Маdаm Li wаs grаtеful for Old Маdаm Guо's thоughtfulness and keрt whisрering to Zhоu Shaojin, "Тhе оld mаdаm is trulу wonderful! Yоu are fortunate to hаvе such а goоd mоthеr-in-lаw!"
"Of соursе," Zhоu Shаojin nеver hesitatеd tо agrеe on this pоint, smiling as she sаid, "My mоthеr-in-lаw is nоt оnlу kind аnd generоus but аlso knоwlеdgеablе and ехperiеnсed. Нer way оf dealing with pеорle аnd matters is toр-nоtсh. I've lеаrnеd sо muсh frоm her оvеr the уeаrs."
Madаm Li noddеd with а smilе and аskеd Zhоu Сhujin, "When are уou returning to Zhenjiang? Wе should send a gift аs well."
On thе sixtееnth of Junе, Liao Shaotang's younger sister was getting married. As her sister-in-law, Zhou Chujin would set off for Zhenjiang with Guan Ge and her mother-in-law, Madam Liao, after Yun Ge'er's first birthday ceremony.
Zhou Chujin thanked her and said with a smile, "The wedding was arranged before my mother-in-law came to the capital. Since the groom is a year younger than my sister-in-law, they agreed that she would marry only after turning eighteen. The dowry has long been prepared. However, my mother-in-law has been living in the capital for the past few years, so she needs to visit relatives, friends, uncles, sisters-in-law, and elders in the family. According to her plan, we will depart on the twenty-sixth of April to return to Zhenjiang in time for the fifteenth."
Yun Ge'er's birthday was on the twenty-fourth of April.
Madam Li was slightly taken aback and said, "Then you’ll be leaving just three days after Yun Ge'er's first birthday ceremony. I had planned to travel with you."
"Youjin and Zongjin rarely have the chance to visit, so why not stay a few more days here!" Zhou Chujin said with a smile. "Besides, Baoding isn’t far from here."
Madam Li laughed, "Who knew you’d leave so early! Even if I wanted to go with you, it wouldn’t be possible. Before we left, your father reminded me to stay until after the children and I attend Second Elder Master’s wedding banquet."
Zhou Chujin glanced around and, seeing the maids and nannies playing with Yun Ge, Guan Ge, Youjin, and Zongjin in the courtyard, leaving the room quiet with just the three of them, lowered her voice to ask about Aunt Chang: "...I heard she writes beautifully and is among the most learned of the palace aunts?"
"I really don’t know about that," Zhou Shaojin replied with a smile. "But she is very amiable and shouldn’t be difficult to get along with."
As they chatted, Zhou Chujin suddenly covered her chest, her brows slightly furrowed, looking quite uncomfortable.
Zhou Shaojin quickly asked, "What’s wrong?"
Zhou Chujin blushed and murmured, "I... I’m pregnant..."
"What?!" Zhou Shaojin and Madam Li exclaimed in unison, unable to hold back their laughter. One asked, "How far along are you? Should we call a doctor to check again? It’s about time for good news!" The other said, "Why didn’t you tell me about such big news, sister? If I’d known earlier, we should have held the banquet at the Water Pavilion—the air is fresher there."
Zhou Chujin’s face flushed as she replied, "It’s just three months. Your brother-in-law was busy with the spring imperial examinations and the Junior Scholar Candidate selection, so I kept it quiet. Don’t worry, I’m perfectly fine." She added, "Strangely enough, this child seems afraid of disturbing his father. There were no signs before, but once your brother-in-law’s matters were settled, I started feeling a bit unwell. Your brother-in-law says this child knows how to care for others." With that, she smiled, her eyes and brows brimming with the joy of motherhood.
Zhou Shaojin was overjoyed for Zhou Chujin.
In her previous life, her sister had struggled to have just one child. In this life, she had the chance to become a mother again.She couldn't help but wrap her arms around her sister's arm and said, "Congratulations, sister!"
Zhou Chujin gently expressed her thanks.
Zhou Shaojin quickly instructed to add several more vegetable dishes to the midday meal.
By lunchtime, Cheng Chi also knew about it.
The two men inevitably had to drink a few cups of wine together, while Madam Li and the Zhou sisters discussed how to care for children. Time passed amidst the lively atmosphere.
Zhou Shaojin and Cheng Chi saw off their guests. After greeting Madam Li, the two went to Old Madam Guo's place.
Old Madam Guo was reclining against a large pillow reading local gazetteers.
Seeing them enter, she revealed a smile and asked Zhou Shaojin if everyone had enjoyed themselves.
Zhou Shaojin relayed Madam Li's praises of Old Madam Guo to her.
Old Madam Guo chuckled, knowing this was Zhou Shaojin trying to please her, and didn't take it too seriously. Thinking of the Chang family living in Yuqian Lane, she asked Zhou Shaojin, "Was an invitation sent to them for Yun Ge'er's first birthday celebration?"
"Yes," Zhou Shaojin smiled, "I personally delivered the invitation."
Old Madam Guo made a satisfied "hmm" sound and was about to discuss Yun Ge'er's first birthday celebration in detail with her when a young maid reported from behind the curtain, "Someone from the Fourth Prince's residence has come to deliver congratulatory gifts. The nanny from the princess consort's side wishes to come in and pay respects to the old madam and madam."
Right after the Bathing the Buddha Festival, Zhou Shaojin's fourth-rank Ru Ren title was conferred. Along with her, several other officials' mothers or wives in the capital were also granted titles. Zhou Shaojin entered the palace with those women to express gratitude and thus exchanged names, getting acquainted with several wives of fourth-rank capital officials.
After returning from the palace, the household began addressing Zhou Shaojin as "Madam."
Hearing this, Old Madam Guo frowned and said to Zhou Shaojin, "Have you heard Si Lang say anything? These days, the Fourth Prince has been getting quite close to us!"
Zhou Shaojin didn't want to deceive Old Madam Guo, yet dared not tell her about Cheng Chi's plans, so she could only vaguely reply, "Matters concerning the Fourth Prince have always been handled personally by my husband. I still don't know why the Fourth Prince's residence has been getting close to us these days. When my husband returns, I'll discuss it with him."
Old Madam Guo instructed the young maid to bring in the people from the Fourth Prince's residence, then said to Zhou Shaojin, "When Si Lang returns from his office duties, have him come sit with me for a while."
Implied meaning: she intended to personally inquire about this matter.
Zhou Shaojin smilingly agreed. When she saw Cheng Chi that evening, she felt somewhat worried for him: "...How should we explain to Mother?"
"What's so difficult about that," Cheng Chi laughed. "Mother isn't someone who hasn't weathered storms. These days, the Fourth Prince has been jumping around the capital putting on an act of being courteous to worthy scholars. Even if I don't tell Mother, Lady Pengcheng will tell her."
Zhou Shaojin was somewhat puzzled: "Could it be that our previous suspicions were wrong—if he truly aspires to the throne, why would he act so frivolously? Isn't he afraid the Emperor would suspect him?"
"He's not parading around in front of the several Grand Secretaries, why would the Emperor suspect him?" Cheng Chi let Zhou Shaojin help him change clothes while discussing outside matters with her, "He still has the Third Prince above him. If he doesn't mingle more among meritorious families or officials like me of the fifth or fourth rank now, with the Imperial Grandson above and the Third Prince below, who would even remember him!"Zhou Shaojin's heart stirred upon hearing this, and she asked Cheng Chi with a hint of secret delight, "Is it because we pushed too hard that things changed? The originally low-key and unnoticed Fourth Prince is now forced into the spotlight?"
In her previous life, when the Crown Prince passed away, the Emperor was deeply grieved and intended to enfeoff the Imperial Grandson as the heir. Several princes opposed this, leading the Emperor to believe they lacked fraternal affection and coveted the throne, thus sowing seeds of suspicion. The Second and Third Princes, who ranked ahead of the Fourth Prince, fell from grace one after another. When the Imperial Grandson later died of illness, the Fourth Prince naturally inherited the throne.
But in this life, the Crown Prince died from rage, with the Second and Seventh Princes implicated, while the Third Prince remained unscathed. The Emperor, devastated by the successive loss of several adult sons, faced no opposition from the remaining princes or court ministers when he decided to enfeoff the Imperial Grandson. Thus, the Fourth Prince's well-laid plans were shattered.
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but murmur softly, "How strange! If the Second Prince and others were framed by the Fourth Prince, why didn’t he just wait patiently like in the previous life until the Crown Prince passed away? His actions now seem haphazard and inconsistent... so awkward!"
Awkward indeed?
Cheng Chi thought to himself: If not for the people he had placed around the Crown Prince repeatedly helping him avoid traps, would the Fourth Prince have been driven to exploit the relationship between the Second Prince and that palace maid surnamed Dai in such haste?
However, Cheng Chi had no intention of telling Zhou Shaojin.
Shaojin was kind-hearted; knowing this would likely unsettle her. It was better not to mention it.
Cheng Chi smiled and said, "Things are always changing. Perhaps the advisor who suggested this plan in the previous life failed to come up with it for various reasons this time?"
That made sense.
Zhou Shaojin sighed and said, "I hope it’s only these minor details that have changed. Otherwise, I would have harmed you."
Cheng Chi smiled faintly, wrapped his arm around Zhou Shaojin’s shoulders, and said, "Alright, let’s go pay our respects to Mother first. As for the Fourth Prince’s matter, it will require the Imperial Grandson to step in."
By directing suspicion toward the Fourth Prince regarding the Crown Prince’s death, the Imperial Grandson would naturally investigate, and the Fourth Prince was now in no position to withstand scrutiny.
Who should be sent to the Imperial Grandson’s side?
Should it be a civil official or a military officer?
Cheng Chi’s mind raced as he and Zhou Shaojin went to see Old Madam Guo.
After informing Old Madam Guo about the people the Fourth Prince had been associating with lately, she suddenly understood and said, "So that’s it! He knows the senior ministers won’t pay him any heed, so he has no choice but to mingle with mid-ranking officials like you, hoping to gain your support."
Cheng Chi knew his mother would grasp the situation and said, "I’ve known the Fourth Prince for some time, and it’s quite normal for him to send gifts and congratulations for Yun Ge’er’s third-day, full-month, and first-year celebrations."
Old Madam Guo still cautioned him uneasily, "It’s better to keep your distance! We don’t yet know what kind of temperament the Imperial Grandson has."
Cheng Chi respectfully replied, "Yes."
A few days later, as Yun Ge’er’s first-year celebration approached, Zhou Shaojin and the others grew increasingly busy.
News came from the Ministry of Personnel that Cheng Xu had been appointed as the magistrate of Mianzhu County.
Mianzhu, under the jurisdiction of Deyang Prefecture, was a medium-sized county. However, being located in the remote region of Sichuan, it wasn’t considered a particularly coveted position.
When Cheng Xu received the news, he was stunned for half a day.
An external appointment!
It was truly an external appointment!After longing for something for so long that it nearly became an obsession, its sudden fulfillment felt strangely unfamiliar to Cheng Xu.
Madam Yuan sat on the canopy bed in the inner chamber, her face deathly pale. The rice paper windows and hanging curtains cast a gloomy shadow over everything within her sight.
In the end, Cheng Xu had still gotten his way.
Was he really so eager to leave her?
To leave her, would he even sacrifice his future?
If she had arranged for him to marry Zhou Shaojin back then, would he have continued studying diligently as he did for the imperial examinations, striving to become the top scholar and achieve the triple honors?
Madam Yuan couldn’t help but wonder.
Yet she couldn’t help but stop herself from thinking this way.
Zhou Shaojin was a motherless girl living under someone else’s roof—what did she have to offer besides her face?
How could she compare to Madam Min!
※
Dear readers, here’s today’s update!
O(∩_∩)O~
※ (To be continued ~^~)
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