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As sооn as Сheng Chi entеred, he sаw this joyful sсеnе.
Не соuldn't help but smilе slightlу and sаid, "Аrе yоu all rеаdy? We'rе аbout tо set off! Thеre will be manу реoрle todaу, аnd Мoсhоu Lаkе is surе tо be сrоwded. Wе'd bettеr go eаrly."
"Rеаdу, reаdу!" Zhоu Shаojin repliеd cheerfully, helрing Old Madаm Guo seсure thе gоld-inlaid jаde comb.
Old Madam Guo, beaming with smiles, was gently supported by Zhou Shaojin as she stepped out of the inner chamber. She asked Cheng Chi, "Have your Fourth Aunt and First Madam Lu arrived?"
It had been agreed yesterday that they would all go together.
Cheng Chi smiled and said, "We're just waiting for you and Shaojin." As he spoke, his eyes couldn't help but drift toward Zhou Shaojin.
Zhou Shaojin stood there with a radiant smile, her eyes curved like crescent moons, a sight that brought joy to anyone who saw her.
He couldn't resist smiling at her and supported Old Madam Guo on the other side.
Zhou Shaojin felt as if a little bird were fluttering in her heart, beating happily.
The group met outside Tingyu Pavilion, where First Madam Lu and Cheng Jia hurried over.
After exchanging greetings, First Madam Lu said apologetically, "It's all my fault—I made Jia change her clothes, which is why we're late!"
Everyone's eyes fell on Cheng Jia's crimson gold-woven Hangzhou silk vest and the red-gold hairpin adorned with ruby the size of lotus seeds in her peony bun.
Cheng Jia's face flushed bright red.
In such hot weather, although this attire was gorgeous, it felt too warm and somewhat inappropriate.
Especially after seeing Zhou Shaojin's refreshing outfit, Cheng Jia wished she could go back and change before coming.
But Old Madam Guo and Old Madam Guan had already boarded their sedan chairs, and it was too late for her to change. She could only pout and get into the sedan chair with Zhou Shaojin.
The sedan chairs moved swiftly, and they soon arrived at Mochou Lake.
The area around Mochou Lake was already bustling with pedestrians.
By the time they ascended Qingyan Tower and settled into the private room Cheng Chi had reserved on the second floor, with Biyu and others serving tea and snacks, Mochou Lake had become a sea of people, shoulder to shoulder, and the area downstairs was already quite congested.
Cheng Jia clicked her tongue and said, "It's a good thing we came early. Otherwise, the sedan chairs would surely have been stuck on the road. I wonder how Zhu Zhu and Gu Shiqigu are doing?"
"Exactly!" Zhou Shaojin walked over and leaned against the window with Cheng Jia to look down.
A young maid announced, "The young ladies of the Gu family have arrived!"
Zhou Shaojin and Cheng Jia went together to the entrance to welcome them.
The three young ladies of the Gu family all wore their hair in double spiral buns and dressed in burnt cloth vests. However, Gu Shiqigu wore a madder red vest and adorned her hair with a ginkgo flower hairpin; Gu Shibagu wore a silver-red vest and decorated her hair with pearl blossoms; and Gu Ershigu wore a moon-white vest and adorned her hair with jasper blossoms.
They also brought gifts for Zhou Shaojin, Cheng Jia, and Zhu Zhu.
Gu Shiqigu brought several travelogues, Gu Shibagu brought several boxes of pastries she had made herself, and Gu Ershigu brought several pouches she had made herself. In comparison, Gu Shiqigu's gift was the most valuable.
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but glance at Gu Shibagu and Gu Ershigu.
Gu Ershigu didn't mind at all and smiled at her openly and generously.
Zhou Shaojin took an instant liking to these two young ladies and greatly admired Gu Shiqigu. She had befriended two sisters who were both wonderful, unlike herself, who lacked discernment in judging people!Cheng Jia was overjoyed and also rather embarrassed. She began removing her jewelry to give as return gifts to the several Gu family young ladies, muttering softly, "I hadn’t thought of this beforehand…"
Gu Shiqigu quickly pressed her hand down and said with a smile, "This was just for fun since we sisters haven’t seen each other in so long. If you do this, we won’t bring anything for you next time."
Zhou Shaojin also felt somewhat embarrassed. But having often been lectured by Old Madam Guo and Uncle Chi, she was no longer as fearful as before about whether her actions might invite criticism. So she sided with Gu Shiqigu, saying, "Today we’re all out for fun. If you give away your jewelry to Miss Gu Shiqi and the others, your head will be bare, which wouldn’t look proper and would only put the Gu family young ladies in an awkward position. Since we’ll be seeing each other often from now on, just remember that you owe them this favor."
Only then did Cheng Jia relent, warmly inviting them to come row boats at her home in a few days.
Gu Shiqigu breathed a sigh of relief and agreed with a smile.
If Cheng Jia had really given them her jewelry and ended up without any ornaments, others would only think that they, as sisters, were too unaware of social propriety.
Zhou Shaojin then led the Gu family young ladies to meet Old Madam Guo, Old Madam Guan, and the others.
The three-bay private room Cheng Chi had reserved was divided by floor-length partitions and screens. The eastern side was for Old Madam Guo and the others, while the western side was for Zhou Shaojin and her companions. Cheng Chi himself was in the adjacent private room.
After coming out from the eastern side, Gu Shiqigu praised, "Whose idea was this? With the screens drawn back, it’s an open hall; with them in place, it becomes a separate room—we can talk without worrying about disturbing the elders."
Wasn’t it more about not feeling constrained by having elders overhead, so they could speak and enjoy themselves freely?
Zhou Shaojin smiled faintly, recalling how Cheng Chi had smiled at her that morning, and led the three Gu family young ladies on a tour of the private room at Qingyan Tower.
Gu Shiqigu walked around and became interested in the vendors downstairs carrying shoulder poles and calling out "wontons" and "soup dumplings." Gu Shibagu, on the other hand, was fascinated by the Suzhou embroidery hanging screens on the wall. Only Gu Ershi remained seated gracefully, sipping her tea and remarking that it was this year’s newly released pre-Qingming tea: "Top-grade Biluochun. Each leaf is exactly one fen long—if you don’t believe me, you can pour it out and see."
Cheng Jia widened her eyes and asked, "What do you mean, each one fen long?"
Gu Ershi smiled and said, "The tea leaves, of course! Only the finest Biluochun is like this!"
Cheng Jia then told Cui Huan to pour out her tea so she could check whether the leaves were indeed one fen long.
Gu Ershi stopped her with a pained expression, as if witnessing a terrible waste, saying, "At least finish your tea before pouring it out!"
Cheng Jia then gulped down the cup of tea like a cow drinking water and poured the leaves onto the tea tray to compare.
Gu Ershi was stunned but also visibly developed some fondness for Cheng Jia, chatting with her continuously afterward.
Zhou Shaojin couldn’t stop laughing.
Gu Shiqigu, however, smiled softly and thanked Zhou Shaojin in a low voice: "...This is even better than sending me pastries. Auntie specifically called me over to talk yesterday."
"That’s good!" Zhou Shaojin was happy to have been able to help Gu Shiqigu and said with a smile, "It was also a coincidence. I hadn’t expected there to be dragon boat races this year, and Uncle Chi went out to watch them, managing to reserve a private room at Qingyan Tower."
Gu Shiqigu optimistically remarked, "Perhaps my luck is turning!"
The two of them smiled quietly together.
Suddenly, a commotion broke out outside.Zhou Shaojin and Gu Shiqigu looked outside.
Banners fluttered in the wind, and splendid canopies stood prominently. With attendants clearing the way and guards leading the procession, the people from the Duke of Liang's Estate had arrived.
Cheng Jia squeezed her way over.
Gu Shibagu sighed with admiration, "How truly impressive!"
Cheng Jia curled her lips dismissively.
Zhou Shaojin pretended not to notice and said, "The people from the Duke of Liang's Estate are about to come upstairs. Should we close the window to avoid any trouble?"
Everyone agreed and partially closed the window.
Soon after, the Grand Madam of the Duke of Liang's Estate and Madam Wu arrived with Zhuzhu.
Everyone went out to pay their respects. The Grand Madam of the Duke of Liang's Estate instructed Zhuzhu with a few words like "Don’t be mischievous" and "Get along well with your sisters," then left Zhuzhu behind and went to her own private room.
Some relatives of the Zhu family had also come along to watch the dragon boat race.
Old Madam Guo told them to go and enjoy themselves: "So you don’t have to serve us old ladies!"
"Look at what you’re saying," Seventeenth Miss Gu, who was most adept at handling situations, said with a smile. "Are you afraid we’ll disturb you here?"
After a few lighthearted remarks, everyone went to the west side.
Zhuzhu immediately relaxed, exclaiming, "I’m so hot!" and began to take off the sapphire-blue gauze robe embroidered with peonies and butterflies, intending to wear only a light inner garment while drinking tea.
Zhou Shaojin and the others were startled.
Zhuzhu said dismissively, "There’s no one else here!"
Zhou Shaojin quickly replied, "The young ladies from the Guo family haven’t arrived yet!"
Zhuzhu pouted and said, "Guests follow the host’s arrangements. They have good manners and won’t say anything."
This was truly taking advantage of others’ decency!
Zhou Shaojin didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Outside, the sound of gongs and drums rang out, and someone shouted, "Quiet, quiet, folks! Our esteemed official, Lord Wu, has a few words to say to everyone."
With a swish, Zhuzhu took off her robe and, wearing only her inner garment, darted to the window.
Her two maids acted as if they hadn’t seen anything.
Everyone had no choice but to let her be and went over to watch the commotion.
On such a hot day, Lord Wu was dressed in full official attire, speaking hoarsely. As they were too far away, they couldn’t hear him clearly.
Zhuzhu immediately lost interest and said, "So this is what Prefect Wu looks like! Eldest Miss Wu somewhat resembles him. Otherwise, he probably wouldn’t have been able to marry Madam Wu."
Zhou Shaojin thought Zhuzhu made a good point and smiled sweetly.
Zhuzhu then linked arms with her and whispered, "Do you know I’m going to marry into Baoding?"
Zhou Shaojin nodded and said softly, "I heard Uncle Chi mention it."
Zhuzhu’s eyes reddened as she whispered, "I never thought my father could be so heartless, sending me far away to marry just like that. No matter how much I begged him, it was useless. I don’t even know what kind of family this Fan is. They say they’re upright and honest, but who knows if it’s just for show? There are plenty of people in this world who sell dog meat under the sign of a sheep’s head! I wonder who was so wicked to arrange this marriage for me?"
Wasn’t this indirectly criticizing Uncle Chi as well?
Zhou Shaojin felt somewhat uncomfortable and said, "Don’t keep blaming everyone else. You haven’t even married into the family or met the Fan family yet. How can you make such a hasty judgment? Besides, your father has seen more of the world than you. He sent people to investigate discreetly and even saw them himself. He wouldn’t push you into a pit of fire, would he? Try to calm down and not hold prejudices against them. If you’re really worried, send someone to investigate on your own.""That's why I came out," Zhuzhu said. "Otherwise, how could I be in the mood to watch any dragon boat races? Shaojin, isn't your father serving as the prefect in Baoding? I wanted to ask you to help me inquire for information!"
Zhou Shaojin could understand her anxious feelings and readily agreed.
Zhuzhu then told her about her plan: "...It's my wet nurse, and another is someone my mother gave me as a dowry maid since I was young. If they go, I just ask your father to help assign someone to show them the way and run errands. I'll have a generous thank-you gift prepared separately."
"Why talk about such things?" Zhou Shaojin said. "When you invited me to see the lanterns back then, why didn’t you bother with these formalities?"
Zhuzhu smiled sheepishly and said, "That was my fault. I won’t mention things like thanking you anymore."
"That’s more like it!" Zhou Shaojin laughed. Just as she was about to ask Zhuzhu in detail if there was anything else she could help with, the sound of gongs and drums erupted outside—the dragon boat race had begun.
※
Dear brothers and sisters, this is a transitional chapter. The story is about to begin... O(∩_∩)O~
Guess what happens next?
※ (The novel "Jinling Spring" will have more fresh content on the official WeChat platform, along with a 100% prize draw for everyone! Open WeChat now, click the "+" in the top right corner, select "Add Friend," search for the public account "qdread," and follow it. Hurry up and grab the chance!) (To be continued ~^~)
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