Chapter 81 Watching the Game
Xiu'er was determined to enter the east wing, so she went to Xiaoxiang Courtyard while her cousin was away. Seeing that the second wife was not there and the door of the east wing was locked, she ordered someone to bring a chair and sat there waiting. She also ordered Zhixia to go find the second wife.
Seeing Miss Xiu like this, Zhixia had no choice but to leave Xiaoxiang Courtyard and look for Second Madam. But where could she find her? Second Madam was practicing calligraphy in the north room!
It turned out that like Miss Xiu, Mengxi also placed a little maid outside the gate of Xiaoxiangyuan. As soon as she saw Miss Xiu coming, she would quickly come back to report to the Second Mistress. Every time Miss Xiu came, as long as the Second Master was not there, Mengxi would order people to lock the door. She was either reading or practicing calligraphy in the east wing, or going to the backyard to prepare medicine. There was a curtain covering the front window, and no one could see inside. No matter how smart Miss Xiu was, she could not guess that she would lock herself in the house. Mengxi did this not because she was afraid of Miss Xiu, but because she thought it was better to have less trouble than more. She was really too lazy to waste her time on this ignorant Miss Xiu.
After leaving the door of Xiaoxiangyuan, Zhixia looked back and saw that no one was following her, so she simply found a place to hide as the Second Mistress had instructed.
Zhang Xiu waited outside the east wing. The sun was setting. She had already drunk several pots of tea, and her mouth tasted alkaline. Zhixia had not come back yet, and there was no sign of the second grandmother. She sent Zhidong to look for her, but Zhidong was gone as well. She waited until the second master came back, but Zhixia and Zhidong did not find their second grandmother. Instead, they were gone too. When Xiao Jun entered the room, he saw his cousin sitting in front of the east wing, with Hongzhu and others standing by. He was secretly shocked. What trouble had she caused? He let his cousin stand at the door, looked around, and saw no sign of her. He asked casually:
"Why is my cousin sitting in the yard instead of going into the house?"
Xiu'er had been sitting there doing nothing for the whole afternoon, and her ambitions had long gone. When her cousin asked about it, she pouted, her eyes turned red, and she said with resentment:
"Cousin, Xiuer missed her today and came to see her, but she has been waiting since the afternoon and still hasn't seen her. I wonder where she went."
Xiao Jun didn't know where Mengxi had gone. He lived in this courtyard and rarely saw her every day. Hearing Xiu'er say this, he was also surprised that a living person could not be found after a whole day of searching? As long as he casually told which courtyard she was in, a servant would immediately come back with the message. When did the news in the Xiao Mansion become so closed? He was puzzled, but he couldn't say anything in front of his cousin.
"Xi'er will be back sooner or later. Cousin, please wait in the living room first. It's windy outside."
Being alone with her cousin is much more important than going to the East Wing. Anyway, her cousin is not at home during the day. It won’t be too late to go to the East Wing tomorrow. She can come here every day if she has time. She doesn’t believe that her cousin’s wife can hide from her every day!
Thinking of this, he stood up and ordered people to take away the chairs and Xiao Ji, and went to the living room with his cousin. They sat there bored, so they started playing Go again. While they were playing, Mengxi came in with Zhiqiu:
"I'm sorry to have kept my cousin waiting for a long time. I went to the pavilion in the north today and saw a nice view, so I sat there to enjoy it. Unexpectedly, I fell asleep, so Zhixia and Zhidong were looking for me. Now, I heard that my cousin missed me, so I hurried back."
As Mengxi spoke, he stepped forward and saluted the Second Master. Without waiting for the two to speak, he sat next to Xiao Jun and watched the two play chess.
"Xiu'er's visit to my cousin's wife is nothing serious. It's just that I haven't seen my cousin's wife for a while and I miss her. I want to go to her room and sit with her. So, after waiting for an entire afternoon and not seeing her come back, my cousin asked Xiu'er to wait for her in the living room."
After hearing this, Mengxi just nodded at her with a slight smile, and then sat there upright watching the two play chess.
Seeing his cousin's wife sitting next to his cousin, Zhang Xiu felt very uncomfortable. His cousin had been busy with family affairs recently and came home later and later. Sometimes he even had dinner outside and came back after dark. Today he came back early and had some time alone. Time is money. How come there is such a cousin's wife sitting there like a piece of wood, which is so annoying.
She stole a glance at her cousin and thought: Why didn't he let his wife go back? It would be great if they were alone like in the past. Although her cousin didn't talk much, and she would only say one sentence out of ten, as long as he could sit by her side and listen to her attentively, her heart was filled with sweetness. Now that there was a wife, she was a little speechless. She really forgot that they were a married couple.
Xiao Jun was also feeling uncomfortable at this time. He felt uncomfortable all over as Mengxi watched him playing chess with his cousin. But he didn't dare to ask her to do anything in front of his cousin. The incident at lunch last time made him truly understand his wife who called herself a "maid and concubine". On weekdays, she was very humble and delicate to him, just like a docile little lamb. If you said something serious, she would be busy admitting her mistakes and begging for your punishment. If it was more serious, she would kneel on the ground and kowtow to you. If it was more serious, she would faint in front of you. But he never saw her really do what he wanted. Deep down, there was something in her that he, Xiao Jun, could not destroy. Seeing her sitting next to him, how could he dare to say anything to her? He could only bite the bullet and continue playing chess with Xiu'er.
The game of chess was finally over. Miss Xiu lost two pieces, but she refused to give in and insisted on another game. Xiao Jun stood up and said:
"Xi'er, please accompany your cousin. I'll watch over you."
Zhang Xiu looked at her cousin in surprise. She didn't want to waste time with her cousin's wife!
"Second Master and my cousin and I will just watch from the side. I don't know how to play chess, and I can't even understand it. There are so many black and white pieces going around, how can you tell who wins and who loses?"
When Mengxi saw the Second Master looking at her, her bright eyes moved slightly, a faint smile appeared on the corners of her mouth, and she opened her red lips and spoke in a soft voice.
When Zhang Xiu heard this, she was so angry. She didn't understand why you were pretending here. You were sitting there like a piece of wood. You were so annoying. It made it inconvenient for her to talk to her cousin.
Xiao Jun really didn't know that Meng Xi couldn't play chess, and looked at her in confusion. She couldn't play chess? Then why was she sitting there watching for a long time, so seriously? What was she looking at?
Mengxi was wronged, she was a modern person, how could she learn this nonsense? Wasn't it because your cousin said she missed me that I came here to sit here for her to see? Seeing that both of them were looking at her, she felt a little shy, her face slightly blushed and she said:
"I came here to accompany my cousin because I heard that she missed me. You guys continue, and I will stay by your side. Hongzhu, change a pot of hot tea for the Second Master and my cousin."
Seeing a blush on Mengxi's face, the Second Master was distracted for a moment and no longer had the heart to play chess.
As for Xiu'er, with this blind cousin-in-law beside her, who didn't even say she was leaving but just said she was staying with her, how could she concentrate on playing chess? The three of them sat and talked for a while, and for the first time, Zhang Xiu left Xiaoxiangyuan before it got dark.
The next two days were like this. Zhang Xiu wanted to go to the east wing in the afternoon, but she couldn't find her cousin's wife. When her cousin came back, her cousin's wife also came back. Second Madam was sitting there again, watching the two of them chatting and playing chess like a piece of wood. On the fourth day, Zhang Xiu came to her senses. As long as she went to the east wing to provoke her cousin's wife, she would come to accompany her, sandwiched between her and her cousin, as annoying as she could be.
Sure enough, on the fourth day, Xiu'er did not come to the east wing in the afternoon, and his cousin's wife did not come in the evening. Xiao Jun actually understood Mengxi's thoughts, but just smiled bitterly and shook his head. He came back very early these two days, and he found that with her sitting beside him obediently, even if she didn't speak, he had a sense of security. He liked this feeling very much, and it was rare to have such a wonderful time to live in peace with her. He no longer had the nervousness of the first day. He came back early today, and felt a little disappointed when he saw that she didn't come.
