This was blatant, naked showing off and ostentation!

So shallow it was unbearable to watch!

Cheng Chi was stunned.

In all his years, this was the first time he had encountered someone acting and speaking so brazenly righteous in front of him.

No, this wasn’t the first time.

When he first started doing business, those merchants of humble origins would sometimes act this way in front of him to close a deal, but they did it to make money, and because they hadn’t received much education… But she was Zhou Zhen’s daughter, who had grown up in the Cheng family of Jiuru Lane since childhood… Even if she was dissatisfied with him and wanted to get back at him, did she need to be this “direct”?

There were plenty of subtle ways—didn’t she ever use her brain?

He was family, so at most she would just be mocked by him for this. But if there were outsiders present, wouldn’t acting like this ruin her reputation for life?

For a moment Cheng Chi couldn’t react. He stared blankly at Zhou Shaojin, unable to come to his senses for quite a while.

But Zhou Shaojin was secretly laughing “hehe” in her heart.

Uncle Chi was a scholar, and even when engaging in commerce, he was a scholarly merchant. Probably no one in his entire life had acted so crudely, directly, and ostentatiously in front of him like this!

He must feel very disgusted inside.

But she just wanted to scare Uncle Chi like this.

Let’s see if he dares to tease her in the future!

Zhou Shaojin went into the inner chamber with great satisfaction and sweetly called out “Old Madam” to Old Madam Guo, who was doing her makeup, saying, “Uncle Chi has arrived. I brought out the food box to serve him.”

Old Madam Guo nodded with a smile and said, “You’ve always been so thoughtful. With you entertaining your Uncle Chi, I’m very reassured.” Then her gaze fell on her and she said, “Why are you dressed so beautifully today? Are you going ashore to shop?”

“Not shopping!” Zhou Shaojin’s heart was bubbling with happiness, and naturally her eyes curved with a smile. She walked to Old Madam Guo’s side and took the comb from Zhenzhu’s hand to help Old Madam Guo comb her hair, saying, “I asked Uncle Chi yesterday, and he said he needed to rush to Zhenjiang to visit a Master Song who knows about dredging waterways, so we won’t stop at Changzhou dock. We’ll depart for Zhenjiang early tomorrow morning.” She continued, “After you gave me a set of combs yesterday, I had extra combs, so I picked one I really liked to wear in my hair—I came specially to show you.” As she spoke, she tilted her head so Old Madam Guo could clearly see the comb in her hair. “Does it look good?”

“Beautiful! Beautiful!” Elderly people usually liked bright colors, and with Zhou Shaojin dressed up like this, she was more beautiful than flowers. For Old Madam Guo, who had been on the boat for quite some time, she appeared especially radiant. “You should dress up nicely like this sometimes. Your Cousin Zheng is very good at dressing and adorning herself. She can make even the plainest colors look somewhat bright, and the brightest colors look somewhat elegant.

“Whether it’s a Suzhou style or a Yangzhou style, they all look the same to me, but she can tell them apart at a glance and explain all the details. I don’t know how she finds so much time and energy to devote to such things.

“But you know what, three parts natural beauty and seven parts dress—among all the sisters, she looks the most beautiful. She never makes a mistake in any situation. I don’t know how many young ladies in Jinling City imitate her dress. Even today, when those former young ladies return to their parents’ homes and meet me, they still ask about your Cousin Zheng’s situation.

“It’s a pity you were so young—when she married, you probably weren’t even aware of things yet. Otherwise you could have her tell you about it, and I guarantee you’d look even more beautiful than you do now.”

This was already very good.

Zhou Shaojin smiled with pressed lips.

In her previous life, the reputation of the Madam Cheng of Jiuru Lane was something even she, hiding away at the Daxing estate, had heard resounding like thunder.

To be fair, Cheng Zheng was probably a woman even more successful and enviable than her own sister.

She not only led various fashions in the capital but also influenced the clothing, food, housing, and transportation of noble personages in the palace. Her husband, Gu Xu, was a descendant of the Haining Gu family. After the Cheng family fell into trouble, her sister had sighed, saying that Cheng Zheng was a true young lady of a great family who had married into a truly prestigious clan—not only did Cheng Zheng not feel inferior and act timidly, but the Gu family also didn’t slight Cheng Zheng or her two sons because of the Cheng family’s downfall. Cheng Zheng had even tried to influence the Emperor’s decision through noble personages in the palace. It was just that the Cheng family fell too quickly—the palace had just agreed to let Cheng Zheng enter when the proclamation of the Cheng family’s sentence of immediate execution was already plastered all over the streets and alleys of the capital.

Just as Old Madam Guo said, Cheng Zheng had already married before she was even aware of things. After that, she never saw Cheng Zheng again. But when Cheng Zheng so bravely fought for the Cheng family, her impression of Cheng Zheng suddenly became vivid. Although she couldn’t remember Cheng Zheng’s features and appearance, she remembered that Cheng Zheng had very bright eyes, like gemstones, sparkling brilliantly when she glanced around.

She had never seen such eyes on any other woman.

Confident, elegant, with a sun-like radiance.

However, if she remembered correctly, Cheng Zheng seemed to be three years older than Uncle Chi, and Cheng Zheng’s husband Gu Xu was six years older than Uncle Chi…

A niece and nephew-in-law both older than himself!

Most importantly, Gu Xu was an extremely impressive figure.

In her previous life, when he was serving as an Academician at the Hanlin Academy and went to the Household Administration of the Heir Apparent to teach, he had once struck the Crown Prince’s palm with a ruler. Not only did nothing happen to him, but he was normally promoted to Junior Administrator of the Household Administration, and finally when the new Emperor ascended the throne, he was progressively promoted to Administrator of the Household Administration.

But presented scholars all emphasized seniority—she didn’t know when Gu Xu had passed the imperial examinations. If it was before Uncle Chi, that would be amusing!

Just thinking about that scene, Zhou Shaojin found it very interesting.

After she finished combing Old Madam Guo’s hair, she handed the comb to Zhenzhu, who began helping Old Madam Guo style her hair. Several people discussed what Old Madam Guo should wear for quite a while. If Old Madam Guo hadn’t remembered that her son was still sitting outside waiting for her, they could have talked for much longer.

So by the time Zhou Shaojin helped Old Madam Guo walk out of the inner chamber, Cheng Chi had already recovered his normal composure.

He greeted his mother with a smile, glanced sideways at Zhou Shaojin, and said to Old Madam Guo, “The boat will stop in Changzhou for a day. Is there anywhere you’d like to go? I’ll have Qin Ziping accompany you.”

Old Madam Guo was getting on in years. No matter how stable the sand boat was, for someone who lived on land long-term, it was still quite bumpy. Old Madam Guo had also intended to stay in Changzhou for a day. But after hearing Zhou Shaojin’s words yesterday, she naturally thought her son had reluctantly decided to stop in Changzhou for a day to accommodate her mood and health. Since Zhou Shaojin and the others had no special requests, she naturally said, “I don’t think we need to stop in Changzhou for an extra day. Changzhou is just a medium-sized prefecture after all. What it’s most famous for is combs, and we already bought plenty in Hangzhou Prefecture—there’s no need to buy more. Rather than staying in Changzhou Prefecture for a day, we might as well spend a few more days in Zhenjiang. Madam Gao of Zhenjiang Prefecture and I get along very well, and Madam Chen is my junior. When I passed through Zhenjiang last time, they both treated me with great courtesy. On this return journey, I should spend a few days with them no matter what. Let’s depart early!”

This must be that little girl’s idea again!

How could Mother, such a shrewd person, listen to her?

Cheng Chi glanced at Zhou Shaojin.

Zhou Shaojin stood respectfully beside Old Madam Guo, eyes on nose, nose on heart, looking as obedient, sensible, beautiful, and adorable as could be.

The corner of Cheng Chi’s mouth twitched. Thinking of how she had just shown off that comb in front of him… he smiled and said, “The main Changzhou shops often produce specially customized combs that aren’t supplied to branch stores. I thought about it all last night before deciding to stay one more day in Changzhou Prefecture. Mother, are you really not going to shop? Changzhou Prefecture’s combs truly live up to their reputation—those truly exquisite pieces are usually sold at the main shops or kept as treasures of the store.”

But Old Madam Guo had made up her mind and said with a smile, “Since they’re treasures of other people’s stores, we shouldn’t covet what others value. This matter is settled then. We’ll depart early for Zhenjiang.”

Cheng Chi agreed with a smile, then glanced at Zhou Shaojin again.

Zhou Shaojin’s heart was filled with regret.

Since childhood, she had loved collecting small items like combs, pearl flowers, and tumbler dolls. They didn’t need to be very precious—just interesting.

If she had known this would happen, she wouldn’t have shown off in front of Uncle Chi.

Uncle Chi even said it was a last-minute decision made last night…

Had she misunderstood Uncle Chi?

Zhou Shaojin felt somewhat uneasy.

By the time she left Old Madam Guo’s quarters, the boat had already departed.

Zhou Shaojin ran to ask Ji Ying, “Did you know Uncle Chi originally wanted to stay in Changzhou for a day?”

“Of course I knew!” Ji Ying was fiddling with the little items she had bought in Hangzhou Prefecture. Hearing this, she said quietly to Zhou Shaojin, “Last night Fourth Master and Old Master Song secretly went to the dock to eat Liyang braised liver. I heard from Qin Ziping that the little restaurant makes very authentic, very delicious Liyang braised liver, and they also serve a thick wine they brew themselves that’s also very good. I was planning to secretly take you there today. Who knew Fourth Master would change his mind again. I’m not criticizing your Uncle Chi, but why is he like a woman, changing his mind about everything so quickly…”

Zhou Shaojin wanted to stamp her feet.

How could she be so foolish?

Even if she wanted to annoy Uncle Chi, couldn’t she have waited two more days?

Uncle Chi was on the boat and couldn’t run away.

Why was she in such a hurry?

Ji Ying pushed her and said, “What’s wrong with you? Are you unhappy that I criticized your Uncle Chi? Why do you look like an eggplant beaten by frost, with no spirit at all?”

“More than just beaten by frost!” Zhou Shaojin muttered. “I’ve been pelted by hail.”

Ji Ying exclaimed “Oh!” and teased her, “You’ve actually seen hail! I really couldn’t tell. I thought you’d be happily shouting even when snow reached your shoe tops!”

Why did Ji Ying, like Uncle Chi, enjoy teasing her?

She had always been so rule-abiding!

Zhou Shaojin returned to her cabin feeling awkward and lay on the bed sighing.

Fan Liushi asked worriedly, “Second Miss, has something happened?”

She waved her hand, indicating that Fan Liushi shouldn’t worry about it.

The boat had already left the dock—could it turn back?

Things had come to this—could she really do it all over again?

Now she just didn’t know whether Uncle Chi would forgive her if she went to apologize to him.