When conversation doesn’t align, even half a sentence is too much.

Zhou Shaojin left Pan Qing behind and returned to the study.

Her good mood had been completely ruined by Pan Qing.

However, it was better to be safe than sorry. Since Sister had already told Grandmother about Cheng Lu’s matter, a marriage between her and Cheng Lu was absolutely impossible. As for what Pan Qing had mentioned, she needed to give Sister and Grandmother a warning, lest Grandmother and Sister, not understanding the situation, try to pair her with Pan Zhuo!

But when she returned to Jiashu Hall and saw Cheng Xian chatting and laughing with Grandmother, she was stunned for quite a while before pulling Si’er aside and quietly asking, “Do you know why Aunt Xian came?”

“I don’t know,” Si’er said in a low voice. “Right after you and the eldest miss left, the aunt arrived and has been chatting with the old madam until now.”

Zhou Shaojin’s heart stirred as she recalled the relationships between the various branches.

The First and Second Branches competed openly and covertly, one rising as the other fell. The Third Branch had always wanted to stand shoulder to shoulder with the First and Second Branches but lacked capable descendants to support the family. The Fourth Branch helped with reason rather than favoritism, always standing in the middle. The Fifth Branch was confused and muddled, like mud that couldn’t stick to a wall.

If Cheng Xian wanted to marry Pan Qing into the First Branch, Grandmother would be the best matchmaker.

No wonder Cheng Xian had been quite courteous to the Fourth Branch upon her return this time.

She asked Si’er, “Did Grandmother invite the aunt to stay for lunch?”

“She did,” Si’er smiled. “But the aunt said that this afternoon, the guests who came from the Third Branch’s Old Madam Li’s maternal family to celebrate the Second Branch’s old ancestor’s birthday are departing for Songjiang. The aunt needs to help Old Madam Li see off the guests, so she can’t stay for lunch here. However, the aunt said next time when she brings the young master and young miss to pay respects to the old madam, she’ll come to trouble the old madam again.”

Not having to deal with Cheng Xian, Zhou Shaojin breathed a sigh of relief.

After lunch, when everyone moved to the rest room to drink tea, Zhou Shaojin pretended to be curious and asked Old Madam Guan, “Grandmother, did Aunt Xian come to ask you to arrange a match between cousin Qing and cousin Xu?”

Old Madam Guan was quite surprised and said, “Who told you this?”

Zhou Shaojin said, “Cousin Qing came to Jing’an Studio today to attend classes with us. I heard it from cousin Qing.”

Hearing this, Old Madam Guan’s expression grew somewhat condensed. “How did young Qing tell you? Did she say the Pan family wanted to form a marriage alliance with the Cheng family?”

“She didn’t say it that way. I guessed it,” Zhou Shaojin smiled. “Today cousin Jia quarreled with cousin Qing again. Cousin Jia said, ‘Do you think you can stay at the Cheng family forever?’ Normally, cousin Qing would definitely snort coldly and ignore cousin Jia, but today cousin Qing’s face turned bright red and she jumped up to argue with cousin Jia. Afterward, she specifically came to tell me not to tell others about her quarrel with cousin Jia, and said something about how whether she stays or leaves are matters only the elders can decide… That day when Wu Baozhang mentioned cousin Xu, I noticed cousin Qing seemed very concerned too, so I wondered if the elders intended to ‘add kinship to kinship.’ This time when Aunt Xian returned, she’s only been close with the First Branch and us. Grandmother has always had a reputation for ‘fairness’ in the clan, so I thought if Aunt Xian intended to have cousin Qing remain at the Cheng family, she would definitely ask Grandmother to intervene.” At this point, she blinked her clear black-and-white eyes. “When I saw Aunt Xian just now, I somehow felt suspicious. I don’t know if I’m right or wrong?”

Hearing this, Old Madam Guan laughed and said, “You clever girl, when did you become so astute? This matter hasn’t even begun to take shape yet, and I haven’t decided whether to help them arrange it. You mustn’t speak carelessly about it.”

Zhou Shaojin quickly pressed her lips together, making a “lips sealed” gesture, then smiled and said, “Rest assured, I’ll be as tight as a clamshell.”

Old Madam Guan, Madam Mian, and Zhou Chujin all laughed.

On the way back to Wanxiang Residence, Zhou Shaojin was in an excellent mood.

Clearly some things didn’t need to be kept hidden in one’s heart—when they should be said, say them; when they should be done, do them. Like with Wu Baozhang, in her previous life she would definitely have feared ruining her reputation, hesitating and not daring to act. Instead, Wu Baozhang would have thought her guilty and grasped her weakness, turning nothing into something. Like with Pan Qing’s marriage matter this time, she boldly asked Grandmother and discovered Cheng Xian’s intentions.

From now on, she should be even bolder.

Didn’t Sister always say in her previous life that no matter what the problem, as long as you think it through, there’s a solution?

Even if she made mistakes, there should be ways to resolve them, shouldn’t there?

Thinking this, Zhou Shaojin unconsciously began humming a little tune.

Zhou Chujin smiled and said, “What are you humming and muttering about? Why are you so happy?”

This was a tune Zhou Shaojin had heard the young maids at the manor humming in her previous life.

Such small matters naturally didn’t need to be mentioned to Sister, and even if mentioned, they couldn’t be explained clearly.

She took Sister’s arm and said, “Sister, let’s have congee for dinner tonight, shall we? Savory congee? With some scallions and vegetables.”

“Is that even edible?” Zhou Chujin was shocked. “Which book did you get this from now?”

Zhou Shaojin loved reading, and whenever she saw something strange or unusual, she liked to try making it. Of course, most attempts ended in failure. But she enjoyed it endlessly. Zhou Chujin used to see her staying at home all day, barely associating with anyone except Cheng Jia, and feared she’d become dull. Thinking it was just wasting some silver and didn’t disturb others, she let her be.

“People in Guangdong eat it this way,” Zhou Shaojin answered confidently this time. In her previous life, her manor had employed a cook from Guangdong. “The weather is so hot. Always eating sweet things makes it easier to get inflamed. Better to switch to savory congee.”

“As you wish, as you wish,” Zhou Chujin said good-naturedly. “As long as you don’t force me to eat it with you!”

Zhou Shaojin giggled.

She felt that with her own efforts, her life would gradually become the way she most preferred it to be. Knowing that Cheng Xu had been exempted from morning and evening attendance, when she went to Hanbei Mountain Manor to copy scriptures that afternoon, her mood was elated. Even Biyu, seeing her glowing face, couldn’t help but smile and ask, “Does Second Miss have some happy news? Share it so we can all be happy too.”

Was she being that obvious?

Zhou Shaojin blushed and could only say, “At lunch, Grandmother’s household made ham and bamboo shoot soup.”

Who knew Old Madam Guo happened to be coming out of the room just then and heard every word? She couldn’t help but smile and say, “This child—she’s overjoyed just from eating something she likes. Her heart is truly open.”

Was she saying she was a bit simple?

Zhou Shaojin, blushing, curtsied and called out “Old Madam.”

Old Madam Guo patted her head and instructed Biyu, “Later, pack a box of the pastries Second Master sent from the capital for Second Miss. Children are growing and are always hungry, unlike us—everything about us is old and declining. We can’t eat, can’t sleep well.”

“You’re doing well,” Zhou Shaojin couldn’t bear to hear such words. It was like flowers withering and trees dying—even if everything was blooming like brocade, what she saw wouldn’t be the original flowers and trees anymore. She quickly said, “You haven’t held your great-grandchildren yet!”

Old Madam Guo could hear the urgency and sincerity in her words. She was somewhat surprised, then smiled.

No wonder Madam Guan was unwilling to return these two children to the Zhou family. If it were her, she wouldn’t want to either.

Old Madam Guo’s smile contained more tenderness than usual, and her tone became much more amiable as she said, “I can’t control great-grandchildren. If your uncle Chi could let me hold a grandchild, I’d be completely satisfied with no regrets.”

Zhou Shaojin was at a loss.

In her previous life, she truly knew very little about this uncle.

Especially after leaving the Cheng family, she had deliberately ignored certain people and matters related to the Cheng family, so she didn’t know whether this uncle had married or had children… She didn’t even know how to offer words of comfort.

But in Old Madam Guo’s eyes, this made Zhou Shaojin seem truly genuine—either saying nothing at all, or speaking entirely from the heart.

She sighed inwardly.

No wonder this child would suffer losses.

Everyone in Jiuru Lane was shrewd and formidable, never showing their true feelings.

Only that boy Cheng Xu had been raised wrong by Madam Yuan.

Old Madam Guo’s expression showed melancholy. She patted Zhou Shaojin’s head again and entered the main room without a word.

Zhou Shaojin was bewildered by Old Madam Guo’s display of “affection,” but fortunately she had no particular desire to win Old Madam Guo’s favor, so she remained “unaffected by honor or disgrace.” Returning to the Buddhist hall, she began preparing to copy scriptures.

Xiao Tan happily helped her spread paper and grind ink, taking over all of Shi Xiang’s tasks.

Zhou Shaojin saw that although young, she had a snow-white face with a beauty mark at the corner of her mouth—charming and adorable. She liked her very much and chatted with her.

Xiao Tan, serving in Old Madam Guo’s room, was naturally quick and clever. She had never seen a woman as gentle and harmless as Zhou Shaojin, which made her feel relaxed and fond, so she was willing to talk with Zhou Shaojin.

The two chatted cheerfully about what flowers Hanbei Mountain Manor grew, who usually took care of them, whether the food was good, who liked eating what… After rambling through all this, Zhou Shaojin finally began copying scriptures.

With nothing weighing on her mind, she immersed herself in the sutras more quickly than usual.

She didn’t know how much time had passed when, though there was no sound around her, she inexplicably felt as if there were needles pricking her back.

Zhou Shaojin’s hair stood on end. She whirled around abruptly.

Jet-black ink from her mottled wolf-hair brush dripped onto her snow-white Hangzhou silk embroidered skirt.

Behind her stood a tall, jade-like man.

“Did I startle you?” The man wore an indigo blue fine cloth Daoist robe and had a pair of warm, bright eyes. “I saw you were writing quite seriously, so I didn’t want to disturb you.” He explained gently, his eyes full of apology. “I didn’t expect to startle you anyway!”

“It’s nothing… I just wasn’t paying attention…” Zhou Shaojin, seeing clearly who stood before her, couldn’t help but let out a long breath. Her tense emotions relaxed immediately. She remembered Sister’s words and stammered, “Uncle… Uncle Chi… about last time… thank you…”

“Last time?” Cheng Chi’s smile was faint, yet possessed a perceptive clarity and tolerance. “What happened last time? I don’t seem to remember!”

Hearing this, Zhou Shaojin nearly shed tears.

She quickly said, “I remembered wrong, I remembered wrong. Uncle Chi, please don’t take it to heart.”

Cheng Chi smiled and turned to leave.

But just as his foot was about to step out of the Buddhist hall, he suddenly turned back and smiled, saying, “Your calligraphy is quite good. Practice a bit more and you’ll be able to write Spring Festival couplets!”

Really?

This was the first time anyone had evaluated Zhou Shaojin’s calligraphy this way.

She immediately became excited.

If she could write Spring Festival couplets, how wonderful that would be!

For a young woman’s calligraphy to be posted publicly, becoming the face of the family—that would be the highest honor.

Liao Zhangying had once said her calligraphy career began with writing Spring Festival couplets.

Later, Liao Zhangying published calligraphy copybooks.

Though they circulated among ladies’ chambers, they brought great renown among Jiangnan scholars. Many people invited her to instruct the women in their households, allowing her to live comfortably without depending on the Liao family.

How wonderful it would be if one day she could be like Liao Zhangying!