Оld Маdam Guo wаs nоt in thе mаin rоom but in the threе-bаy side сhamber bеhind it, whiсh sеrvеd аs а storerоom.
The warm winter sun shonе uрon thе purрlе-rеd sаndalwооd trunks аdоrnеd with clоud-patternеd сoрper cоrners, lending thеm an air оf аnсiеnt sоlеmnitу and nobilitу.
Stаnding befоrе аn oрen trunk, Оld Мadam Guо bеckоned to Zhou Shаojin. "Comе аnd tаke а look. What dо уоu think of this dесоrаtivе vаse?"
Its skу-bluе glazе was сrackеd like а tоrtоise shеll, with а rоundеd belly and а tall, slender neck—grаceful, naturаl, and flowing, rеminiscеnt оf a swаn's neck.
It was a Ge kiln decorative vase from the previous dynasty, comparable in beauty to the famed "Beauty Under the Moon."
Suppressing her inner astonishment, Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, "It's truly beautiful!"
Old Madam Guo nodded with a pleased smile. "This was part of my mother's dowry. During the wartime chaos, my maternal grandfather's family, being local gentry, was among the first to suffer from bandit raids. Many of the family's fine treasures were lost, but this vase was hidden by my grandmother in the backyard well and thus preserved. Later, when I married, my mother gave it to me. I'm thinking of placing it on your Uncle Chi's curio shelf. What do you think?"
"It should be quite fitting," Zhou Shaojin replied with a smile.
Old Madam Guo then instructed her attendant Feicui, "Take this out."
Feicui acknowledged the order and carefully placed the vase on a nearby long table, making a note of it in the ledger.
Old Madam Guo continued, "I recall I also have a Ge kiln horseshoe-shaped censer with crab-claw crackling... Feicui, search carefully. It should look lovely displayed alongside that Ge kiln tortoise-shell crackle vase."
Feicui smiled and replied, "Yes," then retrieved the ten ledgers labeled "Porcelain" from a trunk filled with account books and began flipping through them page by page.
Old Madam Guo sighed to Zhou Shaojin, "When you're old, you accumulate so many things that even I can't remember what I have."
Such situations are most prone to theft.
Back then, when the Empress Dowager's Nine-Treasure Necklace went missing, it was the eunuch in charge of the storeroom who had stolen it. If not for the princess's wedding, when the Empress Dowager suddenly remembered the piece, no one might have known it had been stolen and sold out of the palace until her passing.
However, the maids serving Old Madam Guo all seemed to be of good character, so such an incident was unlikely to occur.
Zhou Shaojin smiled faintly.
Beneath the warm winter sun, she resembled a blooming narcissus.
Old Madam Guo couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
No wonder Jiashan couldn't forget her. With such beauty alone, one could never tire of looking at her. As for other qualities, they seemed secondary... Madam Zhuang was even more outstanding than Zhou Shaojin in some ways. It truly echoed the saying that deep affection does not endure.
Old Madam Guo gently patted Zhou Shaojin's hand, thought for a moment, and opened a trunk labeled "Jiazi." She took out a small box and opened it, revealing a gold chrysanthemum hairpin adorned with kingfisher feathers resting on a deep red velvet cloth.
The chrysanthemum, the size of a wine cup, was inlaid with sapphire-blue kingfisher feathers. Its curled and slender petals and trembling golden stamens were all exquisitely lifelike.
Old Madam Guo closed the box and handed it to Zhou Shaojin. "The New Year is approaching. Take this to wear."
"One should not accept rewards without merit." Although Zhou Shaojin didn't know its origin, she could tell at a glance that it was no ordinary piece. She firmly declined.Old Madam Guo smiled and said, "Aren't you helping me copy the scriptures? Accept it! If you feel uneasy about it, then make me a shawl next spring. When I gave birth to your Uncle Chi, I caught a chill in my shoulders. It's fine in winter with the brazier, but in spring, they ache faintly. I always need something draped over my shoulders. This year's shawl will be entrusted to you!"
Zhou Shaojin hastily agreed and took the box from Old Madam Guo's hands.
She could tell that every item in Old Madam Guo's storeroom was of exceptional quality. Afraid that Old Madam Guo might impulsively give her more things, she stood up to take her leave.
Old Madam Guo did not keep her and continued searching through the storeroom with Feicui.
Zhou Shaojin had just copied two pages of scripture in the small prayer hall when Jiying arrived.
She said with a smile, "Would you like to go see the Oriole Song Pavilion?"
Zhou Shaojin asked curiously, "Is there something special about the Oriole Song Pavilion?"
Before this, she hadn't known that Cold Green Mountain House also had an Oriole Song Pavilion.
Jiying replied with a hint of mystery, "Outside the Oriole Song Pavilion, there's a Bagua array nested within a Taiji array. Ordinary people who enter are sure to get lost. I'll take you to see it."
Zhou Shaojin's heart stirred.
Could it be the bamboo grove where she got lost last time?
She still remembered that east of the bamboo grove, there seemed to be a courtyard, with a few fiery red pomegranate blossoms peeking out from behind the flower wall.
Zhou Shaojin asked, "Do you understand formations?"
"I don't," Jiying said. "But Huaishan does. He said that every five steps, a red rope is tied to the bamboo. As long as we follow the red ropes, we won't go wrong. But what's the fun in following his instructions? While Huaishan is instructing the servants to tie the red ropes, let's run over and play. If we get lost, we just need to shout, and Huaishan will come to the rescue. When could there be a better time than now?"
The previous incident still lingered fearfully in Zhou Shaojin's mind.
She shook her head like a rattle-drum and said, "No, I have to finish copying these scriptures today. I'll go with you another day!"
Jiying looked somewhat disappointed and said, "You're good in every way, except you're too timid."
Zhou Shaojin felt embarrassed.
Jiying smiled and said, "Alright then, I'll go alone. Don't regret it later!"
Zhou Shaojin felt that Jiying was like a child tempting her to go play.
She smiled, saw Jiying out of the prayer hall, and continued copying the scriptures.
After finishing the day's scriptures and tidying up her things, she went to bid farewell to Old Madam Guo.
Faint shouts from Jiying could be heard from the bamboo grove.
Zhou Shaojin was startled and hurriedly asked Shi Xiang to find Huaishan.
Shi Xiang quickly returned, smiling, and said, "Miss Jiying was hauled out of the bamboo grove by Huaishan."
"Hauled?" Zhou Shaojin was somewhat puzzled.
Shi Xiang imitated Huaishan's manner: "Like hauling a little chick."
Zhou Shaojin thought of the icy, piercing gaze Huaishan had when she first saw him.
Huaishan was probably no ordinary person.
Zhou Shaojin pondered this and told her sister about it after returning.
Her sister smiled and said, "He must be Uncle Chi's bodyguard, right? Uncle Chi often travels around for the family business and encounters all sorts of people. Without a highly skilled bodyguard like Huaishan, how would he dare to deal with those boat gangs and border troops?" At this point, she paused slightly and lowered her voice, "Old Master Li from the second branch is said to have died at the hands of a boat gang."
Zhou Shaojin was horrified and said, "Wasn't it said that he died of illness?"Old Master Li of the Second Branch was the only son of the Second Branch's patriarch, Cheng Xu, and the husband of Old Madam Tang.
Zhou Chujin glanced around the room. Seeing only the two sisters present, she then said, "When I was little, I woke up from an afternoon nap one day to hear Grandmother and Eldest Uncle talking outside the green gauze cabinet. At that time, Eldest Uncle had just taken over managing the household, and times were difficult. He had somehow obtained several salt vouchers. Because he needed to go to Yongjia Field to collect the salt, Grandmother wouldn't let him go. She said at the time: 'Look at Uncle Li of the Second Branch—he had money, resources, and was shrewd and capable. Yet in the end, he still died at the hands of the Canal Gang...'"
Zhou Shaojin was half-convinced, half-doubtful. "Hasn't the court always said the Canal Gang 'gathers crowds to stir up trouble' and that they cannot be allowed to remain? At that time, the Second Branch's patriarch should already have been an official in the court. Since Old Master Li died at the hands of the Canal Gang, why didn't they report it to the authorities? Even if they couldn't find the murderer, they could have dealt a heavy blow to the Canal Gang!"
"The specifics, I don't know," Zhou Chujin said. "Which year does the court not call the Canal Gang the 'source of legal collapse'? But when have they ever completely eradicated them? Presumably, the Canal Gang has its own exceptional strengths. Even if the Second Branch's patriarch was a court-appointed official, it wouldn't have helped. Besides, how would a proper businessman get involved with such desperate outlaws of the jianghu? Perhaps the matter at the time was also 'unclear and inexplicable'—pulling up a radish brings mud with it!"
Zhou Chujin seemed somewhat dismissive.
"That's true too," Zhou Shaojin sighed. "It's just pitiful for Old Madam Tang, a widow with an orphaned child, having endured all these years."
"So they say, thirty years east of the river, forty years west. It's hard to say what's pitiful or not," Zhou Chujin said. "If Old Master Li were still alive, with the Second Branch's patriarch helping to plan, would the First Branch have what it has today? The Second Branch's patriarch is older than the First Branch's patriarch, and Old Master Li was older than Old Master Xun... This is how human calculations are no match for fate. You have no choice but to accept it!"
Family resources are limited. Being older means understanding things earlier, and understanding earlier means being able to secure more resources for oneself. This is also why a legal wife isn't afraid of her husband having a favored concubine, but fears the concubine bearing a son older than her own.
Zhou Shaojin thought of the clan genealogy that had always been held by the Second Branch's patriarch.
The Second Branch's patriarch must have been very unwilling and had placed his hopes on Cheng Shi.
After the sisters whispered for a while, seeing that it was getting late, they went to Jia Shu Hall.
Who would have thought Old Madam Guan had a guest.
Si'er quietly told Zhou Shaojin and Zhou Chujin, "It's Madame Bai from Cunren Lane. She said she heard about Lanting and Xinlan's matter and specifically came to seek judgment from the old madam."
Hearing this, Zhou Shaojin flushed with anger. "Did we wrongly accuse Cheng Bai? And she has the nerve to come to Grandmother for judgment! What judgment does she seek? It's good enough that we haven't caused trouble for her!""Second Miss, please don't be angry," Si'er whispered. "She's not here to argue on Cheng Bai's behalf—she's here to argue for herself. She claims she knew nothing about it, that Cheng Bai was rarely home when he was alive, and as a woman, how could she possibly control her husband? She insists she had no idea what Cheng Bai was doing outside. She also said Cheng Lu was only six when Cheng Bai died, so he couldn't possibly have known what his father had done. Now that Cheng Bai has done wrong, she says it shouldn't affect his descendants. She even went on about how thinking about it makes her feel like dying, and she rambled on for nearly half an hour. Old Madam was so annoyed she couldn't even bring herself to offer a word of comfort."
Zhou Shaojin and Zhou Chujin both found it amusing.
Zhou Chujin added, "I used to think Madam Cheng Bai, though a bit flighty, was still reasonable. Turns out she just hadn't faced anything that truly hurt her. Now that disaster is upon her, she starts talking about 'affecting descendants.' When a person dies, it's like a lamp going out. If wrongdoing couldn't affect descendants, then anyone could commit murder or arson and then hang themselves, and all debts would be settled. Who would ever fear committing crimes?" With that, she headed straight for the main room. "What does she think she's doing, pestering Grandmother like this? Let her come talk to me!"
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Sisters, here's today's update.
PS: Since I've managed to keep up with double updates even when busy, how about some pink votes for encouragement?
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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