Zhоu Shаоjin peеkеd hеr hеаd through the doоrwаy of Сheng Chi's саbin.
Сhеng Сhi wаs deeр in conversation with Old Мr. Sоng: "Thе cоurt саnnоt pоssiblу аllосatе such a largе sum tо utilize wаterwheels fоr irrigating farmlаnd to reduсе flооd dаmаgе. In my oрiniоn, rebuilding thе rivеr еmbankmеnts is the fеаsible aррroаch..."
Zhou Shaоjin secretlу stuсk оut her tоngue in her mind and wаs аbоut to withdrаw whеn Сhеng Сhi suddеnly lооked оver аnd asked, "Whаt do уоu nеed?"
Не sееmed still immersed in his еarlier discussion with Old Мr. Song, his gaze рrofound аnd eхрressiоn stern, appearing extremely serious.
Is this how Uncle Chi usually looks when discussing serious matters?
Zhou Shaojin pondered silently, then smiled and said, "The kitchen has prepared some new-style pastries. I was just wondering if you'd like some?"
The pastries were actually made by her own hands.
"We don't want pastries," Cheng Chi said solemnly. "Old Mr. Song and I have matters to discuss. Keep them for yourselves!"
The implication was for her not to disturb them.
Old Mr. Song nodded upon hearing this, looking as if he wanted her to leave quickly.
It seems this approach won't work!
Zhou Shaojin gave a light cough and retreated.
The next day, Cheng Chi remained behind closed doors, still talking with Old Mr. Song.
Zhou Shaojin asked if they wanted tea.
Before Cheng Chi could speak, Old Mr. Song pointed to the teacup in front of him and said, "This Longjing tea is excellent. I can tell with one sip it's pre-Qingming grade. No need to change it, I'll continue drinking this."
Zhou Shaojin had no choice but to retreat again.
On the third day, Cheng Chi and Old Mr. Song were calculating something with an abacus in the room.
Zhou Shaojin took advantage of a brief pause to enter and ask them, "...The boatmen caught some fresh small fish and shrimp. Chunwan and the others plan to coat them in flour and fry them as they are. Shall I bring a plate in for you?"
"No need," Cheng Chi said without looking up from the papers before him, addressing Old Mr. Song. "I calculated 49. What did you get? I feel this number is somewhat off. It doesn't make sense that the water flow would decrease after dredging the river."
Old Mr. Song didn't even glance at Zhou Shaojin, saying, "I also think there's an issue with this number. Should we recalculate?"
Cheng Chi picked up the abacus and gave it a shake, causing the beads to neatly return to their original positions.
He instructed Qing Feng, "Go get another stack of paper for us."
Qing Feng dashed to the adjacent small room and brought out a ream of paper, then began cutting it into one-foot squares.
Zhou Shaojin sighed and had to withdraw.
Outside, Chunwan hurried up to meet her, asking anxiously, "What did Fourth Master say?"
"He didn't say anything," Zhou Shaojin replied despondently. "Uncle Chi is very busy and has no time for us."
"What should we do then?" Chunwan frowned. "Perhaps you should directly go and apologize to Fourth Master?"
"I'd need the opportunity for that!" Zhou Shaojin said helplessly. "Uncle Chi has started calculating that water flow again."
Chunwan was somewhat speechless.
When Fourth Master immersed himself in such matters, he recognized neither family nor friends—last time, Biyu, following Old Madam Guo's orders, made a small garment for Fourth Master and asked him to come try it on. Nanny Lu went five or six times, not only failing to bring Fourth Master to Old Madam Guo's room for fitting, but actually getting chased out by Fourth Master.
Zhou Shaojin said, "Go check if the kitchen has any fresh fruits. Tomorrow I'll try preparing a fruit platter to bring in. If Uncle Chi still ignores me, then I'll have no other options."Chunwan nodded and went to the kitchen.
After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, she returned to report to Zhou Shaojin: "They said that after the boat docks tonight, they will go ashore to buy some pears."
"Then let's make pear and lily soup," Zhou Shaojin murmured to herself. The next day, she had the kitchen prepare it and personally brought it over.
Cheng Chi was pacing back and forth in his room, frowning deeply.
It was clear that his progress with that arithmetic problem was not going smoothly.
Zhou Shaojin felt she had come at an inopportune time.
Sure enough, before she could speak, Cheng Chi pointed to the nearby tea table and said, "What are you carrying? Just put it there for now!" Without asking her anything further, he walked straight to his desk and continued his calculations.
Old Mr. Song, looking utterly exhausted, was leaning back in an armchair beside him, resting with his eyes closed.
Zhou Shaojin placed the pear and lily soup on the tea table and quietly withdrew.
Chunwan’s face lit up with hope.
But Zhou Shaojin shook her head at her with a bitter expression.
Chunwan’s expression darkened.
Seeing this, Zhou Shaojin felt a pang of discomfort.
She took a deep breath and said to Chunwan encouragingly, "Forget it. Uncle Chi has always been broad-minded. He definitely won’t hold this against me. Let’s not worry unnecessarily. Tomorrow, we’ll just carry on as usual!"
That was all they could do.
Chunwan comforted herself and returned to the cabin with Zhou Shaojin.
Zhou Shaojin no longer went to see Cheng Chi. As before, she accompanied Old Madam Guo, quietly doing needlework by her side while Old Madam Guo and Madam Shen reminisced about old times.
Gradually, she began to grasp the nuances of their conversations.
Especially the anecdotes about the prominent families of Jiangnan. For instance, how the Gu family of Haining rose to prominence, which generation of the Liao clan in Zhenjiang began to prosper, which scholarly and well-mannered families from previous dynasties had now declined and why, and which families had grown even more prosperous and who had brought about that prosperity... Listening to Old Madam Guo, a web of marital connections among the great clans of Jiangnan slowly took shape in Zhou Shaojin’s mind.
She realized how small the world was—it seemed as though she could run into an acquaintance around every corner. Even though she didn’t know these people personally, she understood how they were connected to her.
This feeling was strangely fascinating.
Zhou Shaojin listened even more attentively.
When Old Madam Guo spoke of these matters with Madam Song, she held back somewhat. But after Madam Song left and only Zhou Shaojin remained, Old Madam Guo would often add a few more remarks. And these remarks never failed to astonish Zhou Shaojin. Like last night, when Old Madam Guo kept her behind to comb her hair, she whispered to her that Qu Yuan, Gao Yao’s father-in-law—the Minister of Works and Grand Secretary of the Jinshen Hall—was a concubine-born son. Because his birth mother was deeply favored, when he was ten years old, his legal mother took advantage of his father’s absence, poisoned his birth mother to render her mute, and sold her to a secret brothel. Later, she escaped, encountered the head of the Shen family, and was kept by him as an outside mistress. She bore him a son, who, through an orphanage, was taken back into the Shen family as an adopted son. After Qu Yuan gained power, he managed to find his birth mother. Although mother and son never openly acknowledged each other, Qu Yuan took great care of his half-brother. And this half-brother of Qu Yuan was none other than Shen Qingyun, the Assistant Prefect of Jinling... That was why successive prefects of Jinling had never been able to touch Shen Qingyun...
Zhou Shaojin remembered her jaw dropping so wide she could have swallowed an egg.Old Madam Guo, however, smiled as if nothing had happened.
Zhou Shaojin lay awake for half the night.
Had Old Madam Guo ever spoken these words to Madam Yuan?
If Madam Yuan had known the secrets Old Madam Guo was aware of, and the Cheng family still could not escape the fate of being executed and their property confiscated, then...
Zhou Shaojin could almost say with certainty that the Cheng family must have been involved in royal affairs, and moreover, in something deeply disgraceful, which was why they were so swiftly and completely annihilated. Otherwise, given the Cheng family’s connections and deep-rooted influence, they would never have fallen so quickly.
In fact, for the Cheng clan based in Jinling City, even if the Cheng descendants in the capital had committed grave offenses, it should not have led to the extermination of the entire main family, regardless of which branch or household they belonged to. As long as they lived in Nine Prosperities Lane, they were all wiped out.
What scandals had occurred within the royal family back then?
The Crown Prince passed away from illness, and the Imperial Grandson was designated as the heir. However, like his father, the Imperial Grandson died of illness before the Emperor. Overwhelmed with grief, the Emperor soon passed away as well, and it was only then that the Fourth Prince succeeded to the throne.
Zhou Shaojin strained to recall the events of the past.
The Fourth Prince was the beneficiary of the situation. She would start unraveling the threads from him.
During the Crown Prince’s reign, the Fourth Prince’s birth mother was not the Empress, nor was he the eldest son. He gave the impression of being honest and unassuming, without any exceptional talents. He was neither the legitimate heir nor the eldest, let alone renowned for virtue.
Later, when the Crown Prince died of illness, the Second Prince, Third Prince, Fifth Prince, and Seventh Prince all opposed appointing the Imperial Grandson as the heir. The Emperor insisted on his decision, leading to nearly a year of contention in the court, known historically as the "Rites Controversy." It ended with the Left Chief Inspector of the Surveillance Bureau being exiled, while the Second Prince, who had opposed most vehemently, was stripped of his title and reduced to a commoner, and the Third Prince was demoted to a commandery prince. Thus, after the Imperial Grandson’s death, the Fourth Prince emerged victorious in the struggle against the Third Prince and ultimately ascended the throne.
Where could manipulation have occurred?
The Emperor was a formidable man. Not only did he enjoy a long life, but during his reign, he could execute or exile the chief eunuchs of the Twenty-Four Offices of the Inner Court at will, with no one daring to utter a word of dissent in his presence. Even when several Grand Secretaries of the cabinet opposed his views, they were defeated. Later, some mockingly referred to Yuan Weichang, who served as Grand Secretary for the longest time under the Emperor, as the "Turtle-Crane Prime Minister," implying he endured like a turtle. Her brother-in-law had even ridiculed Yuan Weichang for this... So, it was unlikely that anyone else was behind the incidents involving the Second and Third Princes.
That left the Imperial Grandson.
When the Imperial Grandson fell ill, the Emperor personally traveled to Mount Tai to offer sacrifices for him. The streets were cleared both upon his departure from and return to the capital, and Lin Shisheng had even sent someone specifically to warn her not to go out.
After the Imperial Grandson’s death, the Emperor passed away half a year later.
Zhou Shaojin rested her chin in her hand, truly unable to fathom what scandal might have occurred within the royal family.
Or perhaps it was because she had been too far removed from such matters in her previous life?
If she hadn’t been reborn, how would she have known so much about the Cheng family?
If she hadn’t known about the Cheng family, why would she have wanted to get close to Uncle Chi?
If she hadn’t gotten close to Uncle Chi, how would she have known that the Cheng family had such a formidable person!
She had better find a way to have Uncle Chi deliver a message to Cheng Jing as soon as possible.
Cheng Jing was now a cabinet minister and should have more influence than before.
Unfortunately, the trick of pretending to be a Taoist priest had already been used!But even if she hadn’t used it, trying to deceive Uncle Chi or Old Madam Guo... Zhou Shaojin felt that with her abilities, it was simply impossible.
She had to find a chance to speak with Uncle Chi!
But when would she ever find such an opportunity?
Zhou Shaojin was deeply troubled and decided to seize this chance to listen more to Old Madam Guo’s stories of the past. She vaguely felt that Old Madam Guo was intentionally telling her these things.
But she had no intention of becoming a clan matriarch, so knowing these things probably wouldn’t be of much use, right?
※
Sisters, here’s today’s update!
o(n_n)o~
PS: The extra chapter for Zhi Meng will be posted around 5 PM tomorrow.
※ (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to...)
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