Mistress

Chapter 28

When Zhang Chun's family came to Jinxiu Courtyard, Xu Cheng and Li Yan had already finished their dinner.

Xu Cheng came to the desk and sat down, fiddled with the white Go pieces in the chess jar, "Madam, play a few games with me."

Li Yan was confused, it's over, she can't play Go!She quickly searched in her mind, but she could only remember a little bit.At this time, Qi'er had already moved the Limu Go board, and she just waited for Li Yan to come and sit down.

Li Yan had no choice but to forcefully sit down.She didn't know where to put the first piece. Thinking that usually black pieces would go first, she put the black pawn in front of Xu Cheng in front of her, and took the white pawn in front of Xu Cheng. He came over and pretended to be relaxed and said: "This time you go first."

Xu Cheng chuckled, picked up a sunspot and put it in a position.

Li Yan felt that she was going to sweat, but she pretended to be nonchalant on the surface, smiled warmly at Xu Cheng, and put down the white piece in her hand next to his black one.

Xu Cheng picked up another sunspot and was about to put it down when he heard Xueer outside reporting, "Master, madam, Zhang Chun's family is here."

Li Yan breathed a sigh of relief in her heart, Zhang Chun's family was simply her savior.

After Zhang Chun's family came in to salute, she raised her head. Seeing the master's tense face, she was a little flustered, and stammered, "Ma'am, Aunt Ji said that she will enter the palace tomorrow, and Madam Yubi sent Aunt Yimin to invite her the day before yesterday." After passing Aunt Ji, Aunt Ji sent the old slave to report to Madam, but I don't know if Madam will agree. If Madam agrees, I can talk to Steward Lin and ask him to send a sedan chair."

As soon as Li Yan heard it, she knew what Aunt Ji's intention was, and she repeated what she had already asked, and her intention was too obvious.Li Yan was full of smiles, "Miss Yubi ordered someone to come, how can I not allow it, let her go at ease."

Zhang Chun's family had smiles all over their faces, looked at Xu Cheng again, and said falteringly: "Master, Aunt Ji's feet...haven't healed yet, she asked...asked Master if he would like to..."

Xu Cheng frowned, "Huh?"

Zhang Chun's family was so frightened that they knelt down on their knees, and tremblingly said: "Master, Aunt Ji has been lying on the kang since her foot was injured, and she couldn't walk on the ground. She was very bored. Until today, she could only walk a few steps on tiptoe, so..."

Xu Cheng played with the sunspot in his hand, and said in a cold voice: "She is only able to walk a few steps on tiptoe, but she is in a hurry to go to the palace. It really does not delay the matter."

Zhang Chun's family blushed, and hurriedly lowered their heads, not daring to speak any more.

At this time, Zhang Chun's voice sounded outside the door, "Master, madam, the doctor Zhang from the palace is here."

When Xu Cheng went to the court today, because he cared about his mother's body, he still begged the emperor to appoint a doctor Zhang.It was only because Doctor Zhang had to take the pulse of the Empress Dowager and the Empress routinely on this day, and he could not come to the Prime Minister's Mansion until this time.

"Madam, it seems that this chess game is impossible." Xu Cheng put the sunspots into the chess jar, got up and went out, ignoring Zhang Chun's family at all.

Because Xu Cheng didn't ask Li Yan to go with him to Cui Song Yuan, Li Yan couldn't offer to go either.Seeing that Zhang Chun's family was still kneeling on the ground, Li Yan sent her out.

Qi'er came over to collect the chessboard, Li Yan waved her hand and said, "Don't take it, I'll play it by myself." She remembered that there seemed to be a book about Go in the bookcase, she immediately went to get it, and hurriedly studied quietly.

Qi'er was a little curious, she pursed her lips and said with a smile: "Ma'am, don't you usually not like to read this kind of books, saying that no matter how superb the chess skills are, you can't beat the master."

Li Yan complained in her heart, it doesn't matter if you are not good at chess, but at least you must know it!She found a good reason for herself, and said: "That's what I thought wrong before. Now that I think about it carefully, I think it's better for the master to find the feeling of meeting his opponent, otherwise he will feel that playing chess with me is too boring. gone."

Qi'er felt that what Madam said made sense, so she stood aside and watched, whether Li Yan could play chess, she couldn't understand.

When Zhang Chun's family went out, they glanced at Zhang Chun who was following Xu Cheng. Zhang Chun turned around and stared at her, probably because he thought his wife was too embarrassing just now.

Zhang Chun's family returned to the Qiushui Pavilion with a calm face, and Aunt Ji was so angry that she sat on the couch and grabbed the handkerchief, "Did the master say whether he will come later?"

Zhang Chun's family shook his head.

Aunt Ji was agitated for a while, and thinking that she was going to the palace tomorrow, she held her chin and thought about it, thinking of the good things going to the palace, a blush appeared on her face unconsciously, and her mood improved a lot. He waved his hand at Zhang Chun's family and said: "Forget it, go and prepare the things you need to bring to the palace tomorrow. The left and right are just the cakes that Yubi Empress likes to eat, and the tassel you made. Remember, when the time comes, go to the palace." Don’t let it slip, you have to say that I beat it with my own hands.”

Zhang Chun's family responded and hurried away.

Aunt Ji thought about it again, and suddenly felt uncomfortable again.There are not many men who can catch her eyes, and Xu Cheng is the one she can't stop. If Xu Cheng gradually cools her down, it will be too bad.

But why did Xu Cheng treat her so coldly?Although he has never been warm to her before, he is not so cold. I am really puzzled, could it be... What did he discover?
Xu Cheng came to Cui Song Yuan and led Doctor Zhang in.

When Mrs. Tai saw that Doctor Zhang had come, she yelled that she was in good health and was not sick at all, so she didn't need to feel her pulse.She had heard that Doctor Zhang had superb medical skills, but he was a bit cold-tempered, he didn't like to flatter and flatter, and he didn't like to do some shameful things. bother him.

Madam Tai was afraid of being diagnosed with something by him, so she pushed back and forth to let Dr. Zhang go away.But with Xu Cheng around, Mrs. Tai couldn't dodge if she wanted to. In the end she couldn't evade, she sighed gloomily, and had no choice but to stretch out her wrist.

Doctor Zhang frowned after taking the pulse carefully, then observed Mrs. Tai's palms and backs, and then observed her seal and eyes.Afterwards, he came to the outer room without saying a word, Xu Cheng came out after him, and waved away the servants.

"Doctor Zhang, seeing your expression, could it be that Mrs. Tai really has a serious illness?" Xu Cheng's face was full of worry.

Zhang Tai didn't even open the medicine box, and he didn't want to open it at all, because Mrs. Tai's illness was no longer needed. "Prime Minister, Mrs. Tai is very old, and it is impossible to have no symptoms. With her condition, she has been depressed for many years, and you have been away for two months, and she was too anxious and made her symptoms worse. This time, she vomited blood. It's a sign of collapse."

Xu Cheng's face turned ashen, a sign of collapse, which meant that he would not live for a few days.Although he suspected that his mother was sick before, he was not sure, and he did not expect it to be true.

Imperial Physician Zhang comforted: "Mrs. Tai has been blessed all her life, and she has no regrets. The Prime Minister need not be too sad."

Xu Cheng looked gloomy and was stunned for a long time.When sending Imperial Physician Zhang out of the mansion, he asked: "I also hope that Imperial Physician Zhang will not tell Mrs. Tai's symptoms. I am worried that I will disturb the emperor. If the emperor specially comes to the mansion to visit Mrs. Tai after hearing about it, I will be sorry for you. Your Majesty, I really take responsibility." Sorry."

"Don't worry, Prime Minister, I never tell others about my patients' symptoms." Imperial Physician Zhang said goodbye and left.

Xu Cheng went back to Cuishong Courtyard and saw his mother eating cakes. Although she seemed to have a good appetite, she didn't eat a few pieces.Xu Cheng told Mrs. Wang, "Go to the dining hall and make some milk cakes for Mrs. Tai. Also, don't boil those bitter medicines anymore. Mrs. Tai is healthy, so why bother to drink them and suffer."

He knew that his mother didn't want to hear everyone crying before she left, and she didn't want to see some people pretending to cry, so she refused to let everyone know her real condition.

Mrs. Tai knew her son's intentions, but she didn't expect her son to understand her before she died, "Cheng'er, have you dealt with your uncle in front of the emperor? Is it feasible to charge money for punishment?"

Mrs. Tai is going to pass away soon, Xu Cheng will not hide it from her, to tell the truth: "About the matter of Zhang Guangli, the emperor did not let his son speak at all, but only mentioned the matter of being a Marquis."

Mrs. Tai wiped the pastry crumbs from the corners of her mouth with a silk handkerchief, and her cloudy and dim eyes became more and more dull. She was depressed for a while, and said: "It is a great joy to be a Marquis. You should be happy. The generations of the Xu family The royal family has worked hard, and you have made great achievements repeatedly, now the emperor has enshrined you as a marquis, and the ministers in the court have nothing to say, our descendants of the Xu family have been blessed for several generations."

Although it was a great joy, Madam Tai did not show great joy on her face, instead she felt a little uneasy.But she is a dying person, and she can't worry about the affairs of her descendants.

Xu Cheng stayed in Cui Song Courtyard very late, and after Mrs. Tai fell asleep, he still sat by the side and watched for two hours.

In the early hours of the morning, he originally wanted to come to Jinxiu Courtyard again, but thinking that Li Yan must have already fallen asleep, after thinking about it, he felt that there was no need to bother her again, and he would not be able to tell the truth when he asked Mrs. Tai's condition. In the end, he returned to his own Zhihui Hall.

The next day, not long after Xu Cheng left the mansion to go to court, Aunt Ji got into the sedan chair arranged by Steward Lin and went to the palace.

Arriving at Concubine Yu's bedroom, before entering, Aunt Ji heard the sound of something being thrown inside.Seeing Aunt Ji coming, the little maid outside the door hesitated for a while before going in to report.Concubine Yu asked the maids to quickly clean up her broken teacups and fruit plates, and then came out to greet Aunt Ji with a smile on her face.

The two waved away Zhang Chun's family and all the court ladies, and then sat down to greet each other for a while, Aunt Ji asked: "When will the emperor come down, does he know that I am coming today?"

Yubi's heart felt as if it had been stabbed by a sharp sword, and it hurt like bleeding.Her blue face made her smile very ugly, and she said coquettishly: "Cousin, you know that the emperor asked me to call you, but you still ask this question, and you don't treat me as a cousin at all. It seems that I am I hurt you for nothing."

Aunt Ji quickly took out the wrappers, opened the pastry box, and coaxed: "Good cousin, if I didn't treat you as my own cousin, how would I remember that you like to eat these, and even made the wrappers for you with my own hands?"

Concubine Yu pretended to be happy, accepted it with a smile, and said: "Don't worry, the emperor will definitely come down early today, he has already been thinking about you in his heart."

(End of this chapter)