Chapter 135 Sad Autumn
Hearing the aunt mention the regulations for autumn clothing, Mengxi felt a headache. He looked at the aunt and asked, "Why are you asking about this?"
"I'll add one more set according to Auntie's rule, but the material needs to be carefully selected. For the three girls, each of them will have two more sets as in previous years. The children are growing up, and it will be expensive to wear clothes."
"Second Madam, this is not possible. Grandma's share is at least two more than Auntie's. If you do this, other families will look down on you if they find out. Otherwise, tell Second Master and ask Auntie to give you two more sets."
I can't even leave the house, why make so many clothes? Who will I wear them for? Meng Xi said without even looking up:
"That's it. There's no need to bother you with the backyard stuff. Men should do important things outside. In previous years, did you prepare the old lady's birthday gift outside, or did we prepare it?"
"It was all prepared by the Second Master outside. He had prepared everything by this time in previous years, but this year the two concubines suddenly passed away, and the Second Master seemed to have lost his mind and completely forgot about it, and never mentioned it."
"Okay, I understand. Remember to remind Second Master one day that Second Aunt's funeral affairs have been taken care of?"
"I followed Second Madam's instructions and finished everything. Second Madam's family is very satisfied. Second Madam is really kind-hearted and cares so much about a concubine."
"After all, we served the Second Master. This is all we can do. The Second Aunt passed away just like that. This may not be a bad thing for . Remember to burn more paper money for her on her death anniversary every year."
Mengxi said with emotion that she truly sympathized with the tragic fate of these ancient women.
"I know. If I had known that Second Madam had such a kind heart, I would not have made things so difficult for you when I first entered the house," the eldest aunt said sincerely.
Mengxi raised her lips slightly, showing a faint smile. How could she say such a thing? It seemed that the aunt was a little sincere to her. She nodded and asked:
"Didn't the Madam say what to do with the servants in the Chrysanthemum Garden and the Orchid Garden?"
"The first wife only ordered someone to take the servants out of the Chrysanthemum Garden, and ordered the maids who served her personally to be sold to a brothel. The first wife did not mention the matter of the Orchid Garden, and I think she let the second wife handle it."
"Just send her away from home. Why do you want to sell her to a brothel? What good will it do if she enters that place?"
"Second Madam is a kindhearted person. I heard that this was the old lady's idea. She hates these maids for not being able to persuade their masters and instead conspiring to make their masters do things that are against the will of heaven and earth. Second Madam, this is not something we should be involved in."
"I know about this. Let's see if each courtyard is short of people. Send the people from the Orchid Garden to the other courtyards. If there are older people in each courtyard, report them to the Second Master and send them out as soon as possible. By the way, a few days ago, I saw a maid named Xiao Qiao in that garden who was very smart. Send her to the East Wing."
"Yes, I will arrange it in a moment."
"Anything else?"
"Second Madam, this month's daily necessities have been delivered, but yours has not yet arrived. Do you think you should report it to Second Master and ask him to urge you to deliver it?"
"No need, there's no need to disturb the Second Master for such a small matter, just issue it according to the rules."
"Second Madam, how about giving each person a little less and leaving one for you?"
"I don't need these things for now, I just sent them out a few days late. Just send them out as usual, don't let people say I'm deducting money from them just because I took over."
"What you said is right, I was not thoughtful enough. How about I give my share to you first? Don't be disgusted, I get it every month, you won't need it."
Mengxi looked at her aunt for a long time. Her aunt's words made her feel warm. She had been married into the Xiao family for so long and had been living a life without anyone loving her. This was the first time she felt that someone truly cared about her and she was speechless for a moment.
The eldest aunt was frightened by being looked at, not knowing what was out of line. At this moment, she really cared about the second mistress as if she were her own sister. The affairs of Xiaoxiangyuan had always been in her hands. She knew that this mistress had been married for so long, but all the shares had never been in her hands in full. She also secretly sighed at the harshness of the eldest mistress .
"Second Grandma..."
The eldest aunt touched her face and gently called the second grandmother.
"Anything else?"
Mengxi came back to her senses and quickly changed the subject. She was afraid that if she continued talking like this, she would be moved to tears.
"Nothing happened. By the way, Second Madam, Hongyu has been ill since she came back from watching the execution. Can you tell Second Master and ask a doctor to take a look?"
"Look at how listless Second Master has been these past few days. Does he look like he can take care of things? Just tell him that it was my order. Go and ask the doctor to take a good look at her and prescribe some medicine. If you have nothing to do, go and counsel her. Tell her not to come over to pay her respects these days and just take good care of her in the courtyard."
"What Second Madam said is true, but Hongyu is only a concubine after all, and Second Master has never been in since moving to Yuyuan. It seems that he doesn't like her. It's better to tell Second Master before you ask for a doctor for her, in case it's not a serious illness, the First Madam will blame Second Madam for being nosy. Besides, it's not a good thing for Second Master to be like this all the time. Second Madam can take this opportunity to persuade Second Master and ease their relationship. It's not good for Second Madam and Second Master to be so cold all the time."
Mengxi heaved a long sigh after hearing this. The Second Master was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He had lived too smoothly for the past twenty years, which made him arrogant and willful. Now he was just betrayed by a woman. If he couldn't even get over this, as the heir to the head of the family, it would be strange if the Xiao family was not defeated! He must let him get over this hurdle by himself.
Moreover, she and he were destined to part ways, so why would she bother to persuade him? Even if she did, would the Second Master listen? After a long silence, Meng Xi's voice seemed to float from the clouds:
"Let's just do it this way for now. I'm tired. Auntie, please go down as well."
After hearing this, the eldest aunt also sighed, responded quickly, bowed to the second wife, and walked out.
…
Mengxi and Zhiqiu stood in a small flower shop next to the chrysanthemum garden. She remembered that she had been to this place once in summer. At that time, the flowers here were in full bloom and exuded fragrance, as if it was a splendid world. Aunt Li came here to pick flowers for the Second Master and met her by chance. Thinking of Aunt Li's arrogant smile, cunning eyes, and the means to reverse black and white in an instant, it seems like a lifetime ago, just like this small flower shop with withered grass and yellow leaves flying, it has lost the color of yesterday.
Aunt Li is gone. Although her life was short, at least the Second Master had treated her sincerely. She had been beautiful for him. Then what about me? For whom would I bloom and be beautiful? Autumn should be a season of harvest, but because she was a flower for people to appreciate, there was no harvest. There was only the beauty of that season. In the blink of an eye, it was bleak. Looking at the fallen leaves, Mengxi was filled with emotion. It was really like the sound of autumn in the deep night, and the sound of thousands of leaves was full of hatred.
"Second Master An"
Hearing Zhiqiu's call, Mengxi looked in the direction of the voice and saw Xiao Jun walking towards them from the Chrysanthemum Garden. He was wearing a dark blue gown and his hair was simply tied up. After not seeing him for a few days, his originally round face looked even more resolute, and his eyes, as deep as a black pool, were faintly revealing a trace of loneliness. Mengxi didn't want to see Xiao Jun like this at all. It was more comfortable to see his usual icy face. She stepped forward and bowed softly:
"Second Master An"
