Sоng Мu greetеd Zhоu Shаоjin аcross a bluеstоne pаth pavеd with соin-раttеrned bricks: "Whеn did you arrive in the cарital? I hеard уоu hаvе a sistеr mаrriеd intо thе Liaо family in Zhenjiаng. Whеn will yоur nephew's full-mоnth celеbration bе hеld? Тhе Grаnd Хiаngguo Tеmрle hоlds tеmрle fаirs on thе first аnd fifteenth оf еaсh month. Havе you visited thеm, Мiss Zhоu?"
Hоw could Young Маstеr Song knоw sо muсh аbоut hеr?
Zhou Shаоjin wondеred inwаrdly, though hеr eхрrеssion rеmаinеd сomposеd as she answered еach questiоn gracеfully.
Sееing Zhou Shаojin's gentle demeanor without the slightest displeasure, Song Mu breathed a great sigh of relief, though his ears burned bright red with embarrassment. He continued, "Actually, there are many interesting places in the capital. Besides the Grand Xiangguo Temple and White Cloud Temple, Shichahai is also quite enjoyable—you can skate on ice in winter and go boating in summer. There's a place called Goldfish Lane in the southern city that specializes in selling fish and birds. Another called Fengtai sells flowers and plants—it's said even the palace sources its flowers from there. Especially in winter, they cultivate flowers that bloom in spring and summer. Every household buys several pots for the New Year, and business is so good that carriages can hardly pass through..."
These were all things Zhou Shaojin already knew.
Out of respect for Song Mu, she still sat there listening with a smile.
This not only made Song Mu feel that Zhou Shaojin was virtuous and serene, and very pleased with this marriage arrangement, but also gave him great courage and encouragement. He paused slightly and said, "Second Young Miss, I have a younger sister. Because I haven't yet been betrothed, although a suitable match has been identified for her, it hasn't been formally arranged. My mother plans to take her to offer incense at the Grand Xiangguo Temple in two or three days. I've heard Second Young Miss is quite devout in Buddhist worship. Perhaps your mother, along with my mother and sister, could visit the Grand Xiangguo Temple together. The Grand Xiangguo Temple was a royal monastery in the previous dynasty, and even the current emperor holds it in high regard. Last December, His Majesty went to offer incense there. The temple is extremely popular, and there are many small trinkets sold outside. Every time my sister and mother go, they bring back a large pile of things..."
The more Zhou Shaojin listened, the more she felt something was amiss.
Song Mu... seemed to be inviting her out on behalf of his mother... but he was such a refined gentleman. How could he do such a thing?
She looked toward Song Mu.
Song Mu's gaze was clear and upright, yet tinged with a hint of shyness and anticipation.
Zhou Shaojin's heart skipped a beat, and a bold thought suddenly surfaced in her mind.
The eldest branch of Nine Prosperities Lane had a tradition of arranging meetings before marrying off daughters... Could it be, could it be she was also encountering this?
But why hadn't her sister told her?
She looked at Song Mu's well-tailored clothes, the Shoushan stone seal carved with Buddhist motifs hanging at his waist, and the silk pouch embroidered with a pattern symbolizing continuous advancement. Suddenly she realized Song Mu was also a scion of a prominent family... while her own family was merely that of a fourth-rank prefect... So they had to meet first... otherwise, once the marriage was settled, it could never be reversed... Uncle Chi must have been afraid she would be dissatisfied... that's why he arranged it this way...
For a moment, Zhou Shaojin felt her hands and feet turn cold, and it took her a while to regain her composure.
She abruptly stood up, her movements somewhat rough, nearly knocking over the teacup on the side table.
Song Mu, who had been about to speak, didn't know what had happened and hurriedly stood up as well.
Zhou Shaojin's face was somewhat pale. She took a deep breath to steady herself, then smiled at Song Mu and said, "Young Master Song, I—I just remembered something. Please wait here for a moment. I'll be right back."Song Mu felt suspicious. Matters concerning young ladies were not something he could inquire about, so he smiled and cupped his hands in a respectful bow.
Zhou Shaojin curtsied and hurried out of the courtyard with Chunwan. Leaning against the osmanthus tree by the moon gate, she found she could not take another step.
Chunwan grew extremely anxious, whispering repeatedly, "Second Miss, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Your face is terribly pale..."
"I'm fine," Zhou Shaojin said after a long while. "I just thought of something."
Her voice was somewhat hoarse, as if she were about to cry.
Chunwan hurried forward to support her.
Only then did Zhou Shaojin's emotions slowly calm down.
The urgent matter now was to figure out what exactly was going on... And to figure that out, the letter her sister had asked her to deliver became the key... But how could she know what her sister had written in the letter?
Zhou Shaojin bit her lip and instructed Chunwan, "Go quietly and ask Lang Yue to come over. I have an urgent matter!"
Chunwan dared not delay and hurried off to find him.
Fortunately, the residence was not large, and soon Lang Yue hurried over with Chunwan.
Zhou Shaojin pleaded with him, "My sister asked me to deliver a letter to Uncle Chi, and inside was a string of prayer beads," she said, taking off the prayer beads wrapped around her wrist. "I looked at them and forgot to put them back. Could you quietly help me return them later?"
Lang Yue agreed with a smile, comforting her, "It's all right. Even if Fourth Master finds out, he won't be angry."
There were many things others couldn't do that Second Cousin could do in front of Fourth Master. Even if Fourth Master got angry after finding out she had secretly read her own sister's letter to him, Second Cousin could just joke it off and it would pass.
Zhou Shaojin nodded absentmindedly and described the appearance of the letter to Lang Yue.
Seeing how worried she looked, Lang Yue dared not delay. Carrying a tea tray, he went to the study.
Cheng Chi was speaking with Old Master Song: "...I appreciate the Chief Grand Secretary's kindness. As you said, we aren't doing this for fame or glory, so why seek such attention? If the court intends to dredge the Yellow River, giving me a few sections of river work would be proper, but managing the entire waterway—let's forget it! I have neither the patience for such troubles nor the endurance for such hardship. Your good intentions this time have backfired, sir."
Old Master Song earnestly advised him, "You can't just drift through life like this forever, can you? In this world, even if one doesn't seek to leave a name in history, one still wants to do something truly beneficial for the country and its people, right? I don't know how your family has arranged things, but seeing you like this fills me with regret. I was planning to go to Jinling myself after finishing this matter to meet the Old Madam and have a good talk about your affairs..."
Cheng Chi suddenly realized he had lifted a stone only to drop it on his own foot. Naturally, he didn't notice Lang Yue, whose eyes darted around for a while before finally landing on the letter he had casually tossed into the wastepaper basket. Seizing the moment when Cheng Chi wasn't paying attention, Lang Yue picked up the letter, glanced at it, placed it back in the basket, and then walked out with feigned composure before breaking into a run toward the moon gate.
Zhou Shaojin perked up when she saw him.
But Lang Yue, panting and flustered, returned the prayer beads to Zhou Shaojin and stammered, "Second Cousin... the letter you mentioned... it's in the wastepaper basket... still unopened... I didn't dare put the beads inside..."He had no idea what the second young mistress wanted him to do.
But asking him to take something from Fourth Master's room—he absolutely dared not.
Zhou Shaojin was stunned and said, "The letter wasn't opened? Thrown in the wastepaper basket? Impossible! Could you have seen wrong?"
Lang Yue also found it strange and said, "I don't think I saw wrong! It clearly said 'To be opened by my uncle' on it. The handwriting was delicate and elegant, clearly written by a woman. I even touched it—it was thin, crumpled into a ball... it didn't seem like anything was hidden inside..."
Could it be that the letter contained nothing at all?
Was this just an excuse arranged by her sister and Uncle Chi to send her here?
Zhou Shaojin's legs went weak. If Chunwan hadn't been quick to support her, she might have made a fool of herself.
Seeing that she didn't seem to be pretending, Lang Yue whispered, "Second young mistress, could it be that you remembered wrong... the letter Madam Liao wrote to Fourth Master wasn't like that..."
Zhou Shaojin said bitterly, "Then did you see a second letter with delicate handwriting?"
"No, I didn't," Lang Yue replied awkwardly, scratching his head.
Zhou Shaojin said, "It's fine. You can go attend to your duties now. I'll go speak with Uncle Chi myself later."
Lang Yue nodded and left, glancing back every few steps.
It took Zhou Shaojin a long time to calm down.
Chunwan said worriedly, "Are... are you all right? Did something happen?"
She knew Zhou Shaojin had never opened that letter from start to finish.
Zhou Shaojin shook her head, thought for a moment, and told Chunwan her speculation.
Upon hearing this, Chunwan was overjoyed, regretting only that she hadn't taken a closer look at Song Mu earlier: "The eldest young lady really is something. Why didn't she make it clear to you? Such a good match—could she be afraid you wouldn't be willing? If I had known earlier that the second young mistress was here to meet a prospective match, I should have dressed you up properly... Not that your current attire isn't good... Our second young mistress is naturally beautiful; even wearing old clothes, you'd stand out more than those meticulously dressed women... I mean, if properly adorned, you'd surely leave an unforgettable impression on that young master Song... Oh dear, what should we do now?" She paced anxiously. "Fourth Master's place has no female relatives here; even if we wanted to borrow something, there's nowhere to borrow from. If I rush back now to fetch some powder and jewelry, I don't know if it'll be in time..."
Despite such a joyous occasion, Zhou Shaojin couldn't bring herself to smile.
She said, "Do you think this match is a good one?"
"Of course it is!" Only then did Chunwan notice Zhou Shaojin's mood. Her smile faded slightly as she said seriously, "Is the second young mistress not satisfied? That young master Song is Madam Song's stepson, right? That means he's also the son of a cabinet minister. I don't know if he has any scholarly honors, but his background is no worse than young master Xu's... and he looks decent too. Isn't Madam Yuan determined to marry the eldest daughter of the Min family to her son? Our second young mistress is no worse than the Min family's eldest daughter; you could also marry into a cabinet minister's family as a daughter-in-law..."
Suddenly, Zhou Shaojin found Chunwan's chatter grating and interrupted her unhappily: "What does it matter to me what kind of wife Cheng Xu marries? Why should I compare myself to him?"
Chunwan quickly fell silent.
Zhou Shaojin stood under the osmanthus tree for a long time before finally saying to Chunwan, "Let's go inside. Uncle Chi asked me to help entertain young master Song; we can't just leave him there unattended."Chunwan's eyes lit up again at the words, and she eagerly replied, "Exactly, exactly. After all, Young Master Song is a guest. Leaving him there like that would be too impolite."
Zhou Shaojin neither agreed nor disagreed, walking in slowly.
Song Mu picked up the teacup and set it down again.
The teacup had long been empty, yet no one came to refill it.
Where had the Zhou family's second young lady gone? She hadn't appeared for so long—could it be that she was dissatisfied with him? But the Zhou family's second young lady clearly seemed like a well-cultivated young lady from a respectable family. Even if she were dissatisfied with him, she wouldn't simply leave him here unattended... It seemed he was more satisfied with this marriage arrangement than he had anticipated; otherwise, why would he be so anxious about gains and losses?
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Dear readers, here’s tomorrow’s update in advance.
O(∩_∩)O~
※ (To be continued ~^~)
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