Chapter 183 Where is the Dowry?
Seeing the Second Master pick up the Da Qi Local Chronicle and talk about its origins, Mengxi felt guilty . She was afraid that the Second Master would find out that she wanted to travel around, so she coughed and said:
"I was just taking a look. I heard that this book is divided into three volumes. One volume describes the geography and customs of Da Qi, one volume describes the biographies of Da Qi's characters, and one volume describes the strange stories of Da Qi. I searched for a long time and only found this volume of geography. It's a pity that the other two volumes were lost."
"If Xier wants to read it, I have it in my study. You can go to the study to read it when you are free."
He has it in his study, how is that possible!
Mengxi glanced at the Second Master. Since he went south, his study had been trampled flat by her. If it was really there, she would have brought it here to see it earlier. Why would she wait until today and spend a Lengxiang Pill? But she couldn't ask this question. She didn't want him to know that she used to go to his study every day to clean it up.
When Xiao Jun saw Mengxi looking at him, he explained:
"Xi'er, you don't know that I brought this set of books back. I had been looking for it for a long time. I saw it by chance in a bookstore in the south and bought it for a lot of money."
Hearing this, Mengxi was stunned. There was no such book in his study. She didn't say anything, but just thought about it in her heart, wondering how he knew what she was thinking. She became secretly alert. It seemed that the Second Master had learned mind reading when he came back this time. Sometimes he could guess what she was thinking just by looking at her. This made Mengxi feel uneasy.
Seeing Zhiqiu coming forward to help her with her makeup, Mengxi hesitated for a moment and said:
"Well, please wait in the hall first, I will be there soon."
Hearing Meng Xi's words, Xiao Jun looked up at her, leaned back, and began to read the book in his hand, saying as he read:
"Just wait here"
The thought of dressing up in front of Erye made Mengxi feel uncomfortable and awkward, as if she was taking off her clothes in front of outsiders. She hesitated whether to persuade him again. She stole a glance at Erye and saw that he was concentrating on reading a book in his hand. She thought she was overthinking it. After all, they had been married and slept together. She had dressed up in front of him when she first entered the house, so why did she feel uncomfortable now?
After hesitating for a while, she remembered that the eldest wife was still waiting in the upper room. She was afraid that if she missed the time, something might happen. She looked at Zhiqiu, who was also there looking at the second master who was reading. She felt a little at a loss as to what to do. Mengxi nodded at her reluctantly, straightened her body, and began to put on her makeup seriously.
After taking a sneak peek and seeing Mengxi starting to put on makeup, Xiao Jun finally breathed a long sigh of relief. His Xier wasn't even used to putting on makeup in front of him, which made him feel heartbroken. He secretly swore that he would let her get used to all this slowly.
He put down the book in his hand and began to look around Mengxi's bedroom. The bedroom was filled with some simple necessities. Compared with his aunt's bedroom, it could be described as shabby, but it was decorated simply and elegantly. There was a faint fragrance in the room, which made people feel comfortable. It seemed more elegant and quiet. Suddenly, Xiao Jun had the illusion of seclusion and thought to himself:
"I didn't expect Xi'er to have such an indifferent mind. No wonder she doesn't like others to step into the East Wing. It's just that Xi'er's life is too plain. Is it because she doesn't like the hustle and bustle, or is there another hidden reason?"
Looking up, he saw Mengxi had already tied her hair into a bun and simply inserted a jade hairpin, while Zhiqiu was drawing her eyebrows. Erye suddenly felt like putting a flower on her head himself, so he stood up and walked to Mengxi, casually opened her dressing box, and wanted to pick out a silk flower. But when he looked inside, he was stunned. There were only a few jade hairpins and tassels that she often wore in the dressing box, but no headdress at all.
Mengxi didn't expect that the Second Master would come over and open her dressing box. Her heart was pounding like thunder. She had pawned all her headwear, and because she didn't like it, she hadn't bought any new ones in the past two years. How could she explain this to him?
On second thought, if he said too much, it would seem like he was trying to cover up his mistake. So he just pretended that he didn't know anything. So he pretended not to see what the Second Master did and wholeheartedly cooperated with Zhiqiu in drawing her eyebrows.
Xiao Jun had been staring at Mengxi, and saw a flash of panic in her eyes, but she regained her composure in an instant. He thought to himself, I remember this place was full of things during the wedding, where did they go? Why was she afraid of being discovered by him? Seeing her dressing up seriously and pretending nothing had happened, he found it funny, but he didn't want to embarrass her anymore, so he could check it slowly.
Letting go of the dressing box in his hand, Xiao Jun slowly walked out of the north room. Seeing that the Second Master had gone out, Mengxi and Zhiqiu looked at each other and both breathed a sigh of relief.
The Second Master, who didn't want to leave the North Room, pushed open the door to the South Room. Zhixia stepped forward to stop him, but it was too late. The Second Master had already walked in and only shouted from behind:
"Second Master, please stay. Second Master, please..."
Hearing Zhixia's shout, Mengxi didn't know what was going on, so she hurriedly asked Zhichun to go and have a look. Before she even reached the door, Zhixia had already pushed it open and walked in, saying in a panic:
"Second Master went to the south room, and I had no time to stop him. Second Madam, what should I do?"
In Zhixia's opinion, when the Second Master saw that room full of books, he would definitely ask about their sources and investigate them carefully, otherwise he would reveal . Let alone other things, the fact that the Second Mistress often sneaked out of the house would be enough to cost him his life, not to mention that she opened a pharmacy outside the house and got to know so many people in the underworld, which was why he was so anxious to get back to the Second Mistress.
Mengxi was also stunned when she heard this. Ever since Miss Xiu sent people to break into the east wing and was confined, everyone in the courtyard knew that in Xiaoxiang Courtyard, the east wing was a forbidden area and her bottom line. As long as no one set their sights on the east wing, she would not easily cause trouble to anyone. As long as they didn't go too far, she would let everyone do whatever they wanted. After a long time, no one dared to enter the east wing.
When the concubines had something to do, they would just wait outside the door and have their messages delivered by their maids. Apart from Mengxi's maid, only Hongzhu went in and out of the east wing. Mengxi didn't say anything because Hongzhu had been serving her since she entered the mansion, and she also treated Hongzhu as a favor.
The servants' fear of entering does not mean that the master does not dare to enter either. The Second Master never enters the East Wing, which made Mengxi lose her guard against him. Unexpectedly, the Second Master would suddenly visit her and catch her off guard.
The master and servant stared at each other for a while, not knowing what to do. After a long while, Mengxi finally calmed down and said to Zhixia, who looked panicked:
"Why are you panicking? We haven't done anything shameful. If the Second Master asks about the books in the South Room, you can just say that I like reading and Ling Zhiqiu and Zhichun bought them for me at the bookstore. Anyway, they go out of the house several times a month to buy things for me. It's no secret. Even the old lady knows it."
Didn't do anything shameful? A mistress of a noble family, disguised as a man, sneaked out of the house, not only doing business, but also making friends with people in the underworld. If this is not considered shameful, then what is considered shameful? Looking at the calm Second Mistress, Zhixia thought to herself, this Second Mistress is really shocking.
After hearing what Second Mistress said, Zhiqiu felt that he had missed something, but he couldn't think of what was wrong. He got anxious and said to Second Mistress:
"But Second Madam, some of your books are rare and hard to find copies in Da Qi. How can they be found in Pingyang's bookstores? Second Master is not stupid, he will find out after a quick search."
"It will take time for the Second Master to investigate. We just need to delay for now. By the time he finds out, we will have already left the house. What can he do to me ? By the way, don't just stand here. Zhixia, go out quickly. Ask Zhidong to secretly lock the back door and take the key away, so that the Second Master won't go to the backyard after checking the south room."
Mengxi remembered that the pharmacy in the backyard was not locked and there were some unprepared medicines inside. She thought that she had lived too comfortably in the past two years and thought that no one dared to come to the east wing. She had lost her initial vigilance and even did not lock the door of the pharmacy on weekdays. It seemed that she had to be more careful in the future.
Zhixia responded quickly and turned to walk out. Zhiqiu and Zhichun thought what Second Madam said made sense and there was no other way out, so they nodded and quickened their pace to help Second Madam clean up.
The Second Master was standing in the south room in a daze at this time. He was astounded by the books in this room. When he was in the south, he heard Xiao Yun pass on messages back and forth, saying that Mengxi often went to his study to find books when she had nothing to do. He originally thought that she was just killing time, but he didn't expect that she was so addicted to books. However, where could Xier, a mistress , find so many books?
He walked forward, picked up a few books and started flipping through them. The more he read, the more shocked he became. Some of the books here were rare copies that he couldn't find. Where did she get them? How many secrets did she have that he didn't know?
The scene of Mengxi leisurely lying on the soft step reading a book flashed before his eyes. His heart moved. He kept guessing what she liked and thinking about what could touch her heart. After reading this room full of books, he finally thought of what to use to seduce her. It seems that he should prepare a soft chair for her in his study. He really looks forward to whispering and rubbing with her in the study.
Thinking of this, I couldn't help but feel fortunate, because I heard that she loved reading, so I bought a lot of good books, and even brought back some rare books from the study in the south, hoping to help her pass the time. It seems that I really did the right thing.
He put down the book in his hand, looked around, and suddenly saw the poem next to the painting of Plum Blossoms Standing Proudly in the Snow that he had made when he was a teenager.
Looking closely, he found that it was actually written by him. This reminded him of the year when Hongzhu asked him to write a poem. He had also praised this poem. When asked, Hongzhu stammered that it was written by a predecessor. He believed it at the time and thought that Xier heard that he liked these things, so she asked someone to do it to attract him to the East Wing.
Thinking about it now, he was really stupid at that time. After that, he knew Xier's literary talent and thought that this poem should have been written by Xier.
"It is already dusk and I am alone in sorrow, and the wind and rain make it worse" is not the portrayal of Xier's mood at that time. She had just married into the Xiao Mansion and was all alone, without even the maid that came with her as a dowry. Her mother was displeased and her aunt was bullying her. The only person she could rely on, he had many misunderstandings about her. All of this was just like the cold wind and bitter rain blowing at her.
"No intention to struggle for spring" Xi'er was alone in the cold wind and rain at that time. Did she decide to give up on him? Unfortunately, he was ignorant and wanted to conquer her with the pressure of the head of the family. He even threatened to divorce her. Even if she knew later that he had misunderstood her, she was afraid of the ancestral precepts and fled to the south, leaving her alone in the Xiao Mansion until now. God, what did he do to her in the past two years! Will his Xi'er forgive him?
When I thought of this, my heart ached uncontrollably, just like the night before I went south, when I was lost in thought for a moment.
