Cheng Jia’s wooden expression immediately brightened.

She grasped Zhou Shaojin’s hand and asked, “Really?”

“Of course it’s true.” Zhou Shaojin answered with complete firmness and certainty. “Think about it—isn’t that the logic?”

Cheng Jia fell into thought.

Zhou Shaojin said: “At the end of the day, if Pan Qing hadn’t done such things, how would Aunt Xian have fainted from anger? If anyone should feel guilty, it should be Pan Qing. If you keep taking all the blame upon yourself like this, you might be playing right into Pan Qing’s hands, letting her push the responsibility onto you. If something is your fault, then it’s your fault—we’ll admit our mistakes, accept punishment, and correct ourselves. But if it’s not our fault, why should we admit to it? Why should we take the blame for others?”

Zhou Shaojin’s words might not necessarily be right, but Cheng Jia could see Zhou Shaojin’s intentions crystal clear.

She couldn’t help stopping in her tracks, holding Zhou Shaojin’s hand, and said earnestly: “Shaojin, I know you’re the person who treats me best. I’ll listen to you. If it’s my fault, I’m willing to kneel in the ancestral hall and copy the ‘Admonitions for Women,’ but if it’s not my fault, I can’t just accept it and take the blame for others!” The more she spoke, the faster she talked, and the brighter her eyes became, until finally she smiled at Zhou Shaojin.

Zhou Shaojin felt a pang of sadness in her heart.

In her previous life, she had treated Cheng Jia even better than in this life.

Had Cheng Jia also felt her kindness like this back then?

When Cheng Xian fainted, she had immediately taken all the responsibility upon herself. In her previous life, when she had been led to that cave, what had Cheng Jia thought afterward?

After that, both of them had been kept under watch by the Cheng family and never saw each other again.

Before she was even twenty years old, she had died of illness.

Leaving behind a son still in swaddling clothes.

Comparing the two of them, Cheng Jia was even more pitiful than her.

She had been confused and unable to judge people clearly. But Cheng Jia was like a small animal—normally well-fed and well-cared for, but at critical moments, pushed out without mercy to be slaughtered by others…

Zhou Shaojin hugged Cheng Jia’s arm and couldn’t help saying softly: “I hope we’ll both be well for the rest of our lives!”

Free of her dark mood, Cheng Jia became carefree again.

“Of course we’ll be well!” She smiled upon hearing this, then looked around somewhat mysteriously and whispered to Zhou Shaojin: “When the time comes, we’ll marry into the same place, or marry into the same family, and continue our association just like now… If I have a son, he’ll marry your daughter; if you have a son, he’ll marry my daughter… When we’re old, we’ll be in-laws through our children!”

“Ah!” Zhou Shaojin was dumbfounded.

Cheng Jia found it amusing and ran off with tinkling laughter.

Her light footsteps were like a little deer in the forest, leaping and joyful!

Zhou Shaojin couldn’t help laughing.

Suddenly she recalled that if she remembered correctly, Cheng Jia’s husband from her previous life, Li Jing, would soon come to visit their great-aunt Old Lady Li.

He had fallen in love with Cheng Jia at first sight.

But Jiang Shi had disdained him for being a merchant and was unwilling to marry Cheng Jia to Li Jing.

At that time, she had thought Jiang Shi was a good mother, thinking of Cheng Jia in every way.

Looking at it now, Cheng Jia was more like goods waiting to fetch a good price.

In her previous life, when Cheng Jia’s incident occurred, Li Jing had traveled thousands of miles from Luoyang upon hearing the news and married Cheng Jia with fifty thousand taels of silver as the betrothal gift. After Cheng Jia’s death, he didn’t remarry. He elevated one of Cheng Jia’s personal maids to be a concubine to manage the household, while he kept Cheng Jia’s son by his side and raised him personally. Even when traveling for business, he would bring his son along on boats and horses, unwilling to entrust him to others—afraid others would bully him, and even more afraid others would spoil him…

Should she help Cheng Jia?

Zhou Shaojin hesitated as she walked into the flower hall.

Old Lady Li was holding Cheng Jia’s hand, her eyes brimming with tears as she said: “You child, how could you be so reckless? If something serious happened to your aunt, how could I go on living…”

Just as expected, the Third Branch would push the responsibility onto Cheng Jia, turning this matter into children’s foolishness!

Zhou Shaojin saw Cheng Jia purse her lips in displeasure, looking as if she wanted to refute Old Lady Li. She quickly stepped forward with a smile and bowed to Old Lady Guo, Old Lady Guan, Old Lady Li, and the other elders.

“You’re back!” Old Lady Guan said with a chuckle. “How did you two just run off in a flash like that? You gave us quite a fright.”

Even if Old Lady Guan hadn’t asked, Zhou Shaojin would have found an opportunity to explain, otherwise people would think she and Cheng Jia had done it intentionally.

“Aunt Yi was afraid Cousin Jia would run around,” Zhou Shaojin said bashfully. “So she assigned a nanny to watch us and not let us wander about. We really couldn’t sit still anymore, so we…”

Someone nearby laughed heartily.

Zhou Chujin, standing tensely behind Old Lady Guan, also showed a smile.

The atmosphere relaxed.

Zhou Shaojin breathed a sigh of relief.

Old Lady Guan asked: “How is your Aunt Xian then? Why didn’t you stay there to care for her?”

“Aunt Xian is fine,” Zhou Shaojin said with a smile. “It seemed the weather was too hot and Aunt Xian walked too quickly, which is why she fainted. Aunt Jing said there were plenty of people there, and we two are too young and don’t understand anything—we’d only get in the way. So she had us come back first to report to you and the other elders, so everyone wouldn’t worry.”

The flower hall was completely quiet, so silent you could hear a pin drop.

Clearly everyone was listening intently to what Zhou Shaojin was saying.

Zhou Shaojin’s answer was flawless.

Old Lady Guan nodded slightly in satisfaction.

Cheng Jia had initially been afraid Zhou Shaojin would give something away.

Pan Qing’s matter, no matter how you put it, was a Cheng family embarrassment—surely they wouldn’t expose their own scandal?

After hearing Zhou Shaojin’s words, she secretly gave Zhou Shaojin a thumbs up.

Zhou Shaojin pretended not to see it.

Soon, Cheng Xian, looking weak, was helped in by Pan Qing and Jiang Shi.

“Fourth Sister-in-law,” Cheng Xian’s face was full of guilt, tears rolling in her eyes. “I’m so sorry. On your birthday celebration, I suffered what seemed like heatstroke…”

Old Lady Guan exclaimed “Oh my!” and quickly said: “Then you should go back to your room and rest! I celebrate my birthday every year—you can’t let this turn into a serious illness!” She then asked Jiang Shi: “Have you called for a doctor? You should accompany her back! I’ll come see her later!”

Cheng Xian indeed had no face to stay there. After exchanging a few pleasantries with the people in the room, she was accompanied back to the Third Branch’s guest quarters by Jiang Shi, Pan Qing, and her brother Pan Zhuo.

Cheng Jia put on a show of taking a deep breath and whispered to Zhou Shaojin: “Don’t you feel much more refreshed now!”

“Be careful not to celebrate too soon and have misfortune follow!” Zhou Shaojin warned her. “Right now there are guests. Wait until you return to the Third Branch and see how Aunt Yi deals with you!”

Cheng Jia’s face immediately fell.

Zhou Shaojin giggled with laughter.

The supervising nanny came over to say that the auspicious time had arrived.

The women retreated behind screens. After Cheng Mian led the men in paying birthday respects to Old Lady Guan, Lady Mian’s wife led the Cheng family women in paying birthday respects to Old Lady Guan.

The servant women began serving dishes.

The festivities continued until the moon rose above the treetops. Zhou Shaojin’s fresh flower screens and octagonal red lanterns were brought out. The courtyard was clustered with flowers, brilliantly lit, with fine music playing continuously and laughter unceasing. Old Lady Guan was so delighted she couldn’t stop smiling. It wasn’t until the third night watch was struck and Old Lady Guan showed signs of fatigue that Zhou Shaojin and her sister helped Old Lady Guan wash up. The smile never left Old Lady Guan’s face, and she privately rewarded each sister with an ingot of snowflake-patterned official silver.

The next day, the Fourth Branch was busy tidying up after the birthday celebration.

Cheng Jia was confined to her quarters—for three whole months, with no one permitted to visit her.

Zhou Shaojin was somewhat surprised, yet felt this was to be expected.

She took out two sheets of Chengxin paper, cut them into small pieces, and had Shi Xiang deliver them to Cheng Jia: “For her to write poetry and paint when she has nothing to do, to pass the time.”

At Hanbì Mountain House, Old Lady Guo had dismissed her attendants and was having a private conversation with Yuan Shi: “…I think the eldest son’s marriage should be settled soon. Otherwise, with one person trying this and another trying that, we’ll offend relatives for no reason and easily create resentments.”

Yuan Shi smiled bitterly and said: “How could I not want that? But the Min family’s position is that we should discuss marriage after Xu passes the provincial examination… to avoid delaying both families’ children.”

Old Lady Guo sneered and said: “I think they’re afraid of delaying their own child! You need to think this through carefully, lest someone takes advantage and leads you by the nose, and in the end, the girl you marry in is worse than one from an ordinary family. If you marry in an unsuitable daughter-in-law, it will affect several generations! Look at your third uncle’s daughter-in-law—back then she was also a vice minister’s daughter, but what happened? She took after her illiterate mother and can’t even speak a clear sentence. The son she bore also took completely after her. Your second uncle personally tutored him from the beginning, and he barely managed to pass the county examination to become a xiucai…”

“I understand.” Yuan Shi’s eyes flashed with cold light as she said: “I’ve already sent people to Fujian. I absolutely won’t make any mistakes about the girl’s character.”

Old Lady Guo nodded and said: “Then go check on Cheng Xian! Here’s another one who takes after her mother—a daughter of an official family who can’t even handle a husband from a humble background and has to listen to her husband and cause trouble. I wonder whose ancestral grave is in the wrong place to form a marriage alliance with their family…”

Yuan Shi hated Cheng Xian to death and didn’t want to say more. She smiled and agreed, having her personal maid bring some medicinal herbs and tonics to visit Cheng Xian at the Third Branch.

That afternoon, Zhou Shaojin came over, bringing several sweet melons for the maids at Hanbi Mountain House.

Old Lady Guo looked at her flushed little face, casually picked up a fan and began fanning her, asking with a smile: “Have you settled all the household matters?”

Zhou Shaojin was startled—how could she dare let Old Lady Guo fan her! She quickly took the fan from Old Lady Guo and said with a smile: “With my older sister here, what do I have to do? I’m just meddling around on the sidelines.”

Old Lady Guo smiled faintly.

Zhenzhu brought in cut sweet melon.

Old Lady Guo said with a smile: “Eat some sweet melon before you go copy scriptures.”

Zhou Shaojin knew that Old Lady Guo, being advanced in age, no longer ate such sweet things. She smiled and agreed, sitting on a small stool beside Old Lady Guo to eat the melon.

Biyu came in and said with a smile: “Chief Steward Qin has arrived. He says he has matters to discuss.”

Zhou Shaojin quickly stood up.

Old Lady Guo saw there was still melon juice at the corner of her mouth and said with a smile: “You eat yours—Old Qin is over sixty this year.”

The implication was that she need not avoid him.

Zhou Shaojin had no choice but to sit back down.

Biyu went to usher in Qin Shouyue.

This was Zhou Shaojin’s first time seeing Qin Shouyue.

He was of medium build, with a ruddy complexion and glossy black hair. His back was ramrod straight. He wore a sapphire blue robe with purple auspicious cloud patterns in cocoon silk, looking very spirited—appearing ten years younger than his actual age.