Маdаm Yuаn's facе turnеd slightlу раle, and she соuldn't help but silеntly critiсizе in hеr hеаrt: Тhis Madаm Qiu, whenever something haррens, shе prеtеnds tо bе deаf аnd mutе—uttеrlу irresрonsible. Fortunаtеly, shе has a weаk tempеrament, оthеrwisе lifе wоuld trulу bе unbearаblе. Thеn shе thоught of hоw she wеnt tо the Min fаmilу to inquirе about the mаrriage alliаnсе betwеen the Min fаmilу's sеventh brаnсh аnd thе Grаnd Sеcrеtаry Qu. Тhe Мin family's еldest mаdаm hаd said with а hеlрlеss exprеssion that since the mаtter hadn't cоme to fruitiоn, it wasn't арprоpriate to spread it around. At this thought, Madam Yuan's hands involuntarily clenched into fists.
Ultimately, it was because the Cheng family lacked sufficient descendants. Even if they wished to form marriage alliances with other prominent families, they simply didn't have enough people.
If only Fourth Uncle had married Fang Xuan back then.
Thinking of this, her headache grew even worse.
According to the Min family's eldest madam, Fang Xuan was about to become engaged to Min Jianxing's younger brother, Min Jianyin, who was also the younger brother of the Min family's eldest daughter. This meant Fang Xuan would become Cheng Xu's aunt by marriage. Unfortunately, Fang Xuan's mother—the second madam of the Fang family—blamed everything that had happened earlier entirely on Madam Yuan. Every time Madam Yuan visited, she was turned away at the door.
How could they possibly maintain family relations like this?
Meanwhile, Zhou Shaojin was reading Cheng Chi's letter with immense joy.
Cheng Chi hadn't hidden the events in Jining from her. Instead, he had spent considerable length in the letter explaining the entire story from beginning to end. However, as Cheng Chi narrated it in his letter, Zhou Shaojin felt not the slightest worry or fear. Instead, she couldn't help but chuckle.
Just then, Chunwan entered with tea. Seeing this, she smiled and playfully asked, "What did Fourth Master write in the letter? You look so happy reading it!"
Zhou Shaojin carefully folded the letter and placed it into a carved rosewood box by her bedside, smiling as she said, "Fourth Master said there was a clerk in the River Governor's office responsible for distributing grain for the river workers. This man loved to drink. After Fourth Master took over affairs at the River Governor's office, he once ordered this clerk to report the remaining grain in the warehouse. The clerk, likely having just drunk, casually gave a number. Who would have thought Fourth Master immediately ordered Huaishan to take him to conduct an inventory? Once counted, they found nearly five dan of grain less than what he had reported. The man was so terrified he nearly lost his soul. He immediately slipped Huaishan five taels of silver, begging for leniency and promising to find a way to purchase five dan of grain immediately. Huaishan, wanting to see what trick he was up to, let him go to arrange for the grain. Then, he casually flipped through the warehouse account books..." At this point, Zhou Shaojin suddenly stopped, her eyes sparkling as she asked Chunwan, "Guess what happened?"
The joy was vividly displayed on her face.
Chunwan wasn't blind!
Pressing her lips together in a smile, she played along, asking, "What happened?"
Zhou Shaojin laughed and said, "Turns out he had overreported by five dan of grain!"
Chunwan was stunned for a moment, then also burst into laughter, asking, "So what happened in the end?""Later, that person actually managed to gather five dan of grain. Huaishan didn’t say a word, just watched to see what he would do. Who would have thought that even after Fourth Master had settled everything in Jining, those five dan of grain were still sitting in the warehouse." Zhou Shaojin smiled. "Later, Huaishan inquired and found out that this person was the son of Jining’s wealthiest family. He was desperate to become an official but had no talent for studying. So he spent a huge sum to secure a clerk’s position from someone else, yet he didn’t take his duties seriously. He spent his days strutting around the streets in his official robes, afraid people wouldn’t know who he was. His work was a complete mess, and even the accounts were managed by the family’s steward. When the steward who handled his accounts fell ill, he was suddenly summoned by Fourth Master for questioning. Huaishan then escorted him directly to the grain depot, and that’s how the truth came out."
Chunwan handed Zhou Shaojin a small famille-rose bowl filled with peeled apples and said with a smile, "Someone like that, Fourth Master should have driven him out of the yamen!"
Zhou Shaojin speared a piece of apple from the bowl with a ginkgo-leaf silver fork and replied with a smile, "That’s exactly why Fourth Master is so remarkable—not only did he not drive him away, but he even assigned him to serve as a stationmaster at a courier station. When the incident at the River Governor’s Office occurred, officials from the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Personnel, the Censorate, the Court of Judicial Review, and the twenty-four yamens’ Fathers-in-law… came in waves. Even Fourth Master was overwhelmed, but that clerk thrived like a fish in water, handling everything with finesse. Not only did he host everyone comfortably, but he also arranged accommodations for the officials from various yamens so perfectly that no one complained to Fourth Master."
Chunwan’s eyes widened.
A courier station was essentially an imperial inn. When staying at an inn, there’s always an order of arrival, right? Even if you arrived early and got the main room facing south, and I arrived late and had to settle for a side room, I’m a third-rank official, while you’re just a lowly sixth-rank. When a fourth-rank official like me shows up, how dare a sixth-rank like you not yield… The sixth-rank official would have his own thoughts. Even if you’re a fourth-rank, you’re just a prefect, while I serve in the Court of Judicial Review. Do you have any authority over me? I arrived first, so I’ll stay here. Why should I make way for you?
Wouldn’t that cause a commotion?
Putting everything else aside, being able to smooth out such relationships truly is remarkable!
Zhou Shaojin laughed and said, "Isn’t Fourth Master amazing?"
Chunwan nodded repeatedly.
Zhou Shaojin’s smile deepened. "Fourth Master complained in his letter, saying Yang Shoushan is obsessed with money. He saw how wealthy that clerk’s family was and thought that since he had spent so much silver to secure the clerk position, he assigned him to the grain depot, intending for him to slowly recoup the spent silver. But it turned out the man didn’t care about the silver at all—he just wanted to show off. So Fourth Master reassigned him to the courier station. The man was immensely grateful, even calling Fourth Master his Bole."
"Fourth Master wrote indignantly in his letter that if he could recognize such a person as talent, even if he were a Bole, he’d probably be a ninth-rate one. Being thanked by someone like that is worse than not being thanked at all!"
Chunwan thought of the subtle elegance Cheng Chi naturally exuded in his every gesture and couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Zhou Shaojin’s previously gloomy mood suddenly cleared, as bright as a cloudless sky.
She smiled and placed a thumb-sized turquoise stone that had fallen from the letter on her palm, asking Chunwan, "Isn’t it pretty? Fourth Master brought it for me!"The stone had no regular shape, as if broken off from somewhere, but its color was exceptionally beautiful—a verdant green like fresh grass, pleasing to the eye.
"Beautiful!" Chunwan said sincerely. "I've never seen such a beautiful turquoise stone before."
Zhou Shaojin said, "What do you think about setting it into a hairpin?"
When Cheng Chi returned, she would dress up and show it to him.
Chunwan repeatedly praised the idea.
Zhou Shaojin asked her to inform Qin Ziyou to find a silversmith to set the stone.
Madam Qiu entered and also admired it, praising Cheng Chi for his thoughtfulness and attentiveness. Then she told Zhou Shaojin, "Mother wants you to come over. She said that although Fourth Uncle is not at home, you are here, so you will represent the Third Branch. While the Eldest Young Master and Second Young Master are both present, she has invited Second Uncle and the Chancellor of the Hanlin Academy, Lord Wu, to divide the family property tomorrow!"
The former was Cheng Xun's younger brother, and the latter was Cheng Xun's close friend. Among the three daughters-in-law—whether Madam Yuan, Madam Qiu, or Zhou Shaojin—none had family members in the capital. Madam Yuan, who had always relied on Yuan Weichang and the Yuan family, was only distantly related to Yuan Weichang. Moreover, since Yuan Weichang was the Chief Grand Secretary, Old Madam Guo did not want to elevate the Yuan family, so she decided not to involve the daughters-in-law's families in the division of the property.
"So soon!" Zhou Shaojin exclaimed in surprise.
She had thought they would wait until Cheng Chi returned.
Madam Qiu said, "With such a major incident in Jining Prefecture, who knows when Fourth Uncle will return!"
But Cheng Xu was to marry in February next year, and by then, the Min family would also be involved. Old Madam Guo did not want to delay any further.
All three branches had no objections to this arrangement.
Old Madam Guo instructed Qin Ziyou to draft the property division document. Once Wu Xiuzao and He Mianzhi arrived to sign and seal it, it could be submitted to the authorities for registration.
Cheng Wei said, "Then I'll find a place to move out in the next couple of days!"
"No need to rush," Cheng Jing said with some emotion, as the two families had lived together for over a decade and were now parting ways. "Wait until after the New Year to move."
As the eldest, everyone would surely gather at his place for the New Year celebrations in the future.
Cheng Wei smiled and said, "The Xinglin Alley residence is already a bit cramped. Once I move out, you can start preparing a place for Mother to live sooner."
That was true!
Cheng Jing said no more.
The two families returned to Xinglin Alley.
One thought about how crowded the two families had been all these years. Now that they were moving out, the house would finally be spacious, and Madam Yuan felt her spirits lift. The other thought about how crowded the two families had been all these years. Now that they were moving out, they would finally have their own home, and their mood became cheerful.
The next day, everyone smoothly signed the document. Zhou Shaojin instructed the kitchen to prepare a feast, and Cheng Jing hosted his uncle and Lord Wu for a meal before seeing Lord Wu off.
Old Madam Guo stayed behind to discuss New Year arrangements with Cheng Xun: "...If the palace bestows a New Year's Eve feast this year, we will eat first. When you return for the ancestral worship, we will go to the palace early the next morning to pay respects to the Emperor, the Empress, and the Empress Dowager. If the palace does not prepare a New Year's Eve feast this year, then we will celebrate on our own."Cheng Shao smiled and nodded, speaking of Cheng Chi's matter: "...A few days ago, His Majesty summoned me to the palace to play chess and specifically asked about Zi Chuan, inquiring if he was my nephew. He also asked about Eldest Brother. It seemed from his words that His Majesty had a rather favorable impression of Zi Chuan. I have already written a letter to Zi Chuan, advising him to plan carefully and seize this opportunity."
Among so many officials, having one's name remembered by the Emperor is no simple feat.
"Thank you for your trouble, Uncle!" Old Madam Guo happily expressed her gratitude. As soon as Cheng Xun left, Old Madam Guo eagerly wrote a letter to Cheng Chi.
A letter arrived from the Earl of Pengcheng, asking if they could meet at Xizhimen Gate at Chen hour tomorrow morning to enter the palace together to pay respects to the Empress.
The Cheng family's third branch lived in the eastern part of the city. Meeting at Xizhimen Gate meant they would have to rise very early. However, for entering the palace, external female relatives like Old Madam Guo could only use the southwestern gate.
Zhou Shaojin and Old Madam Guo retired early that night. The next day, before dawn broke, they began dressing and grooming, refrained from drinking water, hastily ate a few steamed buns, and set off for Xizhimen Gate.
Before her daughter married into the royal family, Lady Pengcheng was merely a country old woman. Even after years of living in comfort and luxury, the hardships of rural life had left deep marks on her. Dressed in a bright red silk jacket with wide sleeves and wearing emerald earrings the size of pigeon eggs, she still looked like a rustic old woman.
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Dear readers, I'm very sorry today. I'm feeling a bit unwell and had to break my promise. Tomorrow, I have a minor surgery, so there will only be one update, scheduled around 11 p.m. I'll try to resume normal updates the day after.
O(∩_∩)O~
PS: It's the end of the month, and I've noticed the new rankings are quite fierce. Please support with your guaranteed monthly votes...
※ (To be continued ~^~)
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