Chapter 283 The Old Lady is Sick
Seeing that the prince was wavering, Qian Zhong took advantage of the situation and continued to persuade him:
"Your Highness knows very well which is more important, the life of Young Master Li or the life of the whole world. Young Master Li has done you a favor. When Your Highness ascends the throne in the future, you can posthumously confer the title of Young Master Li on him and promote the officials and nobles of Yichun Hall to show your grace. Young Master Li is Your Highness' fatal weakness. Keeping her is only a source of trouble. I beg Your Highness to think of the people of the world and not be too soft-hearted!"
After Qian Zhong finished speaking, seeing that the prince remained silent, he said decisively:
"As the saying goes, those who accomplish great things do not care about trivial matters. Since Your Highness cannot bear to do it, I am willing to risk my life to help Your Highness. I will lead the troops and explain the interests to Master Li in person. I believe that Master Li will also commit suicide to help Your Highness accomplish his great cause."
Qian Zhong said this, kowtowed again, stood up and walked out. As soon as he reached the door, he heard the prince shout:
"return!"
"Your Highness!"
"Give orders. After I leave, send more guards to protect my second brother. Don't let her fall into the hands of King Yan."
"Your Highness, don't be afraid of ten thousand, just be afraid of one..."
"Tell the guards protecting my second brother that if they encounter the King of Yan, they must not let my second brother fall into the hands of the King of Yan alive!"
After hearing this, Qian Zhong's expression lightened. He responded and hurried out.
Looking at Qian Zhong's disappearing figure, the prince twirled the ring on his thumb and muttered to himself:
"Xi'er, I am heartbroken to give up on you, but for the sake of the people of the world, the country's most important weapon must not fall into the hands of treacherous people. Xi'er, you must protect yourself. If anything happens to you, I will kill King Yan to avenge you."
…
A night of heavy snow had covered the entire Luding Mountain in white. Standing on the second floor of Canghai Cottage and looking far into the distance, it was like a sudden spring breeze, with thousands of pear trees in bloom. Looking at a group of little girls making snowmen in the distance, Mengxi was in a good mood and turned to Zhiqiu and said:
"I didn't expect that it's almost April and there's still such nice snow. The sky is clear and the wintersweets are fragrant everywhere. Zhiqiu, call Zhichun and the others, let's go out and enjoy the snow together..."
After hearing what the young lady said, Zhiqiu told someone to call Zhichun and Zhidong, while he found a white fox fur hooded cloak and tied it on Mengxi, saying:
"Miss, he is the prince after all. He has sent people here several times, worried about your safety. We can't keep it a secret forever."
"Tell him I'm back in Pingyang. Do you want him to keep me under house arrest? Wait until the dispute between him and the King of Yan is settled."
"Miss, we have poisoned all the prince's guards. We must give an explanation to the prince."
"No one is dead, so we are not afraid. It would be terrible if we fell into the hands of the prince at this time... The snow outside is so nice, let's go out quickly."
Mentioning the prince, Mengxi's heart still hurts. The Queen Mother has passed away, but the prince still wants her to stay in the south, and legitimately sends more guards to protect her. If it wasn't for Xiao Jun's arrangement to poison those guards, she would probably still be under house arrest in Chuzhou.
She had always regarded him as a confidant, a loyal friend, but she never expected that he would abandon her for the sake of the world. She was a little woman and did not understand the big principles, but she also understood that for the sake of the people of the world, the country's most important things should not be entrusted to the wrong person.
When she was captured by Prince Yan, she was willing to die with him to fulfill his great cause. At that time, she always regarded him as an elder brother whom she loved and cared about. Later, the two of them worked together to control the plague in the south, stabilized the situation in the south, and walked through the darkest road together. However, just when they were about to see the dawn, he let her down.
The snow beneath her feet made a crackling sound. She gently scooped up a handful and watched it melt bit by bit in her palm, just like how she had once been melted by Xiao Jun's selfless love. She put her hand to her mouth and gently blew it, wondering if he was okay in the distance, and whether he had taken the medicine she had given him on time. It had been almost two months since he came back, and he hadn't even written her a letter.
Has he really forgotten her, the love he once had for her so deeply?
Did she and he really have no future? Ever since she found out that she was deeply in love with him, she often suffered from contradictions. On that bright evening before returning to the north, she walked with him on the path in the field.
In the sunset, she really wanted to tell him that she loved him too.
But when she met his eyes that no longer contained deep affection, she backed off. Once upon a time, she had deeply hurt him and his family because of her obsession with leaving the house. Now, the two of them had separated and each had their own career.
If it were modern times, it would be fine, but this happened in ancient times. Even if he was willing, could his family accept her, who had her own career, did not abide by the three obediences and four virtues, and was a rebellious girl? What's more, there was also the barrier of ancestral teachings.
Since she knew she couldn't give up her career and they were already separated, how could she let him bear the stigma of being unfilial just because she loved him...
"Miss, please stop doing this. You are weak and will catch a cold."
Seeing Mengxi playing with snow, Zhiqiu hurriedly stopped her and held Mengxi's hand to warm it up while speaking.
Zhiqiu's words interrupted Mengxi's contemplation. He pulled his hand away and said with a smile:
"How can it be so delicate? By the way, Li Du sent someone to deliver a roe deer yesterday. I will tell someone to go to the kitchen and tell them to make some barbecue for lunch. It's already April, and it's rare to have such good snow. Maybe this will be the last snow. We can walk around the yard for the whole morning and have some wine to warm ourselves up at noon."
Ying'er, who was standing by, heard this and laughed while rubbing her hands and stamping her feet:
"That's right. It's winter when there's snow. Everything is white, and it makes people feel comfortable. It's not like Chuzhou. Not only is there nothing to see, but it's also damp and cold. I feel the coldness penetrates into my bones. If the young lady doesn't come back, I'm afraid I'll freeze to death there."
As Ying'er spoke, everyone laughed. Zhiqiu nodded her head and said:
"You are the one who talks too much. Why don't you go and tell the kitchen to prepare some side dishes and warm up some green plum wine..."
Ying'er quickly responded and turned around to walk back.
"Oh, tell the maid to bring the young lady's hand warmer with charcoal!"
Hearing Ying'er's response from afar, Zhichun pointed to the western hillside and said:
"Miss, look, the plum blossoms on the slope ahead are in full bloom. Why don't we go there to enjoy them and pick some back?"
Following Zhichun's hand, he saw a few plum trees standing proudly on the slope, reflecting the snow and looking particularly charming. Mengxi was particularly excited when he saw them, and nodded and said:
"As the saying goes, plum blossoms without snow are not lively, and snow without plum blossoms makes people vulgar. It is really rare to have both snow and plum blossoms today. Let's go."
Everyone nodded in agreement, chatting and laughing as they walked along a newly cleared snow path up the hillside. As they were walking, Zhidong, who was lagging behind, called out:
"Miss, Manager Li is here, it seems like he has something to do."
Mengxi looked back and saw that Li Zongguan had hurriedly approached. When he saw Mengxi stop, he bowed and said:
"My lady, you are in a good mood, enjoying the snow here. Do you want me to find you?"
"What's the matter, Manager Li?"
"Miss, Mr. Xiao San is here and wants to see you?"
Meng Xi's eyes lit up and he asked casually:
"Third Master? How does he know this place?"
"The Third Master has been looking for you several times, saying that the old lady of the Xiao Mansion is ill and wants you to take a look. Shopkeeper Li couldn't stand his pestering, and thinking that the Second Master really did you a favor, he agreed to his request. He wanted to send a message for you to meet him at Yichun Hall, but he thought that the place was full of spies from the Crown Prince and the King of Yan. He was afraid that once they found out that you were in Pingyang, they would not be able to rest in peace, so he asked Master Ouyang to bring him here quietly."
"Did Third Master..."
Hearing that Xiao Yun was here, Meng Xi wanted to ask about Xiao Jun's news, but she stopped herself and said:
"Okay, let him wait in the living room for a while, I'll be back soon."
…
In the center of Mengxi's small living room, facing outward, is a painting of Three Friends of Winter by Zhang Dezhong, with a pair of couplets on both sides.
The first line is: Tea can intoxicate guests, why do we need wine?
The second line is: Books have a fragrance that does not require flowers
On the walls on both sides are hung calligraphy and paintings by the cold-faced young man Xiao Jun. In the middle is a long table made of huanghuali wood, with a chair on each side, and four armchairs in a row on both sides. In the left and right corners of the wall is a round screen with relief made of rosewood. Xiao Yun stood by the wall and watched her second sister-in-law hang her second brother's calligraphy and paintings all over the wall. A smile appeared on her face unconsciously. Her second sister-in-law still admired her second brother.
"I'm late. I kept you waiting for a long time."
Hearing the voice, Xiao Yun, who was admiring the calligraphy and painting, turned around and saw Meng Xi supporting Zhi Qiu standing at the door. Seeing them, Xiao Yun hurriedly stepped forward and bowed, saying:
"Second, Miss Li, how are you? I am sorry for disturbing you by coming here without permission."
Mengxi bowed slightly, returned the greeting and said:
"Thank you, Third Master. Please take a seat."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, the two sat down as host and guest. Ouyang Di, who was accompanying them, also came forward to greet them. A maid had already served tea. Meng Xi took a sip of the tea and sent the maid away. Then she put down her teacup and asked:
"Everything is fine in your mansion these days. I heard that the old lady is ill. What's wrong with her? Didn't you ask Doctor Li to take a look?"
"Everything is fine in the mansion. Grandma has been ill for almost two months. At first, she was just tired. Father and second uncle thought that grandma was depressed because of the decline of the Xiao family, so they found several doctors and prescribed some prescriptions to calm the mind, regulate qi and blood, and balance yin and yang. But within half a month , grandma began to have paralysis in her limbs. At first, the symptoms were similar to those of second brother two years ago. But a month ago, grandma's eyesight began to deteriorate. Until a few days ago, grandma could no longer see at all, and she couldn't get out of bed. We found Doctor Li, and after a long time of examination, we couldn't find the cause of the disease. That's why father asked me to ask Miss Li to go to the mansion to take a look."
Although she had suffered a lot of grievances in the Xiao family, the old lady was still kind to her. After hearing this, Meng Xi sat up straight and asked:
"The old lady has been ill for so long, why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"We never knew about Miss Li's return to Pingyang."
"Second Master didn't tell you?"
After hearing this, Meng Xi was startled and asked in confusion. Xiao Yun bowed and replied:
"I think my second brother was afraid that the news would leak out, so he didn't mention you in his family's letters. It was not until more than 20 days ago when grandma was bedridden that Doctor Li mentioned looking for you. Father and my second uncle discussed it and sent a fast horse to my second brother to ask him to ask you to return to Pingyang... Only then did we know that you had already returned, and Miss Li's whereabouts were kept secret."
"Second Master...are you okay there? How is your recovery going?"
Mengxi wanted to ask Xiao Jun if he had given her a letter, but changed her mind when the words came to her lips. Xiao Yun heard it and said:
"My second brother asked me to tell you that he is recovering quickly and taking your medicine on time every day. He told you not to worry. He wanted to write a letter to you to ask you to treat grandma, but since you disappeared, the King of Yan and the Crown Prince have been looking for news about you. On the way south, they set up many checkpoints. Not only merchants, but also letters are strictly checked. They are afraid that the letters will be robbed and your news will be leaked, so they sent a verbal message."
"Second Master didn't say when he would return to Pingyang?"
"The south has just experienced floods and plague, and everything is in ruins. My second uncle and cousin have returned to Pingyang because of a lawsuit. My eldest brother has been ordered to go back to take up his post. My second brother is the only one supporting the situation there. I'm afraid it will take at least July or August at the earliest."
Mentioning the Second Master, Meng Xi asked casually:
"How are the Second Master and Second Madam?"
"My second uncle was demoted, but at least he saved his life. He lives in the mansion now. His business in Pingyang has been closed. He just accompanies grandma when he has nothing to do."
"How about this, Third Master, go back first. I often have people from the Crown Prince come to inquire about information here, so it's not convenient for me to go to the Xiao Mansion with you. Third Master, just get ready to pick me up, and I'll discuss with Ouyang Di how to go..."
"Okay, Miss Li, don't worry. Because of Zhang Xiu, all the people in Grandma's Shouxi Hall have been replaced except for the four big maids. You can enter the mansion secretly and live directly in Shouxi Hall. No one will recognize you."
After hearing this, Mengxi nodded and said yes, then discussed the details with Xiao Yun. Then she sent Xiao Yun away and started to prepare with Zhiqiu and Ouyang Di.
