Аs sооn аs Zhоu Shаojin entеrеd, Вiуu grеeted her with а smilе, saying, "Тhis morning, Zhenzhu аnd thе оthеrs рlаyed Gоmoku and had some wins and lоssеs. Thеy sеnt а sеrvаnt to Qifаngzhаi tо buу рastriеs. Would Secоnd Сousin аnd Miss Shi Xiang jоin us for teа later?"
Whеn in Rоmе, dо аs thе Rоmans do. Whеrеver уоu gо, yоu must abidе bу the loсаl custоms. Since she wаs a guest at Соld Grеen Мountain Hоusе, shе ought tо gеt аlоng wеll with Вiyu аnd thе othеrs. Bеsides, Zhou Shаojin gоt аlоng quite wеll with Вiуu, аnd their tempеraments were cоmpatible.
Shе readilу agrееd, smiling, "Who wоn?"
Biyu covered her mouth and laughed, "Except for Feicui, we were all winners."
Zhou Shaojin chuckled, "Didn’t she lose a lot of money then?"
Biyu held up a hand, "Nearly five taels of silver."
Shi Xiang clicked her tongue, "Miss Feicui is really generous."
"Generous, my foot!" Biyu laughed. "She lost most of her monthly allowance for the year and was so heartbroken she barely ate lunch."
The group chatted and laughed as they headed toward the prayer hall.
A young maid came over to ask Biyu for instructions, "...Three carts of silver-frost charcoal and two carts of firewood charcoal have arrived. In previous years, they were stored in the back storeroom. But last winter was warm, and it only snowed once around the Minor New Year. The storeroom is still half-filled with charcoal, so I’m afraid there’s no room. Mama Wang sent me to ask you, sister, what should we do?"
After the Double Ninth Festival on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, each household began preparing charcoal for the winter. The fourth household hadn’t started yet, but unexpectedly, the main household had already begun distributing charcoal.
Zhou Shaojin quickly said, "Go attend to your duties. Shi Xiang can accompany me."
Biyu hesitated slightly.
Zhou Shaojin smiled, "Just remember to call us when the pastries from Qifangzhai arrive."
Having spent some time with her, Biyu knew a bit about her temperament. After a moment’s thought, she agreed cheerfully, "Alright then! I won’t accompany you over. I’ll treat you to pastries later."
Zhou Shaojin nodded and went to the prayer hall with Shi Xiang.
On the altar table, bright red apples and golden Buddha’s hands emitted the fresh fragrance of fruit, diluting the scent of incense and refreshing the spirit.
Zhou Shaojin washed her hands, settled her mind, and began copying the scriptures.
Before long, Biyu came over, "How much more do you have to copy? The pastries have arrived, still steaming hot. Besides the famous water chestnut cakes and cloud slices, the servant also bought some newly available sugar-roasted chestnuts, walnut crisps, and hawthorn slices from Qifangzhai."
After Zhou Shaojin went to the capital, she developed a fondness for tanghulu, which is made with hawthorn skewers.
Hearing this, she was delighted and set down her brush, saying, "When did Qifangzhai start making hawthorn slices? I didn’t know."
Biyu smiled, "I heard from the servant that a pastry shop called Mi Ji has opened in Jinling City, and their crispy cakes and fried pastries are particularly delicious. It’s said to have taken a lot of business from Qifangzhai. This year, Qifangzhai hired a master from the north, and the hawthorn slice recipe was brought by that northern master."
As they talked, they tidied up and went to the tea room.
Zhezhen and the others were already waiting there. The young maids were all familiar faces, and when they entered, they greeted them and offered seats. Xiao Tan even brought out a pink octagonal cup with a butterfly-and-flower design from somewhere and handed it to Zhou Shaojin, saying, "Second Cousin, this is for your tea!"
Zhou Shaojin thanked her repeatedly and sat down.
Biyu and the other senior maids all sat around Zhou Shaojin. Only Feicui sat on the outermost edge, farthest from Zhou Shaojin.
No one paid it any mind.Agate began brewing tea with practiced and graceful movements.
Zhou Shaojin nodded inwardly. Seeing the tea liquor clear and bright green, its orchid fragrance wafting to her nose, and tasting its lingering aftertaste, she couldn't help but smile and ask, "What tea are you brewing? It tastes wonderful!"
"It's Taiping Houkui," Agate replied with a smile. "It was tea the Old Madam rewarded Sister Biyu."
"Excellent tea!" Zhou Shaojin praised. "And you brew it well too. A perfect match."
Agate's face flushed slightly. She modestly said, "It's not that I brew well, but that Second Young Miss is praising me too highly."
Everyone chimed in, praising Agate's tea-brewing skills.
Biyu noticed Feicui's smile seemed somewhat forced. Hurriedly stepping in to smooth things over, she said with a laugh, "The Old Madam's tea is excellent, Agate's skill is also superb. Second Young Miss speaks truly. However, these pastries are getting cold. Later, don't say Qifangzhai's treats aren't delicious!"
Everyone burst into laughter. Some drank tea, others nibbled on pastries. A young maid seized the opportunity to ask Biyu, "Sister, when will the mansion's winter clothes arrive? I'm really counting on them to get through winter this year!"
Another sharp-tongued maid immediately retorted, "Who told you to send all your old padded jackets back? I heard from my godmother that last winter was short, so this winter is bound to be long. You'd better think of another way quickly!"
The first maid grimaced. "You all know how it is. My father only has eyes for my stepmother now. How would he care for my two younger sisters? If I didn't send the old padded jackets back, my father would either sell one of my sisters or let them freeze." At this point, she asked Biyu, "Sister, I heard Sister Heming from Fourth Master's quarters is getting married. Could my sister enter the mansion?"
Another maid scoffed, "You're dreaming! What kind of place is the Hill of Clustered Cassia Courtyard? Your sister, who can't read a single character and hasn't learned a day's worth of rules—how could she possibly serve in Fourth Master's quarters?"
"I never said I wanted my sister to serve in Fourth Master's quarters," the maid immediately argued back. "I was thinking that after Sister Heming marries, whichever sister takes over her duties will leave a vacancy somewhere. If my sister can just enter the mansion, even sweeping the outer courtyard would be better than staying at home! At least she'd have a bite to eat..."
As Zhou Shaojin listened, someone approached to refill her tea, saying, "Second Young Miss, please don't mind them! They rarely get to see Sister Biyu, so they can't help being a bit noisy."
She looked up and met Zhenzhu's sparkling, lively eyes.
Zhou Shaojin hadn't interacted much with Zhenzhu.
"It's fine, it's fine," she quickly replied with a smile. "I think it's lovely how you all act like sisters!"
Zhenzhu smiled. "It takes a hundred years of cultivation to share a boat ride. Our gathering like this is also fate. We should help each other when we can."
Zhou Shaojin nodded repeatedly.
A young maid rushed in, panting, "Sister Biyu, the Old Madam and Fourth Master have returned."
The room instantly descended into chaos.
"Weren't they supposed to return at you hour?" Biyu asked while glancing at the hourglass on the windowsill. "It's just past shen hour."
"I don't know," the maid gasped. "I heard from Granny Wang at the second gate that the Old Madam's expression didn't look too good. She told us to be careful."
The maids grew even more flustered.Zhou Shaojin hurriedly said, "It takes at least two quarters of an hour to get here from the second gate. Two of you stay here to tidy up the teacups, while the rest should go about your duties. Don’t panic and create chaos."
After a brief moment of panic, Zhenzhu and the others also calmed down.
They were thinking the same as Zhou Shaojin. Zhenzhu said, "Let’s follow Second Cousin’s arrangements. Xiao Tan, you stay here. The rest of you, inform those on duty and return to your rooms to rest. Come back at the hour of You to take over the shift."
With someone taking charge, the others immediately quieted down and began to follow Zhenzhu’s instructions.
Biyu apologized to Zhou Shaojin, "Second Cousin, I’m truly sorry. We originally wanted you to rest, but we never expected something like this to happen..."
Zhou Shaojin understood Biyu’s feelings and quickly replied, "What are you saying? I’ve had tea and snacks—what could be better than that? Just focus on your tasks. When you have time, we can gather again for tea."
Biyu nodded and escorted Zhou Shaojin to the door.
Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, "Don’t worry about me. It’s not like I don’t know the way back to the Buddha Hall..." Before she could finish speaking, she saw Old Madam Guo storming in angrily, followed leisurely by Cheng Chi.
So quickly!
Both Zhou Shaojin and Biyu were startled. Zhou Shaojin instinctively hid in the tea room.
Biyu hesitated, wanting to say something but holding back.
Zhou Shaojin was different from them. They were servants, and although they were off duty, eating and drinking while the master was away was somewhat inappropriate. Zhou Shaojin was a guest at Cold Green Mountain House. She could have confidently stepped forward to greet the old madam, saying she had come to the tea room to see if there was any good tea, and the matter would have been brushed aside... However, the Second Miss of the Zhou family was still young, likely inexperienced and feeling somewhat guilty, which was why she hid in the tea room, right?
She had no choice but to retreat into the tea room as well.
Once inside, Zhou Shaojin secretly regretted her actions.
Today was different from the past.
She should have stepped forward to greet Old Madam Guo with dignity and composure. Why had she hidden?
No! She had to break this habit of timidity.
Thinking this, Zhou Shaojin took a deep breath, straightened her back, and walked out.
A loud "clang" echoed in the courtyard.
Zhou Shaojin looked over and saw the curtain board of the main room hitting the threshold, nearly striking Cheng Chi, who stood at the door with an embarrassed expression.
What had happened?
Zhou Shaojin was wondering whether she should avoid the situation when Cheng Chi lifted the curtain and entered the main room.
She breathed a sigh of relief and whispered to Biyu, "Then I’ll return to the Buddha Hall first."
Biyu didn’t dare make a sound and nodded heavily.
Just as Zhou Shaojin lifted her foot to leave, a roar came from Old Madam Guo’s inner chamber to the east: "...What exactly do you want? First, you said you’d wait until you earned a scholarly title before marrying, so you could find a better wife’s family, and I agreed. Then you said you didn’t want constant quarrels like in the Fifth House and wanted to find a gentle and quiet girl, and I agreed again. And now? You say you’re too old and can’t relate to these young girls... I’m old—how many days do I have left to live? Can’t you just turn a blind eye for your mother’s sake? Do you want me to die with my eyes open? I don’t care what you think. This year, you must get married, and next year, I must hold my grandson!"
She quickly withdrew the foot she had just lifted.The courtyard attendants had all vanished without a trace.
From the inner chamber came Cheng Chi’s gentle voice, but unfortunately, it was too distant to make out what he was saying. Zhou Shaojin only heard that after Cheng Chi’s voice fell, Old Madam Guo began to weep bitterly. Between sobs, she said, "Are you still blaming your father? This was all my idea. If you must blame someone, blame me. I would sooner give up this old life and this vast family fortune than let that old scoundrel succeed..."
Cheng Chi responded with a soft, comforting murmur.
Old Madam Guo’s weeping gradually subsided.
Zhou Shaojin stared blankly at the carved window lattice of Old Madam Guo’s inner chamber.
What on earth had happened?
※
Sisters, here’s today’s bonus update.
Thank you all for your tremendous support. We’re temporarily leading in pink votes, o(n_n)o
PS: I want to repay my debts quickly. Tonight’s update is tentatively scheduled for around 11 PM, and the bonus update for the spirit beast egg will be around 2 AM. Please bear with me for now—I’ll adjust the timing as soon as possible.
※ (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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