Chapter 209: Angering the First Wife
When the old lady saw Mengxi was going to write a letter of guarantee to the Xiao family, she was furious. She looked up at her unconscious grandson, opened her mouth several times, but finally resisted the urge to call for help. She was always superstitious and believed that if Jun'er was sick or in trouble, as long as Mengxi was by his side, Jun'er would be able to turn the danger into safety.
She narrowed her eyes and looked at Mengxi. Suddenly, she had a hunch that Mengxi was just trying to provoke her. Her eyes gradually turned cold . Was she really not afraid that she would first use the family rules and then divorce her in a rage? As the daughter of a small merchant, what could she rely on to be so arrogant in the Xiao Mansion!
After a long while, I heard the master say:
"Xi'er, don't talk nonsense. I, Xiao Chen, have been familiar with holy books since I was young and I understand things very well. How could I forget the rules of my ancestors and the teachings of the saints and do something so unethical? Considering that you are young and ignorant, I will not pursue it for now. Xi'er, don't mention this matter again in the future!"
The master's words were sonorous and powerful, with a sense of majesty. When everyone in the room heard these words, they knew that the master was angry, and they were all silent. At the signal of the maid, the maids all quietly retreated.
Hongzhu looked at the second grandmother kneeling on the ground with a nervous face. She wished she could go up to her, kowtow to her, call her "grandma", and beg her to say less.
But Mengxi was not afraid of death. She knew that if she missed today, it would be even harder to find another chance. Even though she knew that the master was angry, she still said with determination:
"Old lady, Master..."
Mengxi was about to continue arguing when a little maid came over to report that the eldest wife and Miss Xiu had arrived.
Hongzhu heaved a sigh of relief when she heard this. The master saw this and said:
"Xi'er, stop talking. Hongzhu, help the Second Madam up!"
Hongzhu Zhixia had already stepped forward and helped the second grandma up and pressed her onto a chair beside her.
Oh my God, don't be so unkind! Throwing her into this ancient place, it was fine if she had no money and power before, but now she has money and power, why can't she leave the house? They say that the banker takes turns, why can't she be the host! Mengxi, who was forcibly pulled up, also felt a nameless anger in her heart.
Just as I sat down, the eldest wife came in surrounded by the crowd. She looked pale and haggard, and seemed to be panting even when walking. Baozhu and Ziyue were carefully supporting her. Xiu'er followed beside her. Her eyes were a little red and swollen, probably because she had been crying.
Mengxi instinctively wanted to stand up and greet them, but then an idea flashed across her mind. The eldest wife and Xiu'er in the Xiao family supported her leaving the house. It would be better to add fuel to the fire and give them a push. The eldest wife would get impulsive and accuse her of being disobedient to her parents and divorce her.
Thinking of this
The eldest wife greeted the old lady and the eldest master, then turned around and saw Mengxi sitting there motionless. Her face turned cold and she glanced at her son on the bed. She felt even more miserable, as if her son, whom she had raised with great difficulty, was snatched away by this woman.
If it weren't for her, how could Jun'er not be the head of the family? If it weren't for her, how could Jun'er contradict the old lady and the master and be punished to fall into a coma? Seeing Mengxi being so rude, he really wanted to eat her flesh and sleep on her skin, grind her bones and scatter her ashes. Just as he was about to scold her, he heard the old lady's words:
"My wife is not feeling well, why are you here again? Stop standing there, Hongzhu, find a seat for the first wife."
The old lady also noticed Mengxi's rudeness, and remembered that when she and the eldest master came in just now, Mengxi did not get up to greet them. According to her usual temperament, she would not break such rules. There was only one reason, that is, she was determined to leave the Xiao Mansion, so she did this.
The old lady also felt that Mengxi was being particularly pretentious at this moment, but thinking that divorce was a foregone conclusion, and now that the Second Master had not woken up, it was not appropriate to mention the matter too early, or she would have to learn her lesson sooner or later. If she didn't do it at this moment, seeing the eldest wife's face change, she knew that she hated Mengxi, and was afraid that this ignorant daughter-in-law would be impulsive, so she spoke first.
"I'm sorry to have worried you, old lady. I heard that Jun'er had fainted in the ancestral temple, so I rushed over because I was worried. How is Jun'er?"
As the eldest wife was speaking, Baozhu had already helped her sit on the chair beside the bed. She looked at her unconscious son with a distressed heart. She reached out and stroked her son's burning forehead. Seeing that his limbs were stiff and he was twitching from time to time, it was not the kind of fainting caused by being punished for a long time. She was secretly shocked and tears fell down. She no longer remembered Mengxi's rudeness and said:
"My son, how could you become like this out of nowhere? I am already over 40 years old, and you are such a troublemaker. If anything happens to you, who can I rely on?"
The eldest wife cried and looked at the eldest master with resentment. When the eldest master heard this, his face turned pale. He secretly regretted his negligence. He forgot that Jun'er had an injury on his hand yesterday and punished him by making him kneel without treating it.
"Don't be too sad, wife. Jun'er just got an infected wound on his hand. Xi'er has treated it and given him medicine. Jun'er has started sweating now, so I think he will be fine. My wife has not been in good health these days, so please don't worry about it anymore."
Hearing the old lady mention Mengxi, the eldest wife turned to look at her, and met her eyes. She saw that she still had a calm expression on her face. Then she looked at Xiu'er's red and swollen eyes, and secretly hated her cold-bloodedness. This son became like this because of her, but she was like an outsider, indifferent. Thinking of her rudeness just now, her teeth were chattering, and she glared at Mengxi, unable to speak for a while.
At this time, a little maid came in and replied:
"Replying to the old lady, the eldest master, the eldest mistress, and the second mistress, the medicine soup has been cooked. Shall we apply it to the second master's legs now?"
"Medicinal soup, for leg application?"
The old lady repeated in confusion. Seeing the old lady asking, Hongzhu hurried forward and replied:
"Replying to the old lady, this is what the Second Mistress just ordered. She said that the Second Master knelt in the ancestral temple for a day and a night, and the cold air has entered his legs. If it is not forced out soon, he will develop a disease. In the future, when it is cloudy or rainy, his legs will ache. That's why she ordered me to boil a medicinal soup to apply to the Second Master's legs."
After hearing Hongzhu's words, everyone looked at Mengxi, and the old lady asked in confusion:
"This is the first time I've heard of this. How does Xier know all this? What kind of medicines are they? Do they work?"
Mengxi was disappointed to see that the first wife did not make trouble, but when she heard the old lady ask, she suddenly had an idea and replied:
"Replying to the old lady, Mengxi married into the Xiao Mansion. Because she was young and ignorant, she often violated the family rules and made the first lady angry. She was punished to kneel. After a long time, her legs often hurt on cloudy days, so she sent Zhiqiu to Yichuntang to buy medicine. The shopkeeper of Yichuntang was also a kind-hearted person. He gave Zhiqiu a prescription and said that applying this prescription to the legs would get rid of the root cause. Mengxi used it several times and it was indeed effective, so she wrote it down. Today, when she saw the second master being punished, she remembered this prescription. Just now, I was so concerned about the injury on the second master's hand that I forgot to report this to the old lady. Please forgive me. This is the recipe for boiling water just now. Please take a look at it and decide whether it can be used."
Mengxi finished speaking, took a prescription from Zhixia and handed it over. Shishu came over and took it, and handed it to the old lady.
The already depressing atmosphere in the room was made even more tense by Mengxi's words, making it hard to breathe. The servants held their breath. Baozhu and Ziyue couldn't help but shiver. This Second Mistress was so bold that she dared to go against the First Mistress so blatantly. Did she really think that since the Second Master doted on her, no one in the mansion would dare to touch her?
The eldest wife's already pale face turned even more pale at this moment. She had done all these things behind the scenes, and Mengxi had exposed them unintentionally. She looked at the eldest master guiltily, only to see that he was looking at her with a reproachful expression. Her heart trembled, and she swallowed the words that were about to punish Mengxi. If she punished her at this time, the eldest master would think that she was angry and embarrassed, and he would be disappointed with her. Years of living in a secluded house had made her understand that once a woman lost the favor of her husband, the rest of her life would be miserable.
The master was also shocked when he heard Mengxi's words. Mengxi had been married for two years. She had visited him every morning and evening, behaved properly, and acted in a measured way. He had seen it all. How could she often break the rules and get punished? Thinking of how Zhang often complained about being abused in secret by her pillow, he felt really disappointed with the first wife.
The guilt he had felt towards the first wife because of his doting on Zhang disappeared completely. He looked at her reproachfully, and seeing her evasive look, it confirmed that what Mengxi had just said was absolutely true. After all, she was his wife and the mistress of the house. He couldn't lose face in front of the younger generation. He just sat there dully and picked up the teacup.
The old lady was even more shocked when she heard this. She had heard that the eldest lady treated Mengxi harshly in private, but she didn't expect it to be so serious. Mengxi had not mentioned a word to her in the past two years. She was originally angry at Mengxi's rudeness, but now she also felt guilty.
Seeing that her son and daughter-in-law were silent, the old lady knew that this was not the time to pursue the matter. At least she could not embarrass her daughter-in-law in front of the servant. She glanced at the prescription in her hand and said:
"Since Xi'er said the prescription is effective, let's try it on Jun'er."
Seeing the old lady speak, the servants all breathed a sigh of relief. Hongzhu shouted at the door, and two maids came in carrying a bucket of steaming hot medicine. Xiu'er and others hurriedly made way for them.
Seeing Hongzhu looking at her, Mengxi hesitated for a moment, then slowly walked to the bed, lifted Erye's quilt, and gently rolled up Erye's trouser legs. After taking a look, the calm Mengxi also gasped. She saw that Erye's calves were swollen and round, thicker than his thighs, his skin was stretched tight, and his knees were already bruised.
The eldest wife only took one look and called out "My son", then she could not speak any more and burst into tears. Xiu'er beside her also started to wipe away her tears, and even the old lady could not hold back her tears.
When the master saw this, his face turned ashen and the muscles on his cheeks twitched constantly.
Mengxi reached out and took the hot towel handed to her by the old woman and gently placed it on the second master's knees.
While he was busy, a maid came in and told him that the doctor was here.
