Тhаt еvеning, Оld Мadam Guо аnd Zhоu Shаоjin slept on thе lаcquerеd bed in the innеr сhаmbеr, sерaratеd by a screen from thе dаybеd wherе Sоng Sеn slеpt.
Sоng Sеn’s wеt nursе sаt by thе bed, trying to sооthe him.
Вut he tossed аnd turned, unablе to sleер, рееking thrоugh thе screеn tоward thе innеr сhambеr.
Old Маdam Guo frоwnеd.
Zhou Shаojin said gentlу, “I’ll go and cоах him. You shоuld rest earlу. Тоmorrоw mоrning, thе оld lаdу from thе Zоng familу will be сoming to рaу hеr rеspесts.”
Оld Мadam Guo hаd been prone tо overthinking and рoor slеeр sinсe hеr youth, and at this moment, she felt no drowsiness at all. She sighed, “Don’t mind him, just rest yourself. If he cries or fusses, his wet nurse will take care of him.”
Though this was reasonable, if Song Sen were to cry and fuss, it would be Old Madam Guo who would lose sleep.
Zhou Shaojin smiled, “I’ll just go and check on him. The child seemed fine earlier, only becoming stubborn during dinner. Perhaps he just needs gentle handling. If he behaves, all well and good; if not, I won’t indulge him.”
Otherwise, wouldn’t it be a disservice to Old Madam Guo’s protective intentions?
Old Madam Guo disapproved.
Biyu, who was on night duty, gave Zhou Shaojin a meaningful look.
Zhou Shaojin pretended to go over for a drink of tea.
Biyu whispered, “If you can coax the child, please do. The old madam has always had trouble sleeping.”
Understanding, Zhou Shaojin drank her tea, tucked Old Madam Guo’s quilt in, and insisted on checking on Song Sen.
Old Madam Guo couldn’t forcefully stop her and had to let her go.
Seeing Zhou Shaojin approach, Song Sen was overjoyed, scratching his head and ears. He took her hand and said, “Sister, you’re so pretty! Do you have a younger sister? Could you let her come home with me? I’ll treat her well!”
Zhou Shaojin smiled and patted his head, saying, “I don’t have a younger sister, only an older sister.”
Song Sen was quite disappointed. “I have many sisters too, but none are as pretty as Sister Zhou. Are you returning to Jinling tomorrow? I’m going to Haining with my grandfather. Sister, will you go to the capital in the future? My home is at the fifth house from east to west in the Fourth Alley next to Di’anmen. If you go to the capital, you can come and play with me. If you ever face any difficulties, you can also come to me.”
Zhou Shaojin smiled and agreed, “Alright.” She added, “Now go to sleep! You have to return to the city tomorrow.”
Song Sen nodded obediently, as docile as a girl, with none of his earlier rudeness.
Song Sen’s wet nurse whispered, “The Fifth Young Master is usually very well-behaved. He just likes the Second Young Miss too much.”
Zhou Shaojin smiled without responding.
The room fell quiet.
Just as Zhou Shaojin thought Song Sen had fallen asleep and was about to leave, he suddenly opened his eyes again and called out, “Sister!”
Zhou Shaojin smiled, “What is it?”
Song Sen asked, “Sister, are you betrothed?”
Zhou Shaojin’s face flushed slightly. “Little child, don’t speak nonsense.”"I didn't say anything wrong," Song Sen pouted, displeased. "My eldest brother is about to get married. My father wants him to marry the niece of my late eldest aunt, but my brother doesn't want to, so he came to my mother. My mother doesn't dare tell my father. Sister Zhou, my brother is also very handsome. My third cousin really wants to marry my eldest brother, but I don't like her. When no one's around, she always wears a stern face, looking as if someone owes her money. I told my mother, and she doesn't want her to marry my brother anymore. Why don't you marry my brother? Then you can come back to the capital with me. My mother is very nice, and our family has no girls. My mother often says she wants to give me a little sister. I don't want a sister—I want Sister Zhou..."
Zhou Shaojin was both amused and exasperated. She patted him gently and said, "Alright, alright. Hurry up and sleep! We can talk about these things later."
Song Sen crawled out from under the quilt, dissatisfied, his little face tense. "Sister Zhou, will you come back to the capital with me or not?"
"I can't go back to the capital with you," Zhou Shaojin replied, seeing how persistently the child clung to this idea. She spoke seriously to him, "I have parents and family, and I naturally need to stay with them. As for going to your home, I grew up in Jinling, and all my relatives are here. I have no plans to go to the capital. I appreciate your kindness."
Adults often think children are too young to understand, so they treat their questions as unimportant—either carelessly or dismissively. Few people, like Zhou Shaojin, spoke to Song Sen as if he were an adult.
Though saddened by her words, Song Sen felt what she said made sense and couldn't bring himself to act unreasonably.
"Really, you can't go?" he asked, unwilling to give up.
"Really, I can't go!" Zhou Shaojin said earnestly. "Think about it—if someone liked you and thought they could give you a life of luxury, but they took you away from your mother, making it hard for you to ever see your parents or brothers again, would you go with them just for that luxurious life?"
"Of course not," Song Sen replied without hesitation.
"See, you wouldn't either!" Zhou Shaojin smiled. "No matter how nice your family is, if it means being far away from my parents and sisters, I wouldn't find it good either."
Song Sen fell silent.
Zhou Shaojin smiled and tucked him back under the quilt. "Hurry up and sleep! Don't overthink things. If you miss me, you can ask your grandfather to bring you to Jinling to visit me!"
"Okay, okay!" Song Sen's face lit up, and he extended his finger to pinky-swear with Zhou Shaojin. "...and no backing out for a hundred years."
"Alright!" Zhou Shaojin linked her pinky with his.
Reassured, Song Sen fell asleep.
Behind the screen, Old Madam Guo listened to their whispered conversation and couldn't help but smile contentedly. She turned over and drifted off to sleep with a smile.
※
With her son making such a spectacle of himself, Madam Song tossed and turned all night like a pancake on a griddle, unable to sleep. As soon as dawn broke, she dressed and got up, pacing back and forth in her room. Finally, when the morning glow painted the sky red, she went to Old Madam Guo's quarters, dark circles under her eyes.Everyone in the main room had already washed up and dressed neatly. Old Madam Guo wore a yellow-teng-colored robe made of Hu silk woven with a pattern of "Four Seasons of Peace," her graying hair neatly tied up at the back of her head, looking refreshed and spirited as she enjoyed her breakfast. Song Sen was dressed in a deep brocade-red straight robe, tied at the waist with a cloth belt of the same color. Two or three pouches hung from it, and he sat on an embroidered stool below Old Madam Guo like a little adult, being fed breakfast by Zhou Shaojin.
Upon seeing his mother, he swallowed the food in his mouth, then jumped down from the stool and respectfully bowed to her, wishing her good morning.
Madam Song was bewildered.
Her usually obedient and sensible son had suddenly acted as if possessed the day before, crying and fussing, insisting on sleeping with Zhou Shaojin, whom he had only met once. She had worried all night. Now, seeing her son again, he seemed as if a calming spell had been cast on him, suddenly returning to his usual self.
Was she the one who had been bewitched, or had something possessed her son?
Her mouth agape, she stammered, "You... you're better?" As she spoke, her eyes reddened. She hugged her son tightly, choking back tears, and said, "Sen'er, are you all right? You scared me so much yesterday..."
"Mother, I'm fine," Song Sen replied, a joyful and somewhat proud smile spreading across his face. "Sister Zhou promised me that if she goes to the capital, she’ll come find me to play. And when I have time, I can go with Grandfather to Jinling City to visit Sister Zhou."
Madam Song flushed bright red.
Her son was still bothering Miss Zhou even now.
"Old Madam, Second Cousin," she said, lowering her head in embarrassment, "children don’t know any better. Please don’t take it to heart."
Old Madam Guo chuckled and said, "As you said, he’s just a child. How could we possibly hold it against him? Have you not had breakfast yet? The kitchen made soup dumplings today, and they’re quite tasty. Have some with us!"
Only then did Madam Song realize she was hungry. She thanked them sheepishly and sat down to have breakfast with Old Madam Guo.
Not long after breakfast, Cheng Chi and Song Min returned.
Old Madam Guo quickly urged Nanny Lu to go and inquire.
Zhou Shaojin, however, unusually called out to Nanny Lu and said, "Nanny, please also ask later whether Fourth Master and Old Mr. Song have had breakfast. If they haven’t, please let the kitchen know."
Nanny Lu glanced at Old Madam Guo.
Old Madam Guo nodded and said, "Second Girl is very thoughtful. Remember to ask Si Lang and Old Mr. Song first if they’ve had breakfast."
Nanny Lu respectfully smiled in agreement and went to the outer courtyard.
A short while later, she returned and reported, "Fourth Master, Old Mr. Song, and the others have all had breakfast. Fourth Master said that Old Mr. Song and he have some business to attend to this morning and will be out for a while. Old Mr. Song won’t return to the city until after lunch, so he asked you to keep Madam Song company."
In other words, this Song Sen would be lingering at home for half a day!
Zhou Shaojin was a little afraid of the child’s clinginess.
She asked, "Do you know what Fourth Master and Old Mr. Song are going to do?"
Nanny Lu smiled and replied, "Fourth Master hired a boat and said he and Old Mr. Song are going to measure something in the middle of the Qiantang River. It will take about half a day."
This must have been her father-in-law’s idea.
At this moment, Madam Song wished she could disappear entirely.Zhou Shaojin breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Nearby, that's good..." She had originally thought of asking Nanny Lu to run some errands, but recalling how she had overstepped in her urgency earlier by asking Nanny Lu to pass a message to Cheng Chi, she decided it would be better to send Chunwan instead.
Old Madam Guo happened to have the same thought as Zhou Shaojin.
She invited Madam Song to join her in meeting the female relatives of the Zong family.
Madam Song felt too embarrassed to stay any longer and quickly said, "I didn’t sleep at all last night, worried that Sen’er might cause trouble for you. I won’t accompany you on the garden tour—I’ll take Sen’er back to our guest room and have a talk with him."
Old Madam Guo didn’t press her, and Song Sen, unlike the previous day, didn’t throw a tantrum. After paying his respects to Old Madam Guo and Zhou Shaojin, he followed Madam Song back to their guest quarters.
At the beginning of the si hour (around 9 a.m.), the Zong family arrived as scheduled.
Zhou Shaojin quietly instructed Chunwan, "Have the kitchen prepare some tea snacks for Uncle Chi and Old Mr. Song. I noticed Old Mr. Song is quite fond of tea, and since they’ll be spending the morning on the boat, they’re sure to have tea together."
Chunwan went to the kitchen, where there happened to be some dishes prepared in advance for entertaining the Zong family’s female relatives. She packed a portion and had it sent to the Qiantang River, then returned to report to Zhou Shaojin.
The elderly lady of the Zong family brought seven or eight female relatives with her—some in their early thirties, others in their mid-twenties, along with two young ladies, one eighteen and the other fifteen. Each of them had prepared very valuable gifts for her, and she was busy trying to remember everyone’s names. Upon hearing Chunwan’s report, she only managed a hurried "Mm" in between and soon put the matter out of her mind.
※
Sisters, today’s update.
I didn’t expect Tianwai Xianxian to send me a Valentine’s Day gift—thank you, Tianwai Xianxian.
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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