Chapter 199: Forced to Sell Body Contract
Zhiqiu always felt that Second Grandma was a little absent-minded these past two days, and there was something strange in her eyes when she looked at her occasionally. He asked her about it several times, but Second Grandma just shook her head and said that she might be tired these days. This made Zhiqiu feel uneasy these two days.
One day, Mengxi was lying lazily on the couch. Suddenly, she wanted to drink bird's nest porridge. She said to Zhiqiu, who was sitting on the embroidery cushion and embroidering handkerchiefs for the girls:
"The bird's nest that the second master sent over the other day should have been soaked. Go to the kitchen and make a bowl of it. Follow the method I told you last time and add some lilies, lotus seeds and rock sugar."
Seeing that the Second Madam wanted to drink bird's nest and lotus seed soup, Zhiqiu hurriedly responded, put down the work in his hands, stood up and walked out. Just as he reached the door, he heard the Second Madam shouting:
"By the way, Zhiqiu"
"Second Grandma, what's the matter?"
"I remember that the second master sent me a set of white jade bowls a few days ago. They were crystal clear and I liked them the moment I saw them. I have been thinking about what to use them for. When the porridge is cooked, I will use those bowls to serve it."
After hearing this, Zhiqiu looked at the Second Madam in surprise. Having followed her for so long, she knew her character. How come she suddenly became so extravagant?
But when the Second Grandma finished speaking, she stopped looking at her and lay there looking at the roof in deep thought. Zhiqiu stood there, always feeling that something was wrong. He shook his head. It seemed that the Second Grandma was really tired from the past two days. He opened his mouth to say a few words of advice, but changed his mind and decided to give up. He responded and turned to walk out.
Hearing Zhiqiu's footsteps going away, Mengxi stood up and shouted:
"Zhi Xia"
"Second Grandma, what's the matter?"
Zhixia heard the second grandmother calling her and pushed the door open and walked in.
"Go to Yichun Hall quickly and ask Li Du to send someone over. Oh, and ask Ouyang Di to come disguised as a waiter. If the second gate asks, just say that you are Zhiqiu's brother and that he came to pick up his sister on my orders."
"Second Grandma, what are you doing?"
After hearing this, Zhixia opened her eyes wide and looked at the Second Grandma in surprise.
Mengxi glanced at her and didn't answer. He just said to her:
"Go quickly. Keep this a secret from Zhiqiu and Zhichun for now. Do you hear me? By the way, where did Zhichun go so early in the morning? Send someone to find him and tell him that I have something to do."
Seeing that the Second Madam was decisive, Zhixia nodded quickly, responded, turned around and walked out.
Zhiqiu quickly prepared the bird's nest and lotus seed soup and walked in carrying it on a silver plate. As soon as he entered the room, he saw the Second Mistress still lying there lazily, chatting with Zhichun who was sitting on the embroidered cushion. He quickly put the silver plate in his hand on the table, walked forward, helped the Second Mistress up and said:
"Second Madam, please get up quickly. The bird's nest and lotus seed soup is ready. It's time to drink it while it's hot."
After hearing this, Mengxi sat up with the help of Zhiqiu, reached out to take the wet towel handed to her by Zhichun, wiped her hands, and saw Zhiqiu pick up the bird's nest and lotus seed soup on the silver plate, stirring it with a spoon and handing it to her. She hurriedly reached out to take it, but she was not careful and the whole bowl of soup spilled on her, and a fine white jade bowl was also broken into pieces. Zhiqiu and Zhichun were both shocked, as this had never happened before.
The two men hurried forward to wipe the Second Mistress with a towel. Zhiqiu said as she wiped:
"Are you burned? Second Madam, please stand up first. I will help you take off this dress first."
As Zhiqiu was speaking , Second Madam's face darkened, she pushed the two of them away and shouted:
"Kneel down, you blind servant. That white jade bowl was given to me by the Second Master. It is made of the finest Hetian jade. Do you know how much it is worth? You just smashed it. It's a whole set. If you smash one, the whole set will be ruined!"
Zhiqiu and Zhichun were both shocked by the Second Madam's abnormal behavior. They stood there staring at her stupidly. It took them a long time to come to their senses. Then they both knelt down with a plop.
"Someone, go and ask Butler De to come over!"
…
As summer was approaching, it was time to sort out the things in the warehouse and take out the things that needed to be aired to dry, so as to prevent them from getting moldy and infested with insects. Steward De was cleaning the warehouse with a few servants when one of them ran over breathlessly and said,
"Master De, I finally found you. The Second Madam just sent someone over here, saying that there is something urgent and asked you to go to Xiaoxiang Courtyard as soon as possible."
"Second Grandma didn't say anything?"
"No, I just said it's urgent and I need you to come over right away."
Butler De's name was Xiao Jiade. When he first took office, Xiao Xia hinted to him that the reason Butler An was brought to justice by the Second Master was because he had abused the Second Mistress in the past two years and was discovered by the Second Master, so he took action. Butler De was also a smart man. He understood what he heard. After taking office, he dared not really listen to the First Mistress and abuse the Second Mistress, unless he was as desperate as Butler An. Since he took over as butler, whenever he encountered matters concerning the Second Mistress, he would play both sides and deal with the First Mistress in secret.
After hearing the Second Madam's order, he did not dare to delay and nodded quickly to say that he understood. He put down the work in his hands, gave some instructions to the people who were working, and hurried to Xiaoxiang Courtyard with a personal servant.
When the two of them arrived at Xiaoxiang Courtyard, Zhixia was already waiting at the second gate. Upon seeing Manager De coming, she took him directly to the east wing. When they reached the door and saw two big maids kneeling outside, Manager De's heart skipped a beat, wondering what trouble this restless Second Madam was going to make.
He knew Zhiqiu and Zhichun, who were the popular figures around the Second Madam. No one in the entire Xiaoxiang Courtyard dared to touch them. Why were they punished to kneel outside the door in public today?
He followed Zhixia into the east wing nervously. It was the first time for Steward De to come in, but he didn't dare to look around. He turned around the screen and saw the Second Madam sitting there. He hurriedly took a few steps forward, bowed to her and said:
"Hello, Madam. I wonder what's the matter that has made you call me here so urgently?"
"Butler De has also seen that the two girls kneeling outside the door have become more and more arrogant because of my daily pampering. Today, they broke the rules again. I think they have grown wings and don't want to live in peace. I simply drove them out. Considering that they have been with me for a long time and have paid back their indentures, I will send someone from my family to take them away. This will also prevent the servants from saying that I am heartless and ungrateful and gossiping about me."
"Second Madam, this..."
Seeing that the Second Madam wanted Zhiqiu and Zhichun's indentures, Butler De hesitated. Normally, it was a small matter for the mistress of the house to drive away a maid, but usually they would send a boy to take her away and sell her outside the house. However, this Second Madam was very creative and just to leave a reputation of being magnanimous, she wanted to return the indentures and let her family take her away.
This matter has no precedent in the mansion. It would be fine if the second wife was favored in the mansion, but the mistress of the house hated this second wife very much. He had only been in office for a few days, and the first wife had reminded him more than once not to be too accommodating to this second wife in everything.
But intimidated by the pressure from the Second Master, he dared not really listen to the First Wife. He had to work hard every day to keep it a secret, secretly sighing at his miserable life. He thought he had got a good job, but he was caught between the Second Master and the First Wife every day. What's more, this Second Wife was not a person who could live in peace. She was always causing trouble and almost destroyed the Xiao Mansion.
Today, seeing Second Madam giving him another difficult question, he was in a dilemma, not knowing how to respond, when he heard Second Madam slowly speaking word by word:
"Why, Steward De, as the young mistress, I can't even make such a decision. I have to report it to the Second Master before Steward De agrees?"
When the Second Master was mentioned, Steward De thought of how many troubles the Second Mistress had caused in recent days. According to the rules of the mansion, she should have been kicked out several times ago, but the Second Master always gave in to her. He thought that the Second Mistress would definitely not stop him this time. Hearing the Second Mistress's forbearing tone, he dared not really let her go back to the Second Master, and hurriedly replied:
"I dare not"
"Then what is Mr. De still hesitating about?"
Mengxi asked again, and her light tone seemed to carry an invisible pressure that came down from the hall, making the air in the hall so tight that Butler De couldn't help but sweat on his forehead when he heard it.
He stole a glance at the little woman sitting upstairs, and saw that she was sitting there dignified and imposing without being angry, and his fingers couldn't help but tremble twice. Then he thought, after all, she sent away her personal maid, and she cut off her arm herself, and maybe she could tell a lie to the eldest wife and get credit. Thinking of this, he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and said:
"How dare I stop you from doing this, Second Madam? Besides, you are kindhearted and considerate of our old friendship. This is a good deed to accumulate merit for our ancestors. I think even if I report this to Second Master and First Madam, they will only praise you for your kindness and generosity. Second Madam, wait a moment. I will go back and get it and bring it to you."
Seeing that Steward De agreed, Mengxi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She also knew that there was no precedent for what happened today in the mansion. She was really afraid that Steward De would insist on reporting to the Second Master and the First Madam, and something unexpected would happen. Seeing that Steward De was about to leave, she was afraid that he would go out and secretly report to the First Madam, so she was not willing to let him go, so she quickly said:
"Master De, please wait. It's just a small matter. How can I ask you to run errands in person? You just rushed here in a hurry. I think you must be tired. Rest here for a while, drink some tea, and send a servant to go."
After Mengxi finished speaking, he turned to Zhixia and said:
"Please sit down, Steward De, and serve tea."
After hearing this, Steward De had already understood what Second Madam meant. Thinking of how Second Madam and First Madam were incompatible, it was really difficult to be caught between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law. He secretly complained that being the steward of the Xiao Mansion was really not a human job!
But now that things had come to this, how could he dare to disobey the Second Mistress's words? He quickly responded and ordered his personal servant to fetch Zhiqiu and Zhichun's indentures and bring them over.
After a while, the servant came back with the indenture contract in hand. Mengxi then let Steward De leave and told Zhixia to call Ouyang Di who was waiting outside.
Zhiqiu knelt outside the east wing door, watching the people coming in and out of the door after noon and the maids and old women watching the fun in the back yard; she would never believe that the Second Mistress, who treated her like a sister on weekdays, would actually expel her from the Xiao Mansion just for breaking a jade bowl given by the Second Master. Zhichun just pleaded for her, but she suffered the same fate.
To be honest, she didn't miss the Xiao Mansion, but she was worried about leaving and leaving the Second Madam alone in this gloomy courtyard, so she knelt stubbornly outside the east wing door and refused to leave.
Seeing the regretful look in Steward De's eyes as he walked out of the east wing, Zhiqiu's heart trembled. She thought that the Second Mistress had already made an agreement with Steward De and was determined to drive her out of the house. Looking at Steward De's receding back, Zhiqiu felt flustered.
