to think carefully about it. You are a mother now, and you can go back to the Xu residence or live alone and make your own decisions. After the matter is over, mother is still your mother, and the door of her mother’s home is still open for you, sister. This is just my guess, mother may not think so, and I hope it is like this.”
Meimei felt relieved after hearing what Qin Boqing said. She cried and laughed at the same time. She thought Qin Boqing was adorable. She wiped her tears and asked, "Since mother strictly prohibited me from visiting you, why did you disobey and come here?"
Qin Boqing finally couldn't stand it anymore, and threw his head on his hands and fell on the table: "I came out to attend the birthday banquet. I said I would be back later at night. I discussed it with your sister-in-law. I was afraid that you would be sad, so I came to see you secretly... I came here a few days ago, during the day, and the gatekeeper said that the madam went to the palace to see the queen. Why do you go to the palace every day? You can't come out at night. Your two nieces and nephews sleep during the day and cry at night... As long as their parents hold them, they are very clingy."
Meimei leaned over to look at him: "Brother, you are really drunk now"
"I'm not drunk... I'm clear-headed, just dizzy."
"Then I will tell the truth to my brother?"
Qin Boqing sat up straight and looked at Meimei: "You say"
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