Chapter 211 The Second Master Wakes Up
The eldest aunt was afraid that the second mistress would be confused by the old lady's words and think that she would not be able to get out of the marriage, but was caught off guard by the old lady. So she tried to persuade her in a kind manner and brought up the eldest master's past. She was so busy talking that she didn't notice that when Mengxi heard her mention that Aunt Zhang was the eldest master's childhood sweetheart, her hand trembled as she was taking out the needle.
This reminded Mengxi of the poisoning of the Second Master two years ago. She had long been certain that it was done by Aunt Zhang, but Mengxi never considered herself a member of the Xiao family, so in the past two years, she had no intention of seeking justice for the Second Master. Aunt Zhang also had some feelings about her, and the two of them fought several times, both openly and secretly, until Aunt Zhang got scared and stopped.
Now I heard that she was the master's childhood sweetheart. Looking at these two people who were once deeply in love, I remembered that their love, which only cared about being together and not caring about status, was finally swallowed up by the ruthless years and twisted by this inhumane mansion. In the end, she had to secretly murder her lover's child with her own hands! I felt disheartened.
The thing that is most intolerable in this kind of aristocratic family mansion is "true love". Looking up at the sleeping Second Master, knowing that it was an ill-fated relationship, he still used his true love and even lost his mind for a moment.
"Second Grandma..."
The voice of the aunt seemed to come from far away, pulling Mengxi back to his wandering thoughts. He stole a glance at the aunt and saw that she was still talking. He regained his concentration and took out the silver needle in an orderly manner while listening to the aunt saying:
"…Second Madam, I know that the old lady loves you the most. In theory, I shouldn't say this, but I really can't bear to see you suffer. I have lived in the mansion longer than you, and I have seen through some things. Second Madam, don't be fooled by the old lady's kind face. When she does something, she is very decisive. No one in the Xiao Mansion can compare to her in terms of killing and decisiveness."
The eldest aunt stopped talking at this point and looked at the second grandmother, who was still concentrating on the work in her hands, as if she didn't understand what she meant at all. She sighed secretly, and finally, as if she had made a great decision, she looked at the second grandmother and said:
"Second Madam has been in the mansion for two years, and I haven't seen your family come to visit. I think Second Madam is not popular in her family. My father and brother are both minor officials in Qingzhou. My mother is also very kind. If Second Madam has any problems, I will give my mother a letter of divorce and she will definitely take care of you. But Second Madam, please don't despise my mother's humble home."
What the eldest aunt said touched the bottom of her heart. Ever since the second grandmother saved her two daughters last time, she had been attached to the second grandmother. Over the past two years, the second grandmother treated her as a relative and never treated her as a slave or harshly. The two people who were originally rivals in love had established a deep sisterly relationship because they had both given up on that man.
Seeing that the Second Mistress was in trouble today , although the First Aunt knew that doing so was against etiquette, she knew very well how miserable the outcome would be for a woman in this era if she lost the favor of both her husband's and her own family. She was really afraid that this arrogant Second Mistress would freeze to death on the street just to save her life.
Although the old lady said in front of everyone that day that Mengxi was still her daughter-in-law of the Xiao family, she had seen the determination in her eyes that it was only a matter of time before the second grandmother was divorced. After thinking about it for two nights, she finally couldn't resist the worry about the second grandmother's future fate and extended a helping hand.
If the eldest aunt's words were heard by someone with ulterior motives and spread to the eldest wife, who knows how much trouble would arise. After hearing her heartfelt words, Mengxi couldn't help but feel a lump in her throat and almost shed tears. She suppressed the pain in her heart and said calmly:
"Some things have been said, and they are over. Never mention them again. The eldest aunt has been in the mansion the longest, so she naturally knows that the rules here are strict and no mistakes can be made. The eldest aunt, you should keep these words to yourself and never say them again."
After hearing what Second Mistress said, the eldest aunt knew that it was for Second Mistress's own good and she didn't want her to be implicated. Thinking that Second Mistress herself was in danger and she was still thinking about her, her nose felt sore and two lines of hot tears rolled down. She choked and said:
"Second Grandma..."
"Chun'er is 7 years old this year. Although it is said that a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent, for a family like ours, she must learn needlework and some other subjects. This way, she will have a foothold in the future and will not be looked down upon when she marries into her husband's family. I taught her before, but she loved her younger sister, so I let her not go to the private school. In the future, I will let her go to the private school to study. It will always be good. If that doesn't work out, I will ask the second master to find a female teacher to teach the two girls."
Seeing that the aunt was about to continue, Mengxi quickly interrupted her and mentioned her daughters, which was the only thing she was worried . Xiao Jun's three daughters were close to her, especially Chun'er and Feng'er, who often stayed in the east wing to listen to her stories and then slept on her bed. This made Mengxi, who had never been a real mother in two lives, feel tender in her heart. She had wanted to talk to the aunt about this for a long time, and now was the opportunity, so she said it.
After hearing this, the aunt tried her eyes with a handkerchief and continued:
"I have been thinking about this matter these past two days and would like to hear your opinion. Second Madam said today that I will listen to you."
Looking at this aunt who treated her like her own sister, Mengxi sighed and said:
"Eldest Aunt is still young, don't take everything so lightly, fight for what you should fight for. Eldest Aunt has two daughters, and no one can take them away. Although Second Master is a little unkind, he is not a bad person. Eldest Aunt, serve him well, and Second Master will never treat you women unfairly in the future."
"What Second Aunt said is true, but once a person's heart is dead, there is nothing left to desire. Chun'er and Feng'er have suffered many misfortunes since they were young. If it weren't for Second Aunt, the two children would have died long ago. I'm afraid I would have died just like Second Aunt."
The eldest aunt paused, looked up at the second wife, and continued:
"Ever since my two daughters got into trouble, I have often taken care of Buddhist matters in order to pray for them. After that, I realized that everything in the world, such as the extremely prosperous Xiao Mansion and the various people in the mansion, is originally a form of illusion. In essence, they are all empty. It is only because people have seven emotions and six desires that colors appear in the air, making people lose their true nature. If it weren't for my two daughters , I would really like to cut off these three thousand strands of worries and convert to Buddhism, so as to accumulate more virtues and reduce some sins for Chun'er and Feng'er."
After hearing what the aunt said, Mengxi felt sad. She stammered for a while but said nothing. How could such a good person have such thoughts? The aunt was only 24 years old. In her previous life, she was in the prime of her life, the age of pursuing happiness.
But she was born in this ancient time when men were superior to women, and she became a lowly concubine at an early age. She lost her husband's favor at an early age. No matter how much people persuaded her to turn back, she could not escape the loneliness of the rest of her life. Thinking of this, Mengxi did not persuade her to be more open-minded, but just put the silver needles she had taken out in the box one by one.
The air in the room was unusually dull. Zhixia also kept her mouth shut, looking at the aunt with sympathy. After a long while, the aunt's voice seemed to come from a void, erratic and unusually unreal:
"I can't let go of my daughter, I can't let go of my second wife. My worldly ties have not yet ended. I can't cut off these worries, and I can't cross that iron threshold. I will always be a worldly person..."
After sighing, the eldest aunt got up and said goodbye. Mengxi called Hongzhu in, and together with Zhixia, they fed the medicine to the second master. Although the doctor had prescribed medicine that day , Mengxi only took a look at it and put it aside. She has been using her medicine for the past two days, and only let Hongzhu and Zhixia feed it every day, and not let the little maid see it. Hongzhu saw that the medicine was effective, so she let her do it.
After watching the two men finish feeding the medicine and cleaning up, Mengxi opened the medicine bandage on Xiao Jun's right hand and checked the second master's wound. She saw that the eroded area had turned a little red, as if new flesh was about to grow, and there was a tendency for gradual healing. She cleaned it again, applied medicine and bandaged it.
I looked at Erye's face. The bruises from the beating had not completely faded away, but he had returned to normal. He didn't have a fever this morning. Listening to his steady breathing, I thought to myself: It's time for him to wake up.
Thinking of this, he called Hongzhu and told her all the medicines that the Second Master had taken in the past two days. Finally, he said:
"Second Master's fever has subsided, and he should wake up soon. Tell someone to make some porridge and send it over. It will be useful when Second Master wakes up. When Second Master wakes up, go tell the old lady that I will go back to the east wing first. If there is anything else, send a maid to the east wing to pass on the message."
When Hongzhu heard that the Second Madam was going back to the East Wing, she was stunned. Everyone who had served in the room in the past two days knew that the Second Master was unconscious and had been talking nonsense, calling the Second Madam's name. She was so frightened that she didn't dare to let the maid come in. Only she and Hongxing served in the room.
It's obvious that the first person the Second Master wanted to see when he woke up was Second Mistress. But this troublesome Second Mistress had been serving him without taking off her clothes for two days, and now it was time to show off her achievements, but she wanted to avoid him. Could it be that she didn't want to have good thoughts in front of the Second Master at all? At least the Second Master could help her fight for it, and maybe she could really win over the Old Mistress.
Ever since the fact that the Second Madam was a concubine was revealed, the maids and servants in Xiaoxiang Courtyard kept this a secret and served her carefully every day, fearing that they would break a taboo if they let the cat out of the bag. Even Hongzhu was not as natural in her conversation with the Second Madam as before. She could not guess what the Second Madam was thinking, and of course she did not dare to speak carelessly. But this time was different from the past. Seeing that the Second Madam was about to leave, she mustered up the courage to persuade her:
"Second Madam is tired. I will wait for you to rest for a while. Second Master will wake up soon. I think the first thing he wants to see after he wakes up is..."
Hongzhu, who was speaking, was so frightened by the stern look from the Second Grandma that she swallowed back the rest of her words. She stammered for a moment and said nothing more, looking at the Second Grandma nervously.
Seeing that Hongzhu stopped talking, Mengxi retracted his gaze and pointed at the last bottle of medicine and said:
"I just bought this bottle of medicine from Yichuntang. It is said to be able to invigorate blood circulation and prevent scarring. Hongzhu wants to change the medicine on Second Master's hand on schedule."
After Mengxi finished speaking, she ignored Hongzhu and helped Zhixia out.
"I will follow the Second Madam's instructions and send her off respectfully."
Hongzhu said as she chased after the Second Grandma.
Erye opened his eyes, not knowing where he was. He remembered that he was punished by his father to kneel down because he talked back to his grandmother and father. He looked around and found that it was his bedroom. He thought he had fainted and was sent back. He remembered Xier had visited him before he fainted. Thinking of Xier, he suddenly remembered something. He reached out his hand and felt into his arms, but there was nothing. He was shocked and struggled to sit up.
