Cheng Chi gazed at Zhou Shaojin’s face, which looked somewhat childlike in her deep sleep, lost in thought.
Early the next morning when they went to pay respects to Old Madam Guo, he half-supported Zhou Shaojin as they walked.
Zhou Shaojin asked with a curious smile, “What’s gotten into you?”
Cheng Chi said calmly, “I see you look like you’re about to fall asleep while walking. If I don’t support you like this, I’m afraid you’ll walk into a ditch.”
Zhou Shaojin couldn’t help but yawn, saying, “I don’t know why, but I just want to sleep so much. I clearly just got out of bed…”
“Then go back and get some proper sleep,” Cheng Chi said with a smile. “Mother happens to be going out to visit anyway.”
Hearing this, Zhou Shaojin giggled.
A few days ago, Madam Peng from the Military Selection Bureau of the Ministry of War had invited Old Madam Guo to her home to listen to opera. Old Madam Guo was advanced in age and a particular person; she wasn’t lacking in people to chat and amuse her, so she didn’t really want to go out. Although she said nothing when Madam Peng’s invitation arrived, from her expression, she wasn’t planning to go.
For Cheng Chi to say this, wasn’t he urging Old Madam Guo to go out socializing?
How could Old Madam Guo be someone who could be casually manipulated?
But what she didn’t expect was that after they had greeted Old Madam Guo and chatted for a while before taking their leave, Old Madam Guo suddenly told Zhou Shaojin that she would be going to visit the Peng family in a bit. Since they would all be elderly ladies, she wouldn’t bring her along. She told her to stay home properly, and she would return after having dinner at the Peng residence.
Zhou Shaojin’s eyes widened.
She had been with Cheng Chi the whole time just now, and Cheng Chi hadn’t avoided her when speaking… so how did Cheng Chi know Old Madam Guo was going to visit the Peng family?
But Cheng Chi had to leave for the yamen soon, and she couldn’t very well ask him at this moment. She could only first see Cheng Chi out, then attend to Old Madam Guo as she prepared to leave.
On Old Madam Guo’s side, they were still selecting clothes for going out.
Usually such matters would be prepared a day in advance.
Clearly Old Madam Guo had decided to go out on the spur of the moment.
But she couldn’t very well ask Old Madam Guo why she was visiting the Peng family. If she asked, it would inevitably make Old Madam Guo seem inconsistent in her actions. As a daughter-in-law, how could she question her mother-in-law’s decisions?
Zhou Shaojin saw Old Madam Guo off without understanding why, and drowsiness attacked her once again.
She flopped onto the bed and closed her eyes, but felt vaguely in her heart—with the Old Madam not home, she indeed felt much more relaxed…
Meanwhile, Old Madam Guo couldn’t stop smiling the entire way out.
Thinking of Cheng Chi’s earlier hints, Nanny Lü couldn’t help saying, “Old Madam, if the Fourth Young Madam truly is with child, we should invite a physician to examine her. To avoid her like this…”
Is it appropriate?
It’s not like they had matched their birth charts and found that the Old Madam’s and the Fourth Young Madam’s baby’s charts were incompatible, right?
Could it be that from now on the Old Madam would have to keep avoiding the Fourth Young Madam?
Old Madam Guo laughed heartily, not taking offense at Nanny Lü’s words. She smiled, “Didn’t Fourth Lang say so? He only suspects Shaojin might be with child. You know that girl has been hoping for a child for nearly a year now. If I summon a physician to examine her, first, the pregnancy is still early—whether it can even be diagnosed is another matter. If she thinks I’m pressuring her to quickly bear children for the Cheng family and develops resentment, that wouldn’t be good. Second, if she truly is pregnant, won’t she treat it like a precious treasure, lying around without moving and eating excessively? Haven’t we seen plenty of such cases? The problem is, the more one acts like this, the harder childbirth becomes. It’s better to treat it with a normal attitude—whatever will be will be.”
If that’s the case, then why are you avoiding her, Old Madam?
Nanny Lü smiled inwardly but didn’t expose her, accompanying Old Madam Guo to Madam Peng’s residence.
When Old Madam Guo returned that evening and saw Zhou Shaojin yawning even while speaking, beyond her surprise, a certain thought began to form in her heart. She simply said to Cheng Chi, “The weather has been cool these past few days. I’m thinking of taking advantage of it to visit Second’s household and stay there for a few days!”
Zhou Shaojin was greatly alarmed, her drowsiness vanishing without a trace. She hurriedly said, “Mother, you’ve been staying here perfectly well. Why do you suddenly want to go to Second Uncle’s place…”
Before she could finish, Old Madam Guo interrupted her with a smile, “You child, I haven’t said anything—look how frightened you are! Come, come sit beside me. Hasn’t Rang Ge’er gotten engaged to the third young lady of the Xie family? I promised to provide twenty thousand taels of silver for Rang Ge’er’s wedding. Your second sister-in-law has been helping Rang Ge’er inspect estates these past few days. Since I have nothing to do, I’ll go help her look and find something to occupy myself.”
When a daughter married, her natal family would provide a dowry. More particular families would also establish some private property for the groom, so the young couple could live well.
The estates Old Madam Guo mentioned were probably the private property Qiu Shi was preparing for Rang Ge’er.
When Duke Xun was alive, Old Madam Guo had managed the entire household. After returning to Jiuru Alley, she had helped manage the Cheng family’s affairs. Even when living at Hanbi Mountain Estate, Yuan Shi would consult her when major matters arose. But now at Chaoyang Gate, the household was simple—even if Zhou Shaojin wanted to find tasks for Old Madam Guo, there weren’t any… If the Old Madam was willing, finding something to do might not be a bad thing!
Thinking this, Zhou Shaojin volunteered, “Then I’ll accompany you!”
“No need, no need.” Old Madam Guo waved her hand with a smile, saying, “I’m just going for a visit. If you come with me, who will look after Fourth Lang?”
That was true too.
Cheng Chi was only a fifth-rank secretary who didn’t yet have the qualification to attend morning court. He returned home before the hour of You in the afternoon. They couldn’t very well have him return to a cold, empty house with no one there, could they? Nor could they always have Old Madam Guo rush back before the hour of You, right?
Zhou Shaojin felt relieved and said, “Then when you feel tired, come back early. Fourth Master and I will come pick you up together!”
Old Madam Guo nodded with satisfaction, thinking that by then whether Zhou Shaojin was with child would be settled. Perhaps the Cheng family would have another joyous occasion!
Zhou Shaojin then helped Old Madam Guo pack her belongings.
Hearing the news, Qiu Shi and Cheng Rang came personally to fetch Old Madam Guo.
Old Madam Guo then said, “Have Jia girl and her Rui Ge’er come back too. It’s been some time since I’ve seen Rui Ge’er.”
Qiu Shi smiled and agreed repeatedly with “Yes.” Zhou Shaojin could almost imagine how lively Cheng Wei’s household would be. She felt somewhat envious in her heart, but her body also felt extremely tired. In the end, fatigue won out, forcing her to abandon the idea of visiting Cheng Wei’s home. While the maids and servants were moving the trunks, she quietly told Qiu Shi about some of Old Madam Guo’s preferences. After Cheng Chi returned and they had dinner, they saw Old Madam Guo off to Cheng Wei’s residence.
Hearing this, Yuan Shi immediately brought Min Jia to pay respects to Old Madam Guo, asking with a smile, “The autumn tiger is still hot these days. Why did you move to Second Brother’s place?”
The implication being—did Zhou Shaojin do something unfilial or unsatisfactory that made Old Madam Guo unable to wait for the weather to turn cool before moving to Cheng Wei’s household?
Min Jia barely restrained herself from curling her lips.
Her mother-in-law rarely thought before speaking. Even if she wanted to sow discord, couldn’t she be a bit less obvious about it?
Old Madam Guo was also somewhat annoyed and said bluntly, “Your second sister-in-law isn’t like you. You’re someone with your own ideas who can make all decisions yourself, so naturally you don’t need me pointing fingers at you. Your second sister-in-law has never handled such major matters. How can I not oversee things!”
Seeing her mother-in-law clash with her sister-in-law again, and being someone who had always respected her mother-in-law, Qiu Shi quickly said, “That’s right! That’s right! I used to shelter under Big Sister-in-law’s wings in comfort. Now that we’re living separately for the first time, this is the first time I’m handling such a major matter. If I don’t ask Mother to oversee things, I won’t feel confident!”
Hearing this, Yuan Shi’s expression stiffened somewhat.
This Qiu Shi never missed a chance to smooth things over!
But she also knew that was just Qiu Shi’s nature. Even if she wanted to say something, she wouldn’t know where to start.
Yuan Shi lowered her head to drink tea.
Qiu Shi breathed a sigh of relief and quickly urged everyone to eat the freshly marketed pears.
※※※
Zhou Shaojin naturally didn’t know what had happened at Cheng Wei’s residence. After seeing Old Madam Guo off, her days and nights reversed, and she slept for several days before going to Cheng Wei’s place to pay respects to Old Madam Guo.
As it happened, Old Madam Guo and Qiu Shi had just returned from inspecting estates. They were happily discussing the scenes at those estates when they saw Zhou Shaojin. Old Madam Guo beckoned to her directly and even gave her a bag of peanuts to take home and roast or boil, saying the estate owner had given them when they went to inspect.
Seeing Old Madam Guo in good spirits, Zhou Shaojin felt relieved. She forced herself to stay alert through dinner at Cheng Wei’s residence. When she returned home, she collapsed into bed again and slept deeply. It wasn’t until Cheng Chi told her that everyone would gather at Xingling Alley to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month that she realized the Mid-Autumn Festival had already arrived.
“So soon!” She leaned weakly against Cheng Chi, saying, “I don’t know why, but I’m always so tired.”
She didn’t want to go to Xingling Alley for the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Cheng Chi didn’t remind her. He gently stroked her cheek and kissed her forehead before saying with a smile, “It’s probably because the weather has turned cooler. It’ll get better in a few days.”
Since even Cheng Chi said so, Zhou Shaojin felt reassured and went back to sleep. It wasn’t until the Mid-Autumn Festival that she belatedly realized her monthly courses were very overdue.
Zhou Shaojin covered her belly, both surprised and delighted. She wanted excitedly to get out of bed and walk around, but feared the pregnancy wasn’t yet stable. She wanted to quickly send someone to report to Cheng Chi, but feared she had made a mistake and would rejoice for nothing. For a moment, she didn’t know what to do.
When Cheng Chi returned from the yamen, she wanted to rush over to him but forcibly stopped herself…
She should clarify the situation first. If it really was a false alarm, how disappointed Old Madam and Cheng Chi would be!
Zhou Shaojin kept telling herself to wait a bit longer, but the corners of her mouth couldn’t help curving upward. Even looking at teacups and teapots filled her heart with joy.
Seeing Zhou Shaojin like this, how could Cheng Chi not understand!
He said, “Should I have a physician come examine you?”
Why would he suddenly want to summon a physician for her?
Zhou Shaojin looked at Cheng Chi in confusion, then saw his knowing gaze… and thought of how her intimate garments were washed by dedicated servants…
She couldn’t help saying coquettishly, “So you already knew!”
Cheng Chi smiled slightly and pulled her into his embrace.
Zhou Shaojin thought of what Cheng Chi had said before and began to feel anxious about losing what she had gained. She asked hesitantly, “Do you… like it?”
Cheng Chi gently patted her bottom, saying, “What do you think—do I like it or not?”
His casual tone left Zhou Shaojin unsatisfied. She pouted, saying, “Didn’t you say before that we should wait until next year? You definitely don’t like it!”