Before going to Elm Coin Alley, Cheng Chi made a trip to Heshou Hall where Old Madam Guo resided.

When the old madam saw him return, thinking he had come back to keep her company, she happily instructed a maid to fetch the chess set and said to Cheng Chi, “Let’s have a few games of hand-talk—it’s been quite some time since you’ve come to play chess with me! Shaojin’s chess skills must have improved considerably, haven’t they?”

Shaojin’s… that could hardly be called playing chess.

That was completely fooling around with him, wasn’t it?

However, it was much more interesting than serious chess-playing!

Thinking this, Cheng Chi couldn’t help but show some amusement in his eyes. Avoiding a direct answer, he smiled and said, “I thought you were angry! Seems like you’re in quite a good mood!”

“If I didn’t find my own amusement, I’d have long been driven to death by you little rascals,” Old Madam Guo directed the young maids to arrange the chess board on the kang table and said, “One is selfish and self-serving, one is timid and submissive, one is lawless and unbridled… Not a single one is easy to deal with!”

Cheng Chi laughed heartily and said, “It’s not that we’re no good—it’s that your expectations are too high. Although eldest brother has some selfish motives, he’s not confused about important matters. Second brother is merely caught in the middle—he has no choice but to play peacemaker. As for me… with Mother and my brothers indulging me, if I weren’t lawless and unbridled, I’d be letting down the reputation of being a scion of an aristocratic family!”

“You even have justifications?” Old Madam Guo didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “If your father were still alive and heard you say this, he’d have already brought out the family punishment!”

Cheng Chi seized the opportunity to take Old Madam Guo’s hand, half-joking and half-serious as he said, “So please don’t be angry with Father anymore. He had no choice either. Aren’t strategies like using inferior horses against superior ones and sacrificing pawns to protect the king all good strategies for surviving desperate situations? Perhaps if I hadn’t encountered such circumstances, I wouldn’t have amounted to anything! Back then, you and Father spoiled me terribly!”

Old Madam Guo remained silent.

Cheng Chi continued holding his mother’s hand without letting go.

After a long while, Old Madam Guo sighed, somewhat helplessly saying, “You child… you certainly have a broad mind!”

Cheng Chi chuckled softly and said in a low voice, “As for that young lady from the Fang family, just give her a pass and let it go! There’s no need to drag the Fang family into this over my affairs.”

Lest the conflict with Yuan Shi deepen further.

Of course, this was something he absolutely couldn’t say in front of his mother—otherwise, when the old lady got stubborn, even nine oxen couldn’t pull her back.

Old Madam Guo gave him a sidelong glance and said, “How did you know about this?”

Cheng Chi brazenly said, “I originally wanted to be Mother’s close-fitting cotton vest, but having been born male, I can only be the roundworm in your belly…”

“Ptui! Ptui! Ptui!” Old Madam Guo laughed. “What roundworm in the belly—how can you even say such things! You, stop putting on a show for me. Though I’m old, my eyesight is still sharp. Don’t think that with your clowning around I’ll just let this pass. I know what you’re thinking—aren’t you just worried that Yuan Shi will resent me? But if Yuan Shi hadn’t instigated it and the Fang family hadn’t courted death, even if I wanted to act, wouldn’t I lack the opportunity? Since they’re rushing headlong into this matter, how can I let down their sincere efforts?” Then she said bitterly, “What I hate most in my life is being schemed against!”

Cheng Chi was speechless.

Old Madam Guo then placed the bowl containing the black stones in front of Cheng Chi and said, “Don’t concern yourself with this matter anymore. I know what I’m doing. I had originally thought to make do with your Guo family cousins, choosing a wife for you from among your Guo cousins and Shaojin, lest people notice something suspicious when we propose marriage to the Zhou family right after separating the branches. But doing so would inevitably damage the Guo family’s reputation, which troubled my conscience. So I set that matter aside. Now it’s perfect—the Guo family is removed from consideration, and your marriage won’t arouse others’ suspicions… Hurry and finalize that position of yours. I’m thinking that after the Mid-Autumn Festival passes, we can go propose marriage to the Zhou family!”

Cheng Chi knew that the old madam had kept that Miss Fang to create momentum for Shaojin. Now that the old madam was admitting this so bluntly, knowing that she already had her mind made up about this matter, there was nothing more he could say. He could only hope that Yuan Shi wouldn’t interfere and drag that young lady from the Fang family into it.

After playing two games of chess with his mother, seeing that it was getting late, Cheng Chi found an excuse to take leave of Old Madam Guo and went to Elm Coin Alley.

Li Shi had chosen an auspicious day the second day after coming to pay respects to Old Madam Guo and returned to Baoding Prefecture.

At Elm Coin Alley, only Zhou Shaojin was at home. The stewards, young servants, and gatekeepers on duty were all Cheng Chi’s people. Seeing Cheng Chi arrive, there was absolutely no reason to stop him. The young servants ran to report to the inner gate while the steward accompanied Cheng Chi inside.

Zhou Shaojin, thinking that the Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching, had personally brewed several jars of osmanthus wine and was in the storage room tasting whether the wine was too weak or strong when a young maid came to report. Before she had time to set down the small cup in her hand, Cheng Chi walked in.

“How did you think to brew osmanthus wine?” He caught a faint fragrance of osmanthus wine as soon as he entered the main courtyard.

Zhou Shaojin felt a bit embarrassed and said, “Isn’t the Mid-Autumn Festival coming soon? We can’t buy all the festival gifts from the market, can we? I’ve brewed osmanthus wine before, and everyone said it was good. The osmanthus flowers are blooming particularly well this year, so I brewed several more jars. It’s nothing rare—just a token of my sincerity.”

Cheng Chi felt very pleased hearing this.

Shaojin had a gentle temperament and was introverted. He had originally not expected her to be able to manage household affairs. But if she could think about these social courtesies and occasionally interact with family relatives and friends this way, with him mediating here and there, social obligations could be managed.

“Oh?!” He feigned disbelief and smiled, “You can actually brew osmanthus wine? I didn’t expect that!”

Zhou Shaojin smiled with pursed lips.

Uncle Chi always liked to tease her to make her happy.

Of course he didn’t disbelieve she could brew wine—he just wanted to make her happy.

She scooped a small cup of wine and handed it to Cheng Chi: “Uncle Chi, try it and see if it tastes good.”

Cheng Chi took a sip.

It was brewed with Jinhua wine, with golden and silver osmanthus added. The taste upon entering the mouth was still the mellow lingering of Jinhua wine, but it carried the rich fragrance of golden and silver osmanthus.

“Not bad at all!” Cheng Chi smiled. “Mother likes Jinhua wine, so she should like this osmanthus wine too.”

Hearing this, Zhou Shaojin’s eyes curved into crescents with her smile. She pulled Cheng Chi to see the osmanthus wine she had buried in the back courtyard: “…I brewed it myself with glutinous rice wine, adding rock sugar, longan, and red dates. Ten jars with golden osmanthus, ten jars with silver osmanthus, ten jars with red osmanthus, and another twenty jars using sorghum wine. The glutinous rice wine will be drunk at next year’s Mid-Autumn Festival. The sorghum wine should be buried for five or six years before being dug up. By then, I’ll make wind-dried pigeons for Uncle Chi to accompany the wine.”

His little girl was like a small boat that had drifted for a long time, finally mooring at his harbor.

She had actually buried wine in the ground, and said that five years from now, she would dig it up…

Cheng Chi looked at her with a smile.

He felt there could be no better moment than this.

The person his heart favored was speaking to him tenderly about their future!

Just thinking about it made Cheng Chi’s blood boil with excitement.

His gaze slowly moved from her eyes to linger on her lips, red and tender as flower petals, like scorching sunlight hovering and lingering near her lips… as if invisible hands were gently caressing her lips… making her heart flutter with anxiety… feeling quite uncomfortable…

Zhou Shaojin couldn’t help but begin to stammer: “I can also make wind-dried duck and wind-dried goose. I can make braised duck and braised goose too. What does Uncle Chi like to eat? I’ll make it for you then…”

“I like whatever Shaojin makes…” Cheng Chi leaned down, drawing closer and closer to those red, tender lips. “As long as Shaojin makes it, I like it…” He slowly drew nearer.

Zhou Shaojin could even feel his warm breath and smell the faint incense on him.

Was Uncle Chi going to kiss her?

But this was outdoors, in the courtyard, with serving maids and servants nearby…

Heat rushed to Zhou Shaojin’s face, as if she were trapped in a bathhouse with steam rising, making it hard to breathe, her head dizzy. Yet incongruously, she was thinking—had Uncle Chi changed his incense? That fragrance seemed different from the “Thus Have I Heard” scent… It was richer than the “Thus Have I Heard” fragrance, yet equally pleasant. Like cinnamon, but much lighter than cinnamon… Was it because Uncle Chi had changed his incense? Her mind was becoming increasingly muddled…

Her face was cupped by a pair of warm and gentle hands.

Zhou Shaojin grew so warm that even her eyes moistened.

Her heart was seized with emotion.

A little afraid, a little expectant, and with a bit of reckless abandon like covering one’s ears while stealing a bell.

That warm breath fell upon her cheek.

Zhou Shaojin closed her eyes…

Suddenly, a woman’s panicked voice sounded in her ear: “Shaojin… Shaojin… you two… you two…”

The warmth instantly withdrew from Zhou Shaojin.

She quickly opened her eyes.

She saw Zhou Chujin standing beneath the osmanthus tree in the back courtyard.

Zhou Chujin’s face was full of shock, her gaze fixed directly on her, with several pastry boxes fallen at her feet.

“Elder Sister…” Zhou Shaojin’s face immediately turned deathly pale.

Why was Elder Sister here?

Where were the servants who had just been attending her?

Zhou Shaojin instinctively hid behind Cheng Chi.

Cheng Chi was embarrassed.

It was all his carelessness.

Seeing that nothing had happened before, he had begun to indulge himself… resulting in Nanny Shang and the others thinking of ways to send away Shaojin’s attendants whenever they were together… but he hadn’t expected Zhou Chujin to burst in at this moment, frightening Shaojin.

He stepped forward, hiding Zhou Shaojin behind him, his expression becoming composed and his demeanor serious as he said, “Chujin, this isn’t what you imagine…”

“I don’t want to hear anything!” Zhou Chujin said sternly, her body trembling violently.

The facts were right there—she had seen it with her own eyes. How could it be false? Did he still want to make excuses?

Zhou Chujin felt she was about to faint.

She grabbed hold of the osmanthus tree trunk to keep from falling.

No wonder!

No wonder!

Uncle Chi was especially good to Shaojin, always looking at Shaojin with a different gaze.

Giving her a residence, buying her jewelry and precious ornaments, considering her interests in everything, even using Shaojin’s marriage as a reason to persuade her to write to Father and keep Shaojin in the capital, helping Uncle Li from the Li family connect with the Imperial Household Department for business… so this was why!

Her sister, whose mind was as pure as white paper, her sister whom she protected under her wings even when covered with wounds herself, had actually, had actually been coveted by this uncle she trusted and respected most…

Anger, disappointment, and self-reproach surged toward her like an overwhelming tide.

She stepped forward several paces and raised her hand to slap Cheng Chi, but behind her came Chi Xiang’s voice: “Young Madam, everything has been moved to Second Miss’s room…”