Chapter 208 Why don't I write a letter of guarantee?
Mengxi was treating the wound on the second master's hand when the maid came to announce that the old lady and the eldest master were coming. Hongzhu and the others hurriedly put down what they were doing and went out to greet them. Mengxi seemed not to hear anything and was just doing her work seriously. When Zhixia saw them, she shouted anxiously:
"Second Madam, the old lady and the eldest master are here . Let's go and greet them first. It won't be too late to treat the second master's injury when we come back. Otherwise, the old lady will blame you for being disrespectful."
Mengxi only carefully scraped the rotten flesh on Erye's hand.
"Second Madam, Old Lady..."
"Let her do it."
Seeing that the Second Grandma was indifferent, Zhixia continued to persuade her, but was interrupted impatiently by Mengxi. Seeing the Second Grandma like this, Zhixia shook her head helplessly and walked towards the door. When she reached the door, she thought for a while, turned back, stood beside the Second Grandma, and started to help her.
After a while, the crowd came in, accompanied by the old lady and the eldest master. When they came to the second master's bed, they saw the rotten flesh and pus and blood on his palms. The old lady's heart suddenly tightened. Before she could sit down, she began to call him her darling and reached out to grab the second master's arm, but was stopped by the eldest master.
After all, he was a man. Although he felt terribly pained, he knew he couldn't disturb her, so he hurriedly advised the old lady:
"Xi'er is treating her wound. Mother, please don't disturb her, lest you get distracted and make mistakes."
After hearing what the eldest master said, the old lady calmed down and stopped talking. She just sat aside and watched, her heart was torn by the second master's wound. Neither the old lady nor the eldest master noticed Mengxi's rudeness, nor did they doubt why Mengxi, the mistress of a deep house, would do such a thing. They just looked at the second master's hand worriedly.
After cleaning the rotten flesh on the palm of Erye's hand, squeezing out the pus and blood bit by bit, and washing it thoroughly with liquor, Mengxi took the medicine bottle from Zhixia's hand, poured out some medicine powder, sprinkled it evenly on the wound, and finally wrapped it with a medical cloth.
After finishing all these in an orderly manner and putting the Second Master's hand back on the bed, Mengxi sat up straight, let out a long breath, and directed Hongzhu and Hongxing to come and clean up the things on the ground. When he saw that the two had finished cleaning up, he raised his head and was about to talk to the old lady, only to hear the secretary say in surprise:
"The Second Master is sweating"
After hearing this, Hongzhu also turned around and saw beads of sweat on the Second Master's forehead. It was good that he was sweating, which meant that the Second Master's high fever was beginning to subside. In her excitement, she even forgot that the old lady was beside her and said:
"Really? It seems that Second Grandma's medicine is really effective!"
"Second Grandma's medicine?"
After hearing Hongzhu's words, the old lady asked in confusion.
When the old lady asked, Hongzhu remembered that the old lady was still sitting on the side. She shuddered with fear. This was a delicate master. Who dared to use medicine without the doctor? If something went wrong, several heads would not be able to hold her accountable. She had served the second master for so many years and knew these rules very well. She had just advised the second lady not to use medicine indiscriminately. Knowing that she had caused a big disaster, she dared not say anything. Hongzhu lowered her head and stepped aside, her body trembling.
When Mengxi saw this, he met the old lady's eyes and said calmly:
"Old Madam, Mengxi just saw that the Second Master has a high fever. I heard that high fever is the most harmful to the brain and can turn people into idiots. It will take at least an hour for the doctor to come. I am afraid that something has happened to the Second Master. I thought that the Second Master's high fever was also caused by his injury , so I used the healing medicine that the Second Master had sent me before. I didn't expect it to really work. Because of the urgency of the matter, I didn't have time to report back to the Old Madam."
Hearing Mengxi no longer calling herself granddaughter-in-law, the old lady's heart moved. She looked at the second master on the bed and sighed secretly. Just as she was about to speak, she heard the eldest master say:
"Xi'er was also acting in an emergency. Looking at Jun'er's condition, I was afraid that something might have happened if we had waited until the doctor came. Fortunately, Xi'er was calm and decisive in dealing with the situation, and she was able to save Jun'er. Now Jun'er's symptoms have been alleviated, so Xi'er should not blame herself too much."
After hearing what Mengxi said, the eldest master knew that she had violated the rules, but seeing such a good daughter-in-law being divorced just because she was born a concubine, he couldn't help but feel sympathy in his heart. He also felt that the Xiao family had let her down. Seeing that his son was fine, he was afraid that the old lady would punish her according to the rules, so he spoke first.
After hearing what the eldest master said, the old lady also knew what he meant, and sighed: This son is still too cautious, how could she be so foolish, and he still punished her when she was about to be exiled. After the eldest master finished speaking, he said:
"What the eldest master said is right. Xi'er means well, so don't blame yourself too much. By the way, was the medicine Xi'er just used on Jun'er's hand also given by the second master on weekdays?"
After hearing this, Zhixia's face turned pale and a thin layer of sweat seeped out of her forehead. The medicine used by the Second Master was not a good medicine sold even by Yichuntang . According to the Second Madam, this medicine can regenerate muscles and promote blood circulation, and will not leave scars. However, if you look closely, you will find that there is no such medicine outside. How will the Second Madam explain it then?
Seeing Zhixia like this, Mengxi secretly patted her on the shoulder and said to the old lady calmly:
"The medicine I just applied to Second Master was the medicine that Mengxi sent someone to Yichun Hall to buy for Zhiqiu when he was beaten and injured in order to protect Mengxi from family discipline. It was not used up at the time, but now it is urgent. When Mengxi was a child, he often raised small animals. Sometimes when an animal was injured, Mengxi would bandage it himself. Over time, he also learned how to treat wounds."
"Family discipline! What mistake did Xier make to deserve family discipline?"
The eldest master was shocked when he heard that Mengxi was punished by the family. The mistress of the house broke the rules and was punished by the family. That was a big deal. How come he, the head of the family, didn't know anything about it? He didn't pay attention to what Mengxi said next, and asked after she finished speaking.
"Replying to the eldest master, some time ago, the second master had just returned to the mansion, and Master Li held a banquet to invite the second master. The second master brought Mengxi with him. During the trip, the second master had something to do, so he asked Mengxi to return home first. The eldest wife mistakenly thought that Mengxi had left the mansion without permission, so she wanted to use family discipline. Fortunately, the second master came back in time and explained everything, so Mengxi was spared family discipline."
After hearing this, the eldest master sighed, and thought of what his mother said about Xiao An. He realized that Mengxi's words were just a downplay, and that the eldest wife must be finding ways to humiliate her. He felt disappointed with the eldest wife. It seemed that it was time to give her a warning, but he could not say anything bad about the eldest wife in front of the younger generation. He was speechless for a moment.
The room immediately became silent. Mengxi looked up at the unconscious Second Master. After her first aid, he should be out of danger. The rest could be handled by the doctor. She was not needed here.
Thinking of the love of the Second Master, she felt an unspeakable pain in her heart. It was not that the Second Master was a bad person, but that they were not destined to be together. This family could not accommodate her. She would not give her heart to him just for this little bit of love, and be trapped in this deep courtyard from then on, becoming a lonely and resentful woman with an empty courtyard in late spring and pear blossoms all over the ground but not opening the door.
As the saying goes, a short pain is worse than a long one. She must leave the Xiao Mansion. Thinking of this, Mengxi stood up and walked forward to the old lady. She knelt on the ground with a plop, kowtowed to the old lady, and said:
"It has been more than two years since Mengxi married into the Xiao Mansion. She is grateful for the love of the old lady. She will repay the old lady for her kindness one day. However, Mengxi learned the ancestral precepts of the Xiao family yesterday. She knows that Mengxi's status as a concubine cannot make her the second master's legal wife. Mengxi does not want the second master to bear the accusation of being unfaithful, unfilial, unkind and unjust. Please help, old lady, and allow Mengxi to leave the Xiao Mansion."
After hearing Mengxi's words, the old lady and the eldest master were trembling in their hearts, and finally understood that now it was not the Xiao family who chose whether Mengxi went or stayed, but Mengxi did not want to stay in the Xiao Mansion at all!
She was old and sharp, and she was worthy of being called the old lady. Although she had made up her mind to divorce Mengxi, she couldn't write a divorce letter now when she saw her grandson lying unconscious on the bed. She couldn't say anything final until the last moment. After thinking for a long time, she said:
"I know Xi'er's intentions. I just heard that Xi'er is a concubine. Jun'er hasn't taken over as the head of the family yet. It's not that there is no room for maneuver. This matter still needs to be discussed with the first and second masters. Xi'er, calm down for a few days. We can discuss it again after Jun'er wakes up. Xi'er, remember, one day Jun'er doesn't write you a divorce letter, you are the daughter-in-law of the Xiao family. Don't belittle yourself, and don't break the rules."
Old fox! After hearing what the old lady said, Mengxi cursed inwardly. At this moment, she really wanted to beat up this old lady who said one thing and meant another. For the sake of the family's interests, the old lady was the first one to not tolerate her, but now seeing that her grandson was unconscious and worried about his safety, she started practicing Tai Chi with her again.
Mengxi intuitively thought that it would be more troublesome to leave the house when the Second Master woke up, so she should persuade the Old Lady and the First Master to let her leave the house while the Second Master was still asleep. Since it had come to this, Mengxi decided to do it without hesitation and continued to say to the Old Lady:
"Old Madam, although the Second Master did not take over the position of the head of the family, Mengxi thinks that the Old Madam and the First Master will not entrust the huge ancestral business of the Xiao family to the wrong person. The Second Master is the only candidate for the head of the family and will take over the position sooner or later. Since they are destined not to be husband and wife, Mengxi would rather sever the relationship with the knife and complete the Second Master's family business. This is also for the good of the Second Master and the Xiao family. I hope that the Old Madam will consider Mengxi's painstaking consideration for the Xiao family and complete Mengxi. The Second Master is in a coma and cannot write a divorce letter. Mengxi is willing to write a letter of guarantee, admitting that she is a divorced woman of the Xiao family and leaving the Xiao Mansion today. I promise that if the Second Master marries someone else in the future, it has nothing to do with Mengxi!"
Meng Xi said, "Second Master will take over as the head of the family sooner or later. You, the Xiao family, cannot use the excuse that he has not taken over as the head of the family yet to waste my youth. I will leave even without a divorce letter today. She has already recognized it. Want a divorce letter? Wait until the Year of the Monkey."
So she followed the model of divorce by peace: if you don't divorce me, I'll divorce you. In the end, she saved some face for the Xiao family. She didn't dare to say that what she wrote was a divorce letter, so she had to call it a guarantee letter.
After hearing what Mengxi said, the old lady and the Lord of Heaven looked at each other and shook their heads. If they really asked Mengxi to write a letter of guarantee and let her leave the house, then his Xiao family would have no place in Pingyang. It was not the Xiao family divorcing the wife, but the daughter-in-law divorcing the husband!
Looking at Mengxi who was kneeling on the ground and seemed to be respectful to her, but those few casual words were actually challenging the supreme authority of her Xiao family. Meeting Mengxi's calm eyes, the old lady was furious and really wanted to call someone in to kill her!
