Fаn Qi thаnkеd her agаin аnd hаlf-sаt оn the stool.
Zhоu Shаojin smiled аnd asked him, "Наvе уоu sеen yоur mother?"
"Yes, I have," Fan Qi rерlied rеspесtfullу. "Whеn I returnеd wеаring а rоbe оf Lu silk with a gray squirrеl сollаr, I feared mу mother might bеcomе susрiсiоus, sо I first wеnt hоme to frеshеn up bеfоrе entеring the еstаte to sреak with hеr for a while."
Тhis was a maturе арprоach.
Zhou Shаоjin nоdded in аррrоvаl. Аfter Сhunwаn servеd teа and snaсks and withdrеw, shе inquirеd abоut Fаn Qi's triр tо the caрital.
Perhaps bеcause hе was eхtremеlу satisfiеd with his journey, Fan Qi could no longer contain himself. With animated expressions, he recounted his travels, reverting to his usual self: "...The Ji family never expected it—I managed to shake them off in one go... I carefully considered the Second Young Lady's words and realized that at my age, I might not be able to handle those cunning old foxes. On the road, I was almost tricked into revealing details by the Ji family! But after much thought, the Second Young Lady's method seemed the most feasible. For a moment, I was at a loss. Noticing that the Ji family members judged others by their attire before anything else, I simply bought a few fine garments, hired someone to pose as my elder, and pretended to be a young master staying at the Shangqing Temple. I thought I’d first get a clear understanding of the Mu and Lin families' affairs.
"Unexpectedly, a servant named Yang at the Shangqing Temple turned out to be a former guest attendant who had been demoted to menial tasks after some misconduct. He not only loved to boast but also enjoyed a drink or two. At first, I wanted to gather more information from him, so I often treated him to food and wine. Later, I discovered he had very good connections with some people in the temple, so I thought of asking him to introduce me to a Taoist priest traveling at the Shangqing Temple..."
He recounted the events in detail. By the end, he laughed himself: "...Who would have thought that in the end, without me even mentioning money, he couldn’t swallow his pride? He was determined to make the Mu family marry off their daughter. He even said that after the eldest Miss Mu was married, he would go to the capital’s most upscale tailor shop, 'Huaxiangrong,' to have a glittering Taoist robe made, embroidered with the Taiji and Bagua diagrams on the back. He planned to walk past the Mu family’s gate again, determined to swindle Old Master Mu into donating dozens of taels of silver to the Shangqing Temple."
Zhou Shaojin listened with both surprise and delight.
She was surprised by the twists and turns of the matter. Delighted because Fan Qi’s cleverness and boldness had ultimately succeeded in accomplishing the task.
She couldn’t help but clasp her hands together, facing west, and murmured, "Amitabha," adding, "Thank you, Bodhisattva, for your protection."
Seeing this, Fan Qi hesitated and said, "Second Young Lady, perhaps you should consider Taoism? I heard those Taoist priests say that Bodhisattvas cultivate for the afterlife, while they focus on nurturing life. Someone as fortunate as you, Young Lady, should cultivate in this life and seek immortality."
Zhou Shaojin was taken aback.
Had Fan Qi, after spending a few days at the Shangqing Temple, taken the words of those Taoist priests to heart and converted to Taoism?
What if he became obsessed and decided to become a monk? What would happen to Mama Fan then?She quickly waved her hand and said, "Let's discuss this matter later. Later." Then she praised him, "It's fortunate that you went. If someone else had gone, things might not have gone so smoothly. You've worked hard these past few days. Take a good rest these next few days. I've already given Mama Fan an early holiday, so you and your mother can have a good talk. After the Lantern Festival, you'll probably have to go to the capital again—since you already told that Taoist Yang you’d go back next year, you might as well treat it as a joke and find a way to get that Taoist Yang to mediate. Make sure the Mu family’s eldest daughter marries into the Lin family as soon as possible."
Fan Qi thought the same. He said, "If I weren’t afraid of arousing my mother’s suspicion, I would have waited until the Mu family’s eldest daughter was married before returning." As he spoke, he took a pouch from his pocket and said, "Second Miss, my travel and lodging expenses were all covered by the Ji family. When I stayed at the Shangqing Temple, two taels of silver would have been enough, but since I was pretending to be the young master, I gave them five taels. Then, treating that Taoist Yang to drinks and meals cost nearly fifteen taels. He said he needed to ask his senior brother to help cover for him, so I gave him another twenty taels. There were also expenses for hiring sedan chairs, buying snacks, hiring servants... altogether, it came to sixty-seven taels and three mace of silver. Here are the remaining four hundred and thirty taels in silver notes and loose silver!"
Zhou Shaojin was overjoyed and said generously, "You keep it! You’ll be going to the capital again in the spring. We can settle the accounts together when you return."
Fan Qi refused, looking anxious and fearful. "I’m afraid I might lose it. You have no idea—I didn’t know how much money it would take to go to the capital, so I only took five ten-tael silver notes with me. The other four hundred taels in silver notes, I rolled up and sewed into the lining of my inner clothes. I checked them every two hours, and the Ji family’s servants thought I had fleas! Please keep the silver notes. I’ll ask for them again when I go next time."
Zhou Shaojin could understand his fear.
In her previous life, when she fled Jinling City, she only took two hundred taels of her private savings, thinking that as long as she had that money, she could find her sister. If she lost those two hundred taels, she might never see her sister again. At the time, she was terrified of losing the silver or having it stolen by idlers, so she repeatedly reminded Madam Fan Liu to hide it well.
"Alright then," she said with a smile, accepting the silver notes. She turned and took twenty ten-tael silver notes, handing them to Fan Qi. "This is the two hundred taels I promised you. Since it’s almost New Year, the stewards are very busy. The ten acres of prime paddy fields we agreed on will have to wait until you return."
Fan Qi flushed and said, "Second Miss, my task isn’t finished yet! Please wait until I return from the capital to reward me."
"Just take it," Zhou Shaojin insisted, stuffing the silver notes into his hands. "It’ll be good for celebrating the New Year properly."
Fan Qi didn’t dare to refuse and reluctantly accepted.
Zhou Shaojin then gave him a small box and said, "Inside is a gold hairpin and a pair of gold bracelets. The hairpin is for your mother, and the bracelets are for you and your brother—one each, to use when you take a wife."
"Thank you, Second Miss," Fan Qi said, standing up to kowtow to Zhou Shaojin.
Zhou Shaojin accepted his gesture with a smile and asked Chunwan to see him out.Shi Xiang muttered softly, "The two hundred taels of silver notes the mistress rewarded you haven't even warmed in your hands before you're giving them away. If you keep going like this, I think even mountains of gold and silver won't withstand your extravagance."
Zhou Shaojin solemnly placed the purse Fan Qi had returned on the table and said calmly, "There are four hundred and thirty taels of silver notes here in total. Put away four hundred taels, and exchange the remaining thirty taels for silver ingots at my eldest aunt's place. We'll likely need to give rewards this year. As for the loose silver... you've all been very diligent in your duties these days, so take it to buy some snacks to share!"
Chunwan jumped for joy, nudging Shi Xiang with her elbow.
Shi Xiang blushed and lowered her head in embarrassment.
Suppressing a smile, Zhou Shaojin entered the inner chamber, changed her clothes, and went to Cold Green Mountain House to copy scriptures.
Biyu was waiting for her at the crossroads.
Seeing her from afar, Biyu hurried forward, curtsied with a smile, and said, "Fourth Master is moving to live over here. Chief Steward Qin is leading people to tidy up the Oriole Song Pavilion at the back, and they've set up screens around Cold Green Mountain House. The old mistress was afraid those rough men might disturb you, Second Young Miss, so she specifically asked me to wait here for you."
Zhou Shaojin was astonished and asked, "Why is Uncle Chi suddenly moving to live near Cold Green Mountain House?"
"Perhaps because Hill of Clustered Cassia Courtyard is spacious but has few attendants?" Biyu smiled. "I heard from those who used to serve in Fourth Master's quarters that he is nostalgic, and the people around him have all been with him for seven or eight years. It's easier for the young servants and attendants, but we maidservants have to be let go when we reach a certain age. Fourth Master is reluctant to bring in new people, so he had to make do and move in here."
"That's true," Zhou Shaojin said with a smile. "All of you are clever, skillful, and well-mannered. Rather than promoting someone from elsewhere to be a senior maid, it's better to have you serve. However, this means your workload will increase, and you'll have to work even harder."
"This is originally our duty; how can we call it 'hard work'?"
As Biyu spoke, she walked with Zhou Shaojin toward Cold Green Mountain House.
Zhou Shaojin soon saw the indigo-blue coarse cloth screens.
Walking inside the screens, they could hear a man's hoarse voice outside saying, "Hurry up, hurry up! Chief Steward Qin said we must finish before dark. Those who finish will be rewarded with one tael of silver each; those who don't will have one tael deducted. That's a difference of two taels. Two taels of silver! That's enough to buy your wife a flower-patterned cotton jacket."
There was a burst of laughter outside.
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but smile, thinking this man was quite eloquent.
Biyu said, "That's Steward Lu from the estate. When he was young, his throat was accidentally damaged by smoke, so he speaks like a drake, but it makes him easy to remember."
Zhou Shaojin nodded with a smile.
Suddenly, someone emerged from behind the nearby screen.
Both Zhou Shaojin and Biyu were startled.
Biyu quickly shielded Zhou Shaojin behind her and shouted, "Who is it?"
"It's me!" the newcomer said cheerfully.
Zhou Shaojin looked closely and realized it was Jiying.
She patted her chest and said, "You gave me quite a fright."
Jiying said, "Who set up these screens here? I've been wandering around for a while and almost got lost." Then, smiling at Zhou Shaojin, she added, "Fourth Master said he's moving to live in the Oriole Song Pavilion here. I thought of you coming to copy scriptures every afternoon, so I came specifically to tell you. It'll be more convenient for you to find me from now on!"Zhou Shaojin giggled, linking arms with Biyu: "We already knew long ago!"
Jiying glared in frustration.
Everyone laughed as they headed to the main hall.
Jiying wanted to see where the Oriole Song Pavilion was located: "...I want to choose a secluded spot to live."
Biyu told her: "Head south, there's a three-bay wing room there. You can see the lotus pond by pushing open the window, and there are several pomegranate trees planted behind the house."
"Pomegranate trees?" Jiying's eyes lit up, "You actually have pomegranate trees here. It's been so manyyears since I've seen a single flower."
This was, of course, a bit of an exaggeration.
Biyu covered her mouth and laughed, saying: "I once heard Nanny Shi mention that those pomegranate trees were planted by Fourth Master when he was a child. He treasures them dearly!"
"Then I want to live there." Upon hearing this, Jiying whispered to Zhou Shaojin, "Then I'll hang all sorts of colorful sachets and pouches all over the pomegranate trees. Let's see if Cheng Zichuan can still act so smug."
Zhou Shaojin was both amused and exasperated, waving goodbye to Jiying.
※
Sisters, today's update.
I wonder if the meeting with the Taiwanese editor will go smoothly...
※ (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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