With the dоg аnd thе birds sераrаted, Floаting Еmеrаld Рavilion finallу quiеted down.
Zhоu Shaojin brеаthеd а sigh оf rеlief, annоyed that the noise hаd disturbеd Old Мadаm Guо. Shе рersоnаllу rеfillеd Old Мadam Guo's tеаcuр and invited her tо stay fоr dinner.
Old Маdаm Guо, hоwеvеr, quite enjоуed thе livеlinеss of Flоating Еmеrald Pаviliоn and sаid with a smile, "Your Unсle Chi has rеturnеd. I оriginallу planned tо wеlсomе him bасk with а mеаl. Let's just hаvе dinner in thе main rоom."
Thеse dауs, аside frоm brеаkfаst, Zhou Shaojin hаd been having lunch and dinnеr with Old Madаm Guo in the mаin roоm. Нeаring this, her face flushed slightly, feeling that she had forgotten about Uncle Chi right after receiving his gift.
Old Madam Guo guessed her thoughts and said with a smile, "You and your Uncle Chi are of different generations, so it's natural for some things to slip your mind."
Zhou Shaojin's face turned even redder.
Old Madam Guo and Uncle Chi had always been lenient with her, yet she had grown too relaxed and failed to respect Uncle Chi as an elder. This was a habit she needed to correct.
Old Madam Guo chuckled and asked Zhou Shaojin about her visit to the Listening Oriole Pavilion.
Only then did Zhou Shaojin remember Cheng Yi's comments about Fifth Master Cheng Wen keeping a mistress outside. She exclaimed, "Oh!" and hurriedly told Old Madam Guo about it.
Old Madam Guo's expression turned serious.
Since Cheng Yi had flirted with Jiying, what good words could he possibly have?
At the time, Old Madam Guo hadn't asked for the specifics.
She had initially thought that Cheng Wen keeping a mistress would only affect the fifth branch and Cheng Nuo, but now it seemed the impact was far more serious than she had imagined.
After a moment of thought, Old Madam Guo asked, "Have you mentioned this to your Uncle Chi?"
Zhou Shaojin's face burned with embarrassment.
She had completely forgotten about it when she saw Uncle Chi earlier.
"No," she murmured, making excuses for herself. "Uncle Chi was busy at the time..."
Old Madam Guo knew that her youngest son, when busy, would ignore everyone, including family. Thinking Zhou Shaojin had been brushed off and felt embarrassed, she comforted her, "It's fine, it's fine. Your Uncle Chi is just like that. If you have anything to say in the future, just tell me. You did very well this time. Such matters may seem trivial to others, but a thousand-mile dike can collapse because of an ant hole." As she spoke, Old Madam Guo affectionately patted Zhou Shaojin's hand and praised, "You were able to see the root of the matter. Very good, very good!"
She repeated "very good" twice, making Zhou Shaojin feel utterly embarrassed. She could only softly urge Old Madam Guo to drink her tea.
Old Madam Guo smiled, picked up her teacup, took a sip, and sighed, "I'm afraid your Uncle Chi already knew about this. Otherwise, he wouldn't have sent Jiashan to live in Algae Garden... I even thought later that your Uncle Chi was being too strict with Jiashan. But now it seems he was absolutely right. The 'Yan' generation of the Cheng family's men need to be disciplined."
Zhou Shaojin was taken aback.
Was Uncle Chi really sending Cheng Xu to live in Algae Garden for the reason Old Madam Guo mentioned?
The thought flashed through her mind, leaving her in a state of confusion. After that, she had little recollection of what Old Madam Guo said or how she responded. It wasn't until Old Madam Guo sent a young maid to inform Cheng Chi not to go out in the evening and to stay home for dinner that she snapped back to attention.
The young maid returned and said, "Fourth Master said that since Second Cousin has invited Old Madam to stay at Floating Emerald Pavilion, dinner should be served there. He will come over to take a look."Since Zhou Shaojin moved into Floating Emerald Pavilion, Cheng Chi had not yet visited.
Since he was the one who arranged for her to stay in the main household, given his temperament, he would certainly come to check on her.
Old Madam Guo smiled and nodded, then gave the order.
Chunwan and the others immediately busied themselves.
By the time Cheng Chi arrived, the hall doors of Floating Emerald Pavilion were wide open. Tea plum trees as tall as a person were placed in the corners, the table was set, and chopsticks were laid out—everything meticulously arranged as if waiting for someone to start the meal.
Cheng Chi felt somewhat satisfied just by looking at it.
After washing his hands and having dinner, he was even more pleased.
Although the dishes were all light Hangzhou-style cuisine, the kitchen staff had prepared them with care, and the flavors were excellent.
Cheng Chi rewarded the kitchen staff.
Old Madam Guo was delighted to see this and said to Zhou Shaojin with a smile, "Your Uncle Chi hasn’t been in such high spirits for many years. It seems his recent trip went very smoothly."
Zhou Shaojin was still preoccupied with the reason why Cheng Xu had gone to Algae Garden to study, so she only managed a forced smile in response.
Old Madam Guo didn’t notice, but Cheng Chi saw it clearly.
What’s wrong with this little girl again?
When she came to the Listening Oriole Pavilion to find him, she was still cheerful and excited. How could she become upset in the blink of an eye?
Could it be that Mother said something to her?
Cheng Chi stood up calmly and walked to the veranda, saying, "These peonies are well cared for. It seems I sent the right person with these birds!"
Zhou Shaojin hurriedly followed him and said, "Does Uncle Chi like them? I have a few more in the greenhouse. I’ll have the servants send them to your room later."
"No need," Cheng Chi replied with a smile. "I’m often away from home, running around here and there. Even the best flowers wither quickly without people around."
That was true.
Otherwise, why would they say only those with leisure can raise flowers?
Flowers lose their vitality without people around.
So they need constant companionship.
But since this was the first time Cheng Chi had shown interest in something of Zhou Shaojin’s, she felt she must ensure he could enjoy it.
She smiled and said, "How about this—when you’re here, keep the flowers in your room. When you’re away, I’ll move them to my place and take care of them for you."
Cheng Chi didn’t think much of the idea.
However, Old Madam Guo, who overheard their conversation, thought it was a good idea. She stepped out of the hall and said to Cheng Chi, "You really should keep a few potted flowers in your place. With flowers in the room, the atmosphere feels different—much livelier."
Cheng Chi remained silent.
Old Madam Guo seemed to remember something, and the smile on her face gradually faded.
For a moment, the atmosphere turned somewhat chilly.
Zhou Shaojin didn’t understand why, but she didn’t want to see either Cheng Chi or Old Madam Guo upset. Pretending not to notice anything, she cheerfully said, "Uncle Chi must not like peonies. I also have a few tree orchids. They’re usually lush green, and when they bloom, they produce tiny yellow flowers dotted among the leaves—very pretty. I’ll have someone bring them over to you later."
Old Madam Guo suddenly felt grateful that she had agreed to let Zhou Shaojin stay in Cold Green Mountain House.
Although this girl wasn’t as clever and sharp as others, she was gentle, considerate, and sincere. With her unknowingly mediating between them, the tension between her and her son wasn’t as intense as before.
She encouraged Zhou Shaojin with a smile, "Then have someone bring a few tree orchids to your Uncle Chi’s place later." She added, "The tree orchid you gave me last time was lovely."
Zhou Shaojin smiled and replied, "Yes."
Cheng Chi watched, feeling irritated inside.This silly girl knows nothing at all—whatever her mother says, she just agrees. Following along blindly like this, someday she'll surely be tricked and sold off.
He couldn't be bothered to say more to them. After looking around the courtyard and seeing everything arranged as he had instructed, he turned and went back to the main hall.
Zhou Shaojin invited him to the sitting room for tea.
Cheng Chi took the opportunity to also look over the study and the small prayer room.
Noticing the incense table in the prayer room was still empty, he remarked casually, "I recall you used to worship Guanyin. Why haven’t you continued?"
Had she ever said that?
Well, everyone who went to Putuo Mountain to offer incense worshipped Guanyin, and she had indeed been to Putuo Mountain to offer incense.
Zhou Shaojin didn’t suspect anything and smiled, "Originally, my sister and I worshipped together. After she got married, I let her take it to Zhenjiang."
Cheng Chi gave a soft "hmm." His expression seemed to soften a little as he said, "That’s perfect. I have a Guanyin statue that I originally planned to give as a gift when I left the capital, but it wasn’t needed in the end. I’ll have someone bring it over later. It was blessed by the abbot of Ganquan Temple."
Zhou Shaojin was overjoyed.
These past few days, she had to wait until after breakfast to go to the prayer room and offer incense to the Bodhisattva. She felt it lacked a bit of sincerity and was also unaccustomed to it.
"Thank you, Uncle Chi!" Her smile was as bright as a flower, dazzling Cheng Chi’s eyes.
Cheng Chi instructed Qing Feng to fetch the Guanyin statue while inwardly thinking: Good thing I arranged for Cheng Jiashan to stay at Algae Garden. If he had to face Zhou Shaojin every day, he’d probably have even less focus on his studies.
Thinking of this, he called Zhou Shaojin over early the next morning and asked her, "In his previous life, did Cheng Jiashan study at Duojiage or at the Cheng family’s villa? Before the exams, did he seek guidance from any particular teacher? Or did he visit any old acquaintances or elders in the family?"
Zhou Shaojin knew none of this.
This time, Uncle Chi had arranged for Cheng Xu to study at Algae Garden—would that change the situation?
What if Cheng Xu didn’t earn the title of Jieyuan? Would his marriage arrangement with the Min family fall through?
If Cheng Xu’s marriage with the Min family fell through, would he pester her relentlessly?
Zhou Shaojin’s hairs immediately stood on end. Anxiously, she said, "How about... you let Cheng Xu return to study at Duojiage? In his previous life, he seemed to have always stayed at Duojiage."
Cheng Chi glanced at her disdainfully and said, "I’ll be leaving again in a few days, which is why I moved him to Algae Garden. And here you are, for the sake of his scholarly achievements, actually asking me to bring him back!"
Zhou Shaojin was instantly elated. "So, you sent him to Algae Garden to study because you didn’t want him to come back?"
Cheng Chi looked at Zhou Shaojin, whose eyes were curved with joy, and asked in confusion, "What else did you think it was?"
"Nothing, nothing at all," Zhou Shaojin waved her hands hurriedly, her smile growing even sweeter.
Cheng Chi gave her a sidelong glance.
Zhou Shaojin couldn’t help but inwardly wail.
Uncle Chi was perfect in every way, except for his intolerance of ambiguity and his tendency to dig to the bottom of things.
Fortunately, she had experienced many things lately and wasn’t as slow to react as she used to be.
"I’m just worried his marriage with the Min family might not work out," Zhou Shaojin felt she was quite quick-witted in critical moments.
Cheng Chi said, "The Min family wants a son-in-law who’s a Juren. As long as he passes the exam, the Min family will agree to the marriage. What are you worrying about?"
Zhou Shaojin was overjoyed.Through the open window lattice, seeing Huaishan and Qin Ziping approaching, she darted away: "Uncle Chi, you still have matters to attend to, I'll come see you later!"
Cheng Chi shook his head.
When will this little girl grow up? When will she become more steady and composed!
Watching Huaishan and Qin Ziping draw nearer, he reined in his thoughts and emotions, his expression turning stern and serious.
※
Dear readers, regarding yesterday's update... I slip away in shame...
I was truly too tired, planning to write after a nap, but when the alarm went off, I lingered in bed a bit, and by the time I opened my eyes, it was already four o'clock... The update was a bit late...
※ (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to...)
!!
OpenNovel