Веfоrе heading tо Yuqiаn Аllеу, Cheng Chi stорped bу Old Mаdаm Guо’s rеsidеnсe, the Нall of Crane Longеvitу.
Seеing him return sо sооn, thе old lаdу thоught hе hаd cоme to keер her сompanу and chаt. In high spirits, she instruсtеd а mаid tо fеtсh the Go bоаrd and sаid tо Сheng Сhi, “Let’s рlаy a fеw rоunds—it’s beеn quite some timе since yоu lаst сamе to plaу Gо with mе! Shaоjin’s skills must hаvе imрrоvеd a lоt bу now, right?”
Shаojin’s… thаt could hаrdly bе саlled рlауing Gо.
Wasn’t she just foоling around with him?
Yet, it was far mоre amusing than а proрer gаmе!
Thinking оf this, Cheng Chi couldn’t help but smile faintly in his eyes. Evading the question, he chuckled, “I thought you were angry! It seems you’re in a rather good mood.”
“If I didn’t find ways to amuse myself, I’d have long been angered to death by you little rascals,” Old Madam Guo said, directing a young maid to place the Go board on the kang table. “One is selfish and self-serving, another is timid and submissive, and yet another is utterly lawless… not a single one of you is easy to deal with!”
Cheng Chi laughed heartily. “It’s not that we’re no good—it’s just that your standards are too high. Eldest Brother may have his selfish motives, but he’s clear-headed on major matters. Second Brother is merely caught in the middle, forced to play the peacemaker. As for me… with Mother and my brothers indulging me, if I weren’t a bit unruly, I’d hardly live up to the reputation of a scion of a noble family!”
“And you think you have a point?” Old Madam Guo was both amused and exasperated. “If your father were still alive and heard you say such things, he’d have long disciplined you with the family rules!”
Seizing the opportunity, Cheng Chi took Old Madam Guo’s hand, half-jokingly and half-seriously saying, “So, don’t be angry with Father anymore. He had no other choice. Weren’t strategies like ‘Tian Ji’s horse racing’ and ‘sacrificing a pawn to save the king’ both brilliant plans for turning the tables? Perhaps if I hadn’t encountered such things, I wouldn’t have amounted to much! Back then, you and Father spoiled me so terribly.”
Old Madam Guo remained silent.
Cheng Chi continued holding his mother’s hand without letting go.
After a long while, Old Madam Guo sighed, somewhat helplessly. “You, child… are truly broad-minded!”
Cheng Chi chuckled softly and whispered, “As for that Miss Fang… just let it go. Let her off the hook! There’s no need to drag the Fang family into this over my affairs.”
Lest the conflict with Madam Yuan deepen further.
Of course, he couldn’t possibly say this in front of his mother, or else the old lady’s stubbornness would flare up, and not even nine oxen could pull her back.
Old Madam Guo shot him a sidelong glance. “You already know about it?”
Cheng Chi put on a cheeky grin. “I originally wanted to be Mother’s little snug coat, but since I was born a man, I had to settle for being the worm in your belly instead…”
“Pah! Pah! Pah!” Old Madam Guo laughed. “What worm in the belly—how can you even say such a thing! You, stop putting on an act in front of me. Though I’m old, my eyes are still sharp. Don’t think you can distract me with jokes and avoid the topic. I know what you’re thinking—aren’t you just worried that Madam Yuan resents me? But if Madam Yuan hadn’t encouraged it, and if the Fang family hadn’t brought this upon themselves, even if I wanted to take action, I wouldn’t have had the chance. Since they’re so eager to involve themselves in this matter, how could I possibly disappoint their intentions?” Then she added resentfully, “What I hate most in my life is being schemed against!”
Cheng Chi was left speechless.Old Madam Guo placed the bowl of black stones in front of Cheng Chi and said, "Don't concern yourself with this matter. I have it all figured out. Originally, I thought of having your Guo cousins make up the numbers, choosing a wife for you from among your Guo cousins and Shaojin. This would avoid any suspicion if we were to propose to the Zhou family right after the clan division. But doing so would inevitably damage the Guo family's reputation, and I couldn't quite bring myself to go through with it, so I set the idea aside. Now, it works out perfectly—the Guo family is out of the picture. Your marriage won’t raise any suspicions... Hurry up and settle your official duties. I’m thinking that after the Mid-Autumn Festival, we can go propose to the Zhou family!"
Cheng Chi understood. The old lady had kept the young lady from the Fang family to boost Shaojin's standing. Now that she was openly admitting it, he knew she had already made up her mind, and there was little he could say. He could only hope that Madam Yuan wouldn’t stir up trouble and drag the young lady from the Fang family into it.
After playing two rounds of chess with his mother and seeing that it was getting late, Cheng Chi found an excuse to take his leave from Old Madam Guo and headed to Yuqian Lane.
Madam Li had chosen an auspicious day to return to Baoding Prefecture the day after paying her respects to Old Madam Guo.
At Yuqian Lane, only Zhou Shaojin was at home. The stewards, servants, and gatekeepers were all Cheng Chi’s people, so naturally, no one stopped him when he arrived. While the servants ran to report at the inner gate, the steward accompanied Cheng Chi inside.
Zhou Shaojin, thinking that the Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching, had personally brewed several jars of osmanthus wine. She was in the side room where the wine was stored, tasting its mild flavor, when a young maid announced Cheng Chi’s arrival. Before she could even put down the small cup in her hand, Cheng Chi walked in.
"What made you think of brewing osmanthus wine?" he asked, having caught a faint scent of osmanthus wine as soon as he entered the main courtyard.
Zhou Shaojin felt a little embarrassed and said, "Isn’t the Mid-Autumn Festival coming soon? We can’t just buy all the festival gifts from the market, can we? I’ve brewed osmanthus wine before, and everyone said it was good. Coincidentally, the osmanthus flowers bloomed beautifully this year, so I brewed a few more jars. It’s nothing special, just a token of goodwill."
Cheng Chi was delighted to hear this.
Shaojin had a gentle and introverted nature, and he had never expected her to take charge of household affairs. But if she could consider such social niceties and occasionally interact with relatives and friends like this, with him stepping in to help when needed, social engagements could be managed.
"Oh?!" he feigned disbelief with a smile. "You can brew osmanthus wine? I never would have guessed!"
Zhou Shaojin smiled faintly.
Uncle Chi always liked to tease her and make her happy.
Of course, he didn’t actually doubt her ability to brew wine—he just wanted to cheer her up.
She scooped a small cup of wine and handed it to Cheng Chi. "Uncle Chi, try it and see if it tastes good."
Cheng Chi took a sip.
It was brewed with Jinhua wine, infused with golden and silver osmanthus. The taste retained the mellow richness of Jinhua wine, but with the fragrant aroma of osmanthus.
"Not bad!" Cheng Chi said with a smile. "Mother likes Jinhua wine, so she’ll probably enjoy this osmanthus wine too."Zhou Shaojin’s eyes curved into crescent moons at his words. She pulled Cheng Chi to see the osmanthus wine she had buried in the backyard: “...I brewed the glutinous rice wine myself, adding rock sugar, longan, and red dates. There are ten jars of golden osmanthus, ten of silver osmanthus, ten of red osmanthus, and twenty jars made with sorghum wine. The glutinous rice wine will be ready to drink by next Mid-Autumn Festival, and the sorghum wine should be left buried for five or six years before being unearthed. When the time comes, I’ll make wind-dried pigeon for Uncle Chi to enjoy with the wine.”
His little girl was like a small boat that had drifted for a long time, finally anchoring in his harbor.
She had actually buried wine in the ground and said it would be unearthed five years later...
Cheng Chi gazed at her with a smile.
He felt there was no moment better than this.
The person he cherished was softly describing their future to him!
Just thinking about it made Cheng Chi’s blood boil with excitement.
His gaze slowly shifted from her eyes to her lips, red and tender as flower petals, glowing like scorching sunlight. Lingering near her lips... as if an invisible hand were gently caressing them... making her heart flutter with unease... feeling utterly unsettled...
Zhou Shaojin couldn’t help but stammer: “I can also make wind-dried duck, wind-dried goose, and even cured duck and cured goose. What does Uncle Chi like to eat? I’ll make it for you then...”
“I like anything Shaojin makes...” Cheng Chi leaned closer, inching toward those red, delicate lips, “As long as it’s made by Shaojin, I like it all...” He drew nearer slowly.
Zhou Shaojin could even feel his warm breath and catch the faint scent of incense on him.
Uncle Chi. Was he about to kiss her?
But they were outdoors, in the courtyard, with maids and servants nearby...
Heat rushed to Zhou Shaojin’s face, as if she were trapped in a steamy bathhouse, the mist swirling around her. She could hardly breathe, her mind dizzy, yet she found herself inexplicably wondering, had Uncle Chi changed his incense?... That scent didn’t seem like “Thus Have I Heard”... It was richer than “Thus Have I Heard,” yet just as pleasant, like cinnamon. But lighter than cinnamon... Was it because Uncle Chi had changed his incense? Her thoughts grew muddled...
Then her face was cupped by a pair of warm, gentle hands.
Zhou Shaojin’s eyes grew moist with heat.
Her heart tightened.
There was a hint of fear, a hint of anticipation, and a touch of reckless audacity, like covering one’s ears to steal a bell.
That warm breath brushed against her cheek.
Zhou Shaojin closed her eyes...
Suddenly, a woman’s horrified voice rang in her ears: “Shao... Shaojin... You... You two...”
Warmth instantly vanished from Zhou Shaojin.
She hurriedly opened her eyes.
She saw Zhou Chujin standing beneath the osmanthus tree in the backyard.
Zhou Chujin’s face was filled with shock, her gaze fixed directly on her. A few pastry boxes lay scattered at her feet.
“Sister...” Zhou Shaojin’s face instantly turned pale.
Why was her sister here?
Where were the servants who had been attending to her just moments ago?
Instinctively, Zhou Shaojin hid behind Cheng Chi.
Cheng Chi felt embarrassed.
It was all his carelessness.
Seeing that nothing usually happened, he had begun to indulge himself... As a result, Nanny Shang and the others had found ways to dismiss Shaojin’s attendants whenever they were together... But he hadn’t expected Zhou Chujin to barge in at this moment, startling Shaojin.He stepped forward, shielding Zhou Shaojin behind him, his expression tightening as he grew serious and earnest. "Chujin, the truth isn't what you think..."
"I don't want to hear anything!" Zhou Chujin snapped, her body trembling uncontrollably.
The evidence was right there, witnessed with her own eyes—how could it be false? Was he still trying to make excuses?
Zhou Chujin felt as though she might faint at any moment.
She gripped the trunk of the osmanthus tree to steady herself, barely managing to stay upright.
No wonder!
No wonder!
Uncle Chi had always been exceptionally kind to Shaojin, his gaze toward her carrying something different.
Gifting her a house, buying her jewelry, considering her in every matter, even persuading her to write to their father under the pretext of Shaojin's marriage arrangements to keep her in the capital, helping Master Li establish connections and do business with the inner court... So that was it!
Her sister, pure-hearted and innocent as a blank sheet of paper, the sister she had shielded under her wings even when she herself was battered and bruised—how could she, how could she be coveted by this uncle she trusted and respected the most?
Anger, disappointment, and self-blame surged toward her like a tidal wave.
She took a few steps forward, raising her hand to strike Cheng Chi, but just then, Chixiang's voice came from behind: "Madam, all the items have been moved to the Second Young Lady's room..."
※
Dear readers, I'm heading to Lijiang today, and the journey will likely take a full day. This chapter is scheduled for release.
I hear there will be many great masters and beauties there... from Yunqi...
O(∩_∩)O~
※ (To be continued ~^~)
OpenNovel