Chapter 24 The old witch is making trouble again
By the time it was time to light the lamps, the snow had finally stopped.
In the warm room in the main courtyard of Weiyuan Marquis' Mansion, it was warm and cozy, with the charcoal fire burning brightly, dispelling the chill of the winter night.
The round table made of huanghuali wood was filled with exquisite dishes. Weiyuan Hou Cui Yan finally escaped from the Ministry of War and rushed back exhausted.
He was dressed in a dark casual suit, shedding the majesty of the court. Looking at his son and wife sitting around the table, there was an unconcealable warmth in his eyes.
"Dad!" Cui Xiao stood up and walked towards him with a smile.
"The Marquis is back."
Xiao Zhou also stood up and took the cloak that Cui Yan had taken off. Her movements were natural and smooth, and the gentleness in her eyes and eyebrows was completely different from the harshness when she just scolded Cui Baiyu.
"Yeah, I'm back."
Cui Yan patted his son's shoulder and nodded to Xiao Zhou, his voice hoarse with relief.
"Please sit down, we are family, no need to be so polite."
The family of three sat down again.
There is no rule of not talking while eating or sleeping. Cui Xiao talked about interesting things in the palace with great enthusiasm. Xiao Zhou picked up some food for him from time to time and kept nagging him to eat slowly.
Cui Yan listened quietly, occasionally asking a question or two, with a faint smile on his lips.
The table was filled with steam and laughter, blocking out the cold winter night outside the mansion and the gloom of Yanshou Hall.
In the warm room in the west wing next door, the young eunuch Xiao Shunzi was also arranged very well.
Chunlan, the maidservant in the Marquis's mansion, personally brought four hot dishes and a soup. Although not as exquisite as the imperial meals in the palace, they were still delicious and made with the best ingredients. She also boiled a pot of the best pear blossom white tea.
"Eunuch Shun, please enjoy the food slowly. If there is anything that does not suit your taste, please feel free to tell me." Chunlan smiled appropriately, and her attitude was respectful but not flattering.
Xiao Shunzi quickly stood up and thanked
"Sister, you are so polite! The Marquis's Mansion has provided such excellent hospitality. I am so grateful!"
He knew clearly in his mind that this standard far exceeded the treatment given to ordinary palace servants.
The Marquis of Weiyuan and his wife are a tribute to Eunuch Fu'an, and even more so to Your Majesty.
He ate his food in small bites, but his ears were always paying attention to the movements in the main courtyard. He had a professional smile on his face, but in his heart he was quickly thinking about how to report after returning to the palace - the relationship between the marquis's family and the main house was harmonious, the prince was loved by his parents, and the lady... well, her temperament was quite "straightforward".
The joyful dinner in the main courtyard ended at the end of the Xu hour.
Cui Yan put down his chopsticks, took the hot tea handed to him by Xiao Zhou, rinsed his mouth, glanced at his son, and then glanced at the direction of the west wing, and said thoughtfully
"It's getting late. I should go to Yanshou Hall to pay my respects to my mother."
The smile on Xiao Zhou's face faded a little. She didn't say anything, but just said "hmm" softly.
Cui Xiao also restrained his smile and nodded.
The family of three, along with the invited Xiao Shunzi, walked slowly out of the main courtyard, walked along the bluestone path that had been cleared of snow, and headed towards the Yanshou Hall deep in the mansion, which exuded the smell of medicine and decay all year round.
Xiao Shunzi followed Cui Xiao half a step behind him, with his eyebrows lowered and his eyes humbled, his steps light and silent.
Inside Yanshou Hall, the atmosphere was as oppressive as the Dead Sea before a storm.
Old Madam Zhou sat dejectedly on the kang covered with a thick brocade mattress, her crooked face twisted with extreme anger and frustration, her cloudy eyes staring fixedly at the door.
In the afternoon, Cui Baiyu came back crying and complained in exaggerated terms about how Xiao Zhou had "maliciously insulted" her and how Cui Xiao had "watched with indifference."
It pushed the rage she'd been accumulating all day to its peak! That bitch! That little bastard! How dare she humiliate her and her daughter like that!
She was holding back a rage and had been waiting since the afternoon until dark, waiting for Cui Xiao to come and pay his respects so that she could vent out this rage!
She wanted to make that little bastard kneel on the cold ground and listen to his lecture! She wanted him to "serve" Jun'er from the second house! She wanted him to know that in this mansion, she, the old feudal lord, was still there!
"They are here! The master, the mistress and the prince are here!" The trusted maid guarding the door reported in a low voice.
Madam Zhou's cloudy eyes suddenly burst into a resentful light, a strange hoarse sound came from her throat, and her hands like dry claws were tightly digging into the quilt, ready to explode the moment Cui Xiao stepped in!
The door curtain was lifted.
Cui Yan walked in first, his tall figure carrying an invisible pressure.
Next came Xiao Zhou, who had a dignified demeanor and a calm expression.
Then came Cui Xiao, standing tall and straight with a calm expression.
Madam Zhou's resentful gaze was like a poisoned arrow, about to shoot towards Cui Xiao, but suddenly froze!
She saw the little eunuch standing beside Cui Xiao, who was wearing dark blue eunuch clothes, with his brows lowered and his hands hanging down, but with a strong presence like a shadow!
People around the emperor!
Why did he follow?!
The resentment and anger that had been accumulating for the entire day and was about to burst out was like being poured over the head with a basin of ice-cold water!
It instantly froze in her throat, blocking her vision and causing severe pain in her heart! She opened her mouth and a sound came out of her throat.
"Huh... Huh..." He gasped in breaths as rapidly as a broken bellows, his face turned from ashen blue to a terrifying purple-red, his body began to tremble violently, and it looked like he was about to pass out!
The second master Cui Jun, who was sitting below and was bored, was startled and quickly stood up to help, but was frightened by the horrifying appearance of Madam Zhou and retracted his hand.
Cui Jun naturally also saw Xiao Shunzi.
He was stunned for a moment, then his face revealed undisguised contempt and disgust.
A eunuch! The lowest servant in the palace!
Are you worthy enough to enter the house and stand in the Yanshou Hall of the Marquis' Mansion?
Big Brother is really getting worse as he gets older! He snorted with disdain, and his eyes swept over Xiao Shunzi as if he were looking at something dirty, and the contempt he showed was almost tangible.
How perceptive was Xiao Shunzi? The second master's naked contemptuous look was like a needle piercing him.
He sneered in his heart, but remained respectful on the surface. He just lowered his head even lower, and a hint of coldness flashed across his eyes - what a second master of Weiyuan Marquis's Mansion!
Old Madam Zhou was helped by several maids and servants to breathe and give her water. It took a while before she finally caught her breath and collapsed on the kang, with only the strength left to gasp weakly and glare at Cui Xiao and Xiao Shunzi with resentment.
Cui Yan seemed not to notice his mother's embarrassment and his brother's stupidity. He walked forward with his wife and children and saluted politely.
"Son/daughter-in-law/grandson, pay your respects to your mother."
Xiao Shunzi also bowed in greeting.
"This servant pays his respects to the old lady."
Old Madam Zhou's throat made a hoarse sound and she couldn't utter a complete sentence. She just stared at Cui Xiao.
Seeing his mother like this, Cui Jun felt distressed and angry, and hated Cui Xiao even more for "angering" his mother.
His eyes rolled, and he remembered his mother and sister's plan in the afternoon. He immediately jumped out, pointed at Cui Xiao, and shouted to Madam Zhou:
"Mother! Calm down! Isn't Xiao Ge'er here? Haven't you always told Xiao Ge'er to be 'friendly' to his brothers and take good care of Jun Ge'er?
Just in time! Jun'er is tired from practicing calligraphy today, and his shoulders are a little sore. Xiao'er, come over here and give your brother Jun a shoulder massage to loosen up his muscles! This is also your duty as a brother!"
As soon as these words were spoken, even the maids and servants serving beside them could not help but lower their heads, thinking that the excuse the Second Master had made was... too shameless!
Asking the newly returned Crown Prince, the face of the Imperial family, to give a shoulder massage to a cousin born out of wedlock? This is a blatant humiliation!
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