Chapter 246 Xiu'er agrees to be a concubine
When Xiu'er heard her mother asking her to give up her cousin, she felt a sharp pain in her heart and shook her head desperately. No! She didn't want to marry her cousin in her life. Even though her cousin had betrayed her, she still couldn't hate him. She only hated her cousin's wife for seducing her cousin.
Seeing her daughter like this, Aunt Cui shook her head helplessly and looked up at her sister. The eldest wife saw this and tried to persuade her for a long time. Seeing that Xiu'er kept shaking her head and didn't say anything, the eldest wife and Aunt Cui looked at each other and finally proposed the idea of taking Xiu'er as a concubine. Seeing that Xiu'er didn't say anything, the eldest wife said:
"I also know that this is unfair to Xiu'er, but don't worry, Xiu'er, concubine is just a title. I am here and will not let anyone bully you. Men are immature. In two years, Jun'er's feelings for the second wife will fade, and he will discover the good points of Xiu'er."
After hearing what her aunt said, a glimmer of light flashed in Xiu'er's dim eyes. Her aunt was right. Two years ago, her cousin loved her very much. At that time, her cousin was very cold to his cousin's wife. Only because he couldn't divorce his cousin's wife time and time again, he went south alone and forced himself to forget about this relationship.
He did not blame his cousin for his change of heart, but was forced by the situation. He believed that once he got married, his cousin would definitely change his mind. At least, his cousin would be moved by his sincerity in being willing to become his concubine.
When my cousin's feelings for his wife fade, I will think of the same thing for my wife. After all, she is of humble origin. Now my cousin loves her so much that even the old lady and the eldest master can't do anything to her. When my cousin has had enough of her, I think everyone in the Xiao family, from the old lady to my aunt, will want my wife to die!
Seeing her daughter bow her head and remain silent, Aunt Cui continued:
"Xiu'er, I also know that with a family like ours, let alone being a concubine, I'm worried that your in-laws will treat you unfairly even if I marry you off as a wife. That's why you're so determined to marry your cousin, so your aunt and I discussed with the old lady and asked Jun'er to take you as a concubine. If Xiu'er really feels wronged, just come back with me. Your father and I will definitely find you a good son-in-law and marry you off with honor."
"It's up to mother and aunt to decide on this matter."
After hearing this, the eldest wife finally breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, saying:
"Okay, okay, I'll talk to the old lady about this when I feel better in a couple of days."
…
Mengxi was just faking her death and recovered after a few days of rest. However, Xiao Jun was ill for a while because his previous sword wound had not healed yet and he was caught in a rainstorm. In addition, he was exhausted during the days when Mengxi faked her death. As soon as Mengxi woke up, he collapsed completely. Under Mengxi's careful care, he wanted to recuperate for a few more days, but a major flood occurred in the south.
The fast horses galloping on the official road brought news back and forth from the north and the south. Xiao Jun no longer had time to recuperate. He was busy every day inside and outside the mansion. He often had secret talks with the eldest master until late at night, and sometimes he didn't come back for several days in a row. Xiao Yun also had no chance to go out and venture this time. He was forced by his second brother to follow him and learn how to do business.
One day, after finishing the work at hand, Xiao Jun got up and walked to the window. Mengxi had not come to the study for a long time. He had no time to go to the east wing these days. He wondered what she was busy with in the east wing all day?
After not seeing her for a few days, he really missed her. After tidying up his clothes, Xiao Jun pushed the door and walked out of the study. When he came to the door of the east wing, he saw Zhixia and Zhidong standing at the door. When they saw the second master coming, they hurried forward to greet him and said:
"The Second Master is coming. Please wait a moment. I will go and ask the Second Madam to come out to greet you."
Waving his hand to indicate that it was not necessary, without waiting for Zhixia to say anything, Xiao Jun had already stepped into the east wing. He wanted to catch Mengxi off guard, so that he could occasionally see the panic-stricken Mengxi, which would be quite charming.
Zhixia and Zhidong also followed Xiao Jun into the house. As soon as they entered the east wing, Zhidong hurriedly ran out of the back door to the backyard.
When Xiao Jun entered the north room, he was stunned to see that it was empty. The guards did not tell him where Xier was going today.
At this time, Zhixia had already brought the tea, gently placed it on the table, and said:
"Second Master, please sit down and have some tea first."
Seeing that Zhixia didn't take the initiative to tell him where Mengxi had gone, Xiao Jun sat on the chair, picked up the tea, opened the lid, blew on it, and asked:
"Where is Second Grandma?"
"Replying to Second Master, Second Madam and Zhiqiu are in the backyard. Zhidong has gone to tell them. Please wait a moment, Second Madam will be back soon."
In the backyard?
Looking at the sunny and windy weather outside, Xiao Jun couldn't help but smile. He put down the teacup in his hand, stood up and walked out.
Zhixia thought the Second Master was about to leave, so she said something quickly.
"Second Master, walk slowly"
But just as she finished speaking, she found that the Second Master was walking towards the back door, which frightened Zhixia so much that she hurriedly called out to stop him:
"Second Master, please stay. The door is over there. Where are you going?"
Since the wedding, the Second Master had never been to the east wing backyard except for the night he went to the south. It was a good opportunity to see what Mengxi was doing. Imagining the scene of walking in the garden with Mengxi, Xiao Jun felt a tenderness in his heart. He originally just wanted to stroll around the backyard.
After hearing Zhixia's words and seeing her nervous face, I became curious. What was Xier doing in the backyard?
"Isn't Second Grandma in the backyard? I'll go over and take a look."
"Second Master, the backyard is too big. If you go there, you and Second Madam will get lost and it will be late. Zhidong has already gone to call Second Madam . Please wait in the house for a while. Second Madam will be back soon."
After hearing Zhixia's slightly nervous voice, Xiao Jun looked at her coldly, said nothing, and pushed the door into the backyard. Seeing that she couldn't stop him, Zhixia could only follow nervously.
As soon as he arrived at the backyard, a strong medicinal aroma hit his nose, and he spoke unconsciously:
"Why is there such a strong smell of medicine in Xier's backyard?"
"Second Master, you don't know that Second Madam has always liked to cook medicinal food, so in addition to planting flowers and plants in the backyard, Second Madam also planted some medicinal herbs for daily use."
"If you want to make medicinal food, you still need..."
Xiao Jun wanted to say that there were plenty of medicinal herbs in the mansion for making medicinal meals, and they even grew them themselves. But he suddenly remembered that Xiao An had withheld Mengxi . He felt a pang of pain in his heart. He thought that Mengxi was unwilling to ask for money, so she grew it herself. She had suffered a lot in the past two years. Thinking of this, he swallowed the rest of his words, raised his legs, and walked forward along a bluestone path in front of him.
As they were walking, they saw Mengxi supporting Zhiqiu, and Zhidong, the master and servant, walking towards them. They were startled to see the Second Master entering the backyard from afar.
It turned out that the Second Master had been busy these days, and Mengxi had become idle. Thinking that she could not leave the Xiao Mansion for a while, she discussed with Zhiqiu and found that it was inconvenient to enter and leave the Mansion now. It was impossible to prepare large quantities of medicines and take them out as before. But since she was idle anyway, she might as well prepare some high-priced and small-quantity good medicines such as Lengxiang Pills, store them temporarily, and send them out of the Mansion when there is a chance, so as to use them in an emergency. So Mengxi hired people to renovate the pharmacy in the backyard while the Second Master was away, and started preparing medicines in the backyard these two days.
After preparing the medicine for two or three days in a row, this morning, Mengxi saw the maids picking a lot of flowers like in previous years. On a whim, she started to prepare perfume. While she was busy, Zhidong came hurriedly and said that the second master was here and was waiting in the east wing. Mengxi and Zhiqiu were both shocked to hear this. They quickly put down their work and hurried back with Zhidong.
The reason why Mengxi was so anxious was that she was worried that Xiao Jun would get anxious and run to the backyard to find her. But she was so unlucky that even drinking cold water would cause a toothache. What she feared would come true. The master and his two servants were walking, and they saw from a distance that Xiao Jun really came to the backyard. Zhixia followed behind with a nervous look on her face. When she saw them, she started making gestures to the others behind Xiao Jun.
Seeing Xiao Jun coming, Meng Xi hurriedly took a few steps to meet him, stood in front of him, bowed slightly, and said:
"Hello, Second Master. If you have anything to say, just tell someone to call me over. Why did you come here in person?"
"I just got some clues about the things in the south. I happened to have some free time today, so I came to take a look. I didn't expect Xier to grow so many herbs. The types of flowers in Xier's backyard are very strange, and some of them I have never seen before."
Don't do this kind of sudden attack all the time. You'll get scared and have a heart attack sooner or later! Hearing Xiao Jun say that he just came to visit for fun, Meng Xi couldn't help but complain inwardly. Seeing that he had no intention of returning to the house, she hurriedly advised:
"It's windy outside and the sun is strong. I've been swimming all morning and I'm tired. If you have anything to say, why don't you go back to your room and talk?"
Xiao Jun was reluctant to miss the opportunity to visit the garden with Meng Xi. Seeing that she was tired, he said:
"I remember there used to be some stone benches and stone tables in this garden. I wonder if they are still there. Xi'er is tired. Why don't we walk inside while admiring the flowers and find those stone benches? Let the maids bring some snacks. It's sunny and windy in the yard, so it's better to rest in the yard. I haven't been to this backyard for a long time. Looking at the flowers, plants and trees in the garden, I feel very happy."
Seeing that Xiao Jun insisted, Mengxi had no choice but to tell Zhidong to go back to the east wing first. She took Zhiqiu and Zhixia and followed Xiao Jun to the depths of the garden. They had no intention of appreciating the flowers. Their minds were racing, thinking about how to get Xiao Jun back into the house.
If he were to wander around in the garden, he might accidentally find her pharmacy. He would be in a hurry to get out, and the door of her pharmacy was not locked. Zhiqiu and others were all there, so it would be too late to send someone to destroy the body.
She followed Xiao Jun with trepidation, only to see him going deeper and deeper, faster and faster, and every time he stopped at a wrong path, he would choose another path to continue walking. However, the path Xiao Jun chose led directly to her small pharmacy.
This made Mengxi tremble with fear. Did Xiao Jun already know about her pharmacy? How could he find it so accurately? Did someone around her betray her? But only she and the four maids knew about the pharmacy in the backyard. The guards sent by the Second Master could not enter the door of the East Wing, let alone the backyard. This was what the Second Master promised her. Even Qin'er and Wan'er, who were taken in last time, had never entered the backyard.
Who could have told Xiao Jun?
She glanced at Zhiqiu and Zhixia, only to see that they looked even more terrified. They were anxiously trying to wink at her, indicating that she should find a way to stop Xiao Jun from going any further.
Seeing this, Mengxi shook her head. These people were brought up by her, so it was impossible for them to betray her. Then who could it be?
Seeing Xiao Jun's pace getting faster and faster, and heading straight for the pharmacy, Mengxi no longer had the energy to guess who betrayed her. This matter could be investigated slowly. The most urgent thing was how to stop Xiao Jun from moving forward. Thinking of this, she shouted anxiously:
"Second Master!"
