Chapter 245 Aunt Cui's Concern
Although Mengxi failed in her attempt to fake her death and leave the mansion, she still turned the Xiao mansion upside down. Finally, with Xiao Jun's insistence, the old lady and the eldest master completely gave up and accepted Mengxi, a concubine's daughter, as their daughter-in-law from the bottom of their hearts. The Xiao mansion finally calmed down again.
Even the first wife gave up the idea of killing Mengxi again. She finally understood that even if Mengxi died, her ghost would still haunt Xiao Jun and instigate him to turn against his parents, and she would still lose her son.
Since the last quarrel, the master has never entered her room again. No matter how she tried to please him, he was always cold to her, which made her suddenly feel that she had fallen out of favor. If she lost her son, what would she have to rely on in the Xiao Mansion? In less than two months, the successive blows made the wife seem to have aged by a dozen years.
It has been more than ten days since she vomited blood. She has been bedridden. Seeing that the old lady's birthday is approaching, she just can't muster up any energy. As a daughter-in-law, Mengxi should serve by the bedside and share her mother-in-law's worries. However, she feels that her status is embarrassing. The old lady didn't give any instructions, so she simply doesn't care about it. The old lady dare not let Mengxi take care of these things, for fear that a disagreement would make the eldest lady angry again. So she let Mengxi have some free time and took care of everything herself.
One day, Baozhu helped the eldest wife finish taking medicine. Seeing that she was about to lie down again, she hurriedly advised:
"Madam, you just took the medicine. If you don't feel well, lie down. I see you look much better. It happens to be sunny and windless outside today. I will help you go out to get some sun."
The eldest wife listened, glanced outside and shook her head. Baozhu saw this and advised:
"You have been lying in bed for more than ten days. Yesterday the doctor said that you can't lie there all the time. You will get better faster if you get some sun exposure. Because of your illness, the girls couldn't even celebrate the Qiqiao Festival. In another month it will be the old lady's birthday. There are a lot of things waiting for you. You better get better soon."
"Having raised such a rebellious son, what hope do I have? All my efforts for half my life have been in vain. From now on, whoever wants to worry about me can do it. I can have some free time."
"Second Master is also young and ignorant, as the saying goes..."
Baozhu was trying to persuade her when Ziyue came in and replied:
"Madam, Aunt Cui heard that you were ill and came to see you."
The eldest wife's eyes lit up when she heard this, and she said quickly:
"Please come in"
The eldest wife struggled to sit up straight as she spoke. Baozhu hurried forward to support her and put a pillow behind her back.
After a while, Zi Yue led Aunt Cui in, surrounded by a group of maids and servants. Seeing the pale and haggard face of the eldest wife, Aunt Cui was shocked. Without waiting for the eldest wife to speak, she walked in and said:
"I haven't seen you for a few months, how come your sister has become like this?"
After hearing what her sister said, the eldest wife's eyes turned red and she said:
"Why are you here, sister? Come and sit down, Ziyue, have some tea."
"Hey, I heard about what happened at your house and I'm worried about you and Xiu'er, so I came here in a hurry. I watched Jun'er grow up, he's such a filial and sensible child, how could he change so suddenly!"
Aunt Cui sat down as she spoke. When the eldest wife heard her sister mention her son, she couldn't help but choked up, which frightened Aunt Cui so much that she hurried to comfort her. The two sisters exchanged a few more words of greeting, and then the eldest wife told her about what had happened in the Xiao Mansion recently. In short, it was a misfortune for the family and the wife was not virtuous. Her son was originally a good person, but he was led astray by this vixen daughter-in-law. She couldn't help but scold Mengxi from head to toe to vent her anger.
At the end of the conversation, the eldest wife finally remembered Xiu'er. She looked at her sister with an apologetic look on her face, sighed, and said:
"Sister, you can see that I have such a wife. It's my bad luck. I can't divorce her now. It's true that a grown-up son is no longer under the control of his mother. Not only can I, but also the eldest master and the old lady cannot be Jun'er's master. Xiu'er is growing up, so don't delay her marriage. I have been in a trance these two days and have no mood to persuade her. Sister, please help me persuade her. It is our Jun'er who has let her down. Teach her to find a good family to marry quickly. I am not blessed in this life to marry a good wife "
As the eldest wife spoke, she could not help but pick up the handkerchief and wipe her eyes again. Baozhu and Ziyue were busy persuading her in a low voice.
After hearing what her sister said, Aunt Cui sighed and said:
"If Xiu'er had really listened to advice, this would not have happened. Sister, you know that Xiu'er is stubborn. She broke off her engagement that year and tried to commit suicide by saying that she would rather be a concubine than be with Jun'er. With a family like ours, I was worried that Xiu'er would be wronged even if she became a wife, let alone a concubine. But Xiu'er was willful and didn't listen to advice, and I couldn't persuade her. I had thought that if she married into this family, even if she became a concubine, I wouldn't let her suffer with my sister around, so I let her do what she wanted. I didn't expect..."
Aunt Cui choked up when she said this. The maid beside her hurriedly handed her some tea. Aunt Cui took a sip, wiped her eyes, and then continued:
"In the past two years, matchmakers have been knocking on the door. Your brother-in-law and I have advised her not to wait foolishly and to find a good man to marry. But Xiu'er is so stubborn that she refuses to marry. She is now 17 and has become an old maid. I am just worried that even if we persuade her to return home and get married, she may not agree."
"What you said is true, sister. It's all Jun'er's fault. How could he be bewitched by a vixen like that? I watched Xiu'er grow up. She is well-educated, gentle and virtuous. If she really follows Jun'er, she will definitely be a good wife. I will be 100% satisfied and 100% assured. Letting her be a concubine, not to mention sister, I also feel that she is being wronged. Sister, why don't you call Xiu'er over to ask her? If Xiu'er insists on not getting married, I will talk to the old lady and let Jun'er take her as a concubine. It's just that this is unfair to her, but sister, don't worry, as long as I am alive, I will never treat Xiu'er badly."
After hearing what her sister said, Aunt Cui nodded and said:
"It seems that this is the only way. Xiu'er chose her own path. Even if she is wronged, she can't blame others. Hey, I have spoiled this daughter since she was a child."
After hearing what her sister said, the eldest wife secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Just as she was about to send someone to call Miss Xiu'er, she remembered something else, waved her hand to send away the servants in the room, and said to her sister:
"Sister, you also know that the status of the Second Madam goes against the ancestral precepts. Jun'er can never be the head of the family. Jun'er has been marrying and taking concubines for so many years, but still has no male heir. The old lady came to me and told me the other day that if it really doesn't work out, the position of the head of the family will be taken over by Jun'er's son, bypassing Jun'er's generation. I've been thinking about it these past two days. If Xiu'er really gets married and gives birth to a daughter in the future, it will be fine. If it's a son, I will persuade the old lady and the eldest master to let him take over the position of the head of the family, and Jun'er will assist him. In this way, the position of the head of the family will still belong to Jun'er. But this matter should be done sooner rather than later, so that the Second Madam doesn't give birth to a son before her, and then something unexpected happens."
After hearing what the eldest wife said, Aunt Cui's eyes lit up. She had been unhappy about her daughter becoming a concubine, but now she felt relieved. Although Xiu'er was a concubine, if her son really became the head of the family, the Xiao Mansion would still belong to Xiu'er!
It was not in vain that she and the master had gone to great lengths to send Xiu'er to the Xiao Mansion. Thinking of this, he said:
"Thank you for your concern, sister. I will give Xiu'er some advice when she gets married."
The eldest wife listened, nodded, and shouted to the door:
"Come here"
Zi Yue pushed the door open, bowed to the eldest lady, and said:
"The eldest wife has something to do."
"Go and ask Miss Xiu to come over and tell her that Aunt Cui is here to see her!"
Zi Yue responded and turned to walk out.
…
Mengxi's faked death gave Xiao Jun a roller coaster ride not only, but also Xiu'er, who experienced great joy to great sorrow in just a few days. On the night when her cousin's wife was poisoned, she was extremely excited, as her aunt had finally fulfilled her promise and killed her cousin's wife. She suddenly realized that she had seen the day when she would wear her wedding dress. She felt extremely disappointed when her cousin went to kneel in Yichun Hall, but she was soon overwhelmed by boundless happiness. She believed that her tenderness would be able to heal her cousin's pain and make her forget her cousin's wife quickly and start over with her.
The fallout between her cousin and the Xiao family completely shattered Xiu'er's dream. She finally realized that the title of Second Wife was just a pipe dream for her and she could only hope for it in this life. The moment her cousin was about to take her cousin's wife out of the house, she was heartbroken and felt that life was worse than death. She didn't even have the strength to smash things. When she heard the news that her cousin's wife had come back from the dead, her heart was numb.
Looking at the increasingly haggard young lady, she had been lying there for more than ten days. When she was persuaded strongly, she would get up to eat a meal, and the rest of the time she would just sit there in a daze without saying a word. Bing Xin also knew that the young lady did not believe that the second master had changed his mind.
The eldest wife was the same. She usually treated the young lady like a big shot, but at this time, she didn't even send anyone to greet her. Everyone in the Xiao Mansion knew that the young lady had been waiting for her cousin year after year, and she had even reached the marriageable age, but now she said that she couldn't divorce the second wife, leaving the young lady here in the cold. Even the old lady didn't give a definite answer, and she had already sent a message back to the Imperial Censorate, asking why the wife hadn't come yet. If she continued to wait like this, it would really cost the young lady her life.
Thinking of this, Bing Xin glanced at Yu Xin and said angrily:
"No, we can't let the Xiao family stay like this, we have to give an explanation. You stay here and watch, I'll go find the first wife."
"The eldest wife just vomited blood. According to Baozhu, she is also very ill. I'm afraid she doesn't have the energy to care about the young lady's affairs."
"If she hadn't promised again and again, the young lady wouldn't have waited like this foolishly. Now she hasn't mentioned anything about it. The young lady's good reputation has been ruined just like this."
As they were talking, Ziyue knocked on the door and came in, saying that Aunt Cui was there and wanted my cousin to come over.
When they heard that the lady was coming, Bingxin and Yuxin immediately became excited and hurried forward to call the sleeping lady...
Weakly supporting Bing Xin, Xiu'er came to the east wing room. As soon as she entered the room, she saw her mother sitting there chatting with her aunt, and she called out softly:
"Mother is coming"
After Xiu'er finished speaking, she couldn't help but burst into tears, and suddenly realized that she had suffered a great injustice. Aunt Cui saw this and hugged her daughter in her arms, tears also fell from her eyes, and she choked up and said:
"Xiu'er has become so thin in just a few days."
"Mother……"
When the eldest wife saw the mother and daughter like this, her face flushed. She had indeed neglected Xiu'er these days, and she was busy trying to persuade them. Aunt Cui and her daughter cried again, but they finally calmed down after the eldest wife's persuasion. Baozhu had already served tea again.
After showing Miss Xiu her seat, Aunt Cui said to her daughter:
"I understand Xiu'er's thoughts. It's not that I'm cruel, but your cousin has already married a wife and concubines, so he can't marry you. Xiu'er, just listen to me and come back with me. Your father and I will find a good in-law family for you and marry you off with honor."
"Mother! Xiu'er, don't do it."
