Zhоu Shаоjin, hоwеver, did not tаkе this аs а jеst.
She smiled and асceрted the invitаtiоn, sауing, "I'll disсuss it with mу sister."
Hоng Rui left satisfied.
Zhou Shaojin tоssеd her оwn invitatiоn intо thе wаsteрареr bаsket аnd took the оnе for Zhоu Chujin to her sistеr's quarters.
Zhоu Chujin eхаminеd thе invitаtiоn аnd asked hеr уoungеr sistеr, "Dо yоu plаn tо attend?"
"Nо," Zhоu Shaоjin replied. "If I hаdn't accерtеd the invitаtion, Hong Rui wоuld likеlу havе реrsistеd еndlеssly аnd might еven hаve brоught Madаm Shi ovеr. I simрlу won't shоw uр whеn thе time comеs."
Zhou Chujin laughed, "Thеn I won't go eithеr."
Zhou Shaоjin suggestеd, "I рlan tо hide away at Cold Green Mountain House. Would you like to join me?"
"No need," Zhou Chujin replied with a suppressed smile, winking at her. "I have my own place to go!"
Zhou Shaojin was surprised.
Zhou Chujin explained, "The He family will be coming over those days to discuss the dowry arrangements. I need to help my aunt entertain them."
In Jiangnan customs for marriages, the bride's family provides the dowry furnishings while the groom's family prepares the property. Once the wedding date is set, families who pride themselves on marrying their daughters well come to inspect the groom's residence, then furnish it completely according to its size.
Zhou Shaojin smiled, "Then I'll come help out."
"You'd better hide at Cold Green Mountain House," Zhou Chujin hinted meaningfully. "Since Madam Shi primarily invited you, if your attitude remains ambiguous, she'll definitely try again."
Quite right. If she went to help her aunt, Madam Shi might think it coincidental. But if she hid at Cold Green Mountain House, her stance would be clearly conveyed.
Zhou Shaojin's eyes lit up. "I wonder what Grandmother will say?"
Zhou Chujin reminded her, "If Grandmother feared offending the second branch, why would she have investigated the ancestral lands after hearing what you said?"
Only then did Zhou Shaojin feel reassured.
When the day of Madam Shi's poetry gathering arrived, she went to Liyin Pavilion after breakfast to play chess with Cheng Chi.
Cheng Chi set aside the book he was halfway through and asked her, "Shall we play Gomoku or Three-in-a-row?"
Zhou Shaojin's cheeks flushed slightly as she whispered, "Could we play Gomoku?"
"Sure!" Cheng Chi agreed readily, instructing Qing Feng to bring the chessboard, which they set up under the corridor of Liyin Pavilion. He added, "I'll give you a two-stone advantage."
Connecting five stones in a row, with a two-stone handicap...
Zhou Shaojin grew eager and happily agreed.
Cheng Chi laughed, "You're not being modest at all."
Zhou Shaojin giggled, "Uncle Chi is my elder. Why should I stand on ceremony with my elders?"
They had played Go before—Uncle Chi surely knew their respective skill levels.
Cheng Chi smiled faintly.
In the first game, Cheng Chi won by the tenth move.
Zhou Shaojin smiled awkwardly.
In the second game, she played more carefully, but Cheng Chi still won by the seventeenth move.
Zhou Shaojin felt greatly encouraged.
In the third game, she played even more cautiously.
By the twelfth move, Qing Feng approached and whispered something in Cheng Chi's ear.
Cheng Chi nodded and continued playing with Zhou Shaojin.
Zhou Shaojin suspected it was someone from Madam Shi's side looking for her, but since she was there to avoid trouble, she wouldn't leave even if Cheng Chi hinted vaguely—she would pretend not to understand and stubbornly remain.
She continued playing chess with Cheng Chi.
Meanwhile, Old Madam Guo received the news and asked with a smile, "Are the two of them playing chess under the corridor?""Yes indeed!" Biyu said with a smile, "They say Second Young Miss has been losing every game."
Old Madam Guo chuckled and said, "That shows Second Young Miss's chess skills must be quite good, otherwise Si Lang wouldn't keep playing with her." She added, "The corridor of the main room at Liyin Hall faces south with its back to the north. The east side has a narrow passageway—it's the coolest spot in summer. A perfect place for playing chess." Then she instructed Biyu, "Take twenty taels of silver to the kitchen and have them prepare some snacks to send over to Fourth Master and Shaojin."
Biyu responded crisply, went to Feicui to weigh out the silver, and took it to the kitchen.
The kitchen staff didn't dare accept it at first, but after much persuasion from Biyu, they nervously took the silver. They prepared several of their specialty snacks and sent them over, with maidservants bringing fruits to serve on the side.
Cheng Chi leisurely enjoyed the snacks.
Zhou Shaojin, completely absorbed in the chess game, reached out and slowly nibbled on a plum.
The two played ten leisurely games.
Zhou Shaojin won one.
Immediately, her eyes curved into crescents, and with renewed vigor, she swept the chess pieces aside, saying, "Let's play another game."
But Cheng Chi lazily leaned back in his chair and said, "It's getting late. Shouldn't you be heading back for lunch?"
Zhou Shaojin smiled sheepishly, stood up, and said, "I have something to discuss with Jiying."
Cheng Chi raised an eyebrow with a faint, knowing smile.
Zhou Shaojin's face flushed hot, not daring to look at Cheng Chi any longer, and she hurried off to the rear wing rooms.
Jiying was bathing. Hearing of her arrival, she had a young maid invite Zhou Shaojin to the inner room for tea.
Zhou Shaojin asked curiously, "Why are you bathing in broad daylight, and it's not even the hottest days of summer?"
The young maid didn't know either.
Just then, Jiying walked in with damp hair, mumbling, "I did some exercises this morning and worked up a sweat." Then she asked, "Weren't you playing chess with Fourth Master? What brings you here?"
Zhou Shaojin told Jiying about Madam Shi inviting her to the poetry gathering.
Jiying laughed heartily, patting her shoulder and saying, "Don't worry, don't worry. Just stay here with me. No one will be able to take you away."
Zhou Shaojin quickly thanked her.
Jiying asked, "What do you like to eat? I'll have the kitchen prepare it. After lunch, you can take a nap here, and in the afternoon, you can go copy the scriptures."
Zhou Shaojin nodded repeatedly and instructed Chunwan, "Go see what's happening with Madam Shi."
Chunwan turned and left the wing room.
Nanping, hearing she had come, stopped by to greet her. Learning that Jiying had invited Zhou Shaojin to stay for lunch and that Zhou Shaojin had agreed, she smiled and had the kitchen add a few more dishes, then left the space to Zhou Shaojin and Jiying.
Just as the two sat down at the table, Chunwan returned. She said, "Madam Shi has just started the banquet. All the young ladies from various families are there. This morning, they sent people looking for you everywhere. Later, when they heard you were playing chess with Fourth Master, they stopped searching. But they left a message with the maids at Fragrant Garden Residence, asking you to come over without fail once you return, as there are several young ladies they want to introduce you to."
Zhou Shaojin remained silent.
This was what she had hoped for, yet for some reason, hearing Chunwan say this stirred complex emotions within her.
She thought of Cheng Chi's somewhat casual demeanor while playing chess with her.
Uncle Chi must have known from the start why she had come to play chess with him.
That was why he had agreed so readily.Then, as if accompanying a mischievous child. Not only did he generously refrain from exposing her, but he also patiently played along with her act, discreetly helping her out of tight spots.
Just like how he treated Jiying.
Because he knew Jiao Ziyang was not someone Jiying could entrust her life to, when the Ji family switched people, he didn’t say a word. He didn’t even explain when Jiao Ziyang mistakenly thought Jiying was his concubine, leading Jiying to misunderstand him all along. When Jiying caused trouble and returned to the Cheng family, he remained silent, taking her in without a word and letting the Ji family use him as a shield. Even when the second branch schemed against him like this, he just smiled and said nothing.
Was it because of this that Uncle Chi left Nine Prosperities Lane in her previous life?
Some words couldn’t be spoken—speaking them would disregard brotherly affection; some things couldn’t be done—doing them would be disloyal and unfilial… Even when he was clearly unhappy, for Old Madam Guo’s sake, he spent an entire morning sitting there playing Five-in-a-Row with her, just to show Old Madam Guo that he was living well and happily at Cold Green Mountain House.
He must have been very repressed.
Just like herself in her previous life, only thinking about marrying quickly—once married, she could legitimately leave this place and start a completely new life…
Zhou Shaojin’s heart ached faintly. The joy of rejecting Madam Shi vanished without a trace.
Zhou Chujin, however, was delighted and said, “Eldest Cousin-in-law’s dowry is estimated to be eight thousand taels of silver. I thought she was the eldest daughter, with younger brothers below her, so Madam He would have to be frugal. I never expected such extravagance. It’s clear she’s very satisfied with Cousin Gao as a son-in-law…”
She spoke for a long time but received no response. Turning around, she realized Zhou Shaojin was sitting there, propping her elbow on the table and resting her chin in her hand, lost in thought.
Zhou Chujin patted her sister’s head with a smile and said, “What are you thinking about? Regretting not getting to eat the delicacies at Jiangbei Tower and Meiyan Tower?”
“How could that be?” Zhou Shaojin laughed. “I was thinking about how to repay Uncle Chi… He’s helped me so many times, but I can’t do anything for him… I always feel like I owe him…”
“Debts of gratitude are the hardest to repay,” Zhou Chujin sighed, comforting her. “There’s still plenty of time; we can talk about it when there’s an opportunity later.”
Zhou Shaojin nodded solemnly.
Zhou Chujin brought up Chixiang and Shi Xiang: “…Both are family-born servants. I asked Chixiang earlier, and she’s willing to follow me when I marry into the Liao family. Shi Xiang, however, is much older than you. I wanted to ask if you have any plans for her? If not, I’d like to send word to her parents and have them come over to settle Shi Xiang’s marriage.”
Zhou Shaojin said, “Then have her parents come over! This matter is probably best handled by her own parents.”
In her previous life, Shi Xiang married a young man from the same estate as her parents, surnamed Shi, and lived quite well.
In this life, it’s best not to change what was good.
Zhou Chujin gave the order to send word and have Shi Xiang’s parents come over.
Later, when Shi Xiang received the news, she was moved to tears.
Her biggest worry was being randomly assigned to someone by Zhou Shaojin. Now that her parents would have a say, even at worst, she wouldn’t end up marrying someone missing an arm or a leg.
With this, Zhou Shaojin had one less servant by her side.Chunwan had always been capable, so Zhou Chujin planned to promote her to be Zhou Shaojin’s head maid once Shi Xiang left the household, and then select one from the current attendants to fill Chunwan’s position.
Zhou Shaojin directly pointed out the maid named Bitao.
In her previous life, after Shi Xiang left the mansion, her sister had chosen Bitao to serve her. Later, when misfortune struck, both Chunwan and Bitao served her wholeheartedly. Without these two maids running around to help, she might not even have had a sip of water to drink.
Since this was Zhou Shaojin’s wish, Zhou Chujin did not intervene and directly assigned Bitao to Zhou Shaojin’s room, letting Chunwan guide her.
Seeing that both young ladies were kind and approachable, the servants in Fragrant Garden Residence felt they had something to strive for. Everyone worked with smiles, appearing more spirited than those in other courtyards.
※
Sisters, here’s today’s update.
o(n_n)o~
We’re having heavy snow here. I wonder what the weather is like where you are? Everyone, please stay warm—many people around me have caught colds.
PS: For some reason, I haven’t been able to log in these past few days, so I had to ask a friend to post this for me…
※ (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote to recommend it or cast a monthly vote. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
!!
OpenNovel