Сhеng Сhi соuldn't hеlр but smile at thе thоught оf thаt sсene.
Hе аsked softlу, "What did Seсоnd Соusin соme ovеr for?"
Nanny Shang repliеd with а smile, "Shе said sinсе уоu werе hеlрing оut аt the Gu fаmily, she was wоrriеd Old Мadam might be bоred at hоme alоnе, sо shе саmе to keер her соmрanу."
Chеng Сhi nodded, wеnt tо the Listеning Oriole Рavilion to сhаngе his clоthes, and then sроkе with Huаishаn аbоut Хiаo Zhеnhаi's affаirs: "...Hоw is the prоgress оn his dосk cоnstruсtiоn? Нas he seсured the land yet?"
"Нe has," Huаishan, who hаd beеn kеeрing an eye on the matter, said. "Jiang Qin went to Tianjin a couple of days ago. Xiao Zhenhai accompanied him for a walk around Beitang, and then rumors started spreading that the Grain Transport Gang was very interested in the docks at Beitang."
Cheng Chi pondered for a moment and asked, "So there's been no movement from the Thirteen Hongs?"
Huaishan shook his head.
Lang Yue came over and said, "Fourth Master, Second Cousin is about to leave."
Cheng Chi instructed, "Go and inform Zi'an to send two men to escort Second Cousin back to her residence." Then he turned back to Huaishan and asked, "How are things with Zheng Si?"
Last August, Fang Xintong, having no other choice, tried to use his official connections to pressure Zheng Si but failed. In the end, he had to sell the orders to Zheng Si at a low price.
Huaishan replied, "Zheng Si's orders should be completed within the next couple of days. As for Fang Xintong, it seems there are still some issues with a few remaining orders, and he might not be able to deliver them on time."
Cheng Chi sneered and said, "It doesn't matter. Fang Xintong wouldn't dare not deliver. When the time comes, he'll have no choice but to lower the price again and sell the orders to Zheng Si. However, after this ordeal, he probably won't venture into the cloth and silk business again."
Huaishan hesitated and asked, "Should we assign someone to keep an eye on him?"
"No need!" Cheng Chi said. "I just wanted to teach him a lesson—to let him know his limits. Pressing him too hard would only lead to a mutually destructive outcome, which wouldn't benefit us."
Huaishan nodded in agreement.
Lang Yue scurried off to deliver the message.
When Zhou Shaojin learned that Cheng Chi had specially arranged for two men to escort her home, a smile welled up from the depths of her eyes and wouldn't fade. Even after entering the gate, arriving home, and seeing Zhou Chujin, her brows were still brimming with joy.
Zhou Chujin asked with a smile, "What has made you so happy?"
Zhou Shaojin told her sister about how she had played leaf cards with Old Madam Guo.
Zhou Chujin couldn't help but burst into laughter at the thought of the scene and said, "How did you come up with such a mischievous game?"
Zhou Shaojin chuckled and explained, "While playing cards, I happened to see agate hairpins adorned with red peonies. Knowing that the camellias in the flower room had all bloomed, and thinking that Old Madam's room lacked any color, I came up with this idea. I never expected Old Madam to agree to it."
"With so many flowers, wouldn't you have ended up ruining them all?" Zhou Chujin chided playfully.
Zhou Shaojin giggled and said, "Not entirely. After playing cards, Old Madam had someone fetch a few glass bowls. The flowers were arranged in the bowls, and I must say, a bowl full of camellias looks like a floral ball—absolutely beautiful. Old Madam even let me bring two back for you."
As she spoke, Chunwan, who had accompanied her in the sedan chair, entered. Zhou Shaojin asked her to bring over the two flowers Old Madam had given her.
Zhou Chujin saw that the flowers were white, as large as a bowl, with petals as lustrous as jade, yet each had a faint red streak in the center, giving them a lively touch. She praised, "These flowers are truly beautiful! What variety are they?"
Zhou Shaojin blinked and said, "Take a guess."Zhou Chujin laughed, "You know perfectly well that I don't understand flowers much."
Zhou Shaojin smiled with pursed lips, saying, "It's the 'Eighteen Scholars'!"
"What?" Zhou Chujin nearly jumped up. "How can there be a white 'Eighteen Scholars'?"
"Otherwise, why would it be called a rare treasure?" Zhou Shaojin chuckled. "There are also ones that are half white and half red, some that bloom in several colors, and bright red ones... The Hangzhou branch sent me a bright red one before. I've... um, seen half-white, half-red ones before. I never expected that the main house's greenhouse would not only have bright red and half-white, half-red ones but also pure white ones—those are the rarest. Old Madam Guo knows I like plants and even gave me a pot of kaffir lily. Would you like to see it, sister?"
Zhou Chujin was greatly intrigued.
The two of them went to the greenhouse.
Now, the Zhou family's greenhouse was quite impressive. Besides what Madam Zhuang had left behind, there were also plants cultivated by Zhou Chujin and Zhou Shaojin, as well as gifts from the Hangzhou branch. They had common varieties like jade hairpins and jasmine, as well as orchids and black chrysanthemums.
Zhou Shaojin pointed to a small potted plant resembling a holly tree and said, "Look, sister, I want to give this pot of flowers to Old Madam Guo."
It was a pot of tea orchid (Note: Milan), which would bloom with tiny, star-like yellow flowers, exuding a captivating fragrance.
Zhou Chujin thought of the courtyard full of greenery at Cold Green Mountain House and felt it was quite fitting. She smiled and said, "Then, do you want to change the pot? I think a sweet white-glazed flowerpot might look even better."
Zhou Shaojin greatly approved, and the two sisters took advantage of their free time to repot the tea orchid.
At Cold Green Mountain House.
After finishing his work, Cheng Chi went to Old Madam Guo's main room.
Seeing a crystal bowl filled with various camellias placed on the tea table by Old Madam Guo's luohan bed, he smiled and glanced at it before stepping forward to pay his respects to his mother.
Old Madam Guo asked him, "How are things going with the Gu family?"
Cheng Chi replied, "Now that Jiu'ao is back, I can take it easy. I'll go check tomorrow. If there's nothing urgent, I'll wait until the seventh-day memorial to visit again."
Old Madam Guo sighed.
Cheng Chi smiled and said, "I heard Shaojin came over?"
Old Madam Guo's face lit up with a smile. "That child is thoughtful. She was afraid I'd be lonely at home and came to keep me company playing leaf cards for a while."
Cheng Chi's gaze swept over the camellias in the crystal bowl. "Regarding Shaojin's marriage, I have an idea..."
Old Madam Guo glanced at Biyu, who was bending over to arrange a fruit platter for them, and said, "Biyu, you may leave first. I have something to discuss with Fourth Master."
Biyu's hands trembled nervously.
Last time, it was she who had gone to inform the second young miss.
This time, when Old Madam Guo brought up the second young miss's marriage, she wanted to avoid her.
Could it be that Old Madam Guo had discovered something?
She dared not lift her head and hurriedly retreated.
In truth, Old Madam Guo had discovered nothing. She simply felt instinctively that meddling in someone's marriage was not a good thing and thought it better to avoid suspicion.
Seeing that there was no one else in the room, Old Madam Guo leaned slightly and whispered, "What idea do you have?"Cheng Chi said, "Marriage is a lifelong event. It's difficult for us to find a good match for Shaojin in a short time. Instead, we should tackle the problem at its root by introducing a marriage proposal for Yi Ge'er that the Fourth Branch cannot refuse. This way, Fourth Aunt will take the initiative to break off the engagement. Not only will this resolve Shaojin's predicament, but it will also make the Fourth Branch feel guilty toward Shaojin from now on. They won’t even think of blaming her; instead, they’ll feel sorry for her whenever they think of her. Let them continue to support Shaojin."
Old Madam Guo’s eyes lit up, and she quickly asked, "Do you already have someone in mind? Tell me quickly, which family’s daughter have you taken a liking to?"
Cheng Chi said, "What do you think about finding a young lady from the Gu family?"
"The Gu family?" Old Madam Guo was very surprised.
Precisely because their relationship with the Gu family was so close, she had never considered forming a marriage alliance with them. When the old lady of the Gu family was still alive, she had once suggested marrying one of the Gu family’s daughters to Cheng Chi, but Old Madam Guo had refused on the grounds of the generational gap. Now, to bring a Gu family daughter into the family...
Cheng Chi knew his mother’s concerns and said, "If there’s no suitable match in the Gu family, we can consider the Shen family. If that doesn’t work, there are also the daughters of the Fang family in Shucheng."
In short, they needed to find a high-ranking, influential family for Cheng Yi, one that would benefit him whether he pursued scholarly studies or an official career. After all, the Cheng family’s weakness lay in their lack of descendants and shallow foundations.
Old Madam Guo was very satisfied with Cheng Chi’s proposal and decided, "Then let’s do as you say! But neither you nor your brothers can act as matchmakers in this matter. Your Fourth Aunt has already hinted to me that if we help arrange a marriage for Yi Ge'er, even if your plan doesn’t come to light, it will arouse the Fourth Branch’s suspicions."
"I still understand such social conventions!" Cheng Chi laughed. "I’ve already thought of a matchmaker—we’ll ask Fang Daxian to step forward."
Old Madam Guo couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.
Cheng Chi smiled and said, "For this matter, it really has to be Fang Daxian! He pays the most attention to character and reputation. Think about it: Fourth Aunt has been widowed for so many years, working hard to raise her two sons. One is a provincial scholar, and the other is a fellow jinshi. She also helped raise her deceased daughter’s two granddaughters—one her own flesh and blood, the other with no blood relation at all. In Fang Daxian’s eyes, this is more admirable than any noble or official lineage. As soon as I mention that Yi Ge'er’s marriage prospects are difficult, he’ll surely take the initiative to arrange a match for him!"
"You, child." After hearing her son’s words, Old Madam Guo no longer doubted that Fang Daxian would fall into Cheng Chi’s trap. She smiled and said, "You mustn’t scheme against Mr. Fang again in the future. He is a man of integrity and uprightness, and such people are becoming increasingly rare."
Cheng Chi didn’t take it seriously but couldn’t refute his mother’s words. He simply smiled and agreed with a "Yes," then discussed several potential candidates with his mother.
Biyu, standing guard outside the door, was growing increasingly anxious.
Fourth Master was very capable; if he said he had a solution, it was sure to work.
She wondered what kind of plan Fourth Master would propose to the old madam?
She didn’t dare to report to Zhou Shaojin again, yet she couldn’t help but remain concerned about the matter.
Soon after, she noticed that Old Madam Guo had begun sending people to inquire about Cheng Yi.
Although the decision to arrange a marriage for Cheng Yi was made to help Zhou Shaojin escape her predicament, those young ladies were also the cherished daughters of their parents. In making arrangements, they had to find someone who was a suitable match.To be honest, aside from being a bit mischievous and making mistakes common among boys his age, Cheng Yi had never committed any fundamental errors.
Old Madam Guo couldn't help but praise Old Madam Guan and Madam Mian for their excellent parenting, saying to Cheng Chi, "He is pure-hearted and kind, and good-looking too, but I'm afraid he won't achieve anything particularly remarkable in the future."
Cheng Chi replied, "For someone marrying Shaojin, not achieving anything remarkable is the biggest problem. Look at the past grievances between Madam Zhuang and Cheng Bai? It's surprising you still act as if nothing happened."
Old Madam Guo chuckled and said, "Wasn't Cheng Bai just a collateral branch of our family? The fourth branch is different—they are the main lineage!"
"What if the clan splits someday? The fourth branch would become a collateral branch just the same!" Cheng Chi said dismissively.
Old Madam Guo fell silent.
But Cheng Chi continued leisurely, "I think this point could also be useful—if we split from the second branch, the fourth branch, for self-preservation, would surely prefer to marry a bride from a prosperous and powerful maternal family, right?"
※
Sisters, here is today's update.
Starting today, updates will be posted around 8 p.m. Once I've mostly sorted out my work matters, I'll rearrange the update schedule again.
o(n_n)o~
I hope everyone will continue to support "Jinling Spring" as always.
If you have pink tickets, please cast one for "Jinling Spring." If not, please try to subscribe to the official version. Thank you all!
※ (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to...)
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