The impact of events from her previous life on this current life was impossible to measure.

Zhou Shaojin had incomparable trust in Old Madam Guo, just as she believed that Cheng Chi must not be a simple person if he could escape when the Cheng family fell into ruin. She trusted Old Madam Guo’s character, and she believed even more that Old Madam Guo would not tell her these secrets of prominent families without reason. It was only that she was slow-witted and couldn’t immediately discern Old Madam Guo’s intentions. Given time, if she carefully reflected on it, she would naturally understand.

She simply listened attentively and carefully committed all these matters to memory.

The boat continued drawing ever closer to Zhenjiang.

After finishing a problem, Cheng Chi suddenly realized that he seemed not to have seen Zhou Shaojin for several days.

Didn’t she usually appear before him every day?

Could something have happened?

He summoned Pozi Shang to inquire.

Pozi Shang smiled and said, “Second Young Miss has been keeping Old Madam company these past days! Every day she either listens to Old Madam speak, does needlework, or plays with Young Master Song. Just like before, she rarely leaves her cabin.”

Cheng Chi felt puzzled. Then why had she kept seeking him out those previous days?

Unfortunately, he had been too busy at the time and had no attention to spare for other matters.

Cheng Chi vaguely felt he had overlooked something.

He went to Old Madam Guo’s room.

Old Madam Guo was sitting cheerfully on the arhat bed, listening to Madam Song and Zhou Shaojin talk. “…You’re really quite capable! When I watched you do needlework these past days, I didn’t think much of it. Last night I noticed that Sen Ge’er’s belly band ties were a bit loose. I thought it would just take two stitches, and I could casually sew them up myself. When I took up the needle and thread, I discovered that the boat was rocking severely, and it took great effort just to thread the needle. When it came time to sew the ties, my vision became dizzy and blurry. It turns out you haven’t been looking closely at the fabric at all—you’ve been sewing purely by feel! I’ve seen skilled embroiderers with this ability, but I’ve never seen any young lady from a respectable family who could do this.” After speaking, she realized she had misspoken and hurriedly added, “I don’t mean Second Young Miss is like a professional embroiderer. I mean that young ladies from good families rarely put such effort into learning needlework…” This sentence also seemed wrong. She tried again, “Even if someone studied as diligently as Second Young Miss, they still wouldn’t be able to match Second Young Miss’s skill!”

Having traveled this far with her, Zhou Shaojin had come to understand what kind of person she was quite well. She took no offense and instead smiled, saying, “I simply enjoy needlework. When you add the word ‘enjoy’ to anything, you usually do it better than others.”

“That’s true.” Madam Song began talking about herself. “For instance, I used to love reading very much, so although I never attended school or had a tutor, I still recognize quite a few characters.”

Just as Zhou Shaojin was about to respond, Biyu walked in with a smile, saying, “Fourth Master has arrived.”

Old Madam Guo was naturally overjoyed. Supported by Zhou Shaojin, she emerged from the inner room.

Cheng Chi quickly stepped forward to pay his respects.

Old Madam Guo smiled as she looked her son up and down. Seeing his good complexion, her smile grew even more delighted. She said, “Are you finished with your work?”

“Not quite finished.” Cheng Chi smiled as he stepped forward, supporting his mother’s other side with a token gesture. He said, “It’s just that Elder Song and I have differing views. We’ve decided to each go our separate ways for a bit, get some fresh air, and organize our thoughts. We’ll meet again tomorrow afternoon.”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Shaojin immediately showed a worried expression. Old Madam Guo directly asked, “What, have you two had a falling out?”

“A falling out is too strong a term.” Cheng Chi helped his mother sit on the arhat bed, then seated himself below her, smiling warmly. “We simply have somewhat different views. He can’t convince me, and I can’t convince him, so everyone is temporarily going their separate ways for a while. However, river works are different from other matters—either something works or it doesn’t. It’s not a matter of whoever speaks loudest being right. So you needn’t worry. Once I calculate the relevant figures, Elder Song will naturally be convinced. Similarly, if his calculations are correct, I too will be convinced.”

Neither Old Madam Guo nor Zhou Shaojin understood these matters, but Old Madam Guo still smiled according to her own understanding, saying, “In other words, you’re having a scholarly debate, not a physical fight. It’s like observing celestial phenomena and predicting rain for today. If it rains, you win. If it doesn’t rain, you lose. No matter if you’re the heavenly emperor himself, there’s no way to call truth falsehood.”

Cheng Chi smiled and said, “If it were the heavenly emperor, there would still be a way to call truth falsehood—if he said it would rain tomorrow, would the Dragon King dare not make it rain tomorrow? If he made a wager, he would certainly win.”

Zhou Shaojin couldn’t help but laugh.

Old Madam Guo also laughed, saying, “You child, you just love to amuse me.”

Cheng Chi smiled and said, “Every time I tell the truth, you say I’m amusing you. Every time I amuse you, you take it seriously. This truly puts me in a difficult position!”

Zhou Shaojin and Old Madam Guo laughed so hard they bent forward and backward.

Cheng Chi glanced at Zhou Shaojin, exchanged a few pleasantries with his mother, then rose to take his leave.

Zhou Shaojin and Old Madam Guo saw him all the way to the cabin door before turning back.

Cheng Chi settled down peacefully in his room to set up chess problems.

But even when the sand boat docked, Zhou Shaojin still did not appear.

What was this situation?

If Zhou Shaojin had wanted to see him about something, he had already said he would be free in the afternoon. From his earlier observation of Zhou Shaojin, she bore him no grudge and should have found an opportunity to see him. Why had there been no movement?

Cheng Chi put away the chess manual with a frown and went to Old Madam Guo’s quarters for the evening meal.

Zhou Shaojin was not there.

Cheng Chi was stunned. “Why isn’t Second Girl keeping you company?”

“Madam Song dragged her off to draw flower patterns.” Old Madam Guo picked up a piece of wild duck with her chopsticks for Cheng Chi, saying, “Eat more. I see you’ve grown thin these past few days. Aren’t we and the Song family going our separate ways once we reach Zhenjiang? That Madam Song saw that Shaojin’s needlework was good, and thinking that their eldest daughter will be having her hairpin ceremony at year’s end, she asked Shaojin to draw several flower patterns for their eldest daughter as one of the gifts she, as stepmother, will give her.”

That Madam Song truly meddles too much.

This was precisely why he had initially disagreed with traveling together with the Song family—Madam Song didn’t seem like someone who knew how to read situations.

Cheng Chi responded with an “Oh,” asked no further questions, accompanied his mother through a meal, chatted for a while, then returned to his cabin.

Meanwhile, Zhou Shaojin had been kept by Madam Song for the evening meal, after which she helped Madam Song draw two relatively simple flower patterns before returning to her room.

Chun Wan told her, “Fourth Master is taking two days off. Qingfeng and Langyue have nothing to do either. Langyue came by this afternoon to visit us. I took it upon myself to give Langyue two packets of the pre-Qingming Dragon Well tea that Old Madam Guo rewarded you with a few days ago.”

“Well done!” Zhou Shaojin hoped her people could become closer with those serving Uncle Chi, so they could gather information about Uncle Chi’s affairs. “In the future when you encounter such situations, just make the decision for me.”

Chun Wan nodded with a smile. While helping Zhou Shaojin change clothes, she said softly, “Second Young Miss, Fourth Master has nothing to do these two days. Do you think… should you go apologize to Fourth Master again?”

Zhou Shaojin thought of the scene when she encountered Cheng Chi this morning and shook her head with a smile, saying, “I think we should forget it! I said before that Uncle Chi is magnanimous. Since he’s no longer angry with me, why would I go apologize to him again?”

After all, Uncle Chi had already forgotten about the matter.

Chun Wan was still a bit worried. “Will there really be no problem?”

“I think there should be no problem.” Zhou Shaojin said unconcernedly with a smile, “If someday Uncle Chi brings up old matters, I can apologize to him then. Now that he’s not mentioning it, should I really take the initiative to remind him?”

Chun Wan covered her mouth and laughed.

Their boat reached Zhenjiang in just two days.

Cheng Chi never did wait for Zhou Shaojin.

Perhaps he had misunderstood?

Cheng Chi wondered. When he saw Zhou Shaojin hiding behind the boat’s window curtain wearing a pink Hangzhou silk padded jacket, he immediately felt reassured.

That little girl was straightforward—if she had something on her mind, she would certainly come to him repeatedly. How could she be this quiet?

Cheng Chi put the matter out of his mind and went to pay a visit to Minister Shen.

Minister Shen had coincidentally caught a cold some days ago. His family wouldn’t let him go out, so he had been staying home all day. Today he happened to be there when Cheng Chi and Elder Song arrived.

One was a successful candidate of both the provincial and palace examinations, the other was the father of a current Grand Secretary. Minister Shen warmly received them. When the two explained their purpose and, in Minister Shen’s study, discussed water control strategies while looking at maps that Minister Shen had secretly copied from the Ministry of Works before his retirement, Minister Shen’s face lit up. He insisted on having Cheng Chi and Elder Song stay at his home for several days.

Cheng Chi hadn’t expected Minister Shen to be such a frank and straightforward person.

He agreed to first settle his mother and niece before coming to impose on Minister Shen.

Minister Shen repeatedly urged him to go quickly and return quickly. Fearing that Cheng Chi would be distracted by this matter, he even assigned an aide who had formerly helped him with river works to assist.

Cheng Chi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He returned to the boat and asked his mother whether she would be willing to stay in the Cheng family’s villa, adding, “Elder Song and I will probably need to stay at Minister Shen’s home for three or four days.”

Seeing that they would soon reach Jinling, Old Madam Guo was eager to return home. Not wanting to be delayed again by packing trunks and other trivial matters, she said, “We’ll just stay on the boat. When you return from Minister Shen’s, we can set off for Jinling immediately.”

Cheng Chi heard the implication in his mother’s words. After thinking it over, he said, “Why don’t you return to Jinling first? I’ll be back in a few days anyway!”

“That won’t do.” Old Madam Guo shook her head like a rattle drum, saying, “We originally came out together to have fun. How can we return to our residences separately? You go attend to your business. Don’t worry about us. I’ve already written an invitation for Madam Gao. When you go stay at Minister Shen’s home, that will free up space for us.”

Cheng Chi smiled and had someone pack up simply before going to the Shen residence with Elder Song.

Huang Yijun busied himself with hiring boats and preparing for the journey to the capital.

Madam Gao and Madam Li arrived together.

Seeing that the current Grand Secretary Song Jingran was actually traveling on the same boat as Old Madam Guo, and that they were so close, both were secretly surprised but maintained their composure while socializing with Madam Song.

Old Madam Guo hosted a banquet to entertain them. Madam Gao and Madam Li each reciprocated to Old Madam Guo and her party, and accompanied Old Madam Guo and the others on a visit to Golden Mountain Temple—these matters need not be detailed. Several days later, the Liao family received news that Old Madam Guo was passing through Zhenjiang and hurriedly sent a nanny to deliver an invitation.