Тhе next dау, Сhеng Сhi came tо visit Мadam Li.
Мadam Li wаs quitе surрrisеd. Аftеr seeing Сheng Chi off, she said to thе Zhоu sisters, "I trulу nevеr ехрeсtеd tо еnсountеr Fourth Mastеr Сheng hеre. He is аlso heаding to the сарitаl. Wе саn travel tоgеther. Не frеquentlу travеls bеtween thе сaрital and Jinling, so wе can loоk оut fоr eаch other оn thе rоad."
Zhоu Сhujin hаd оnlу а supеrfiсial imрressiоn of this Unclе Chi, sо nаturаlly, shе fеlt indiffеrеnt.
Zhou Shaojin, hоwever, felt secrеtly delighted. Тhat evеning, she аskеd Nannу Shang to inquire about Xiao Zhenhai: "Is he really no longer opposing Uncle Chi?"
Nanny Shang had been present during the previous day's events. Since Fourth Master had said he would speak with Second Miss about the Seven Stars Hall when he had time, she thought there was no need to hide certain matters from her.
She smiled and said, "The entire Xiao family has surrendered. Only he escaped with a few Xiao family elders. Fourth Master's temperament is well-known throughout the jianghu. If you have the backbone, you should stick to your path to the end. If you die, Fourth Master will naturally erect a monument and build a tomb for you. But if you switch sides midway and then betray from within, there will be no good outcome."
Zhou Shaojin asked curiously, "What does 'no good outcome' mean?"
Nanny Shang naturally wouldn't tell her the truth.
If she spoke the truth, a young lady raised in the inner chambers like her would likely be frightened and avoid Fourth Master from then on.
She smiled and said, "It means being severely punished, to make an example of them, like killing a chicken to scare the monkeys."
Zhou Shaojin nodded, indicating she understood.
Nanny Shang continued with a smile, "So, Xiao Zhenhai probably won't stir up any trouble. You know, people in the jianghu value face above all. If you lose face, how can you survive in the jianghu?"
Besides, with the entire Xiao family as his guarantor, he wouldn't dare betray Fourth Master.
Zhou Shaojin was still somewhat worried and hesitated, "Will anyone cause trouble for Fourth Master in the future?"
Nanny Shang smiled and said, "Fourth Master has long been preparing to step back. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gradually let go of the people serving him over the past few years. Do you remember Minghe? Her martial skills were also excellent. She grew up in the Qin family and learned the Qin family's internal sect boxing. Fourth Master married her off to Seventh Master Shen early on. Otherwise, why would Fourth Master have no one around him? Fourth Master started dealing with these northern jianghu families with these two families. We used to operate mainly in the south." As she spoke, her eyes showed confusion. "I don't know why Fourth Master suddenly changed his mind. He was previously choosing where to retire in seclusion."
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but shrink her shoulders.
If she hadn't said that the Cheng family would be raided, Uncle Chi would likely have lived a carefree, leisurely life like in her previous life. But now, because of her words, he had to deal with fierce people like Xiao Zhenhai... She felt both fearful and happy. Fearful because Cheng Chi had made such a significant change and sacrifice due to her words; happy because Cheng Chi trusted her so much.
She stopped inquiring about Cheng Chi's affairs. Along the way, she chattered happily with her sister and played with Zhou Youjin. It felt like they arrived in the capital in no time.
Since both the Liao family's residence and the Cheng family's residence were in the western part of the city, they entered through the Xizhi Gate.
A steward had already gone ahead into the city to deliver the message.
Liao Shaotang was waiting for them at a teahouse not far from the Xizhi Gate.
Seeing Cheng Chi traveling with them, he hurried forward to pay his respects, addressing him as "Uncle."
Cheng Chi merely nodded at Liao Shaotang and said, "My residence is in Yuqian Hutong. It's not far from yours. If you encounter any difficulties, you can come to me!"Liao Shaotang respectfully acknowledged with a "yes."
Cheng Chi then parted ways with Zhou Shaojin and the others at Xizhimen Gate, entering the city first.
From inside the carriage, Zhou Shaojin secretly watched Cheng Chi leave before turning her gaze to the white marble water-patterned stone carving in the barbican.
She had truly arrived in the capital!
The capital where she had lived for nearly a dozen years!
She wanted to visit Dazhao Temple, go to Daxing, and see the courtyard she had once rented...
Zhou Shaojin lowered the curtain, her eyes slightly moist.
In her past life, she had suffered so much. But in this life, she had met Uncle Chi, and it was so sweet.
Ignoring Liao Shaotang's objections, Zhou Shaojin squeezed into the same carriage with Madam Li and Zhou Youjin, allowing her sister and brother-in-law some private time to talk.
The residence Madam Liao had bought for Liao Shaotang and Zhou Chujin was located in Yushu Hutong. It was a two-courtyard house with over a dozen rooms, perfectly suitable for Zhou Chujin and her husband. However, with Madam Li and Zhou Shaojin now staying, it felt a bit cramped. Fortunately, there were only five or six proper masters, and the servants could squeeze in, making the small residence feel lively.
Madam Li and Zhou Youjin were settled in the east wing.
Zhou Shaojin was accommodated in the rear annex.
The woman who led them to the wing was a medium-built, fair-skinned, plump, and neatly dressed capital native. Her husband’s surname was Yang, their son Yang Xiaojiu served as Liao Shaotang’s page, her husband Yang Sanlang worked as Liao Shaotang’s coachman, and she was responsible for guarding the inner gate and running errands for the inner household.
Speaking with a strong Beijing accent, within moments of meeting, she poured out her background like beans from a bamboo tube. Smiling at Zhou Shaojin, she said, "Since this is your first time here, Second Miss, you can ask me anything. I’m a native of the capital." She was exceptionally warm and welcoming.
Zhou Shaojin smiled and nodded without saying much, then inspected her living quarters.
The floor was paved with bluestone bricks, and a heated kang was installed. Worried she might not be accustomed to it, a small lacquered bed had been placed opposite the large kang by the window, delicate and charming.
Her brother-in-law was just as considerate and thoughtful as in her past life, attending to every detail.
She instructed Madam Fan Liu to reward Mama Yang and had Wanchun tidy the room while she lay down on the kang for a short rest.
Just as she was drifting off to sleep, Zhou Chujin, with her large belly, came over.
Zhou Shaojin hurriedly helped her sister sit on the kang and chided her affectionately, "Sister, you could have called me over if you needed anything. Why did you come yourself?"
Zhou Chujin’s expression was serious, making Zhou Shaojin’s heart race. Moreover, Zhou Chujin dismissed the servants in the room and said to Zhou Shaojin, "Sit down. I have something to tell you!"
Could it be that the incident at the courier station had been exposed?
Zhou Shaojin sat uneasily beside her sister.
Zhou Chujin whispered in her ear, "Your brother-in-law just told me that Cheng Lu had his scholar title revoked by the education commissioner due to misconduct and was permanently barred from official service. He also sold off all his family property to bribe the education commissioner’s brother-in-law and now has nowhere to live. He abandoned his mother in a nunnery and disappeared without a trace. The Cheng family might disown him..."
Zhou Shaojin was shocked, unable to hide her astonishment, and urgently asked, "Sister, what exactly happened? Cheng Lu... how could he abandon his mother in a nunnery and run away? Wasn’t he always the most filial to his mother? And what about bribing the education commissioner’s brother-in-law? If he bribed him, why was his title still revoked?""Keep your voice down!" Zhou Chujin quickly glanced around, confirming once more that no one was nearby, then whispered, "They say Cheng Lu found out someone was going to strip him of his xiucai degree, so he had Madam Dong feign illness and took leave from Yuelu Academy to return to Jinling. After several failed attempts to pull strings, he decided to take drastic measures. He managed to get acquainted with the Provincial Education Commissioner's brother-in-law, planning to bribe the commissioner through him. Who knew that the brother-in-law turned out to be a bottomless pit? Cheng Lu had to repeatedly sell off his family's assets until everything was gone and he could no longer come up with any silver. Only then did the brother-in-law finally relent and agree to help him. But in the end, Cheng Lu still lost his degree.
"Cheng Lu refused to accept it. He went to confront the Provincial Education Commissioner. To his surprise, the commissioner flew into a rage upon hearing this. He claimed he didn’t even have a brother-in-law and told Cheng Lu that if he wanted to ruin his reputation, he should at least come up with a plausible excuse. Then he had Cheng Lu thrown out and added 'moral misconduct' to the reasons for Cheng Lu’s dismissal, reporting it to the Ministry of Rites and ensuring Cheng Lu would never be employed again.
"Cheng Lu was dumbstruck. He stumbled out of the Provincial Administration Office and, upon inquiring, found out that the commissioner truly had no brother-in-law.
"Cheng Lu refused to give up and eventually managed to uncover the truth. What brother-in-law of the commissioner? He had been swindled!
"When the Cheng family heard about it, they decided to disown him.
"He fled overnight as soon as he learned of this.
"Madam Dong searched for him for days but couldn’t find him. Instead, she was met by people coming to repossess the house.
"It turned out Cheng Lu had secretly mortgaged the house to someone else without telling Madam Dong. The creditors had previously held back out of respect for Nine Prosperities Lane. But now that Nine Prosperities Lane was disowning Cheng Lu, they naturally had no more reservations.
"Madam Dong had no choice but to beg our grandmother for help.
"The deed was clear as day—unless our grandmother paid to redeem the house for her, what else could be done?
"Madam Dong wailed and made a scene, hoping our grandmother would take her in.
"Our grandmother pushed her off to the Fifth Branch.
"Aunt Wen had long resented her for transferring her assets to the Fourth Branch, so when the opportunity arose, how could she resist stepping on Madam Dong? It would have been no fun otherwise.
"Aunt Wen not only refused to take her in but sent Madam Dong to a nunnery instead.
"You should know, nunneries don’t take people in for free.
"Madam Dong now gets up before dawn every day, sweeping the nunnery with the other residents and helping with gardening and watering. Having been used to being the lady of the house, she’s nowhere near as quick as those accustomed to such work. She often ends up eating only after everyone else has finished their lunch. And since the nunnery follows the practice of not eating after noon, she often goes hungry, waking up in the middle of the night to drink cold water. In just a few days, Madam Dong has become utterly haggard… Now everyone in Jinling is talking about Cheng Lu’s unfilial behavior!"
"Truly, the wicked are tormented by the wicked!" Zhou Shaojin clasped her hands together excitedly. "This is Cheng Lu’s retribution!"
Zhou Chujin hesitated for a moment upon hearing this, then lowered her voice and said, "Shaoji, do you think… this might be Uncle Chi’s doing?"
Zhou Shaojin was taken aback.
Zhou Chujin weighed her words carefully. "Look, Cheng Lu isn’t the careless type. They say he even spoke with the Provincial Education Commissioner a few times before bribing the so-called brother-in-law. And people at the Provincial Administration Office would nod and exchange greetings whenever they saw the brother-in-law. Otherwise, Cheng Lu wouldn’t have fallen for the scam! I can’t help but feel this is all too coincidental, not as simple as it seems."Zhou Shaojin instinctively asked, "Then what did brother-in-law say?"
Zhou Chujin glared at her and said, "How could I possibly discuss such matters with your brother-in-law? He only expressed regret over Cheng Lu, that he would do such a thing, unable to withstand even a little turbulence, and being from the Cheng family, so he told me about it."
Zhou Shaojin smiled awkwardly.
She was still like in her previous life, always looking to Liao Shaotang for his opinion whenever something happened.
But she had forgotten that this life was completely different from the previous one.
She sought Zhou Chujin's opinion: "Should I go ask Uncle Chi?"
※
Dear brothers and sisters, here is yesterday's update.
O(∩_∩)O~
※ (To be continued ~^~)
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