Мadam Sоng rеасhеd out to grab Sоng Sеn.
Old Mаdam Guo smilеd аnd sаid, "Сhildrеn sрeak withоut restraint. There's no nееd to sсold him, Маdаm Sоng."
Mаdаm Sоng hаd nо chоice but to withdrаw hеr hand in еmbarrassment.
Оld Madаm Guo then sеnt Nаnnу Lu tо sее whаt Cheng Сhi аnd Old Мr. Sоng wеre dоing, adding with а smilе, "Perhарs Sen-gе'er was right aftеr all!"
Song Sen dесlаred сonfidently, "Grаndfаthеr must be dоing саlсulаtiоns."
Zhou Shаоjin smiled аnd pаtted his heаd.
Evеrуоne sаt dоwn аgаin.
Nanny Lu returnеd and reported with а smile, "Young Mаster Song wаs indeеd сorrеct. Fourth Master and Old Mr. Song are gathered around the large desk, each at one end, doing calculations. From what Old Mr. Song said, if the Fuchun River floods next year, the tidal bore of the Qiantang River will surely not be as spectacular as this year's... Old Mr. Song has invited Fourth Master to come watch the tide at Qiantang again tomorrow."
"Wonderful, wonderful!" Madam Song exclaimed happily. "That way our two families can meet again in the future."
Old Madam Guo nodded with a smile.
By the hour of you (around 4 p.m.), if Old Mr. Song and the others did not return to the city, they would have to stay another day at the Zong family's villa. Only then did Cheng Chi and Old Mr. Song reluctantly emerge from the study. Old Mr. Song repeatedly reminded Cheng Chi, "...Don't forget to get me a pocket watch like yours—it keeps such accurate time!"
Cheng Chi agreed with a smile and said to Old Mr. Song, "Please consider my suggestion carefully as well. The court has not addressed the flooding issues in Jiangnan for ten years, yet places like Chun'an suffer frequent floods. Within two years at most, the court will surely undertake river management projects. Why not compile your lifelong knowledge into a book for publication, so future generations can learn how to prevent floods and repair river embankments?"
Song Min, however, looked somewhat downcast and said, "Let's discuss this matter another time."
After all, their acquaintance was still shallow, and though Cheng Chi felt regretful, he respected Song Min's decision. He personally escorted Old Mr. Song out of the villa, then turned back and went to the study, where he calculated alone until the second watch drum sounded before retiring for the night.
Old Madam Guo instructed everyone not to disturb Cheng Chi.
As it turned out, early the next morning, before dawn, Cheng Chi woke up and walked halfway along the embankment before returning to the villa.
Old Madam Guo asked him, "Are you troubled by something? Should I mention it to your brother?"
"Then I'd have to ask brother to help resolve it!" Cheng Chi chuckled and joined Old Madam Guo for breakfast.
Zhou Shaojin set out his chopsticks and bowl before sitting down herself.
Cheng Chi glanced at Zhou Shaojin and smiled, "Were you the one who sent over the tea snacks yesterday?"
Old Madam Guo asked curiously, "What snacks?"
Zhou Shaojin replied somewhat sheepishly, "I thought Uncle Chi and Old Mr. Song might be bored sitting on the boat, so I asked the kitchen to prepare some snacks."
Old Madam Guo nodded with a smile. "I was so busy socializing with the Zong family yesterday. It's good that you were by my side—it saved me a lot of worry!"
Zhou Shaojin blushed and said, "It's I who have learned a great deal from you."
"Only because you're willing to learn!" Old Madam Guo laughed. "Don't stand on ceremony with me. In the future, if I overlook anything, just help me remember it."
Apart from matters of food and drink, she had no ability to help Old Madam Guo remember anything else.
Zhou Shaojin smiled with pursed lips.
After breakfast, Old Madam Guo kept Cheng Chi to talk.Zhou Shaojin guessed that Old Madam Guo must be asking Cheng Chi what he and Old Mr. Song had been doing yesterday, but Old Madam Guo had no intention of keeping her there. She felt it would be inappropriate to eavesdrop, so she had no choice but to rise and take her leave.
Outside, Qing Feng and Lang Yue were standing in the middle of the courtyard, speaking in hushed tones.
Zhou Shaojin walked over with light steps and overheard Qing Feng saying discontentedly, "Old Mr. Song is Grand Secretary Song’s father—what a great opportunity! Old Mr. Song wanted to travel north with us, but Fourth Master was worried Second Cousin would be slighted and didn’t agree…"
She was startled and said sternly, "Qing Feng, what exactly is going on?"
Qing Feng and Lang Yue turned around with alarmed expressions and hurriedly replied, "It’s nothing! Nothing!"
Zhou Shaojin said, "If you don’t tell me, I’ll go ask Uncle Chi."
"Please don’t," Qing Feng said anxiously. "I’ll tell you. Old Mr. Song is skilled in geomancy, and Fourth Master got along so well with him that he invited Old Mr. Song to travel north together. Old Mr. Song gladly agreed. But when Fourth Master returned and heard that the young master of the Song family had caused a commotion at the old madam’s place, he changed his mind and had Steward Qin find an excuse to decline Old Mr. Song. Steward Qin thought it was a pity. He said that since Fourth Master had previously declined the court’s selection, if he wanted to become an official again, it would be impossible without a recommendation from a high-ranking provincial official. And even with such a recommendation, there are different levels of influence…" At this point, he cautiously glanced at Zhou Shaojin and whispered, "It’s said that the emperor holds Grand Secretary Song in very high regard…"
Zhou Shaojin knew.
Not only did the current emperor hold Grand Secretary Song in high regard, but even the later emperors did as well.
They wanted Cheng Chi to follow Song Jingran’s path!
Without a second thought, Zhou Shaojin said, "No matter whose idea it was, I’ll go tell Fourth Master right now that I won’t hold him back." With that, she turned and headed back to the main hall.
Qing Feng and Lang Yue exchanged glances.
Lang Yue complained to Qing Feng, "I told you not to play so many tricks with Second Cousin! She’s gentle, not foolish! See, you’ve offended her now, haven’t you?"
Qing Feng, still unwilling to admit defeat, retorted stubbornly, "How was I to know Second Cousin would be so easy to persuade? We hadn’t even finished the lines Steward Qin taught us, and she already decided to go persuade Fourth Master…"
"Anyway, you can’t treat Second Cousin like this anymore," Lang Yue said. "She’s a very good person. You can’t take advantage of her kindness and act recklessly in front of her!"
"When have I ever acted recklessly?" Qing Feng argued. "I just don’t fawn over her like you do!"
"What are you talking about?"
The two began arguing in low voices.
Standing in the main hall, Zhou Shaojin could faintly hear Old Madam Guo’s soft laughter from the eastern sitting room.
She took a deep breath, thought it over carefully, and then smiled, signaling the maid on duty to inform Old Madam Guo.
The maid quickly led her into the sitting room.
She smiled and asked Cheng Chi, "Uncle Chi, are we still departing at the originally scheduled time? Where will we wait for Madam Song and the others? Will they board our boat, or will we board theirs?"
Old Madam Guo looked surprised and said, "What is all this about?"Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, "I previously heard from Madam Song that we would travel together, but just now I heard from Qing Feng that our families would go separately. I came to ask when we should pack our belongings."
As she spoke, she inwardly snorted with dissatisfaction.
Since Qing Feng dared to scheme against her, she might as well scheme against him in return. Who asked him to think she was an easy target!
Cheng Chi's eyes flickered slightly as he replied calmly, "Old Mr. Song did mention that. I was afraid Mother would find it troublesome, so I politely declined."
Old Madam Guo clearly had her own calculations. She smiled and said, "You silly child, it's rare for you to have someone you can talk to. Madam Song is gentle and kind, and although the fifth young master of the Song family is mischievous, he isn't an unreasonable child. Having them as companions would relieve the loneliness of our journey. Why did you refuse them?" With that, she called for Nanny Lu and said, "Take my name card to Madam Song and ask if she would like to travel with us."
Nanny Lu smiled and replied, "Yes."
Cheng Chi smiled and said, "Mother, please don't worry about this matter. I'll go and accept Old Mr. Song's offer."
"That would be excellent," Old Madam Guo said with a smile. "More friends mean more paths. Sometimes, you are just too aloof."
Cheng Chi smiled but said nothing. As he left, he glanced at Zhou Shaojin, signaling for her to follow him.
Zhou Shaojin had no intention of going to him while he was angry, only to be scolded!
She pretended not to understand and lingered in Old Madam Guo's room until the old lady retired for the night before returning to her own quarters. The next day, before dawn, she went to Old Madam Guo's room to attend to her.
Cheng Chi shook his head and laughed heartily.
In the afternoon, they set off for Hangzhou Prefecture. That evening, the Song family boarded the Cheng family's sand ship.
Zhou Shaojin vacated her cabin and moved into Old Madam Guo's. With Huang Yijun on board, she dared not wander the deck freely, so she spent most of her time sitting in the cabin doing needlework, listening to Madam Song and Old Madam Guo chat, or playing with Song Sen for a while. Gone was the leisurely ease of the journey here.
Especially after arriving in Suzhou Prefecture, Zhou Shaojin had originally wanted to go into the city to look around. But Cheng Chi and Old Mr. Song were in high spirits and showed no intention of disembarking. Watching the bustling crowds on the dock, Zhou Shaojin felt it would be too unsafe without Cheng Chi accompanying her, so she simply stayed in the cabin to do needlework.
Even so, she had no regrets.
The longer she interacted with Cheng Chi, the more she felt how remarkable he was. She believed that with his abilities, if he wanted to enter officialdom, the Cheng family would be unable to stop him. The reason he hadn't pursued an official career was likely due to familial constraints.
If Cheng Chi could start by influencing Song Jingran, it might not be a bad thing.
She would do anything that benefited Cheng Chi.
How else could she repay him even a little?
Old Madam Guo had originally come along to accompany the younger generation. With Zhou Shaojin showing no interest in sightseeing, the old lady felt even less inclined. Madam Song had already visited Suzhou Prefecture before heading to Hangzhou. Seeing that Zhou Shaojin and Old Madam Guo had no intention of strolling around the city, she, as a guest, naturally stayed on the ship as well. This meant that Chunwan and the others also had to remain on board.
For a while, everyone's spirits were somewhat dampened. Especially Chunwan, who muttered quietly, "Madam Song has her own ship. Traveling with us like this is making things inconvenient for everyone."Several little maids nodded repeatedly, their attitude toward Madam Song's people growing somewhat cold.
This matter soon reached Zhou Shaojin's ears. She hinted meaningfully to Chunwan and the others, "When I was copying the scriptures, I never imagined Old Madam Guo would take me to Putuo Mountain to offer incense. When we went to Putuo Mountain, I never thought Fourth Master would send someone to take us shopping and let us buy things freely. Now that Fourth Master is busy, I've been thinking—people shouldn't only care about themselves and disregard others. When Fourth Master took us out to eat and drink, we were all grateful and appreciative. Now that Fourth Master has matters to attend to and can't look after us, we're all dissatisfied and complaining. Fourth Master doesn't owe us anything. Taking us out to play was a kindness; not taking us out is simply our lot. How can everyone find it unbearable to stay on the ship? Looking at it this way, perhaps it's better not to give any favors in the future, lest giving and receiving turn into resentment!"
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Sisters, today's update.
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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