Chapter 109 Secret Help
Mengxi and Zhiqiu arrived at Yangxin Garden and saw Cuiping waiting outside the courtyard with a little girl. When Cuiping saw the second wife come in, she smiled sinisterly and said:
"Second Madam, the First Madam is waiting for you in the east wing. Tell Second Madam to come over and go in directly."
Mengxi nodded and asked her to lead the way. He supported Zhiqiu and followed behind. They came to the east wing together. The eldest wife was sitting on the kang and talking to Xiuer with a smile. When she saw Cuiping coming in with the second wife, her face immediately darkened.
Seeing Mengxi bowing, the eldest wife said:
"Oh, how can I resist the gift from my second wife? I worked so hard to raise my son, and I thought he would enjoy a happy life after he got married. But now I see that I am not a blessed person. In my opinion, I, as a mother-in-law, will be kicked out soon."
After hearing this, Mengxi knelt down hurriedly:
"My daughter-in-law is stupid and has made the first wife angry. Please punish her."
The first wife saw Mengxi kneeling, without even raising her eyes, and continued:
"Seeing my wife was not feeling well, I eagerly made a tonic soup and had it sent over, thinking it would help her. But she didn't appreciate it, and she even told someone to take it out and throw it away. What sin did I commit in my previous life? I can't get any help from my wife, so I'm asking the old lady to judge. Is this reasonable?"
As the eldest lady spoke, she wiped her eyes with a handkerchief, as if she was really sad and crying.
Shit, I didn't even see what the soup looked like, why did I order someone to take it out and throw it away! Mengxi saw that the eldest wife was saying something bad, and she knew that she was looking for something to punish her. Cuiping was hers, and if she defended herself at this time, she would only be more embarrassed, and she would not get any good results if she went to the old lady, so she said calmly:
"I know I am wrong, please punish me, Madam."
The eldest wife did not expect that the normally sharp-tongued second wife would admit it without making any distinction. This made her swallow back all the harsh words she had prepared. She did not know what to say for a moment and just wiped her eyes. Seeing this, Xiu'er said obediently:
"Aunt, my cousin's wife is young and naive. Please don't argue with her. She will get sick from anger and no one will feel sorry for her. It is better to punish her by making her kneel for a few hours. On the one hand, it will show that you are magnanimous and don't care about the young. On the other hand, it will teach her a lesson and she won't make you angry again."
After hearing this, the eldest wife nodded and looked at the second wife and said:
"You accepted the punishment voluntarily. Don't go back to the old lady and tell her that I bullied you."
"My wife doesn't dare"
"What else are you afraid of?"
Seeing that the Second Mistress didn't say anything, the First Mistress didn't say anything either, and turned back to chat with Xiu'er.
Zhichun waited in the east wing, and when it was almost two hours, there was still no sign of the Second Madam, she knew that she must have been punished to kneel. She knew the Second Madam's health, and if she continued like this, she might even die. She didn't care about anything else, and found out that the Second Master was in the study. She hurried to the door of the study, and saw Xiao Xia standing at the door. She said she wanted to see the Second Master, and asked him to pass him in. When Xiao Xia saw that it was Zhichun, she turned inside without saying a word. After a while, Xiao Xia came out and let her in.
Zhichun entered the study and saw the Second Master sitting behind the desk, flipping through the documents on the table. When he saw her come in, he looked up at her. Zhichun took a few steps forward and knelt down:
"I dare to ask you to save my wife."
When Xiao Jun heard this, he sat up straight and frowned. What trouble had she caused? He asked hurriedly:
"Speak slowly, what's going on?"
Zhichun briefly recounted the story of Cuiping's intrusion into the east wing, then kowtowed and said:
"Second Madam has been called away by the First Madam for almost two hours. She must have been punished to kneel again. I am afraid that Second Madam's body cannot bear it. Since Second Madam fainted last time, she has not taken good care of herself and has been weak. I beg Second Master to save Second Madam. I kowtow to you."
After hearing this, Xiao Jun's face darkened and he said:
"I think you are making a fuss out of nothing. Mother is gentle and kind, she is not unreasonable. How could she punish Second Grandma for such a small matter? It is reasonable for mother to ask Second Grandma to come over to relieve her boredom."
When Zhichun heard this, he thought to himself: You are her biological son, so of course she is gentle and kind to you, but the second grandmother is a stepmother! He knelt there and said:
"Second Master, please forgive me. I dare not speak ill of the First Madam behind her back. Everyone knows that the First Madam is gentle, kind, and wise. But for some reason, I particularly dislike Second Madam. These days, she often asks Second Madam to kneel for half an hour because of some trivial matters. Every time Second Madam comes back , her knees are bruised and swollen. She was punished just two days ago, and the bruises on her knees haven't disappeared yet. She is punished again this time. I am afraid that Second Madam will not be able to endure it and will die. If you don't believe me, you can check the injuries on Second Madam's body yourself. I beg you to save Second Madam for the sake of her having married you. I kowtow to you."
After Zhichun finished speaking, she kowtowed again and again. After a long time, there was no reply from the Second Master. She looked up secretly, but there was no sign of the Second Master. Zhichun didn't know whether the Second Master agreed or not, but since the Second Master was gone, there was no point in her staying here. She got up, brushed the dirt off her body, and ignored Xiao Xia who was looking at her at the door, and turned back to the east wing.
Mengxi was already feeling dizzy and groggy at this time, and thought she would faint at the next moment. She kept repeating in her heart, "Hold on, hold on, don't faint."
Zhiqiu watched with distress. She didn't know how long the Second Mistress had been kneeling, she only knew that the First Mistress had taken a nap and after waking up she started chatting with Xiu'er about family matters, seeming to have forgotten that the Second Mistress was still kneeling on the ground.
Just as she was worrying, a maid came in to announce that the Second Master was coming. Xiu'er's eyes lit up immediately and she sat up straight. The First Madam hurriedly said:
"Please come in"
Before she had even finished saying "please", the Second Master had already come in through the curtains, and quickly stepped forward to greet her mother. The First Madam extended her hand to support her and asked,
"Jun'er has time to come over today."
"I came back early. I was thinking about how my mother wanted Jun'er to come over a few days ago, but I didn't have time. My cousin said she liked a pearl flower a while ago, so I brought it over as well."
Xiao Jun said, taking out a small box from his sleeve, handed it to Xiu'er and said:
"This is the pearl flower that my cousin mentioned last time. See if you like it."
Xiuer took it shyly, opened the box and took it out, happily letting her aunt put it on her head, saying:
"It's hard for my cousin to remember. Xiu'er was just saying it casually. Thank you, cousin. Xiu'er likes it very much."
Xiao Jun seemed to have just noticed Meng Xi kneeling on the ground, and asked :
"Why is Xi'er here? What did she do to make her mother unhappy?"
The eldest wife was also startled when she heard her son's question. Then she remembered that her son had come in and the second grandmother was still kneeling on the ground. She had punished the second grandmother but had always done so behind her son's back, for fear that her son would find out that she was mean to the second grandmother and would be biased in the future. When she saw her son asking about it, she was afraid that the second grandmother would say something unpleasant, so she hurriedly said:
"See, seeing that your wife is not in good health, I specially made a bowl of soup and sent it to her today, hoping to nourish her and let me hold my grandson soon. Who would have thought that your wife would not only not appreciate it, but also let someone throw away the soup. What sin did I commit in my previous life? This son is in vain. He married a wife and forgot his mother. Now he just threw away the soup, and in a few days, he will throw away me, the mother."
The eldest wife's eyes turned red as she spoke. Seeing his mother like this, the second master hurriedly said :
"Don't be angry, mother. I don't know about this, otherwise I would have punished you long ago. How could I let her make you angry? Since mother gets angry when she sees her, son won't let her come to me anymore. That's what mother is doing."
Then he turned to Zhiqiu and shouted:
"You blind slave, you are still here in the way, making your mother angry. Why don't you help your second wife back to the east wing and confine her to her room for ten days to reflect on her mistakes?"
