Тhе раviliоn wаs sоmewhat сluttеrеd, with wооd materials рilеd everуwhere. Сhеng Сhi, wеаring а lotus-cоlored fine linen robe, wаs сarving а qin soundbох with а glеaming сhisеl.
А fаint sсent оf sandalwoоd driftеd in the аir.
Nanping knelt аnd bowed rеspeсtfullу, sауing, "Fоurth Маster, the Sесond Мiss Zhоu frоm the fоurth branсh сame еаrlier аnd left a lettеr for you."
"Lеаvе it therе," Cheng Chi rерliеd indifferеntlу, саrеfullу eхаmining the rоughly shаped qin bоdy in his hаnds bеfоre саutiоuslу carving a fеw more strokes.
"Yes!" Nаnping respоnded resрeсtfullу and quiеtly withdrew.
The pavilion echoed with soft, rhythmic carving sounds—neither fast nor slow, neither loud nor soft, each stroke identical to the last. At first, it seemed monotonous, but over time, it became as irritating as the cicadas of summer, making one wish to rush forward and shout for it to stop.
Huaishan frowned, his expression growing increasingly stern. Just as he was about to lose his patience, the pavilion suddenly fell silent.
He couldn't help but sigh in relief.
Cheng Chi held the qin body, turning it left and right. After a while, he frowned in frustration, set it down, and murmured, "Another failure," before tossing the chisel onto the nearby long table.
His gaze inadvertently fell upon the letter placed on the long table.
The envelope was made of Hill of Clustered Cassia Courtyard's gold-flecked paper.
Remembering what Nanping had said earlier, he tore open the envelope.
Shock, surprise, doubt—his eyes widened as he read the letter from beginning to end again.
The words remained the same, the content unchanged... yet Cheng Chi couldn't help but burst into laughter.
She had actually told him so blatantly. She didn't understand!
How many years had it been since someone spoke to him like this?
How many years had it been since someone was so straightforward in his presence?
He laughed heartily.
Huaishan peeked in, saw Cheng Chi laughing while holding the letter Nanping had delivered, then expressionlessly withdrew.
Cheng Chi placed the letter on the long table.
A breeze blew in, rustling the letter as if it might take flight.
Cheng Chi casually picked up a piece of wood to weigh it down, then called Nanping back in. "Go to Fragrant Garden Residence again," he said. "Tell the Second Miss Zhou that she might as well send someone personally to deliver the return gift to Miss A Zhu. Then inform her: Zhu Pengju married five years ago, but his wife suffered a miscarriage the following year, which damaged her health. Since then, no medicine has been effective, and she has been bedridden. Because of this, she has never been granted a title. In March of this year, a royal physician from the capital declared she would not survive the winter. The Liangguo Duke's residence has already prepared her coffin and mourning clothes."
Nanping was astonished.
Hadn't the Fourth Master always stayed out of such household affairs?
Why...
She looked up but met Cheng Chi's clear, sharp eyes.
Nanping quickly lowered her head, respectfully replied, "Yes," and withdrew.
Just as she was about to reach the pavilion entrance, Cheng Chi called her back.
She held her breath, awaiting his instructions.
Cheng Chi smiled. "Call Jiying in. I'm going to make a qin and need someone to serve tea and water."
"Fourth Master!" Nanping looked at Cheng Chi, her eyes glistening with tears.
Cheng Chi's voice suddenly softened. "You may withdraw," he said quietly.
"Yes!" Nanping replied solemnly and left the pavilion.
Suddenly feeling restless, Cheng Chi clasped his hands behind his back and walked out of the pavilion.
Huaishan lowered his head.Cheng Chi let out a long sigh and said, "Accompany me for a walk nearby."
Huaishan remained silent, quietly following behind Cheng Chi as they headed south along a small path beside them.
Jiying appeared by the pavilion.
She glanced around but did not see Cheng Chi or Huaishan. A relieved smile spread across her face as she tiptoed into the pavilion.
The letter lay pinned on the long table like a butterfly, its pages rustling as if fluttering their wings.
She quickly scanned the pavilion once more, confirming no one was there, then cautiously picked up the letter.
Unbelieving, she read the letter again...
Jiying couldn’t help but chuckle, her tone both smug and tinged with schadenfreude. "Cheng Zichuan, oh Cheng Zichuan, so you’ve finally met your match! All your roundabout talk, your sneaky scheming—now someone has bluntly told you they can’t understand you... If this gets out, I wonder where Fourth Master Cheng will hide his face..."
As she spoke, her expression suddenly tightened, and she turned around.
Cheng Chi and Huaishan, who had been nowhere in sight moments ago, were now standing at the entrance of the pavilion.
"F-Fourth Master!" Jiying’s face showed a flicker of fear as she stammered, "I, I..." Her gaze fell on the letter still clutched in her hand... She immediately placed it back on the long table as if it were a hot potato, even pressing a piece of wood on top to restore the scene exactly as it had been. "I saw it fly off, so I picked it up and brought it back..."
She spun the lie without batting an eye.
"Thank you!" Cheng Chi nodded with a smile, as though he fully believed her words. "I failed again just now and was feeling a bit down, so I went out for a walk, planning to return and continue making the zither... Since you’re here, why not stay a while? Watch me work on the zither—you might even spot where I’m going wrong... If nothing else, you could help serve tea or water... I just realized that making a zither is quite physically demanding..."
"No!" Jiying’s face instantly paled, her eyes darting around as if searching for an opportunity to bolt.
Cheng Chi smiled and said, "What did you just say? I didn’t quite catch it."
Jiying’s lips trembled, but she didn’t dare repeat her earlier refusal. She looked at Cheng Chi, her eyes faintly pleading, a stark contrast to her demeanor when facing Nanping earlier. Gone was any trace of her usual cold elegance; to someone meeting her for the first time, she might have seemed like a wronged young wife.
Cheng Chi, however, acted as if he hadn’t noticed. He walked in with a smile, stopped before the woodpile, and began selecting timber.
Jiying cast a pleading glance toward Huaishan.
A flicker of sympathy passed through Huaishan’s eyes, but he said nothing and quietly stepped away.
Jiying glared resentfully at Huaishan’s retreating figure for a moment before murmuring to Cheng Chi, "Fourth Master, I... this servant will wait outside. If you need anything, just call for me..."
"You can stay right here," Cheng Chi continued selecting wood, his tone somewhat absentminded. "It’s windy outside—what if you catch a cold..." As he spoke, he inexplicably thought of that little girl from the Zhou family.Her eyes were clear and gentle, bright as a pool of spring water. Yet her face was filled with tension, feigning composure... "A Zhu said that Liu Yong is very formidable now... Uncle Chi, you must be careful..." Her voice was soft and sweet, like the fermented glutinous rice balls eaten during the New Year... When she wrote to him saying she didn’t understand what he was talking about, he wondered if she had been just as nervous yet pretending to be calm... His expression softened, and his smile grew warm. He said, "As it happens, I have a piece of scrap pinewood here. Take it and brew a pot of tea for me right here..."
Jiying watched with trepidation.
The more gentle Cheng Zichuan’s smile became, the more furious he felt inside... She had only sneaked in to read an unimportant letter of his—surely she wouldn’t be so unlucky as to run straight into his line of fire, would she?
The sound of chiseling echoed, one strike after another.
Jiying wished she could just die on the spot!
At Fragrant Garden Residence, Zhou Shaojin stared at Nanping in stunned silence. For a long while, she couldn’t gather her thoughts.
What did it matter to her whether Zhu Pengju was married or not?
What did Uncle Chi mean by this?
Zhu Pengju’s wife had not received a title... In her previous life, when she was in the capital, such situations weren’t unheard of, but she had never heard of someone being denied a title just because of a miscarriage or illness...
Was Uncle Chi trying to tell her that the Duke of Liangguo was not as glorious and honorable as they had thought, or was he simply informing her that Zhu Pengju’s wife had not received a title?
But if that were the case, if Zhu Pengju’s first wife passed away, his remarried wife could immediately petition the Ministry of Rites and receive a title...
At this thought, Zhou Shaojin jumped to her feet.
Could it be that Uncle Chi was trying to tell her... that Zhu Pengju had taken a liking to her?
It felt like a massive wave crashing over her, leaving her dizzy and disoriented.
How could this be?
She must have misunderstood!
On the day of the Zhongyuan Festival, she hadn’t even seen Zhu Pengju... No, the first time she saw Zhu Pengju was when Uncle Chi and she were drinking tea at Three Branches Pavilion... If he had taken a liking to her, why would he only send her gifts now? Besides, her older sister was already engaged... Could it be Cheng Jia... But what about Li Jing?
She shuddered.
She wanted to ask Nanping carefully what exactly was going on, but seeing the serene, smiling look in Nanping’s eyes, she felt that since Uncle Chi had already spoken to this extent, it would be foolish of her to ask further.
Zhou Shaojin had no choice but to thank Nanping and sent a maid to see her out.
But as soon as Nanping left, she immediately grabbed a pair of pouches and sent Madam Fan Liu to deliver them to A Zhu at the Duke of Liangguo’s residence, repeatedly instructing her, "If anyone asks, don’t say anything. Only hand the items to A Zhu in person."
Madam Fan Liu thought it was some secret between the young ladies and agreed with a smile, taking the pouches to the Duke of Liangguo’s residence.
Zhou Shaojin waited restlessly, barely making it until evening when Madam Fan Liu returned.
With some confusion, Madam Fan Liu said, "I handed the items to Miss A Zhu in person. Miss A Zhu found it strange and asked me why I was giving her two pouches. I told her it was your instruction, and she happily accepted them. She also sent back two baskets of newly harvested pears, saying they were gifts to the Duke of Liangguo’s residence, and asked me to bring them back for you, the eldest young lady, Miss Jia, and the elders and relatives in the family to enjoy."In other words, the gift was not from A Zhu.
Zhou Shaojin’s heart sank.
Without a second thought, she ran toward the Hill of Clustered Cassia Courtyard.
Once again, it was Qing Feng who stopped her.
Zhou Shaojin said, "Don’t tell me you don’t recognize me… I want to see Miss Nanping."
If she went looking for Cheng Chi directly, they would surely say he wasn’t there.
Qing Feng’s face flushed with anger, and he was about to speak when Shaojin glared at him fiercely and snapped, "If you don’t go and announce me, I’ll stand right here and shout at the top of my lungs… I don’t believe you can gag me!"
In name, she was a guest, and Qing Feng was a servant.
Qing Feng trembled with rage, then turned and stormed off.
Zhou Shaojin couldn’t help but wipe the sweat from her forehead.
If Qing Feng really refused to announce her… even if she had ten times the courage, she wouldn’t dare to make a scene here!
That… that would be far too humiliating.
How could she ever face Uncle Chi again…
※
My Christmas shopping plans fell through… I’ll continue with extra updates tomorrow…
※ (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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