Chapter 187 Leisure Day
Xu Junying sat in the room, drank a few cups of tea, and waited and waited, but Meimei did not come back with Heng'er. He thought that he must have been ignored by her, and the mother and son went about playing by themselves, regardless of how bored and lonely he, the head of the family who was at home during the summer vacation, was.
When I got up and walked out of the room, Cui Lian was just bringing in some fresh fruits with her little maid. She bowed and said, "These are fresh fruits that were just sent down from the palace. Madam, if you want to eat some, we have washed them and will bring some over for you to try."
Xu Junying said: "Cui Lian, I told you last night that although we are living in the outer house now, we should not mess up the titles. The Madam is in the mansion, and this is the Young Madam."
Cui Lian lowered her head: "I will remember it."
"Where are the young lady and Heng'er?"
Cui Lian said, "The rain stopped, and the young lady took Heng Ge'er to the garden to watch dragonflies."
Xu Junying nodded: "Okay, I'll go to the garden too... What kind of fruit is this? If it's washed and can't be kept, you can share it and eat it."
Water was still dripping from the eaves, and the flowers, plants and trees in the yard were washed and soaked by the rain, becoming more colorful and brighter with red, lush and green.
Xu Junying left the main courtyard and wandered around the garden, but he didn't see any trace of Meimei and her son. He didn't even hear their voices.
The previous owner knew how to enjoy life, and he spent a large amount of money to renovate the place where he lived. The Cen residence occupies less than one-third of the area of the Hou Mansion, and cannot compare with the luxury of the Hou Mansion, but its overall structure is exquisite and wonderful, graceful and elegant, with pavilions, towers, rockery and corridors, and even an exquisite stone boat next to a lotus and fish pond of moderate size. The garden is full of flowers, plants and trees, regardless of whether they are valuable or not, but those that are suitable for courtyard planting and flourishing are planted everywhere, making the garden lush and green, the flower garden clustered and full of vitality. The corridors and flower paths in the garden crisscross, and are paved with the now very valuable ice crack water-polished marble, or with natural and simple pebbles, fresh and clean. After a heavy rain, it is very pleasant to stroll in the garden and enjoy the scenery.
Looking at the beautiful scenery, hearing the chirping of birds in the garden, breathing the sweet fragrance of flowers in the air, Xu Junying's heart, which had been tense, relaxed unconsciously. He was secretly flustered for a moment because his grandmother was so angry that she fell ill. Later, he saw that Lao Liu was calm and did not give any special hints when the brothers exchanged glances. He stood up to send him out and he did not say anything. He thought that the old lady was in good health on weekdays, and when she left the house, her second uncle and younger brother were around her, so it should not be a big deal. But after all, she was angry with him and fell ill. He still had to go back to the house to see her. Meimei could not go back with him now, so he had to talk to her before leaving.
When he was following his father, his father often taught him to be filial to his grandmother and mother. His grandmother gave birth to his father, but his great-grandmother took away the eldest son to raise. He was sad for a long time and ran to the gate of his great-grandmother's yard every day just to hear his father's crying and laughing. It was not until his second uncle was born that he felt better. Whenever his grandmother told his father about this past event, both mother and son would cry for a while. His father's filial piety to his grandmother was unmatched. Unless he was not at home, he would personally serve her three meals a day and stay with her. Even his second uncle could not do this. Of course, his second uncle spent more time with his grandmother. His father was away from home all year round, and his time in Beijing was very few. His stepmother, Zheng, was a virtuous woman in his father's eyes. Xu Junying had been with her since he was two or three years old. She had taken good care of him and had never treated him badly. Now, she had also been harmed by Zheng Meiyu and was paralyzed in bed. Xu Junying did not want to say anything to her, but could only try his best to treat and regulate her, and asked the servants around her to serve her well, hoping that she could recover. He would obey her wishes, make Heng'er the crown prince, and the family would live together. He thought she would have nothing to be dissatisfied with.
He was also hesitant and had some thoughts. After all, establishing a crown prince was a matter of great importance. If Heng'er inherited the title in the future, what would happen to his own child? It was Meimei's words that made him think clearly and his mood suddenly became clear. Meimei, who came from a foreign land, was courageous, ambitious, and magnanimous. She was a little girl who sat leisurely in the mansion and manipulated a group of people outside to make money for herself. She wanted to take Heng'er away, saying that Heng'er did not need to be a crown prince. He just needed to live the life he wanted and did not have to do things he did not want to do. That was enough.
Because of Meimei, he gained another kind of confidence: his descendants will have their own blessings, and there is no need to think so much about them.
In this case, we should follow the rules of our ancestors. As the eldest son, Heng'er is the crown prince and he should inherit the title in the future.
Xu Junying was distracted as he strolled along the ice-patterned stone corridor. He passed through a moon-shaped door and saw a sea of splendid flowers in front of him. The corridor on the left was hidden in the wisteria forest, while the corridor on the right turned to a rockery made of Taihu stones. The sound of water was faintly heard behind the rockery. He thought for a moment and walked along the corridor on the right.
After passing the rockery, there was another wonder in front of him. There was a winding stream in Cen's house. There was a gurgling sound when the water level rose and fell. Xu Junying felt strange. This was a city with streets all around and surrounded by countless houses. Where did the source of the stream come from? After a closer look, he finally understood. The round pool he had just walked past was nothing special, but the crescent-shaped pool in front of him was interesting. He didn't know how the previous owner had created a small stream. The water came from the east corner of the pool and flowed to the west corner of the pool along the carefully paved channel. Xu Junying looked at the stream and secretly praised the previous owner for his ingenuity and for making this ingenious project.
There was a square pavilion beside the pond. As the weather warmed up, the carved partitions on the four sides of the pavilion had been removed. Meimei had brought Heng'er here to play. At this moment, she and the maids and servants were huddled together inside, doing something unknown. Sometimes they held their breath and were silent, and sometimes they were chattering and laughing non-stop.
Xu Junying walked over, and the little girl turned around and saw him, and shouted, "Master Hou is here." Everyone left the table they were sitting around and stood aside with their heads down and behaved properly.
Heng'er sat on a cotton mat, Cuisi stood beside the table to support him. Meimei covered the small square porcelain basin and quickly stuffed it under the table. She stood up, slightly bent her knees towards Xu Junying, and smiled:
"Mr. Hou is so free, I thought you went back to the mansion to see the old lady."
Heng'er lost his interesting toy and cried out. Xu Junying approached him. As soon as he stretched out his hand, he climbed onto Xu Junying's arm. Xu Junying hugged him and said to Meimei with a smile:
"You two are having fun here, and you want me to go back to the mansion to see the old lady alone? That's not fair. You should at least see me off. Also, I should bring something back. The old lady is sick, and it's not good to go to see her empty-handed."
Meimei grumbled to herself, wanting him to leave quickly. She had learned how to fight crickets from the eunuch in the palace, and then she came back and caught a few in her own garden and tamed them for a few days. Today she just found it fun to pinch them, but now that he came, she couldn't play anymore.
Then he instructed the little maid Chuncao, "Go find Cuilian and ask her to pack half of the rewards from the palace this morning, and also pack some of the top-quality bird's nests and shark's fins that I brought back from the palace a few days ago. Pack them into two portions. Hmm, let me see - pack them into three portions? Forget it, it won't work if I give one to Rulan and not the second wife. How about four portions?"
Then he said to Xu Junying, "Give one portion of those supplements to the old lady, the first lady, the second lady, and Rulan, please take them to the mansion, and explain that they come from the palace, so that no one will get hurt after eating them."
Xu Junying looked at her and said, "Nonsense again - the Queen gave it to you, and there's not enough for everyone to share, why don't you keep it for yourself?"
Meimei suddenly realized: "Oh, right, why should I share it with them?"
He was about to ask someone to call back Chuncao, but Xu Junying stopped him and said, "I've already given the order, let them do it, there will be more next time."
Meimei was not feeling sorry for the Queen. She didn't even blink an eye when she received the rewards from the Queen. There were plenty of these things, and she just wanted to give some to the First Wife and Rulan. As a result, she procrastinated and the Old Wife and the Second Wife also got some. She didn't want them to think that she was trying to curry favor with them.
After sending Xu Junying to the second gate, he said to him, "Just say it was a reward from the palace. Don't mention anything else, otherwise your grandmother will not be well."
Xu Junying nodded: "I understand, don't worry."
It’s none of my business. Why should I worry?
Meimei complained inwardly and motioned Cuisi to take Heng'er. She watched Baoju load all kinds of items into the car and couldn't help but sigh:
It is easier to invite a god than to send him away. Although Xu Junying came uninvited, it cost a lot to send him away. All the things spent were imperial gifts. I hope the old lady is more seriously ill so that he can serve her for a few more days. After the vacation period approved by the emperor, he will be busy. We should see each other less and have less contact with each other until the distance gradually cools down.
Xu Junying only took Baoju back to Hou Mansion, leaving Baizhan at Cen's residence. Before leaving, he said to Meimei, "Wait for me for dinner, I'll be back soon."
Meimei didn't respond, she just smiled and thought to herself, "Just go ahead. Whether you can come back or not is another matter."
When Xu Junying returned to the Hou Mansion, Heng'er was a little sleepy, so Meimei had to let the little maid take care of the crickets. She coaxed Heng'er to have lunch and took a nap with him.
The weather in spring is unpredictable. It was cloudy in the morning, but the sun shone brightly in the afternoon. It was sunny and bright. The mother and son woke up and played in the corridor. Meimei was thinking about whether to go to the cyclamen to take a look. Suddenly, she saw Mother Zou leading Lin Runan in. She couldn't help but clap her hands happily:
"Okay, I was just thinking about going out, and you're here just in time, let's go out together."
Lin Runan seemed unhappy, turned his head back and pouted. Meimei looked over and found that it was the King of Qi following behind him.
Meimei hurried over and bowed, "Welcome, His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi."
Behind them, Cui Lian, Cui Si and other maids knelt on the ground. The King of Qi waved his hands impatiently: "Get up, get up, do what you need to do, there is no need to stand in front of me."
Meimei was a little depressed: Why are these men so rude when they come to her private house? They order the servants around and act more politely than she, the proper master.
The King of Qi seemed a little low-key today. He did not wear a purple gold crown, but only a jade hoop and a satin ribbon to tie his hair. He wore a silver floral robe, and a light green jade belt tied with a delicate palace belt, from which hung a crystal clear jade pendant with a pearl and a dragon on it. It was the only symbol of his noble royal status.
It is made by】.
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