Song Mu was alarmed and said: “You’re so young—how can you have such thoughts? Do you know the suffering of becoming a nun? How is this different from remaining chaste after your husband’s death? Your parents will certainly refuse. You must think carefully before acting. Who exactly is that man? Since you can give up so much for him, why can’t he come forward for you? Such a person isn’t worth it…”
Zhou Shaojin just listened quietly, but her thoughts grew increasingly clear.
Since she had no way to trust any man besides Uncle Chi, rashly marrying would only make her days increasingly difficult. Rather than deceiving someone else this way, it would be better to live quietly by herself.
Just as Song Mu said, the family elders would certainly not agree. Her best course was to remain at home as a lay Buddhist for several years. Once she was older, she could bring up becoming a nun. But before that, to eliminate her family’s hopes, she might as well feign illness for a few years.
With a hidden ailment, it wouldn’t be appropriate to discuss marriage prospects. Her father cherished her and would likely be unwilling to marry her off casually. If she then proposed building a family temple, her father and sister should agree. At that point she could go find Uncle Chi to “solicit donations,” having him contribute funds…
It would be as if by living in a place Cheng Chi had paid to repair for her, she was living on Cheng Chi’s property.
Just thinking about it made Zhou Shaojin’s eyes smile, gentle as water.
Song Mu was surprised and stopped talking.
Zhou Shaojin quickly said: “Thank you for your kind intentions, young master. I will think carefully about this matter.”
Since she’d already said she had her own plans, what was the point of him continuing to nag here?
Song Mu felt somewhat embarrassed, but the anger in his heart had completely dissipated.
Miss Zhou was quite pitiful.
For the sake of the person in her heart, she’d actually been driven to find a way to become a nun.
Compared to her, his sister was much more fortunate.
She’d long since set her heart on the son of their father’s examination classmate. The two had frequent contact and could be considered childhood sweethearts. Her future brother-in-law was deeply devoted to his sister, and the in-laws had been eagerly anticipating it. They were just waiting for him to marry, then his sister could happily board her wedding palanquin…
This Second Miss Zhou was quite frank and responsible. If she were a man, he would certainly befriend her. But as a woman… there was also the saying about women not yielding to men—she was truly an extraordinary woman among the boudoir.
At least compared to his Wang family cousins, she was worlds apart—like heaven and earth.
Song Mu decided to help Zhou Shaojin.
Not for any other reason than that she was Fifth Brother’s “fairy sister.” With the two families continuing to interact in the future, it would count as forming good karma.
Perhaps Miss Zhou and his sister could even become close friends.
Song Mu said: “Then what shall we tell the elders later?”
So he was offering to help her?
Zhou Shaojin’s almond eyes widened in shock as she stared at Song Mu.
Song Mu found her expression extremely amusing.
Just to see her look this surprised, he should do something unexpected.
Song Mu straightened his back even more and said coldly: “We can’t each act separately and speak randomly, causing the elders of both families to turn against each other, can we?”
“Ah!” Only then did Zhou Shaojin dare to believe it. She couldn’t help but feel grateful and repeatedly thanked Song Mu.
Song Mu nodded nonchalantly and said: “Now is not the time for thanks. We’d better think of a solution quickly. Once my grandmother and Uncle Chi come out, it won’t be convenient for us to talk.”
Zhou Shaojin lowered her lashes in thought, soft and delicate like an orchid.
Who would know she was actually so resilient at her core!
Song Mu said: “How about this—you don’t say anything, and I’ll say you look too delicate, probably not suitable to be a household matriarch. It would be better to betroth you to my second brother…”
“What?!” Zhou Shaojin felt as if thunder was rolling overhead.
A flash of satisfaction appeared in Song Mu’s eyes as he said: “The elders will certainly not agree, especially your Uncle Chi—my second brother doesn’t have any scholarly achievements yet. Naturally this marriage wouldn’t work out. The elders of both families also wouldn’t develop any rifts because of this…”
But this way, the Song family would owe the Cheng family a favor.
“No, no.” Zhou Shaojin shook her head like a rattle drum. “This matter is my fault to begin with—how can I let the Song family take the blame…”
“The matter is decided.” Song Mu decisively cut off Zhou Shaojin’s words. “This is also for my own sake—it’s better for me to refuse you than for you to refuse me, isn’t it?”
Zhou Shaojin naturally knew he wasn’t doing it for the sake of appearances.
If it were for his pride, he could have brought it up when she refused him.
Zhou Shaojin had nothing more to say. She curtsied deeply toward him and said gratefully: “Thank you.”
Seeing her solemnly thank him, Song Mu’s ears turned red. Feeling somewhat uncomfortable, he said: “Didn’t you say you wanted to repay me? I think having a young lady from Jiuru Lane owe me a favor isn’t bad. Who knows, maybe I’ll actually need it someday…”
Zhou Shaojin smiled with pursed lips and said: “It can only be the Second Miss of the Zhou family. I’m so disobedient—I’ll surely anger the elders and won’t be able to remain a young lady of Jiuru Lane.”
Song Mu chuckled.
Their eyes met, creating an atmosphere of letting bygones be bygones with a smile.
Zhou Shaojin breathed a long sigh of relief.
Song Mu said “take care” to Zhou Shaojin and entered the main hall.
Zhou Shaojin stood in front of the large fish tank, looking down at a golden fish with bulging eyes and a black tail surfacing to nibble at the water plants. Her heart felt peaceful and serene.
In the future, her days would probably be spent cultivating flowers and tending plants to pass the time!
Or perhaps she could also raise a few goldfish.
She could also complete the things she’d wanted to do in her previous life but hadn’t accomplished.
For instance, blend a fragrance, make incense cakes, produce a calligraphy copybook, embroider many different images of Guanyin… Tenderness slowly rippled across her brow.
Cheng Chi, however, was furious.
That Song family boy actually dared refuse Shaojin!
Did he even consider the Song family’s background!
He hadn’t looked down on the Song family for the mud still barely washed from their legs, yet that boy dared to disdain Shaojin for being delicate and not suitable as a household matriarch!
Cheng Chi paced around the room four or five times in agitation. Not only did the fire in his heart not subside, it burned even more fiercely.
Huai Shan and the others didn’t even dare breathe loudly.
Chun Wan’s eyes were red as she comforted Zhou Shaojin: “Second Miss, it’s fine. That Song family young master is blind. Fourth Master will certainly arrange a better match for Second Miss to spite the Song family. Spite that Song Mu.”
The person she hated most had changed from Cheng Xu to Song Mu.
Although Zhou Chujin was sad, she was much better than Chun Wan.
Given the Zhou family’s status, marrying the Song family’s eldest son was indeed marrying up.
It showed that not everyone was like the Liao family, willing to curry favor with Jiuru Lane by having her become the eldest son’s wife and clan matriarch.
This showed the Song family’s household standards were certainly different.
If Zhou Shaojin had married into their family, she surely could have lived well.
Thinking this, Zhou Chujin felt even more regretful.
If only they hadn’t settled for second best from the start and had mentioned the Song family’s second son instead.
But things had come to this—regret was useless.
Zhou Chujin gathered her spirits to comfort her sister: “Fortunately Uncle Chi handled things discreetly and no one else knows about this. Don’t take it to heart. Just consider it getting to know another person. Given your Uncle Chi’s character and your own virtue and appearance, finding a satisfactory family won’t be difficult…”
Her sister hadn’t indignantly said she would find her a better family than the Song family like Chun Wan had, which showed she also thought the Song family was very good. Having missed this opportunity, she might never encounter anyone better than Song Mu again.
Zhou Shaojin’s heart stirred.
Why not take this opportunity to feign illness?
Better yet, develop some lingering condition from it.
This way the hidden ailment would have an origin, and no one would find it abrupt.
It would just wrong Young Master Song, having him face criticism for no reason. It would also wrong her father and sister who cherished and loved her, making them worry… but she really didn’t want to go through matchmaking again.
Refusing someone once had felt like shedding a layer of skin.
She didn’t want to marry even more.
The thought of sharing a bed with someone else made her feel entirely wrong.
Just let her be selfish this once.
She would certainly recite extra sutras for them before the Buddha in the future, asking the Buddha to bless them with peace, tranquility, and everything going smoothly.
Zhou Shaojin made this vow before the Buddha. After celebrating Guan Ge’er’s full moon and seeing off Cheng Gao, she “fell ill.”
Madam Li hurriedly summoned a physician.
The physician only said her pulse was somewhat weak, prescribed a formula to tonify qi and enrich the blood, and left.
Zhou Shaojin quietly poured the medicine into the decorative vase on the long table. From then on, she kept complaining of fatigue and spent most of her time lying in bed.
Madam Li summoned another physician for her.
This physician also said her pulse was merely somewhat weak and prescribed a formula to tonify qi and enrich the blood. After taking several doses with no improvement, Madam Li grew so anxious her mouth developed sores. She consulted with Zhou Chujin: “We need to find a better physician. This won’t do!”
Seeing that Zhou Shaojin’s complexion was still good and her food, clothing, and daily life were no different from usual, Zhou Chujin guessed this was a心disease—a matter of the heart. She said: “Let’s continue observing for a few days. If it doesn’t work, we’ll find a famous physician to examine her.”
Madam Li nodded, but felt suspicious in her heart. She said privately to Nanny Li: “The Elder Madam has always been very concerned about Second Miss’s affairs. Why does she seem rather indifferent this time? Are they hiding something from me?”
Nanny Li, afraid Madam Li would develop doubts, quickly said: “How could that be? I see Second Miss’s complexion is normal. If she weren’t constantly lying down and drowsy, you couldn’t tell anything was wrong with her. Besides, the Elder Madam has just become a mother and is completely focused on the newly added young master. It’s inevitable she has less energy and overlooks some things…”
Madam Li nodded, but still felt they should find a renowned physician for Zhou Shaojin soon: “…If something really is wrong, I probably won’t have peace of mind for the rest of my life.”
Nanny Li felt that if she were in the same position, she would think the same way. She said: “Finding a physician to examine Second Miss isn’t difficult. Since one or two physicians haven’t been able to diagnose anything anyway, the Elder Madam won’t be suspicious if we change physicians for Second Miss. It’s just that we’re unfamiliar with the capital—how do we find a famous physician?”
Madam Li bit her lip and said: “Then we’ll ask Fourth Master Cheng! Didn’t he grow up in the capital from childhood, and hasn’t he frequently traveled between the capital and Jinling since then? He must know which physicians are skilled.”
Nanny Li thought about it—only Fourth Master Cheng could be approached.
So Madam Li wrote a letter and had Nanny Li take it to Yuqian Lane.
Cheng Chi hadn’t calmed down yet and felt too ashamed to face Zhou Shaojin. He’d even crumpled up Old Master Song’s invitation to go spring outings and tossed it in the waste basket. But he suddenly received Madam Li’s letter saying Zhou Shaojin was ill. Several physicians had been summoned and several doses of medicine taken with no improvement. She asked him to please help find a reputable physician to examine Zhou Shaojin.