Uрon returning to Frаgrаnt Garden Rеsidencе, Zhоu Shаоjin summоnеd Fan Qi.
"I havе an urgent matter for yоu tо handlе!" she sаid sоlеmnlу. "But уоu must nоt tеll аnyоne about this—nоt еven уour mother. Мoreоver, it will requirе а lоng jоurnеу. If thе task is aссomрlishеd suсcеssfully, I will rеwаrd you with twо hundrеd taеls of silver and tеn acres оf рrimе pаddy fields. Do уоu dаre tо tаkе it оn?"
Zhоu Shаojin hаd сonsidеred inсreasing thе rewаrd but fеаred thаt tоо high аn amount might frighten Fаn Qi. Even so, Fan Qi starеd at her in stunned silеnce fоr a lоng mоment bеfore finally regaining his composure.
Two hundred taels of silver would be enough to support his mother for the rest of her life, and ten acres of prime paddy fields would ensure his own lifelong food and clothing security. Besides, as a servant of the Zhou family, serving the Second Young Miss was his duty... Without a second thought, he immediately replied, "I will follow the Second Young Miss's orders in all matters."
Zhou Shaojin breathed a sigh of relief.
It was fortunate that Fan Qi agreed; otherwise, she truly wouldn't have known who else to entrust with this task.
She had Fan Qi close the door and spoke to him in a low voice: "I want you to go to the capital. As for the Eldest Young Miss, I'll say you had to return to your hometown for personal matters. As for Mama Fan, do you have a good excuse?"
Fan Qi was young and didn't have a formal position in the household, so his absence for a period of time wouldn't attract much attention.
Fan Qi hadn't expected Zhou Shaojin to send him to the capital. He felt both excited and eager, and quickly suggested, "How about saying you want to buy some paddy fields and sent me back to the countryside to inquire?"
"That's a good excuse," Zhou Shaojin said with a smile. "When the time comes, I'll register the paddy fields under your name, so my sister won't suspect anything." Then she praised him, "You're really clever!"
Fan Qi chuckled sheepishly.
Zhou Shaojin continued, "I will arrange for someone to escort you to the capital. But there's one thing: you must not let those escorting you know what you intend to do. Once you arrive in the capital, go to Chongyi Lane, Hu Shangshu Alley, and count three houses from east to west. The family there is surnamed Mu; the master serves as a secretary in the Ministry of Rites and has three daughters and one son. The eldest daughter is betrothed to the eldest son of the Lin family in Chongren Lane. Go and find out what the current situation is like for the Mu and Lin families. Then... find a wandering Taoist priest or a traveling monk and tell them that the Mu family's eldest daughter will face a calamity at the age of seventeen. It will bring misfortune to her parents and siblings. If she can marry before turning seventeen, not only will the Mu family avoid disaster, but her husband's family will also prosper with flourishing descendants."
Although Lin Shisheng was an only son, his family was not an unruly, impoverished household. Back then, if she hadn't agreed, and after marrying in, there had been no signs of pregnancy, Lin Shisheng wouldn't have bribed a wandering physician to take her pulse and confidently declare her incapable of bearing children. The Lin family would never have agreed to let Lin Shisheng take a concubine.
Now, by devising this plan to have the Mu family marry their daughter to Lin Shisheng earlier, she was simply repaying what was owed.
Fan Qi, however, was dumbfounded, feeling more and more uneasy about the whole situation.
Judging by the Second Young Miss's tone, she seemed to be trying to help the Mu family's eldest daughter. But if this was a good deed, why was the Second Young Miss being so secretive? Could there be some hidden motive he wasn't aware of? He was more than willing to run errands for the Second Young Miss, but if she intended to harm someone... he would have to try to dissuade her!
"Will... will this work?" Fan Qi stammered. "Is there something wrong with the Mu family's eldest daughter?""The Mu family's eldest young lady is perfectly fine, what could possibly be improper?" Zhou Shaojin said unhappily. "Just do as I say."
Even if the Mu and Lin families harbored suspicions, once the Wuxu Imperial Examination fraud case came to light, they would no longer have any doubts.
In her previous life, Zhou Shaojin had gotten along quite well with Concubine Mu.
Concubine Mu had always yearned to clear her father's name.
According to her, her father was completely innocent.
At that time, the chief and deputy examiners had leaked the exam questions, but in the end, the blame fell on those who carried out the tasks.
Whether it was true or false, as long as Miss Mu married into the Lin family, the Mu family's legal troubles would no longer concern her. With Lin Shisheng's ability and methods, he could use his status as an in-law to pay to secure the release of Concubine Mu's mother, her two younger sisters, and one younger brother.
Zhou Shaojin carefully instructed Fan Qi: "Have the person escorting you drop you off at the Yuelai Inn near Chaoyang Gate. Stay at the inn for a couple of days first, walk around and look around, and take this opportunity to quietly find out where the Mu and Lin families live. Then figure out a way to move to the Gaosheng Inn near Yitiao Hutong in Chongrenfang. Not far from there is the Shangqing Temple... though small, it often hosts Taoist priests from Wutai Mountain and Jiuhua Mountain... I'll give you five hundred taels in banknotes to carry with you... Find those deceitful monks who take bribes and swindle others, and fabricate a story about Mu Daren breaking up a loving couple, making it seem like the Lin family commissioned someone to set up this scheme... Don't hesitate to spend the money. As long as you accomplish this, any amount of silver is worth it."
Fan Qi nodded repeatedly, but his doubts grew stronger and stronger.
Second Young Lady... shouldn't she have never been to the capital?
Yet she seemed so familiar with the capital, even knowing exactly what restaurants were near the Mu family and what inns were near the Lin family...
He couldn't help but ask, "Second Young Lady, how do you know all this? Are the Mu family or the Lin family your relatives? Are you helping them?"
Zhou Shaojin was slightly taken aback and said, "Both the Lin and Mu families are my relatives, but they are relatives on my mother's side..."
Her tone was vague, but Fan Qi looked as if he had suddenly understood and hurriedly said, "I see, I see. I promise not to tell anyone."
Zhou Shaojin didn't expect him to keep it a secret forever, but as long as he kept it to himself for two or three years, by the time Concubine Mu married Lin Shisheng, whether he told or not wouldn't matter anymore.
After all, what she wanted would already be accomplished.
Zhou Shaojin took the banknotes she had prepared in advance, placed them in a pouch, and gave it to Fan Qi. "Find a way to keep them separate. I expect someone will escort you to the capital in the next few days."
Fan Qi carefully tucked the pouch close to his body, stood up, and left the study.
Zhou Shaojin sat in the study, pondering everything she had said to Fan Qi for a long time. Feeling there were no major flaws, she finally let out a sigh of relief and went to the resting room.
Her current resting room had a writing desk on the left and a dressing table on the right. A floor-standing clothes rack was hung with vibrant silks, satins, Zhang velvet, and fine fabrics. Pouch tassels were scattered about, and next to them was an embroidery frame. The room was messy but also very cozy.
Zhou Shaojin planned to make two forehead bands for Old Madam Guan.Last time for Old Madam Guo's birthday, she had followed Old Madam Guan's suggestion and gifted two forehead bands as birthday presents. Although Old Madam Guan hadn't said anything, when she took them for her to see, Old Madam Guan had caressed them for quite a while before letting go. Clearly, she had liked them very much.
This time, she was embroidering patterns of a gourd treasure vase and a crane holding fruit in its beak, using fabric in flower-blue and lilac colors.
Just as she had finished sketching the gourd treasure vase pattern, Chunwan walked in: "Second Miss, there's a little maid who says she's from the Hill of Clustered Cassia Courtyard, sent by Miss Jiying to invite you over for tea!"
Zhou Shaojin was surprised and asked, "Right now?"
"Probably right now?" Chunwan wasn't entirely sure either. "That little maid has been waiting outside all this time!"
Zhou Shaojin went out to look, and it really was a little maid.
Wearing a bright red Lu silk vest, she wasn't even as tall as her table.
No wonder she couldn't even deliver a message clearly!
She grabbed a handful of candies for the little maid and led her by the hand to the Hill of Clustered Cassia Courtyard.
As soon as Jiying saw her, she complained: "What do you think your uncle is thinking? It's not like he doesn't have money, but he's as stingy as a rooster, unwilling to buy even a single maid or servant boy. I couldn't even find someone to deliver a message." She added, "Minghe got married. And he actually didn't hire anyone to replace her. Who's going to do the work in this house from now on?"
Zhou Shaojin said, "Could it be because Uncle Chi thinks he'll eventually move back to Algae Garden?"
Jiying snorted coldly and said, "Algae Garden has even fewer people than here. Besides a couple guarding the gate, there's only a couple managing the flowers and trees, one steward, four servant boys, and two maids. Last time Nanping came back and said the dust in the rooms had piled up like mountains. If we don't hire someone to clean it properly soon, all the furniture and such will have to be repainted."
Zhou Shaojin asked curiously, "If that's the case, why did he buy a separate residence?"
"Who knows," Jiying said. "I've never been there, so how would I know what's hidden there?" Then she took Zhou Shaojin's hand and led her to the inner chamber. "I have something to tell you."
It must be about escorting Fan Qi to the capital!
Zhou Shaojin's heart pounded. She instructed Shi Xiang to guard the door and followed Jiying into the inner chamber.
Jiying closed the door, rummaged through her jewelry box, and pulled out a silver hairpin with a single oil dot, handing it to Zhou Shaojin. "I won't ask what you're planning to do. Take this silver hairpin and send someone to the rice shop to find a senior clerk named Wang. Just give him your orders directly."
"Jiying!" Zhou Shaojin took the hairpin, feeling as if it weighed a thousand pounds.
"You said you'd treat me as a friend," Jiying said with a smile. "No need to say more. Your uncle is both cunning and suspicious. You still have to go to Cold Green Mountain House to copy scriptures this afternoon, so stay here for lunch before you leave. Hide this hairpin well and don't let anyone from Hill of Clustered Cassia Courtyard see it."
Zhou Shaojin's eyes grew slightly red as she tucked the hairpin into her lapel.
Jiying laughed heartily and pinched her cheek. "What a shame. If I were still in Cangzhou, I'd definitely find a way to trick you into coming home with me and have you marry my cousin."
Zhou Shaojin's overflowing gratitude instantly vanished.
She slapped Jiying's hand away and said, "If you pinch me again, I'll never help you in the future."Jiying teased in response, "What have you helped me with? I asked you to make socks, but in the end, I had to give you Snowball to appease your anger. When I asked you to copy 'Admonitions for Women' for me, you said you were too busy... I think I’ll just pinch you again instead."
Zhou Shaojin covered her face and ran out of the inner room.
Jiying couldn’t help but laugh.
※
That evening, Zhou Shaojin handed the hairpin to Fan Qi.
She asked Fan Qi, "Are you afraid?"
Fan Qi straightened his back and shook his head, saying, "I still want to become your chief steward someday. If I can’t handle such a small matter, how will I manage all the maids, matrons, and servants in the future?"
Zhou Shaojin couldn’t help but smile.
Who knew what the future held for her?
Still, having aspirations was always a good thing.
She solemnly instructed Fan Qi, "If you sense that something is wrong, come back immediately. You must remember: as long as the green hills remain, there will be no shortage of firewood. Your life is the most precious."
"Second Miss, don’t worry. I’ll be careful."
Fan Qi took his leave from Zhou Shaojin.
※
Sisters, today’s extra update is for the pink votes.
The update will be quite late, so it’s better for everyone to check in tomorrow morning—that way, the chances of it being ready are higher.
o(n_n)o
P.S.: There are typos; I’ll fix them later.
※ (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
!!
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