Chapter 192 Night Cry
Heng'er crawled to Meimei's side. Meimei hugged him and put her face against his forehead. There was nothing unusual. She just touched his body and found that his body temperature was normal. The slight warmth disappeared. Seeing that he was in good spirits, she felt relieved. "Today was a little different. He cried twice. It seemed that he was not feeling well. But he was having a lot of fun. What happened? I didn't ask Cuisi, so I don't know how he ate dinner."
Xu Junying smiled: "I have seen him twice, he slept well, didn't make any noise, and didn't kick the quilt. He usually wakes up at this time. He can wake up on time, it seems that he is fine."
Meimei was embarrassed: Heng'er has had this habit for a long time. When he is woken up in the middle of the night, he is usually in a daze. Cuisi and the others are on duty, so how can they notice when he wakes up? Xu Junying is very clear that it seems that she is not a qualified mother.
Xu Junying is really speechless. Why is he watching over the mother and daughter? Is he an iron man? There is a night watchman, and he doesn't need him to meddle. He sleeps with Heng'er, and he looks at Heng'er, so he looks at himself too? This guy is not a decent person, maybe he is a peeping Tom. Fortunately, I have always looked up to him, thinking that he is a sanctimonious person, a very orthodox person who can do not look at inappropriate things.
Meimei put Heng'er into the quilt and coaxed him to close his eyes and go to sleep: "Don't play for so long, go to sleep now."
Heng'er's eyes were wide open, and he was in high spirits. He refused to sleep. I thought he was going to play games, so he came out again soon, laughing and shouting, crawling around in the room. Meimei was helpless and said to Xu Junying:
"Then let him have his fun. Lord Hou is working here, so he should have a pen and paper. Let's write down the agreement we just made."
Xu Junying nodded and walked to the table. Meimei opened the curtain and sat on the edge of the bed to stop Heng'er from falling off the bed. The two resumed their conversation.
Meimei said, "Let's write a hundred-day contract first. Within the hundred days, we will live as husband and wife, respect each other, and treat each other with respect. Lord Hou can live with us in Cen's house, or he can go back to the Hou Mansion. Heng'er and I are quite noisy. Considering that Lord Hou often brings back official documents to read, in order not to disturb him, we mother and son can also be more comfortable. Lord Hou will move to the left wing tomorrow. We will not disturb him, and he does not have to go into the upper bedroom to affect our rest."
Xu Junying's writing froze, as if he had encountered a word he couldn't write, and he looked up at her: "Meimei, since we are husband and wife, you should live together. There are so many maids and servants watching over me at home, and I can't even enter the upper room. How can I be called the head of the family?"
Meimei moved Heng'er to the bed and didn't look at Xu Junying: "It's up to you. I'm used to Cuisi and the others keeping watch. I can't sleep well with Lord Hou beside me."
Xu Junying felt sad: He was obsessed with watching over them, even if he had to stay up all night. Meimei had slept with him before and she slept well. She did this on purpose, making a hundred-day date to make things difficult for him. He gritted his teeth and wrote:
"As you wish, I won't stay in the upper room at night, but I will come in to talk and drink tea."
"Okay. I have a bad temper sometimes, please don't be surprised, Lord Hou. The so-called trial is to let you understand what kind of person you are facing, what her true nature is like, and whether she is worthy of your treatment. We can both think seriously about whether we can live together in this life... I am not from this dynasty, so my thoughts are naturally different. If I accept Lord Hou blindly now, what should I do if something unacceptable happens in the future? I want to leave a way out, I hope Lord Hou understands"
Xu Junying looked at her and nodded silently. Meimei continued, "After the 100 days, if either party feels dissatisfied or has other ideas, they can raise them and we can reason with them."
Xu Junying paused for a moment: "What do you think?"
Meimei smiled sarcastically: "I don't think you can have any other ideas. Maybe Lord Hou has some? Like a letter of divorce or something like that."
Xu Junying lowered his head and wrote: "I won't have..."
"Then we will be a real couple after a hundred days - I am so unlucky that I don't even have a wedding or a sedan chair. If I marry someone else, I can ask for a wedding ceremony, but I can't with you."
Xu Junying was very embarrassed and at a loss: "This, this is really not possible... We already have Heng'er, if you really want it, then..."
"Forget it, but I beg you to sign and seal it in person and give me a piece of paper."
As a couple, they still need to make a promise. Xu Junying swallowed hard and nodded: "Please go ahead."
"The first rule is that you must not have children within three years;"
Xu Junying was stunned: "This?"
Meimei was very calm: "Heng'er is still young. If he has younger siblings, they may not be able to take good care of him. We have to wait until he grows up."
Seeing Xu Junying reluctantly lowering his head to write, she quickly made a face at Heng'er, causing Heng'er to giggle.
After Xu Junying finished writing, Meimei said, "The second rule is that you can only have one husband and one wife, and you are not allowed to take a concubine or a mistress;"
"The third rule is to only live in the Cen residence, not return to the Hou residence, and not serve the elders of the Xu family."
Xu Junying couldn't write anymore: "Meimei, our parents' tablets are in the mansion. If we don't go back to live there, they won't be able to rest in peace. If we want to separate and live separately, just go to the old lady during the holidays and ask about it. I'm here, she won't make things difficult for you. Madam, you have to check on the second master and the second mistress from time to time..."
"I don't want to see them. This is my request. It's up to you whether you agree or not."
Meimei was unyielding and headstrong to the point of being unreasonable. Xu Junying put down his pen and quietly ground the ink. Meimei snorted inwardly: I can't handle you? I've been living under the same roof with you for so long in vain. Go ahead and explode. Let out whatever anger you have.
Unexpectedly, Xu Junying ground the ink for a while, picked up the pen and wrote the third one calmly, and asked:
"The fourth one?"
Meimei stared at him. This man was incredible and too profound. She had to admit defeat again:
"Article 4: If you go back to Qin's house or go out to visit friends, you can accompany him if you are allowed to, but you cannot go if you are not allowed to."
"The fifth rule is to discuss everything before taking action. You are not allowed to invite friends to the Cen residence on your own initiative. Whether the people in the Xu residence and the friends of Lord Hou come out to receive them depends on my mood."
Xu Junying looked up at her and said, "Change this - Madam, the Marquis."
Meimei wanted to bang her head against the wall, but Heng'er fell asleep on her legs, otherwise she would have jumped up: "Article 6, I will be given full freedom, and I am not allowed to be put under house arrest or have people sent to track my whereabouts. The money I earn from my business outside will be in my name and is my personal property. No one in the Xu Mansion, including Lord Hou, can interfere."
"Article 7?"
"That's all—" So what if there are a hundred? Is it interesting now?
Meimei looked at Xu Junying and said, "If you are dissatisfied with any of the above six points or violate them, please release me unconditionally."
Xu Junying wrote down this last sentence very carefully, signed and sealed it, put his fingerprint on it, and gave it to Meimei for inspection.
It was rare that Xu Junying had not read many books, but he could write neat and beautiful calligraphy. His calligraphy was like his personality, with a strong and firm brushstroke. The words were arranged neatly with the same distance between them. The whole piece of paper looked like soldiers standing in line. Meimei tried not to laugh. Xu Junying asked, "Have you written it? I put a lot of effort into it."
Seeing that he had a serious face, Meimei also became serious and said, "There shouldn't be many words. Let me take a look at it slowly. Mr. Hou, go and have a rest."
Xu Junying stared at her, his eyes slightly annoyed, with an ambiguous expression on his face. Meimei said, "What does Lord Hou want to say? Do you think I am overestimating myself? If you have any ideas, you can bring them up now."
"I don't"
Xu Junying lowered his eyes and said, "It's getting late. You should take a rest. I'll be there soon."
After saying this, he picked up the papers and pens on the table and walked out.
Meimei watched him walk out of the carved partition, smiled and threw the rectangular piece of paper flat into the depths of the bed, patted Heng'er gently, leaned over to pick him up, and said, "Let it dry there. This is very important. It's your mother's amulet. My dear son, don't break it for me."
Heng'er was very deep and was about to fall asleep. He woke up when Meimei moved, humming and making a fuss. Meimei patted him and coaxed him, fearing that he wanted to pee, so she carried him into the inner toilet. But Heng'er refused to pee and just kept making a fuss. Meimei wanted to go in to the toilet herself, but she put him in the toilet but was afraid that he would climb around and fall, so she simply carried him out of the bedroom.
In the study, Xu Junying was lying on the table, motionless. He heard Meimei shouting, "Is anyone there? Come in."
No one answered the door, so Meimei went to pull the door, coaxing Henger: "What's going on? There's no one here, let's open the door and see."
Xu Junying guessed that she was about to open the door, so he suddenly jumped up, walked out of the study quickly, and said:
"It's late at night, it's time to doze off, let them rest for a while, I'll get it for you if you want anything."
When Heng'er heard Xu Junying's voice, he turned around suddenly, stretched out his two little hands to him, and babbled something. Meimei said hurriedly:
"Look, we are disturbing Mr. Hou, but it doesn't mean anything. Mr. Hou, go and have a rest. I will hold Heng'er and walk around in the corridor, and then I will fall asleep."
Heng'er wanted Xu Junying to hold him, but Xu Junying came closer. Meimei refused and stepped back: "I can coax him, Lord Hou, go and rest."
Heng'er started crying and leaned towards Xu Junying, struggling hard. Meimei couldn't comfort him and almost couldn't hold him. Xu Junying reached out and took Heng'er, saying only one sentence: "Father will hold you, don't make a fuss anymore."
Heng'er stopped making a fuss and curled up obediently in Xu Junying's arms, but his eyes were looking at Meimei. Meimei looked at him in annoyance, stamped her feet, and turned back to the bedroom.
Heng'er looked up at Xu Junying, pointed his little finger in the direction of the bedroom, and uttered "ah ah" twice. Xu Junying touched his little head and said with a smile: "Heng'er, be good. Let mother take a rest. Let's come over here to play."
Carrying Heng'er to the hard couch in the small living room decorated by Meimei, Heng'er quickly took out the colorful literacy cards that Meimei made for him and the various small puppets that Cuilian made under her guidance, and showed them to Xu Junying like a treasure, chattering in the language of Lilliput that no one could understand. Xu Junying was a man of few words and did not answer him for every sentence, but occasionally hummed and nodded to show that he understood, and Heng'er was very happy. The father and son played on the couch for a while, and Meimei came out and stretched out her hand to Heng'er, "Son, come here. It's late at night, and you can't disturb anyone's sleep."
Heng'er quickly crawled to Xu Junying's side and hid in his arms. Xu Junying looked at Meimei's embarrassment, thought for a moment, picked him up and said, "It's time to go to bed. We can't let you go to bed like this all the time. This habit must be changed."
He carried Heng'er to the bedroom. Heng'er didn't make any noise. He lay on Xu Junying's shoulder and smiled at Meimei. Meimei scratched her head in annoyance, unable to do anything about him.
Xu Junying put Heng'er on the bed and covered him with a quilt. As soon as he left, Heng'er got up again. He turned back and put him under the quilt, tapping his forehead with his finger: "Don't move, go to sleep, get up tomorrow morning, and your father will take you out to play."
He walked to the table and said to Meimei, "Go to sleep. Call me if you need anything."
Meimei watched him leave, turned the light to the lowest setting, and lay down on the bed, but Heng'er quickly turned over and climbed up, rolling around on the inside of the bed. Meimei quickly got up and hurriedly put away the dried document on the inside of the bed. Heng'er curiously reached out to grab it, but Meimei folded it up and dodged him, as if she was playing a game with him. Heng'er laughed excitedly and babbled. Meimei grabbed him and stuffed him into the quilt, and pressed him down for less than a moment before he raised his head again. Meimei controlled him not to raise his head, and then punched and kicked him in the quilt, rushing left and right. In the end, the mother and son sat opposite each other in bed, staring at each other. Meimei was very depressed:
"What do you want?"
Heng'er pointed outside the bedroom and hummed. Meimei shook her head firmly: "If you don't have the ability, go find him yourself."
Heng'er pouted, and Meimei tapped his forehead: "You will sleep with the nanny tomorrow night, and with Sister Cuisi. It will be better when Sister Xia Lian comes. I don't want you anymore."
Heng'er looked at her, and suddenly he raised his head and burst into tears. In the silent and dark night, the child's cry was particularly loud. Meimei was startled and hurriedly took him into her arms to comfort him: "Okay, okay, I'll carry you. Don't cry, don't cry, please don't cry."
The gauze curtain moved, and Xu Junying came in: "What's wrong with Heng'er?"
Meimei was startled again and turned to look at him: "It's okay, it's okay, go out, I will comfort him"
But Heng'er got out of her arms, grabbed Xu Junying, and screamed. Meimei was forced to move away and move to the inside of the bed. Xu Junying sat on the edge of the bed, hugged Heng'er and said a few words, then put him in the quilt and said, "Close your eyes and go to sleep. Your father is watching you here. If you make trouble again, you will be punished."
Heng'er lay there obediently, not making any noise or moving around. Meimei pulled at the ends of her hair, full of resentment: When Xu Junying was not around, Cuisi and the others did nothing wrong in the middle of the night, but when Xu Junying came, this kid made such a fuss. What's the meaning? Is he deliberately going against me?
Xu Junying patted Heng'er and looked at Meimei: "You are wearing too little. Cover yourself with a quilt. It's cold at night."
Meimei nodded, but did nothing, nor did she speak, and she didn't want to talk.
Xu Junying pulled a quilt over and let her hug it: "Do you think you can change it? Heng'er is close to me, and I can coax him at night, so you don't have to move out, right? 56 Library has a lot of words"
Meimei lowered her head and closed her eyes. She was really sleepy: "Tomorrow night, let him sleep with the nanny."
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