Chapter 182: Protect
The imperial edict required Meimei to enter the palace to accompany the queen for fifteen days, but Xu Junying had not returned yet. The emperor discussed it with the queen in private. The queen invited her for personal reasons and said that she could not bear to leave Meimei and asked her to continue to enter the palace to accompany her. Meimei knew what was going on, but she could not refuse. She took Lin Runan to the palace with her every day. The palace was indeed magnificent and gorgeous, and the imperial garden was so beautiful that people could not leave. Her favorite was the imperial garden. She did not think anything special about the rest. No matter how noble and gorgeous the place was, it was just a cage that locked up an emperor and three thousand beauties. It was enough to understand that kind of life, but it would be depressing to death if you really lived it.
Relying on the power of the Queen, the Emperor asked Ji Qing to make arrangements and almost no one in the palace made things difficult for her. She had been living a relatively easy and happy life in the palace these days, except when she went to the Cining Palace to pay her respects. It seemed as if she was thrown back to the days when she was trying to please Old Madam Xu in the Xu Mansion. She felt aggrieved when she thought about it. She thought that the old woman had a bit of compassion and was snobbish as long as she wasn't too excessive. But who would have thought that she was actually a wolf. Her true face was revealed, making people feel disgusted and hateful, and it would be unnecessary to even look at her any more.
She knew that the empress dowager was not easy to get along with. The empress always told her to be extremely careful in front of the empress dowager and not to cross any rules. She did all of them. Fortunately, the empress dowager did not make things difficult for her. Although she was indifferent, she still observed the proper etiquette of an elder. Every time she accepted her gift, she asked her a few questions in a calm manner. Sometimes she even gave her some small items or a few bags of fructose to take back to Heng'er, and then sent her away, as if she didn't want to even look at her. Even so, Meimei felt that the empress dowager was much better than Old Lady Xu. At least she didn't talk about her in a sarcastic way.
She didn't expect that the Queen Mother ignored her because of the Emperor. The Emperor didn't allow Xu Junying's family to be touched. Even if they were unvirtuous and unfilial, they were protected and kept. What could she do? In addition, the Queen Mother favored her younger son. Although the King of Qi had military merits, he became more willful and reckless. This time he dared to snatch the Queen Mother's edict that the Emperor had taken back. As a mother, she only thought that her younger son was dissatisfied with the suppression of the Queen Mother's authority and wanted to stand up for his mother and fight against his brother. She was so anxious. She could make any trouble with the Emperor. After all, they were mother and son. The Emperor would not do anything to her. But the King of Qi was different. If the Emperor was annoyed, he could deal with him for any reason! The Queen Mother saw her eldest son become the Emperor as she wished, but she didn't want her younger son to suffer. The King of Qi caused trouble. During this period, she could only follow the Emperor's lead, so that when the Emperor found fault with the King of Qi, she could say a few words and protect him. Therefore, Meimei entered the palace to accompany the Queen in accordance with the imperial decree. Even though the Queen Mother disliked Meimei, she did not show it too much.
Xu Junying had already sent a secret letter back to report to the emperor, saying that his return date was delayed because they had investigated the King of Wei and searched his palace, and there was enough evidence to charge him with treason: he had privately built a large number of weapons, trained tens of thousands of private soldiers in the secret mountains, recruited and raised all kinds of so-called eccentrics... A crown, a dragon robe and the "last emperor's last will and testament" were also found in the palace!
The emperor was furious and ordered the execution of all of King Wei's followers. King Wei was escorted to the capital to await further punishment.
It was not until the evening of March 28 that Xu Junying returned to the capital, exhausted.
In the secret letters, the emperor and his subjects only talked about government affairs and never mentioned personal matters. Baoju sent another letter to Xu Junying to report what happened at home. Xu Junying was fully confident that the emperor would stop the empress dowager in time and not let the imperial edict leave the palace. Unexpectedly, the emperor was too slow. Not only did the imperial edict for divorce reach Xu's house, it was also handed over to Meimei through the hands of Prince Qi. As soon as Meimei got the imperial edict, she ran out of Xu's house and lived in Cen's house!
When Xu Junying received the letter, he almost vomited blood after a quick glance. After reading it twice more carefully, he found that the emperor had issued an imperial decree, ordering Meimei to go to the palace to accompany the queen every day and not to wander around freely. He breathed a sigh of relief then. Thinking that Meimei had the empress dowager's decree in her hand, he had a headache and wished he could finish his business quickly and run back to the capital.
Finally he returned, but he controlled himself and didn't rush to see Meimei at Cen's house. Instead, he went to the palace with officials from relevant departments to report to the emperor. The emperor gave a banquet, and the monarch and his ministers discussed various topics until late at night before they left the palace to go home.
After leaving the palace, his heart was at peace. The emperor said to him privately: The imperial decree of divorce has been withdrawn, Ji Qing has been destroyed! From tomorrow on, Meimei will no longer enter the palace to accompany the queen, you can take her back to Xu Mansion.
Xu Junying and his entourage rode around the Cen residence on horseback, but ultimately did not go in. They turned their horses around and returned to the Xu residence.
The Xu residence was silent and quiet in the middle of the night. A cry of "Master Hou is back!" broke the tranquility. In the inner courtyard, several lights were quickly lit up. Under the lights, there were shadows. Some people were putting on their clothes and shoes and walking around. Xu Junying entered from the main gate, walked around the front hall first, then walked through the second hall and the courtyard. As soon as he reached the second gate, he saw his uncle, the second master Xu Xiping, hurriedly coming with Xu Junlang and Xu Junqiao, laughing with a smile on his face:
"Junying is back? You've worked so hard! Come on, go sit down in the side hall and have a rest. Have a cup of tea. Are you tired? Are you hungry?"
Xu Junying bowed to his uncle and said with a smile, "My nephew has gone on a long journey this time. I was ordered by the emperor to leave immediately, so it is inconvenient to explain. It has taken so many days to come back. All the affairs at home have been taken care of by uncle. Is everything okay? How is grandma? I wonder how Heng'er is doing?"
Xu Junlang and Xu Junqiao kept their heads down and said nothing. The second master was sweating on his forehead and coughed twice in embarrassment. Just when he didn't know what to say, Xu Junya and Xu Junxuan also came over. They both bowed to Xu Junying. Xu Junya said happily, "It's good to have big brother back..."
Master Xu Er said hurriedly, "The old lady has been complaining about not sleeping well recently. She may not fall asleep even when she lies down. She must have gotten up after hearing the news. Junying, why don't you go see your grandmother first? She is so worried about you leaving the house to do your errands without making any noise that she can't even eat or drink!"
Xu Junying nodded: "I've made my grandmother worry about me! Now that I'm back, I should go visit her first!"
The lights in Jinhua Hall were bright. The second son accompanied her to finish the meal, and then went back after a short chat. Old Mrs. Xu had no one to chat with recently, and she was bored. The old lady slept little, so she just lay down and closed her eyes to rest. Many things were running through her mind, and she couldn't sleep. She asked Ruixue and Ruiyu to do needlework in front of the couch to accompany her. Suddenly, she heard the old woman in the corridor whispering that the front yard was calling for the Lord Hou to come back. She wondered if it was true. She hurriedly got up and asked someone to go and check again. If he was back, she would ask the Lord Hou to come to the upper room of Jinhua Hall. Just as she was talking, Xu Junying came.
After the greetings, the sons and grandchildren sat around. Old Mrs. Xu looked at Xu Junying with loving eyes and said distressedly: "Ah, alas! How come you are thinner and darker! You look just like you just came back from the border last year! You have only been gone for a few days, it's really pitiful! You must not have eaten enough outside, Ruixue, ask them to make some delicious food for you to eat!"
Xu Junying smiled and said, "Grandma, don't worry. I am just worried about my family. I have been traveling day and night for the past few days and I am just a little tired. I will be fine after two days of rest! I just came from the palace and the emperor gave me a banquet. I ate very well and I can't eat any more!"
Old Madam Xu said, "That's fine! Tomorrow I'll have them make you some nourishing food... But you must be very tired. Prepare some hot water for the snow and rain, and help me wash. You can rest here tonight. I'll have something to say to you tomorrow morning!"
Xu Junying stood up and said, "It's late at night. I shouldn't disturb my grandmother and make her worry about me. I have to go to Qiuhuayuan to visit my mother, and then go back to Qinghuayuan. I haven't seen Heng'er and his mother for many days, and I want to see them too!"
Master Xu and the old lady exchanged glances, and Master Xu said a little embarrassedly: "Junying, don't be anxious, listen to your uncle: Heng'er and his mother, they are gone!"
Xu Junying's face changed and he looked at the second master: "Gone? What does that mean? Please tell me, uncle!"
Xu Junlang quickly explained: "Father has no other intentions, he just wants to say: Sister-in-law and Heng'er are not in Qinghua Courtyard in the mansion, they and their son...they and their son have gone to live in a private house!"
“Why do they want to live in a private house?”
Xu Junying's face was cold. "I was away from home for only 20 days, and when I came back my wife was gone! The huge Weiyuan Marquis Mansion can't accommodate Weiyuan Marquis' wife and son. If this gets out, what will people think? I am away on official business under the emperor's order, but my wife and children can't live in peace at home. How can I serve the country with peace of mind?"
The second master raised his hand and wiped his forehead, stammering: "This... this..."
Old Madam Xu put away her kind face and frowned, "Junying, you haven't been home for more than 20 days. The whole family is worried about you. I worry about you day and night. I can't sleep well and I can't eat well. As soon as you come back, you treat your uncle, brothers, and grandmother like this? Qin is not as gentle and virtuous as she appears. You came from the palace, and you should have heard from the emperor: she disobeyed her elders first, and the empress dowager issued an imperial decree to divorce her. The emperor accepted the imperial decree of divorce because you were away on official business, and allowed her to enter the palace to accompany the queen. But she not only didn't know how to be grateful, but she was self-righteous. She took Heng'er out of the house at night. No one forced her. Your brothers tried to stop her, but she insulted them. Your uncle went to persuade her to go home, but she refused to meet him. Who can tolerate such a scoundrel?"
Xu Junying said coldly: "Thank you for your concern, grandmother! I left home when I was fourteen years old and have been away for ten years. My family should be used to it and don't need to worry about me! It's true that I came from the palace. I talked about official business with the emperor and didn't talk about personal matters. I don't know what the imperial decree of divorce means! Grandmother said so badly about my wife, but she could only do it in front of my family in Jinhua Hall. At the beginning, the emperor personally investigated her family background for me. She came from a prominent family in Yuezhou, a family of scholars, from my father-in-law up. , three generations of officials, her father-in-law died of illness at an early age, and her family fell into poverty, but she was strictly disciplined by her mother-in-law since she was a child, and she was literate and well-educated! The emperor will not give me a marriage casually, he has vision and insight! If Qin is really as bad as my grandmother said, would the emperor let her enter the palace to accompany the queen? There are so many civil and military officials in the court, nobles and nobles, and so many women from other families, but only she is valued by the queen, what does this show? Her talent and virtue are incomparable to ordinary women!"
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