Chapter 190 Delivering Medicine
The Second Master was punished by the family. Zhiqiu came back after inquiring and said that the Second Master sent Manager An to the government without the permission of the First Master, and that was why he was punished. Zhichun and the others clapped their hands and jumped when they heard this. In the past two years, with the support of the First Madam, they were really bullied by Xiao An. Zhichun clapped his hands and said:
"That's great. Good things are rewarded with good, and evil things are punished with evil. We can't let An Zongguan abuse his power any more. Second Madam, we can finally vent our anger. I don't know what crime he will be punished for embezzling the government's money. It would be better to punish him severely, beat him with hundreds of sticks, make his buttocks bruised, and walk with a limp. That would make us feel better. Let's see if he will bully others again in the future!"
"I heard from Xiao Xia that he embezzled more than 20,000 taels of silver. According to the laws of the Great Qi Dynasty, he should be executed. I heard that the master has gone to the government and wants to bail out Chief An."
When several people heard that the eldest master was going to take care of the chief steward, they all sighed. Chief Steward An has deep roots in the Xiao Mansion and is not someone that ordinary people can touch. This time it was fortunate that the second master was a young and ignorant person who did not know his own life or death. If it were someone else, he would have been killed by the eldest master long ago.
Seeing that everyone stopped talking, Mengxi said:
"In the past two years, Xiao An has held on to your indentures tightly. I have tried every method to get them out, but I can't. Maybe if we change the manager, there will be hope."
"Second Madam, you don't have to be so considerate of me..."
After hearing what the second wife said, Zhiqiu's eyes turned red.
"You four followed me as soon as you entered the mansion. I am leaving the mansion and I must take you four with me. Zhixia and Zhidong are fine, but Zhiqiu and Zhichun have offended the first wife a lot in the past two years to protect me. My only worry is that the first wife will not let you two go."
"Second Grandma..."
"Anyway, changing the butler will definitely benefit us. Well, I won't say any more. It's time to go to the upper room and take a look."
Mengxi helped Zhiqiu to the upper room. After turning the screen, she saw Hongxing with red eyes leading several maids busy in the hall. The servants must be feeling bad because their master was punished. They were all tiptoeing. The hall was quiet, giving people a very depressing feeling.
Looking up, she saw the Second Madam coming in. Hong Xing stopped what she was doing and came over to greet her. The maids also came over to greet her. Meng Xi signaled that it was unnecessary and looked at Hong Xing and said:
"I heard that the Second Master was punished by the family. I came here to serve him. Hong Xing will go in and tell him about it."
Hong Xing hesitated for a moment. The Second Master had just sent away Miss Xiu and the four concubines, so he was afraid that he would not see the Second Mistress either. After thinking for a while, she said:
"Second Madam, the Second Master has just been punished. Maybe he is in a bad mood and won't see anyone. Just now, Miss Xiu followed in and insisted that the Second Master send her back. The three concubines and Hongyu all came over and knelt outside the East Room for a long time, saying that they wanted to serve the Second Master, but they were all sent away by the Second Master without even being allowed to see him. I want to..."
Whether or not she could see the Second Master was not important. What was important was that she had to go through the formalities, which was considered as fulfilling her duty as a nominal wife. However, after being beaten with a few boards, the Second Master was thick-skinned and would be fine. It was just that he was spoiled in daily life and had never suffered such great hardship. The Second Master should have been beaten with a few boards long ago to change his bad temper.
After hearing Hong Xing's words, Meng Xi didn't mind. After thinking for a while, he said:
"In that case, I'll go back first. Hong Xing wants to tell the Second Master that I've been here."
After Mengxi finished speaking, she supported Zhiqiu and turned to walk out. After taking a few steps, Hongzhu pushed the door open and called her from behind:
"I pay my respects to the Second Madam. The Second Madam is coming."
Hearing Hongzhu calling her, Mengxi stopped, turned around and said:
"Hongzhu, get up. The Second Master is resting. I won't disturb you. Hongzhu, tell the Second Master that I've been here."
Hongzhu had also seen what was on Second Master's mind these days. When the news of the family punishment today reached Xiaoxiang Courtyard, Hongzhu was horrified, but suddenly she felt that Second Master was standing up for Second Mistress.
After all, in the past two years, Xiao An's harsh treatment of the Second Mistress was common knowledge in the Xiao Mansion. If anyone didn't know, it was probably the Second Master. If anyone had nothing better to do and wanted to cause trouble, they could tell the Second Master about it. Even if the Second Master hated the Second Mistress, he would still have to save his face.
Seeing that the Second Madam was about to leave, how could she let her go? Seeing that the Second Master had been lying on the bed all afternoon, staring at the door, maybe it was the Second Madam who came.
She saw clearly just now that when the Second Master heard the noise, his eyes lit up and he hurriedly sent her out to see. The Second Mistress was also very stubborn. When others heard that the Second Master was punished, they would be the first to show up, so as to leave a good impression in front of the Second Master. But she was different. She waited until it was almost dark and everyone had left before she came.
But Hongzhu's mood at this time was probably the same as Erye's. It was good that she came, and she didn't care about who was the first one. Thinking of this, Hongzhu said:
"Please wait a moment, Madam. I will go and tell you right away."
Seeing Hongzhu say this, Mengxi had no choice but to turn around and walk back.
What an injured person desires most is the comfort of his loved one, and Xiao Jun is the same. He really wants Mengxi to come and see him, at least that means Mengxi cares about him. He waited for half an hour, but the one who should have come didn't, and the ones who shouldn't have come all came.
Just when he was feeling depressed, he vaguely heard a sound outside, which sounded like Mengxi's. He hurriedly told Hongzhu to go out and take a look. Hongzhu went out. Xiao Jun pricked up his ears to listen to the noise outside. When he heard Mengxi was going back, he became anxious and tried to get up. When he moved, he remembered that he had just been beaten with a stick. His buttocks and legs were all injured. His knees were red and swollen from kneeling for most of the day. Even Xiao Jun couldn't help but groan, and blood seeped from the back of his shirt again.
After hearing Hongzhu asking the Second Mistress to wait for a moment, Xiao Jun finally calmed down. It would be too indecent for him to meet people like this. Thinking of this, he gritted his teeth and moved to the bedside, reaching out for the coat on the couch. Just as he was reaching for it, Hongzhu pushed the door open and walked in. When she saw the Second Mistress like this, she hurried forward to support him:
"Second Master, what are you doing? The old lady told you not to move and take good care of yourself, but you didn't listen. Look, the wound has split again after you moved. I'll find someone to rebandage it for you right away."
After helping Erye back to bed, Hongzhu was about to go find Xiaoxia to change Erye's medicine, but Erye stopped her:
"It's okay. Who's outside?"
"Master, it's Second Madam. I heard that you were punished by the family, so I came to serve you. Master, your wound is bleeding. I will find Xiao Xia to apply some medicine on you and rebandage you. Master, please don't move again."
"Give me my clothes and help me up"
Seeing that the Second Master insisted, Hongzhu had no choice but to help him put on his coat and helped him lean on the bed. Xiao Jun supported himself with one hand and moved to a better position so that Xier would not laugh at him and would not see the blood behind him. Then he said to Hongzhu:
"Call the Second Madam in"
Hongzhu saw the Second Master gritting his teeth and enduring the pain. She didn't know why the Second Master had to do this. Everyone knew that he had just been beaten. No one would say anything if he just lay on the bed to meet outsiders, let alone to meet the Second Madam. Shaking her head, she sighed, pushed the door open and went out to invite the Second Madam.
As soon as Mengxi entered the room, she saw the Second Master sitting on the bed sideways, seemingly leisurely, and was also stunned. It is said that in ancient times, family rules generally involved spanking. Where did the Second Master get spanked? Could it be that it was not on the buttocks? How could he still be sitting?
Although I was puzzled, I still stepped forward and bowed softly:
"Hello, Second Master. I heard that you were punished by the family and you are feeling better now. If you are uncomfortable sitting, why don't you..."
Mengxi entered the room and saw that the Second Master was sitting with one hand supporting his body. She felt that the Second Master was really tired and wanted to persuade him to lie down to be more comfortable. However, she thought that it was really indecent for the Second Master to lie down in front of her, so she swallowed her words. A layer of blush appeared on her face instantly. She simply stood there and said nothing more.
Xiao Jun heard Meng Xi stop talking halfway through her words, and looked up, only to see Meng Xi standing there with a slightly red face, looking shy. When had he ever seen Meng Xi like this The pain that felt like being cut by a knife or chopped by an axe disappeared immediately. If he could see Xi'er behave like a girl more often, it would be worth it to be beaten a few more times.
"Second Master"
Seeing that the Second Master was just looking at the Second Mistress without saying anything, Hongzhu hurriedly reminded him. After hearing Hongzhu's call, the Second Master came back to his senses. His face was slightly hot because of his previous loss of composure. He coughed and said softly:
"It's just a few beatings, it's no big deal, Xi'er, please sit down, Hongzhu, serve the tea."
After hearing what the Second Master said, Zhiqiu helped Second Madam sit on the chair. After a while, Hongzhu brought her tea .
After Mengxi sat down, she looked up at Erye and saw that he was also looking at her. They looked at each other and then looked away at the same time. For a moment, neither of them knew what to say. A different atmosphere was floating between them, and Mengxi's heart began to pound.
After a long while, Mengxi finally broke the silence:
"I heard that the Second Master was punished by the First Master because of the matter of Steward An."
When mentioning Manager An, Xiao Jun's eyes showed hatred and he said:
"How dare you, Xiao An, to embezzle the government's money!"
Xiao Jun was so anxious that he almost said something that dared Xier to be so harsh. Then he remembered that she was right beside him. If he told her about this, she would blame herself for it. So he changed his words. However, when he thought of the grievances she had suffered, he couldn't help gritting his teeth.
Mengxi was very confused when she saw Xiao Jun like this. Looking at the look in the second master's eyes, it didn't look like he had embezzled 20,000 taels of silver. Instead, it looked like Xiao An had stolen his woman and killed his parents. They had an irreconcilable hatred for each other.
Could it be that Second Master was venting his anger for her? This thought flashed through his mind, and he shook his head, thinking it would be better not to be so self-indulgent.
No matter what, she hated Xiao An to the core. Seeing the Second Master like this, she felt very happy. She remembered that there was still some excellent healing medicine in the East Wing. Considering that the Second Master had also vented his anger for her, she might as well give it to him for free. Thinking of this, she said:
"Second Master has been punished by the family. This reminds me of the last time Zhichun accidentally cut his hand. I was afraid of leaving a scar, so I sent someone to Yichuntang to buy medicine. It happened that Yichuntang had just prepared a batch of new medicines, including a rare healing medicine on the market. According to the people in Yichuntang, this medicine can not only make the wound heal faster, but also will not leave scars after the wound heals. I bought a lot of it at that time, and it really worked well. Now there is still some left. I will ask someone to send it over later. Second Master, try it."
