Аftеr sееing оff Sоngqing, Shi Xiang rеturnеd tо find Zhоu Shаojin’s exрrеssion somеwhat off, аnd hеr hеаrt immеdiаtely grеw uneasy. The Seсоnd Young Мiss was usuаllу gеntlе and gеnеrоus in hеr sрeеch and treаtmеnt of оthers, but when she bеcamе stubborn, evеn thе Еldеst Yоung Мiss hаd to yiеld.
Whаt if the Sесоnd Young Мiss had dесlared shе wоuld cut tiеs with Young Mastеr Lu but then regrettеd it in а mоment оf capriсе... Тhat wоuld bе nоthing but а сhildish tаntrum, and suсh flirtаtious bеhaviоr would be imрroреr!
Shе cоuldn’t hеlр but сall out softlу, “Second Young Miss,” аnd asked, “What аre yоu thinking abоut?”
Zhоu Shaоjin snapped out of her thoughts and, seeing Shi Xiang’s cautious demeanor, couldn’t help but laugh. “Why are you still standing here? I’m waiting for you to buy plums and apricots so I can taste the fresh ones!”
“Yes, yes, yes,” Shi Xiang replied with a delighted smile, repeating eagerly, “I’ll go right away, I’ll go right away!”
Zhou Shaojin shook her head, watching her leave, but couldn’t help feeling a pang of emotion.
It was no wonder Shi Xiang didn’t trust her.
Truth be told, she had always lived rather carelessly. Family matters were left entirely to her sister, while external affairs were handled by her father and Uncle Mian. She simply enjoyed the shade under the big tree, never concerning herself with how much grain the estate harvested, what troubles the matrons faced at home, or why the maids quarreled. She never asked about any of it. How could the maids and servants around her expect her to stand up for them? How could the household stewards and attendants rely on her to make decisions? As a result, while everyone respected her, it was only because she was the Second Young Miss of the Zhou family—or even because she was Zhou Chujin’s younger sister. Unlike her sister, who commanded not only respect but also wholehearted trust and admiration. Thinking of this, Zhou Shaojin couldn’t help but smile awkwardly. She stood up and headed to the study in the west wing, intending to find a book to pass the time.
The study was just as she remembered it: a three-bay hall divided by two six-panel sandalwood screens carved with floral patterns. The eastern side was her sister’s study, while the western side was hers. Both had a qin table placed by the window, a multi-tiered bookshelf against the wall, and a writing desk positioned in the middle of the east-west space. A large famille-rose floral vase stood nearby—her sister’s study held scrolls of paintings, while hers housed a tank of goldfish in winter and water lilies in summer.
Now, in early summer, only a few palm-sized lotus leaves floated on the water’s surface, with several black-and-gold goldfish swaying beneath them.
Familiar with the layout, she found a packet of fish food in the drawer beside the writing desk and bent down to feed the fish.
The fish swarmed over, stirring ripples across the water.
Zhou Shaojin smiled.
Suddenly, a pebble fell into the tank, splashing water and dampening the front of Zhou Shaojin’s robe.
She turned around to see a fair-skinned youth dressed in a blue cloth robe, with a green bamboo hairpin, leaning over the study windowsill and grinning at her.
“Cousin Yi!” Zhou Shaojin exclaimed in surprise. “What are you doing here?”
Uncle Mian had only two sons: the elder, Cheng Gao, and the younger, Cheng Yi. This youth leaning over her windowsill was none other than Cheng Yi, the Second Young Master of the Cheng family’s fourth branch, fifteen years old. He laughed, flipped over the sill, and jumped into Zhou Shaojin’s study. “Are you really sick? You look perfectly fine to me. You’re not pretending to be ill just to avoid studying with Madam Shen, are you?”
Yet in Zhou Shaojin’s mind flashed the image of him, years later, drowning his sorrows in drunkenness at her estate in Daxing after failing the imperial examinations.
That was her last memory of him.It was also during that time she learned that the Fourth Branch had fallen out with the Eldest Branch. Without guidance in the imperial examinations or support in official careers, Second Uncle Yuan remained stuck in a seventh-rank position, and Cousin Gao’s path was fraught with difficulties—he did not achieve success in the imperial examinations until the age of twenty-seven. Cheng Xu became an alcoholic, unable to even hold a brush steadily, with no hope of making a comeback. Cheng Shi of the Second Branch sought to take over the clan genealogy, while the Eldest Branch wanted to promote Cheng Rang, the son of Cheng Wei, but Madam Yuan, Cheng Xu’s mother, refused. Cheng Zheng of the Third Branch was two-faced, playing both sides and stirring up trouble within the family. Freed from the constraints of the Eldest Branch, the Fifth Branch began quietly selling ancestral properties. The Fourth Branch knew but had no say, while the Third Branch knew but kept silent, hiding it from the Eldest and Second Branches… Sooner or later, this family was bound to fall apart!
Yet when Cousin Gao came to visit her after passing the examination for Junior Scholar Candidate, he mentioned none of this…
Zhou Shaojin gazed at that youthful, radiant face, her heart softening as if it could melt.
She chuckled lightly and said, “Why did you jump in through the window instead of using the main gate? Did you skip class again? Be careful, or I’ll tell Grandmother.”
Cheng Yi grinned, sprawling boldly into the armchair in her room. “Old Lady Jiang guarding the inner gate has eyes as sharp as a hawk. It’s not easy for me to get in.” He added, “Are you still attending Madam Shen’s lessons?”
Zhou Shaojin hadn’t made up her mind about this yet, but Cheng Yi was clearly not someone she could discuss it with. She avoided answering directly and said, “Did you sneak in again through the small garden in the Fifth Branch?”
A single piece of rat droppings ruins the whole pot of soup—she felt this saying perfectly described the Cheng family’s Fifth Branch.
The Cheng family was a typical Jiangnan scholarly household, with an ancestral rule that “men may not take concubines until they are forty and without a son.” The eldest master of the Fifth Branch, Cheng Wen, had a son named Cheng Nuo. Instead of taking concubines, he kept actresses as mistresses outside, indulging in pleasure-seeking. Madam Wen, initially jealous and resentful, later grew distressed over the wasted money. She spent her days tracking Cheng Wen’s movements, with no energy left to manage household affairs. She entrusted all domestic responsibilities to her trusted stewardesses and feigned illness in bed all day. The household became chaotic, with blurred lines between masters and servants, devoid of any order.
Cheng Yi and his friends took advantage of this loophole, often using the small garden in the Fifth Branch’s inner courtyard to sneak in companions for poetry competitions, painting contests, drinking, and merrymaking. None of the Cheng family elders knew about this. It was only after her incident, when Madam Yuan investigated Nine Prosperities Lane, that they discovered the inner gate of the Fifth Branch had become virtually nonexistent. Fortunately, the Second Branch only had Cheng Nuo as the sole son, with no daughters, so no major scandals erupted. However, improper relationships among maids, servants, and stewards emerged one after another, infuriating Madam Yuan to the point of near collapse. In front of the Cheng family and the serving maids and stewardesses, she cursed Madam Wen mercilessly, leaving no room for decency.
At this time, Zhou Shaojin should not have known about this.
Cheng Yi broke into a cold sweat, abruptly sitting upright and staring at her with a guarded, tense expression. “How did you know?” he exclaimed, then suddenly looked enlightened and shouted, “I know! It must have been Cheng Lu who told you!” He cursed Cheng Lu angrily, “That traitor! We agreed to keep it a secret! How could he blab like that? I’m never inviting him out again.”
Cheng Lu was actually mixing with them too?
Zhou Shaojin was astonished.In her memory, Madam Yuan had found out about Cheng Yu from the second branch, Cheng Yi from the fourth branch, Cheng Nuo from the fifth branch, the collateral relative Cheng Ju, and finally Cheng Xu, who had been dragged into it by them... but Cheng Lu was not among them.
Now that she thought about it, it must have been because they valued friendship and kept Cheng Lu’s involvement hidden.
However, Cheng Yu from the second branch and the eldest son of the second branch, Cheng Shi, were brothers born of the same mother. The master of the second branch, Cheng Yi, paid little attention to household affairs, and Madam Yi was someone who chanted "Amitabha" all day. Cheng Yu and Cheng Shi were ten years apart, and whether it was studies or daily expenses, Cheng Shi was the one managing everything. If Cheng Yu and Cheng Yi were fooling around like this, Cheng Shi shouldn’t have been unaware!
The more Zhou Shaojin thought about it, the more confused she became. The only thing she could be sure of was that although one thing matched her memory, there was a slight deviation from what she knew.
She stared at Cheng Yi and asked, "So, you really were drinking and having fun with your friends in the small garden of the fifth branch? Was Cheng Lu really with you? Why did you cover for him?"
Upon hearing this, Cheng Yi jumped three feet high and said, "What do you mean we covered for Cheng Lu? We agreed back then that if anyone got into trouble, it would be dealt with on its own merits, and no one else would be implicated." He muttered, "I didn’t expect Cheng Lu to go back on his word." Then, feeling a bit cowardly in front of Zhou Shaojin, he straightened his back and defended himself loudly, "We weren’t fooling around—we were being unrestrained, straightforward, and free-spirited, embodying the style of renowned scholars, okay?"
At this time, Cheng Yi, like Zhou Shaojin in the past, had no idea how serious this matter was. He spoke with confidence, but Zhou Shaojin couldn’t help retorting, "Does being unrestrained require drinking? Does being straightforward require being disheveled? I think it’s just reckless and dissolute! Why don’t we see Cousin Shi from the second branch acting like this? Why don’t we see Cousin Zheng from the third branch acting like this? It’s only you few..."
"Hey, hey!" Cheng Yi interrupted Zhou Shaojin uncomfortably, saying, "What do you, a girl, know about men’s affairs? Just focus on studying your Admonitions for Women and Biographies of Exemplary Women with Madam Shen." Then he threatened her, "You mustn’t tell anyone about this! Otherwise, I’ll expose Cheng Lu." He then asked, "Are you going to Madam Shen’s class or not?"
Zhou Shaojin was left speechless.
She hadn’t realized that in everyone’s eyes, she cared so much about Cheng Lu.
She couldn’t help but say, "Don’t worry about my affairs. Just don’t go drinking and having fun in the small garden of the fifth branch anymore. Otherwise, I’ll definitely tell Grandmother!"
Cheng Yi widened his eyes and said, "Aren’t you afraid I’ll drag Cheng Lu into this?"
"Cheng Lu is Cheng Lu, and I am me. What does he have to do with me?" Zhou Shaojin quickly clarified. "Don’t always mention us together—people might think there’s something between us! What kind of brother are you?"
Cheng Yi’s eyes widened even more, and he said, "But Cheng Lu asked me to come and ask if you’re going to Madam Shen’s class."
Zhou Shaojin immediately understood.Nine Prosperities Lane is entirely inhabited by members of the Cheng family. The Cheng Clan School is located at the end of the lane, expanded from a remote small courtyard of the Cheng family, separated from the Fifth House by a narrow alley. The men of the Cheng family all attend the Cheng Clan School, while the girls have a study called "Jing'an Studio" set up beside the bamboo grove in the inner garden, where they study and practice calligraphy under the guidance of female tutors. The small garden of the Fifth House’s inner residence faces the Cheng family’s inner garden across the water, connected by a winding stone bridge with nine bends. If she were to attend classes at "Jing'an Studio," Cheng Lu could vaguely observe the activities there from the Water Pavilion of the Fifth House. Although they couldn’t speak directly, he could send greetings through the Fifth House’s maids.
He wants to meet me in secret!
Zhou Shaojin sneered.
She had never met him privately before, let alone now.
Looking at Cheng Yi’s carefree and oblivious demeanor, Zhou Shaojin felt both annoyed and amused. She said, "Did I owe you a debt in a past life, for you to harm me like this? You don’t believe a single word I say, yet you never doubt anything Cheng Lu says. What benefit has he given you? Why do you run errands for him like this? If you keep this up, I’ll really have to complain to Grandmother!"
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