Chapter 237: Death
As Mengxi was thinking, she looked up and saw Qin'er coming in with a plate of cakes. There was a trace of panic on her face. She watched her gently put the cakes on the small stool in front of Ping'er, her fingers trembling slightly. Mengxi's heart moved, and she waved Qin'er to leave. She stood up and walked to Ping'er, sat on another embroidered cushion, reached out to take the cakes that Qin'er had just brought in, handed them to her and said:
"Come on, Ping'er, if you don't like bird's nest porridge, just have some snacks. Ping'er, do you know where bird's nest comes from?"
"Bird's nest, it's the nest of the swiftlet..."
Seeing Ping'er shaking her head, Mengxi coaxed her to eat cakes while telling her the origin and uses of bird's nest. As she was talking, Qin'er came in and replied:
"Replying to Second Madam, Huan'er came to ask Second Miss to go back for dinner. She was so anxious that she said Second Miss had secretly escaped. She and Madam Wu were looking for her everywhere. They happened to meet Hong'er and then knew that Second Miss had come here..."
Mengxi listened, looked at Ping'er and said:
"Ping'er!"
"Mother, Ping'er knows she is wrong and will go back now. Ping'er will not run around anymore."
"Well, don't do this next time . Only obedient children are good. Go back quickly."
Ping'er stood up and nodded, hesitating and unwilling to leave. Qin'er saw this and walked over and said:
"Second Miss, I will take you out. Huan'er is waiting outside."
As Qin'er spoke, she reached out to hold Ping'er's hand. Seeing her hand stretched out, Ping'er shuddered in fear and hid behind Mengxi.
Qin'er's face flushed red, and she looked at the Second Mistress awkwardly. Mengxi casually took Ping'er to her side and said:
"Ping'er, you are so willful again"
Seeing Ping'er standing there without saying anything, Mengxi patted her head gently and said:
"Ping'er, be good and go back quickly. Your aunt must be waiting anxiously."
Ping'er stood there for a long time, and finally, as if she had made an important decision, she looked up and said to her mother:
"Mother always warns Ping'er not to eat cold food, because it will make you sick. Mother and Ping'er have been chatting for so long, and the bowl of bird's nest porridge has already gone cold. Mother doesn't want to drink it, because it's bad for your health. Ping'er will pour it out for you!"
Ping'er said this as she broke free from Mengxi's hand and walked towards the bowl of porridge.
Qin'er's face turned pale immediately, and she hurriedly stopped Ping'er and said:
"Second Miss, please stop being so willful. It's summer, how can it get cold so quickly? Besides, bird's nest is a precious thing, and it has been ruined like this. If the old lady knows, she will scold me for not being frugal."
“Get out of the way!”
Ping'er saw Qin'er blocking her way and shouted at her impatiently. Qin'er unexpectedly did not move away, but just stood there like a fool. Mengxi glanced at her, walked forward and pulled Ping'er over, handed her to Zhixia who had just entered the room and said:
"Ping'er, it's summer now, the porridge doesn't get cold so easily, it's just right for us now. Remember I taught you that you should think about every porridge and every meal as they are not easy to come by, Ping'er, how could you forget that you can't waste anything just because you have it, understand?"
"Mother……"
"Okay, Ping'er, stop being so willful and go with Zhixia."
After hearing what the second wife said, Zhixia picked up Ping'er and turned to walk out.
"Mother!"
Seeing that her mother didn't listen to her, Ping'er became anxious and couldn't help shouting. Mengxi waved at her and said:
"Go quickly, Huan'er is waiting anxiously."
Ping'er struggled to say something, but Zhixia had already carried her out.
Mengxi came to the table, sat down, picked up the spoon and gently stirred the porridge in the bowl, scooped a spoonful to his mouth, tasted it, nodded and said:
“Mm, it tastes good, and it’s just the right temperature.”
She looked up at Qin'er who was standing there looking at her like a wooden sculpture and said:
"It's nothing, just ask Zhixia and Zhidong to come in and serve, you and Wan'er can go down!"
…
Ping'er let Huan'er drag her towards the second door listlessly. As they walked, Huan'er kept nagging her for being disobedient and running around everywhere, causing her to be scolded by her aunt. Ping'er didn't listen to a word she said, but just lowered her head and thought about her own thoughts.
When they arrived at the second gate, they were about to go out when they ran into the second master who had just got off the carriage and was about to come in. When Huan'er saw him, she hurriedly pulled Ping'er aside and stood obediently.
"Second Master An"
"Father, be well!"
As soon as he entered the door, he heard the greeting. He turned around and saw Ping'er, so he stopped and said:
"Ping'er is here"
As the Second Master spoke, he came to Ping'er and patted her on the head. Seeing that she remained silent, he continued to ask:
"Ping'er is here to see her mother. Has she had dinner?"
Hearing her father's concern, Ping'er, who was full of worries, suddenly had red eyes. The second master, who was talking, noticed that Ping'er looked a little strange, so he hugged her in his arms and asked with concern:
"What happened to Ping'er? Who made Ping'er angry? Father will take care of it for you."
Seeing his daughter's red eyes and not saying anything, the Second Master glanced at Huan'er, who shuddered with fear and quickly said:
"I don't know what happened to the Second Miss. She ran here on her own. I just found her here to take her back."
After hearing what Huan'er said, the Second Master looked at his daughter and said:
"Did Ping'er get scolded by her mother because she was disobedient and ran around everywhere?"
"No, mother didn't scold Ping'er, it was mother who didn't listen to Ping'er!"
Hearing this, the Second Master burst out laughing and said:
"Oh, that's it. Tell me, what did Ping'er say that made mother not listen? If Ping'er's words make sense, father will help you persuade her."
Hearing this, Ping'er was startled and lowered her head. Seeing Ping'er's unusual expression, Erye was startled and asked again. Seeing that she didn't say anything, he raised his head and said to Huan'er:
"Go back first and tell Aunt Zhang that I will ask someone to send Ping'er back later."
Huan'er responded quickly, greeted the young lady, and then turned and went out the second door.
Seeing Huan'er leave, Erye asked again carefully. Ping'er was still a child. Under Erye's repeated questioning, Ping'er said hesitantly:
"Father swears, Ping'er said, father will not punish aunt, Ping'er said"
The second master didn't think much about it and said casually:
"Ping'er, just say it, father won't punish auntie."
"Ping'er wouldn't let her mother drink the porridge, but her mother wouldn't listen"
"Why?"
"Ping'er heard her aunt tell Jinfeng to put the medicine in her mother's porridge"
"Medicine, what medicine?"
Ping Er shook her head and said:
"Ping'er loves her mother. She doesn't want her mother to die, so she doesn't let her mother drink it. But her mother actually taught Ping'er to appreciate the hard-earned food..."
After hearing this, the Second Master was shocked, and without waiting for Ping'er to finish, he hugged her and ran towards the East Wing like flying. Qin'er and Wan'er, who were standing at the door of the East Wing, saw the Second Master coming and were about to step forward to greet him, but they heard the Second Master shout:
“Get out of the way!”
The two were so frightened that they trembled and stood on both sides. The second master kicked the door open, strode in with Ping'er in his arms, went straight to the north room, kicked open the door of the north room, and stood there looking into the room.
Zhixia and Zhidong were startled when they saw the door was kicked open. They looked up and saw that it was the Second Master. They hurriedly called out:
"Second Master!"
The second master was standing there, his eyes slowly scanning the room. When he saw Jishang had drunk more than half of the bird's nest porridge, his whole body trembled as if he had been electrocuted. He leaned over and put Ping'er down in his arms, and walked step by step towards Mengxi, who had not looked up since he came in and was just concentrating on writing.
When Mengxi came closer, she had just finished writing the last word. She put down her pen, looked up and saw him looking at her. For the first time in her life, she smiled, stood up and greeted him, saying:
"Second Master is here, why didn't you inform me so I could go pick you up."
Seeing that Mengxi was fine, Erye felt relieved. Just as he was about to speak, he saw Mengxi's body suddenly tilted. He held her up and shouted:
"Xi'er, what's wrong with you?"
Mengxi made an exception and did not push him away. She leaned into his arms and said:
"Nothing, I just feel very tired and want to sleep for a while."
"Xi'er..."
Seeing Mengxi's increasingly paler face, Erye couldn't help but tremble all over. He could only call out "Xi'er" but his lips kept trembling but he couldn't make any sound. Suddenly, Mengxi in his arms shook and blood flowed out from the corner of his mouth.
"Second Madam! Second Madam!"
Seeing blood flowing from the corner of Second Mistress' mouth, Zhixia and Zhidong screamed, took a few steps forward and were about to pounce over, but met Second Master's unusual gaze, and the two of them stopped there like clay sculptures.
"Second Master, I'm afraid I can't make it. I've always longed for the beautiful scenery of Luding Mountain, but unfortunately I have to live in the inner house and have no freedom. I have no other wishes in this life. I beg Second Master to bury me in Luding Mountain after I die, so that I can always be with the green mountains and clear waters. I, I..."
As Mengxi spoke, more and more blood came out of her mouth, and she could not continue. The second master wiped the blood from her mouth with his sleeve and said:
"Don't be afraid, Xi'er, nothing will happen to me, nothing will happen to me..."
Erye hugged Mengxi tightly and kept repeating the same thing over and over again.
"I beg you, Master, to set Zhixia and Zhidong free after I die. After all, they followed me once..."
"Don't be afraid, Xi'er. You'll be fine. They say the God of Medicine can bring the dead back to life. Even if I have to give him everything, I will ask him to save your life. Xi'er will be fine, nothing will happen to her..."
"I'm leaving. Second Master is a good man and deserves better. Forget about me. I don't deserve it..."
Listening to the second master's slightly trembling voice, feeling his whole body trembling, the moment she closed her eyes, she caught a glimpse of the heart-wrenching pain in his eyes. At that moment, her heart was clear. He really loved her, the kind that was willing to sacrifice his life for her.
Unfortunately, it was too late, she could no longer hear or feel this world .
…
A gorgeous carriage stopped at the entrance of Yichuntang, and a man in his twenties in white knelt beside the carriage, blocking the already busy entrance of Yichuntang even more. It formed a unique scene, which made the staff of Yichuntang frown, because the man's behavior seriously affected the business of Yichuntang.
But the shopkeeper had ordered them not to offend the kneeling man, and not to get within three feet of the carriage. He also sent people to guard the carriage to prevent pedestrians from bumping into it. Therefore, the waiters could only watch the guests of Yichun Hall being blocked outside and unable to enter, feeling anxious. Passersby stopped to watch, pointing and talking:
"See? The kneeling man is the famous Xiao family , Mr. Xiao. I heard that the person in the carriage is his wife."
"I heard that his wife had contracted a strange disease and was unconscious. He had consulted many famous doctors but none of them could help her. That's why Mr. Xiao came to beg the God of Medicine."
"No wonder, is this the legitimate wife who got married two years ago? This Mr. Xiao is really infatuated. In such a scorching sun, his hands and face are about to be sunburned, but he just kneels like this. Hey, this God of Medicine is really cruel. It's been four days and he didn't help!"
"You can't say that. According to what you said, as long as someone kneels, the God of Medicine will come out. Then the God of Medicine won't have to do anything else. Just wait and see. There will be a row of people kneeling in front of the Yichun Hall every day..."
"Hey, what's wrong with you? I didn't say anything about you. Why are you making a fuss here? You must have nothing to do after eating..."
"Who are you talking about!"
"I say to these two, please say less..."
…
The various discussions and shoutings from the onlookers made the area outside Yichun Hall as chaotic as boiling porridge.
