Маdаm Мiаn in the roоm smilеd аnd sаid, "Nо wonder the Тhird Вranch is mаnaged bу уоur Аunt Lu. With hеr сlevernеss, no one in the entire hоusеhold сan mаtсh hеr." Аs she sроkе, shе оpеned the boх.
Тherе were eight hаirpins in totаl, all madе оf gоld inlаid with jаdе. Тwo pаirs wеre оf muttоn-fаt jadе, adоrnеd with auspiсiоus clоud-shaped hеads; two pаirs wеrе of Нetian jadе, inlаid with рeасе gоurds; twо рairs wеrе of еmerаld, with treasurе vasе-shарed hеаds; аnd twо pairs werе of agate, deсorated with mаgnolia flоwer-shарed hеads. The mutton-fat jade was flawless throughout, the Hetian jade was moist and fine-textured; the emerald was a vibrant green; and the agate was bright and beautiful—each piece was a masterpiece.
Madam Mian gasped in astonishment and said, "What a grand gesture!"
Zhou Shaojin suddenly thought of Li Jing.
She couldn’t help but smile and said, "It’s likely Aunt Lu is doing a favor, borrowing flowers to offer to Buddha!"
Madam Mian didn’t understand at first.
Zhou Shaojin pointed toward the east, where the Third Branch was located, and said, "Didn’t the tailor mention it? The old lady’s grandnephew came to visit her, and the gifts alone filled several carts..."
Madam Mian laughed and said, "You clever little thing, you remember every word others say."
Zhou Shaojin giggled.
Madam Mian closed the box and said, "Put it away! No matter what, these are fine items. They can be part of your dowry later."
Both of them blushed as they stored the box away.
In the evening, Cui Huan came to deliver a message to Zhou Shaojin: "Our Madam has agreed to let the young lady spend the Mid-Yuan Festival at the Liangguo Duke’s residence. Clothes and accessories are also prepared. Our young lady said she will come to fetch you and the eldest young lady then."
Zhou Shaojin nodded. On the morning of the Mid-Yuan Festival, after paying respects to their ancestors, they waited in their room for Cheng Jia.
But after waiting for a long time, there was no sign of her. Zhou Chujin said, "Could she have changed her mind and decided not to go?"
Zhou Shaojin sent Wanxiang to check.
Wanxiang returned and said, "Miss Jia went to bid farewell to the old lady. Coincidentally, the old lady’s maternal cousin’s son also came to bid farewell. Cui Huan said Miss Jia thought there was nothing for her to do, so she didn’t send anyone to inform you. Who knew the old lady hadn’t seen her maternal family for nearly twenty years? She held the cousin’s son’s hand and talked endlessly, so Miss Jia couldn’t just leave. She asks you and the eldest young lady to wait a little longer. She’ll be here soon."
"Cousin’s son?" Zhou Shaojin asked, "Li Jing?"
"I don’t know his name," Wanxiang said. "But he’s definitely surnamed Li. The people around him call him ‘Master’."
Zhou Shaojin collapsed onto the bed in uncontrollable laughter, wrinkling her clothes and disheveling her accessories.
She had schemed tirelessly to arrange a meeting between Cheng Jia and Li Jing, even going so far as to find out where Li Jing was staying. Yet, Cheng Jia and Li Jing had met so unexpectedly.
Even if it was during a farewell.
If they were fated, they would surely meet again.
She had managed to patch up this loophole.
Zhou Shaojin silently chanted "Amitabha Buddha" in her heart.
Zhou Chujin came over and pulled her up, saying, "Get up quickly. We’re about to leave. Look at you—what a mess!"
With the heavy burden lifted from her heart, Zhou Shaojin felt relieved and became somewhat lazy.
She stood up with her sister’s help, took off her clothes for Wanxiang to iron again, but her mind flashed to the image of Cheng Chi wearing a moon-white fine linen robe.
Uncle Chi certainly didn’t have to worry about wrinkles in his clothes every moment like she did, nor did he need to iron them as frequently as she did.
※
That day, they released lanterns by the Mochou Lake.The moon reflected on the lake, where floating lanterns resembled scattered stars, transforming Mochou Lake into a galaxy.
After just a few words, Cheng Jia and A Zhu became inseparable friends—hand in hand, they went to release river lanterns. They whispered secrets to each other, giggled and teased Zhou Shaojin. They tossed coins one by one to beggars on the roadside, one making funny faces while the other smiled sweetly to amuse the child in a young mother’s arms... Zhou Shaojin and her elder sister Zhou Chujin, along with the Gu family’s seventeenth young lady, became mere bystanders. Fortunately, all three of them were gentle and quiet by nature, finding joy in watching the lively commotion and cheerful laughter.
The people from the Liangguo Duke’s estate, however, did not share this sentiment.
Mammy Gong kept wiping sweat from her forehead as she said to Zhou Chujin, “Miss Cheng is truly... spirited...”
Zhou Chujin, who always defended her family in front of outsiders, pretended not to catch the implied meaning and replied with a gentle smile, “My cousin is lively and cheerful. Not only do my sister and I adore her, but the elders in our family also treasure her like a precious jewel. Yet, she is also carefree and generous—whenever her siblings take a liking to something she owns, she waves her hand and lets them have it. She’s even earned the nickname ‘Female Mengchang’... Naturally, her temperament is a bit unrestrained.”
Mammy Gong had no choice but to fall silent.
Suddenly, a loud “bang!” lit up the eastern night sky.
“Look, look!” Cheng Jia and A Zhu exclaimed in unison. “Someone is setting off fireworks over there!”
Zhou Shaojin, Zhou Chujin, and Gu Shiqigu turned to look and saw bursts of purple, red, green, and blue fireworks blooming in the sky, dazzling and beautiful.
“How splendid!”
The group paused to watch.
Others gradually noticed the fireworks in the east as well, spreading the word among themselves. The bustling Mochou Lake, crowded with pedestrians, grew noisy for a moment before settling into a shared spectacle. Whether it was noblewomen like them, surrounded by guards and mammy attendants to release river lanterns, or ordinary families with parents holding hands and brothers standing guard, everyone stopped to watch, occasionally letting out sighs of admiration.
Zhou Shaojin closed her eyes, praying to the Bodhisattva that they could forever live in such wonderful times.
Someone nearby chuckled and said, “Cousin, what a coincidence! I never expected to run into you all here!”
Zhou Shaojin opened her eyes and turned around to see Cheng Xu’s grinning face. Looking more closely, she noticed Cheng Lu, Cheng Nuo, Cheng Ju, and several other young men she didn’t recognize standing not far behind him.
Cheng Xu was actually mingling with Cheng Lu!
Zhou Shaojin was utterly astonished.
In her past life, Cheng Lu had once mentioned Cheng Xu, describing him as heaven’s favored one—not only of noble birth and handsome appearance, but also exceptionally brilliant. While others needed to read something several times to remember it, he only needed one glance, possessing a photographic memory. Moreover, he was proficient in the six arts of a gentleman, and with a father serving among the Nine Ministers paving his way, his future was undoubtedly bright.
Cheng Lu had even joked that someone like Cheng Xu, too perfect, was like “gold that becomes brittle when overly tempered, or jade that shatters when too hard”—and that might not necessarily be a good thing...She faintly sensed that Cheng Lu harbored a feeling of "if Zhou Yu was born, why was Zhuge Liang also born?" toward Cheng Xu. She even worried that Cheng Lu might have suffered some grievance in the clan school and specifically sent someone to inquire. The person who returned reported that Cheng Lu and Cheng Xu belonged to entirely different circles. Cheng Xu, having earned the title of xiucai early on and being the top candidate despite his young age, associated mostly with those of similar status and rarely interacted with people from the clan school. Cheng Lu, in contrast, was humble, cautious, broad-minded, and tolerant. He was close to both the teachers and students in the clan school, enjoyed good relationships, and held considerable prestige.
At the time, she felt indignant on Cheng Lu’s behalf, thinking he was down-to-earth, neither arrogant nor impatient, far better than Cheng Xu, who merely had a more influential father than Cheng Lu... But now, looking back and thinking carefully, Cheng Lu likely felt more envy and jealousy toward Cheng Xu...
Yet why, after her rebirth, had things changed—in her previous life, Cheng Lu and Cheng Xu were like a roc and a phoenix, always keeping their distance. But in this life, they had actually come together... What exactly had happened? Why did things always change? It left her overwhelmed!
She could find a way to pull Cheng Jia back onto her original path. But what about Cheng Xu’s affairs? She had no ability to intervene... And even if she did, she wouldn’t want to...
Zhou Shaojin, like the proverbial ostrich burying its head in the sand, called her sister forward and hid herself to the side.
A flicker of disappointment passed through Cheng Xu’s eyes.
He couldn’t understand why Zhou Shaojin always avoided him.
Even if he didn’t have feelings for her, they were still relatives by marriage. There was no need for her to guard against him as if he were a thief! Besides, he came from a respectable background, was handsome and talented, and was even willing to humble himself before her. How could she be so heartless? Could it really be, as Cheng Lu said, that she was still too young to understand these things?
Cheng Xu frowned.
Cheng Lu stepped forward with a smile, respectfully bowed to Zhou Chujin, and addressed her as "Eldest Cousin," saying, "Today is the Ghost Festival, so the clan school is on holiday. A few of my close classmates and I agreed to visit the temple fair and release river lanterns together. I didn’t expect to run into you."
His smile was gentle, his demeanor elegant, like a refined gentleman, exuding a strong scholarly air.
Zhou Chujin exchanged a few pleasantries with him, and then Cheng Lu pulled Cheng Xu away.
A Zhu tugged at Zhou Shaojin’s sleeve and asked, "Who is that?"
No matter whom she was asking about, Zhou Shaojin felt her heart skip a beat.
Cheng Lu had the heart of a wolf and the mind of a thief—though the reason was unclear, it was self-evident. As for Cheng Xu, he was frivolous and fickle, easily developing feelings for others, and was no suitable match either.
As she pondered how to answer A Zhu, Cheng Jia curled her lip dismissively and said, "They’re two of my cousins. The taller one is the only son of my eldest uncle. You might have heard of him—Cheng Xu, Cheng Jiashan, the top candidate in the Guisi year of the Zhide era. The thinner one, the one who spoke with Eldest Cousin later, is Cheng Lu, courtesy name Xiangqing, this year’s stipend student, a collateral branch of the fifth house."
"Oh!" A Zhu’s eyes sparkled.
Zhou Shaojin felt as if her heart had stopped for a few beats.
But as if A Zhu thought she wasn’t frightened enough, she asked Cheng Jia, "Are either of them betrothed?"
"No," Cheng Jia said disdainfully. "One judges everyone by their background first, and the other judges no one by their background. Neither is a true gentleman."Not only was A Zhu puzzled, but even Zhou Shaojin and the others found it strange.
Cheng Jia giggled and said, "This is what my mother said—Cousin Xu's maternal family is the Yuan clan of Tongxiang, so he prefers to associate with young men from families that have passed down a tradition of poetry, books, and etiquette. Cousin Lu is a collateral branch of the fifth house, so he treats others with great leniency. That’s why my mother says that Cousin Xu’s attitude inevitably gives people a sense of arrogance, making those from humble backgrounds feel envious. Cousin Lu’s approach isn’t good either—it makes people think anyone can befriend him, which only lowers his own status."
Madam Jiang truly has eyes as sharp as torches.
It’s no wonder the third house became the ultimate victor.
Just as Zhou Shaojin was sighing with emotion, A Zhu inexplicably grabbed Cheng Jia and ran off, calling out to Zhou Shaojin, Zhou Chujin, and Gu Shiqigu as she fled, "Hurry, I saw my brother!"
※
Sisters, here is today’s update.
o(n_n)o~
※ (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
!!
OpenNovel