Chapter 44 Cocoon
When Zhiqiu heard Zhichun say that the Second Master was in Hongyu House but did not come to visit Second Madam's illness, he was afraid that Second Madam would think too much, so he quickly changed the subject and said that the Old Madam had sent Zhihua to see her. He also casually said that the Old Madam had temporarily canceled the visit to the ancestral temple. However, Zhiqiu did not know what canceling the visit to the ancestral temple meant to Second Madam.
Mengxi just smiled faintly after hearing this. Now, it was meaningless for her to worship at the ancestral temple. She waved her hand:
"Everyone, go down and close the door."
"Second Madam, I will stay here with you."
"No, I want to be quiet for a while."
"yes"
Zhiqiu signaled the people in the room to leave and gently closed the door for the second grandmother.
Gazing at the big red double happiness rings in front of the window, they seemed like two big eyes, smiling at her, with a hint of sarcasm, telling her how ridiculous this lively wedding that had once been there was.
At this moment, her pale, raving cries were drowned out by the red blanket that burned half the sky, burning her heart. She gradually forgot the pain that was like being devoured by ants, as if a spring silkworm had spit out thousands of strands of silk, forming a thick cocoon that completely wrapped her heart. In this way, she would not be hurt again. It was enough to experience crazy things once. Since this place did not belong to her, it was better to let go early, and watch the flowers bloom and fall in front of the courtyard; and follow the clouds rolling and unfolding in the sky.
After letting go of her hands and feet, Mengxi began to secretly plan her future arrangements, and fell asleep again unknowingly.
In a daze, I heard a loud noise outside:
"Zhiqiu, what's the matter?"
"Second Madam has woken up. It's time for Auntie to pay respects. Auntie has come over. I saw that Madam was sleeping soundly, so I didn't reply. I asked Auntie to wait in the hall first."
When Zhiqiu heard the call, he knew that the second grandmother had woken up, so he hurried over to answer.
"I will let Auntie come in and serve you now?"
Seeing that Second Mistress had no intention of getting up, Zhiqiu continued to ask:
"I said I'm not feeling well, so there's no need to greet them today. Send them away."
Since she couldn't become the mistress of the house, there was no need to force herself to abide by these useless rules. Just be happy, so Mengxi sent all the concubines away with a wave of her hand. She didn't have the heart to help Master Xiao manage these women at the moment. As long as they didn't bully her, it would be fine.
"Second Madam, you can't do that. Now that Second Madam is ill, it's the rule for Aunt to come visit and serve her. Second Madam is setting a rule by not letting Aunt to serve her at this time. People who know Second Madam are kind-hearted, and those who don't know think Second Madam is weak and can be bullied. I'm afraid that Aunt will no longer see Second Madam in her eyes from now on."
"Let them be," Mengxi said lazily.
"Three girls also came to greet us. Would you like to meet them, Second Madam?" Zhiqiu asked again.
"Just tell them that I'm not feeling well and I'm afraid that my illness will spread to the girls, so let them go back."
"Go ask the Second Master what he wants to eat, and send someone to the back kitchen to arrange it."
Mengxi remembered the Second Master’s dinner and gave another instruction.
"Yes, Madam, what would you like to eat tonight? I will help you arrange it."
"Well... let's just cook a bowl of plain noodles," Mengxi said after thinking for a while.
…
The next day, Mengxi woke up very early in the morning. Perhaps it was the calming effect of the medicine. She went to bed very early and slept very soundly yesterday. She woke up refreshed in the morning, washed up with the help of Zhiqiu, and then walked to the small kitchen.
Mengxi originally wanted to make pork liver and mung bean porridge for the second master, so she prepared the ingredients. Then she remembered that Zhiqiu told her yesterday that the old lady would start fasting for three days today and would go to Jingyun Temple on the 18th to fulfill a vow. After thinking about it, she ordered people to collect the prepared ingredients, wash the chopping board, and make mulberry porridge instead, so that the old lady and the second master could eat it.
Order people to soak the black fungus in warm water, wash it, and tear it into pieces by hand. Then soak the day lily in cold water , remove the impurities, wash it, squeeze out the water, then use a hot oil pan to stir-fry chopped green onions and add various seasonings. Stir-fry until the black fungus and day lily are cooked and flavored. Finally, thicken the sauce with wet starch. A dish of black fungus and day lily fried is ready.
Then he made stir-fried bamboo shoots with straw mushrooms, stir-fried angelica with dried tofu, stewed winter melon with shiitake mushrooms, and a three-fresh soup with oyster mushrooms, and paired them with several kinds of pastries that he had already prepared. He ordered someone to put them in a food box and send them to the old lady, then added more ingredients to another serving and had someone carry it back to the upper room.
Mengxi had put a lot of thought into this breakfast. In a family like this, the old lady had been spoiled with food. On weekdays, the old lady was used to eating delicacies from land and sea. Now she had to fast for three days, so it would not be easy to prepare vegetarian dishes. Today, Mengxi had chosen wild vegetables, not vegetables from farmers' gardens. The novelty of the vegetables and her cooking skills gained from two lifetimes should please the old lady. Now, her only support in the Xiao Mansion was the old lady, so she had to flatter her well.
Holding Zhiqiu's hand, he returned to Xiaoxiang Courtyard and entered the hall. He saw the Second Master sitting in the hall drinking tea, with Hongyu standing by to serve him. He walked forward and bowed slowly, saying:
"Second Master An"
“Get up!”
Xiao Jun glanced at her indifferently and motioned for her to stand up.
"I pay my respects to the Second Madam." When Hongyu saw Mengxi paying her respects to the Second Master, she hurried forward to pay her respects to Mengxi.
“No need to be polite”
Meng Xixu supported Hongyu and spoke calmly.
"Breakfast is ready. Would you like to have it now?"
Xiao Jun just nodded.
Mengxi turned around and signaled to the maid to serve the meal. Hongzhu hurried forward and took the food from the maid and placed it on the table in front of Xiao Jun together with Zhiqiu.
"This dish is called Stir-fried Mushrooms with Winter Bamboo Shoots, which is..."
As Hongzhu and Zhiqiu placed the dishes one by one, Mengxi introduced them to the Second Master one by one, as if the two had never argued before.
After Mengxi finished the introduction, she saw that Xiao Jun didn't pick up the chopsticks and just stared at the food, so she hurriedly spoke again.
"Second Master, I heard that the old lady was going to fast for three days, so I thought of making some vegetarian food for her. As you are weak, you shouldn't eat too much greasy food, so I made some vegetarian dishes. Please try them and see if they are delicious."
When Hongyu heard the Second Madam calling herself a maid, she was stunned. Then she looked at the Second Master, who seemed to have no feeling. She opened her mouth, wanting to correct herself, but then closed it again. She didn't dare to speak nonsense in front of this Second Madam. She had already made up her mind that silence was golden in front of this Second Madam.
"Grandma fasted to fulfill a vow for me. I should have fasted with her. I'll just prepare vegetarian dishes for the next three days."
Xiao Jun just glanced at Mengxi and said lightly.
You still have some conscience, Mengxi thought to herself, took the chopsticks handed over by Zhiqiu, and began to serve the food.
Xiao Jun took a bite of the dish and secretly praised Meng Xi's cooking skills. She could cook vegetarian dishes so deliciously. It seemed that he would not have a hard time in the next three days. She was sick yesterday, and the dinner was prepared and sent by the kitchen. He only ate a few bites and ordered them to take it away. In a few days, she had spoiled his stomach. But he would not tell her about this. He stole a glance at her and saw that her face was still a little pale, so he said:
"You can go down, Hongyu will be here to serve you."
