Chapter 193: Got Caught Leaving the House
The prince and Mengxi came out of the door one after another. The prince turned around and talked to Mengxi. Halfway through his speech, his eyes suddenly lit up and he looked at Mengxi's ears.
Mengxi was startled and her heart started pounding. She was dressed as a man, so it was okay that she didn't have a Adam's apple. She could just wear clothes with high necklines to cover it, but her ears and eyes could not be covered.
Seeing the prince looking over, he didn't know what to do, but then he saw Ouyang take a step forward and accidentally opened the folding fan in his hand, blocking the prince's sight. Mengxi took a step back and stood there with his fists clasped:
"I have some work to do at Yichuntang, I'll be there soon, big brother, please go ahead."
The prince stood there in a daze for a long while, then finally smiled and said:
"Okay, second brother, we'll see you later!"
After the prince finished speaking, he looked at Mengxi meaningfully, strode towards the carriage, and the prince's hearty laughter could be heard in the distance.
After hearing this, Mengxi was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat.
…
Mengxi and Zhiqiu sat in the carriage on the way back home, chatting with each other intermittently.
"Second Madam , we often go out of the house in fear, but it's not the right thing to do. Especially now that the Second Master is back, we rarely have the chance to go out. Now that Yichuntang has grown so big, it's not a good idea to never see you. In my opinion, what Mr. Ouyang said today is right. Why don't we sneak out of the house and never come back? It's not bad for you to hide your identity and start your life from scratch."
Glancing at Zhiqiu, Mengxi sighed and said:
"It would be great if it was as simple as you said. Didn't you hear Master Ouyang say that our Baicao Garden has been explored several times? Fortunately, we have set up some traps. Let alone other places, the Crown Prince and the Prince of Yan are looking for me everywhere. They didn't expect that I would hide in the Xiao Mansion, so they have found nothing in the past two years. If I leave the mansion without a good identity to cover up, the Crown Prince will be fine, but if the Prince of Yan finds me, I'm afraid I won't have a day of peace."
"Second Grandma is right, but..."
"Besides, if the Xiao family loses a mistress, they will definitely turn Da Qi over to find her. I want to leave the family just to live a peaceful life, so it's better to be divorced and live out of the family as the divorced wife of the Xiao family. At least people won't associate me with the God of Medicine. It's better not to force me to leave the family unless it's absolutely necessary."
"It's good to be quiet, but as a divorced wife, Second Madam will be criticized by others in the future. Instead of that, we might as well stay in the Xiao Mansion. At least it's a home. I think Second Master seems to have some feelings for you. Hey, it would be great if you could leave the Xiao Mansion and live with Second Master."
After hearing Zhiqiu's words, Mengxi rolled her eyes at her. Her two years of brainwashing really had no effect.
"It's good to live alone. I'm just worried that things will get too bad between me and the Xiao Mansion. Even if I'm divorced, I can't take you four with me. Even if the eldest wife sells you, I can buy you back. But I'm afraid that after I'm divorced, the eldest wife won't sell you at all, especially you and Zhichun. The Xiao Mansion is so big, and executing a maid is like crushing an ant. Hey, I really have to think of a way to get you out of the Xiao Mansion first."
"Second Grandma..."
Zhiqiu saw that the Second Mistress wanted them to leave the Xiao Mansion first, and she was so anxious that she called out. Just as she was about to speak, she saw the carriage stopped. Zhiqiu hurriedly lifted the curtain and looked out, and saw that the carriage had arrived at the second gate. She was stopped by the servant at the door, and just as she was about to speak, she saw the servant driving the carriage came over and whispered:
"Sister Zhiqiu, we came back early today because we were afraid that the Second Master would come back early and not find the Second Mistress. Baozhu hasn't taken over yet, and the newcomer in charge, Zhang Bo, kept saying that the First Mistress had ordered that all vehicles entering and leaving the house must be checked, fearing that something shameful might be brought into the mansion. He insisted on checking our car, what do you think..."
Mengxi glanced at Zhiqiu and motioned her to get off. Zhiqiu nodded, lifted the curtain and got off the carriage, came to Zhang Bo, and said with a smile:
"I am Zhiqiu, the personal maid of the Second Madam. I am out of the house to buy some daily necessities for the Second Madam. This young man looks unfamiliar. I think he is new here. How could there be any mistakes with the Second Madam's things? Besides, the Madam's things are very precious. How can we let these people touch them? I think the young man should just forget it."
As Zhiqiu spoke, she intentionally or unintentionally blocked the view of the servant next to her with her body, and took out a silver ingot from her sleeve and stuffed it into Zhang Bo's hand. Zhang Bo had never seen so much silver before, and kept saying, "I didn't know it was your sister's car. Since it's something you bought for the second grandmother, what can go wrong? Sister, please go in quickly."
Zhiqiu responded, nodded to the coachman, raised the curtain and got into the carriage. Just as he was about to lower the curtain, he saw the Second Madam staring outside the carriage. Following her gaze, he saw the little maid named Liu'er beside Miss Xiu at the corner in front. The figure flashed and disappeared.
"Liu'er!..." Zhiqiu shouted.
Mengxi put her hand on her mouth, and Zhiqiu quickly shut her mouth. Her face turned pale instantly, and she quickly lowered the curtain and told the servant to leave quickly.
After walking a long way out of the second gate, Mengxi said to Zhiqiu:
"Let's go back to Xiaoxiang Courtyard quickly. When you were lifting the curtain just now, I happened to meet Liu'er's gaze. When she saw me, she turned around and ran away. I think she recognized me and went back to report."
"Then what should we do? We can't just do this and wait to be punished. How about we go find the old lady?"
"We don't care. It's useless to ask the old lady. We can't avoid this punishment."
"Second Madam, why don't we take advantage of this situation and leave the house? I'm tired of living in fear all the time."
"I think so too. Disobeying the first wife is one of the seven grounds for divorce. Being punished and divorced is not a big deal, but I am afraid that if I anger the first wife, she will take the opportunity to execute you. After all, you left the house with me today."
After hearing this, the hot-tempered Zhiqiu lost her temper and muttered:
"You are always so afraid of wolves in front and tigers behind. I don't know when you will be able to leave the house in your next life."
Mengxi sighed and said nothing more. She was also puzzled. In ancient times, there was no Internet or television, but information should not be so blocked. How come Xiao Mansion had not discovered her identity as a concubine's daughter after she married for two years? Was she lucky? Mengxi shook her head. Even Zhiqiu was anxious. It was time to ask her parents to come and see her.
The master and servant returned to Xiaoxiangyuan listlessly. Fortunately, the Second Master had not come back yet. Zhichun was relieved to see them come back. She had been worried all day, fearing that the Second Master would come back suddenly and not find the Second Madam.
After welcoming the Second Grandma into the house, Zhichun fetched water for her to wash while talking about the latest events of the day. As she was talking, she found that no one responded to her. She looked up at the Second Grandma and then at Zhiqiu, only to find that their expressions were not right. She was startled and asked hurriedly:
"What happened?"
Meng Xi raised her arm and asked her to help unbutton her clothes while saying:
"When we came back, we were seen by Liu Er in Miss Xiu's room."
“Oh my God!”
After hearing this, Zhichun almost cried, and her hands began to tremble as she unbuttoned her buttons.
Mengxi was about to speak when Zhixia came in hurriedly and said:
"Second Madam, the First Madam sent someone to fetch you. I asked her what it was, but she didn't tell me. She just said it was urgent and asked Second Madam to come over right away."
When Zhichun heard this, he hugged Second Grandma and said in a tearful voice:
"Second Madam, please don't go over there. Wait until Second Master comes back. Maybe he can help cover it up."
"What's wrong with Second Madam?" Zhixia asked in confusion.
"Liu'er saw the Second Madam leaving the house, and the First Madam probably knows about it."
After hearing this, Zhixia's face turned pale with shock. She rubbed her hands in anxiety and turned around on the ground.
"Why are you panicking? We often sneak out, and we should have expected this day to come. It's just a punishment. Zhiqiu and I will go first. We can't hide this. When the Second Master comes back, tell him the truth."
Mengxi gave the instructions calmly, shoved away the panicking Zhichun, and motioned Zhiqiu to come over and help her change clothes. Zhiqiu calmed down at this time. After all, even if the Second Madam was put into the frying pan, she would jump in first to test the temperature. She was not afraid of death, so what else was there to be afraid of? After helping the Second Madam to pack up, she helped her out of the east wing.
Seeing Second Mistress gone, Zhichun seemed to have lost his soul, and he kept walking around the room, making Zhixia confused. When she finally stopped, he walked up to her and said:
"Why don't we ask the old lady for help? Maybe it will work."
"The old lady has stopped caring about these trivial matters. This time it was indeed Second Madam who broke the rules. What can the old lady do to protect her? Second Madam is now in Yangxin Garden, not in Shouxi Hall."
Zhichun thought for a moment and said:
"You just stay in the room, so that you can take care of anything. I'll go to the upper room to wait for the Second Master. I hope that God blesses the Second Master and he can come back early today."
"How can this be possible? The Second Master just made the First Madam so angry. I'm afraid even if he wants to help the Second Madam, he won't be able to do so."
Zhichun sighed and said:
"This matter cannot be concealed anyway. I will go and wait. I will just report this matter to Second Master. It would be better if Second Master can go and plead for mercy. But if he can't go, there is nothing we can do. Anyway, we are just wasting time here."
Without waiting for Zhixia's answer, he left the east wing and walked towards the upper room.
Hongzhu was sitting in the hall sewing the soles of her shoes. When she saw Zhichun coming , she quickly stood up and gave way to him, saying:
"Why is Zhichun here? Is there something wrong, Second Madam?"
"My second grandma is not at home. The days are long in the summer. I have nothing to do, so I came out to take a look."
"Who are you making shoes for, Sister Hongzhu?" Zhichun pretended to be calm and picked up the shoes Hongzhu was making to look at them carefully.
"It's for Second Master. The weather is getting hotter day by day. Second Master likes to wear thin-soled shoes like this in summer. They are light and soft. He thinks the ones made outside are rough and clumsy, so I'm making them for him right away. Second Madam should have made them herself, but I've never seen her sew, and I didn't dare to ask her to do it. So she had to work hard and made them in a few hours."
Second grandmother's needlework? Is it good enough? When Zhichun heard Hongzhu talking about her grandmother's needlework, her face flushed and she quickly changed the subject:
"Sister Hongzhu's needlework is so good that even the old lady praised it. By the way, Sister Hongzhu, do you have any good patterns? I'll pick some out. The Qiqiao Festival is coming soon, and it's time to embroider purses and handkerchiefs for the girls."
"They are all old, old things. Second Master just came back this year and has a lot of things to do, so I haven't dared to arrange these things. When Second Master is happy one day, I'll ask him to draw some new ones and we'll just copy them. You can take a look at these first to see if there's anything you like."
"Second Master, can you still play tricks on me?"
"Second Master's paintings are good. In previous years, during festivals, the aunts from each room would come to ask for paintings. When Second Master was happy, he would paint some according to the aunt's preferences, and then go back to trace them and print them out as samples. But since Second Master fell ill the year before last, and has been away from home for more than a year, no one has asked him to paint again."
As Hongzhu spoke, she put down the work in her hands, went to the west room, took out a pile of flower patterns from the cupboard, handed them to Zhichun, and asked her to choose. Zhichun had no heart to do this, so she just pretended and picked a few pairs at random. She chatted with Hongzhu about some trivial household matters, and was anxiously waiting for the Second Master to come back.
