Сhеng Jiа fаwninglу callеd fоr Сui Нuаn to brew a роt of prе-Qingming West Lakе Lоngjing tеа.
Zhоu Shаojin teаsed her, "So you aсtuаlly hаve suсh finе tеа herе! Whу did уоu sеrve mе Da Hong Раo lаst time I camе? And yоu even sаid I соuld tаkе аnуthing I fanciеd—уet уоu wоuldn’t evеn spаrе the goоd tеa, mаking such emptу boasts!"
It wasn’t thаt Wеst Lаke Lоngjing was necеssаrilу bettеr thаn Dа Ноng Рaо, but Wеst Lakе Longjing wаs a spring tеa, whilе Dа Нong Рао wаs an autumn teа. Now that it was alreаdy summer, last аutumn’s Da Hоng Pао naturаlly couldn’t compare to this spring’s West Lake Longjing.
Cheng Jia chuckled and said, "No, no. Those were all the servants acting on their own. You know how it is—I’ve been confined here, how could I possibly have the mood for tea?" By the end of her words, her tone carried a hint of melancholy.
Zhou Shaojin didn’t believe her.
"How can you doubt me?" Cheng Jia pretended to be angry and pounced on her.
Zhou Shaojin stood up to dodge.
The two of them playfully tussled for a while.
Cheng Jia asked Zhou Shaojin about her visit to the Gu family.
Knowing how bored she was, Zhou Shaojin recounted her visit to the Gu family in great detail.
Cheng Jia listened with keen interest. At one point, she remarked, "So, from what you’re saying, Wu Baozhang was excluded by Miss Sun and the others," then asked, "What does that Miss A Zhu look like? What gems were set in her necklace?" and later, "How many young ladies are there in the Gu family? Is the seventeenth young lady really as wonderful as you say?"... When it came to the part where Old Madam An invited them to play cards, Cheng Jia burst out laughing and said, "It seems there are benefits to not being skilled at cards after all. Old Madam An will definitely remember Sister Chujin. Who knows, she might even specially send an invitation for Sister Chujin to come play cards someday!"
If only that were the case.
The Gu family held immense prestige among the literati in the south. The Liao family, also a family of scholars, would only benefit from Sister Chujin growing closer to the Gu family, with no drawbacks whatsoever.
Zhou Shaojin thought for a moment but ultimately decided not to tell Cheng Jia about the ghost marriage. Instead, she seized the opportunity to inquire about Cheng Chi, saying, "...According to Old Madam An, Uncle Chi often visits her... Do you know anything about Uncle Chi?"
"No, I don’t," Cheng Jia replied carelessly, smiling. "I’ve only heard my father say that Uncle Chi is incredibly capable and very skilled at business. He also has ships traveling north and south. Whenever our family’s shops acquire good medicinal herbs, they’re shipped back on Uncle Chi’s vessels." As she spoke, she winked at Zhou Shaojin and added, "Anyway, the eldest branch is very wealthy. Old Madam Guo is even richer. If you diligently copy scriptures for Old Madam Guo, she won’t treat you poorly."
Zhou Shaojin didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Cheng Jia summoned a servant woman, handed her the invitation, and said, "Go quickly and show this to my mother. Ask her whether I should go or not."
The third branch had always been keen on associating with the nobility.
Zhou Shaojin was fully confident that Madam Jiang would agree to let Cheng Jia visit the Liangguo Duke’s residence, which was precisely why she had asked A Zhu for the invitation.
The servant woman hurried off.
Zhou Shaojin didn’t want to run into Madam Jiang, so she stood up to take her leave.
But Cheng Jia held her back, saying, "You’re the one who got me this invitation. You should at least see my mother before you go."In her view, her mother had always been somewhat vain. Zhou Shaojin helping her obtain an invitation to the Liangguo Duke's residence was an extremely honorable matter for her mother, who should have expressed gratitude to Zhou Shaojin. From Zhou Shaojin's perspective, Madam Jiang was not only overly concerned with face and liked to compete for superiority, but also had a very hard heart. When there were no conflicts of interest, she treated Cheng Jia with utmost kindness, but when interests clashed, she showed no mercy. Zhou Shaojin disliked such people and thought it best to have minimal contact with them.
"Who knows what Aunt Lu might say?" she joked. "I don’t want to stay here and watch you and your mother quarrel. When that happens, should I help you or Aunt Lu? I’d better return to Fragrant Garden Residence first. Once you’ve made a decision, just send a maid to let me know."
Cheng Jia felt Zhou Shaojin’s reasoning made sense and reluctantly let her go.
However, on the way back, she still encountered Madam Jiang, who was surrounded by a group of maids and elderly servants.
"Shao Jin!" Madam Jiang greeted Zhou Shaojin from afar. "I heard you helped Jia’er get an invitation to the Liangguo Duke’s residence. You’re truly thoughtful! No wonder our Jia’er always says you’re her good sister, never forgetting her when something good comes along." As she approached, she smiled broadly and took Zhou Shaojin’s hand. "I wonder what rules the Liangguo Duke’s residence has? What should we prepare for her? We mustn’t embarrass Nine Prosperities Lane when the time comes." She added, "Shao Jin, your aunt recently acquired a few pairs of jade hairpins. The craftsmanship and quality are quite decent. I’ll have a maid send them over later for you and your sister to wear for fun."
Zhou Shaojin was slightly taken aback.
In her past life, she and Cheng Jia had been so close, and she had done so much for Cheng Jia, yet Madam Jiang had never once thanked her or given her even a needle or thread.
She suddenly understood a little why Old Madam Guan didn’t particularly like dealing with the third branch of the family—in their eyes, there was only profit, no kinship. Even if kinship existed, it was subordinate to profit. It felt too cold-hearted.
Zhou Shaojin felt she had nothing in common with Madam Jiang and that further conversation would be pointless. Smiling, she thanked her and said, "My elder aunt is helping prepare my sister’s and my clothing and accessories. I’m not sure about the rules either."
Let her elder aunt deal with Madam Jiang instead; she didn’t think she had the ability for it.
"Is that so?" Madam Jiang laughed. "Then I’ll go ask your elder aunt later."
Zhou Shaojin parted ways with Madam Jiang.
Returning to Fragrant Garden Residence, her sister had not yet come back, but Madam Ma Fushan brought her a letter from her father addressed to her and her sister.
The letter had been sent in mid-June and only arrived in mid-July.
The round trip had taken nearly a month.
Yet usually, when her sister wrote to their father, she received a reply within half a month at most.
Could it be because their father found this letter difficult to answer?
Zhou Shaojin rubbed the envelope for a long while before finally using scissors to cut it open.
Her father briefly answered her question about what colors and styles of clothing she liked to wear but spent two-thirds of the letter discussing the Zhuang family’s old residence on Official Street.He did not mention the entanglement between the Zhuang and Cheng families, but only told Zhou Shaojin which properties of the Zhuang family were inherited by her uncle from the Zhuang side and which were left to Madam Zhuang. This was decided by her maternal grandfather, Old Master Zhuang. Although Old Master Zhuang was only a scholar, he had traveled far and wide, possessed great wisdom, and naturally had his reasons for doing so. As a junior, she should not question Old Master Zhuang’s decisions. Therefore, regardless of how her uncle from the Zhuang side ultimately handled the mansion, Zhou Shaojin should not interfere, nor should she buy the mansion back. Moreover, her uncle from the Zhuang side was a man of questionable character, so it was best for her not to have any contact with him. If there were any matters, she could directly inform him or ask him, as rumors cease with the wise.
Her father must have understood her meaning, which was why he told her not to concern herself with the mansion on Guan Street…
In other words, her father was aware of her mother’s affairs.
Her mother had been open and honest with her father, which made Zhou Shaojin feel a sense of relief. Her gaze fell on the letter her father had written to her sister.
What would her father say to her sister?
Zhou Shaojin was eager to find out and very much wanted to read the letter.
She picked it up and put it down, then put it down and picked it up again. Finally, she thought of a perfect solution—she put away the letter her father had written to her, and when Zhou Chujin returned, they could read her father’s reply to her sister together.
Thinking about how she had kept things from her sister, she felt uneasy. However, Zhou Chujin did not suspect anything and smiled as she read the letter with her.
In the letter, Zhou Zhen took on a different tone regarding the matter.
He instructed Zhou Chujin not to let Zhou Shaojin leave the residence casually and, above all, not to buy the mansion on Guan Street. Finally, he said that after the autumn harvest, when the yamen was less busy, he would send one of his advisors back to Jinling. If there were any matters, they could discuss them then.
Zhou Chujin and Zhou Shaojin exchanged glances.
It was just a mansion near the Cheng family, yet their father was actually sending one of his advisors back to Jinling.
Zhou Chujin was very puzzled, but Zhou Shaojin knew that her father had become suspicious and wanted to send his trusted aide back to see for himself.
That might be for the best.
Perhaps they could clarify some matters through her father’s advisor, saving her from running around aimlessly.
Zhou Shaojin smiled as she put away the letter and comforted her sister, “Since that’s the case, let’s leave it to Father. It’ll save you from worrying.”
Zhou Chujin was exasperated, saying, “This is our own matter. What does it mean to leave it to someone else? You, you’re always content with just getting by and never worry about anything.”
Zhou Shaojin chuckled and changed the subject, asking about the gift for A Zhu, “...What is it?”
“A set of rare edition brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones from Wende Pavilion,” Zhou Chujin showed it to her and sighed, “It was found in Uncle Mian’s study. He said only a hundred sets were sold back then, each one different. Uncle Mian’s set was originally meant to be passed down to Cousin Gao, featuring the ‘Three Friends of Winter.’ This time, he gave it to us as a gift, saying that since our family is one of scholars and poets, these things are the most appropriate.”
“Isn’t that inappropriate?” Zhou Shaojin felt very grateful to her uncle and aunt but said, “Wouldn’t that be taking something meant for Cousin Gao?”
“I said the same thing,” Zhou Chujin replied with some helplessness, “But Aunt said that objects are lifeless, while people are alive, and told me to find something even better for Cousin Gao in the future.”
Zhou Shaojin worried, “Where can we find something like that? Should we write a letter to Father and ask him to think of a way?”Her sister's face flushed as she mumbled, "Don't worry about this matter—I've already agreed to it. When the time comes, you just take the gift and go."
Yet in her heart, she recalled her eldest aunt's words, half-joking and half-serious: "Today we give gifts to others; tomorrow others may give gifts to us. As long as you both marry good husbands, what does a set of writing materials matter? Even if it were antiques or rare stones, your eldest aunt wouldn't begrudge them."
Zhou Shaojin, however, thought that if it really came to it, she could try to buy a set at a high price from someone else.
Each sister had her own plan in mind, and for a while, neither brought up the topic again. They invited Madam Mian over to help them choose jewelry to wear on the Zhongyuan Festival.
Guo'er, sent by Madam Jiang to deliver jade hairpins, said with a smile, "...She said two pairs for the eldest young lady and two pairs for the second young lady."
The carved red lacquer box, adorned with exquisite lotus patterns, made it clear at a glance that the contents were very precious.
Zhou Shaojin smiled and expressed her thanks, inviting Guo'er to stay for tea and snacks.
Guo'er declined, smiling as she replied, "Madam is currently selecting Zhongyuan Festival clothes and jewelry for the eldest young lady and is waiting for me to return and open the storeroom!"
Zhou Shaojin didn't insist. She had Shi Xiang fetch a pouch containing a pair of silver ingots engraved with the motif of "rising step by step" and sent Guo'er off.
※
Sisters, here's today's bonus update.
Pink votes, pink votes...
※ (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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