Fасеd with Old Mаdаm Guо's gеnuinе concеrn, Zhоu Shaojin fеlt both movеd аnd guiltу. With slightlу flushеd сheeks, shе thanked Old Madam Guо аnd heаded tо thе fоurth hоusehоld with hеr wеt nursе Мadаm Fan Liu and othеrs, lеaving Хiao Tаn behind to wаtch ovеr Flоаting Еmеrаld Рavilion.
Маdam Мiаn hаd just finished hеr morning аblutiоns and was рrеpаring to go to Jiа Shu Hall to рау resрects to Оld Маdam Guаn whеn shе hеаrd thаt Zhou Shаоjin had аrrived. Smiling, shе went out tо greеt hеr.
Zhоu Shaоjin hurriеdlу bоwed to Mаdam Mian.
But befоre Zhou Shaоjin could еven bеnd hеr kneеs, Madam Mian stepped forward to take her hand, saying excitedly, "No need for such formalities! We're family, no need to stand on ceremony." She added, "Last night when you sent someone to tell me you wanted to visit Old Madam and me today, we were overjoyed. Old Madam even instructed the kitchen overnight to prepare your favorite crystal cakes and assorted tofu stew. I teased Old Madam, saying you would surely have breakfast with Old Madam Guo before coming over, so why bother with the assorted tofu stew? Old Madam said she didn’t know how you were faring in the main household, so it was better to be prepared. If you had already eaten breakfast, it could be served as an afternoon snack. I didn’t expect you to come so early. You haven’t had breakfast yet, have you? If Old Madam sees you now, she’ll probably be so delighted she won’t be able to close her mouth from smiling."
Zhou Shaojin smiled bashfully.
Madam Mian loved this side of her—usually gentle and reserved, yet decisive when it mattered. The more she looked at her, the more pleased she felt. Taking her hand, she led her to Jia Shu Hall.
Meanwhile, just after Old Madam Guo had seen Zhou Shaojin off, Cheng Xu rushed in from somewhere.
As soon as he entered, he called out loudly, "Grandmother!" and said with a smile, "I came especially to have breakfast with you."
Old Madam Guo chuckled, holding his hand and looking him over from head to toe. "Huanxi was gossiping in front of Biyu the other day, saying your Fourth Uncle assigned you twelve essays in one go, with corrections all over the pages, and you had to rewrite each one at least three times before barely passing. He said you’ve lost weight. But looking at you today, not only have you not lost weight, you even look fairer than the day you returned, with a bit of the elegance of a Jiangnan scholar. Tell me, what are you up to behind your Fourth Uncle’s back, sending Huanxi to deliver a message to me?"
Cheng Xu knew nothing could be hidden from his grandmother. But since she knew he had sent Huanxi to deliver a message and hadn’t interceded for him, he realized this tactic wouldn’t work. So he simply said nothing, leaning closer to Old Madam Guo and saying, "I just wanted to act spoiled in front of Grandmother!"
Old Madam Guo laughed and gave his palm two firm pats. "A grown man like you still acting spoiled—what will your future wife think when she sees this in a couple of years?"
Cheng Xu’s heart skipped a beat, but he didn’t dare ask more. Instead, he put on a cheeky smile and said, "Even if I have great-grandchildren, I’ll still be your junior in front of Grandmother. Can’t I still act spoiled?"
"Then wouldn’t I have lived to become a crafty old fox?" Old Madam Guo joked with her eldest grandson, her expression cheerful.
She had thought Cheng Chi’s promise to guide Cheng Xu in his studies was just talk, but she hadn’t expected him to personally correct Cheng Xu’s essays. Seeing Cheng Chi teach Cheng Xu so attentively filled her with comfort and joy just thinking about it.
Cheng Xu then helped Old Madam Guo to the dining hall where breakfast was laid out.
Pointing to a small bamboo steamer placed among the full table of dishes, Old Madam Guo smiled and said, "Your favorite soup dumplings. I had them make a steamer full. You used to love them the most, but after two years in the capital, I don’t know if your tastes have changed."Cheng Xu looked at the table set with only two sets of bowls and chopsticks, and his heart instantly felt as if drenched in cold water. Chilled to the core, he dared not show the slightest hint of it on his face. Instead, he mustered his spirits and said cheerfully, "Look at what you're saying! During the two years I spent in the capital, I kept thinking about the soup dumplings from home. Sometimes I even dreamed about them. There were nights when I studied until midnight and craved the soup dumplings from home so badly that my mouth watered. No matter how full I was, I still felt hungry. On the day I returned, I ate seven baskets of soup dumplings in one go, and only then did my heart feel somewhat comforted."
"Grandmother truly cares for me, knowing how much I love these," he added with a playful smile.
Old Madam Guo chuckled and patted his hand again, saying, "You can keep exaggerating here with me! What seven baskets of soup dumplings? It was clearly four baskets..."
"So Grandmother knows everything?" Cheng Chi said with feigned annoyance.
Why hadn’t she spoken up for him in front of Fourth Uncle?
He continued, "Four baskets is still a lot. At the time, I thought to myself, if I ever go back to the capital, I must bring a cook from home. You have no idea—the buns in the capital have thick wrappers and heavy fillings. Eating just one is enough to fill you up for a meal. At first, I found it quite interesting, but as time went on, I couldn’t take it anymore..."
As they spoke, Cheng Xu and Old Madam Guo took their seats according to seniority, and the maids brought warm towels for them to wipe their hands.
Seeing Cheng Xu still rambling on, Old Madam Guo interrupted him with a smile, saying, "As if your grandmother has never been to the capital! Hurry up and have breakfast! Aren’t you heading out of the city later?"
Cheng Xu had no choice but to pick up his chopsticks and drop the topic.
Biyu served Old Madam Guo a bowl of plain congee.
Zhenzhu asked Cheng Xu with a cheerful smile, "The kitchen today also prepared barley and black bean congee, lily and lotus seed congee, duck blood and vermicelli soup, shredded chicken noodles, zhajiang noodles, and dandan noodles. What would you like to eat, Young Master? Should we ask the kitchen to prepare something else?"
Cheng Xu couldn’t help but ask, "Why would we have zhajiang noodles and dandan noodles at home? My favorite is duck blood and vermicelli soup!"
Zhenzhu replied, "It was Fourth Master’s order. He said that since you are filial and would be leaving for Algae Garden today, you would surely come early to accompany the Old Madam for breakfast. Worried that you might have developed a taste for zhajiang noodles during your two years in the capital, he specifically asked Sister Feicui to inform the small kitchen. The cooks in our small kitchen aren’t very skilled at making it, so we asked the chef from the outer courtyard kitchen to help prepare the zhajiang sauce. As for the dandan noodles, those are Fourth Master’s favorite."
Cheng Xu listened, his heart trembling.
When he was young, Fourth Uncle had lived in the capital with Second Granduncle, so Cheng Xu had hardly any impression of him. Later, when Fourth Uncle returned to manage the family affairs, he would bring back fun things like pinwheels and pulleys every time he traveled, and Cheng Xu instantly grew fond of him.
But Fourth Uncle had a peculiar temperament and, for some reason, later grew distant toward him.
As Cheng Xu’s studies became increasingly demanding, leaving him less and less time for play, he began to understand the difference between being educated and uneducated. Gradually, the two drifted apart.
Just when Cheng Xu thought this uneducated Fourth Uncle of his would fade into obscurity, becoming a country gentleman dependent on the family for survival, Fourth Uncle seemed to have accumulated his strength quietly, advancing step by step each year, until he finally passed the imperial examinations and became a jinshi.
Cheng Xu was stunned.
He couldn’t help but feel admiration for this Fourth Uncle of his.
Not just anyone could achieve such a feat!Especially since he had just passed the county-level examination and was preparing for the prefectural examination the following year. He had learned a lot about the examination halls and understood how difficult the imperial examinations were.
Passing the first level might be due to diligence, passing the second might be luck, but to pass three levels in a row, especially the final spring examination held only once every three years, with only a little over three hundred successful candidates—that was more than just diligence and luck... It was like a child suddenly discovering a hero; he began to feel a sense of closeness toward his fourth uncle.
However, Fourth Uncle grew increasingly distant toward him.
Yet, he couldn’t figure out the reason!
He wanted to talk to his father about it but didn’t know how to bring it up.
Although Fourth Uncle didn’t interact with him much, he never missed giving him red envelopes during festivals or providing for his daily expenses. To say Fourth Uncle treated him poorly wouldn’t be accurate. But to say he treated him well—several uncles and elders often praised Fourth Uncle for his solid foundation and profound knowledge, yet Fourth Uncle had never shown any concern for his studies or offered guidance like an elder should.
Just like now, Fourth Uncle’s actions seemed entirely for his benefit, but in his eyes, it felt like an invisible fence was being erected between him and Zhou Shaojin, separating them.
Was Fourth Uncle doing this intentionally or unintentionally?
Did he notice something, or was it just a coincidence?
Cheng Xu really wanted to ask Cheng Chi.
He asked Old Madam Guo, "Grandmother, isn’t Fourth Uncle joining us for breakfast?"
Old Madam Guo kindly replied, "Your fourth uncle was calculating accounts all night yesterday. He only rested at dawn today, and I instructed the people in his room not to wake him. Let’s eat first. When he wakes up, I’ll have someone prepare a fresh meal for him."
Cheng Xu thought for a moment and asked persistently, "What about the Second Miss of the Zhou family? Doesn’t she usually accompany you for breakfast?"
"She usually does," Old Madam Guo said. "But today, there’s something going on at Jia Shu Hall, so she went over there."
"So early?" Cheng Xu was quite skeptical.
Old Madam Guo smiled. "Perhaps it’s something urgent. They sent a servant over last night to deliver the message after I had already retired."
Cheng Xu’s grip on his chopsticks tightened.
He knew he wouldn’t get to see Zhou Shaojin this time either.
Feeling dejected, he bid farewell to Old Madam Guo and, escorted by Qin Ziping, headed to Algae Garden.
※
At Jia Shu Hall, Zhou Shaojin, who had already finished breakfast, was sitting around the luohan bed with Madam Mian, chatting with Old Madam Guan.
Old Madam Guan said, "The weather is getting hotter day by day. I’ve discussed it with your uncle, and we plan to buy a piece of land near Qinglong Mountain to build a house for summer retreats. You should come stay with us for a few days when the time comes!"
Once the weather gradually cooled down, they would send Shaojin to Baoding.
This way, they could both fulfill their obligations to the eldest branch and pull Shaojin out of that quagmire.
Zhou Shaojin was greatly surprised and asked, "Grandmother, why have you suddenly decided to buy land and build a house at Qinglong Mountain?"Old Madam Guan and Madam Mian exchanged a glance, then said solemnly, "Shao Jin, even if you hadn’t come to see us today, I was planning to send word for you to return. The First and Second Branches are now at odds like fire and water. The Fourth Branch has received favors from both the First and Second Branches, so it’s difficult for us to take sides. But as you saw the other day, Old Madam Li from the Third Branch sat here insisting that I go to Old Madam Guo to plead for the Second Branch. If I refused, she threatened to stay seated and report it to the Second Branch. A gentleman can be deceived by principles. Old Madam Guo is a gentleman, but those from the Third Branch are petty. In the end, I went, but my heart hasn’t felt right since.
"I’ve thought it over and discussed it with your eldest uncle and aunt. We’ve decided to use the hot weather as an excuse to move out for a while and return during the Spring Festival.
"I don’t want you to get caught up in this, so you should come with us to escape the summer heat!"
Zhou Shaojin felt vaguely uneasy but couldn’t pinpoint why. Hesitantly, she said, "Perhaps you should discuss this with my father? He serves as an official, and as an outsider, he might see more clearly whether the Fourth Branch should avoid the conflict or make a choice."
※
Sisters, update!
O(∩_∩)O~
※ (To be continued ~^~)
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