Just wаnting tо tаlk tо him?
Cheng Chi соuldn't help but smilе.
He соmfоrtеd hеr, sаying, "It's fine. I'll hаve people kееp аn eуе оn thе Four Sеаsоns Раvilion. If sоmeone is frеquеntly sеen there, I'll hаve them infоrm you. Ноw's thаt?"
Zhоu Shаоjin's fаce brightеnеd, and shе nоddеd.
Chеng Chi suddеnlу felt that hеr smilе was еxceрtionally rаdiаnt, lifting his sрirits as hе watched hеr.
If hе tоld her thаt hе might tаkе hеr tо Mосhou Lаke tо watch thе dragоn bоаt raсеs during thе Drаgon Boаt Festival, she would surelу be even hаppiеr, wouldn't shе?
Тhe wоrds were on the tip of his tongue, but he managed to swallow them back.
Better to hold back first and reveal it later—telling her in a few days might bring even greater joy than now!
Because he had another piece of good news to share with Zhou Shaojin.
"Jiashan will be moving to Algae Garden tomorrow," Cheng Chi said gently. "He will definitely come in to bid farewell to my mother. Why don't you go spend the day with Cheng Jia tomorrow and return for dinner?"
If Cheng Jiashan came to bid farewell to his mother, Cheng Chi couldn't stop him, whether by reason or sentiment.
But Limestone Mountain was over thirty li from the city. Unless Cheng Jiashan postponed his move, even if he lingered, he would at most have lunch and a cup of tea at Cold Green Mountain House before setting off for Algae Garden in the afternoon.
If Cheng Jiashan dared to openly defy him, Cheng Chi had decided to send him back to the capital.
This would also be an opportunity to show Cheng Jing just how much Madam Yuan had spoiled Cheng Jiashan.
As for whether Cheng Jiashan could pass the imperial examination this year, in Cheng Chi's view, it wasn't an issue.
Sometimes, entering officialdom later wasn't necessarily worse than entering earlier. More experience in human affairs and worldly matters would only benefit Cheng Jiashan in his conduct, work, and even his official career.
Moreover, if Cheng Jiashan failed the examination this time, the second and third branches of the family would have less reason to fear him. Delaying for three years might even be better for Zhou Shaojin.
So Cheng Chi only intended to send Cheng Jiashan to Algae Garden to study. How much Cheng Jiashan learned or what results he achieved in the exams were none of Cheng Chi's concerns.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Shaojin was momentarily stunned, and then joy overflowed from the corners of her eyes and brows.
Seeing this, Cheng Chi's smile grew even brighter.
Shaojin, as long as she felt less fearful, would smile like a sunflower.
Suddenly, a sharp pain stung the corners of his eyes.
In their previous life, when Cheng Jiashan had bullied her, how had she endured it?
An image flashed through Cheng Chi's mind: a frail little girl in a thin, moon-white dress, trembling as she hid in the dark corner of a bed.
That white dress was so stark it made his heart ache.
As if guided by some unseen force, he stepped forward and gently pulled Zhou Shaojin into his embrace, whispering, "Don't be afraid. Nothing will happen. I'm here watching over you!"
Having lived two lives, aside from that incident in the garden in her previous life, she had never been in such close contact with a grown man.
Caught off guard, her body instinctively stiffened, her hands and feet turning cold.
But soon, Cheng Chi's warm, sun-like voice echoed in her ears, and the scent of sandalwood filled her nostrils.
She couldn't help but let out a long sigh, her body relaxing.
It was Uncle Chi!
It was Uncle Chi holding her!
Uncle Chi would never harm her.
Thinking this, Zhou Shaojin leaned her head against his chest.The young girl's soft body nestled compliantly against him, her jet-black hair smooth beneath his chin. With a slight lowering of his eyelids, he could see her delicate, rosy cheeks that seemed as if they might break at a touch, her long, fine lashes, and the already slightly swelling curves of her chest.
Cheng Chi flushed red.
The little girl had truly grown up; she was no longer the young child he remembered.
It was no longer appropriate to hold her like this!
Though his mind thought this, his heart was reluctant to let go just yet.
He could never hold her like this again—this was the last time. He would just hold her for a little while...
After a moment, Cheng Chi reluctantly released Zhou Shaojin.
Zhou Shaojin felt a vague sense of loss.
Uncle Chi's embrace was so warm and safe—perhaps even her mother's arms were no different?
But she would be coming of age next year, and from then on, she could no longer be so intimate with Uncle Chi.
Moreover, Uncle Chi had said he was going to marry.
Once there was a new aunt, she would have to keep even more distance from Uncle Chi.
At this thought, her eyes inexplicably grew moist, tears nearly spilling out.
Cheng Chi was taken aback, retreating a few steps in embarrassment and hurriedly saying, "Shaoji, I... I just... watched you grow up, I'm your elder..."
Zhou Shaojin quickly nodded.
Of course she knew that!
Uncle Chi treated her like family.
She took out a handkerchief and dabbed the corners of her eyes.
She didn't know why she had suddenly started crying.
She thanked him, "Uncle Chi, thank you. I'll go find Cousin Jia to play with at dawn tomorrow. If the old madam asks, just say... just say that Cousin Jia and Aunt Lu had another argument, and I was worried, so I wanted to go check on Cousin Jia. I'll say the same to the old madam. Is that alright?"
The last three words were spoken softly and sweetly, her eyes, washed by tears, clear and bright, gazing at Cheng Chi with dependence. Cheng Chi's mind went blank, and he nodded in a daze.
Only after returning to the Listening Oriole Pavilion did he come to his senses.
What a terrible excuse!
It would have been better to say something had happened with Old Madam Guan and she needed to go check early in the morning!
For him to pass on a message saying Cheng Jia and her mother had argued... was he the kind of person who paid attention to the inner courtyard?
Besides, did he have any connection with Cheng Jia or Madam Jiang? What did it matter to him if they argued to the heavens?
His mother would probably see right through it as an excuse.
Why had he listened to that little girl's nonsense and even nodded in agreement?
Cheng Chi rubbed his forehead.
To make amends, he called Nanny Shang in and said, "Arrange for someone to pass a message to Second Miss, using the fourth branch's name, saying that Madam Mian wants her to come over tomorrow and will be waiting for her to have breakfast."
Nanny Shang respectfully replied, "Yes."
After speaking, Cheng Chi thought of that silly little girl—with his arrangement, she might think something had really happened in the fourth branch. So he added unnecessarily, "Make it clear to Second Miss that it's my idea for her to go to the fourth branch tomorrow. Keep it from the old madam for now."
"Keep it from the old madam for now."
That was a euphemistic way of saying it.
It meant never tell Old Madam Guo.
Nanny Shang thought to herself, bowing respectfully before withdrawing.
Cheng Chi's mood grew inexplicably irritable, but when he tried to find the reason, it only worsened.He simply paced back and forth in the room a few times, then instructed Huaishan to bring in the account books from recent days: "Since there's nothing else to do, I'll sort through my properties. Let's see exactly how much silver I have!"
As if mocking Cheng Chi, the moment he finished speaking, the faint sound of the second watch drum drifted in from outside.
Huaishan silently withdrew.
Cheng Chi worked until the third watch of the night, re-registering several small houses he had bought for convenience in various corners and nooks. He pondered: that small house in Jinan Prefecture is by Daming Lake. He hadn't been there for years, but he remembered stepping out the door to the lake, with over twenty trees planted around. The scenery was especially beautiful in spring. Jinan isn't far from the capital—perhaps he could give that house to the little girl as part of her dowry.
But speaking of distance, the small house in Tianjin Wei seemed more suitable. However, Tianjin was as cold as the capital, and the scenery was slightly inferior.
Better to give her the house in Daxing.
But she said in her previous life she lived in a house in Daxing—she might not like it in this life. It would be better to buy property in Baoding Prefecture.
Yet as far as he recalled, he didn't own any property in Baoding.
Because he had a friend in Baoding—a former outlaw who had retired from the jianghu and now ran an inn. This friend had left him a small three-room house. Whenever Cheng Chi passed through Baoding, he would stay there.
Should he buy a small house in Baoding?
Forget it.
The climate there wasn't any better than Tianjin Wei.
Besides, Zhou Zhen wouldn't remain in his position as Baoding's prefect forever. If the little girl ended up in Baoding, unfamiliar with the place, what would she do living there?
In the south, farmland was scarce. Large contiguous plots were held by established families who had lived in Jiangnan for generations and would never sell. Even if land were sold, it was mostly because the owners had committed crimes and their property was confiscated. Such opportunities came once every few years, or even decades. The little girl might not be able to wait. It would be better to acquire property in the north—dozens, hundreds, or even several qing of land connected together would form a large estate. She could hire her own guards, becoming a local power within dozens of li, one that even officials would hesitate to provoke...
Speaking of family extermination, the Cheng family ultimately faced that fate.
Such farmland and estates clearly wouldn't be suitable.
Even if she married out, she would still have to guard against her husband's family treating her poorly.
Banknotes or silver certificates wouldn't work either!
The best option was to find a reliable person and set aside a sum of silver that would ensure her a lifetime of comfort... Who would be suitable?
Cheng Chi thought of Jiying.
She was close to the little girl, a woman herself, and highly skilled in martial arts. If anything happened to the Cheng family, she could freely enter the inner courtyard. If Shaojin ever needed anything in the future, she could handle it...
But Jiying's problem was that she wasn't married.
Once a girl married, her loyalty would shift to her husband. He would have to find a reliable husband for Jiying first.
Cheng Chi began planning this matter.
Completely forgetting about Zhou Zhen, forgetting about the Zhou family, forgetting that Zhou Shaojin was first and foremost a daughter of the Zhou family, and only then a granddaughter of the Cheng family...
He tossed and turned all night, only going to bed to rest as dawn approached.
Zhou Shaojin, however, woke up refreshed and full of energy.
Uncle Chi's excuse was indeed a hundred times more reasonable than hers.
She happily dressed and adorned herself, recited scriptures in her room for a while to calm the excitement in her heart, then went to bid farewell to Old Madam Guo.Last night when Zhou Shaojin saw Cheng Chi off, Cheng Chi had said something to her and seemed to have held her to comfort her for a few words. When she returned, her eyes were red and swollen, clearly having cried. Later, the Fourth House sent someone over to see Zhou Shaojin, after which Zhou Shaojin stayed up very late.
Old Madam Guo knew all of this.
However, she had never been the kind of person who could not tolerate the slightest speck of dust. Some things, the more you press for answers, the less likely you are to get the truth; some things, if you let them be for a while, the truth might just come to you.
She did not ask a single question.
When Zhou Shaojin came to bid her farewell, of course she did not press about what exactly had happened in the Fourth House. She only reminded Zhou Shaojin to be careful on the road, to go and return early, and to remember to tell her if there were any difficulties: "Your father and your sister are not by your side. You're just a young girl with no one to advise you. Don't keep everything bottled up inside. You know your own well-being best—don't let yourself get stifled while others remain unaware."
※
Dear brothers and sisters, here is today's extra update.
You can read the update tomorrow morning when you wake up. I'll remember to set an alarm.
O(∩_∩)O~
※ (To be continued ~^~)
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