Chapter 287: Revisiting the Old Place
Taking all these into consideration, despite the prince's repeated warnings before entering the palace, saying that the emperor's mind was unpredictable and that Mengxi should not act rashly, after calming the prince down, she still went to gamble.
Her bet was that the royal family cared more about face than ordinary people, and sure enough, she won.
Emperor Jin was shocked to hear about her daughter's background, and in anger, he tied her up outside the Meridian Gate , but he was also impressed by her indifference when facing death. After all, Mengxi had made an unprecedented contribution, and to be fair, her merits outweighed her faults. Under the pleading of the prince and the prime minister, thinking that the prince had already been involved in it, the matter could never be made public. If he killed the God of Medicine for no reason, he would not be able to explain to the people of Da Qi.
After weighing the pros and cons, Emperor Jin finally acquiesced to her daughter's identity.
After all, there were no female doctors in Da Qi, so Emperor Jin was unwilling to set a precedent. When he pushed her back from the Meridian Gate, he warned her very sternly that if she was too ostentatious and the people of Da Qi found out that she was a woman and reported it to the court, he would kill her without hesitation...
The endless stream of congratulations interrupted Mengxi's thoughts. The prince was invited into the house. Mengxi, Li Du and Ouyang Di were busy at the door welcoming the guests who came to congratulate.
Looking up at the three big characters "Yichuntang" and listening to the discussions of the people watching behind him, Mengxi was filled with emotion.
It has been three years since the business was opened, and this is the first time that she, the owner, has stood in front of the door of Yichun Hall with dignity without having to hide anything.
I think of her as a lonely soul, coming to this strange Da Qi all by herself, from an isolated concubine who was married off as a concubine, to the owner of Yichun Hall. Although she still cannot appear in Yichun Hall as a girl, she can finally stand at the door of Yichun Hall openly and shout:
She is the owner of Yichuntang!
This gave Mengxi an indescribable sense of accomplishment, both satisfaction and peace of mind.
…
Mengxi likes quietness by nature, and has been warned by Emperor Jin, so although she can wear men's clothes and enter Yichun Hall openly, she only goes to Yichun Hall one or two days a month to sit in the hall and diagnose people's pulses. Most of the time, she stays in Canghai Cottage or is accompanied by Ouyang Di and Zhiqiu to visit various places. She is very comfortable. Therefore, the God of Medicine has maintained a sense of mystery among the people.
Seeing that the Qiqiao Festival was approaching, at this time of year in previous years, Zhiqiu would have gone around looking for patterns and embroidered purse handkerchiefs for a few girls. But after leaving the Xiao Mansion, he had some free time this year. Mengxi didn't like these things, so Zhiqiu didn't have the heart to do them. From then on, Mengxi especially liked to go out in men's clothes so that she could play with folding fans, jade pendants and the like. Zhiqiu hated the crude workmanship of the fan pendants and incense pendants bought on the street, so he learned to make lace from Haitang.
After sitting there for a long time, he felt uneasy and had something on his mind. He looked up at Mengxi, who was still writing the characters calmly . Zhiqiu simply put down the work in his hands and said to Mengxi:
"Miss, it's a nice day outside. Don't stay indoors all the time. I'll take you out for a walk. Or, let's go to the pharmacy and take a look."
I heard that the Second Master had been back in Pingyang for more than ten days but had not come to see the Young Lady, which made Zhiqiu very upset. She hoped that the Young Lady could take the initiative to go and see the Second Master. After all, it was the Young Lady who had deeply hurt the Second Master. The Young Lady was strange. She usually liked to go out to travel, but these days she changed her habits and just wrote in the house every day, as quiet as a lady.
There is no time for a lady not to pretend, but it happened to be this time. We haven't seen each other for nearly half a year. Now that the Second Master is back, the young lady should go out for a walk. If she is lucky, she will meet him. Seeing Mengxi still writing with her head down, Zhiqiu couldn't help but complain inwardly, sighed, and continued:
"Miss, if you continue like this, you will get moldy."
Meng Xi said without even raising his head:
"Have you seen that Emperor Jin has been cleaning up the court and setting up prisons these days using the case of Prince Yan as an excuse? Prince Yan's followers have all been punished. My identity is sensitive. If I go out at this time and am seen by Prince Yan's followers, it is hard to say whether there will be trouble."
She was nearly beheaded at the Meridian Gate by Emperor Jin. She truly learned what it meant to live with the emperor as if he were a tiger. His Majesty changes his attitude faster than turning the pages of a book. When he was purging Chao Gang, she had better stay at home obediently, lest the desperate Yan Wang's followers discover the clues and cause trouble.
After all, when she was in Prince Yan's villa, the servants and guards there all knew her.
After hearing this, Zhiqiu's expression darkened, and he lowered his head to weave the flower lace again. After a long while, he said without giving up:
"Well... Miss, I heard that the Second Master has returned to Pingyang. Why don't we go visit him? After all, the Second Master risked his life to save you in the south. Without him, we wouldn't be able to escape the Crown Prince's house arrest. Now that we're back in Pingyang, we have to go and say thank you..."
After hearing this, Mengxi's hand trembled, and a drop of thick ink fell, blurring the word he had just written. Feeling upset, Mengxi put down his pen, picked up the ivory folding fan on the table and started fiddling with it .
This was something she had bought some time ago. The fan ribs were made of ivory and were hollowed out. Various spices could be filled in according to personal preference, and a faint fragrance would be emitted when fanned. The fan cover was made of the finest silk, one side was blank, and the other side was painted with Liu Xu's authentic painting of Returning Boat. The whole fan was extremely light.
This fan can contain spices and it is an authentic work of Liu Xu. He will definitely like it, so she fell in love with it at first sight.
I originally wanted to buy it and give it to him, but after I came back, I realized that “扇” (fan) and “散” (scatter) are homophones, which is really unlucky. Could it be that it was destined in the dark? Why did even the first gift I wanted to give him on a whim turn out to be so unlucky.
Looking at the folding fan in her hand, Mengxi was dazed for a moment. He had been back for more than ten days but had not come to see her. This made Mengxi extremely depressed. Even if they could not become a couple, she still hoped to become his confidant.
It was a pity that he was an ancient man, so he really stuck to the old ways and avoided suspicion. It was never really like what Zhiqiu said, that she went to see him, or met him by chance on the street...
Seeing Mengxi closing and opening the fan in her hand, opening and closing it again, Zhiqiu advised distressedly:
"Miss, please stop doing that. This fan is very precious. Not to mention the material, the painting alone is worth thousands of taels of silver. The silk is also very thin and can't withstand any damage."
As Zhiqiu spoke, he stood up and walked over to take the fan from Mengxi's hand. Mengxi also came back to his senses, looked at Zhiqiu, then looked at the fan and said:
"I saw the elephant eye pattern you made yesterday. It's very beautiful. It goes perfectly with this fan. You can use the azure thread to make a pattern for it and hang it underneath."
"Miss, the stone blue color is too dark. It would be better to use pink, which also matches this painting of returning boats. The one in my hand is made just for this fan. Please take a look."
Zhiqiu said, turned around and picked up the work he had just put down and handed it over. Mengxi took it and compared it with the fan and said :
"Well, this color looks more lively, but it steals the show. A grown man holding it looks very..."
As he was speaking, Ying'er came in and replied:
"Miss, Master Ouyang is here."
After hearing this, Mengxi glanced at Zhiqiu meaningfully and said:
"Please ask him to come in."
Zhiqiu just ignored him and put away his work early to prepare tea.
After a while, Ying'er led Ouyang Di in, greeted him and said:
"Master, the case of the Prince of Yan has been closed. His Majesty has issued an imperial decree. The Prince of Yan has been stripped of his throne and imprisoned for life. His wife and several children are also imprisoned with him. The other concubines and female relatives have all been demoted to low status and sold as official slaves..."
"Really? So Zhang Xiu was also sold into slavery?"
Without waiting for Ouyang Di to finish speaking, Zhiqiu, who came in with tea, heard it and asked in surprise.
"Not only Zhang Xiu, but also Zhang Yushi's family was convicted for being partisan to the Prince of Yan. The Ministry of Justice confirmed that he was guilty of being a traitor, spreading slander to confuse the emperor, forming cliques, and disrupting government affairs. The Emperor personally approved that Zhang Yushi himself be executed, his property be confiscated by the government, and his wife and children be exiled 3,000 miles away to be slaves to the coolies..."
Hearing this, Mengxi sighed and said:
"In theory, the one who deserved to die the most should be the Prince of Yan. However, he was spared death just because he was born into a royal family. How can this be fair? They even claim that a prince who breaks the law is guilty of the same crime as a commoner! It's a pity for the 50,000 soldiers who died on the eastern front of the Muru River..."
"Master, please stop saying that. If this gets out, you will be beheaded. Your Majesty will issue an imperial edict to the world this time. To appease the souls of the 50,000 soldiers on the eastern front and their relatives, Situ Sen's entire family will be exterminated in three days, and his body will be left exposed for three days."
Hearing this, Zhiqiu asked, seeing Mengxi was silent:
"Master Ouyang, didn't you ask where Zhang Xiu was sold to?"
"I heard that the women of King Yan were sold to Linglongfang."
"Linglongfang? Doesn't that mean being a government prostitute? Doesn't that mean being a government slave?"
"It's possible that there are official slaves there, I don't know that either, but I heard from the people in the Xiao Mansion that the old lady has sent someone to inquire about it, hoping to buy her back and commemorate the first wife."
Hearing Ouyang Di mention the Xiao Mansion, Mengxi's eyes lit up and she looked up at Ouyang Di. Zhiqiu saw it and asked casually:
"Master Ouyang has met with the people from the Xiao Mansion. Do you know the current situation of the Second Master?"
Ouyang Di listened, looked at Mengxi and said:
"Master, this is exactly why I came here. The King of Yan was convicted, and during the interrogation, His Majesty knew that the Xiao family was framed by the King of Yan, so he graciously approved your petition. Yesterday, he issued an edict to restore the Xiao family's title of aristocratic family. The Second Master just went to Yichun Hall and said that the Xiao family's Pingyang businesses will be fully opened on August 8th. He sent you an invitation, but since you are not here, he asked his disciple to tell you that he has been busy with the Xiao family's business these days and has no time. He will visit you in person in a few days. When the Xiao family opens, you must go to the Xiao Mansion to celebrate..."
As Ouyang Di spoke, he took out a big red invitation from his sleeve and presented it with both hands. Mengxi reached out to take it and opened it. It was actually written by Xiao Jun himself. Looking at the big, strong and powerful characters on it, Mengxi's mouth corners lifted slightly, bringing out a faint smile.
…
On the eighth day of the eighth month, Mengxi attended the Xiao Mansion's celebratory banquet as the God of Medicine. She didn't like noise, and suddenly she wanted to see the east wing where she had lived for two years. Xiao Jun, who followed her out, nodded happily and asked his family to prepare the sedan chair.
Unexpectedly, the sedan chair did not arrive yet. The prince followed out and saw the two of them standing there talking. He walked forward and exchanged a few words of greeting. When he heard that Mengxi was going to Xiaoxiangyuan, the prince actually became interested and insisted on going with them.
Seeing the prince following them like a shadow, everyone felt a headache, especially Zhiqiu. In her words, he was just a dog-skin plaster, and he had been sticking to her young lady very closely these days.
But he is the prince after all, so Zhiqiu dares not say anything even though he is angry.
Seeing the sedan chair coming, several people got on it and went all the way to Xiaoxiang Courtyard. Xiao Jun played Go with the prince in the hall.
Mengxi and Zhiqiu were brought by Hongzhu to the backyard of the east wing to revisit the old place.
