Chapter 257 Incident
The next day, Meimei was sitting in Ziyun Hall listening to the maid's reply when Cuisi brought Ruihong from Jinhua Hall in, bowed and greeted them, saying that Mother Ji had sent her to report to the eldest grandmother: the old lady refused to eat breakfast, and had been cursing angrily all morning, and then burst into tears. The girls and the fourth grandmother came to pay their respects, but they couldn't persuade her to stop, and the men were not at home. What should they do?
Meimei knew what was going on, but pretended to know nothing. She asked Ruihong to sit down, gave her a cup of tea, and asked her questions for a long time in front of the housekeepers who were talking to each other in the room. Then she suddenly understood:
"Is that so? Sigh, such a big incident happened in the West Mansion, and the old lady was furious. But fortunately, she didn't faint like last time, so she is much better now! You go by yourself, I'll be there soon!"
Ruihong stood up, bowed, and walked back to Jinhua Hall. The housekeepers heard it carefully and laughed secretly: the old lady has always doted on the second wife, and she would faint if the first wife did not do her bidding. Last time, she refused to eat or drink for a small matter, causing unrest in the whole mansion. Now that such a big scandal has happened in the West Mansion, the old lady not only did not faint, but also had the energy to scold... Did she think that if she fainted and no one cared, the West Mansion would be even more chaotic?
Meimei finished her work at Ziyun Hall and left, but she didn't go to Jinhua Hall. She wasn't that stupid. If she went to the old lady now, it would be a demonstration and ridicule in her eyes. The old lady was so angry that she would find a random excuse to scold her and then roll her eyes and faint. Wouldn't she become the scapegoat of the second master? If the old lady was paralyzed and died of anger at this time, it would be all Cen Meimei's fault!
She still asked Cuixi and Lin Pozi to arrange people to go to Jinhua Hall to listen to the news, and she chose to go to Qiuhua Courtyard. Her son was there, so it was safer to accompany her sick mother-in-law who could not speak. She would wait until Xu Junying came back before she did anything else. Everyone has that mentality. When something dangerous happens, the more people around, the better. When something ugly happens, the fewer people standing around, the better. If she doesn't go now, I believe no one will miss her.
The second master secretly kept a mistress outside, which violated the taboo of the court officials. Without the support of the Hou Mansion, how could he dare to be so bold? The girl he kept was not a virgin from a good family, but a romantic widow whose husband had died less than a year ago, and she was pregnant. Finally, the second wife sent someone to find out, and she took the maids to block them early in the morning. The second master had no time to change his clothes. He was sitting in the hall with the pregnant woman in his home clothes and drinking morning tea. The second wife threw a broom at him, hitting him in the face. Not only was his forehead scratched by the hard bamboo skin, but he was almost knocked unconscious. He was furious and slapped the second wife twice. The second wife usually pretended to be sick in the mansion. The idiot was quite strong. The couple wrestled with each other and made a loud noise. Soon, their hair was disheveled, their faces and necks were scratched, and their silk clothes were torn into pieces. The master and his wife, who used to be neatly dressed, serious and dignified, had completely changed. They looked slightly better than street beggars. The pregnant woman was also caught by the old women, but they didn't dare to do anything to her out of consideration for the child in her belly. They just slapped her in the face from time to time, making her face swollen and purple, as ugly as a pig. It was hard to tell what had attracted the second master's attention.
The second wife came prepared, not just to make a scene to vent her anger. Seeing the second master and the woman in such a miserable state, she jumped away, stroked her temples, snorted coldly, and turned to go out. A large number of servants from the Xu Mansion came in and carried the woman away. The second master was a scholarly civil servant who rarely rode a horse. How could he fight against a dozen strong women who were used to doing rough work? Moreover, these women were unfamiliar and did not look like people from the Xu Mansion. They did not listen to the shouting and watched their beloved woman being carried away. They had no choice but to follow in a hurry. Even if they were slightly covered up along the way, it was still ostentatious enough. There were countless people watching on the streets and alleys, pointing and talking, thinking that something had happened in the Xu Mansion to make such a big fuss.
Xu Junlang and Xu Junya were called back by their mother's family. They were angry but helpless. The son should not blame the father. No matter what scandal the father got into, the son would only be implicated and could not even fart.
It would be bad enough if he kept a mistress secretly, but he dared to make such a big fuss. If the news spread and reached the ears of the censors, not only would his father be impeached and dismissed from office, but his brothers would also be affected. In the next few years, before their boss was replaced, they could forget about anything good happening to them. They would be blessed if they were not laughed at by their colleagues.
The two brothers rode past the gate of the mansion with their heads down. Looking at the tall and majestic gatehouse from afar, Xu Junlang felt very uncomfortable when he thought about how they used to go in and out through this gate. He said to Xu Junya:
"Hurry back. If the old lady wants to ask about something, she must ask them to go to Jinhua Hall. This matter cannot go through Hou Mansion. If Hou Mansion is also affected, the reputation of the Xu family will be ruined!"
Xu Junya responded, spurred his horse to a quick ride, and ran back to the West Mansion first.
In Songyayuan, Xifu, the old lady sent someone to pass on the message: Come over here and die!
After this incident, the Second Madam was already disheartened with the Second Master. She walked up to him without hesitation and said:
"Let's go! Let's go to the old lady and let her see what a playboy her beloved son is!"
The second master was so angry that he slapped her: "You ignorant and stupid woman! How dare you disrespect the old lady? Are you tired of living? I will divorce you!"
"Divorce me? Why? I gave birth to two sons for the Xu family. My sons have their own futures. You dare to divorce me? If it weren't for my eldest son Junlang and my eldest daughter-in-law who worked hard to fill the gap for you, would you be where you are today? My second son Junya has just been in office for less than half a year, but he has been commended. The higher-ups are very fond of him and promotion is just around the corner. Aren't you also very proud of yourself, boasting about it when you drink with your colleagues? Now you want to divorce me, so you don't want them anymore? I haven't forgotten that you have another son! The fifth son Junqiao, born to my humble concubine, and the bastard in that bitch's belly! All right! Let's go to the old lady and write me a divorce letter. Woo woo woo! Drive me and my son out!"
The Second Master was pulling and shoving her, with clear scars on his face, blood stains that had not been washed away, and sweat dripping down, looking in a miserable state. At this moment, Aunt Yan came with her daughter-in-law Fang, holding Shen Ge'er. Aunt Yan saw the pregnant woman huddled in the corner of the corridor, and she rushed over with shrieking and crying, slapping her in the face and scratching her. The woman also started crying loudly. The Second Master could not get rid of the Second Wife and could not stop Aunt Yan. He was almost fainted with anger. The quarrel was getting out of control when Xu Junya hurried in. Seeing this chaotic scene, she swung the horsewhip with a cold face and hit the stone table beside her. With a crisp sound and a series of screaming noises, the set of blue and white porcelain teapots and teacups on the table were all broken into pieces.
Everyone was stunned. The second master pointed at Xu Junya with a shaking finger: "You, you are going to piss me off to death! This is my favorite thing!"
Xu Junya didn't even look at him. She walked over to help the second wife over and sat down on the stone bench: "Mother, take a rest first. Don't get angry and get sick. Someone, come! Bring some hot tea to the madam!"
The second wife was greatly comforted, but also overwhelmed with grief. She held her son's hand and sobbed.
Bai Jingyu and Ning Rulan walked into the yard one after another. Bai Jingyu did it on purpose. After seeing off the second wife, he took Ning Rulan to the meeting room to listen to the maid's reply and take care of the affairs of the mansion. He only came back after finishing his work.
The second wife's men followed the second master to the house at the end of Lianzi Lane and kept watch from last night until this morning. They did not see the master come out, so one of them stayed to keep watch while the other went home to report the news. Although the second wife had a premonition and had arranged for people to track him down many times without success, she was still shocked and angry when she got the exact news. She went to find her eldest daughter-in-law and cried as she said:
"I am old and have become a yellow-faced woman with no hope. I am alive only to see you live a good life. But now your father has done this. Not only has he spoiled the son born to his lowly concubine for many years, but he has also kept a mistress outside. I heard that she is pregnant. If the baby is a son, the Xu family values male offspring the most and will definitely recognize him as a descendant. In the future, you brothers will have one more person to fight for the ancestral property. What should you do? The eldest house has separated us, and without the glory of the Hou Mansion, this ancestral property should belong to you brothers. If the master divides it among the illegitimate sons in the past few years, what will you have?"
Bai Jingyu was also shocked by the absurdity of the Second Master. He already had a bunch of children and grandchildren, but he was still messing around outside and wanted to have a child! According to the Second Master's temperament of valuing his sons, if it was a son, he would definitely bring him back and give him the title of a bastard!
As long as the baby is born, brought into the house and recognized by the old lady, he can enter the ancestral hall to recognize his ancestors. He will have the right to divide the family property with his three brothers. The second wife is unwilling to accept this and will not agree to it. How could Bai Jingyu agree to it?
After thinking about it, he had to give advice to the Second Wife. The Second Wife naturally understood that Bai Jingyu was pregnant, so she did not let her show up. She told her to stay in the house and take care of herself and Rulan. Then, according to Bai Jingyu's words, she took Mother Zhao to make arrangements and headed straight to Lianzi Lane in the north of the city, which led to that lively scene.
Xu Junlang went to Jinhua Hall in Hou Mansion to pick up the old lady. The old lady refused to move at first. For some reason, she felt overwhelmed at the thought of leaving Jinhua Hall. When she was young, she gave orders in this yard, and she could still find the feeling of power and authority. She lived out her old age here. The various ingenious buildings, rare trees, flowers and birds, and wonderful scenery in the yard took up too much of her thought and energy. Even if she died, she wanted to die here!
But after hearing what her grandson said, she was silent for a long time and had to stretch out her hand to Mother Ji, which was a signal to Mother Ji: Just go, this is the only way!
Sitting in the sedan chair, the old lady slowly looked at the scenery on both sides. Before the palace was divided, she seldom came here. After the palace was divided, she just asked the maids to carry her around for a while. In fact, the West Palace was not much worse than the Hou Mansion. It had houses, pavilions, lotus ponds, rockery, curved bridges and corridors. It just had its own merits compared to the Hou Mansion. Perhaps, what everyone cared about was just the glory of the Marquis. Without that circle of glory, nothing would be satisfactory.
The old lady sighed and entered Songya Courtyard. Seeing the shabby appearance of her son and daughter-in-law, especially her beloved youngest son, who was at least a third-rank official, his hair was disheveled and his face was covered with scars and blood. How could he still look so dignified as before? The old lady's chest was filled with blood and her throat felt sweet. She spat out a large mouthful of blood!
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