Nanny Gong coughed again.

Ah Zhu immediately became impatient, saying: “Just because I’m from the Duke Liangguo’s mansion, does that mean I can’t make friends?”

Nanny Gong felt awkward.

Zhou Shaojin suddenly understood.

No wonder she acted with such confidence and openness—she was the eldest miss of the Duke Liangguo’s mansion.

If she remembered correctly, Duke Liangguo had no concubines, only one son and one daughter, both legitimate children. The son should be that Zhu Kun, Zhu Pengjü, and the daughter must be this Zhu Zhu.

Zhou Shaojin smiled: “Using one’s surname as a given name is quite rare.”

Ah Zhu chuckled and said: “I was originally named with the character for pearl. Later I thought that name wasn’t good, so I changed it to the character for vermilion. Isn’t it better-sounding than the character for pearl?”

Zhou Shaojin nodded: “Quite distinctive.”

“I think so too!” Ah Zhu said proudly, no longer mentioning visiting, which made Zhou Shaojin breathe a sigh of relief.

A maidservant came over. Seeing them, she exclaimed and said: “Seventeenth Miss, the Old Madam is looking for you!”

“Looking for us?” Zhou Shaojin pointed at her own chest.

The maidservant nodded and smiled: “The Old Madam said she needs one more person for cards. She told me to either find the two Miss Zhous or find Miss Ah Zhu…”

Everyone was dumbfounded.

Seventeenth Miss asked the maidservant: “Is it majiang or leaf cards?”

The maidservant smiled: “Leaf cards.”

Seventeenth Miss asked the Zhou sisters: “Do you know how to play?” Then she said: “I don’t know how. In the past it was always my Sixteenth Sister who played cards with the Old Madam.”

“I can’t either!” Ah Zhu cried out. “I can’t sit still…”

Zhou Shaojin knew how to play.

In her memory, her sister also knew how.

She wanted to give this opportunity to her sister—to leave some impression on the Old Madam, which would help her connect with that Fifteenth Miss of the Gu family later.

Zhou Shaojin looked toward her sister.

In Zhou Chujin’s impression, Zhou Shaojin didn’t know how to play. She hesitated for a moment and said: “I do know how to play, though I’m not very good…”

Both Seventeenth Miss and Ah Zhu were relieved. Seventeenth Miss even pulled Zhou Chujin along as she walked: “Not being good is perfect… If you’re not good you’ll lose… Our Old Madam, well, she’s an expert… If you win against her, she’s unhappy; if you deliberately lose to her and she notices, she’s still unhappy… Not knowing how is just right!”

Zhou Shaojin was shocked. She had the maidservant send someone to inform Madam Yuan and Mian Grand Madam, then followed Zhou Chujin and the others to the Old Madam’s place.

Ah Zhu hid at the doorway, unwilling to go in.

She said to Zhou Shaojin and Seventeenth Miss: “I’ll wait for you here… We can go catch butterflies in the garden later.”

Zhou Shaojin was quite surprised.

Ah Zhu said sheepishly: “Every time the Old Madam sees me, she wants me to play cards with her…”

Though they had just met, Zhou Shaojin could already tell that Ah Zhu had an active temperament. At her age, making her play cards with an old lady would indeed be quite uncomfortable.

Zhou Shaojin and her sister smiled knowingly and entered the room with Seventeenth Miss.

The card table was already set up. The Old Madam sat at the table covered with a scarlet felt cloth, playing with the cards by herself. Seeing them enter, she was very happy and said to a woman beside her wearing a crow-blue lake silk vest and white embroidered skirt: “You can go now. I have company now…” Then she beckoned to Zhou Shaojin with a smile: “Second girl, come sit beside me.”

Zhou Shaojin quickly said: “Old Madam, I don’t know how to play cards! My sister will play with you!”

“I see!” The Old Madam was somewhat disappointed, but quickly became happy again, having the woman and Zhou Chujin sit down. “You both sit. Let’s play several rounds while they’re listening to the storytelling. When the performance ends, you’ll all have to leave.”

The two smiled and acknowledged, sitting down.

A young maid brought over stools for Zhou Shaojin and Seventeenth Miss.

The other player was a maid who looked to be in her early twenties. Seventeenth Miss quietly told her: “This is my great-grandmother’s head maid.”

Zhou Shaojin had guessed as much—otherwise she couldn’t possibly be playing cards with the Old Madam.

Nanny Miao sat behind the Old Madam helping her watch her cards.

Seventeenth Miss then pointed to the woman and whispered to Zhou Shaojin: “…She’s my aunt, ranked thirteenth. After my uncle-in-law passed away, Great-Grandmother brought Thirteenth Aunt back. We sisters all study with her.”

Another Liao Zhangying.

Zhou Shaojin couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

The Old Madam, who was playing cards, suddenly said to Zhou Chujin: “Silang just came by. Did you know?”

Zhou Shaojin immediately realized the Old Madam was referring to Cheng Chi. Zhou Chujin took a moment to react, then smiled: “We were in front watching Sixteenth Miss’s hairpin insertion ceremony. We didn’t know Uncle Chi came by. Did he come for something?”

Upon hearing this, the Old Madam’s eyes smiled into slits as she said: “He heard me complaining and took it to heart. He helped find a spirit marriage for our Nineteenth Maiden…”

Uncle Chi… arranging spirit marriages for people…

Zhou Shaojin felt she could barely keep her composure.

Zhou Chujin was even more dumbstruck.

The sisters couldn’t help but exchange a glance.

The Old Madam didn’t notice any of this and continued on her own: “The other party is also a scholar, died at nineteen, quite well-off. They’re even planning to adopt a son to tend the ancestral offerings…”

She looked very satisfied.

The Zhou sisters couldn’t say a word.

Thirteenth Maiden Gu said gently: “Every time Grandmother sees your uncle, she brings up this matter… She’s advanced in years. We can only let her be happy.”

Zhou Shaojin expressed understanding.

But Uncle Chi helping with this matter… no matter what, she felt a sense of incongruity.

Ah Zhu waved to them from the window.

After Zhou Shaojin and Seventeenth Miss sat for a while, they made an excuse and slipped out.

Ah Zhu giggled and said: “Let’s go to the garden.”

Today the Gu family had many guests. Among them were people like Wu Baozhang who made her wary, and also people like Miss Sun who actively showed goodwill. If they went to the garden, who knew who else they might encounter?

She said: “Why don’t we just sit in the courtyard and chat?”

That way her sister could find her more easily too.

Ah Zhu clearly was someone who rarely had playmates. As long as someone kept her company, anything was fine.

She immediately agreed.

Zhou Shaojin looked toward Seventeenth Miss.

Seventeenth Miss also had an easygoing temperament and immediately smiled: “Great! I’ll have the maids bring over some bamboo chairs for us, brew some tea, and bring some refreshments and fruit.”

Ah Zhu repeatedly said “Good.”

Zhou Shaojin thought of Cheng Jia and said: “I have a cousin whose temperament is very similar to Ah Zhu’s. I’ll introduce you when there’s a chance.”

“Great, great!” Ah Zhu nodded with a smile.

After the maids brought tea and refreshments, Seventeenth Maiden told Ah Zhu about Cheng Chi arranging a spirit marriage for her deceased Nineteenth Aunt.

Ah Zhu exclaimed: “Cheng Zichuan is truly amazing! It’s as if nothing can stump him.”

Cheng Chi’s courtesy name was Zichuan.

Since Ah Zhu knew his courtesy name, even if she didn’t know him personally, she must have heard of his reputation.

Zhou Shaojin said: “You know Uncle Chi.”

“Yes!” Ah Zhu smiled. “Once my brother wanted to go play at the Qinhuai River. My father found out and forbade it. But my brother said he was going with Cheng Zichuan, and my father immediately agreed. When my mother found out, she said to her personal nanny: ‘I wondered why Pengjü changed his ways. Going to the Qinhuai River but not going secretly, even telling the Duke—turns out he was using Fourth Master Cheng’s name!'” She vividly imitated how the Duke Liangguo’s wife spoke, saying with a beaming smile: “I paid attention then. When my brother came back, I ran to the main gate to take a look. He’s not as handsome as my brother, but he’s a very good person, very amiable and patient. He never loses his temper, not like my brother who’s always threatening to throw me out or make me kneel in the ancestral hall…”

Thinking of Cheng Chi’s appearance, Zhou Shaojin couldn’t help but nod.

She also felt that Cheng Chi was a very gentle person.

“However,” Ah Zhu said, propping her chin on her hand, “A spirit marriage… I’ve never seen one.” She asked Zhou Shaojin: “What do you think—if I asked your uncle to take me to watch the excitement, would he agree?”

“Probably not!” Zhou Shaojin said thoughtfully. “What seems exciting to us might be quite sad for the two families holding the spirit marriage. Going to watch so brazenly—I always feel it’s somewhat disrespectful!”

Seventeenth Miss agreed, saying: “I heard people in the family say that Nineteenth Aunt was very clever. My grandfather said more than once that if only Nineteenth Aunt had been a boy. When Nineteenth Aunt passed away, my grandmother’s hair turned white overnight…”

Ah Zhu nodded but still couldn’t help saying: “When the time comes, I’ll have someone ask Cheng Zichuan. Maybe he’ll take me!”

Seventeenth Miss didn’t think so.

Ah Zhu looked around. Seeing that the maids and servants were all far away, she leaned close to them and said: “In a few days, my father is taking my brother to the capital!”

Both Zhou Shaojin and Seventeenth Miss weren’t from ordinary families and naturally knew the rule that vassal princes couldn’t enter the capital without an imperial edict. Both were very surprised.

Ah Zhu then said: “I heard my mother say that someone named Liu Yong became the Chief Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial. Do you know what a Chief Eunuch does? He helps the Emperor approve memorials in red ink. Even the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet have to watch his mood… After he became Chief Eunuch, he told the Emperor that vassal princes from various regions haven’t entered the capital to pay respects for over ten years. The Emperor probably doesn’t even recognize the heir apparent princes who grew up in the vassal prince mansions. So the Emperor ordered vassal princes from various regions to enter the capital in batches. My father and brother are in the first batch, departing in September. My mother said my father feels that since the Cheng family’s business in the capital is so large, your uncle must be very familiar with officials of all ranks in the court. He wants to invite your uncle to go along… He doesn’t need him to do anything, just if he hears about anything to report it to my father so he can be prepared…”

This probably isn’t good, is it?

The Emperor was most wary of capital officials associating with vassal princes, and also wary of vassal princes associating with local officials and gentry. Moreover, the Cheng family not only had people serving as officials in court but was also a century-old prominent family in Jinling… In her previous life, when the Cheng family was raided, could it have been related to this matter?

Zhou Shaojin said: “The Cheng family’s business in the capital is so large—that should be Uncle Jing’s achievement, right? It probably doesn’t have much to do with Uncle Chi, does it?”

Ah Zhu froze, then burst into laughter.

As if she had said something extremely funny.

Laughing so hard she doubled over.

Seventeenth Miss also laughed, though better than Ah Zhu—she merely covered her mouth with a handkerchief as she laughed.