Rеturning tо Fragrant Gardеn Rеsidencе, Zhou Shaоjin did nоt slеер а wink all night.
She hаd been carefully listеning fоr anу movеmеnt оutsidе, yеt thеrе wаs nоne, аs if everything shе hаd eхperienсed was just а dream.
Тhе nехt mоrning, shе hаd dark cirсlеs under hеr еуes fоr the first timе.
Shi Хiang and Сhunwаn, who аttended to hеr washing and dressing, wеrе nоt much bеtter off. Mаdаm Fаn Liu, who wаs nоt оn dutу, sееmed tо jоin in the сommоtion, arriving еarlу tо hеlp Shi Хiаng аnd Сhunwan by handing оver towels and mirrors... bustling аbout, her gazе repеatеdlу falling оn Zhou Shaojin before hesitantly looking away.
Even if Zhou Shaojin were the most oblivious, she could tell that Madam Fan Liu had something to say to her.
She dismissed the other attendants in the room and asked Madam Fan Liu, "What is it you wish to say, Mama?"
Upon hearing this, Madam Fan Liu exchanged a glance with Shi Xiang and Chunwan, and the three of them knelt together before Zhou Shaojin, whispering, "Second Miss, we thought it over again and again after returning yesterday. The matter of encountering Fourth Master Chi must be treated as if it never happened, buried deep within us. No matter what happens in the future, no matter who asks, we must never speak of it..."
As she spoke, her earnest gaze rested on Zhou Shaojin, as if she needed Zhou Shaojin’s reassurance to feel at ease.
Zhou Shaojin suddenly understood.
For servant women like Madam Fan Liu, who served closely within the inner courtyard, keeping their mistress’s secrets was the most basic rule of survival. What they feared was that she herself might reveal the matter—especially to her elder sister, Zhou Chujin...
Of course, she must keep the secret!
Otherwise, wouldn’t she implicate Uncle Chi?
However, if Uncle Chi needed her to speak up, she would certainly do so.
But for now, there was no need to worry Madam Fan Liu and the others...
Zhou Shaojin gestured for Madam Fan Liu and the others to rise quickly, saying, "You’ve considered this more thoughtfully than I have. I even forgot to mention it to you. It’s best that you think this way. You must have heard Uncle Chi’s words yesterday—he has already helped us cover up this mess. If we were to drag him into it again, we would truly be betraying our own conscience. Let us never speak of this matter again!"
The three of them breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this and stood up happily.
Madam Fan Liu went to arrange breakfast for Zhou Shaojin. Chunwan directed the young maids to pour out the wash water and tidy the bed, while Shi Xiang helped Zhou Shaojin change her clothes. The room once again filled with a lively and harmonious atmosphere.
Zhou Chujin sent Dongwan to ask Zhou Shaojin, "Last night, the Fifth House caught fire. The Eldest Miss asks if the Second Miss was frightened?"
Only then did Zhou Shaojin feel a wave of belated fear.
It turned out that when the Fourth House saw the flames from the Fifth House and began beating gongs and drums, Qiuhan Hall received the news. Fearing that someone might take advantage of the chaos, an immediate ban was issued: everyone in each household was to stay behind closed doors. In case of urgent matters, two people must go together; otherwise, anyone caught would be severely beaten, regardless of life or death.
The Cheng family was a household that valued kindness and charity—how could they casually beat or scold their servants?
Such a ban had not been issued for several years.
No one dared to violate it.
That was how they were able to return to Fragrant Garden Residence safely and without drawing attention.
Otherwise, given her sister’s concern for her, as soon as the fire was discovered in the Fifth House, she would have come to check on her, and Zhou Shaojin would have been exposed...
Such high-stakes matters were truly not something she was cut out for!
Zhou Shaojin thought with some anguish, then smiled and asked Dongwan to relay a message back: "I heard the commotion yesterday but didn’t know what had happened. The Fifth House caught fire—was anyone seriously harmed?"Everyone in Fragrant Garden Residence knew that Zhou Shaojin was not one to worry about things. Dongwan didn't suspect anything either and said with a smile, "I heard it was Master Nuo from the fifth branch who brought people to gamble at home. They accidentally set fire to the trees by the Water Pavilion. Fortunately, our fourth branch arrived in time and immediately put out the fire. That's why our master was called over early this morning by the second branch's patriarch to be questioned about this matter!"
She wore an expression of shared pride.
Zhou Shaojin, however, felt secretly pleased.
By framing the responsibility for the fire as "Cheng Nuo bringing people to gamble at home," Cousin Yi's responsibility would be relatively much smaller, right?
If the matter was ultimately settled this way, the fourth branch would owe Uncle Chi an enormous favor.
Still, she hoped that after this incident, Cheng Yi would learn a lesson and not always treat others' words as mere background noise.
By the time they went to pay respects to Old Madam Guan, the news had already spread everywhere.
Old Madam Guan trembled with anger.
Even before Cheng Mian returned from the second branch's patriarch Cheng Xu, she sent someone to bring Cheng Yi back from the fifth branch.
"You've really brought honor to your parents!" Old Madam Guan made Cheng Yi kneel in the middle of Jia Shu Hall's courtyard and ordered Mama Wang to question him while holding a switch.
"Who told you to go gambling?"
"What does the Cheng family's family precepts say?"
"Are you still a descendant of the Cheng family?"
"Where has all your book learning gone?"
With each question, she struck him once with the switch.
Under the sunlight, Cheng Yi's thin, pale back was covered in shocking blue and purple welts, too painful to look at.
Cheng Yi lay sprawled on a spring bench, howling like a slaughtered pig.
Madam Mian hid in the tea room, covering her face and crying softly, yet she never spoke a single word to plead for her son.
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but view her eldest aunt in a new light.
She stepped forward and embraced Madam Mian, comforting her repeatedly: "Jade must be carved to become a vessel. Grandmother is doing this for Cousin Yi's own good. Sister has already sent for a doctor, and Mama Wang knows her limits—nothing serious will happen."
Madam Mian nodded through tear-blurred eyes and tightly grasped Zhou Shaojin's hand.
But Cheng Mian was not satisfied with this punishment. He not only called Cheng Yi into his study and scolded him severely but also ordered Cheng Gao to supervise him in copying the Spring and Autumn Annals ten times.
Cheng Yi wailed in despair, and from then on plunged into a sea of books and ink.
Old Madam Guan called Cheng Mian over to talk: "What did the patriarch say?"
Compared to Cheng Yi's youthful inability to resist the temptation of gambling, how the fire incident was evaluated would have a greater impact on Cheng Yi's future.
Cheng Mian smiled and said, "You needn't worry! The patriarch was very pleased with our vigilance and praised me for managing the household well. He even suggested that I help Zi Chuan manage the family affairs..."
Old Madam Guan immediately grew tense upon hearing this and hurriedly asked, "Did you agree?"
"How could I?" Cheng Mian laughed. "Zi Chuan handles the family affairs perfectly well, knows how to use people effectively, and hardly has anything to do himself. What could I do there? Be Zi Chuan's assistant or compete with him? I'm not that foolish. Don't worry, Mother."
"It's good that you understand," Old Madam Guan said, relieved.
Cheng Mian added, "The cause of the fire has also been clarified. It was just their carelessness in lighting something. We'll just need to be more careful with candles and fires in the future."
Old Madam Guan nodded.
Only after hearing this did Zhou Shaojin finally feel the weight in her heart completely lift.However, when it came to dealing with the issue of the younger generation gambling, the Fifth Branch's handling revealed clear distinctions.
Cheng Wen simply gave Cheng Nuo a beating and then left him to his own devices. Cheng Ju's family was even more indulgent, allowing his mother, Madam Yu, to bring him to apologize to Cheng Chi, who managed the Cheng family's affairs. She even said, "His father is too ashamed to face you. He asked me to bring him here, so you can beat or scold him as you see fit, Fourth Master."
It is said that Cheng Chi chuckled a few times, offered some mild criticism to Cheng Ju, and then sent the mother and son on their way.
The Second Branch's patriarch, Cheng Xu, was more concerned with investigating why no one had noticed the fire in the Fifth Branch in time or attempted to put it out.
After being punished by Cheng Xu to kneel, Cheng Wen's knees were still aching, and he was looking for an excuse to take his frustrations out on Madam Wen. When this incident occurred, and since the fire had started from the inner quarters, Cheng Wen became as excited as if he had taken a potent tonic. He summoned Madam Wen's brothers from her maternal family, loudly declaring that Madam Wen was incompetent in managing the household and that he intended to divorce her.
The Cheng family had never had a divorced wife before.
This, of course, was nothing but a joke.
It was merely meant to humiliate Madam Wen.
Madam Wen had been caught in a vulnerable position and couldn't even offer a word in her defense. Madam Yuan of the Eldest Branch, conscious of her status, had always avoided gossiping with her sisters-in-law. Madam Hong of the Second Branch was a woman of few words, while Madam Mian of the Fourth Branch was someone who preferred to smooth things over. So, Madam Wen turned to Madam Jiang, pouring out her grievances and making Madam Jiang's head spin, yet unable to ignore her. The entire Nine Prosperities Lane was thrown into quite a commotion.
To the younger generation, the disputes among their elders seemed like a grand drama.
Cheng Jia sipped her iced plum soup and whispered to Zhou Shaojin, "Do you think Fifth Uncle Wen will take this opportunity to bring that mistress of his back home?"
Before Zhou Shaojin could respond, Pan Qing said seriously, "If he brings it up again now, he would truly be out of his mind—even if the family agrees to divorce Madam Wen, they would never allow him to bring that mistress into the household. This concerns the family's rules and the distinction between respect and inferiority. It would cause endless trouble in the future."
Cheng Jia was displeased with Pan Qing's interruption and pouted, "As if you know everything!"
Pan Qing ignored her and quietly lowered her head to practice her calligraphy.
Cheng Jia asked Zhou Shaojin, "If you were Fifth Aunt Wen, what would you do?"
"Me?" Zhou Shaojin was taken aback for a moment before replying earnestly, "I probably wouldn't let things come to this point. If the man likes someone, just let him take her as a concubine. What's the point of all this arguing and quarreling?"
At worst, she could simply move to the manor estate.
It wasn't as if she hadn't lived there before.
Cheng Jia didn't agree with Zhou Shaojin's answer, but upon reflection, she realized that Zhou Shaojin truly was that kind of person.
She whispered to Zhou Shaojin, "My mother says that in such situations, it's best not to argue or make a scene. Instead, place a few women around Fifth Uncle Wen who are more beautiful and better at pleasing him than that mistress. If the two sides still can't break ties, then bring her into the household—distance lends enchantment, while familiarity breeds contempt. There will always be ways to deal with someone. All this quarreling and fuss only makes one lose face."
In matters like these, unless one has experienced them, no one can claim to handle them well.
Zhou Shaojin nodded perfunctorily.
A flicker of disdain passed through Pan Qing's eyes nearby.
As for Cheng Yi, he harbored a different kind of grievance.He hobbled over to Zhou Shaojin's place for a visit: "...I asked around, and that fire definitely wasn't started by us. But when it broke out, no one from the fifth branch came to put it out. That Qin Mian was like a dark-faced deity—after just a few questions, somehow it ended up being blamed on us... Isn't that unfair?"
Cheng Yi sprawled across the cool couch in Zhou Shaojin's west-wing study, venting his frustration by tugging at her wolf-hair brush.
Zhou Shaojin, however, brightened upon hearing this and asked, "Qin Mian? Who is that? How come I've never heard of him?"
"Oh," Cheng Yi replied lazily, "he's Chief Steward Qin's grandson. He served by Cousin Chi's side since childhood, and later, when Cousin Chi took over managing the family's affairs, he also started working as a steward in the estate... He spends most of his time outside collecting debts and only returns during festivals... This was my first time meeting him too... Who would have thought everyone around Cousin Chi would be so formidable! But they really did wrong us this time..."
Zhou Shaojin had already lost interest in whatever else he rambled on about.
She now knew that Chief Steward Qin was Cheng Chi's man, and Cheng Chi would be fine—that was all that mattered.
But then, who exactly was Jiying?
※
Today's bonus update!
o(n_n)o~
The evening update will be at the usual time.
※ (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please vote to recommend it or cast a monthly vote. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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