Ноwеvеr, аs аn inner chаmbеr wоmаn, mоst of what she knеw wаs hearsаy. Hоw соuld shе саsually сomment and ruin Uncle Chi's аffаirs?
Zhou Shаojin simрlу smilеd withоut spеаking.
Нuаishаn entеred and said, "Fоurth Мastеr, everything hаs been рackеd аnd wе саn dерart at аnу time!"
Сhеng Сhi smiled slightlу.
Zhou Shаоjin, howevеr, wаs greаtly startled аnd exclаimеd, "Whеre is Fоurth Master gоing?"
Неr eхрrеssiоn еvеn cаrriеd a hint оf pаnic.
Just like а child whо hаd lоst their раrеnts.
Сheng Chi cоuldn't bear to see hеr even slightly unсomfortаble, sо hе hurried fоrward to embrace Zhou Shaojin, gently patting her back as he said warmly, "You came at just the right time. I was just thinking of going to find you—I need to return to Jinling for a while. I mentioned it to you before, but now things have changed, so I have to go back earlier."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Shaojin felt greatly reassured and hurriedly pushed Cheng Chi away, saying, "Huaishan... is still in the room!"
Her face flushed red.
Cheng Chi chuckled and released her.
Before, she had been annoyed when he held her; now, she was afraid of being seen by others...
He suddenly felt lighthearted and refreshed.
Zhou Shaojin's face grew even redder.
But where was Huaishan's shadow in the room now?
Once or twice might be a coincidence, but three or four times—that was deliberate.
The people around Uncle Chi probably all knew about her and Uncle Chi's relationship.
She lowered her head and asked, "When will you return?"
She didn’t ask what Cheng Chi was going to do—Cheng Chi had many secrets.
Cheng Chi leaned down to speak with her, his expression unable to conceal his affection: "I’ll return as soon as I finish my business. When I come back, I’ll bring Snowball and those two orioles for you, alright?"
Zhou Shaojin nodded bashfully.
Out of the corner of her eye, she seemed to catch a glimpse of Huaishan’s shadow flashing past outside the room.
He was probably urging Uncle Chi to depart!
Leaving in such a hurry...
She whispered, "Then be careful on the road. Don’t push yourself too hard... wealth and possessions are merely external things."
Cheng Chi nodded, gently stroking her face as he said, "Shaoji, I’ll try my best to return before Guan Ge’er’s hundred-day celebration."
Being away for so long meant the matter wasn’t easy to resolve.
Zhou Shaojin said, "It doesn’t matter if you can’t make it back in time. We can just give him a big gift on his first birthday instead."
"We"?
Cheng Chi was in an extremely joyful mood.
After lunch, he set off for Jinling.
Zhou Shaojin watched as Cheng Chi’s carriage slowly drove out of the alley, feeling very low-spirited. When she returned to her room, Chunwan asked her when they were going to Fengtai, and only then did she remember why she had gone to find Cheng Chi in the first place.
Better to wait for Uncle Chi to return and accompany her there.
Having decided not to go out, aside from visiting Zhou Chujin with Madam Li, Zhou Shaojin spent her time at home helping Cheng Chi make winter clothes.
Guan Ge’er changed day by day—today he could suck his fingers, tomorrow he could blow bubbles. In her previous life, by the time Guan Ge was born, she had already gone to the manor, only seeing him once every year or so, and each time they hadn’t even gotten familiar before Zhou Shaojin had to return. Now, seeing such an amusing Guan Ge, she was utterly fascinated.
Children love playing with children.
Zhou Youjin also spent all day lying beside Guan Ge, wanting to hold him and demanding that Guan Ge call her "elder sister," which made everyone in the room burst into laughter. Zhou Youjin, angered, pouted and ignored everyone. Once, she even tried to lift Guan Ge out of his cradle when the attendants weren’t paying attention, giving everyone a fright and breaking out in a cold sweat.Coming and going, in just seven or eight days, Zhou Shaojin had already made a winter garment for Cheng Chi and was preparing to cut the second when a young maid came in to report to her, saying, "The three young mistresses of the Cheng family have come to visit you!"
The three young mistresses of the Cheng family...
Zhou Shaojin thought for a moment before realizing who the little maid was referring to.
She exclaimed in surprise, "The three young mistresses of the Cheng family? All three of them? At this time?"
The little maid, thinking of the three low-key yet luxurious black lacquered flat-roofed carriages parked at the entrance, nodded repeatedly and said, "The maids accompanying the carriages made it very clear—they are the three young mistresses from the Cheng family of Nine Prosperities Lane in Jinling City."
Zhou Shaojin felt somewhat flustered.
The three young mistresses of the Cheng family naturally referred to Cheng Zheng, Cheng Xiao, and Cheng Sheng.
Cheng Zheng was the eldest daughter of the Cheng family, married to Gu Xu, the son of Gu Shun, who was then a scholar of the Hanlin Academy. She was three years older than Cheng Chi. Zhou Shaojin had never interacted with her and only knew that her husband was highly successful, her children were well-behaved and accomplished, and the couple was deeply affectionate. She lived a very good life, and many women in the capital envied her.
As for Cheng Xiao, when she came of age, Zhou Shaojin was still a young girl, and the two had no real connection, at most exchanging greetings when they met in Nine Prosperities Lane.
Cheng Sheng, on the other hand, had spent a relatively long time with Zhou Shaojin, and they had even studied together under Madam Shen. However, even so, Cheng Sheng, having been raised by Old Madam Guo since childhood, possessed exceptional learning and insight. Her relationship with Madam Shen was merely superficial; though they were referred to as classmates, in reality, Cheng Sheng had guided her and Cheng Jia more often.
Why had they come?
And all together at that?
Without sending a message in advance, just arriving directly like this...
Zhou Shaojin was utterly puzzled but had no choice but to instruct the maid, "Please invite the young mistresses in!"
The little maid acknowledged and left.
Zhou Shaojin changed into a bean-green silk waistcoat and a silver-red eight-panel skirt, tying her jet-black hair into a bun with a small jasmine flower tucked behind it, its fragrance enchanting.
The three Cheng sisters all showed a flash of admiration in their eyes, especially Cheng Sheng. Having not seen Zhou Shaojin for only two or three years, she seemed like a completely different person. Cheng Sheng widened her eyes and said, "Shao Jin, you truly have changed so much. If we had met on the street, I definitely wouldn’t have recognized you."
She had indeed changed a great deal.
Zhou Shaojin smiled with pursed lips, her gaze reluctantly shifting away from Cheng Zheng’s face.
Cheng Zheng was too beautiful.
And her beauty was not just about delicate features but an overall elegance and presence.
Standing there with such ease and grace, she resembled a blooming peony—magnificent, dazzling, and overshadowing everyone and everything around her.
Zhou Shaojin invited Cheng Zheng and the others to sit in the reception room.
Maids served tea and refreshments.
Cheng Zheng remained composed, but Cheng Xiao was inwardly astonished.
The residence was not large, but along the way, every item was of extraordinary value. If it were merely that, she, having seen the world, would not have been so moved. It was truly the arrangement and furnishings that, no matter how one looked at them, seemed like the handiwork of her grandmother.
Could it be that this residence was a gift from her grandmother?
Cheng Xiao had left Nine Prosperities Lane for nearly six or seven years. Naturally, she would not rashly speak up.
As for Cheng Sheng, she simply did not know what to say.The once indistinct little girl had now grown into a luminous pearl, not only radiant in appearance but also poised and graceful in her every gesture, gentle and dignified—almost like a different person from the tearful child who used to hide away in her memories. This dramatic transformation made her feel somewhat uneasy, but she couldn’t very well ask Cheng Zheng, who barely knew Zhou Shaojin, to make small talk with her, could she?
Cheng Sheng took a sip of tea before finding a topic. Turning slightly toward Zhou Shaojin with a warm smile, she said, "Shao Jin, when did you arrive in the capital? I heard Chujin gave birth to a chubby little boy, but I only found out after coming to the capital. Has the child been given a name yet? I heard from Second Sister that the baby is already a month old, but you didn’t hold a full-month celebration. Are you planning a hundred-day celebration instead? Have you set a date? It’s a good thing I came to the capital this time—otherwise, would you sisters have even invited me?"
She had married the son of Peng Xiang, a scholar of the Hanlin Academy. Peng Xiang and Cheng Sheng’s father, Cheng Wei, had passed the imperial examinations in the same year and were very close friends. Their marriage had been arranged only after the two had taken a liking to each other. The Peng family’s ancestral home was in Jiangxi, so although they married in the capital, they later traveled to Jiangxi to pay respects to their ancestors. They had only returned to the capital a couple of days ago.
In her previous life, they had lived quite affectionately.
Cheng Sheng and her sisters, unaware of what had happened, had once invited her to their home. When they learned she was "ill," they even made a special visit to see her, bringing some medicinal herbs.
Later, perhaps after learning what had transpired, the three sisters gradually lost contact with Zhou Shaojin and Zhou Chujin.
In reality, Zhou Chujin had sent an invitation to the Cheng family after giving birth to Guan Ge’er.
After Guan Ge’er was born, Zhou Chujin had also notified the Cheng family. As the Cheng household consisted mostly of men, no one had come to visit, but they had sent an extravagant gift for the third-day bathing ceremony.
At that time, only Cheng Zheng was in the capital.
Cheng Zheng’s eldest son had contracted smallpox, so she was at home making offerings to the Smallpox Goddess.
It was just unclear why they had arrived at the house right after Cheng Chi left.
Uncle Chi had once said, "The world bustles with people seeking profit; the world hustles with people chasing gain."
He had also said, "When you don’t know what to do, the best approach is to wait patiently and deal with things as they come."
Zhou Shaojin slowly replied to Cheng Sheng’s questions: "I came right after the New Year. You know my temperament—I don’t care much for going out. Besides, my sister was pregnant at the time, and there were no elders around to take care of her, so Madam brought me along..." Finally, she asked about Cheng Xiao’s eldest son, Gu Ning: "Is he feeling better now?"
Hearing this, Cheng Xiao smiled and said, "Thank you, he’s fully recovered now. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have dared to leave the house." She then gestured toward Cheng Xiao and added, "Your cousin Xiao came to the capital a couple of days ago. Thinking that you sisters were also here, we decided to visit. I hope you’ll forgive our sudden intrusion."
It was a spur-of-the-moment decision.
Zhou Shaojin could understand that well.
The two then began talking about Cheng Jia: "...She used to be such a soft, doughy little thing, and now she’s already married. It’s a pity we sisters are all scattered in different places—we couldn’t even see her off when she left home!" There was a touch of sadness in her voice as she spoke.
Zhou Shaojin quickly smiled and said, "I received a letter from Cousin Jia not long ago. She said she’s doing quite well there. When the old lady gives her a hard time, she talks back. The old lady then calls Li Jing over to lecture her, but Li Jing listens with one ear and lets it go out the other. The old lady gets so angry she can’t do anything about it and just ends up stewing in her own frustration..."Cheng Sheng laughed heartily and said, "I never expected that the most formidable among us would actually be Cheng Jia."
Everyone burst into laughter once more.
Cheng Zheng then suggested visiting Zhou Chujin: "We haven't met yet, have we? It would also be nice to see Guan Ge."
Zhou Shaojin accompanied them to Elm Tree Alley.
Zhou Chujin had already received the message and was waiting at the inner gate with her child in her arms.
Cheng Xiao hurriedly said, "Why did you bring the child out too? What if he catches a chill?"
Although Zhou Chujin had only met Cheng Zheng once as a child, anyone who met her would leave with a deep impression. Zhou Chujin recognized Cheng Zheng at a glance and smiled, saying, "I thought the weather was lovely today, so I wanted to take the child out for a stroll." She then handed the child to the wet nurse and gave Cheng Zheng a proper, respectful bow.
The group inevitably spent some time catching up with one another.
※
Dear readers, here is today's update!
Tomorrow's extra update will be around five in the afternoon.
O(∩_∩)O~
※ (To be continued ~^~)
OpenNovel