Chapter 97: Three Trouble in the East Wing
In the First Lady's heart, the position of Mistress Mengxi originally belonged to Xiu'er. She had always disliked this daughter-in-law. Now she heard the Taoist priest say that this daughter-in-law was an unlucky person and that she had offended Xiu'er. Because she had only given the Taoist priest her birth date and eight characters in advance but did not say who the daughter-in-law was, she thought that the Taoist priest would never make a false accusation and that it must have been made by the fortune teller. So the First Lady believed it firmly and was furious. She wished she could immediately expel this daughter-in-law from the Xiao Mansion. She stood up and wanted to ask someone to call the Second Lady over. But then she thought about how the Old Lady had been protecting her closely these days, so she had to grit her teeth and bear it. She sat down, sighed, and thought to herself that the Old Lady was old and confused. How could she be bewitched by this little vixen and could not see the truth?
Xiu'er was still very obedient. Seeing what the Taoist said, she said to the Taoist:
"Sir, you are an outsider, so you may not know that this person is my cousin's wife, who just married into our family in early summer this year. If she is really an unlucky person, my cousin will definitely be sad. Moreover, if my cousin's wife is more fortunate than my cousin, that would be bad. Sir, could you please find a way to break this calamity, so that my cousin and his wife will be fine."
"If my cousin's wife is more lucky than my cousin, that would be bad." The implication is that the second wife might be a "husband killer." The first wife was shocked when she heard this. Jun'er had just escaped death not long ago, so she must not let anything happen to him again this time.
Thinking of this, the eldest wife could no longer care about anything else. This son was more important than her life, so she also spoke to the Taoist priest:
"Thank you for your trouble, sir. No matter what, you must find a way to get out of this disaster."
The Taoist pondered for a long while, then shook his head and said helplessly:
"There is a solution , but this person is the head of the family after all, so it's a bit inconvenient."
"As long as there is a way, sir, just tell us, and we can do it if it's cheap."
When the eldest wife heard her husband say there was a way, she spoke.
"It's not that difficult. We can just perform a ritual in this person's room to get rid of the disaster. But since it's the mistress' room, there are many inconveniences. I'm afraid..."
"I thought it was a difficult matter. This is a simple matter. I can make the decision. I will send someone to tell Second Madam in a while. You two gentlemen can go together. Let a few maids and old women take care of them. What big things can't happen? Besides, this is also for Second Madam's own good."
After the eldest wife finished speaking, she turned around and told Zi Yue to lead the two Taoist priests to the east wing of the second wife to perform a ritual. If they needed anything, they could just ask the housekeeper. She didn't have the kindness to take the second wife's reputation seriously. Relatively speaking, her son's life was more important. It would be better if her reputation was ruined. There was no reason to divorce her.
Xiu'er hesitated for a moment, then said to the eldest wife:
"Xiu'er often goes to Xiaoxiang Courtyard, and is very familiar with the maids and servants there, so it's easy to use them. Aunt, why don't you send Bingxin and Yuxin to bring Taoist Master Dao Tu to perform the ritual? This will be much more convenient."
The eldest lady agreed when she heard this. She thought that Zi Yue was not familiar with the maids and servants in Xiaoxiang Courtyard, and it was inevitable that they would go against their will if she ordered them around. Thinking of this, she nodded in agreement, and gave the two of them some instructions. Then she asked Bingxin and Yuxin to take Daotu to Xiaoxiang Courtyard.
Bingxin and Yuxin led the two Taoist priests to Xiaoxiang Courtyard. When the maids saw them, they dared not offend them and hurriedly invited them in. They accompanied them to the door of the east wing, where they saw Zhixia and Zhidong waiting outside. Bingxin stepped forward and told them the purpose of her visit. After she finished speaking, Zhixia and Zhiqiu still refused to let her in. Finally, they said that this was the order of the eldest lady and it was not up to you servants to decide. After that, she and the Taoist priests were about to force their way in, but were blocked at the door by Zhixia and Zhidong.
The maids and servants in Xiaoxiangyuan had never seen such a situation before. They looked left and right. On one side, she had the support of the eldest wife, and on the other side was the second mistress. Although the second mistress was not in power, the old lady loved her very much these days and sent things to the east wing every day. It was said that the old lady once embarrassed the eldest wife in front of the servants because of the second mistress. Now they were so blind that they offended the second mistress. The second mistress ran to the old lady and cried and made a fuss. She could even embarrass the eldest wife . How could these servants have any status? The old lady stomped her feet and killed them like crushing an ant.
After thinking it over, they realized they couldn't afford to offend either side, so they all hid far away and watched the excitement. After a while, even the concubines in the backyard sent their maids over and stood far away in the yard. Bingxin and Yuxin saw that the maids and old women all ran away and refused to help. They also felt that they were outnumbered and didn't dare to force their way in. They stood there and kept saying that it was the eldest lady's order that they must go into the east wing today. Several people were frozen there for a moment.
Finally, Bing Xin got anxious and pointed at Zhi Xia's nose and shouted:
"You blind maid, you dare not listen to the words of the first wife. If you are not allowed to come in, I will report it immediately and ask the first wife to come in person and block the lady here, even if you have the guts!"
After hearing this, Zhixia thought to herself that once the eldest wife came, there would be no room for maneuver, so she decided to report back to the second mistress and listen to her advice. Thinking of this, she asked Zhidong to watch them wait outside the door while she went in to report back to the second mistress.
Zhixia entered the east wing. The second wife and Zhiqiu in the room had already known what was happening outside. Zhiqiu and Zhichun were so angry that they were jumping up and down and cursing:
"What do you mean by conflicting horoscopes? This must be the cousin's bad idea. She has been trying to torment Second Madam in various ways. Was it that stinky Taoist priest who got into Second Madam's room? If this gets out, how will Second Madam face people in the future? We must not let them succeed this time. We will drive them out even if we have to take the punishment. Second Madam, I will do this. If the First Madam punishes you in the future, I will bear the consequences. Even if I die, I will not let them tarnish Second Madam's innocence like this."
As Zhiqiu spoke, he knelt down and kowtowed to the Second Grandma. Zhichun and Zhixia also knelt down together.
Mengxi had been sitting there for a long time. She was really irritated by this ignorant Xiu'er. After all, she still had the title of the second wife. Xiu'er, you have nothing to do and come here every day to seduce my husband. I don't care and let you seduce, but you should never come to the East Wing to make trouble every now and then. I am secretly angry in my heart. If I don't get you Xiu'er out of Xiaoxiangyuan today, I will take your surname! Thinking of this, she looked at the three people on the ground and said:
"Okay, all of you get up. Since they have come to bully us, today we will just close the door and beat the dog."
"Close the door and beat the dog?" Zhixia looked at the second grandmother in confusion.
Mengxi slapped her forehead. She was so angry that she said what she was thinking out loud.
"Zhixia, go outside and tell Bingxin and the others to wait outside. I'll wash up and go out now. While there's chaos, tell Zhidong to lock the second door and watch from there. Don't let even a fly fly out, lest someone go to the first lady to pass on the message while we're beating people up."
Mengxi was really angry. Just two servants dared to make a scene in front of her, the mistress of the house. If she didn't beat them up today, their faces would be covered with flowers. You wouldn't know why the flowers are so red!
