Zhоu Shаojin was swеating.
Chеng Jiа lеаnеd оver their shоulders and scoffed at Gu Shiqigu, "Тsk, tsk, tsk! Sоmeоne whо оnlу сarеs аbоut арpеarancеs!"
"Тrue еlegancе stems from innеr refinemеnt," Gu Shiqigu rеtоrtеd. "Isn't оnе's аppеаranсе dеterminеd by whаt liеs within?"
As the twо biсkerеd, Zhou Shaojin fеlt as though Chеng Сhi hаd glanсed in their direсtiоn.
Shе cоuldn't hеlр but widеn hеr еyеs tо loоk.
Chеng Chi stoоd as strаight аs а pinе trее, his gаze fixed аhead without wandering, аs Biyu attеnded to him, lifting thе curtаin fоr him to еnter the main hall.
Zhou Shaojin let out a sigh of relief.
Perhaps she had been mistaken?
Cheng Jia said, "Shouldn't we be offering birthday greetings soon? Should we go wait in the side room?"
Gu Shiqigu replied, "Let's wait until Fourth Uncle Cheng and Cheng Jiashan leave before we go out, so we don't run into them."
Zhou Shaojin wholeheartedly agreed, adding, "Biyu mentioned earlier that Uncle Chi and the others would offer their greetings before it's our turn."
The three of them waited behind the bamboo grove.
Meanwhile, two young girls emerged from the side room. Both were around fifteen or sixteen years old. One wore a lake-green Hangzhou silk robe, her hair styled in double spiral buns adorned with pearl hairpins. The other wore a pea-green Hangzhou silk robe, her hair in twin buns fastened with gold clove-shaped hairpins. Their eyebrows were like distant mountains, their eyes like autumn waters—they bore some resemblance to each other and were exceptionally beautiful.
Cheng Jia asked, "Who are they?"
Zhou Shaojin had no recollection of them either.
After a moment of thought, Gu Shiqigu said, "I think they're the grandnieces of Madam Sun, the wife of Minister Sun. I can't remember their names. Last time, when my sixteenth sister got engaged, Madam Sun brought them to the wedding banquet. They're cousins from Huzhou. Their grandfather was recently promoted to Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice."
There had been many guests from the Gu family that day, and Zhou Shaojin couldn't recall whether she had seen them or not.
As they spoke, the maid on duty outside the side room approached the two girls. After a brief exchange in hushed tones, the maid led them toward the official quarters.
Zhou Shaojin asked, "Why haven't we seen the young lady from the Lin family?"
Gu Shiqigu chuckled, "Don't you know? The young lady from the Sun family is engaged to the seventh son of the Liu family from the Mei residence. She's probably confined at home learning etiquette."
Cheng Jia grumbled, "Learning etiquette is so annoying. When I get married, I must find a mother-in-law who dotes on her daughter-in-law, so I won't have to follow strict rules."
Gu Shiqigu covered her mouth and laughed.
Just then, someone else emerged from the side room.
This time, it was a young married woman and a girl of about fifteen or sixteen. The woman spoke softly to the girl as they walked toward Zhou Shaojin and the others.
Zhou Shaojin and the others were taken aback.
The woman and the girl drew closer and closer.
Only then did Zhou Shaojin realize that the young woman was none other than the wife of Liu Mingju, the magistrate of Jiangning County.
She didn't recognize the girl. The girl wore a pink robe, her eyebrows like crescent moons, her face as radiant as peach blossoms—delicate, gentle, and flower-like, with strikingly outstanding beauty.
Zhou Shaojin was utterly surprised.
What was Madam Liu... planning to do?
Should they go out and greet her?
Zhou Shaojin glanced at Gu Shiqigu and Cheng Jia.
Both of them looked equally bewildered.
While they hesitated, Madam Liu and the girl had already approached. They overheard Madam Liu saying to the girl, "...Since you've come out with your sister-in-law, I'll take responsibility for you. Even if it comes to Old Madam An, I'll stand up for you. What does it have to do with you?" Before she could finish, Madam Liu had rounded the corner, her gaze falling upon the three of them. Her expression turned to shock, and her words abruptly ceased.The three of them hurried forward to greet Madam Liu.
It took Madam Liu a moment to regain her composure, then she smiled somewhat unnaturally. She introduced the girl beside her: "This is my younger sister-in-law, the ninth daughter of our family." Then she introduced Zhou Shaojin and the others to Miss Liu Jiu.
The young ladies exchanged greetings.
Madam Liu smiled and said, "Why aren't you in the side room? What are you doing standing here? You gave me quite a fright just now."
She appeared both poised and amiable, yet for some reason, Zhou Shaojin felt her posture was a bit tense.
Could there have been something significant in what she and Miss Liu Jiu were discussing earlier?
As Zhou Shaojin pondered this, Gu Shiqigu stepped forward with a smile and said, "We were talking in the courtyard earlier, but then Fourth Uncle Cheng and the others came over. We couldn't avoid them in time, so we hid here."
"Is that so?" Madam Liu smiled, a flicker of confusion in her eyes.
Miss Liu Jiu, however, lowered her head, appearing quite shy.
Cheng Jia whispered in Zhou Shaojin's ear, "Look at Miss Liu Jiu. Doesn't she resemble you?"
Zhou Shaojin looked carefully but couldn't see any resemblance.
"Miss Liu Jiu is very pretty," she whispered back.
"Not as pretty as you," Cheng Jia murmured, "but she's shy, just like you used to be."
Zhou Shaojin was speechless.
Gu Shiqigu had already struck up a conversation with Madam Liu: "...Have you seen our family's First Madam? Last time you came to our house for the wedding banquet, you left without staying longer. Our First Madam still mentions it today, saying you're always so polite, yet we failed to entertain you properly. We don't know when you might be free, but when the chrysanthemums bloom at home, we'd like to invite you over for a simple drink and to listen to a few opera excerpts!"
Madam Liu replied with a smile, "I was just discussing this with your First Madam. I thought of visiting your home on the sixteenth of September for drinks, flower viewing, and opera..."
The two exchanged pleasantries back and forth, ensuring the conversation never grew cold.
Now this was a master of social grace!
Zhou Shaojin watched Gu Shiqigu with great admiration.
Miss Liu Jiu stood quietly beside Madam Liu, occasionally glancing at Zhou Shaojin.
Zhou Shaojin offered her a friendly smile.
In response, Miss Liu Jiu blushed and lowered her head again.
As Zhou Shaojin, Cheng Jia, and Miss Liu Jiu stood there listening to Madam Liu and Gu Shiqigu exchange pleasantries, sounds came from the direction of the main room.
They all turned to look.
The door curtain swayed, and Cheng Chi and Cheng Xu emerged.
Cheng Chi remained expressionless as usual, while Cheng Xu, compared to earlier, now wore a slight smile that made him appear even more refined and elegant.
Just as the two descended the steps, the two grandnieces of Minister Sun's wife happened to emerge from the path leading to the official quarters.
The two groups came face to face.
The two young ladies blushed and curtsied, one of them murmuring something too softly to be heard. Cheng Chi glanced at the two girls, gave a slight nod, and walked straight ahead without changing his expression. Cheng Xu followed behind Cheng Chi. As he passed the two young ladies, he couldn't help but glance back, and his gaze happened to meet that of the girl wearing the pea-green Hangzhou silk robe.
The girl smiled brightly at Cheng Xu.
Her radiant smile was like a summer flower in full bloom, dazzling and captivating.
Cheng Xu was taken aback, pausing slightly in his step. He nodded toward the girl before hurriedly catching up with Cheng Chi.
What was going on here?Zhou Shaojin, Cheng Jia, and Gu Shiqigu exchanged bewildered glances.
What surprised them even more was that Madam Liu, seeing this, let out a soft laugh and said to the Ninth Miss of the Liu family, "I didn’t expect your Fourth Brother Cheng to come over. Come with me to greet him!" She then turned back to Zhou Shaojin and the others with a smile, "Would you like to follow me and offer your greetings as well?"
All three shook their heads in unison, their expressions blank and uncertain.
When had this Miss Liu become a generation above them?
Or had she always been a generation above them?
Zhou Shaojin’s mind felt a bit muddled. She watched as Madam Liu led the Ninth Miss of the Liu family, smiling, toward Cheng Chi and Cheng Xu. She saw Cheng Chi’s expression soften slightly as he greeted Madam Liu, and she observed the Ninth Miss of the Liu family shyly curtsying to Cheng Chi and Cheng Xu... It wasn’t until Madam Liu led the Ninth Miss into the main hall and Cheng Jia nudged her with an elbow that she snapped out of her daze. But as soon as she regained her senses, she saw Gu Shiqigu covering her mouth, silently laughing uncontrollably.
"What... what’s going on?" she asked, confused.
"Laughing... I’m dying of laughter!" Gu Shiqigu laughed until tears streamed from her eyes, gasping for breath. "Cheng Jiashan actually got cornered by a girl... I dare bet with you that when he was in the main hall, even more girls were eyeing him... If Minister Sun’s wife doesn’t bring her two grandnieces from her maiden family to visit Madam Yuan tomorrow, she’ll definitely come the day after..."
Zhou Shaojin and Cheng Jia suddenly understood.
Cheng Jia even jumped up, saying, "But doesn’t Madam Sun always speak so righteously about others? How could her own grandnieces do such a thing? I wonder if she knows about it? If she does, wouldn’t she send the two grandnieces back home overnight?"
Gu Shiqigu finally managed to stop laughing, wiping the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief as she said, "She must know! It might even be her own idea! No wonder she didn’t bring Third Miss along—she was probably afraid of being noticed and ruining Third Miss’s reputation. Those two young girls are foolish enough to let Madam Sun boss them around like that!"
Zhou Shaojin hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back.
Seeing this, Cheng Jia said unhappily, "I really don’t like it when you act like this! We’re like sisters—if you have something to say, just say it! Even if you’re wrong, it’s no big deal!"
"It’s not that," Zhou Shaojin said, looking at Gu Shiqigu and weighing her words carefully. "Is the Ninth Miss of the Liu family here to corner Uncle Chi?"
"Most likely," Gu Shiqigu replied, her mood calmer than before, with a smile. "Otherwise, why would Madam Liu have gone to sit in the side room earlier? Given her status, she should have been in the main hall. Didn’t you see how she just took the Ninth Miss of the Liu family into the main hall?" She speculated, "It’s probably because there were too many young ladies in the main hall, so to leave an impression on Fourth Uncle Cheng, she deliberately led the Ninth Miss of the Liu family to ‘coincidentally’ run into him."
"But the Ninth Miss of the Liu family is about our age," Zhou Shaojin said, puzzled. "If Uncle Chi were looking for someone, shouldn’t he find someone a bit older?"
"A ready-made, top-ranking scholar son-in-law—even if he’s ten or twenty years older, what does it matter?" Gu Shiqigu laughed. "Besides, Fourth Uncle Cheng is marrying for the first time. Marrying him would at least make her his first wife, which is better than being a second wife, right?""Oh, right!" Zhou Shaojin said, "But why has Uncle Chi never married?"
"Yes, yes!" Cheng Jia chimed in excitedly, "Why has Uncle Chi never married?"
Gu Shiqigu, who had been speaking eloquently just moments before, faltered. After a long pause, she said, "I... I don't know either! I've never heard the elders mention it!"
All three of them looked in the direction Cheng Chi had left.
The lush branches on either side swayed gently in the breeze.
Cheng Chi had long since disappeared from sight.
A stewardess came over to invite them: "The auspicious hour is approaching. Please return to the side room for some tea and refreshments, young ladies."
※
An extra update for janeuwoo.
o(n_n)o~
PS: A solemn announcement: Starting tomorrow, the time for extra updates will be changed to around 2 PM.
Updating at noon is too stressful, and sometimes it's not even possible, leading to last-minute cancellations that affect everyone's mood...
※ (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please vote to recommend it or cast a monthly vote. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
!!
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