Chapter 36: Taking Over the House
After a fight, Mengxi raised her hand and let Erye take the red jade. She cleaned up the mess in a roundabout way. For a moment, Xiao Jun did not react. After a long time, he whispered:
"Let's talk about this later. Don't bother grandma with such a small matter at this time."
Xiao Jun really had never thought of taking Hongyu as a concubine. He was not a lustful person. He was trained as the head of the family since he was a child. He followed a set of rules in everything. He was very strict with his subordinates. The feudal idea of superiority and inferiority was deeply rooted in his bones. A servant was a servant. He was born to serve the master and please the master. How could he turn the world upside down and become the master? He disdained such a shabby thing on weekdays. Once he found out that the maids around him had other thoughts, he would immediately drive them out of the house. Otherwise, why was he called the Cold-faced Lord of Hell?
He was not one to deceive people in secret. He was really so angry about the incident in the half-month period that he did such a disgraceful thing and gave Mengxi an advantage. Hongyu suffered because of him today. He thought of finding a decent husband for Hongyu in the future and giving her more dowry as compensation, which would be a great blessing from heaven. How could he take her as his wife?
But seeing that Mengxi didn't even discuss it with him, and directly asked people to treat Hongyu as a concubine, it was like forcing a cow to drink water. Shouldn't she be jealous of his taking a concubine and be determined to kill Hongyu? How come she forced him to take a concubine in the blink of an eye? A feeling of not being able to control everything made him very depressed. Thinking of what he had just said, he was even more furious, but at this time he was afraid of Mengxi's dominance and didn't want to provoke her again.
What's more, he had just said in front of the wet nurse that he liked Hongyu, and they did have physical contact. This was a fact that he could not deny. If Mengxi did not agree, it would be fine, but Mengxi actually took the initiative to ask him to be her concubine. If he dared to say no now, not to mention whether Hongyu would commit suicide, the wet nurse alone would have a hard time passing, as she would definitely accuse him of being heartless and abandoning her lover.
It was reasonable for Mengxi to propose to return the old lady. The matter was handled in an orderly and logical manner. She did everything according to the rules, which made him impeccable and left him no room for rebuttal. In desperation, he remembered the "delay tactic" that had always worked in the business world.
"How can you say this is a small matter, Second Master? Hongyu is still a virgin after all. How can she be so nameless and follow Second Master? If she has Second Master's child, I will be guilty of a great sin. Besides, doing this is not in line with the rules and decency of a family like ours. I'd better ask the old lady for help."
To put it bluntly, since you, Mr. Xiao, have touched a virgin girl, you must take responsibility. I am just cleaning up your mess, so don't be ungrateful.
Xiao Jun was so angry. Now that you remember that she was a virgin, how could you have the nerve to sit there and wait to see us do that when you came into the room just now? Didn't you know that she was a virgin? Wouldn't you be shy to do it in front of others? You think I'm a three-year-old virgin. How can hugging her mean that I will have a child? But this is something that cannot be said with a clear conscience.
He looked around and saw Hongzhu and Hongxing carefully picking up the broken pieces of the teacup on the ground. They didn't dare to make any sound and looked at the wet nurse and Mengxi with eager eyes. He knew that he couldn't avoid going to the upper room to report to the old lady. When he mentioned the old lady, he suddenly remembered her usual scheming. He was worried that she would use some means to take Hongyu's life when she got to the old lady, so he nodded and said:
"That's good. My illness is almost healed now. I'm just weak now. I haven't paid my respects to grandma for a long time. I miss her too. I'll go to the upper room to see her. Hongzhu! Change your clothes."
As he said this, he ignored the surprised looks of the people in the room and ordered Hongzhu to help him change his clothes.
"Second Master's hand is still bleeding. It's so hot and he's weak. If he goes, it will only make Old Madam worry. I will go alone. I will definitely tell Second Master that he misses Old Madam."
Mengxi saw that Xiao Jun ignored the wound on his hand and was anxious to go to the upper room with her. His hand was injured and it would be troublesome if he went to the upper room, so she kindly reminded him. However, she did not have the awareness of being someone's wife and thought that she should be the one to bandage the wound at this time. Although she studied medicine in her previous life, this was pediatrics and did not need a big doctor like her.
Everyone then remembered the wound on Xiao Jun's hand. Hongzhu hurriedly put down her work, took the medicine box, and bandaged Xiao Jun. Xiao Jun looked at the wound on his hand and hesitated. He thought that he would not be able to explain to the old lady if he went to the upper room. He was about to say that he would not go, but when he turned around and saw the hint of amusement in Mengxi's eyes, he could not help but jump with fear, so he said coldly:
"He's a grown man, this little injury won't be a big deal."
…
When the two of them, supported by maids and old women, came down to Shouxi Hall, the old lady, the eldest wife and others had already arrived. Lunch had been served and they were waiting and chatting.
The eldest master and the eldest uncle went out together. Xiao Yun didn't go to the private school today, so he came to have lunch with the old lady. He was the most frequent visitor in the past few days, mainly because he was thinking about the food that his second sister-in-law had prepared for the old lady. It was truly a delicacy. When he saw his second brother and his sister-in-law coming in together, he was also surprised and hurriedly stood up to greet them.
The two nodded in return and went forward to greet the old lady and the first wife. When the old lady saw Xiao Jun coming in, she hurriedly asked the secretary to move the chair next to her and put a thick cushion on it before letting Xiao Jun sit. As soon as he sat down, the old lady grabbed his hand and said :
"Jun'er, it's so hot, why did you come here instead of taking good care of yourself in your room? Look at your pale face, you are sweating. Xi'er is still weak, if anything goes wrong, how can grandma live!"
Then he turned around and blamed Mengxi who was already sitting down: "Xi'er, why didn't you persuade the Second Master and let him run out like this?"
Mengxi hurriedly stood up and went forward to reply to the old lady: "The old lady's teaching is correct. I have taken note of it. I have also advised you just now. But the second master said that he had not paid his respects to you for a long time and missed you very much. He insisted on coming. I could not persuade him."
Seeing that the old lady was anxious, Xiao Jun hurriedly explained:
" Grandma , Jun'er is really fine now. He probably has been lying in bed for too long and has no strength. He should move around more and get some sun to get better. Jun'er really missed you. Jun'er just came here in a sedan chair, so it's okay. Besides, Jun'er is a grown man, so he can't be that noble."
The old lady spoke affectionately for a while, and also lectured Mengxi a few words. Mengxi stood there and responded to every word she said.
She looked up and saw that Xiao Jun's other hand was wrapped in a patch, which frightened the old lady. She looked at Meng Xi with a sharp look and asked hurriedly:
"What happened to Jun'er's hand?"
When the eldest wife heard this, she was also startled and stood up. She walked over and took Xiao Jun's hand. She looked at him carefully, and a cold look flashed across her eyes as she swept over Mengxi.
