"Yеs!" Zhоu Shаоjin rерliеd with certаintу. "Wе'll gо nоw and return befоrе the evеning banquet."
Аftеr this асt оf thе opеra finished, it should be nearlу timе for thе evеning bаnquеt.
Shi Хiang соnsidеrеd this аnd darеd not delaу, аcсompanуing Zhou Shaоjin to the Нill оf Сlustеrеd Саssia Cоurtуard.
Соmрarеd to thе сlamor оf Сold Grеen Mountаin House, thе Нill оf Clustеred Cassiа Соurtyаrd wаs quiеt аnd соol, еvеn cаrrying а hint of lonеliness.
Оn dutу аt the gаtе wаs Lаng Yue.
Seeing Zhоu Shaojin, his face lit uр with joy. "Seсond Young Мiss, what brings уоu herе? I heard Cold Green Mountain House is performing opera—does Second Young Miss not enjoy listening to opera?"
"It's alright," Zhou Shaojin had no intention of sharing her preferences with someone she wasn't familiar with. She smiled and asked, "Has Miss Jiying returned?"
"She has," Lang Yue replied with a smile. "She returned with Fourth Master. Did Second Young Miss come to see Sister Jiying? Shall I announce you?"
Uncle Chi didn't punish Jiying?
This relaxed Zhou Shaojin's heart, and she smiled, "Then I'll trouble you to inform her."
"Second Young Miss, please wait a moment," Lang Yue said with a smile, inviting Zhou Shaojin to sit in the pavilion. He brewed a cup of tea before withdrawing.
Shi Xiang remarked with a smile, "This Lang Yue is much more warm-hearted toward people than Qing Feng."
Zhou Shaojin nodded with a smile.
After finishing the tea, Lang Yue returned. "Second Young Miss, Miss Jiying invites you to her room for a visit!"
Shi Xiang was astonished.
According to propriety, if Zhou Shaojin wished to see Jiying, she would inform the stewardess, who would then bring Jiying to Fragrant Garden Residence. The reason Second Young Miss showed such respect to Jiying was partly because they were on good terms, and partly because she served Fourth Master. Now that Zhou Shaojin had already arrived at the gate, not only did Jiying not come out to greet her personally, but she also asked Zhou Shaojin to go to her room.
What kind of propriety was this!
Just as Shi Xiang was about to advise Zhou Shaojin, the latter said, "Very well! But I don't know where Jiying lives, so I'll have to trouble you to lead the way!"
Lang Yue gladly agreed, leading them past Embroidered Splendor Hall toward the rear wing rooms. Along the way, he told her, "The tallest is Pure Sound Pavilion. Not only can you see the entire Nine Prosperities Lane from there, but you can also see the streets outside Nine Prosperities Lane. However, it's not the highest in the estate. The highest in the estate is the Feibai Pavilion in the Second Branch's ancestral compound. It's said you can even see the entire Jinling City from there. Behind Embroidered Splendor Hall is Lixue Studio. Sister Jiying and Sister Nanping live behind Lixue Studio..."
Zhou Shaojin guessed, "Is Lixue Studio Fourth Master's study?"
"Yes!" Lang Yue smiled. "Fourth Master also rests there."
Seeing how lively he was, Zhou Shaojin asked with a smile, "Why do you always wear a Daoist robe? Is it because Fourth Master is a Daoist lay practitioner?"
"No!" Lang Yue laughed. "It's because it's simple to wear."
Zhou Shaojin chuckled twice and asked, "Is your family a hereditary servant? When did you enter the estate?"
"I'm not a hereditary servant," Lang Yue said, his expression dimming slightly. "I was fished out of the river by Fourth Master during the great flood of the Yongding River that year." He paused briefly. "Qing Feng was too. Qing Feng was rescued first, and I was rescued afterward. Fourth Master said our villages probably weren't far apart."
Zhou Shaojin was astonished.The Yongding River is in the north, so even when it floods, it makes less of an impression on the people of Jiangnan than a neighbor’s daughter getting married. If Zhou Shaojin hadn’t lived in the capital, where many servants had sold themselves into servitude that year, she wouldn’t have remembered that the Yongding River had breached its embankments in the fifteenth year of Zhide.
That year happened to be when Uncle Chi went to the capital for the imperial examinations.
Perhaps that was when he saved Qing Feng and Lang Yue.
Zhou Shaojin pondered this, then smiled and comforted him, saying, “Surviving a great disaster brings good fortune. You’ll surely live peacefully from now on.”
“That’s what I think too,” Lang Yue said optimistically. “Now we have enough to eat and wear, and we can even study and learn to read with Uncle Huaishan. Maybe one day we’ll become stewards of Nine Prosperities Lane, just like Steward Qin!”
Zhou Shaojin smiled brightly. “I’m sure you can do it.”
As they chatted, they soon arrived at the courtyard where Jiying lived.
It was a two-story building with red-lacquered pillars and green-lacquered window lattices, covered with white Korean paper. The newly hung soft curtains were embroidered with patterns of sacred flowers. Along the corridor stood a row of white porcelain pots of chrysanthemums, their buds just beginning to bloom. In the corner, two banana trees had already grown as tall as the eaves.
“Second Miss!” Jiying lifted the curtain and stood inside the doorway, smiling at Zhou Shaojin. “Are you worried I’ll be punished by your Uncle Chi?”
“No,” Zhou Shaojin replied, a little embarrassed. “I just came to see you.”
“I know, I know,” Jiying said, squinting with a smile as she beckoned her inside. “Come in and sit… I’ve been confined to this courtyard by your Uncle Chi and can’t step beyond the threshold. I also have to copy the Admonitions for Women five hundred times.”
“What?!” Zhou Shaojin’s eyes widened.
“It’s nothing,” Jiying said with a laugh. “I write quite fast. Come in and sit.”
Hearing this, Zhou Shaojin hurriedly entered with Shi Xiang.
The room was furnished entirely with black-lacquered furniture, the cushions embroidered with patterns of five bats surrounding the character for longevity in autumn-spice colors. On the long table stood a large double-branch plum vase from the official kilns. The table screen was made of rosewood, inlaid with a Suzhou embroidery of blooming peonies. To the east was an inner chamber with a Ruyi door, and to the west was a study separated by a floor-length canopy. There was also a young maid serving tea and water.
Shi Xiang was taken aback.
This Jiying not only acted unlike a maid but also lived in a manner far beyond what a maid should have.
Were all the maids in Hill of Clustered Cassia Courtyard like this, or was Jiying the only exception?
She pondered this silently.
Zhou Shaojin also surveyed the furnishings in the room and remarked, “This is really nice!”
Even nicer than Embroidered Splendor Hall.
It wasn’t that the items here were necessarily better… it was just that Embroidered Splendor Hall felt cold and distant, while Jiying’s living space was filled with warmth and harmony.
She noticed a low couch by the window in the study, carved with grape and peony vines, with a small table in the middle adorned with auspicious cloud patterns and ivory inlays.
Zhou Shaojin paused for a moment, then stepped forward and touched the ivory carvings on the table. She asked Jiying, “Are you from the north?”
“Oh!” Jiying personally placed the fruit tray brought in by the young maid on the table and invited her to sit on the couch. “How did you know?”
Zhou Shaojin replied vaguely, “I’ve heard that northerners build their heated brick beds under the windows. I noticed your couch is placed here.”
“You’re very observant,” Jiying said with a smile, pointing to the fruit tray. “Try this—freshly harvested pomegranates, brought back by Qin Ziping.” She added, “My family is from Cangzhou. Have you heard of it?”
Zhou Shaojin’s heart skipped a beat.
Cangzhou—of course she had heard of it.
It was very close to the capital.Many security guards in the capital are from Cangzhou.
"I've read about it in books," Zhou Shaojin said calmly. "But I've never been there!"
Jiying smiled at this. After washing her hands, she helped Shaojin peel pomegranates.
It was then that Shaojin noticed a sword hanging on the opposite wall.
Three feet long, with a green sharkskin sheath and red tassels, it looked simple and elegant—unlike those swords used for warding off evil, which were often adorned with gemstones or Bagua symbols.
She asked, "What is this?"
Jiying laughed. "I brought it from home. It's specially for warding off petty people!"
Shaojin didn't think it looked like that, but since Jiying didn't elaborate, she didn't press further.
Jiying called Shi Xiang over to join them in eating pomegranates.
Shi Xiang glanced at Shaojin and, seeing no objection, thanked her with a smile, then fetched a small stool and sat by the couch.
Shaojin asked Jiying, "Is Uncle Chi very angry? Aside from confining you and making you copy the Admonitions for Women five hundred times, did he punish you in any other way?"
"No," Jiying said, puffing out her cheeks. "Your Uncle Chi isn't that petty... but," she chuckled twice, "your Uncle Chi is going to have a tough time in the coming days—no, even if he manages to avoid trouble, he'll still have to go through some hassle. Tomorrow, the old lady of the Guo family has invited your Uncle Chi over for a meal, and he's already agreed. I wonder how he'll escape this time."
Shaojin asked, "How do you know about this?"
"Fourth Master agreed to it in front of everyone. How could I not know?" Jiying replied with a smile. "Although the young ladies from the Guo family who came this time are quite young, they're of the same generation as your Uncle Chi. In the past, the old lady of the Guo family couldn't get hold of him, but now that they've met and she's invited him for a meal, she's definitely going to seize the opportunity and continue matchmaking for your Uncle Chi."
How come she didn't know about this?
Shaojin was taken aback and suddenly felt a bit of sympathy for Cheng Chi.
Cheng Zheng and Cheng Xiao were both able to marry someone they liked, but when it came to Uncle Chi, it was like forcing an ox to drink water...
Before long, Nanping arrived.
She brought some tea and snacks, greeting Shaojin with a smile. "I didn't know Second Cousin was here, so I had the kitchen hastily prepare some snacks. It's nothing much, and I'm not sure if they'll suit your taste." She added, "A few days ago, I heard from the madam that the painting of children playing that you made for Cousin Xiao was highly praised by the Yuan family. I really regret not going to the embroidery room to take a look."
Such politeness made Shaojin feel somewhat awkward, finding it less comfortable than when she was with Jiying.
She exchanged a few pleasantries with Nanping and, seeing that Jiying was fine, stood up to take her leave.
Nanping personally escorted Shaojin out.
Shaojin declined repeatedly and finally managed to stop her at the main gate.
But after walking a few steps, she paused, thought for a moment, and turned toward Embroidered Splendor Hall.
Shi Xiang hurriedly asked, "Second Miss, where are you going?"
"I'm going to see Uncle Chi," Shaojin replied without looking back as she entered Embroidered Splendor Hall.
Today's events must have been hard on Uncle Chi as well.
Who would want to be forced into something?
And with the plans he had made disrupted by Jiying... she wondered how he was doing now.
Shaojin's footsteps quickened.
Embroidered Splendor Hall was still closed, with no one in sight.
Shaojin went to the rear open hall.
The door to the open hall was ajar.
Standing in the corridor, Shaojin called out, "Is anyone inside?"Before her words had even finished, Huaishan emerged.
Upon seeing Zhou Shaojin, he showed no sign of surprise, instead calmly asking her, "Who are you looking for, Second Miss?"
Zhou Shaojin's ears grew slightly warm as she replied, "I'm looking for Uncle Chi. Is he here?"
Huaishan hesitated for a moment before saying, "Fourth Master is in the Snow-Viewing Studio... Second Miss, please come in and have a cup of tea. I'll go and announce your arrival."
Zhou Shaojin's ears burned as she sat down in the main hall of the open pavilion.
Huaishan personally poured her a cup of tea before going to summon Cheng Chi.
Shi Xiang whispered, "Second Miss, why is the Hill of Clustered Cassia Courtyard so deserted? There isn't even a maid or servant in sight."
※
Thank you to Tianwaixianxian for the spirit beast egg o(n_n)o
PS: The extra update will be a bit late, so everyone can check it tomorrow morning!
But sisters with pink votes, don't forget to support "Jinling Spring" and cast your precious vote for it—the pink vote double event ends at midnight, and there are only a few hours left. This month's performance of "Jinling Spring" depends on all of you!
Thank you!
※ (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it with your recommendation or monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
OpenNovel