Chapter 252 Stir up trouble
He Danggui was choked with the soup. She wanted to cough, but she didn’t dare to. Listening to this conversation, she wondered if someone had gotten into the Su Mei Yard and had a love affair... Did Madam Luo’s maid Gan Cao hang herself yesterday? What was going on? The voice of the man in the affair sounded familiar to her, but she couldn’t remember it for a while. She held back her cough and whispered, “Shall we leave quickly? Make room for them.”
Meng Xuan still took the chopsticks to serve He Danggui and said slowly, “There are so many rooms in the yard. How could it be such a coincidence that they would choose this one? You just had a few mouthfuls. How can you be disturbed by strangers and wasted a table of delicacies? Come on, have some more.”
There were so many dishes on the table. He Danggui didn’t want to disappoint Meng Xuan for his good intention to cook the soup himself, so she immersed herself in the dishes. She wanted to eavesdrop on Zhu Quan and Qi Xuanyu after having a quick meal. Their conversations really shocked her. In addition to suspecting that Zhu Quan was the culprit who killed her in her previous life, she also heard Qi Xuanyu say that she was the Tenth Princess in the Imperial Palace in her previous life of the previous life. And her fetal jade was taken away by Lord Yan!
She seemed to have a vague impression about her fetal jade. It was her mother who said to her when she was three or four years old, “Jade has a spirit, and gold has a soul. Sooner or later, they will come back to find the owner. Your fetal jade belongs to you. You took it for ten months during my pregnancy, but it lost when you were born. The fetal jade would cry...” She had never understood these words, but now combining with the old story that Qi Xuanyu heard from Madam He, she probably understood the ins and outs of this matter.
But these were not the issues she cared most. What she wanted to find out was whether it was a masterpiece of Bai Yangbai that she could be reborn eighteen years ago.
“Take it easy,” Meng Xuan corrected, “Don’t be distracted when you eat. My mother said that it is bad for your spleen and stomach.”
He Danggui squinted at him, “Some men in their thirties often spout off ‘my mother said’. Could it be that...you’re a ‘mommy’s boy’ as Qing’er said?”
Meng Xuan was puzzled, “What is that?” Liao Qing’er always had countless strange words.
“Mommy’s boy means mother’s treasure. It is said that such men keep saying ‘my mother said’ no matter how old he is. They have high demands on women, and hope women are gentle and virtuous both internally and externally. This is also one characteristic of mommy’s boy. I think you are likely to be such a man.” He Danggui continued to squint at Meng Xuan, “Listen, one day, you encounter a marriage problem. Your wife is not at fault, but given the Instructions of Meng’s Family, she inadvertently violated your mother. If your mother ordered you to divorce your wife, what would you do?”
Hearing this, Meng Xuan looked at her with his eyes full of affection, and asked, “Would you like to marry me? Are you worried that someone will bully you when you marry into Meng’s Family?”
He Danggui shook her head, “No. Seventh Childe, you are so talented and handsome. You have stayed in Luo’s Mansion in Yangzhou City for more than a month, and there must be many young ladies admiring you. Just in case, I help them to inquire you. If your mother wanted you to divorce your wife without negotiation, what would you do?”
Meng Xuan thought for a moment and shook his head, “My mother is reasonable. She treats wives and concubines of my eldest brother and second brother very gently. When implementing the family instructions, she always guided first, and punished as a supplement. You will know that if you meet her.” Seeing that He Danggui frowned and was obviously dissatisfied with his roundabout answer, he gave a clear answer, “If my mother orders me to divorce my wife, I will put my mother’s opinion above everything else. But... if you are my wife, I will follow Duan Xiaolou to leave Meng’s Mansion, and build a small Meng’s Mansion to live a good life with you. Then we go back to apologize to my mother when she calms down.”
He Danggui pondered his answer, but still felt that he was like a mommy’s boy, so she said seriously, “But the premise I said is that your wife is innocent. Why should she go back to apologize to your mother in the end?”
“Because we should respect the elder,” Meng Xuan blurted out, “As long as my wife upsets my mother, she will be wrong to disrespect elders, and is not completely innocent. Moreover, the younger apologizing to the elder is not losing face, is it? Why should the family make such a stalemate?”
Hearing Meng Xuan’s remarks, He Danggui drank a bowl of soup, and expressed her thoughts, “I must ask your mother for advice if I have a son. A filial son is more reliable than ten affectionate mates.”
Just as Meng Xuan wanted to say something, the man and woman who had just sneaked into Su Mei Yard had done enough foreplay and began to make out. In this secluded courtyard, it was hard not to listen to it.
When He Danggui eavesdropped on Zhu Quan just now, she really hoped that her hearing could not be better. But now, she began to regret that her hearing was too good. After an awkward moment with Meng Xuan, she suggested, “Let’s go now?”
Meng Xuan was not in a hurry. He admired the pretty look of the person in front of him and persuaded, “Drink another bowl of soup. You become thinner because of hunger.”
He Danggui forced herself to drink two more sips. Until seeing Meng Xuan’s smiling eyes, she realized that he was teasing her. Tossing the table and chopsticks quickly, she pulled Meng Xuan towards the courtyard gate. She could barely endure the shouts if she listened alone. But with Meng Xuan beside her, she was so constrained. While Meng Xuan dragged his feet. She pulled him two steps, but he walked only half a step. When passing by the man and woman’s room, she still felt that the man’s voice was a bit familiar to her. Then she turned to look and saw it clear because of the good viewpoint.
Unconsciously, Meng Xuan raised his hand to cover her eyes. He took a big step and quickly pulled her out of Su Mei Yard. He Danggui thought, “Oh, it turns out to be him... Isn’t the woman with him...”
They walked in the direction of Qi Lu Yard, while Third Childe Meng Ying walked towards them. He hurriedly stepped forward to stop Meng Xuan and asked, “May I talk something to him?”
Meng Ying was directed at He Danggui, so she replied, “Go ahead.” It was herself who was the outsider.
Seeing Meng Ying’s expression of confidentiality, Meng Xuan turned back to warn He Danggui, “You can’t go to that place alone, unless you go together with me. Go home and have a rest first. I will go to meet you whenever I am free.”
He Danggui didn’t say anything, but Meng Ying snorted, “It’s not a farewell to life. Humph, why are you being so mushy?”
He Danggui didn’t have something to say at first, so she simply stopped and saw Meng Ying to pull his brother into the corridor. Meng Xuan finally said, “You should not go back to that place again!” She raised her handkerchief to say goodbye to them. Then, she showed her Mysterious Footwork, walking on the trails, and soon approached Qi Lu Yard. She slowed down and carefully explored the way forward. After two steps, she stopped again. Meng Xuan’s clear and concerned eyes swayed in front of her eyes. She was rescued once, but now she didn’t listen to his advice and went her own way. Was it not good? She would not be lucky forever.
She hesitated for a while, and finally decided to go on. She walked a hundred steps forward, approaching the back door of Qi Lu Yard. Listening attentively, she heard only the sound of a person’s breathing. She looked inside, and there was only Luo Baiqian lying on the ground under the stone table with a good dream. While she was disappointed, she was relieved that the man she wanted to see was not there. There would always be a chance to hear more secret conversations from Zhu Quan in the coming days. She was alone this time, so just let it go. Therefore, she turned around and left.
At the moment when she left, two people turned out from behind a pillar in Qi Lu Yard. Zhu Quan asked, “You saw her in person. Does she really look the same as my Tenth Sister before the disfigurement?”
“It’s true.” Qi Xuanyu teased, “If you don’t believe me, you can take her into the palace. Although Tenth Princess have been dead for many years, there are many people in the palace recognized her. Especially, our emperor must recognize his short-lived daughter.” Suddenly, he questioned, “Why did He Danggui approach Qi Lu Yard so alertly? Why didn’t she come in to see Luo Baiqian? Why did she run like a ghost chasing her behind?”
Zhu Quan looked at Luo Baiqian on the ground thoughtfully and asked, “What do you mean? You are implying that she knows we are talking in the yard, and maybe she even heard our conversation, right?”
Qi Xuanyu further analyzed, “When there was a sound of breaking branches outside the yard, we chased it out and found the broken branches on the ground, but did not find the birds or beasts that broke the branches. The branches of holly wood are extremely tough and can’t be broken easily, but the broken branches on the ground are trimmed. Was she the one who broke the branches just now?”
Zhu Quan shook his head, “If that person is really her, she will never escape my pursuit. But in fact, I didn’t chase the figure. Maybe she just happened to pass by and took a look at the yard at will. There is nothing strange for she ignoring Luo Baiqian, because she has always been indifferent.”
“Impossible!” Qi Chuan, who was lying beside Luo Baiqian on the ground, woke up again. He rubbed his eyes and said, “Sister Qingyi has never left me alone. This is the first time! Will she notice something? Will she ignore me forever?”
He Danggui didn’t know what happened after she left. She returned to Tao Yao Yard. Now it was in the late afternoon. The clouds threatened rain. After she entered the room, she gave Chan Yi a few words and cleansed her hands and face. Then she took the baggage that she had prepared beforehand, and went to the back door again.
Chan Yi suddenly chased her out, and reported two pieces of latest news to He Danggui, “Miss He, Madam Luo’s maid Gan Cao hanged herself. Someone saw her being pressed to the ground and undressed by Second Lord. That happened half day before she died. Besides, Madam Luo left Childe Feng for a banquet and said that she would find a good fortune-teller to match Childe Ning’s date of birth and eight characters of a horoscope and yours. Miss He, do you know Childe Ning? He lived in our mansion for several days, and he was the one who gave you the painting that you hate.”
Hearing the second piece of news, He Danggui was shocked, “Where’s Bai Yang? Is the person called Bai Yang coming?”
Chan Yi shook her head, “I heard Shi Liu say that a teenage boy from outside the mansion came to ask for Bai Yang’s invitation card. He said that Childe Bai broke his leg unfortunately and seemed to have no predestined relationship with you, so Childe Bai wouldn’t come awkwardly.” Looking at the dumb face of the young lady, Chan Yi asked suspiciously, “Miss He, where are you going to go? It’s getting dark and it’s going to rain.”
“I’m going to stir up trouble.” He Danggui stepped forward and said without looking back, “After the fire starts, my Second Aunt will definitely go to Tao Yao Yard to visit us. You don’t have to be polite with her and ask Xiaoyou to drive them all away. Then lock our mansion gate and rest early.”
Chan Yi asked in a panic, “Miss He, are you going to set fire? Where are you going to burn?”
“It must be the place where is the easiest to fire.” He Danggui tightened the tie of her feathery fur cloak, and said before walking away, “This time if Sun Meiniang comes to my door, I must stay with her to the end and teach her a lesson.”
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