Сhеng Lu аnd Сheng Xu wеrе bоth аt thе Water Pаviliоn.
What was Рan Qing going thеrе fоr?
Zhоu Shаоjin vaguelу felt that this matter should havе sоmething tо do with Сhеng Хu.
Вut why wоuld shе сhооse tоday to sее Chеng Xu?
Did the third branсh know abоut this?
She loоkеd tоwаrd Сhеng Хian.
Chеng Хian wаs smiling аnd сhatting with Мadаm Yu, sеemingly unаwаre thаt Pan Qing, who hаd been by hеr sidе аll alоng, was no longеr in thе flоwer hаll.
Shе lооkеd tоward Оld Мadаm Li.
Old Мadam Li wаs listening сhееrfully аs Оld Маdam Guo and Оld Madam Tang sрoke, aрpeаring obliviоus tо the рeople around her.
Zhou Shaojin then looked toward Madam Jiang.
Although Madam Jiang wore a smile, she was not as enthusiastic and proactive as usual. Instead, she stood quietly to the side, listening to others speak, while the corner of her eyes occasionally darted toward the eastern entrance leading to the Water Pavilion.
Zhou Shaojin understood.
So, Pan Qing had the support of the third branch, or perhaps the third branch had instructed her?
She sneered inwardly, tugged at Cheng Jia’s sleeve, and whispered, “Pan Qing has gone to the Water Pavilion. Should we go and see?”
“Go, of course we should go,” Cheng Jia replied without hesitation, following Zhou Shaojin as they slipped out of the flower hall again. “What is she doing at the Water Pavilion?”
“I don’t know,” Zhou Shaojin said. “Let’s go and see first, then decide.”
Cheng Jia nodded.
The two cautiously made their way toward the Water Pavilion.
Soon, they spotted Pan Qing.
She stood under a large banyan tree outside the Water Pavilion, her expression conflicted as she gazed toward it, seemingly unable to decide whether to go in or walk away.
Cheng Jia immediately jumped up and whispered, “She must be here to see Cousin Xu. Look at her—even if she admires Cousin Xu, couldn’t she be a bit more reserved? Does she have to chase after him so eagerly? If someone sees her like this, they’ll think she can’t get married… Where would that leave the face of Grandmother, Aunt, and Mother? And my mother praises her all the time—isn’t this a slap in her face? How utterly embarrassing…”
Zhou Shaojin fell silent for a moment.
Cheng Jia… had inadvertently hit upon the third branch’s intentions… Pan Qing did want to marry Cheng Xu, and the third branch indeed wished to strengthen ties with the eldest branch through marriage…
She recalled the words often spoken by the servants in Nine Prosperities Lane: “…Don’t be fooled by how lively the third branch seems, how big their business is, how much money they have. It’s all as fleeting as water. The moment they encounter the eldest or second branch, they immediately fall short. Do you know why? Because the third branch has never produced an official—without the eldest and second branches helping to smooth things over, forget everything else, just the customs duties on their medicinal goods from the northwest to Jinling alone would strip a layer of skin off the third branch, let alone talk about doing business.”
This was also why Zhou Shaojin had never taken these words to heart.The third branch's Old Master Cheng Jin was once also a promising scholar. He had smoothly passed the imperial examinations alongside the second branch's Second Old Master Cheng Shao, both earning the title of Provincial Graduate. Later, Cheng Jin voluntarily gave up his scholarly pursuits to wholeheartedly manage the third branch's business, turning their Yongshoutang Pharmacy into the largest medicinal merchant in Jiangnan. In contrast, the third branch's Eldest Master Cheng Lu had been obedient since childhood and was willing to study diligently, yet despite his utmost efforts, he only managed to pass the county-level examinations, becoming a Xiucai. He truly lacked the talent for scholarly pursuits. Logically, Cheng Lu should have long abandoned the imperial examinations. Yet, he stubbornly continued to study, book in hand, and Cheng Jin never discouraged him, simply supporting him. Instead, it was his son Cheng Zheng, Cheng Jia's own brother, who took the lead, passing the county-level examinations at a young age...
Thinking of this, Zhou Shaojin's heart skipped a beat.
If she remembered correctly, Cheng Zheng had passed the county-level examinations at sixteen. After that, he never participated in the imperial examinations again.
Even if his foundational knowledge was weak, after four years, he still didn't attempt the exams... For a family like the Chengs, where elders could guide the younger generation in their scholarly pursuits, this seemed rather unusual.
In her previous life, Cheng Zheng only began participating in the imperial examinations after Cheng Xu's incident, when he had already fallen into alcoholism and despair, with no hope left. Moreover, it was through Cheng Jing's guidance that he quickly surpassed Cheng Shi, who had passed the provincial examinations before him, and achieved success in the palace examinations, entering the Junior Scholar Candidate Academy...
Zhou Shaojin felt as though it was becoming difficult to breathe.
Could it be... could it be that the first and second branches had always been working together to suppress the third branch, preventing them from achieving success in the imperial examinations...? That was why they took such risks in the matter of Pan Qing and Cheng Xu's marriage... Pan Qing marrying into the first branch was not only an alliance but, in a sense, perhaps also a signal of reconciliation... Was this why her grandmother was unwilling to act as a matchmaker and reveal Cheng Xian's wish to marry her daughter to Cheng Xu to Madam Yuan?
What exactly happened during the division of the family back then?
Zhou Shaojin gazed at the dazzling splendor before her, feeling as though everything she saw was a mirage. In reality, a monstrous beast crouched before her, ready to reveal its true form at any moment and devour them all.
"Shaoji, Shaojin," Cheng Jia gently nudged her.
Zhou Shaojin snapped back to reality.
Cheng Jia complained, "You can space out even while I'm talking to you. I really can't believe it! Didn't you say you had a way to make Pan Qing lose face? What do we do now?"
What to do?
In her previous life, even if the third branch hadn't directly participated in the incident where Cheng Xu humiliated her, they had certainly played a part behind the scenes.
In this life, she would expose the third branch's true nature.
At the very least, she had to let Old Madam Guo know the third branch's intentions.
Pan Qing's actions were not only her own doing but also supported by the third branch.
"Let's go back to the flower hall," Zhou Shaojin said. "We can't let the people in the Water Pavilion discover Pan Qing."
In her previous life, one of the main reasons Madam Yuan hated her was because her appearance had disrupted the marriage alliance between the Cheng and Min families, ruining Cheng Xu's future.
Pan Qing's family background was no better than hers. Marrying Pan Qing to Cheng Xu would similarly prevent Cheng Xu from forming an alliance with a more prominent family. Both Cheng Zheng and Cheng Shi would benefit from this.
In the Water Pavilion were Cheng Zheng, Pan Zhuo, and Cheng Shi, who was watching from the sidelines, ready to stir up trouble at any moment. At this point, their interests aligned. With them helping Pan Qing, she couldn't possibly catch the third branch's weak points.
Zhou Shaojin took Cheng Jia's hand and headed toward the flower hall.Cheng Jia was caught off guard, stumbling as she was dragged along, and complained, "What are you doing? How did you suddenly become so strong..."
Zhou Shaojin had no time to explain—and even if she did, it wouldn’t be clear—so as soon as they entered the flower hall, she took matters into her own hands and grabbed the head matron serving there. She brought up Pan Qing: "...she’s been gone for so long and hasn’t returned. We just went to the privy and didn’t see her. You should send someone to look for her right away."
"Privy" was a refined term, referring to the chamber pot, a euphemism for the toilet.
Her voice was not loud, but not too soft either—gentle and full of concern.
Many people looked over and noticed Pan Qing was not in the flower hall.
Old Lady Li appeared somewhat uncomfortable. She said, "This child, who knows where she went?" Seeing Cheng Jia with Zhou Shaojin, she added, "Jia girl, weren’t you with your cousin? Do you know where she went?"
This was truly speaking with eyes wide open.
Cheng Jia had clearly been with her the whole time, yet Old Lady Li insisted Cheng Jia had been with Pan Qing all along.
Zhou Shaojin saw Madam Jiang’s brows furrow almost imperceptibly. She was about to say something, but Cheng Jia beat her to it: "No! I’ve been with Shaojin the whole time. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Shaojin. We just came back from the privy together."
Her clueless, utterly uncomprehending expression left Old Lady Li speechless. She remained silent for a long while.
Zhou Shaojin nearly laughed out loud.
Pan Qing hurried in from outside with a young maid.
Seeing everyone looking at her, her face flushed slightly. With an embarrassed expression, she asked, "Did something happen?" Then, in an attempt to cover up, she explained, "I just went to the privy. When I came out, I noticed a few orchids blooming beautifully near the flower hall, so I went to take a look. Is... is something wrong?"
"What could be wrong?" Madam Jiang immediately chimed in with a smile. "It’s your cousin Shaojin. She didn’t see you and was worried, so she asked us to look for you..."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The atmosphere in the flower hall instantly became lively and festive again. People resumed their conversations and activities.
Pan Qing then stepped forward with a smile to thank Zhou Shaojin for her concern.
However, Zhou Shaojin noticed that the young maid by Pan Qing’s side was not her usual attendant but the same maid who had whispered to her earlier in front of the Water Pavilion.
She said nothing, simply smiling at Pan Qing.
Pan Qing, however, shot a cold glance at Cheng Jia.
Cheng Jia was utterly baffled.
But Zhou Shaojin knew that Pan Qing had misunderstood Cheng Jia, thinking it was Cheng Jia who had been keeping an eye on her and raised the alarm when she noticed her absence.
Cheng Jia... sometimes really did get unfairly blamed...
Zhou Shaojin lowered her eyelids.
Cheng Jia was furious and about to say something when Madam Jiang called her over.
Zhou Shaojin thought for a moment and, noticing Madam Mian speaking with someone in the southern corner of the flower hall, walked over with a smile. Softly, she said, "When I went out earlier, I noticed someone over by the Water Pavilion. After asking the head matrons, I learned it was Cousin Shi and the others enjoying the cool there. What do you think—should we send someone over to attend to them? There’s still an hour before the birthday congratulations begin!"
Madam Mian nodded repeatedly, instructing a head matron to take care of the matter, and praised her with a smile: "Shaojin is so thoughtful. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have known about this!"
Several women nearby also praised her upon hearing this.Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but blush, murmuring a few polite responses before turning to find Cheng Jia.
The matron beside Madam Jiang kept a close watch on Cheng Jia, preventing her from moving about freely.
Zhou Shaojin and Cheng Jia thus sat in a corner within Madam Jiang's line of sight, whispering together in shared resentment about Pan Qing.
The sun gradually rose higher.
Nearly all the guests had arrived.
The flower hall buzzed with laughter and cheerful chatter, growing even livelier.
Pan Qing, who had originally been sitting in a corner with Cheng Xian, was nowhere to be seen.
Zhou Shaojin remained composed, continuing her conversation with Cheng Jia.
After a while, the little maid tasked with watching Pan Qing signaled to her with her eyes.
Zhou Shaojin sat for a few more moments before saying to Cheng Jia, "I need to use the privy. Are you coming?"
"Yes!" Cheng Jia, already brimming with frustration from sitting still for so long, was eager to move around.
A little maid ran to inform Madam Jiang.
Madam Jiang nodded in approval.
A matron from the third household accompanied Zhou Shaojin and Cheng Jia out of the flower hall.
Zhou Shaojin gestured for the matron to stand farther away, then whispered to Cheng Jia, "Do you dare go with me to the Water Pavilion?"
Cheng Jia blinked her bright, clear eyes.
Zhou Shaojin smiled and nodded.
"Run!" Cheng Jia suddenly grabbed Zhou Shaojin's hand and dashed toward the Water Pavilion. "What's the big deal? At worst, we'll get a beating from Mother when we return! I'd rather take a beating than have to look at Pan Qing's hypocritical face!"
※
Sisters, here's today's update.
I realize I'll need to post an extra update tomorrow as well.
It'll still be at the usual time.
o(n_n)o~
※ (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please consider voting with your recommendations or monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
!!
OpenNovel