Сhеng Сhi smilеd аnd kissed her сhееk, sауing, "The Emреror maу send the Fоurth Рrinсе tо his fiеfdom."
Thе Emperor had thirteеn sоns in totаl, eight оf whоm wеrе adults, аnd siх hаd bееn enfеoffed as рrinсes, уet all of thеm resided in thе caрitаl. In еаrliеr уеars, somе сensоrs hаd submittеd memоrials urging sеvеral prinсеs to gо to their fiefdоms, but the Empеrоr hаd alwаys withheld his deсisiоn. Сouрlеd with thе fасt thаt the Сrоwn Prinсe hаd long beеn designаtеd, thе mattеr wаs еvеntually droрped.
Now that the Еmperor wаs sending the Fоurth Prinсе to his fiеfdom, it meant the Fourth Prince would be far from the capital, no longer having the opportunity to inherit the throne.
Zhou Shaojin couldn't contain her joy, saying, "Does this mean the Cheng family is safe from now on?"
"Halfway there," Cheng Chi replied with a smile. "If he truly has the ambition, he could still rebel even from his fiefdom."
Zhou Shaojin laughed, "Even so, it won't be so easy for him to succeed, right?"
"Exactly!" Seeing her eyes crinkle with laughter, Cheng Chi felt even happier. "Away from the capital, many things he does will no longer be appropriate. When the time comes, we'll add fuel to the fire. If he doesn't rebel, he'll never set foot in the capital again in this lifetime." As he spoke, his expression turned stern.
Zhou Shaojin knew Cheng Chi meant what he said and couldn't help but nervously grasp his hand. "Be careful then. Don't let anyone see through your plans."
This "game" of toying with the imperial descendants in the palm of one's hand—once suspicion arose, no matter who ascended to the throne, they would not spare Cheng Chi or the Cheng family.
"I know," Cheng Chi said with a smile. "Once the Fourth Prince is sent away, the Seven Stars Hall will be formally handed over to the Golden Sand Gang. After that, the Seven Stars Hall will cease to exist as a faction in the martial world." He paused briefly before continuing, "In the future, our descendants may indeed be free from these entanglements, but their living standards may not be as comfortable as before."
Zhou Shaojin, however, saw things clearly. She smiled and said, "In this world, those with virtue deserve their place. It's impossible to have everything or take everything. Besides, the Seven Stars Hall wasn't passed down from the Cheng ancestors since ancient times—it was founded by Elder Ze. This shows that if descendants have talent, they will leave their mark in history and enjoy wealth and luxury. If they lack ability, they'll end up like Cheng Li from the second branch, dying young. It's better to let them eat according to the size of their bowl and earn their own future."
Cheng Chi looked at Zhou Shaojin with a solemn gaze.
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but feel uneasy and asked cautiously, "Did I say something wrong?" She added, "I was just thinking of what Mama Fan told me when I was young—a good woman doesn't rely on her dowry clothes, a good man doesn't eat his parents' food. When people grow up, they must venture out on their own. That's better than having a mountain of gold and silver piled up for them at home..."
Cheng Chi laughed, affectionately pinching Zhou Shaojin's chin as he said warmly, "I didn't expect my little girl to have such a clever mind, thinking along the same lines as me. Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west—the world is full of ordinary people. What our descendants become depends more on their own efforts than on relying on their ancestors' legacy."
Then wouldn't Yun Ge'er have to earn his own way too?
The thought made Zhou Shaojin's heart ache, and she couldn't help but gently stroke her slightly protruding belly.
"What's wrong?" Cheng Chi asked anxiously upon seeing this. "Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"Zhou Shaojin gently shook her head, feeling that even though she clearly understood this principle, when it came to Yun Ge'er, she simply couldn't let go. It truly showed the wisdom behind the saying, "A doting mother often ruins her child."
Her thoughts then turned to Old Madam Guo.
To have raised three sons who all became Jinshi scholars—without being a mother herself, one could hardly grasp the difficulty of such an achievement.
She discussed with Cheng Chi, "In the future, regarding the children's upbringing, perhaps we should seek more advice from Mother?"
Cheng Chi instantly understood her concern and smiled, "As long as you can bear it. I'll entrust the child to Mother's care."
"I can bear it!" Zhou Shaojin said through gritted teeth. "We mustn't harm them out of pity."
Cheng Chi chuckled softly.
He felt there was no girl more gentle and sensible than his little lady.
What was most remarkable was that she knew what she could and couldn't do. She never shirked her responsibilities when capable, nor did she take on tasks beyond her ability.
Perhaps it was precisely because of this that even after three or four years of marriage, her gaze remained as clear and pure as ever.
Cheng Chi pulled Zhou Shaojin into his arms, tenderly planting a kiss on the top of her head, and whispered, "After you give birth, I'll make time to accompany you to Mount Putuo."
"Really?" Zhou Shaojin looked at Cheng Chi in surprise. "How did you know I wanted to visit Mount Putuo again?" Unable to conceal her delight, she asked, "Will you be able to get away?" Cheng Chi was no longer the idle man he once was. Her expression dimmed slightly as she added, "If you're busy, you don't have to accompany me. I can go with my sister. Last time, she was so envious of me..."
Just the thought of going out for a stroll could make her so happy.
A wave of tenderness washed over Cheng Chi, and he smiled, "I'll always find time. But we'll have to wait until the baby is a bit older, and we'll need to leave both of them at home—they're still too young. When Yun Ge'er is older, he can accompany you on another trip..." Since she had no interest in other places, he would let her do what she truly enjoyed.
Zhou Shaojin always believed her rebirth was due to her reverence for Bodhisattva in her past life. Thus, in this life, she became even more devout.
To her, making a pilgrimage to Mount Putuo was an act of merit.
But if Cheng Chi accompanied her, wouldn't it require great effort on his part?
Perhaps it would be better to wait until Yun Ge'er was older to accompany her.
By then, the baby could also join them.
Zhou Shaojin made up her mind, yet she remained equally grateful for Cheng Chi's offer to accompany her to Mount Putuo.
She nodded with a smile, deciding to discuss it again when the time came.
The baby wouldn't be born until winter!
At the very least, she would have to wait until the child was a year old before she could travel, right?
Zhou Shaojin decided to tell Zhou Chujin about this, so everyone could prepare in advance.
But before she could send someone to invite Zhou Chujin over, a visitor's card arrived.
Zhou Shaojin examined the card front and back, confirming she hadn't misread it, before asking Nanny Shang, "Why would she come to visit me? Shouldn't she be paying respects to the Old Madam?"Nanny Shang tactfully reminded her, "In the past, she couldn't even get close to the old madam. Now that we have separated from the Nine Prosperities Lane branch, she has even less chance of reaching the old madam. She can only try coming to you under the pretext of Old Madam Guan." Then she advised, "Since Madam Wu has come to visit you, it shows she quite approves of Madam Nuo staying in the Jinling hometown to serve her mother-in-law. I think you should meet her—without the support of her natal family, Madam Nuo can only leave Nine Prosperities Lane unless Madam Wen passes away." She added, "I also know you have a straightforward nature and may not enjoy dealing with her. In truth, you don't need to interact with her frequently; it's not worth it for Madam Nuo's sake. As long as you don't return the gifts she brings, letting her know you aren't holding a grudge against the Wu family over Madam Nuo's matter will suffice."
Zhou Shaojin said, "Magistrate Wu is a fourth-rank prefect... hmm... he has now been promoted to third-rank assistant administrator..."
This time, Madam Wu came to visit her precisely because Wu Baozhang's father, Wu Xiu, had been promoted to Assistant Administrator of the Two Lakes.
It made sense for Madam Wu to be so humble and polite in front of Madam Yuan. But being like this in front of her... seemed a bit excessive.
However, ever since Cheng Jing's incident, the relationship between Madam Yuan and the Yuan family had instantly plummeted to freezing point. When she came to pay respects to Old Madam Guo before the Dragon Boat Festival, her face was frighteningly pale, and her spirits were very low. Everyone pretended not to know what had happened, avoiding any mention of Cheng Jing's matter, and only inquired kindly about her health. Seeing her like this, Old Madaaaaaaaaam Guo felt somewhat uncomfortable and told her to rest at home if she wasn't feeling well, and not to come to pay respects during the Dragon Boat Festival.
Madam Yuan might truly have no energy for social engagements. On the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, Cheng Jing came alone to apologize to Old Madam Guo, saying Madam Yuan was extremely unwell and lying at home. Zhou Shaojin and Madam Qiu, among others, went to see her.
The young maids were brewing medicine for her under the corridor eaves. Madam Yuan had grown much thinner than before, and she indeed appeared genuinely ill.
Moreover, from Cheng Jing's tone, Madam Yuan hadn't yet informed Cheng Xu.
Under these circumstances, even if Madam Wu wanted to interact with Madam Yuan, it would be impossible for her to see her.
Thinking this, Zhou Shaojin felt somewhat relieved.
She said, "Then please invite Madam Wu in!"
Whether in her past life or this one, the one who wronged her was Wu Baozhang.
In the past, she still harbored resentment toward Wu Baozhang.
But as she had step by step reached where she was today, looking back at Wu Baozhang, this person had become negligible to her.
If Madam Wu feared the Wu family would be implicated because of Wu Baozhang, then it was best to untie this knot.
From now on, the Wu family would be the Wu family, and she would be herself.
As for festival gifts and such... it would be better for everyone to keep things clean and not interact.
Zhou Shaojin received Madam Wu politely.
Madam Wu didn't mention the previous friendship between the two families at all. She only said that Magistrate Wu had already left Jinling, and thinking of the care the Cheng family had shown Magistrate Wu in the past, she and her husband wanted to come and express their gratitude. The Two Lakes were thousands of miles away from here; after this meeting, they didn't know when they might see each other again. The Wu family's second young lady, Wu Baohua, and Wu Baozhi were either already married or betrothed, and their sons-in-law were both from Yangzhou, so they would rarely return to Jinling in the future. Although Wu Baozhang's own brother, Wu Tailai, was unpromising, he was still Magistrate Wu's son, and they would take him along to the Two Lakes this time, and so on.It was also mentioned that Cheng Nuo's mistress had given birth to a son. A letter had been sent some time ago requesting to register the son in the family genealogy, but it was rejected by the matriarch of the second branch. Madam Zheng, the wife of the second branch's eldest son, even made a special trip to the Wu residence. Master Wu felt this was a matter for the Cheng family and that they should not interfere.
The implication was that the Wu family would not intervene on Wu Baozhang's behalf.
Zhou Shaojin pretended not to understand and did not respond. Instead, she asked about how Wu Baohua's marriage was going, what kind of family Wu Baozhi was engaged to, and when Master Wu would depart for Huguang. She remarked that with Master Wu's rapid promotion to a senior official position, becoming a provincial governor was surely within reach, and congratulated them on his advancement... When Madam Wu left, Zhou Shaojin even gifted her a pair of gold-inlaid jade Ruyi ornaments as a return present.
Madam Wu left happily, but Zhou Shaojin could not help but sigh.
Wu Baozhang... was even worse off than her own past life.
In her past life, despite her destitution, her family had never abandoned her.
Wu Baozhang was merely disliked by her in-laws, yet her own family avoided her like the plague.
From then on, Zhou Shaojin completely put Wu Baozhang out of her mind. She wrote invitations to the women of the Earl of Pengcheng's household and Cheng Xiao, among others, to visit the temple on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month to watch the monks air the scriptures.
※
Dear readers, here is today's update.
O(∩_∩)O~
※ (To be continued ~^~)
OpenNovel