How could Uncle Chi be so casual about this?

Zhou Shaojin sat down without ceremony.

He had said before that on the return journey they would visit each prefecture one by one. He wanted to calculate water flows with that Old Master Song, which she considered important business, so she had patiently stayed in the cabin without making a sound. Now they had arrived at Changzhou—if he had forgotten about the combs, that would be one thing, but he clearly remembered about the combs. How could he have forgotten that she still needed to buy combs? For him to break his word like this was too much!

Zhou Shaojin came straight to the point: “Uncle Chi, I want to buy combs. Could you have Manager Qin bring back a few sets of combs for me?”

Cheng Chi nearly stumbled.

Usually when asking someone for a favor, didn’t people exchange pleasantries first before getting to the point?

How could she just blurt it out so directly?

And with such a commanding tone.

What was she planning to do if he refused?

Cheng Chi frowned slightly and said, “I asked you before, didn’t you say you’d already bought combs? Why do you need to buy more! Combs are just small items—why are you buying so many to take back? Besides, you’ve already bought so many glass ornaments, which should be enough for giving as gifts. Let me tell you, gift-giving is quite an art. If everyone gets one, they won’t be special. Are you planning to hand them out like rewards, giving one to everyone you see?”

Zhou Shaojin’s eyes widened.

What did Uncle Chi mean by this?

Was he disgusted that she was buying too many things?

But she hadn’t used his money… No, wait—this time she wasn’t planning to use his money either!

Besides, in both her lifetimes, she had always bought whatever she wanted… Though, in her previous life, her sister had seemed to say something similar to her…

She couldn’t help feeling somewhat wronged and said, “I’m only buying one set of combs, to give to my grandmother. You know yourself that grandmother has shown me kindness as deep as a mountain. I finally managed to get out once—I can’t very well bring things back for everyone else and leave out only grandmother, can I?” At this point, she felt somewhat mentally exhausted and said, “I’m never leaving home again! When you go out, you have to bring local specialties for people. It’s so troublesome. Those glass ornaments aren’t all for giving to others either. Some I really like and plan to keep for myself to wear—they’re cheap and pretty, so I won’t worry if I accidentally lose them. And some I’m preparing to send with my sister to the Liao family—how would you know about inner quarters affairs? My sister is a motherless eldest daughter. The Liao family only agreed to this match because not only were my sister’s character and appearance sufficient for her to serve as a clan wife, but also because Uncle Jing personally guaranteed the match. Even so, the Liao family has higher requirements for my sister than for others. If my sister wants to gain a foothold in the Liao family, she has to work harder than others. Otherwise, why would my father prepare such a large dowry for her?”

Cheng Chi didn’t know what to say.

Why did this girl always miss the point!

He was now talking to her about buying combs, yet she was rambling east and west about her sister’s affairs.

What was going on in that little head of hers?

Cheng Chi couldn’t help but cough lightly and said, “So you won’t go out just to avoid bringing things back for others?”

Not anymore!

If only she could go out without having to worry about these things!

Zhou Shaojin felt embarrassed.

Uncle Chi must think what she said was childish and boring, right?

This wasn’t a good thing.

She would need to ask Uncle Chi to pass messages to Cheng Jing in the future!

But she certainly couldn’t admit it now. If she admitted it, wouldn’t Uncle Chi look down on her even more!

Zhou Shaojin stared at Cheng Chi and said, “Has Uncle Chi never complained about anything? I was just speaking casually. How could I possibly give up eating for fear of choking, refusing to go out just to avoid bringing gifts for family members?”

This little girl was actually making excuses!

Cheng Chi’s eyes widened.

Zhou Shaojin immediately changed the subject, saying, “Uncle Chi, please just send Manager Qin to buy a set of combs for me! At worst, at worst I’ll repay you properly in the future!”

She wasn’t going to argue with Uncle Chi over such matters. She was asking him for a favor—in the end, she would definitely be the one to lose!

Cheng Chi looked at Zhou Shaojin sideways.

Repay him?

What did she have to repay him with?

This little girl really had the nerve to say such things!

What was the difference between this and drawing castles in the air!

He wore an expression of complete disdain for what she had said.

Zhou Shaojin’s face burned hot as she smiled awkwardly.

What she had said… was indeed a bit presumptuous, but Uncle Chi shouldn’t mock her like this!

He was her elder!

Yet he didn’t act like an elder at all.

He hadn’t been like this when she first met him.

It just showed that one couldn’t get too close to anyone…

She could only say in a low voice, “I’m telling the truth! How about I embroider a Guanyin Holding a Vase image for you? You’re always traveling and certainly often have to entertain guests and give gifts. My Guanyin Holding a Vase embroidery is excellent, lifelike. Back then…” Back then she had received praise from noble personages in the palace, but she couldn’t tell Uncle Chi this. She quickly changed her words: “Everyone who saw it said it was good! If you don’t believe me, I’ll embroider one for you and then you’ll know whether I’m lying or not!”

Cheng Chi didn’t believe her at all.

Even if this little girl had been holding an embroidery needle since birth, she was only thirteen years old this year. Those top embroiderers—which one hadn’t been immersed in this craft for ten or twenty years?

Besides, in earlier years he had needed to curry favor with people when giving gifts, but ever since he topped the imperial examinations, as long as he sent his large red gilt-sprinkled calling card, how would those people care what he actually gave them—even if he sent just a few reams of ordinary Xuan paper, they would assume the paper must have some extraordinary quality that made it especially useful!

He said disdainfully, “I guess the people who’ve seen your embroidery were all people around you, right? So naturally everyone would flatter you by saying ‘good,’ right?”

Zhou Shaojin was furious.

Was Uncle Chi saying those people were fawning and flattering her?

“Not at all!” she said. “Some were also people not familiar with our family…”

“You girls are all like this, never using your brains to think things through carefully.” Cheng Chi dismissed her words, interrupting Zhou Shaojin indifferently. “Women in the inner chambers—those who can see your embroidery, even if they’re not relatives, must be acquaintances or people with some connection, right? For trivial matters, casually praising something can liven the atmosphere and flatter others—why not? Besides, some things were obtained effortlessly; a few words of praise can serve as payment. Who wouldn’t do such a good deed! You say your things are embroidered well, but has anyone specifically asked you to embroider something for them?”

Zhou Shaojin froze.

There really hadn’t been anyone!

Later, the several Guanyin images she embroidered for Lin Shisheng were all self-initiated… Although Lin Shisheng praised her embroidery as good, he never gave away the things she embroidered. She had always thought it was because those were boudoir items and wouldn’t be appropriate to give away… Could it really be as Uncle Chi said, that everyone was just being polite when they said her embroidery was good?

“It shouldn’t be like that, should it?” Zhou Shaojin said hesitantly. “How about I embroider a few things and have Uncle Chi help me see how they really are?”

It was fine to deflate the little girl’s ego a bit, but it wouldn’t be good to make her lose all confidence in herself.

Cheng Chi said, “I don’t understand these things. If you really want to know, you can ask my mother. Although my mother’s needlework isn’t particularly good, she’s well-traveled and can still distinguish good from bad.”

Zhou Shaojin nodded repeatedly.

Only then did Cheng Chi get to the topic at hand, saying, “What a pity… I had originally planned to take you to visit Elder Sister Gu. She’s settled in Wuxi. When Old Master Song started talking to me about water management, I became so absorbed in it that I completely forgot about this. I had originally planned to stay in Changzhou for a few days too. But Old Master Song told me that Master Shen, who supervised the dredging of the Tongzhou River back in the day, lives in Zhenjiang. However, every year after the Mid-Autumn Festival, Master Shen goes out to visit friends and doesn’t return until the twelfth month. We wanted to visit Master Shen and were afraid of missing him, so we temporarily decided not to stay in Changzhou Prefecture…”

Zhou Shaojin’s eyes went wide.

Elder Sister Gu—she was a master of the Jiangnan Gu family needlework technique!

If she could receive her guidance, her embroidery skills might reach an even higher level.

When it came down to it, he was still holding a grudge because she had told Old Madam Guo about Old Master Song’s matter.

Wasn’t she doing it for his own good?

Zhou Shaojin jumped up: “How can you do this? Wasn’t I just trying to help you because I saw you being constrained by your family? If Master Song could take the initiative to recruit talent and recommend you for official service through court discussion, think about how good that would be for you! If you wanted to enter office, you could go with the flow, and after declining a few times, take advantage of the situation. You could even create an image of ‘sacrificing family ties to repay the grace of recognition.’ If you didn’t want to enter office, you could refuse to the end and create an image of ‘not bowing to the powerful,’ using Master Song’s name to make your own reputation far and wide…”

Cheng Chi didn’t know what to say!

Did she think this was playing house? Anyone who could become a prime minister or enter the cabinet—which one didn’t have some skills? With her level of ability, she could only fool Madam Song who knew nothing. To try to use Master Song’s reputation to advance herself—she really dared to think big!

Cheng Chi said with a mixture of laughter and tears, “Who told you all this nonsense? Who said I’m constrained by my family and can’t move? Just because I manage the family’s affairs means I’m stuck in the mud? Just because I don’t hold office means I’m being forced against my will?”

“Of course not!” Zhou Shaojin protested. “It’s not like I haven’t seen people who enjoy managing household affairs. But you’re different! Others are happy, but you’re rarely happy and often unhappy, cold and indifferent. The Old Ancestress of the Second Household treats you that way and you don’t even get angry… You’re so smart, yet you’re so forbearing in everything you do. There must be something that makes you hesitant…”

Cheng Chi’s heart surged like the tidal bore of the Qiantang River.

Was he really that obvious?

Even Zhou Shaojin, a thirteen-year-old girl, could see it?

Was this why Mother felt especially guilty and was so harsh on herself, as if seeking redemption?

“What does a little girl know?” Cheng Chi’s calm and composed expression seemed somewhat forced now as he said, “If I went to be an official, what would happen to the family’s affairs? People can’t just think of themselves, can they?”

“I know that!” Zhou Shaojin naively interrupted him, saying, “But there’s a big difference between being forced to choose and choosing for yourself, isn’t there? Being forced to choose means being controlled by others; choosing for yourself means being willing…”