Chapter 213: Death in Alliance
Hongzhu was busy leading the people when a little maid came to report that the old lady and the first wife were coming. Hongzhu listened and glanced at the second master. Seeing that he still had his eyes closed, she quickly put down the work in her hands, told the maid to move the couch to the bedside and prepare tea, and sent another little maid to pass a message to the second wife, and then hurried out to greet the old lady.
After a while, a group of maids and servants came in, accompanied by the old lady and the first wife. As soon as they entered the door, the old lady said tremblingly:
"Jun'er finally woke up! I was so worried..."
As he spoke, he walked to the bed, sat on the couch, reached out and took the Second Master's hand, and looked at him carefully.
The Second Master struggled to sit up, but failed. Hongzhu and Hongxing hurried forward to help him sit up, and cushioned his back with a pillow. After the Second Master sat down, he was about to greet his grandmother and mother when he heard the old lady say:
"Jun'er has suffered a lot this time. Look at him. All the flesh on his face is gone. Jun'er, don't be so willful anymore. Look how angry your father and mother are. Your mother has been lying in bed for several days and only got out of bed today. I'm old and don't have much to ask for. I just want to see my children and grandchildren around and have a few days of peace and quiet. I can't bear to see Jun'er suffer like this anymore. If something happens to him, I, I..."
As the old lady spoke, she choked up and could not speak any more. The eldest wife had already started sobbing. Seeing her grandmother like this, Xiao Jun also saw his mother sitting there wiping her tears with a face as white as paper. He felt sad and said quickly:
"Jun'er is unfilial and caused grandma and mother to worry. Jun'er is awake now and is fine."
"Jun'er was too willful this time. How can the head of this family act like he's playing house and not doing something? Your grandma and your father's efforts have gone to waste. Your mother raised you with great difficulty since you were a child. I hoped that when you grow up, you would be able to honor your parents, make achievements, and carry forward the family business. Who would have thought that Jun'er would do such an unfilial thing just for a woman? Have I raised you in vain?"
As the eldest wife spoke, she began to wipe her tears again. After hearing what his mother said, Xiao Jun suddenly felt as if a ball of catkins was stuffed in his chest, making it stuffy and swollen. He could neither spit it out nor press it down. He leaned there, unable to speak.
When the old lady heard the eldest wife mention the head of the family, she remembered Mengxi. She looked around and didn't see anyone, so she asked casually:
"Where's Xi'er? Why haven't you come to serve me at this hour?"
Hearing her grandmother mention Mengxi, Xiao Jun's body trembled. Her grandmother and mother came over. If she, as a daughter-in-law, did not come to serve them, it would be considered disobedience to her parents. Being a concubine's daughter was against the ancestral teachings. Now she was charged with disobeying her parents. No matter how hard she tried or how much she insisted, there was nothing she could do!
He looked up at Hongzhu and saw her shaking her head helplessly. He felt a chill in his heart. Mengxi was determined to get a divorce. He suddenly felt that it was meaningless. Seeing that his mother was also looking for Mengxi, he said:
"Grandma, mother, Xi'er has been serving you here for two days without taking off her clothes. After Jun'er woke up, I asked her to go back to the east wing. Jun'er didn't send anyone to call her just now, so I guess she didn't know you were coming."
After hearing this, the old lady sat there without saying anything. The first wife saw that her son was so concerned about his daughter-in-law. He was bedridden, but he was reluctant to let her take care of him and let her go to rest. She was filled with hatred and had forgotten that her son had just woken up and could not stand the stimulation. This daughter-in-law was a vixen. She had to get rid of her today, otherwise she would suck her son's blood dry sooner or later! Thinking of this, she said:
"Jun'er is really confused, how can you say that? As the saying goes, filial piety comes first in everything. Second Grandma is young and not sick. How can you fail to show filial piety to your elders just because you are tired? It's okay if it's just me today, but the old lady is here too. Go and ask someone to call Second Grandma over."
Xiao Jun knew that what his mother said made sense, but he was well aware of Mengxi's stubbornness. She had made up her mind. He originally wanted to get away with it like this, but he didn't expect his mother to be so persistent. Thinking of the incompatibility between his mother and Mengxi, Xiao Jun felt powerless.
He was confident that he could dissolve the layers of resistance from the Xiao Mansion as long as he persisted, but as for Xier, no matter how hard he tried, he could not shake her cold heart. He had been wrong before, and he had been trying to correct it, but for so long, she had never looked back to take a closer look at his heart. Facing such a stubborn and indifferent Meng Xi, he was no longer able to face the pressure from his family.
After hearing what the eldest wife said, Hongzhu cried for her mother inwardly and looked at the second master helplessly. Seeing him leaning there with a pale face, she was at a loss for a moment and didn't know how to deal with it. While she was hesitating, Hongxing responded and turned to walk out.
Seeing Hong Xing leave, the old lady said nothing more, but told the maid to call the doctor over, and then chatted with him about the past two days. Xiao Junyi responded listlessly.
After a while, Hong Xing came in uncomfortably. When the Second Master saw her, his heart completely sank. When the First Wife saw Hong Xing coming in, she asked:
"Where's Second Madam? What are you busy with? Why hasn't she come over yet?"
When Hong Xing heard the eldest lady's question, she knelt down with a plop and said:
"Replying to the old lady, the first wife, the second wife said that she is not feeling well and is not convenient to come and serve you."
"What? You're not feeling well. Someone come here!"
When the eldest wife heard Hong Xing's words, she stood up suddenly. Facing such an arrogant Meng Xi, she was really angry. She opened her mouth and called for someone to go to the east wing to get the person. Two maids responded, lifted the curtain and came in, greeted the old lady and the eldest wife, and stood aside waiting for instructions.
The old lady was also irritated by Mengxi's arrogance. She was about to explode, but when she saw the first wife calling for someone, she stopped talking. She looked up and saw the second master's face turned pale. She was moved and said to the first wife:
"Don't be in a hurry, wife. Sit down and talk slowly."
Seeing the old lady speak, the first wife had no choice but to sit down again. Just as she was about to speak, she saw the second master struggling to move. Hongzhu saw it and hurried forward to support him. With Hongzhu's help, the second master struggled to kneel on the bed and kowtowed to the old lady and the first wife. When the two saw it, they hurriedly dissuaded him:
"Jun'er, lie down quickly. What are you doing? You are not an outsider. Just lie down and talk."
"Grandma, mother, Xier is young and ignorant. Please don't punish Xier for Juner's sake. Juner kowtows to you. Please forgive me."
The old lady was so angry at Mengxi's pretentiousness at this time. No one in the Xiao Mansion had ever dared to be so rude to her. If it weren't for Master Jingyun's words and fear that something might happen to Jun'er, she would have sent people to the east wing to kill Mengxi. Seeing that Mengxi was so rude to her in front of all the maids in the yard, and Jun'er actually spoke for her, her face immediately darkened.
The eldest wife was furious when she saw Mengxi was rude and her son was still protecting her. When she saw the old lady's face was also gloomy, she started to scold:
"Rebellious son, truly a rebellious son. What sin did I commit in my previous life to give birth to a rebellious son like you? What kind of magic did this Second Mistress use to bewitch you to this state? It would have been fine if you didn't want the position of the head of the family, but now you don't even want the word 'filial piety', and you don't even want to follow the rules and dignity of a noble family. It would have been fine if Second Mistress only offended me, but now she doesn't even respect your grandmother, and you actually speak for her. Let alone families like ours, go ask those in smaller families, how can a son protect his wife in front of his elders? If this word gets out, how can I have the face to face the world, the eldest master, and the ancestors of the Xiao family? I'd rather die."
After the first wife finished speaking, she stood up and rammed her head against the cabinet by the wall. Baozhu and Ziyue were so scared that they both rushed over to hug the first wife and screamed like pigs being slaughtered. However, it was still a step too late. The first wife's head hit the cabinet hard and a big bump appeared. Baozhu and Ziyue helped the first wife to sit on the seat, knelt on the ground with a plop, and begged:
"I beg you, Madam, to be more open-minded. The Second Master is young and was just confused for a moment. He did a stupid thing. If you give him some advice, he will eventually figure it out. If you really die like this, he will be branded as an unfilial person and will never be able to hold his head up again in his life. I beg you, for the sake of the old Madam and because the Second Master is your biological son, to never do such a stupid thing again."
After Zi Yue finished speaking, she kowtowed again, and Bao Zhu followed suit. The servants in Xiao Xiang Courtyard had never seen such a scene before, and they knelt on the ground in a crowd.
Seeing this scene, Xiao Jun's face turned pale. He knelt on the bed and felt his head buzzing, as if willow catkins were swaying in the wind. He barely supported the bed with his hands and did not fall down, but his mouth could not make a sound. He knew it was unwise to speak for Mengxi in front of his mother, but there was always a glimmer of luck in his heart. He hoped that his mother would not make trouble at this time for the sake of their mother-son relationship, and for the fact that he was injured and had just woken up and was weak. Facing his mother's threat to commit suicide, Erye's heart was also cold.
The eldest wife was dizzy and dazed after being hit. She sat for a long time and finally calmed down. She felt the pain in the bump on her head. It was difficult to rub it in front of the maids and old women on the ground. She just sat there stiffly, secretly blaming the two maids for being nimble in normal times but like a piece of wood at the critical moment, causing her to hit her head against the wall and suffer a great loss. Seeing that her son didn't say anything, she didn't continue to get angry. She just sat there and looked at the old lady.
If Baozhu Ziyue knew about the eldest wife's complaint, they would definitely cry out that it was injustice. They were originally frightened by the actions of the second wife and the second master, but they didn't expect that the eldest wife rushed into them without any sign. Fortunately, they were quick and were lucky not to be killed.
The old lady looked at the pale-faced Second Master and felt sorry for him. But Mengxi dared to ignore her, the ancestor, in front of a room full of maids. She had been patient since Jun'er fell into a coma, but Mengxi kept pressing her. How could a noble family allow a merchant's daughter to be so arrogant? Now that things had come to this, she could no longer bear it . She decided to do it once and for all. If she didn't peel off a layer of skin today, she would not remember her ancestor! Thinking of this, she gritted her teeth and said:
"Everyone, get up. Stop kneeling here and getting in the way. Jun'er is really possessed by a ghost. How could he do such a foolish thing? Mengxi is disrespectful to her parents, but Jun'er doesn't know how to persuade her. Instead, he defends her. This is not what a grown man should do. Moreover, this is a family like ours. Xi'er is spoiled and arrogant, and is rude to the elders. If we don't punish her today, it will not be enough to convince everyone. Come, take Mengxi and prepare the family rules!"
