Chapter 122 Xiu'er's Joke
Mengxi's twenty-day house arrest was over, and the first thing he thought of was to continue to flatter the old lady. Wasn't there a popular saying in the entertainment industry in his previous life, that no matter whether the role was good or bad, one must first make himself familiar to the audience? He hadn't seen the old lady for twenty days, so he might as well not have forgotten her.
So after Mengxi served the old lady her meal in the morning, she started to massage her shoulders. Today she used all her skills and demonstrated a set of advanced modern massage techniques to the fullest. But to outsiders, Mengxi was just simply massaging and kneading, nothing special, but the old lady just closed her eyes comfortably, leaned there enjoyingly, and chatted idly.
Miss Xiu was like this at the moment, she was watching with envy. In her opinion, her cousin's wife was just free and made some delicious food for the old lady, rubbed her shoulders and pinched her back. Everyone can do that. How could she make the old lady so comfortable?
These days, her cousin's wife was under house arrest, and she had a rare opportunity to accompany the old lady instead of her cousin, so she tried to rub the old lady's shoulders, but after only a few rubs, the old lady asked her to leave, which made her very upset.
Now seeing that the cousin's wife had taken such good care of the old lady, and turning around to see her cousin also watching her seriously, she was furious and hated this cousin's wife even more. Since her cousin came back from leaving, she had gotten up early every day and dressed up carefully before coming to pay her respects, but she had never seen her cousin take a serious look at her. It would be better to get rid of this cousin's wife as soon as possible. Just as she was thinking, the old lady's voice came:
"Xi'er can't come out these days, and I'm bored. I think about the porridge and snacks Xi'er made every day. I asked the kitchen to make them according to the recipe Xi'er wrote, but they are not as delicious as Xi'er's. There is always a little taste missing. Jun'er, don't punish Xi'er like this in the future. One ban is 20 days. After so many days, even a good person will become sick. Do you hear me?"
"Jun'er also wanted Xi'er to remember the rules. It was for Xi'er's own good. He was afraid that she would make a bigger mistake in the future and upset her grandmother and mother. Jun'er listened to grandmother and would not do it again in the future."
Xiao Jun's gentle voice that could drown people made Meng Xi's skin crawl. He thought to himself: It's for my own good. If you really want to do it for my own good, then even a sow can speak human language. This iceberg is really talented. Just when he was about to say something to stimulate him, he heard the old lady say:
"Xi'er, tell me a joke. It's so boring these days since Xi'er hasn't come over."
Mengxi was thinking about what to say after hearing what the old lady said, but Miss Xiu on the side couldn't sit still anymore. She didn't want her cousin's wife to be in the limelight in front of her cousin. She remembered the joke she had prepared in her heart for a long time, just to have a chance to tell it to her cousin's wife. Now the opportunity was rare, so she said first:
"Old lady, let Xiu'er tell you something."
After hearing what Xiu'er said, the old lady sat there with her eyes closed and said nothing. Seeing that the old lady was silent, Xiu'er began to speak:
"One day, there was a dog who wanted to find a place to take a nap. Seeing that the cow's trough was covered with hay, he jumped into the trough, lay on the hay and fell asleep comfortably. After the cow finished plowing the field, it came back to eat grass and woke up the dog who was sleeping soundly. The dog jumped up and started barking at the cow. Whenever the cow approached the trough, the dog threatened to bite him. Finally, the cow had to give up the idea of eating grass and turned away, muttering as he walked, saying that the cow was occupying the good things n't use them himself, but he didn't let others use them."
Anyone with a discerning eye would know that Miss Xiu was implying that her cousin's wife was just occupying her grandmother's position and was refusing to move even though she knew her cousin didn't like it.
Xiu'er finished her joke, and the originally lively atmosphere suddenly fell silent. Even the maids kept their mouths shut. Xiao Jun's heart skipped a beat when he heard it, and he subconsciously looked towards Mengxi, only to see that she was still rubbing her breasts carefully, and the old lady was also enjoying it comfortably with her eyes closed. After a long while, Xiao Jun coughed and said:
"Grandma, my father told Jun'er to go to the study this morning to discuss something. Jun'er will take his leave now."
The old lady closed her eyes and said:
"Jun'er, go ahead. You've already had two days of rest. It's time to go out and do some work."
Xiao Jun stood up, glanced at Mengxi, then turned and walked out. When Xiu'er saw her cousin leaving, the old lady closed her eyes and didn't say a word, and her cousin's wife was even more silent, just serving the old lady wholeheartedly. There were people all over the room, and no one responded. It was boring for her to just sit there, so she said goodbye to the old lady and got up to chase her cousin.
When the old lady heard Xiu'er say goodbye and leave, she opened her eyes, squinted them into a slit, stared at Xiu'er's back, and said to herself:
"This girl is becoming more and more unruly. What she said today is not what a girl should say. She is too impatient. It is time to send her out of the house. However, her father, Censor Zhang, is the confidant of Prince Yan and holds great power. Once Prince Yan gains power in the future, she will be a hidden chess piece of our Xiao family. Maybe she can buy a chance for our Xiao family to breathe. As for her fate, there is always a way to solve it. Well, let's leave her alone for now."
It turns out that both the Crown Prince and the Prince of Yan want to catch this old lady, and they want to use both hands to force her. Not to mention that the old lady is indecisive, Xiao Jun walked out of the door, sighed, and thought about what Xiu'er said just now. He felt that it would be better to send her out of the house as soon as possible. He has been deliberately avoiding her and coming back very late every day, but he can't stand his mother inviting him over every few days. After all, she is his mother, and he can't disobey her. Thinking of his father, it would be better to let his father persuade his mother.
Thinking of this, he walked towards his father's study. As he was walking, Xiu'er caught up with him from behind and shouted:
"Cousin, why are you leaving in such a hurry? Is there something wrong?"
"My father is waiting for me in the study outside. He asked me to come over. What's up, cousin?"
"Nothing, Xiu'er has recently written a few poems and wants my cousin to help revise them, but Xiu'er is under house arrest and can't go to Xiaoxiangyuan. Cousin, please come to Yangxin Garden when you are free."
"Well, I just came back from a trip and took two days off. I have a lot of work to do. It will take some time for me to have some free time."
"It's okay. It's not too late to go over when you are free. Xiu'er is waiting for you. You have important things to do. Xiu'er will not disturb you anymore."
…
Xiao Jun came to the master's study room and saw that the master was holding a letter with a frown on his face. Xiao Jun went forward to greet his father, sat aside, and asked:
"What's troubling Father?"
"It's about your second uncle and the prince. Your second uncle wrote to me saying that he secretly protected the prince. At that time, we agreed not to make it public until he convinced the old lady and me. But for some reason, the news leaked out and now everyone in Pingyang City knows about it. It is also rumored that our Xiao family secretly protected the prince a long time ago."
As the master spoke, he handed the letter in his hand to Xiao Jun.
Xiao Jun took it and asked as he looked down:
"When did this happen, and my son doesn't even know about it?"
"Jun'er left Pingyang for nearly 20 days, so of course he didn't know. This happened half a month ago. I think this is definitely not groundless. There must be someone behind the scenes. I just don't know what his purpose is? Why is he targeting our Xiao family? These days, I am always uneasy."
