Оld Маdаm Guаn chucklеd аnd sаid, "Соme back in а fеw yeаrs when yоu'rе оldеr!" Ноw could thаt be?
Zhou Shaojin had no сhоicе but to tug аt Оld Маdam Guаn's slееvе аnd aсt coquettishlу. "I dоn't want tо follow Old Мadam Guо. I want to stау with Grаndmоthеr."
"Sillу сhild!" Old Mаdаm Guan wаs bоth dеlighted аnd gratifiеd, but shе still insisted, "You'll undеrstаnd when уou're oldеr—Grandmother is dоing this fоr уour оwn good. Bе оbеdient, аnd I'll hаvе уоur еldest аunt mаke уou sоme new сlothеs. Just gо hаpрilу tо Сold Green Мountain House аnd serve Old Мadam Guо."
But whаt if shе ran intо Cheng Xu?
Seeing the smile on her grandmother's face, Zhou Shaojin couldn't bear to dampen the old lady's spirits, so she reluctantly returned to Fragrant Garden Residence.
When Zhou Chujin returned and saw her sister bent over the desk copying scriptures, she couldn't help but ask curiously, "Is the deadline tight?"
She had also copied scriptures before, and in her opinion, a single volume of scriptures should be finished before the Bathing the Buddha Festival.
"No," Zhou Shaojin replied gloomily. "Grandmother asked me to copy a few pages of scriptures for Old Madam Guo as well."
"Ah!" Zhou Chujin exclaimed in surprise and delight, excitedly walking over to the desk. "Really? Grandmother really asked you to copy scriptures for Old Madam Guo? How did Grandmother suddenly think of having you copy scriptures for Old Madam Guo?" Zhou Shaojin told her sister what had happened.
"Amitabha!" Zhou Chujin couldn't help but clasp her hands together and bow toward the west, saying, "I always said Grandmother is blessed, and if you stay by her side, you'll surely turn misfortune into fortune. See, not too early, not too late—you've met Old Madam Guo. Although Old Madam Guo can't be said to look down on everyone, not just anyone can catch her eye. As Grandmother said, this is your good fortune. You must be obedient and serve Old Madam Guo well. Perhaps..."
Perhaps she could even secure a good marriage.
But such words shouldn't be spoken in front of her younger sister, so she swallowed them back with a smile.
If it were the Zhou Shaojin of her past life, she wouldn't have noticed these details, let alone guessed what her sister was thinking. But the Zhou Shaojin of this life paid attention and naturally saw her sister's thoughts clearly.
Was all her trembling caution and meticulousness just for the sake of getting married?
Could marriage really guarantee a smooth, peaceful, and fortunate life?
Feeling uncomfortable, she retorted to her sister in a pouting manner, "I won't go!"
Seeing her reluctance, Zhou Chujin thought she was afraid of facing the condescension of the eldest branch. After a moment's thought, she said, "What nonsense are you talking about? Aunt Jiang has always wanted to send Cousin Jia to Old Madam Guo's side for guidance, and she even asked the old madam of the second branch to intercede, but it didn't work out. You've obtained this opportunity effortlessly—you should cherish it." Zhou Shaojin was surprised to hear this.
In her past life, she and Cheng Jia were inseparable, yet she never knew that Cheng Jia's mother, Madam Jiang, had such plans.
Zhou Chujin smiled gently.
It seemed her sister wasn't without ambition. It was just that the servants in the Cheng family, seeing the third branch's wealth and influence, were accustomed to flattering Cheng Jia. Over time, her sister inevitably lost confidence and spoke without conviction, making the servants even more inclined to flatter Cheng Jia.
Now, using Cheng Jia to provoke her sister had indeed hit the mark.She continued to reassure Zhou Shaojin, "Besides, the eldest branch's Elder Sister Zheng and Elder Sister Xiao have already married. Although Uncle Wei's daughter, Younger Sister Sheng, grew up in Old Madam Guo's household, after she was betrothed, Old Madam Guo sent her to Uncle Wei's home in the capital. The eldest branch only has Younger Brother Xu to bring joy to Old Madam Guo's side. Younger Brother Xu is a scholar with official rank; even though he is young, people outside must respectfully address him as 'Master.' Apart from morning and evening greetings, he does not enter the inner courtyard. You only need to deal with Old Madam Guo herself, and Old Madam Guo's rules are strict—who would dare treat you lightly?"
Zhou Shaojin felt as if she had been enlightened.
Her reluctance to copy scriptures for Old Madam Guo was entirely due to the events of her past life.
But those things had not yet happened.
If she could not overcome such inner demons, how could she talk about saving the Cheng family and protecting these relatives who cared for and loved her?
As long as she carefully avoided the events that had occurred in her previous life, it was not impossible for her to secure a bright future for herself.
Zhou Shaojin's heart, which had been unsettled since her rebirth, seemed to take root and suddenly calmed down.
She smiled and took her sister's hand, saying, "Sister, look how busy I am. Could I skip going to Jing'an Study?"
This meant she had agreed!
Zhou Chujin chuckled and flicked her younger sister's forehead. "Don't even think about it! Don't assume that just because Grandmother protects you, you can slack off. Do you want people to say you 'can't read' in the future?"
"Can't read, then can't read!" Zhou Shaojin muttered. "It's not like I don't know how to look at account books."
Like Grandmother, although she couldn't read many words, she was resilient and generous. Not only did she support the fourth branch, but she also raised Uncle Mian and Cousin Gao, who were kind-hearted and sincere toward others. This showed that character was the most important thing.
"You still dare to say that!" Zhou Chujin flicked her younger sister's forehead again. "Grandmother is already in her fifties and still regrets not reading more books when she was young. Do you want to regret it like Grandmother when you're old? Don't even think about this!"
This won't do, that won't do!
Zhou Shaojin grumbled inwardly, then remembered something and hurriedly said, "Sister, Mama Fan's son Qi'er has no one to look after him. I asked Mama Fan to bring Qi'er here and find him a job in the estate..."
Zhou Chujin had already heard about this from Chixiang. Thinking that Zhou Shaojin was nearing the age for marriage arrangements, it would be good to have a loyal person accompany her to her husband's family when she married, so she was quite in favor of having Qi'er work in the estate.
"Then let him follow Ma Fushan first!" she said with a smile. "Once he's properly trained, it won't be too late to assign him to your side."
Zhou Shaojin nodded repeatedly, smiling. "Then I'll cover his monthly allowance."
"That works too!" Zhou Chujin thought for a moment. "Since he'll be receiving your allowance, he'll be your person. If you have tasks for him, he'll run faster."
Exactly!
Zhou Shaojin smiled sweetly.
Her sister teased her, "Are you satisfied now?" Then she added, "Who taught you this? You made three requests, knowing full well I wouldn't agree to the first two, just waiting for me to agree to the third..."
Zhou Shaojin felt wronged.
She hadn't thought that way at all... But as the thought flashed through her mind, she became contemplative.
Had she really not thought that way in her heart?
When had she started using methods to achieve her goals?
And especially toward her sister...
Zhou Shaojin's face flushed red.Zhou Chujin not only didn't mind, but also instructed her: "In the future, you should think more carefully before speaking or acting, just like this time."
Zhou Shaojin's face flushed even redder.
Shi Xiang entered and reported: "Mama Fan has brought Fan Qi back!"
So quickly!
Zhou Shaojin glanced at her sister.
Zhou Chujin smiled and said: "Let them come in and speak!"
Shi Xiang acknowledged and left, returning shortly with Madam Fan Liu and Fan Qi.
Fan Qi was dark and thin, not even as tall as Zhou Shaojin. He wore a coarse brown plain short jacket, with the creases on the clothes still fresh—clearly, this was a new outfit Madam Fan Liu had bought for him from a tailor shop to bring him into the mansion.
No wonder Madam Fan Liu said he wasn't good at anything else.
With such a physique, he truly couldn't do much in the countryside.
However, Fan Qi's eyes were dark and bright, darting around—clearly a very clever child, just right for serving in the mansion.
Zhou Chujin rewarded Fan Qi with several silver ingots as a meeting gift, explained the arrangements for him, and then had Shi Xiang take him to kowtow to Ma Fushan. She kept Madam Fan Liu behind to speak: "This is the Second Young Lady's kindness. You must serve the Second Young Lady well from now on."
Madam Fan Liu hurriedly knelt down to kowtow to the Zhou sisters.
Zhou Shaojin quickly had Chunwan help Madam Fan Liu up.
Zhou Chujin picked up her teacup and blew on the tea leaves floating on the surface, saying calmly: "You may go now. Remember to serve diligently."
Madam Fan Liu respectfully replied "Yes," hesitating as if wanting to say more.
Zhou Shaojin smiled and asked: "Mama, is there something you wish to say?"
Madam Fan Liu's face flushed red as she said: "My family matters aren't settled yet... I'd like to ask for a few more days of leave..."
Zhou Shaojin was taken aback.
Madam Fan Liu murmured: "Lu'er's uncle... refuses to return the land to us..."
Zhou Shaojin frowned and asked: "What do you plan to do about it?"
Madam Fan Liu shamefully lowered her head and said: "I've already asked the clan leader to intervene. It should only take a few more days at most."
Zhou Shaojin pondered and said: "Then report it to the authorities!"
"R-report to the authorities!" Madam Fan Liu's eyes widened like copper bells.
They were commoners—how could they get involved in a lawsuit?
"Yes, report it to the authorities!" Zhou Shaojin said resolutely. "Since he refuses to reason, we can only let the authorities decide."
"But as the saying goes, the yamen gates are wide open, but without money, don't bother entering even if you're in the right," Madam Fan Liu hurriedly said. "I'm afraid even selling our few meager acres of land wouldn't be enough to cover the costs of a lawsuit!"
Zhou Shaojin grew frustrated and said: "Lu'er's uncle is just a commoner. You, at least, serve in our household—surely you can't lose to him?"
"No!" Madam Fan Liu shook her head. "If this gets out, the master would surely gain a reputation for 'allowing servants to act wickedly.' I cannot tarnish the reputations of the Zhou and Cheng families."
"Ah!" Zhou Shaojin was exasperated by her lack of resolve. "It's not about actually going to court—it's just to scare him. Can't you even do that?"
"Oh, oh, oh!" Madam Fan Liu came to her senses and hurriedly said, "I understand—I'll tell the clan leader that if he returns the land to us, I'll ask the young lady to step in and report him to the authorities."
"Yes, yes!" Zhou Shaojin, pleased that she understood, said happily, "Your uncle surely won't want to fight over these few acres of land with you."
Madam Fan Liu nodded repeatedly and said cheerfully: "Then I'll head back first!"
Zhou Shaojin had Chunwan see Madam Fan Liu out.Zhou Chujin pointed at Zhou Shaojin's nose and said, "Who gave you this idea? You actually know how to borrow power from the mighty now?"
Zhou Shaojin blinked and smiled, "It was you who told me, sister!"
"When did I ever tell you that?" Zhou Chujin pressed, but Zhou Shaojin only kept smiling.
It truly was her sister who had told her.
In her past life, she had relied on her sister and brother-in-law's influence to marry into the Lin family.
Zhou Shaojin felt tears welling up behind her smile.
Fan Qi indeed proved suitable for serving in the manor. In just a few days, he had become familiar with all the maids, matrons, young servants, and stewards of the Cheng household.
Shi Xiang told Zhou Shaojin, "Who knows whose temperament he takes after—his mouth is as sweet as honey, so much so that Granny Qin, who guards the second gate, wants to adopt him as her godson."
Zhou Shaojin laughed, "Did Fan Qi agree?"
"That boy is quite slippery," Chunwan chuckled. "How could he agree? He said a fortune-teller once told him he couldn't take on godparents until he turns thirty, after his 'heavenly net' fate has passed."
"By the time he turns thirty, Granny Qin will probably have gone to find Old Man Qin."
After the master and servants chatted and laughed for a while, Zhou Shaojin changed into a light green robe with a subtle pattern of entwined grapevines, put on a string of red agate beads, and had Chunwan carry the copied Buddhist scriptures as she headed to Jia Shu Hall.
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Sisters, I wish you all a pleasant weekend!
However, I've been working overtime on weekends lately, so I can't add extra updates... Since there's no one to cover for me, I can't even take leave...
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