Chapter 240 The First Wife Vomited Blood
The master's words really drove Xiao Jun crazy, and he really didn't care about his life. In this ancient feudal patriarchal autocracy, he disobeyed his father in public.
The Second Master's loud shout frightened the old woman who had come forward so much that she trembled and stopped abruptly. Looking at the Eldest Master, her legs could not help but tremble. The First Wife's face was already pale, and the Old Lady's lips could not help but tremble. The Eldest Master's forehead was full of veins, and the muscles on his cheeks were shaking. He was about to slam the table and stand up.
Seeing that the eldest master was angry, the servants in the hall turned pale and remained silent, standing there nervously looking at the second master. Hongzhu and Hongxing even wanted to go up to the second master and kowtow to him, call him ancestor and beg him to stop making trouble.
The second master fell to his knees with a thud, kowtowed to the old lady and the first master, and said:
"Grandma, father, I don't know how Xi'er lived in the Xiao family before she died. She was not treated well even after her death. It was because of her background that Jun'er was unable to inherit the position of head of the family. Jun'er swears today that he would never be the head of the family even if he dies. Please grandma and father help Xi'er!"
"you you you……"
After hearing this, the old lady pointed at the second master with trembling hands and was speechless. The first master angrily shouted:
"Jun'er, are you planning to abandon your filial piety to your ancestors today?"
"Jun'er wouldn't dare. If it weren't for Xi'er, Jun'er would have died two years ago. Xi'er has given Jun'er a second life. Since this family can't even accommodate Xi'er after her death, Jun'er should take her away from the Xiao Mansion now. Father should just pretend that he never raised Jun'er!"
"Come here, tie up the Second Master and prepare to hold a funeral for the Second Madam!"
The eldest master shouted and the air in the hall immediately became tense. The servants' legs were already trembling. After hearing the eldest master's order, they were so scared that they knelt on the ground. Two old women stepped forward tremblingly to tie up the second master, but when they met his intimidating gaze, they stopped there trembling, not knowing what to do.
"They're rebelling! They're all rebelling! Come, call the guards!"
A maid ran out early, and soon, she brought in eight guards. After paying respects to the old lady, the master, and the mistress, they stood aside and looked at the master. The master said:
"Tie up the Second Master, go to the main room and invite the Second Madam to the west wing!"
Although the Second Master was the master, the guards dared not disobey the master's order. They rushed forward, and four of them tied up the Second Master. The four of them went straight to the main room. When the Second Master saw this, he stood up from the ground, jumped to the wall, reached out to take the sword on the wall, and with a clang, he drew the sword out of its sheath, and jumped in front of the four people who were heading straight to the main room, saying:
"Let's see who dares to step into the main room!"
After all, he was the master. Even with the order from the head of the family, the four of them did not dare to really fight with the Second Master. They just stood there and looked at the First Master.
The elder master's veins were throbbing, and the muscles on his cheeks were shaking. He stood up from his seat and walked towards the second master step by step, saying word by word as he walked:
"Okay, okay, Jun'er wants to rebel, so kill me first!"
The eldest master came closer as he spoke, and walked forward step by step with his guards, facing the second master's sword. The second master retreated unconsciously, and the old lady and the first wife also stood up and followed him, all the way to the door of the main house. Seeing that there was no way to retreat, the second master was surprisingly calm, and suddenly put the sword to his neck, looking at his father and said:
"My life was given by my parents. I dare not delay my parents' orders. But Xi'er has given me a new life, and I dare not forget it. Since I cannot have both today, I am willing to die to thank my parents. After I die, I will no longer have to worry about the ancestral teachings. As father and son, I only ask that you bury me and Xi'er together on Luding Mountain."
It's not that he is unfilial, but his beloved wife and son were killed by such a person, and they were not even treated well after death. Born in such a family, he now feels that he is just a pawn in the rise and fall of his family, and he really has no desire to live.
Everyone was stunned by the Second Master's actions. The Third Master no longer cared about anything else and jumped forward to hug the Second Brother.
I only heard the second master shout:
"Who dares to step forward?"
Seeing blood seeping from Second Master's neck, no one dared to move. They all stood there like wooden sculptures. Third Master and Hong Zhu begged:
"Second brother, calm down. Father was just angry for a moment..."
"Second Master, please don't be so impulsive. Second Madam's body is still warm, and you are making things worse!"
The eldest master pointed at the second master with a trembling hand and shouted sternly:
"Rebellious son, rebellious son, just go and die. It's a good opportunity to send you away together. I, Xiao Chen, will just pretend that I don't have a son like you!"
After saying that, he turned around and strode out.
The eldest wife standing aside was already dumbfounded at this moment. She thought that after the death of the second wife, her son would be able to smoothly ascend to the position of head of the family. However, it was not at all like what she expected. Meeting her son's resolute eyes, she knew that her son was not joking. It seemed that if Mengxi was not buried with the ceremony of a wife, this son would really be gone. If she was buried with the ceremony of a wife, the position of head of the family could only belong to the third master. The eldest master had stopped favoring her a long time ago. Wouldn't the rest of her life fall into the hands of Aunt Zhang? What hope was there for her?
After all the hard work and planning, in the end it’s all in vain!
Seeing the blood oozing from her son's neck, the continuous blows made her unable to bear it any longer. She spat out a mouthful of blood, and the eldest wife's body tilted and she fell down softly.
"Madam, Madam..."
Baozhu and Ziyue screamed.
"They've rebelled, they've all rebelled..."
The old lady was trembling all over, and she spoke tremblingly. She couldn't catch her breath and died. In the small corridor, screams, cries, and begging sounds came one after another, and it suddenly became a mess.
…
Because of Mengxi's funeral standards, Xiao Jun and the three big bosses of the Xiao family finally turned against each other and almost came to blows. The eldest master was so angry that he ran away, the old lady and the eldest wife fainted, vomited blood, and the funeral of the second wife was left in suspense. The whole Xiao mansion seemed to be swept by a bleak autumn wind, with blue sky, yellow leaves on the ground, and a sad and miserable atmosphere.
Death is a big deal. You can't just let the body sit there without an announcement of the funeral. There is no such precedent in Da Qi. Manager De was even more anxious, like a headless fly. He didn't know whether he should prepare for the funeral of the second wife, and what specifications to follow. If he didn't prepare, what if the master gave an order? Then the master would scold him for not doing well. He spent the night in fear and went to Yangxin Garden early the next morning to listen to the instructions of the first wife.
But the eldest lady had been in a daze ever since she vomited blood until this morning. She didn't even go to Shouxi Hall. She just lay there with her eyes open, looking at the ceiling, as if she had lost her soul and didn't say a word. Butler De stood there for a long time, and then, under Baozhu's instruction, ran to Shouxi Hall again. He saw that the old lady and the eldest master had not even had breakfast, and were sitting there with gloomy faces. The servants below were even more silent, even walking on tiptoe, not daring to breathe. Seeing this situation, Butler De didn't dare to mention the matter of the second lady's funeral, as that would be like waiting for death. He stood there with his head lowered, waiting for the eldest master's instructions.
The maids and servants in Xiaoxiang Courtyard filled the entire yard, not knowing how to deal with the Second Madam's funeral today, and they all waited in silence for instructions from their superiors.
In the end, the mistress of the Xiao Mansion passed away, and such a big matter as the funeral was shelved. No one dared to mention a word, not even the word "two", for fear that some master would hear it and use them as a punching bag. The air was so tense that it made people feel suffocated.
…
Xiao Jun cleaned up the house carefully early in the morning, sweeping away the mess of the past few days. At this moment, he was standing in the east room, concentrating on the paper on the table, which read:
Love and cherish each other, and be a pair for life.
The last few words were a little sloppy. They were written by Mengxi before she died. Presumably, he had already broken into the east wing at that time, and Mengxi felt exhausted. Looking at these two sentences, Erye felt at a loss. She also longed for a true love of sympathy, remembrance and affection, but she had always refused to accept him because she wanted a life for two people. Unfortunately, he knew it too late and could not give it to her.
Reaching out to pick up the pen on the table, he dipped it in thick ink and continued writing:
Even if the earthly bond has faded, don't forget that we will be together in the next life.
After Xiao Jun finished writing, he looked at it for a long time, put down his pen, turned around and sat down beside the bed, staring at the delicate face on the bed, gently stroking her hair with his hand, and telling her every detail since their wedding.
"…I remember the day when we just came back from the south. You were clumsily buttoning my shirt. I realized that you were also a little woman, not a perfect person. Your clumsiness gave me the confidence to win you back. Your hug that day made me tremble with fear. It was the first hug we had since our wedding. I really wanted to hug you back tightly and kiss you, but I was even more afraid of scaring you away. I didn't dare to move and just let you hold me…"
As he was talking, Hongzhu and Hongxing knocked on the door and came in. Hongxing was holding a silver plate with a bowl of medicine and a bowl of water on it. She came to the second master and Hongzhu picked up the medicine bowl and said softly:
"Second Master, the medicine is ready, please take it while it's hot."
After hearing what Hongzhu said, Erye looked up at her, reached out to take the medicine, and drank it all. Hongzhu took the empty bowl and put it on the tray, then took the water on it and helped Erye rinse his mouth.
After the Second Master finished taking the medicine, Hong Xing took the medicine bowl away. Hong Zhu stood there looking at the Second Mistress on the bed, hesitated for a moment, and then began to advise:
"Second Master, Second Madam has passed away. The funeral is urgent. We can't delay it like this. Second Madam won't be able to rest in peace in the underworld. Second Master should go to Shouxi Hall to admit his mistake and discuss the funeral arrangements for Second Madam. The servants in the mansion are just waiting there..."
"Hongzhu, tell someone to bring Aunt Zhang and Jinfeng over here."
After hearing what the Second Master said, Hongzhu hesitated and called out:
"Second Master..."
“Go quickly!”
"Replying to Second Master, Aunt Zhang and Jin Feng are both dead?"
After hearing this, the second master's face changed and he asked sternly:
"Dead! Who executed him? Have you interrogated him? How did Aunt Zhang, a woman living in the inner house, get such a strange poison?"
After hearing this, Hongzhu was startled, fell to her knees with a plop, and said:
"Replying to Second Master, that day you asked the First Madam to release the First Madam and to keep Madam Zhang and Jinfeng under observation. When the Old Madam and the First Master saw you kneeling in Yichun Hall, they didn't care about this matter. They just ordered people to keep them under observation according to your instructions. They wanted to wait for you to come back and interrogate them in person. But the next night, Madam Zhang hanged herself, and Ling'er and Jinfeng both took poison. Seeing that the people were dead, the Old Madam and the First Master didn't pursue the matter any further. It was summer and the bodies couldn't be kept. The First Madam asked Madam Zhang's family to come and buried them hastily. When you came back yesterday, the First Madam specially confined the two madams and Hongyu, fearing that you would remember Madam Zhang's poisoning when you saw them, and make a fuss again, making the chaos worse. I thought I would tell you after the matter of Second Madam was sent away."
After hearing this, the second master's expression eased a little, and he said:
"Did Aunt Zhang leave any words before she died?"
