Chapter 82 Gift
Xiu'er had plenty of time and didn't believe that her cousin's wife could hide from her forever. If she came here every day, she would catch her sooner or later. So she made up her mind to come here every day. For three days in a row, she came to the east wing in the afternoon to bother her cousin's wife, and her cousin's wife would stay with her cousin obediently in the evening, watching them play chess and chat.
My cousin's wife watched the chess game for three days in a row. Xiu'er discovered that the look my cousin gave her occasionally these two days was full of tenderness, no longer as cold as it was during lunch. This made Xiu'er secretly shocked. There was one thing that Xiu'er had to admit in her heart, and that was that she could not compare with my cousin's wife. Although my cousin's wife did not have such a delicate figure as hers, she was two years younger than her after all. With time, she would surely become charming and attractive. At that time, would my cousin still be so cold to her?
The way her cousin looked at his wife made Xiu'er feel a deep sense of crisis. As soon as she entered the Xiao Mansion, she heard that her cousin and his wife were incompatible, and that his wife had been left out in the east wing since she entered the house. She had witnessed with her own eyes how cold her cousin was to his wife these days. Unexpectedly, in just three days, there was a slight change in the way her cousin looked at his wife. If this continued, would her cousin be moved by his wife's beauty?
No, she could never let her cousin's wife sit next to her cousin and play chess and chat with them like this. Not to mention whether her cousin's wife was an eyesore here, from her heart, she could not let her cousin have any good feelings for her cousin's wife. Even the slightest bit would cast a shadow on her and her cousin's future marriage life. She could not let this happen.
After figuring this out, Zhang Xiu never dared to go to the east wing to provoke her cousin's wife in the following days. She just continued to act arrogantly in Xiaoxiang Courtyard and shifted her attention to the concubines. She would be the mistress of this courtyard sooner or later, and she must make these concubines bow down to her. Xiu'er was very smart. She knew that she could not make five enemies at the same time, and she must win over a few first. Her cousin doted on concubine Li and concubine Zhang the most, and these two people were her biggest hidden dangers. For her, joining forces with the first concubine, the second concubine and Hongyu to deal with them was the best option. Having made up her mind, Xiu'er sang the Three Kingdoms in the second master's backyard for a while, tossing concubine Zhang and concubine Li, as if she had forgotten that there was a mistress in the front yard.
Xiu'er didn't provoke her cousin's wife, not because she really forgot, nor because she gave up, but because she hadn't come up with a good idea. She was not in a hurry, and she had time to think slowly. She never knew how to write the word "give up". She must drive her cousin's wife out of the Xiao Mansion before her cousin noticed her beauty.
Xiu'er stopped causing trouble in the East Wing, and Mengxi lived a peaceful life again. Apart from accompanying the old lady to relieve her boredom, she spent most of her time in the East Wing, rarely going out. No matter how turbulent the Second Master's backyard was, she just watched the flowers bloom and fall in the courtyard with a smile.
In the blink of an eye, it was the Qiqiao Festival. Mengxi got up early, paid his respects to the old lady, and returned to Xiaoxiang Courtyard, only to see Hongyu and the four concubines already waiting outside the hall.
After the Second Madam sat down, several people came forward to greet her and stood on both sides. Mengxi looked around and said:
"Today is the Qiqiao Festival, and it's a rare holiday for us women. Ladies, please stop standing and sit down. Hongzhu, please show some ladies and Hongyu where to sit."
When the concubines heard this, they were stunned for a moment, then looked up at the Second Madam's expression and saw that she really wanted them to sit down. After some politeness, they sat down. After the concubines sat down, Mengxi looked at the First Madam and asked:
"What are the rules for the Qiqiao Festival in previous years?"
"Replying to Second Madam, there are no rules. The old lady is going to hold a family banquet in the evening. Because it is a women's festival, she also invited the concubine. Second Master did not set up a separate banquet in the courtyard, but the maids and old women in each room were happy and gathered some money to celebrate."
Mengxi couldn't help but sigh after hearing this. There were too few entertainment activities in ancient times. Even if there were, they were all prepared for men. No wonder the women in the backyard were so bored that they fought with each other every day. If they were like the women in the 21st century, working from nine to five every day, being exploited by their bosses at every turn, and working overtime until the early morning, they probably wouldn't have the energy to fight, right? This reminded her of poker in her previous life. It would be better to let the servants do it. During the big festival, she could teach a few concubines to play together and have fun. Counting them, there were exactly four concubines, enough for one table.
Thinking of this, she looked up and was about to tell Hongzhu to prepare, but in a blink of an eye, she met the eager eyes of Aunt Li and Aunt Zhang, with eager faces. She was shocked. These two people have suffered a lot from Xiu'er these days. What does it mean to look at her like this? Do they want to use her as a bomb? The words on her lips were changed abruptly:
"In this case, let's follow the rules of previous years. It's a rare festival for us women, so don't be too mean to yourself. If you like to have fun, just have some fun in your own courtyard, and don't be too particular about the rules. It's not easy for us women in our lives. I have asked the kitchen to make some Qiqiao Fruits, which will be distributed to each courtyard to take back later."
After Mengxi finished speaking, he thought of the matter of drying clothes on the Qiqiao Festival. Just as he was about to open his mouth to instruct his aunt, Aunt Li said:
"Second Madam, a few days ago, Second Master awarded the finest brocade to each courtyard. I saw that such fine material was only suitable for Second Madam, and it would be ruined if I wore it, so I took a little time to sew it before the Qiqiao Festival and presented it to Second Madam. Please take a look and see if it fits. I am not good at it, so please forgive me for making fun of it."
As Aunt Li spoke, she motioned to Bai Ju to present the tray in her hand. Zhi Qiu hurried forward to take it and presented it to the Second Madam. Meng Xi reached out to lift the square towel on the tray, took out the clothes, and opened them. It was a lotus green brocade wedding dress. The collar, sleeves, and hem were all carefully embroidered with broken leaf patterns, which echoed the elegant and refined lily on the chest. It was obvious that a lot of thought had been put into it. Meng Xi not only secretly praised Aunt Li's needlework, but also said casually:
"Mrs. Li has excellent cooking skills, which is really rare. It's amazing that you have such filial piety."
As he spoke, he gestured to Zhichun to accept it. Just as he was about to say something else, Aunt Zhang came forward and presented him with a pair of hollow silver hairpins inlaid with pearls, which looked to be worth quite a bit of silver.
Mengxi looked at the two concubines in confusion. Not only did the sun rise from the west, but red rain began to fall.
No matter what, it was a token of kindness from the two concubines. Mengxi ordered Zhichun to accept it, and ordered Zhiqiu to reward the two.
The eldest and second concubines felt a little uncomfortable. They had never expected to give gifts to the mistress during the festival, and it was too late to make up for it. They sat there, neither going forward nor backward, hesitating for a long time, their faces turning red. Concubine Zhang and Concubine Li looked at them with a hint of smile.
Mengxi took a quick glance and understood what was going on, but pretended not to see it. He continued with the previous topic and ordered all the courtyards to take out the clothes and hang them out to dry. He then chatted with several concubines about some customs and interesting stories of the Tanjiu Festival. After talking for a while, three young ladies dressed neatly walked in. When Mengxi saw them, he ordered the concubines to leave and asked them to go back to the courtyard to prepare for the family dinner in the evening.
