Chapter 39: Zhiqiu
Xiao Jun was really pissed off about marrying Hongyu. He went straight to the west room after dinner. He didn't want to see the second wife for a moment. Mengxi didn't even say a word to try to keep him. She just ordered Hongzhu to pack his bedding and send it to the west room, and told Hongyu to serve him carefully.
At this time, Xiao Jun was leaning on the bed with his feet soaked in a wooden barrel. Hongyu squatted on the ground and rubbed the soles of his feet carefully, which made Xiao Jun more and more annoyed. Mengxi had rubbed his feet in the same way yesterday, and he felt comfortable to the bone and had a good night's sleep. He had long believed that rubbing feet in this way was very good and a great enjoyment. Thinking of promoting it in his backyard, he eagerly let Hongyu rub his feet. But why didn't Hongyu's rubbing give him the same comfortable feeling as Mengxi's rubbing that went to every limb?
Hongyu's hands were soft and her strength was light, and they made the soles of his feet itch. He wanted Hongyu to call the second wife over, but he opened his mouth for a long time but couldn't say anything. He was in the main wife's room, so it was understandable for him to call his concubine to wash her feet, but it was inappropriate to call his wife to serve him in the main house. He didn't want to, couldn't, and couldn't bring himself to go back and forth to the east room - his bedroom. He saw Hongxing sorting out the things she had moved from the east room. He had the illusion that he was kicked out of the house. That was the house he had lived in for more than ten years, and he moved out in a rage. How could he feel like someone had taken over his place?
Looking at the maid he had accidentally taken in as his concubine who was massaging his feet reminded him of the oppression he had suffered during the day. He just wanted to find trouble to provoke her, but how did she force him to take her in? Hongyu was not the one he wanted. Looking at Hongyu in front of him, he remembered the dignity he had lost during the day. Finally, the numbness and itchiness from his feet made him unbearable anymore. He kicked over the wooden barrel, which fell on him, splashing water all over Hongyu, and then he sat down on the ground.
"roll"
"Second Master, please calm down. I know I was wrong. Second Master, please calm down. I know I was wrong." Hongyu knelt on the ground and kowtowed as she said this.
Although she shouted like this, she didn't know what she had done wrong. She only knew that the Second Master at this moment was no longer the gentle and affectionate Second Master at noon. A trace of bitterness rose in her heart. The result obtained after all her efforts turned out to be not the kind of warmth she had imagined. Was she wrong? What was wrong?
Hong Xing was so shocked that she stopped what she was doing and stood there. She was fine just now, why did he suddenly get angry? She felt that Second Master had become a different person since he recovered from his illness, and became moody. Seeing Second Master lying there weakly with his eyes closed and not saying a word, she hurried over to pull Hong Yu. How could Hong Yu dare to get up? She had become a frightened bird during the day, and now how could she withstand Second Master's outburst? She knelt there at a loss.
Seeing that Hongyu didn't dare to get up, Hongxing didn't dare to pull her hard, so she could only clean up the ground carefully.
After a long time, I heard the second master close his eyes and say:
"Clean up, everyone, go down."
Hong Xing responded, picked up the barrel and walked out. Hong Yu was soaking wet at this moment, wondering if she should follow him out. She knelt down and called softly:
"Second Master, this servant..."
Xiao Jun waved his hand impatiently: "Go down, I don't need you to serve me today."
Hongyu was as anxious as if she had taken a coptis root. If she was asked to leave, where could she go? To the servants' room? If the news spread tomorrow, all her dignity would be gone. She looked at the Second Master with resentment , and slowly walked to the door, holding the door handle with trembling hands. She really didn't have the courage to open the door. Finally, she heard the Second Master's voice:
"Come back, you can rest on the couch tonight."
"Thank you, Second Master." Hongyu hurried back to the house as if she had been pardoned.
…
Mengxi sat on the chair with great interest, staring at her trophies of the day with sparkling eyes - four newly bought maids. She renamed them in the afternoon. She wanted to use chess, piano, book and painting, but she remembered that the four big maids in the old lady's room had these four words, so she used spring, summer, autumn and winter, and named them Zhichun, Zhiqiu, Zhixia and Zhidong respectively.
With the order from the highest leader of the Xiao Mansion, the Old Lady, things got done efficiently, and the problem that had been bothering her for a long time was solved. Originally, after Mengxi picked the maids today, the First Lady meant to put them with her to learn the rules for a few days before sending them back. This was also the Old Lady's intention, but Mengxi was worried. It didn't matter if they learned the rules for a few days, but she was afraid that the First Lady would teach them "bad things". These were her personal maids, the team she would build up in the Xiao Mansion in the future, so she secretly begged Nanny Su to train them personally. Nanny Su saw that the Second Lady was respectful to her as the main wife, unlike the Second Master's concubines, who relied on the Second Master's favor and had their eyes on the sky. How could they respect her at all? She had already liked her in her heart, and seeing that she was so favored in front of the old lady today, how could she not agree? The eldest wife heard that Nanny Su wanted to train the maids herself. Nanny Su was an old lady and was very respectable in front of the old lady, not to mention that she was Xiao Jun's wet nurse, so it was just right for her to train the maids for the second wife. She couldn't find any excuse to shirk, so she had to agree. In this way, it was decided that the four maids would learn the rules from Nanny Su during the day and come to serve Mengxi at night.
Among the four maids, Mengxi was most satisfied with Zhiqiu. Zhiqiu's surname was Li, and her real name was Li Cui. She was 15 years old, with delicate features, and was smart and clever. She was a real beauty. When Mengxi saw her for the first time, he was attracted by her big, bright eyes. When he heard that she could read, he asked her to write. It turned out that she had beautiful handwriting, so he bought her without thinking.
Afterwards, she came to her senses and felt that Li Cui did not look like a servant at all. She felt a little uneasy and worried that she had some background. In the evening, she called the four maids and told them to sit down. How could the four dare to sit down? The second mistress glared at them and forced them to sit down. Then she asked about their life stories one by one.
It turned out that Li Cuizhen was not born a slave. She was a lady from a scholarly family. Her family originally lived in the western suburbs of Pingyang City. As only a few scholars had emerged in recent generations, the family's fortunes had gradually declined. By the time of her father's generation, there was no land to support their survival. Her father failed the exams several times and gradually became discouraged. So he changed his profession to become a doctor. With the help of his clansmen, he opened a small Chinese medicine shop, which was able to provide him with enough food and clothing. Later, he married again and gave birth to two siblings, brother Li Du and sister Li Cui. His wife also died of complications during childbirth when giving birth to Li Cui. Old man Li was a very affectionate man, but he never remarried. He taught his two children to read and write on weekdays, and the family lived happily together.
Li Du had participated in the provincial examination several years ago and passed the examination as a student, but perhaps because of the bad fortune of the Li family's ancestral graves, no one had ever passed the examination. Since he passed the examination as a student, Li Du had participated in the provincial examinations for several times but failed each time. Li Du was not good at the imperial examinations but was very smart in business. After repeated failures and with his father Li getting old, he gave up and helped his father manage the pharmacy business.
As the saying goes, girls change a lot when they grow up. By the time Li Cui grew up to be a 15-year-old, she had grown into a graceful and smart young lady, just like a beautiful girl from a small family. Old Man Li held her on his head for fear that she would fall, and held her in his mouth for fear that she would melt. He loved her like a treasure and declined many matchmakers who came to propose marriage. He always wanted his daughter to choose a husband she liked.
On this day , Li Du went out to do some work and there was a shortage of staff in the pharmacy. Li Cui came to the front hall to help her father prepare medicine as usual. While she was preparing the medicine, Zhang Damao, a notorious bully in the village, pushed the door open with a prescription and came in to get medicine for his concubine. He looked up and saw the beautiful Li Cui. He was shocked for a moment. He could not believe that a golden phoenix could fly out of this chicken coop. The old man Li, who looked cowardly on weekdays, actually had such a beautiful little beauty hidden in his family. It must be God's help. Zhang Damao stared at Li Cui in a daze, drooling, and had long forgotten about getting the medicine.
