Thе оnе sреаking wаs preсisеlу thаt misсhievous-loоking уoung girl.
Chеng Zheng and thе оthеrs аll lаughеd.
Seeing this, thе young girl cheerfully rаn оver, linkеd arms with Сhеng Zhеng, аnd sweеtlу саllеd out "Sistеr Zheng." She then grееted Сheng Xiaо and Chеng Sheng befоrе wаving tо hеr соmpaniоn, sаying, "Sistеr Jiа, thеse аre thе sistеrs from the Сhеng familу of Nine Prоsperities Lаnе in Jinling!"
Тhe уoung woman's fасе flushed sо dеерlу it sеemеd аs if it cоuld drip blоod, and hеr eхрrеssion turnеd sоmеwhаt bashful.
How сould such an outgoing уoung woman suddеnly beсomе sо shy?
Zhоu Shaojin inwardly felt a sense of foreboding.
Sure enough, the young woman stepped forward and respectfully performed a curtsy to them, then stood to the side with her head slightly lowered.
The mischievous-looking young girl pursed her lips and smiled, saying, "Sister Jia is the eldest daughter of the Min family from Fujian! Her own elder brother is the previous imperial examination's top scholar, Lord Min."
Everyone showed expressions of sudden understanding.
Zhou Shaojin frowned slightly.
The eldest daughter of the Min family from Fujian—wasn't she the one who was to marry Cheng Xu?
What kind of day was this?
Even coming out to stroll through the flower market, she would run into Cheng Xu's fiancée!
In her previous life, she had never met the eldest daughter of the Min family. She hadn't expected to encounter her so soon in this life.
She hoped they would have as little contact as possible in the future.
But how had the eldest daughter of the Min family become so familiar with the young lady of the Fang family?
Cheng Zheng introduced Zhou Shaojin to the two young ladies and then introduced the two young girls to her: "This is the sixth young lady of the Fang family, her given name is Xuan. This is the eldest daughter of the Min family..."
Fang Xuan smiled and said, "Sister Min's given name is 'Jia.' Both of us have names with the 'grass' radical."
Cheng Zheng and the others all laughed.
Zhou Shaojin also curved the corners of her mouth, though the smile didn't reach her eyes. Fortunately, she appeared to be a gentle and docile young girl. Moreover, Min Jia's attention was focused on the three Cheng sisters, and the three Cheng sisters were also paying attention to Min Jia, so no one noticed her.
Cheng Xiao then asked Fang Xuan with a smile, "Why did you also choose today to visit the flower market? Didn't your uncle keep you busy practicing calligraphy?"
Her tone was very familiar.
It was clear that the Yuan and Fang families were quite close.
Fang Xuan sighed, "Sister Xiao, you really know how to bring up sore subjects! How could my father possibly let me out? It's because Sister Jia came from Fujian, and my mother asked me to accompany her around. Only then did my father give his permission, and I get to copy five hundred fewer characters each day." As she spoke, she walked over and hugged Gu Ning and Gu Zhong, who were politely following behind Cheng Zheng, and said with a laugh, "Sister Zheng, why did you all come to the flower market today? Eldest Young Master, Second Young Master, it's been a while since we last saw you. Have you missed me?"
Gu Ning and Gu Zhong both showed adorable smiles, calling Fang Xuan "Auntie." Gu Zhong even asked, "Why haven't you come to visit us for so long?"
Fang Xuan's face flushed red. She hesitated for a moment before smiling and saying, "Next time Auntie visits you, I'll bring you spun sugar and mulberry water!"
Only then did the two of them nod happily with smiles.
Cheng Sheng, standing nearby, chuckled and whispered to Zhou Shaojin, "She's my second uncle's daughter, ranked sixth among the cousins, but actually she's my second uncle's only child, born when he was over forty. She's doted on excessively, quite lively, speaks very directly, but has a very good heart."
This carried a hint of meaning that if Fang Xuan said anything inappropriate, Zhou Shaojin shouldn't take it to heart.They were merely chance acquaintances, so Zhou Shaojin wasn’t truly angry with her.
She smiled at Cheng Sheng.
Cheng Sheng suddenly sighed and said, “Shao Jin, you really are so beautiful. And your temperament is so gentle—you ought to change that a bit. Otherwise, when you marry into another family, you’ll be easily controlled by your mother-in-law and sisters-in-law…”
In the past, Cheng Sheng had also advised her not to endure and yield in everything. At the time, Shaojin had thought Cheng Sheng was a pampered daughter of privilege, speaking without understanding the hardships… But now, looking back, her words made a lot of sense and were spoken from the heart.
Zhou Shaojin felt a pang of remorse.
Seeing that everyone was familiar with one another, Madam Wang breathed a sigh of relief and eagerly invited everyone to the pavilion outside the greenhouse for tea: “…Young ladies and madams can also take a look at our flower garden.”
Cheng Zheng smiled and agreed, “That sounds good.” The others naturally followed her lead and had no objections. Only Zhou Shaojin said with a smile, “I’d like to see the other flowers they have here. Sisters, please go ahead first. I’ll join you in a moment.”
Since they had encountered her future sister-in-law here, the three Cheng sisters were likely very interested in Min Jia. Rather than sitting idly by as an observer, Shaojin thought it better to take a closer look at what flowers the Wang family had for sale. She had come to Fengtai with high hopes, wanting to find a few good potted plants to take back.
Uncle Chi had said that if possible, he would try to return in time to spend the Dragon Boat Festival with her.
By then, it would already be quite hot.
If she could cultivate a few trees, it might help keep things cooler.
She wondered if Uncle Chi had stored any ice?
Or perhaps she could persuade Uncle Chi to move to the residence near Chaoyang Gate?
Since they could keep several horses there, it must be quite spacious.
Lost in her thoughts, Zhou Shaojin saw off Cheng Zheng and the others, then walked around the Wang family’s greenhouse.
The Wang family’s daughter accompanied her, occasionally introducing the flowers and plants in the greenhouse: “…These are tea plum blossoms… These are wintersweet branches. They’ve just finished blooming and are being pruned… These are peonies, bicolored ones cultivated by my grandfather. And these pots here are Clivia—not particularly rare varieties, but they sell very well. Everyone who visits our place takes a pot home… This row is all Jianlan orchids, sent over from Fujian.” She paused here and added, “That Miss Fang came to buy Jianlan orchids.”
Min Jia was from Fujian, so it made perfect sense that Fang Xuan wanted to buy Jianlan orchids.
Shaojin smiled and nodded, carefully examining the Wang family’s Clivia.
The leaves were lush and full, and the buds were just beginning to bloom, already showing hints of color.
Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, “It really would be best to take a pot home.”
Miss Wang smiled but seemed hesitant.
Zhou Shaojin was never one to pry, so she pretended not to notice and lowered her head to carefully select seven or eight pots of Clivia.
In the end, Miss Wang couldn’t hold back and said with a smile, “So the young lady brought by the Fang family’s sixth miss is the Min family’s eldest daughter! I once went to see her brother when he paraded through the streets in celebration, but I was too far away to get a clear look. Since the Min family’s eldest daughter is so beautiful, the Min family’s top scholar must be quite handsome too.” She seemed very interested, much like those ladies and madams who fawn over opera stars at the theater.
Zhou Shaojin laughed and said, “I haven’t seen him either. I wouldn’t know.”
Miss Wang blushed and quickly called a servant woman to move the pots of Clivia Shaojin had chosen to the side, to be loaded onto her carriage later.Zhou Shaojin selected a few more pots of plum blossoms, camellias, and kumquat plants, then asked if there were any flowering trees like Western Mansion crabapple.
Miss Wang led her to another greenhouse.
After spending half a day, Zhou Shaojin finally toured the entire Wang family nursery. She noticed that the Wangs cultivated flowers better than trees. Without forcing herself, she simply looked around and decided to visit other flower farmers next time—since Fengtai sold flowers, each household had their own specialties.
On her way back, she encountered Cheng Zheng.
Cheng Zheng was admiring flowers with her two sons, explaining as they walked: "...Do you see that peach-colored flower? That's an aster, and the bright red one over there is called a strawflower. Can you spot the differences?"
Gu Ning examined them carefully. Gu Zhong grinned and asked, "Mother, don’t chrysanthemums bloom in the ninth month? Why are these flowering now? Is it because of the greenhouse?"
"No," Cheng Zheng patiently explained. "These two types bloom in this season. They’re quite common flowers. The more expensive ones are raised in greenhouses. As for why they bloom now, Mother doesn’t know either. When we return home, you can ask our gardener, alright?"
Both boys nodded in unison.
Gu Ning said, "Mother, I understand. The aster’s petals are fully open, while the strawflower’s petals always curl around the stamens..."
Cheng Zheng encouragingly patted Gu Ning’s head.
Zhou Shaojin felt her heart soften.
Other boys she had seen at this age were often unruly and chaotic, but the Gu family’s two children were remarkably self-disciplined. Cheng Zheng had truly raised them well!
It seemed the talk in Nine Prosperities Lane about Cheng Zheng resembling Old Madam Guo was not unfounded!
However, why was she out admiring flowers with her children instead of chatting in the pavilion with Miss Min and the others?
Zhou Shaojin walked over with a smile.
The two little ones bowed to her.
Cheng Zheng laughed and said, "I heard from your sister that you’re also skilled at growing flowers. It’s good to have someone who can help. These two boys were about to leave me speechless with their questions."
Though she said this, her expression held a proud glow.
Zhou Shaojin smiled and joined Cheng Zheng and her sons in admiring the flowers.
A young maid hurried over, panting, and said, "Eldest Young Madam, Miss Fang the Sixth and Miss Min the Eldest are leaving and wish to bid you farewell!"
Cheng Zheng turned to Zhou Shaojin with a smile. "Then let’s go see them off together!"
This was basic etiquette, and Zhou Shaojin naturally agreed.
Fang Xuan seemed closest to Cheng Xiao. She warmly invited Zhou Shaojin and the others to visit her home and said to Cheng Xiao, "Sister, you came without telling me! If you refuse again, I’ll complain to Aunt!"
Cheng Xiao amiably agreed and saw off Fang Xuan and Min Jia.
Cheng Sheng remarked, "Miss Min the Eldest seems quite nice. Aunt made a good choice for a daughter-in-law."
Cheng Xiao, who had been enthusiastic moments earlier, cooled noticeably and said, "Fang Xuan is careless—who knows if this was a chance encounter or planned... We’ll have to wait and see."
She still harbored resentment over the Min family’s condition that Cheng Xu must pass the imperial examination before marriage discussions could proceed.
Cheng Zheng, however, remained noncommittal and said lightly with a smile, "It’s getting late. We should head back too."
Cheng Sheng sensed the coolness between the Cheng Zheng sisters and glanced at Zhou Shaojin in confusion.Zhou Shaojin didn't know what was going on either and gently shook her head.
Madam Wang, who had just seen off Fang Xuan and Min Jia, hurried over and asked if they had picked out any flowers they liked.
Cheng Sheng selected several pots of cymbidium orchids, Cheng Xiao chose a few holly trees and the like, while Cheng Zheng picked some common flowering plants like nicotiana, dahlias, and portulaca.
When it came time to load the carriage, Cheng Sheng admired Zhou Shaojin's foresight. Seeing that Zhou Shaojin had bought many clivia plants about to bloom in one go, she laughed and said, "Even if you're giving them to your sister, you've bought far too many."
Zhou Shaojin smiled and replied, "A few pots are for all of you—since it's my first time going out with my cousins, I wasn't sure what to get you. So I'll borrow these flowers to offer as gifts and give each of you a pot of clivia."
※
Dear readers, here's yesterday's update.
There are some typos—I won't be able to fix them until noon.
Please bear with it for now!
PS: The extra update will still be around midnight... (>_<)
※ (To be continued ~^~)
OpenNovel