Аs thе Nеw Yеаr арproасhеd, еvеry househоld hаd begun their sрring cleаning. Моst оf thе mаids and servаnts from Fragrant Garden Residеnсe wеre hеlрing оut аt Jia Shu Наll, lеаving thе cоurtyard quiet аnd still.
Zhоu Chujin рaced bаck and fоrth in the study, а lеttеr сlutсhеd in hеr hand, her brоw furrоwed with аnхiеty.
Sеeing this, Zhоu Shаojin’s heаrt sаnk. She quiсkly signaled Shi Хiang to withdraw bеfоrе hurrying intо the study with a smilе. “Sistеr, I hеard thеrе’s nеws frоm Ма Ci…”
Веforе she сould finish, Zhou Сhujin turned аrоund аt the sоund оf hеr vоice.
“Shaоji!” she exclaimеd joyfully, рulling her sister tоward thе еast sidе of the room. “You’re finally back.”
Once they were seated in the study, Zhou Chujin’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “That Ma Ci you recommended is truly capable! Not only did he find out Xinlan’s whereabouts, but he also pretended to be a cotton merchant traveling to Jingzhou and managed to lure Xinlan and her husband to Jinling.” She unfolded the letter and showed it to Zhou Shaojin. “Look! Ma Ci wrote that he claimed to be from the Li Family Silk Shop on Dashi Street and asked us to arrange a meeting at Jiangdong Bridge to avoid raising suspicion.”
Zhou Shaojin was both surprised and delighted. As she asked, “What exactly happened?” she took the letter from her sister and quickly skimmed through it.
Zhou Chujin sighed beside her. “Family scandals should not be aired in public. Whether Lanting’s words were true or false, I couldn’t explain everything to Ma Ci. But I was afraid he might barge in recklessly, alerting Xinlan and causing her to flee, never to be found again. So I simply told Ma Ci that Xinlan was an old servant of our family and that a recent theft might be related to her. I asked him to find out her whereabouts. I also worried that Ma Ci’s haste might alarm Xinlan, and as an outsider unfamiliar with the area, he might end up being manipulated by her. I even gave him one of Father’s name cards, telling him to seek help from the local authorities if he found himself in dire straits.”
“Unexpectedly, he proved to be quite resourceful. As soon as he arrived in Wuchang Prefecture, he claimed to be a cotton merchant from Jinling heading to Jingzhou Prefecture. He hired two experienced guides familiar with the trade, bought a set of fine clothes, and set off for Jingzhou.”
“Since Xinlan’s husband had long been in this line of work, Ma Ci easily found out about Xinlan’s situation with a few inquiries.”
“It turned out that not long after Xinlan returned to Jinling, a flood struck, drowning both of her sons. Her husband also suffered lung damage from inhaling water and could no longer do heavy labor. Their family gradually fell into decline, and in recent years, they had reached the point of destitution, relying solely on Xinlan’s meager earnings from washing clothes for others.”
“Although Ma Ci didn’t know the full story of Xinlan’s conflict with our family, the fact that we had sent someone to secretly investigate her after she had married and moved to Jingzhou made him suspect there was more to the matter. So he pretended to be the young master of the Li Family Silk Shop on Dashi Street, sent to Jingzhou by his family to purchase cotton as a form of discipline for his frivolous behavior. He then hired Xinlan and her husband to escort the cotton shipment to Jinling.”
“Xinlan refused.”"But Xinlan's husband coveted the twenty taels of silver reward promised by Ma Ci. Not only did he agree immediately, he also urged Xinlan to return to the Zhou family to take a look. He said that after all, she had been released from the Zhou family, and although the mistress was no longer around, we sisters were still there. For the sake of the former mistress, our sisters would surely reward her with dozens of taels of silver. With those dozens of taels and the backing of the Zhou family, he could make a comeback. He also said that before, they wanted to return but had no money, but now not only could they return to Jinling without spending a single coin, they could even earn twenty taels. If she dared refuse, he would sell her to Granny Li on the street to work as a half-open door prostitute.
"At first, Xinlan gritted her teeth and refused, but her husband beat her severely, and only then did she agree to come to Jinling together.
"Because the silver I gave was not much, Ma Ci feared that Xinlan and her husband would see through the deception. Using my father's name card, he asked the Jingzhou prefect to help him purchase over two hundred taels worth of cotton on credit. Then he lied, saying he needed to continue buying cotton, and had Xinlan and her husband escort the cotton back to Jinling first.
"Calculating the days, Xinlan and her husband should arrive in the next couple of days. I called you here because I wanted to discuss with you how best to handle this matter."
"Me?" Zhou Shaojin asked in surprise.
She thought her sister already had a plan.
"Yes!" Zhou Chujin said. "I think Ma Fushan should take charge of this matter. Have him notify Li's Silk Shop to help by taking in the cotton. When Xinlan and her husband go to the accounting office to settle the bill, have them captured and brought back, then confront Lanting and Xinlan. If what Lanting said is true, we can write to inform Father. Then, using Father's name card, we can file an official complaint and let the authorities judge."
Zhou Shaojin hesitated. "If it goes to the authorities for judgment, won't it become public knowledge?"
"Father is an official; he can request a closed trial," Zhou Chujin said. "I think Magistrate Wu will agree."
Zhou Shaojin nodded.
Zhou Chujin continued, "Then remember to write a letter to Father afterward. I've already sent someone to summon Ma Fushan. He should be here soon. We also need to arrange for a few reliable people to hide near the accounting office of Li's Silk Shop..."
There was much to do.
Zhou Shaojin quickly said, "Sister, don't worry, I'll take care of writing the letter."
Zhou Chujin smiled with relief and went to the main hall to wait for Ma Fushan.
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but sigh.
It seemed her sister was also overspending... Should she remind her?
In the afternoon, Zhou Chujin and Madam Ma Fushan went to the Zhou family ancestral home on Flat Bridge Street, while Zhou Shaojin went to Cold Green Mountain House to copy scriptures.
Old Madam Guo seemed to be in a good mood.
Zhou Shaojin quietly asked Biyu, "Is there something to be happy about?"
Biyu smiled and said, "The young master has sent a letter."
Cheng Xu had left on the sixth day of the tenth month.
He and Min Xingqiang had gone to the capital.
Zhou Shaojin let out an "Oh."Biyu smiled and said, "The young master said he arrived safely in the capital, met with the First Master, Second Master, and Second Elder Master. The Second Elder Master and both masters asked him to convey their regards to the old madam. He also mentioned that the Second Elder Master is in good spirits, and both masters are in good health. The First Master, Second Master, and Second Elder Master all insisted that the young master stay in the capital for the New Year. They also visited Min Xingjian, the Min Compiler, and asked him to review the young master’s essays and writings. The Min Compiler was very enthusiastic, offering many suggestions that greatly benefited the young master. He said if the young master had time, he could visit the Min residence often. The old madam was overjoyed and just had me write a reply to the young master. She told him to heed the advice of the Second Elder Master and the two masters, stay in the capital for the New Year, and visit the Min residence frequently. He should focus on his studies while also making friends with like-minded people." At this point, Biyu pursed her lips into a smile and whispered to Zhou Shaojin, "The old madam also had the messenger bring a thousand taels in silver notes to the young master."
The main branch of the family is truly wealthy!
Zhou Shaojin sighed, thinking of Cheng Chi again.
How was Cheng Chi’s business doing this year, after all?
She decided to find some time to ask Jiying.
However, the immediate priority was to tell her sister about her and Jiying’s matter and invite Jiying to Fragrant Garden Residence for Laba porridge.
Zhou Shaojin left Cold Green Mountain House and returned first to Fragrant Garden Residence.
Zhou Chujin had not yet returned.
Zhou Shaojin grew a bit worried and sent Shi Xiang to wait for Zhou Chujin at the entrance while she went alone to pay her respects to Old Madam Guan.
Old Madam Guan beckoned her over and handed her a large red embroidered pouch with a pattern symbolizing "abundance year after year," smiling as she said, "The New Year is approaching, and you young ladies always want to buy this and that. Take this and get yourself some little trinkets you like."
Zhou Shaojin’s face flushed slightly, knowing this was her grandmother’s private subsidy for her.
She quickly expressed her thanks.
Returning to Fragrant Garden Residence, she opened it to find twenty taels in silver notes.
Ten taels more than in previous years.
She stored the twenty taels in her chest, feeling even more reluctant to exchange those silver ingots and gold beans.
But if she didn’t exchange the silver ingots and gold beans, how would she fill this gap?
She definitely couldn’t ask her sister.
Perhaps she could borrow three hundred taels from her father and repay it slowly later?
But her father would surely refuse to let her repay it!
Zhou Shaojin’s thoughts wandered until her sister returned.
She hurried forward to greet her.
Winter nights were cold.
Zhou Shaojin helped her sister remove her cloak and brewed a cup of hot tea.
Zhou Chujin took a sip to warm herself before smiling at Zhou Shaojin. "It’s settled! Li Ji agreed to help with this. We don’t need to hire outsiders; just the usual workers from their shop who help carry the cloth."
Zhou Shaojin breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Should we prepare some wine or refreshments to thank those workers?"
"I actually forgot about that," Zhou Chujin said, somewhat surprised. "One must not treat valuable helpers lightly. I’ll instruct Ma Fushan right away to book two tables at a restaurant tomorrow and treat the workers who helped to a meal." Then she smiled and asked, "How did you know about this?"
Zhou Shaojin giggled.
Back in the manor, during spring planting and autumn harvests, the landowners would always prepare delicious food to reward the laborers.
She seized the opportunity to mention wanting to invite Jiying to their home for Laba porridge.
Zhou Chujin felt that since Jiying served Cheng Chi, it was appropriate to treat her politely and readily agreed, adding, "Do you think we should also invite Cousin Jia?"Since the start of classes at Jing'an Studio, Madam Jiang had been imposing stricter discipline on Cheng Jia, who hadn't visited Fragrant Garden Residence for quite some time.
Zhou Shaojin happily agreed and sent Shi Xiang to inform Cheng Jia.
Unexpectedly, when Shi Xiang returned, her expression was somewhat peculiar. She whispered to Zhou Shaojin, "Miss Jia had a dispute with First Madam Lu. When I arrived, Ruyi Pavilion was in such an uproar that I didn't mention inviting Miss Jia over."
What could it be about this time?
Zhou Shaojin sighed and said, "Then go and tell her again tomorrow."
Shi Xiang acknowledged and attended to Zhou Shaojin's washing and grooming.
The next day, it was revealed that Zhu Kun, the heir of the Duke of Liang, intended to marry Cheng Jia as a second wife. Cheng Jia adamantly refused, and the matter escalated all the way to Cheng Lu. It was only after Cheng Lu declared that anyone who dared suggest his daughter becoming a second wife would be immediately expelled from the household that the situation finally calmed down.
It was like a stone that had been hanging in mid-air finally dropped to the ground.
Zhou Shaojin let out a long sigh of relief and said to her sister, "Cousin Jia should be more filial to Uncle Lu from now on."
"You little fool!" Zhou Chujin pinched her sister's cheek and laughed, "If Aunt Lu hadn't made such a scene, where would the Duke of Liang's household have saved face?"
Zhou Shaojin gave a dry laugh.
She really wasn't suited for life in a large, aristocratic family.
※
Sisters, here's today's update.
o(n_n)o~
The extra chapter for Mengxian66 will be a bit late, so everyone can check it out tomorrow!
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※ (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote with recommendation tickets or monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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