Chapter 241: Silencing
Seeing the second master asking, Hongzhu answered carefully:
"I don't know?"
"Go and call over the two maids from Aunt Zhang's room."
"My Lord, have all the people in Zhuyuan been driven out of the mansion?"
"They were driven out of the house. When did it happen? Didn't any of them stay?"
"The eldest lady sent her human traffickers to take them all away early yesterday morning. Not a single one was left behind."
After hearing this, the Second Master frowned, feeling that something was not right. It was understandable that they were in a hurry to hold a funeral in the middle of summer, but was it necessary to send away the servants in such a hurry? He even sold the maid who did the housework of guarding the door and sweeping the yard. Was it really necessary?
After a long pause, the Second Master raised his head and said:
"Where's Ping'er? Go call Ping'er over."
Hearing the Second Master mention Ping'er, Hongzhu trembled and replied softly:
"On the night when Aunt Zhang committed suicide, Ping'er was frightened. She screamed all night and kept talking nonsense. The eldest wife went to comfort her, but she became stupid afterwards. She sat there blankly all day without saying a word. She ate when she was told to eat and slept when she was told to sleep. When the eldest wife saw this, she simply took her to the Yangxin Hospital and took care of her herself."
After hearing this, the Second Master stood up and walked out. When he reached the door, he turned back and sat there. After thinking for a long time, he asked again:
"I heard from someone the other day that Hong'er made that bowl of bird's nest porridge. Go to the plum garden and call Hong'er over."
"My Lord, the first wife heard that Hong'er made the bird's nest porridge, so she and Qiao'er, who cooked the porridge together, were detained separately the next morning after Aunt Zhang died, saying that they would re-examine the case after you return. However, the two maids were frightened and committed suicide that night. The first wife was also frightened by this incident, and yesterday she asked the old lady and the first wife for permission to go to Qingxin Temple to eat vegetarian food and chant Buddhist scriptures to reduce the evil karma and pray for the second wife. The first wife did not agree, saying that this matter should be discussed after you return."
Fear!
They didn't do it, they were framed, the real murderer has been found, is it necessary for Hong'er and Qiao'er to commit suicide out of fear of crime? Hearing this, the second master slammed his fist on the table. Hongzhu trembled with fear and shouted:
"Second Master, calm down. Second Madam's funeral is more important. It won't be too late to investigate these matters later..."
It took Erye a long time to calm down and said to Hongzhu:
"Hongzhu, you should get up too. Where are the four maids of the Second Madam? Ask them to come over."
After hearing this, Hongzhu stood up and said:
"Replying to the Second Master, there have been a lot of things going on in the mansion these past two days, and the First Madam is too busy to handle it, so she asked Qin'er and Wan'er to go back. Zhixia and Zhidong have been kept in the East Wing these days."
When the Second Master heard this, his face turned pale, and he immediately said:
"Okay, okay, let's all die. If the eldest aunt wants to go to Qingxin Nunnery, let her go. It's cleaner there than in this mansion. She will be killed here sooner or later, and this family will be ruined sooner or later..."
"Second Master, please shut up. I beg you not to say such nonsense again. If it gets out, it will be another day..."
Before Hongzhu could finish, Erye interrupted her:
"Go and tell someone to release Zhixia and Zhidong, and ask Xiaoxia to prepare a carriage. I will take them away."
When Hongzhu, who had just gotten up, heard this, she fell to her knees again, kowtowed and said:
"I beg you to give up this idea, Master. The old lady and the master did that for you. I beg you not to look at anything else. Considering that the first mistress vomited blood yesterday, please stop being willful and go and apologize. They love you so much and will agree to your request. If you really leave like this, I'm afraid, I'm afraid..."
Having said this, Hongzhu couldn't go on. She was really worried that the Second Master would take the Second Madam away, and that would make the First Madam angry to death.
After hearing what Hongzhu said, Erye's heart was also clenched. After all, she was his biological mother. He was so angry that she vomited blood. He always felt guilty. But when he looked up at Mengxi on the bed, she was killed like this, and even after her death, she was deprived of her wife's status. Ping'er was so young, but she witnessed this cruel family change with her own eyes. She became neither a human nor a ghost. Is this still a family? He thought of the servants in the bamboo garden, and thought of Hong'er and Qiao'er. Although they were servants, they were still lives , and they were gone just like that. All this made him no longer have a trace of nostalgia for the Xiao Mansion.
After a long silence, he said to Hongzhu:
"My mother got sick because of me. I am unfilial. Hongzhu asked me to tell my mother that I will repay my parents' kindness in my next life. Just treat them as if they never gave birth to me!"
"Second Master..."
" Get ready!"
Seeing the Second Master's decisive tone, Hongzhu dared not say anything else. She hurried out to find someone to pass on the message to the Old Dowager, the First Master and the First Mistress, while preparing a carriage for the Second Master.
The agitated Second Master coughed violently again, and quickly covered his mouth with a handkerchief. He lowered his head and looked at the blood-stained sputum on the handkerchief. He smiled bitterly, covered the handkerchief, and sat back on the bed and said softly to Meng Xi:
"Xi'er, I was afraid that you would be lonely sleeping alone in Luding Mountain. Now you don't have to be afraid. I'll be with you. You won't be lonely. Xi'er doesn't like the Xiao Mansion. I'll take you away now..."
…
The news that Xiao Jun was going to take Mengxi away from the Xiao Mansion reached the Yangxin Garden. The eldest wife, who had just drunk the medicine, vomited it all out and fainted on the bed. Baozhu and Ziyue were so frightened that they were at a loss and became flustered. Xiu'er, who was accompanying them and had red and swollen eyes, could not help but scream.
When the news reached Shouxi Hall, the eldest master was so angry that his veins popped out. He had long forgotten that the old lady was in front of him. He slammed the table and said angrily:
"Rebellious son, rebellious son, I, Xiao Chen, will simply fulfill this rebellious son's wish today and send him away together, so that he won't have to live in disgrace in the world. Come, take sticks, tie up the Second Master , and beat him to death!"
The eldest master stood up as he spoke, and all the servants in the hall were so scared that they fell to their knees. When they saw the eldest master walking out, the old lady came to her senses. After all, she was an old lady, so she was still calm at this time and stopped the eldest master in one gulp.
When the old lady called out, the master remembered that his mother was still in the hall. He stopped in his tracks and turned back to say bitterly:
"Mother……"
Seeing that God had stopped, the old lady then ordered:
"Someone, go to the Second Gate and tell them to stop the Second Master's carriage and have him report back to Shouxi Hall. Tell the Second Gate that whoever dares to let the Second Master out of the house will come to see him with his head!"
An old woman had already responded and turned to walk out.
Seeing his mother speaking, the master turned around and sat back down. He took a long breath before speaking:
"The adopted son is unfilial and has made his mother angry. It is the son's fault, but today we cannot just give in to this rebellious son. Jun'er, how can you still be a son!"
The old lady knew this, but it seemed that Jun'er was willing to risk his life to give Mengxi an explanation. What else could they do? Moreover, they were originally in the wrong. Looking at the eldest master, the old lady sighed and said:
"What the elder master said is true. However, I only have this one legitimate grandson. If the elder master had given me a few more legitimate grandsons, I wouldn't be thinking about this wicked son."
The old lady gnashed her teeth as she spoke. When the master heard this, his face darkened immediately. He sighed and said:
"Qing'er has already entered the officialdom, Yun'er is lazy and not doing her job properly. If Jun'er cannot be the head of the family because of the ancestral teachings, who can inherit such a huge family business?"
"It was really unfortunate for our Xiao family to leave Mengxi behind. It's too late to say anything now..."
As he was speaking, Shi Hua rushed in and replied :
"Replying to the old lady and the eldest master, the second master injured the servant at the second gate and wanted to force his way out with the second mistress, Zhixia and Zhidong."
"What!"
After hearing this, the master slammed the table, stood up, and shouted:
"Someone come!"
When the eldest master was young, he left home because Aunt Zhang's background went against ancestral teachings. The third master also ran away from home some time ago, but because the eldest master and the third master left alone and kept a low profile, the Xiao family simply kept silent about it and concealed the news, so it did not have much impact on the Xiao family.
But this time was different. Xiao Jun knelt at the gate of Yichun Hall for four days, and the whole Pingyang had already spread the news. If he were to take Mengxi's body and leave the Xiao family in a grand manner, once the news of the feud between father and son spread, and people who were willing to trust would investigate, once the news of Mengxi's marriage as a concubine and his demotion to a concubine after his death spread, the Xiao family would lose all face in Pingyang, and the eldest master would have no need to stay in Pingyang!
The master was really anxious this time, and called for someone to come. A maid came forward and said,
"Call Xiao Ang!"
After a while, the little maid brought Xiao Ang in, greeted the master, and stood aside, only to hear the master's instructions:
"Take 30 guards to the second gate to stop the Second Master and don't let him leave!"
"Master, the Second Master has always been willful. If he really starts fighting, the sword will be merciless. I am afraid that I will hurt the Second Master."
"It doesn't matter if he's injured, but even if he's dead, you can't let him leave this door!"
Seeing that the master was really angry, Xiao Ang did not dare to say more. He responded and turned to walk out. He only heard the old lady say:
"return!"
The eldest master and Xiao Ang were both startled. Xiao Ang hurried back, bowed to the old lady and said:
"What do you want, old lady?"
"Don't hurt Jun'er. If he wants to leave, he can leave by himself, but no one in the carriage can be taken out, especially Second Madam. Do you hear me?"
The old lady's voice was not loud, but every word was precious. As soon as the voice fell, Xiao Ang shuddered. He stopped the carriage from leaving. Would the Second Master agree? What's the difference between this and stopping the Second Master? The Second Master will fight to the death with him, and he is not allowed to hurt him. Then, can't people like him be bullied by the Second Master?
She complained in her heart, but she dared not disobey the old lady's words, so she quickly responded and walked out carefully.
…
In front of the second gate, Xiao Jun was being held tightly by several gatekeepers. When he, Mengxi and others arrived at the second gate, they were stopped. The second gate had been locked in the morning, leaving only a side door that allowed people to pass but carriages could not.
Seeing the Second Master coming, the servants at the door knelt in a row and refused to let him go out. The Second Master was so angry that he kicked over two servants and didn't even take the key. He asked Xiao Xia to follow with the car, drew his sword, ran straight to the gate, prepared to chop off the lock, and leave with everyone.
The old lady issued a death order, that whoever let the Second Master out would have his head chopped off, it was either death or the other, and these servants fought for their lives, ignoring the Second Master's kicking and beatings. Several of them hugged the Second Master's body tightly, and two of them used their bodies to protect the door bolt to prevent the Second Master from chopping them.
After all, they were his own servants, so Xiao Jun really couldn't bear to kill them. After kicking them for a long time, he saw that several of them were still clinging to him desperately. He was shocked. These people were so desperate, they must have received orders. If they were dragged down, they might not be able to get out. He switched the sword to his left hand and knocked out the servant who was holding his arm tightly with a punch. He pulled his arm free, pressed the acupoints of the remaining servants directly, threw them aside, and came to the door and shouted:
"Step aside!"
