Cheng Yi was still at that seventeen or eighteen-year-old age when one is easily embarrassed. Being asked so bluntly by Cheng Nuo, his face immediately flushed red as he said: “Just mind your own business. Why are you meddling in mine?”
Cheng Nuo chuckled, his expression revealing a hint of smug satisfaction.
At first, he had been dissatisfied with this marriage arrangement.
Wu Baozhang had a tendency to flatter the powerful and trample the weak, and her reputation in their circles wasn’t particularly good. But Mother had also said—who doesn’t flatter the powerful and trample the weak? Just like their fifth branch, and the fourth branch—didn’t they also have to curry favor with the first and second branches to get by? It was just that some people did it more gracefully, while others were more obvious about it and got noticed. Moreover, if he could become the son-in-law of Prefect Wu and have the Wu family backing him, no matter how capable the women outside and the children they bore with him were, they still wouldn’t get a share when dividing the property. Even among his brothers, they would have to regard him more highly.
He didn’t know about others, but Cheng Ju was extremely envious of him.
Cheng Ju had even asked him to keep an eye out, to see if he could help Cheng Ju find a position at the yamen.
So now Cheng Nuo felt that marrying the eldest young lady of the Wu family wasn’t bad at all. Besides, he had seen the Wu family’s eldest daughter—she was good-looking, eloquent, skilled at socializing, and wouldn’t be embarrassing to bring out in public.
Cheng Yi, however, felt somewhat guilty.
Mother had called him to her side for a good scolding, finally saying: “If you hadn’t been so disobedient, I would have already asked your uncle to arrange a marriage with Shaojin for you!”
He had felt so awkward at the time and quickly asked: “You didn’t mention it to Uncle, did you?”
Mother had been furious, glaring at him with raised eyebrows: “What do you mean by that? Are you saying that marrying Shaojin would be beneath you?”
“No, no.” He had waved his hands repeatedly. “I, I’ve always thought of her as a sister…”
Mother had raged: “She’s not your real sister!”
He could only laugh dryly.
If he could choose, he would rather marry Ji Ying as his wife.
Just looking at her made his heart flutter.
As for Shaojin, he had watched her grow up since childhood… and after she grew up, she treated him like a younger brother and scolded him… he really couldn’t imagine the two of them as husband and wife.
Besides, he had just been beaten by Ji Ying. Shaojin must be very disappointed in him. How could she possibly marry him?
Cheng Yi’s emotions were complicated. He couldn’t tell if it was chagrin or regret.
Meanwhile, in the main hall of Cold Jade Mountain House, even before the banquet at Listening to Rain Pavilion had ended, Old Madam Guo had already received the news.
The old lady remained silent for a long while, then said to Zhou Shaojin, who was happily selecting fabric in the outer room: “Shaojin, you can make the decisions about my autumn garments. I’m a bit tired. I’m going back to my room to rest.”
Zhou Shaojin and the others immediately sensed Old Madam Guo’s unusual mood. Although they all smiled and responded “Yes,” once Old Madam Guo entered the inner chamber, they gathered together.
“What’s wrong with Old Madam?”
“She was fine just now! It must be that Nanny Lü said something to Old Madam!”
“Could something have happened at Listening to Rain Pavilion? Our Old Madam didn’t attend the family banquet this time—could she have angered the old ancestor of the second branch?”
“Bah! So what if she angered her? With Fourth Master here, would the old ancestor of the second branch dare to rebuke our Old Madam?”
“I didn’t mean that… I just feel it’s not quite right…”
Zhou Shaojin quietly listened to Biyu and the others whispering amongst themselves. She gently lifted a corner of the curtain to the inner chamber.
Old Madam Guo was leaning against the headboard with her eyes closed, brows tightly knit, covered with the treasure-blue crane-patterned brocade quilt, rapidly fingering the eighteen-bead sandalwood Buddhist prayer beads in her hand.
Zhou Shaojin beckoned to Chun Wan, instructing her to go to the kitchen and bring a bowl of lotus seed and red bean soup—the small kitchen at Cold Jade Mountain House always kept various sweet treats on hand.
Chun Wan rushed off and soon returned carrying a bowl of lotus seed and red bean soup on a tray lacquered in red with painted gold begonia flowers.
Zhou Shaojin took the tray and softly called “Old Madam” at the doorway.
Zhenzhu and the others inside had already noticed her actions when Chun Wan came in. When she spoke, they all simultaneously held their breath and watched Zhou Shaojin, as if afraid any sound might disturb her.
There was no sound from the inner chamber.
Zhou Shaojin called out softly again.
Still no sound.
She turned around disappointed and shook her head at Zhenzhu and the others.
The expressions of Zhenzhu and the others became grave.
Zhou Shaojin’s eyes dimmed. She was just about to turn and give the tray to Chun Wan when Old Madam Guo’s dignified yet kind voice came from the inner chamber: “Is that Shaojin? Come in.”
She immediately perked up. While giving Zhenzhu and the others a knowing look, she softly replied “Yes” and said with a smile: “Then I’m coming in!”
Zhenzhu and the others all became happy and made eyes at Zhou Shaojin, signaling her to comfort Old Madam Guo well.
Zhou Shaojin smiled and nodded, carrying the sweet soup into the inner chamber.
Old Madam Guo had already put down the prayer beads in her hand. Her expression was calm, and she asked with a smile: “What did you bring? We just had lunch. I can’t eat anything.”
“It’s lotus seed and red bean soup.” Zhou Shaojin smiled sweetly and sat down on the brocade stool by the bed. “I only had them fill half a bowl. Sometimes when I’m in a bad mood, I eat some sweet food and my mood quickly improves.”
Old Madam Guo was quite surprised. After thinking for a moment, she picked up the sweet soup and drank a few sips.
Zhou Shaojin breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: “Would you like to lie down and rest? I’ll massage your legs. Or I could massage your shoulders—that would be fine too. It can help you fall asleep quickly.”
“No need!” Old Madam Guo took her hand and sighed, saying: “Just let Zhenzhu and the others do these things.”
But Zhenzhu and the others weren’t as bold as her.
And they feared being implicated.
So they inevitably acted somewhat timidly.
“I know Zhenzhu and the others are certainly more skilled than me.” Zhou Shaojin deliberately twisted Old Madam Guo’s meaning and said with a smile: “I just want to keep you company.”
Keep her company!
Old Madam Guo was stunned.
How many years had it been since anyone had said such words to her?
Her heart warmed, and she couldn’t help but slowly nod.
Zhou Shaojin was overjoyed. She set down the bowl, helped Old Madam Guo settle down to rest, and massaged Old Madam Guo’s legs with just the right pressure.
Before long, Old Madam Guo had truly fallen asleep.
Zhou Shaojin felt very gratified.
When she had first discovered the garden incident, she couldn’t sleep night after night. It was Fan Liushi who had massaged her like this, allowing her to barely manage to sleep for an hour or two.
She tucked in the quilt at Old Madam Guo’s feet and stood up quietly.
But when she turned around, she saw Cheng Chi.
He stood tall and upright at the entrance to the inner chamber, one hand still holding up the curtain, his gaze looking straight into the room, but his expression was quite dazed.
Zhou Shaojin was startled.
This was the first time she had seen Uncle Chi like this.
She couldn’t help but quietly call out “Uncle Chi.”
Cheng Chi came back to his senses and immediately recovered his calm and reserved demeanor, smiling and nodding at her while raising the curtain higher with one hand.
Zhou Shaojin’s face reddened as she said “Thank you” and exited the inner chamber.
Outside, only Zhenzhu was attending; the others were nowhere to be seen.
“Sit!” Cheng Chi indicated the arhat bed by the window.
Zhou Shaojin softly thanked him and sat down.
Cheng Chi hesitated slightly, then sat across from her.
Zhenzhu brought tea and refreshments, then withdrew.
Only then did Cheng Chi say: “I heard from Zhenzhu and the others that you were comforting my mother… Thank you.”
“No need, no need.” Zhou Shaojin felt her face burning and said bashfully: “I, I didn’t do anything!”
Cheng Chi said gently: “Elder Brother and Second Brother can’t come home. Mother is alone most of the time. Even if you can just sit with her for a while, that’s good.”
Zhou Shaojin felt she didn’t deserve such praise.
After thinking for a moment, she asked carefully: “Uncle Chi, did something happen at Listening to Rain Pavilion?”
“It’s nothing much!” Cheng Chi instinctively deflected, but when Zhou Shaojin’s clear black and white eyes entered his line of sight, he couldn’t help but think in a daze that Geng’er’s eyes resembled Shaojin’s. Then he suddenly felt this was somewhat inappropriate. His tone paused, and he picked out the important points about what had happened at Listening to Rain Pavilion to tell Zhou Shaojin. As for Cheng Xu’s feelings, he thought Zhou Shaojin probably wouldn’t want to know, so he didn’t mention them. He would certainly not tell Zhou Shaojin about having people watch Cheng Xu.
Zhou Shaojin’s face flushed red with anger as she said: “How could the old ancestor of the second branch do such a thing? As children, one should naturally be filial to parents and elders. Him suppressing you like this, no wonder you…” She very much wanted to say “no wonder he wanted to leave the Cheng family,” but fearing there might be ears on the other side of the wall, she quickly swallowed the latter half of her sentence. “…don’t like staying at home anymore!” She said, her eyebrows knitting together like distant mountain ranges, looking worried as she asked: “Uncle Chi, is there really no way to deal with the old ancestor of the second branch?”
Cheng Chi laughed and said: “How do you want to deal with the old ancestor of the second branch?”
Zhou Shaojin looked embarrassed and said: “That’s not what I meant! I’m saying, is there any way to make the old ancestor of the second branch never interfere in your affairs again… What exactly does the old ancestor of the second branch want? The second branch was prominent before, but now they’re in decline. The old ancestor of the second branch may be confused, but doesn’t the second branch still have Uncle Yi and Cousin Shi? Could we approach it from their angle…”
Her appearance, full of concerns like this, was truly interesting!
Just like a young girl forcing herself to express melancholy in new verses.
Cheng Chi couldn’t help but reach out to pat her head. When his hand stretched out, he realized there was still a tea table between them. He had to sheepishly follow through by pushing the refreshments beside Zhou Shaojin toward her, saying: “Don’t worry about them. This time I contradicted the old ancestor of the second branch. He’ll definitely find an opportunity to trip me up. I’m not afraid of anything else, except that he’ll extend his hand into Cold Jade Mountain House. These days you’d best not go anywhere—stay by my mother’s side. If my mother wants to go somewhere, help persuade her otherwise. Things will be better after September.”
Overwhelming force defeats all cunning.
No matter how crafty Cheng Jiashan’s schemes were, if Shaojin didn’t go out, he would have no way to see Shaojin.
Zhou Shaojin promised repeatedly: “I’ll listen to Uncle Chi and won’t go anywhere.”
“Good girl!” Cheng Chi smiled with satisfaction and asked about Zhou Shaojin’s daily life: “Have you had dinner? What did you eat? When I came in just now, I saw the room piled with a lot of fabric. Are you making clothes? For whom? The tribute goods from Jiaxing, Huzhou, and Songjiang should all be available now. In a few days I’ll have them send several bolts over…”
Zhou Shaojin answered each question.
The two of them chatted about household matters in this casual way.
Zhou Shaojin felt especially grounded, peaceful, and vaguely happy inside.
Cheng Chi sat there not wanting to move.
At Listening to Rain Pavilion, seeing Cheng Shu putting on airs there, he had almost lost his appetite.
Knowing that Mother was surely also paying attention to the happenings at Listening to Rain Pavilion, after dismissing Cheng Xu, he had immediately rushed to Cold Jade Mountain House.
Mother’s peaceful sleeping appearance, Zhou Shaojin’s serene expression, and her quiet, gentle manner all instantly calmed his originally agitated mood.