Chapter 235 Harmony
When the eldest master heard the second master mention the people who were beaten to death, he couldn't help but blame him:
"If it was an ordinary guard, Jun'er would have been ruthless. Injuring him would be fine, and leaving him alive would be easier to interrogate. Jun'er is still young, don't learn to be so vicious, and always leave yourself some room for maneuver."
After hearing this, Xiao Jun felt a little guilty and said:
"Father is right. They were just a few guards. I had no intention of killing them. I wanted to just beat them away, but Xier didn't know martial arts. They relied on their numbers and kept pestering her. I was afraid that if I kept trying, something might happen to Xier, so I used a killing move. I didn't expect them to be so weak. I will be more careful next time."
After hearing this, the eldest master stopped blaming the second master. Seeing that the second master looked tired, he said casually:
"Jun'er is tired. Don't worry about it for now. Wait until your injury heals."
Xiao Jun nodded quickly in response. He really had no energy left. Fortunately, Yichuntang's medicine was good, so he had insisted on talking to his father until now. Otherwise, he would have fallen asleep long ago.
Seeing that Xiao Jun's face was getting paler and paler, the old lady listened to the eldest master's words, gave a few more instructions, told the eldest aunt and others to serve him well, and then she got up and left Xiao Xiangyuan with everyone.
…
The medicine at Yichuntang was good and the treatment was timely. Under Mengxi's careful care, the Second Master's injuries healed surprisingly quickly. In less than half a month, he was able to handle affairs. Although he was not fully recovered yet, the urgent documents that came one after another from the south in recent days meant that the Second Master no longer had time to rest and recuperate. From the Second Master's often furrowed brows, Mengxi guessed that something big had happened in the south and no longer brought up the affairs of the mansion to bother him.
Because Yichuntang ran out of medicine, Mengxi's anxious plan to kidnap someone from the mansion failed. The irreversible consequences made Mengxi reflect again and again, and calmed down completely. The Second Master arranged eight guards to follow her like a shadow every day. She was afraid of hurting innocent lives again, and she gave up the idea of escaping from the mansion. Although the medicine that Yichuntang needed her to prepare had been out of stock, making her more and more anxious, she was no longer so impulsive. No matter how anxious she was, she had to slowly look for opportunities and wait for them to come.
She couldn't leave the house for the time being, couldn't get her medicine, and there was no entertainment such as the Internet, television, and movies. Mengxi didn't want to chat with those concubines about the Zhang and Li families. The books in the south room had been sent away long ago, and she could recite the few books around her by heart. After the second master became busy, Mengxi had nothing to do every day except teaching the third girl to read and telling them stories. She was so idle that she was about to get moldy.
Out of boredom, Mengxi thought about the Second Master's study again, and could not help but go find some books to read when he was out of the house. What excited her was that she really found the other two volumes of the Great Qi Chronicles in the study. Holding the long-awaited book, she wished she could finish reading it in one breath. Just as she was about to return to the east wing, Xiao Yan, who was guarding the study, told her that the Second Master had ordered that these books were unique copies and hard to find, and no one was allowed to take them out of the study. Looking at the two loyal servants kneeling at the door and kowtowing like crazy, Mengxi was in no mood to embarrass them.
In the evening, she went straight to find the Second Master who had just returned home. To her surprise, the Second Master, who had always been obedient to her, made an exception and refused to allow her to take the books out of the study. She was only allowed to read them in the study. Mengxi was so angry that she almost kicked the Second Master to death. It was just a few books. Was it necessary to be so cautious?
After two failed attempts, she realized that the Second Master was trying to trick her into going to the study. She decided to just stay in the East Wing and not come out, so as not to satisfy his wishes.
Boring days are the hardest to pass. The moldy Mengxi finally couldn't help but feel itchy and couldn't resist the temptation. A few days later, she entered the study again when the Second Master was away. From then on, she couldn't stop. She didn't notice that the Second Master spent more time in the study these days. Every day, not long after she entered the study, the Second Master would come to the study, and there were more and more documents on the desk, as if he had moved all his matters to the study to deal with.
The two of them stayed in the study room like this, one reading while the other managing affairs every day. When Erye was not handling affairs, he would also talk to Mengxi about the book in her hand. This made Mengxi realize that some of Erye's insights were very unique, often taking a different approach, which was refreshing for her. The two people who originally treated each other with coldness would sometimes argue heatedly over a plot or a passage in the book, just like a pair of book friends, and they got along more and more harmoniously.
The two of them were living in harmony in the study, which completely ignored the other concubines. The eldest concubine and Hongyu were fine, but Cui and Zhang were the only ones who suffered. They went from full of hope to welcome the Second Master back to the mansion, to disappointment, and finally to despair. They thought that the Second Master might have contracted some disease in the south and couldn't get close to women. It wasn't until Mengxi's concubine's origin was revealed that everyone realized that the Second Master didn't go to the backyard not because he was sick, but because he only favored his wife.
The two women, who had been at odds with each other because of the "Bo Lan" incident, were shocked by this realization and united again. Hua Zhizhan dressed up early every morning and came to the upper room together. After paying their respects, they were sent away by Mengxi. Soon after, they came back with supplements, soups and the like to show their filial piety.
Mengxi was so annoyed by their noise that she wanted to kick them away. Later, Mengxi simply let them wait in the upper room while she did what she was supposed to do. Anyway, they were always following the shadow of the Second Master. As for the Second Master, he either went out every day or hid in the study . Occasionally, he would return to the upper room early and when he saw the two concubines, he would send them back to the backyard without waiting for their smiles to disappear.
The Second Master stopped going to the backyard, leaving Cui and Zhang's lonely hearts tormented in anticipation every day. Finally, they had to bite the bullet and come to the upper room to fight for their own happiness. They had originally not intended to compete for favor with the Second Mistress, but only wanted to show their faces in front of the Second Master every day. The Second Master would never forget them, and might go to the backyard if he got tired of the Second Mistress one day. They never expected that the Second Master was so indifferent. Seeing the Second Master and the Second Mistress whispering and hugging in the study every day, the resentment in the eyes of the two aunts grew deeper and deeper, making the Second Master's backyard more and more uneasy.
…
"Aunt! Aunt, look, this is the kite that mother folded for Ping'er."
Xiao Ping held a kite in her hand and pushed open Aunt Zhang's door briskly. No one was there. Where had Aunt Zhang gone? Ping'er walked around the room and saw two little maids guarding the back door, dozing off.
Without disturbing the maid, Ping'er stretched out her little hand and gently pushed open the back door, then came to the backyard. She vaguely saw a figure swaying in the flower hall. It must be her aunt who came here to rest for a while. She was about to open her mouth to shout, but suddenly her childish heart came to her and she wanted to play hide-and-seek with her aunt and scare her. So she turned around and chose a path among the flowers, tiptoed towards the flower hall. Because of her short stature, she was blocked by the flowers that were taller than her, and was not discovered by the people in the flower hall.
After a while, he came to the flower hall and carefully hid behind a peony, hoping to see the aunt's position clearly and suddenly jump out to scare her .
After squatting down, she vaguely heard someone talking inside. It turned out that it was not just the aunt. After listening carefully, it was Jinfeng. The voice was trembling. Ping'er forgot to scare the aunt for a moment and squatted there to listen. She only heard Jinfeng say:
"Aunt, you have forgotten what happened to Aunt Li. I beg you to let her go, if for no other reason than for the sake of the Second Young Miss. If this matter is exposed, I will die, but if anything happens to you, it will be hard for the Second Young Miss."
"I understand what you said, but Second Madam is alive and monopolizing Second Master. We have no chance at all. We are no different from the living dead. We might as well give it a try. Maybe, with Second Madam gone, Second Master will give up and turn back."
"But, Auntie..."
"You are usually very courageous, but why are you so timid now? Moreover, this time is different from Aunt Li. Aunt Li harmed the flesh and blood of the Xiao family. We are helping the Xiao family to eradicate the scourge."
"I don't understand what Auntie said. You have seen these days that even the old lady is courteous to the Second Madam, not to mention the First Madam. She is afraid that the mother and son will become estranged, so how dare she find fault with the Second Madam? Isn't she pampering and respecting her every day..."
"You are frightened by these few things. You are short-sighted. To tell you the truth, the first wife is just pretending. She gave me this medicine. She asked me to put it in the soup for the second grandma. When she dies, the light will go out. The second grandma's family has no power. The first wife will cover it. Now everyone in the mansion, including the old lady, does not want the second grandma to live. It's just that she is protected by the second master, so she can't be hurt or touched openly, let alone executed. Think about it, how can the old lady and the first wife let the second master not be the head of the family? Let alone other things, if the second master really doesn't become the head of the family, will we have a foothold in the Xiao Mansion for the rest of our lives? Besides, this matter is tacitly approved by the higher-ups. Once the second grandma dies, we will only benefit."
After hearing this, Jin Feng nodded and said:
"What you said is true, I will do as you command."
"Well, it's good that you figured it out. After it's done, don't..."
Aunt Zhang was relieved to see Jinfeng agreed. Just as she was about to promise Jinfeng, she heard Jinfeng suddenly remember something and said hurriedly:
"Auntie is wrong..."
"What's wrong?"
"I just thought that the first wife really wanted to harm the second wife. Concubine Cui was originally the head maid beside her. She was more considerate to her than you. Besides, the two head maids Qin'er and Wan'er, who were just taken in by the second wife, were trained by the first wife. Now they serve the second wife personally. They are more favored than Zhixia and Zhidong. It is much easier for them to do it than for us. Why didn't the first wife use them, but you? I always feel that this matter is not that simple and a little mysterious. Besides, if the second wife is dead, can the second master not investigate? By then, even if the first wife protects her, she may not be able to turn the tables on the second master. We have to find a scapegoat to settle this matter."
"The eldest wife's meaning is very clear. The servants in the Xiao Mansion all know that Concubine Cui, Qin'er and Wan'er are hers. If something really happens to the second wife with these three people, she will be involved in the investigation. In the end, she will be hated by the second master, and the relationship between mother and son will be hurt. It's not worth it."
"That's what I guessed too. If that's true, it's fine if we keep it secret. But once the truth is revealed, the first lady will deny it completely and maybe even kill us first."
