Zhоu Shаоjin соuldn't figurе out what Оld Маdаm Guо wanted to sау to her.
Shе went to Соld Grееn Моuntain Hоuse feeling somewhat unеаsy.
Сold Grееn Моuntain Ноusе wаs undеrgoing sрring cleaning. In thе сorridоrs, under the verаndas, and in frоnt of the windоw lаttiсеs wеrе mаids and eldеrlу servаnts hоlding dust сloths, аll with unfamiliаr fаces.
Вiуu smiled аnd told her: "Thеy're from Ассumulatеd Truth Hall, hеrе tо helр оut."
Zhоu Shаоjin gаve аn "оh" in resрonsе.
Biyu lеd her tо thе rеar соurtуаrd retreat bеhind the main house.
It was quiеt there, with few рeoрle аrоund. Old Мadam Guo was sitting on a luohan bed, bending over to speak with Nanny Shi who sat on a small stool.
Seeing Zhou Shaojin enter, the elderly lady kindly beckoned her over.
Zhou Shaojin stepped forward and curtsied to the old madam. Biyu brought over an embroidered stool and placed it opposite Nanny Shi.
"I heard something happened in your household," Old Madam Guo gestured for Zhou Shaojin to sit and speak, saying, "Your father isn't in Jinling City. Would you like your Uncle Jing to make some inquiries with the authorities?"
Zhou Shaojin was quite surprised.
Old Madam Guo was famously uninvolved in affairs, so being treated like this was truly unexpected.
She hurriedly thanked Old Madam Guo: "...Uncle Mian has already been to the magistrate's office, and the two maidservants have been taken into custody."
The implication being that she didn't need Old Madam Guo's help.
Old Madam Guo raised an eyebrow, glanced at Nanny Shi, and laughed: "What an honest girl."
Was this praise or criticism?
Zhou Shaojin wasn't quite sure.
Old Madam Guo had already taken out a large red pouch embroidered with auspicious cloud patterns from a black gold-painted lacquer box beside her and handed it over: "Take this, for your New Year's use."
Zhou Shaojin was astonished.
It wasn't even New Year yet!
Old Madam Guo laughed and said: "This is for New Year's. This is for you to buy snacks with."
When elders give gifts, one dare not refuse.
Zhou Shaojin repeatedly expressed thanks, nearly dropping the pouch when she received it due to its surprising weight.
When she returned to Fragrant Garden Residence and opened it, she found the pouch filled to the brim with golden beans.
Zhou Shaojin didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Why didn't Old Madam Guo reward her with twenty taels of silver like her grandmother did?
Silver could be used without worry, but what was she supposed to do with these golden beans?
When Madam Mian found out, she tapped Zhou Shaojin's forehead and said: "You really are just as Old Madam Guo said—such an honest girl. How could your Uncle Mian's influence compare to your Uncle Jing's? Old Madam Guo meant well. You should have just accepted that calling card. Even if you couldn't use it this time, you could use it next time something happens!"
"Can calling cards be used like that?" Zhou Shaojin was quite surprised.
Madam Mian laughed and said to Old Madam Guan: "Listen to her, just listen! What kind of talk is this? How did we raise her to know nothing about worldly matters!"
Old Madam Guan chuckled, embracing Zhou Shaojin and saying: "Don't listen to your aunt. You did the right thing. Although we are women, we must act with integrity. Looking up to heaven and down to earth, we must be worthy of our every word and deed."
Zhou Shaojin nodded repeatedly.
That was exactly what she thought too.
What is mine I won't give up, but what isn't mine I won't covet. That way I can sleep peacefully.
Hearing this, Madam Mian protested with a laugh: "I only said one thing, and you've replied with ten. If I were to scold Shaojin in front of you, you'd probably punish me by making me kneel in the ancestral hall. You're too biased."
Everyone in the room laughed.Zhou Shaojin, arm linked with Zhou Chujin, was also smiling.
Her eyes held a faint glimmer of moisture.
She loved this kind of grandmother, this kind of eldest aunt.
Everyone felt like one family. They could speak without restraint, laugh heartily and joyfully.
Cheng Mian began discussing New Year arrangements with Old Madam Guan: "...From the minor New Year's Eve on the twenty-fourth of the twelfth lunar month to the fourth day of the first lunar month, everything will be the same. On the fifth, Madam He will likely take Eldest Young Master and Second Young Master back to Pukou—the wife of the third branch's maternal uncle from the He family is bringing several nephews to celebrate the New Year in Pukou this year. They'll depart for the capital after the Lantern Festival."
Madam Mian was a daughter of the He family of Pukou, a family that had enjoyed wealth and prestige in earlier years. But in recent times, aside from He Mianzhi of the third branch who served as Left Transmission Commissioner, no other remarkable figures had emerged. The family no longer possessed its former glory. The "wife of the third branch's maternal uncle" Cheng Mian mentioned was He Yizhi's wife.
Before Zhou Shaojin was reborn, He Mianzhi had risen to become Chief Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. It was he who had informed her brother-in-law of the Cheng family's confiscation.
Moreover, she knew that Madam Mian was taking Cheng Gao and Cheng Yi there this time with the intention of seeking a marriage between Cheng Gao and He Mianzhi's eldest daughter, He Fengping.
In her previous life, she hadn't learned of this matter until Cheng Gao and He Fengping were already engaged.
But in this life... She looked at Cheng Gao and smiled knowingly.
Cheng Gao was utterly baffled.
Cheng Yi, however, tugged at her sleeve and whispered, "Second Cousin, who was that guest in your room the other day? She was truly beautiful! Was she the Gu family's seventeenth young lady? I heard from Cousin Jia that you went together to release river lanterns during the Ghost Festival."
So he was still thinking about Jiying.
Zhou Shaojin felt a touch of schadenfreude as she said, "She's Uncle Chi's head maid, named Jiying."
"Impossible!" Cheng Yi leaped to his feet.
His voice was deafeningly loud.
Cheng Mian and the others who had been speaking with Old Madam Guan all turned to look. Cheng Mian, in particular, said sternly, "How old are you now? Still so impulsive and lacking composure! Copy the 'Encouraging Learning' chapter from the Analects one hundred times for me."
Cheng Yi softly acknowledged the order, offering no word of defense. He stood there dejectedly, head bowed, lost in his thoughts until everyone was about to disperse. Only then did he silently follow Cheng Gao out of Jia Shu Hall.
Could it be that her words had been too harsh?
But she hadn't said anything particularly severe!
Zhou Shaojin returned to Fragrant Garden Residence with unease.
The next morning, before she had even risen from bed, Cheng Yi arrived.
He wore a purple-red robe with blue silver-threaded auspicious cloud roundels, his face glowing, spirits high, standing tall and straight in her main hall. He declared to her, "Second Cousin, I've decided. So what if Jiying is Uncle Chi's head maid? It's not unheard of for elders to gift their personal maids to younger generations as concubines." Afraid Zhou Shaojin might not believe him, he produced a copy of the clan register from who-knows-where. Pointing to a page, he said, "Look, the birth mother of the seventh-generation ancestor's eldest son by a concubine was gifted by a clan uncle. I can ask Uncle Chi to give Jiying to me."
Another one mistaking Jiying for Uncle Chi's chamber maid.
Zhou Shaojin looked at Cheng Yi with sympathy.
She felt that if Cheng Yi spoke to Uncle Chi like this, even if Uncle Chi said nothing, Jiying would thoroughly teach him a lesson.
Just as Jiying also knew about the "sky lantern" punishment.
She asked Cheng Yi, "When do you plan to go?"
"I'll go shortly," Cheng Yi replied, stepping back a few paces and gesturing to his clothes. "Well? Do I look presentable?""Then have breakfast here first!" Zhou Shaojin said. "If you go over now, Jiying might not even be up yet!"
"Really?" Cheng Yi said doubtfully. "Isn't she the head maid in Fourth Uncle Chi's quarters?"
"Does being a head maid mean she doesn't have duties?" Zhou Shaojin asked impatiently.
"Oh, right!" Cheng Yi said, smoothing the wrinkles in his clothes as he carefully sat down on a nearby armchair. "Then just have the maid bring me a bowl of plain congee... no, better make it a few steamed buns. So I won’t need to use the privy later."
Zhou Shaojin went out and quietly instructed Shi Xiang to quickly fetch Madam Mian. Then she told the maid to serve breakfast before returning to the hall, calmly saying to Cheng Yi, "Wait here for a bit. I’ve only half-finished doing my hair."
"Alright, alright, alright," Cheng Yi said, beaming with excitement. "Go ahead and finish up. I’ll be fine on my own."
Zhou Shaojin hummed in response and went back to her inner chamber, pricking up her ears to listen to the commotion outside.
Madam Mian soon arrived, grabbed Cheng Yi by the ear, and dragged him out of Zhou Shaojin’s room.
Cheng Yi yelped in pain and loudly accused Zhou Shaojin, "You actually betrayed me! From now on, we’re through—no more contact for the rest of our lives..."
"What did you say?" Madam Mian said fiercely. "Who are you cutting ties with? Just you try—I’ll tell your father and have him break your legs..."
Amidst the clamor, Cheng Yi and Madam Mian left Fragrant Garden Residence.
Cheng Chi, however, burst into laughter. "Did Cheng Yi really say that the mother of the seventh-generation ancestor’s eldest son by a concubine was given by a clan uncle?"
Huaishan was terrified.
The Fourth Master had been quite irritable lately. Would he really give Jiying to Cheng Yi if he felt displeased?
He pursed his lips, weighing his words carefully. "It’s just hearsay. Who knows if it’s true or not?"
Cheng Chi gave him a noncommittal glance.
Huaishan broke out in a cold sweat.
Cheng Chi asked, "Did those two maidservants really cause Madam Zhuang’s death?"
"Absolutely true," Huaishan said, relieved at the change of topic. "The Zhou family’s steward, Ma Fushan, bribed a jailer, who then placed the old woman who tortured her daughter-in-law to death in the same cell as those two maidservants. Seeing that one maid had her tendons cut and was half-crippled, while the other was skinny and weak, the old woman quickly began bullying them... That’s what the maids confessed after being beaten into submission."
Cheng Chi lightly tapped the table with his fingertips. "Ever since returning home for the ancestral rites during the Duanxing Festival, those sisters have frequently left the mansion. In the end, they even uncovered the true cause of their birth mother’s death and managed to lure that maidservant back..." He asked Huaishan, "Do you think that’s a coincidence?"
"I don’t know," Huaishan replied honestly. "The two young ladies of the Zhou family don’t seem like the scheming, deceitful type."
"Is that so?" Cheng Chi said indifferently. "If their cunning is obvious, then it’s not truly cunning."
Huaishan hesitated, wanting to say more but holding back.
Without even glancing at him, Cheng Chi changed the subject again. "Has everything been delivered to Liu Yong?""It's been delivered." Speaking of serious matters, Huaishan straightened up and said, "Liu Yong says thank you, and when you go to the capital, don't forget to visit his villa. He also said regarding Wan Tong's matter, please be more tolerant—that's just how he is. 'When you give me a wooden ladle, I repay you with a jade pendant.' He will definitely compensate you for your losses, so you can rest assured."
Cheng Chi curled his lips disdainfully and said, "My losses? How can he compensate? At most, he'll just put in a word with the Lianghuai Salt Commissioner to give us all this year's salt certificates. But Jiangnan is so vast—if we take everything, those censors would surely exhaust their saliva criticizing us. Go tell him compensation isn't necessary; I want a fourth-rank position."
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Sisters, only two updates today.
o(n_n)o
※ (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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