Chapter 286 Return to Yichun Hall
While they were busy, a maid came to report that the eldest master had arrived. Seeing the old lady drinking water, the second master said:
"Please come in!"
As he was talking, the master came in and said:
"Mother, your son has come to tell you the good news. It is such great joy..."
He was talking halfway when he noticed that everyone in the room looked solemn. He looked up and saw Mengxi checking the old lady's pulse. He stopped talking unconsciously and asked in confusion:
"What happened to mother?"
"Grandpa An"
"Grandpa An"
Everyone came back to their senses, and several maids came over to greet them. Ignoring everyone, the eldest master came to the kang. The second master had already stood up. After greeting the eldest master, he said:
"Brother, mother fainted from excitement when she heard the news that Prince Yan's property was confiscated."
"Is mother okay?"
"I just woke up . With Miss Qing here, it's no longer a problem."
After hearing what his second brother said, the eldest master looked at Mengxi gratefully and thanked him:
"Thank you, Miss Qing."
"You are too polite, sir. This is what Qing'er should do."
As she was talking, the second wife fed the old lady half a cup of water, took the cup away, and then turned to greet the eldest master. Hearing the eldest master's voice, the old lady trembled and said:
"Is the master here?"
"Yes, mother, I came to congratulate you, but I didn't expect my second brother to have come first. Mother, now that the King of Yan has fallen, my Xiao family will soon have a chance to rise."
"Good! Good! This is great news. I am still alive to see this day. God is watching over me. If the first wife knew about this, she would rest in peace..."
As the old lady spoke, she could not help shedding tears. Seeing that she was excited, Mengxi quickly changed the subject and said:
"By the way, old lady, you can hand over the painting to the government..."
"Yes, yes, Qing'er is right. The Master will do it tomorrow. I want to see with my own eyes that this wicked and heartless Zhang Xiu dies a miserable death!"
After hearing Mengxi's words, the old lady's face was grim and she gnashed her teeth. The second wife heard it and said viciously:
"Not only Zhang Xiu is an ungrateful bastard, I curse the entire Zhang family to have a horrible death!"
When talking about the Zhang family, the second wife could not forget the imprisonment of her family, which was caused by the eldest master's brother-in-law! The second master's lifelong reputation was ruined, and the careers of his two sons were also ruined. Now the family is neither human nor ghost, living in the Xiao Mansion and cannot hold their heads up.
Whenever she thought of this, the Second Wife was so angry that she almost cut Censor Zhang's family into pieces.
After hearing what the old lady said, the master hurriedly said:
"Don't worry, mother. Your son will go there tomorrow and send a message to Jun'er by express horse. Jun'er will finally not have to hide anymore."
After hearing this, the old lady held Mengxi's hand and said:
"Yes, not only Jun'er, but Xi'er doesn't have to hide her identity anymore. Xi'er has suffered a lot these days."
"Old lady, Xi'er is not miserable."
"Xi'er!"
The Second Wife and the Second Master repeated in confusion, looked at the Old Lady, then at Mengxi, and finally at the First Master.
The master's expression changed, and he waved his hand to send Ruyan and others away, and asked the servant to guard the door.
Seeing that there were no outsiders, the master spoke:
"My second brother and sister-in-law don't know that Miss Qing is the current God of Medicine. Her surname is Li, and her name is Li Mengxi. I told you before..."
The master briefly introduced Mengxi's story and finally said:
"Second brother, don't blame me and mother for hiding it from you. The King of Yan has been offering a reward for Xi'er's capture. If she reveals her identity and falls into the hands of the King of Yan, not only Xi'er, but also our Xiao family will be exterminated..."
The Second Wife had heard about the affair between Mengxi and Xiao Jun a long time ago. After listening to her eldest brother's introduction, she looked Mengxi up and down. She and the Second Master were exiled to Yangzhou and had not returned to Pingyang for two years, so naturally she did not know her. The two sons had returned to Pingyang, but Mengxi deliberately avoided them. The sons came to Shouxi Hall several times, but did not see Mengxi, who was using the alias Shangguan Qing. Looking at Mengxi's beautiful face, she felt a little sorry in her heart, but kept praising her.
Mengxi was polite and talked about the current situation for a while. Then, she remembered that it was time to go. She held the old lady's hand and said:
"The old lady's health is fine now. She just needs to recuperate and exercise slowly in the future. Mengxi plans to go back in the next two days. While the old lady and the master are here today, Mengxi will say goodbye first. One day..."
"What, Xi'er, you're leaving now?"
Hearing this, the old lady was shocked and interrupted Mengxi before she finished speaking. These days, she has become inseparable from Mengxi.
Seeing his mother's surprise, the eldest master quickly advised:
"Yes, since there's nothing else to do, Xi'er can stay a few more days."
Khan, what do you mean by nothing to do! There are a lot of things going on in Yichun Hall. Li Du and Ouyang Di are so anxious that they are jumping up and down. But the master is used to thinking that she is still like before in Xiao Mansion, with nothing to do all day and getting bored. Hearing this, Mengxi's face twitched. After all, he is Xiao Jun's father, so it is not easy to say anything. Mengxi thought for a while and said:
"Old Madam, First Master, Second Master, before returning to Pingyang, His Majesty ordered Mengxi to meet the Emperor to express his gratitude and to see the Empress Dowager. The Crown Prince declined due to unfinished business in the south. A few days ago, His Majesty ordered Mengxi to return to Pingyang to meet the Emperor, but Mengxi again pretended to be sick and declined. It was only with the mediation of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince that she was able to avoid it. Mengxi is worried that His Majesty will issue another order, so she has to go back to make arrangements first."
"Your Majesty has issued an order for Xi'er to come to the palace to meet him?"
After hearing this, the old lady asked again casually. Subconsciously, she didn't want Mengxi to have anything to do with the royal family.
"Yes, and two imperial decrees have already been issued, both of which were handled by the Crown Prince."
At this point, Mengxi sighed secretly. Fortunately, Prince Yan was defeated. Otherwise, when the third imperial edict from His Majesty arrived, it would be the day of her death.
With the King of Yan around, if she had to go to the palace to see the emperor, the prince would never let her live to face the King of Yan. After all, in the prince's heart, the affection between the two could not compare to the world.
Just as I was thinking about it, I heard the old lady say:
"Xi'er enters the palace. I'm afraid she won't be able to keep her identity as a daughter. If the Emperor blames her..."
"It is precisely because of this that Mengxi is in a hurry to go back and make arrangements. First, it is about meeting the emperor. Second, Mengxi wants to petition the emperor to live his life again and exchange the merits of curing the plague for the title of the Xiao family. These all require the prince to mediate. Mengxi must go back to see His Royal Highness the Crown Prince... If the old lady has something to do, Mengxi can come over at any time."
Hearing this, the eldest master's eyes lit up . Without the title of aristocratic family and the management rights being taken back, the Xiao family is now in a state of difficulty. Given the current situation of the Xiao family, it is hopeless to restore the title of aristocratic family. Fulishan has made contributions, but the contributions are not that great, and he has already made up for it by saving the second master's family. The emperor cannot show mercy again.
It was different when Yichuntang came forward. Mengxi cured the plague, and his prestige was extremely high both in the court and among the people. Otherwise, if it were someone else, he would have been killed long ago after violating two imperial edicts, even with the prince's mediation.
The old lady held Mengxi tightly with her shaking hands and said:
"Thank you, Xi'er. When our Xiao family is able to revive our ancestors' legacy, we will never forget Xi'er's kindness!"
Oh my god, you're not going to carry forward your family's ancestral teachings as well.
Looking at the eldest master's blue eyes and listening to the old lady mentioning the ancestral heritage, Mengxi not only thought of the Xiao family's annoying ancestral precepts, but also secretly regretted her own inconsideration. Why did she let them restore the ancestral heritage? She was really doing nothing.
Let the Xiao family be completely bankrupt. In this way, all the Xiao family's assets will be under Shangguan Jun's name, and Shangguan Jun won't have to follow that broken ancestral precept.
No matter how much she thought about it, Mengxi also knew that if the Xiao family could not be revived, even if Shangguan Jun's industry became larger, their family would not be happy. She was afraid that the old lady would really die with regrets.
…
On this day, the front door of Yichun Hall was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, and the atmosphere was filled with joy...
Standing on the steps, looking up, Ouyang Di took down the original plaque of Yichun Hall and respectfully hung up the imperial gold plaque with three hot golden characters on it:
"Yichun Hall"
This was the personal inscription of the current Emperor. From now on, her Yichuntang was truly imbued with imperial aura and had a genuine royal umbrella of protection... That silver would be like the rolling Yangtze River... Just as she was thinking happily, the waiter suddenly set off a string of firecrackers when he saw the plaque was hung up. The firecrackers started to crackle and the sound was deafening.
Mengxi shuddered violently. Zhiqiu stepped forward and covered her ears with his hands.
"Congratulations, second brother. Congratulations, second brother. It is truly a great favor from the emperor to receive the golden plaque bestowed by our father..."
When the sound disappeared, the smoke gradually dissipated, and the prince on the side was the first to congratulate Mengxi.
Mengxi turned around, clasped his fists and said:
"Thank you, big brother, for coming to congratulate me in person. Congratulations! Congratulations!"
Li Du on the side clasped his fists and said:
"Your Majesty, let bygones be bygones. As requested by the master, you have agreed to the master's resignation and retirement. Especially for a small pharmacy like Yichuntang, it was possible for Your Majesty to write a calligraphy. This was all due to the mediation of Your Majesty the Crown Prince. Everyone in Yichuntang is extremely grateful to Your Majesty."
Oh, don't be so humble, okay? She also made contributions in treating the plague, why is it all attributed to the prince? Seeing the prince and Li Du greeting each other, Mengxi felt very disdainful; after all, after meeting again after the disaster, Mengxi finally felt a sense of alienation from the prince.
If His Majesty lets bygones be bygones, it’s because the royal family also has to save face!
It turned out that Mengxi was ordered to go to the palace on June 12 to meet the emperor and express her gratitude. Despite the prince's opposition, Mengxi frankly reported to Emperor Jin that she was a woman and had committed the crime of deceiving the emperor in the past. She was gambling that the emperor would not punish her for the sake of the royal family's reputation.
If she lost, her entire clan would be exterminated, but she had no way out and had to take the gamble.
Firstly, according to her judgment, the crime of deceiving the emperor had already caused a sensation in the court and the country. The emperor himself overturned the imperial decree and made the final decision. If the case was reversed, it would be like slapping himself in the face. How could the royal family save its reputation? What's more, the prince was involved here. The prince of Yan had already been convicted, so it would not be necessary to send the prince to prison and separate the royal family.
Secondly, she had miraculous healing skills and turned the tide. She and the prince had worked together for three months to control the plague that the people were so afraid of. She had long been regarded as a god and had a very high prestige among the people. Even every household in the south worshipped her. If the emperor really punished her, it would be like killing the donkey after it had served its purpose. How could the people agree to it? She might even be accused of being a tyrant, which would be harmful to the country.
The most important thing is that the crown prince is involved. If this matter is not reported to the emperor as soon as possible, her life will never be guaranteed. Not to mention that she will still die once the emperor finds out. If one day this handle is obtained by some powerful official and used to threaten the crown prince, the crown prince will kill her first.
The prince will be on guard against her all his life, or maybe one day he will get tired of her and get rid of her once and for all.
