Chapter 101 The Old Lady is Angry
As soon as the first wife arrived at Shouxi Hall, she wanted to punish the second wife and Zhiqiu, but was stopped by the old lady. The first wife had no choice but to tell the old lady straight away that it was the second wife who disobeyed her and beat the people she sent, which was extremely unfilial. If she did not punish them, she would not be able to establish her authority.
When the old lady heard this, although she was angry about what the eldest wife had done, it was Xier who beat the person she sent after all. In ancient times, filial piety was the most important thing in everything. No matter how wrong this mother-in-law was, she was still an elder. If she disobeyed, she would be unfilial. After the eldest wife said this, it was not easy to protect her. She pretended to be confused, looked at Mengxi with confusion, and asked:
"Didn't Xi'er say that the two girls took the Taoist priest to the east wing on their own initiative?"
"Replying to the old lady and the first wife, this matter was said by Bing Xin Yu Xin herself, and the maids and servants in Xiaoxiang Courtyard can all testify. If the old lady and the first wife don't believe it, you can send someone over to ask and you will know."
When Mengxi heard the old lady asking, she hurriedly replied.
"Bing Xin Yu Xin said that they couldn't stand the beating, so they reluctantly admitted that it was their own idea."
"After all, my daughter-in-law was brought into the Xiao family in a sedan chair, so she must have some status. How could she lie here? How could the eldest lady trust me and not my daughter-in-law? Besides, the maids and old women in the courtyard can testify to this. If the old lady summoned those servants to come over and ask them, they would know that they did admit it themselves."
"Was it my cousin's wife who beat Bing Xin Yu Xin first, or did they say it was their own idea first?"
Xiu'er took advantage of the situation and asked immediately.
"To reply Madam, I am just thinking that Madam is the mistress of a noble family, she is graceful and generous, and her status is so noble, how could she easily believe the Taoist's evil words and order the maid to do such a dirty thing, which is despised by the world. If I really believed it, and let the Taoist into my room, it would be a small matter to tarnish my innocence, but it would be bad to damage the reputation of the Second Master. Thinking like this, I would rather die than believe that this was the Madam's idea. It must be the maid who bullied the master behind her back. How can such a slut tell the truth without being beaten? Of course, she would only tell the truth after being beaten first."
Mengxi's words made the eldest wife's face turn red and white. Normally, letting the Taoist priest perform rituals in her daughter-in-law's room was not a big deal, but it was easier said than done. Now, the second wife said it as a dirty thing that was despised by the world. If she admitted that she had ordered someone to do it, she would not be worthy of being the mistress of a noble family and would lose face.
If she didn't admit that it was her order, then Second Madam was not wrong to beat the servant, and she was even rewarded. But Second Madam did such a treasonous thing, how could she be forgiven so easily? Sitting there, he was in a dilemma, thinking that he had to punish Second Madam as soon as he entered the house, and now he said that she was not wrong, and seeing the attitude of the old lady, he couldn't let her off easily. Thinking of this, he made up his mind and said:
"How dare you! I am here to testify in person that I was the one who sent Bing Xin Yu Xin. How dare you quibble?"
"My wife, too, how could I believe the words of that evil Taoist? I just sent someone over there and let that Taoist get into Xi'er's room. If the news got out, not only would it ruin Xi'er's reputation, but she would also be ridiculed by her relatives and friends. How could this be what a lady of an aristocratic family should do?"
The old lady saw that the first wife ignored her and sat next to her, scolding the second wife and not even looking at her as her mother-in-law, and she became angry, but had no reason to get angry. With Mengxi's previous words as a prelude, the old lady was waiting for the wife to admit it herself, so as soon as the first wife finished speaking , she started to attack without waiting for Mengxi to speak.
When the eldest wife heard this, she knew that the old lady was unhappy, and she felt bitter. She thought that she had not thought about what happened today. She only regretted that she had underestimated the second wife who usually stayed in the east wing and was submissive to her. So she softened her voice and said to the old lady:
"The old lady doesn't know. I didn't believe it at first. It's just that Xiu'er fell ill for no reason a few days ago . She saw several doctors, but none of them could help. Later, she found two Taoist priests, who said that Xiu'er's fate was in conflict with Second Madam. So I performed a ritual for Xiu'er in Yangxin Garden, and Xiu'er's illness was cured. Only then did I believe it. I thought that when the Taoist priest performed the ritual, he could send more people to look after her. Second Madam could hide away and her reputation wouldn't be tarnished. I was worried that Xi'er would have a hard life and would harm Jun'er. I thought that performing a ritual would help her avoid a disaster, so it was worth it. We are all made of flesh and blood. It would be bad if something happened to anyone. So I didn't think too much about it."
"I also heard that Xiu'er was ill these past two days, and she recovered after a ritual."
"Yes, old lady, Xiu'er drank the medicine for a few days, but it didn't work. Xiu'er didn't believe it at first, but after the ritual this morning, Xiu'er got better. Look, old lady, Xiu'er is fine now."
When the old lady asked, Xiu'er nodded quickly.
After hearing this, the old lady remained silent. In her heart, she still believed that Xiu'er defeated Jun'er and Xi'er was the noble one. However, in front of Xiu'er and the first lady, she had no real evidence and it would be bad if she said it out loud in case the first lady caught her weakness. So she remained silent for a while.
Seeing that the old lady was silent, the eldest wife thought to herself that it was not possible to punish the second wife in front of the old lady, but she had done such a rebellious thing, so she couldn't let it go. It would be good to beat Zhiqiu first to show her power. If Zhiqiu couldn't stand the beating and said something, there would be a chance to turn things around. Although it was a bit excessive to punish a servant in front of the old lady, the second wife was unfilial first, and the old lady couldn't say anything even if she was unhappy, so she said:
"Come here, take this servant who tempted the master to do evil and slap him in the face."
After hearing this, Mengxi was at a loss. She had said and done everything she should say and do. Now she could only wait. Wait for the Second Master to return home and be poisoned by her poison. Then the trap she had laid would be effective. Looking at the sky, it was bright. Zhiqiu was doomed to suffer physical pain. She knelt there and looked at Zhiqiu with heartache. Zhiqiu gave her a reassuring look, and then she was grabbed by the old woman and started to beat. Xiu'er felt relieved when she saw that.
Just after the second beating, a little maid ran in in a panic. The old lady saw that the eldest wife was beating someone in front of her and she couldn't stop it. She was already full of anger. When she saw the little maid barging in without any rules, she started to curse:
"Why are you panicking? You didn't even bother to show off your mother's death. You have no manners at all."
The old lady got angry and hurriedly knelt on the ground, kowtowed repeatedly:
"I dare not, please spare my life, old lady. I just heard from Hong Xing from Xiaoxiang Courtyard that the Second Master suddenly fainted and lost consciousness. I was frightened when I heard that, so I hurried over to tell the old lady and followed the rules."
Everyone in the room was shocked when they heard this. The old lady sat up straight, and the maids who were slapping stopped and stood there stupidly.
Mengxi looked up at the bright sky and thought to herself, that Bingshan had been coming into the courtyard after dark these past few days, so why did he come back early today to cooperate with her?
