Seeing an unfamiliar young girl in Old Lady Guo’s room—delicate and gentle, like a flower, not only beautiful but also adorable—Qin Shouyue was somewhat surprised. But since Old Lady Guo hadn’t asked the young girl to leave, he didn’t say much. Instead, he smiled and bowed to Old Lady Guo, saying tactfully: “The eldest master has sent a letter from the capital.”
If it were an ordinary family letter, Qin Shouyue would have taken it out directly rather than first dropping hints to Old Lady Guo.
Only then did Old Lady Guo feel it was somewhat improper to have kept Zhou Shaojin there. But having already kept her there, she could hardly send the young girl out now, could she?
Without thinking too much about it, she nodded.
Qin Shouyue took a letter from his sleeve and handed it to Zhenzhu, who was attending nearby.
Zhenzhu passed the letter to Old Lady Guo, then turned to fetch a pair of silver scissors for cutting paper.
Old Lady Guo cut open the envelope. Zhenzhu brought reading glasses, and Old Lady Guo held them up as she began reading the letter.
Everyone was afraid of disturbing Old Lady Guo and tried to keep as quiet as possible. The room was completely silent without a sound.
Zhou Shaojin gently chewed her sweet melon.
Old Lady Guo looked up, her brows knitted tightly together, and said to Qin Shouyue: “Do you know why the eldest master wrote this letter?”
“I do.” Qin Shouyue bowed his head slightly and said respectfully: “The eldest master also wrote a letter to this old servant, asking me to persuade the fourth master…”
Fourth master? Cheng Chi!
Zhou Shaojin’s ears perked up.
“This old servant thinks that the fourth master has always had his own principles, and he must have deep reasons for doing this,” Qin Shouyue’s tone carried a note of careful deliberation. “But the eldest master has lived in the capital for a long time and wouldn’t speak without basis. This old servant couldn’t make up his mind for a moment, which is why I volunteered to deliver this letter to the old lady—also hoping to ask the old lady’s advice on how to handle this matter…”
Old Lady Guo sneered and said: “How did the eldest master learn of this matter?”
Qin Shouyue bowed his head even lower and said: “The old ancestor of the Second Branch wrote a letter to the eldest master… saying that giving Wan Tong some silver would be appropriate, but one hundred thousand taels… is too much…”
Zhou Shaojin’s mouth dropped open.
One—one hundred thousand taels of silver… given to Wan Tong… that eunuch…
In her previous life, when she married, she had about five thousand taels of silver in her dowry. Whenever Lin Shisheng’s mother mentioned this, Old Lady Lin would be very proud and pleased, while those around her looked envious… Her dowry should have been quite substantial… yet it wasn’t even one-twentieth of what Wan Tong received… Uncle Chi had given far too much… This could even amount to bribery…
She recalled the words Old Lady Guo had said in anger that day when she happened to pass by.
No wonder the Second Branch’s old ancestor was angry!
If things were as Old Lady Guo had just said, with the middle palace vacant, then it was indeed somewhat improper… What if Wan Tong was backed by some imperial prince? Wouldn’t the Cheng family be taking sides prematurely?
In her previous life, the Emperor had appointed the Imperial Grandson as heir apparent, but in the end it was the Fourth Prince who succeeded to the throne.
Because of this matter, court officials were almost entirely purged.
Father, having not participated in such messy affairs, not only remained unscathed but was even promoted to Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, a position of the first rank.
The Cheng family also seemed not to have taken sides.
That’s why Cheng Jing entered the Grand Secretariat…
She just didn’t know whether in her previous life the Cheng family had given Wan Tong one hundred thousand taels of silver as they were doing now… Her own appearance had caused many things to differ from her previous life…
If only the events of this life were no different from the previous life.
Then she would know whether the Cheng family would have any problems…
Zhou Shaojin felt somewhat vexed.
Old Lady Guo said bluntly: “I knew it was him. He really has nothing better to do after eating his fill!”
Everyone in the room pretended not to have heard. Zhenzhu and the others moved even more quietly and tactfully withdrew.
Zhou Shaojin, however, couldn’t leave like Zhenzhu. She could only shrink her shoulders, trying to minimize her presence, and continued listening to their conversation as if sitting on pins and needles.
After quite a while, Old Lady Guo finally said thoughtfully: “However, one hundred thousand taels of silver may be quite a lot for other families, but for our family, it’s not much… Now that the Eastern Palace is vacant, the eldest master’s concerns are not without reason… You needn’t worry about this matter—I’ll speak with Chi!”
Although the old lady still protected her youngest son in everything as before, at least she agreed to try to persuade the fourth master.
Qin Shouyue breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: “The family affairs still cannot do without the old lady!”
Old Lady Guo laughed and said: “You don’t need to flatter me. I know my own situation—I’m old now. My courage is smaller, and my judgment isn’t what it used to be. I should just honestly stay in my own little corner, relying on my age and seniority to live off my reputation! Going out to boss the younger generation around would just invite ridicule!”
“Look at what you’re saying,” Qin Shouyue said with a smile. “If you hadn’t personally stepped in regarding the second old master’s matter, how could it have been resolved so quickly? The masters are filial and afraid of troubling you, which is why they don’t dare disturb you.”
These words were rather flattering, yet he maintained an neither servile nor overbearing manner.
Truly worthy of being Jiuru Lane’s chief steward!
If only she could speak like Qin Shouyue someday.
Zhou Shaojin couldn’t help sighing inwardly.
After that, Qin Shouyue continued lavishing praise on Old Lady Guo before finally taking his leave.
Old Lady Guo had Zhenzhu see Qin Shouyue out.
Zhou Shaojin breathed a sigh of relief and finished her sweet melon in a few quick bites.
Old Lady Guo looked at her bulging cheeks, resembling a Wuxi福娃, and couldn’t help smiling as she took a handkerchief to wipe her hands: “Don’t rush, be careful not to choke!”
Zhou Shaojin couldn’t speak at all and just kept nodding.
Zhenzhu returned, but said: “Old lady, the Third Branch’s Old Lady Li has come.”
Cheng Jia’s grandmother.
What was she doing here?
Zhou Shaojin knew it wasn’t appropriate for her to remain and quickly wiped her hands, stood up, and took her leave.
This time Old Lady Guo didn’t ask Zhou Shaojin to stay.
Upon leaving, Zhou Shaojin ran right into Old Lady Li, who had come to visit Old Lady Guo.
She quickly curtsied.
Old Lady Li said with a smile: “It’s Shaojin! Are you here to copy scriptures for the old lady?”
Zhou Shaojin respectfully answered “Yes,” but felt that Old Lady Li’s smile wasn’t as kind as usual—instead it seemed somewhat forced.
She made a mental note. When Biyu came to see her, she asked: “…What did the Third Branch’s Old Lady Li come for? I ran into her at the door and she didn’t seem very happy!”
Biyu looked around. Shi Xiang was sitting at the main gate with Xiao Tan sorting thread. Only then did she lower her voice and whisper to Zhou Shaojin: “The Third Branch wanted to marry Miss Pan to Young Master Xu, but the old lady politely refused. She said children are debts and she doesn’t want to manage these matters anymore—Young Master Xu’s marriage should be decided by the madam. Old Lady Li was very unhappy, making pointed remarks, acting as if even if the old lady didn’t intervene, she could at least put in a good word for Miss Pan with the madam—which made the old lady furious…”
When their scheme failed, they launched a direct assault!
The Third Branch’s face was truly thick!
Zhou Shaojin clicked her tongue in wonder and took the opportunity to bring up the Third Branch’s affairs: “…Always doing business, why don’t they take the imperial examinations? Even a corrupt county magistrate or prefect—no matter how wealthy, it’s still not as respectable as being an official!”
Biyu said softly: “It seems the Third Branch’s ancestors were merchants, so they know the trade inside and out and have their own methods. But being an official requires both book learning and social skills—perhaps the Third Branch doesn’t have such talented people!” At this point, her tone paused slightly, then she continued: “However, I’ve heard the old lady praise Young Master Zheng, saying that if Young Master Zheng could succeed in his studies, he’d be material for officialdom. It’s because Lady Lu heard the madam say this that even now she hasn’t arranged a betrothal for Young Master Zheng. From her tone, it seems she wants to find him a girl from an official family, so he could receive support from his father-in-law or brothers-in-law in the future. Lady Lu even asked our old lady about this once, but the old lady hasn’t socialized much outside in recent years, so for the moment there’s no suitable candidate.”
In her previous life, Cheng Zheng had married the daughter of a vice minister of personnel.
She just wasn’t clear who had arranged the match.
Could it have been Old Lady Guo!
Zhou Shaojin pondered this while chatting intermittently with Biyu, until Feicui came looking for Biyu to get the storeroom keys: “…Miss Sixteen of the Gu family on Plum Blossom Lane is getting engaged on the tenth of the seventh month. The old lady said to send over that set of boxwood wine vessels from the storeroom as a congratulatory gift.”
Biyu stood up.
Zhou Shaojin asked Feicui: “Has Old Lady Li left?”
“She’s left!” Feicui said, hesitating slightly before adding: “Old Lady Guo didn’t agree to the Third Branch’s request. Old Lady Li apparently went to Yunzhen Hall to find the madam.”
Looks like she still hasn’t given up!
Zhou Shaojin smiled and nodded, instructing Shi Xiang to see Biyu and Feicui out.
Early the next morning, when she went to pay her respects to Old Lady Guan, she encountered Cheng Xian’s personal nanny.
After Si’er saw the nanny out, she asked her grandmother: “So early in the morning, why did Aunt Xian’s attendant come? Has something happened on Aunt Xian’s side?”
“Nothing has happened,” Old Lady Guan said. “They said they received a letter from your uncle-in-law. He’s already settled in his posting and wants them to set out for Shandong as soon as possible. Old Lady Li checked the almanac—after the eighth of this month, the next auspicious day for long journeys won’t be until the twenty-second of next month. After discussing it, your Aunt Xian and your Cousin Zhuo decided to depart on the eighth for Jinan Prefecture. Your Aunt Xian had her personal nanny come give us advance notice—they’ll formally take their leave tomorrow!”
Pan Qing was finally leaving!
The happiest person should be Cheng Jia!
Zhou Shaojin felt happy too.
She asked her grandmother and sister: “What local products should we give as gifts?”
“Just make two handkerchiefs to give to Cousin Qing,” Zhou Chujin said. Knowing that Zhou Shaojin had embroidered several handkerchiefs recently, she didn’t want her sister to labor over these matters again and suggested giving ready-made items.
Zhou Shaojin really couldn’t bring herself to be affectionate toward Pan Qing and naturally had no heart to prepare anything special for her. She nodded in agreement. That afternoon when she returned from Hanbi Mountain House, she selected two handkerchiefs, four pairs of shoes and socks, and two gold hairpins, and gave them all to her sister to send to the Third Branch’s guest quarters in the name of Wanxiang Residence.
She didn’t deliberately wait for Pan Qing—when Cheng Xian led Pan Qing and Pan Zhuo to take their leave at the First Branch, Zhou Shaojin was doing needlework at Wanxiang Residence; when they came to the Fourth Branch to take their leave, Zhou Shaojin was copying scriptures at Hanbi Mountain House.
Regardless of what Pan Qing thought, Zhou Shaojin felt this was quite good.
She didn’t want to constantly accommodate others anymore.
That would be unfair to those who liked her and had shown her kindness.