Chapter 112 Forced Medication
When Xiao Jun saw Mengxi coming in, he pointed at the bowl of black medicine and said to her, because she broke the reward from the first wife, she would be punished by drinking a hundred bowls of bitter soup. After saying this, the second master turned to Cuiping and said:
"Cui Ping, I went to tell my mother today that my second aunt smashed the reward that my mother gave me. My master punished her by making her drink 100 bowls of bitter soup with added ingredients to make my mother feel at ease."
"Hongzhu, I'll leave this to you. You have to make the soup yourself every day and deliver it to the East Wing to watch Second Madam drink it. If there's anything extra or missing in the soup, I'll hold you accountable!"
After hearing this, Hongzhu looked at the Second Master with resentment, thinking: Second Master, are you looking at me hanging around you every day, are you idle? I am your maid, and when you are in the courtyard, of course I have to serve you, but do you know that Second Madam doesn't care about anything, and I am the one who takes care of the affairs of this courtyard. If you are too anxious to do anything and want to mess with Second Madam, just find a little girl to do it, why tie me up!
Hongzhu was filled with pity in her heart but dared not say anything. Seeing that the Second Master was determined to do so, she had no choice but to nod in agreement.
Mengxi was so angry. This second master was just bored and had nothing to do. He only picked things that would hurt others and benefit himself. He was the type who wanted to get into trouble. Seeing her suffer was his greatest joy. She had already cursed this second master hundreds of times in her heart. She simply sat there and acted like an old Buddha, ignoring him.
Seeing Mengxi sitting there without saying a word and refusing to drink the medicine, Xiao Jun became furious and ordered the maid to come over and force her to drink the medicine. When Zhiqiu and Zhichun saw this, they knelt down and begged for mercy. Xiao Jun's eyes lit up when he saw Zhiqiu and Zhichun kneeling on the ground, and he said:
"Okay, since you are begging for the master, I will do as you say. You don't need the maid to force me to drink the soup. You just kneel here. When your grandmother drinks the soup, you get up. If she doesn't drink it for one day, you kneel for one day. If she doesn't drink it for one year, you kneel for one year."
Xiao Jun's kick really hit Mengxi's soft spot. Mengxi was suffering from the punishment of kneeling. How could she bear to see two girls suffer like this because of her? She was furious and lost her composure for the first time.
Damn, it’s just a bowl of bitter soup, it won’t kill anyone. I, Mengxi, was afraid that you wouldn’t, so I stood up suddenly, picked up the bowl of soup, and drank it down in a few gulps.
He was heroic, but the soup was bitter after all. The bitter taste in his mouth made Mengxi lose all his ambitions. He could no longer pretend to be a martyr. He threw the bowl to the ground, and without caring about anything else, he ran to the door. When Zhiqiu and Zhichun saw him, they didn't care whether the Second Master asked them to get up or not. They both got up and chased after him, supporting the Second Madam all the way back to the east wing.
Seeing the master and the servants leave so rudely, Hongzhu's heart suddenly rose to her throat. This Second Madam was usually very respectful, but the Second Master always found fault with her. This time she was so rude, and she didn't know how the Second Master would punish her. She stared at him nervously.
Xiao Jun had been worried since Mengxi got up to take the medicine. He let out a long sigh of relief when he saw her finally drink it. Looking at Mengxi's lost composure, he said to himself: Xier, you once forced me to drink hot and sour soup. This is called tit for tat.
Thinking back to the time since their wedding, he had fought with her for so long, and he finally won her once. He finally saw her running away. Sitting there, he felt so good. The depression he had felt for many days was swept away, and the corners of his mouth slightly raised. He looked up and saw Hongzhu staring at him. His face was a little hot, and he coughed awkwardly and said:
"Send someone in to clean up. Remember to deliver the soup to Second Madam on time every day. Don't miss the time. Do you hear me?"
After saying this, without waiting for Hongzhu to reply, he stood up, flicked his sleeves, and walked out of the main hall, leaving the jealous Cui concubine standing there stupidly. The Second Mistress just smashed the bowl given by the Second Master, so why didn't the Second Master continue to punish her?
Hongzhu was also surprised to see the rare good temper of the Second Master. This Second Master Xiao was a typical introverted and masochist who didn't like the Second Mistress praising and respecting him.
Mengxi supported Zhiqiu and ran all the way back to the east wing. Seeing the morning herbal tea on the table, she picked it up and poured it into her mouth.
"Put it down quickly, Madam. That is cold tea and it will hurt your body. I will prepare hot tea for you right away."
When Zhiqiu saw this, he tried to dissuade her, but when he saw that the Second Mistress just gargled the tea in her mouth, she stopped.
Zhixia hurriedly brought over a spittoon, and Mengxi spat out the tea in his mouth and rinsed his mouth several times. Zhichun had already brought over a plate of candied fruits, and Mengxi picked one and put it in his mouth. After struggling for a long time, he finally got rid of the bitter taste in his mouth.
Mengxi then sat down on the chair weakly, forgetting that she was the mistress of the family, and began to curse. Soon, all of Xiao Jun's ancestors were scolded by her, just like a shrew yelling in the street in the 21st century.
When Zhiqiu and Zhichun saw this, they hurriedly closed the door of the east wing and asked Zhixia and Zhidong to guard outside. They looked at the Second Mistress with wide eyes in surprise. They had never realized that their Second Mistress had such a fierce side and was so good at scolding people.
It seems that the Second Master really pissed off the Second Mistress today. Mengxi cursed until her mouth was dry and she had cursed enough. She finally calmed down and realized that Zhiqiu and Zhichun were looking at her as if . She felt embarrassed and blushed. She coughed and said:
"This Second Master really doesn't know how to torture me."
"Second Madam, did you know what kind of soup that was? Will it hurt your body?"
Zhiqiu saw that the second wife had finally calmed down and asked. She had been worried since she went upstairs, but she had no chance to ask, and did not dare to ask.
Zhiqiu's question stumped both Second Mistress and Zhichun. Yes, what did Second Master force her to drink? Mengxi tried to recall it and shook her head:
"It looks like a decoction, too bitter, I didn't taste it carefully"
"I'll go ask Hongzhu," Zhichun said, and was about to walk out.
"Don't go. Let Zhiqiu go and check on the remaining medicine residue from Hongzhu tomorrow."
"Second Grandma..."
"Who cares what it is? I still have 99 bowls waiting for me. What difference does it make if they find out? It doesn't matter if they look down on me for a little while."
The two maids also lowered their heads helplessly. Mengxi looked at the two listless people and said, "Bring me some food. I'm hungry. After I finish my meal, apply some compress to my legs. After this, I feel better than when I got up early."
Zhichun responded and went to serve the meal. Zhiqiu helped the second wife into the north room.
Mengxi was under house arrest, but that didn't mean others couldn't come to her east wing. Xiao Jun's four concubines were quite self-aware and knew that the east wing was a restricted area of Xiaoxiang Courtyard. Last time, Miss Xiu sent people to break in, and the Second Mistress got so angry that she even beat up the people sent by the First Mistress, but she was only under house arrest for four days, and she didn't lose a hair.
Now that the mistress was under house arrest, they certainly didn't have to go to the East Wing to pay their respects. They were eager for some peace and quiet. Not to mention Hongyu, who had long been frozen out by the Second Master.
But Cui Ping didn't think so. She was the eldest wife's person, and the second master doted on her. Since she beat Bing Xin and Yu Bing last time and humiliated the eldest wife in front of the servant, the eldest wife hated this second wife completely and was determined not to give up until she divorced her. She was assigned to the second master just to do this job, and she had to enter the east wing.
Today, Cuiping brought another silver plate to the east wing. When Zhixia saw it, she frowned but did not try to stop her. Who knows where the soup came from? If it was not broken, it might be Cuiping's gift. If it was broken, it must have been a reward from the eldest lady.
Seeing that Cuiping insisted on going in, he had to let her wait outside the door while he went in to pass on the message. Cuiping listened, smiled slightly, nodded in agreement, and waited patiently outside the door. She was not in a hurry, because she would definitely be able to enter the east wing today!
