In late summer and early autumn, the lotus flowers in Hanqiu Pavilion have passed their blooming period, but the green leaves of the osmanthus trees are dotted with yellow flower seedlings, giving people a sense of prosperity with the changing seasons and everlasting flowers.
Li kept praising him.
Mrs. Miao smiled and said, "Can you stay a few more days? In a few days, all the osmanthus flowers will be in bloom. It's not an exaggeration to say that the fragrance will spread ten miles away."
Li said regretfully, "I want to, too. But the prefect of Baoding was caught with corruption and has been escorted to Beijing. Now all the affairs of Baoding are handled by the co-prefect..." At this point, she turned her eyes slightly and saw that the maids and servants were following from a distance, with only Zhou Shaojin and her sister by their side. She thought for a moment, lowered her voice, and said, "It is said that this matter involves several princes, and the court will send a special envoy here soon. The emperor means that there are still people in Baoding who are in cahoots with the former prefect, so let the master hurry over to cooperate with the special envoy to preside over the overall situation and clean up government affairs. Our master has no choice."
The matter involved was of too high a level for Mrs. Mian to say anything.
The group arrived at the guest room.
Mrs. Miao smiled and said, "You just rest here for a while. I'll call you when the master is done with his business." After saying that, her eyes fell on Zhou Chujin and Zhou Shaojin, and she suddenly hesitated.
Logically, Li was Zhou Chujin and Zhou Shaojin's nominal mother, and the two sisters should serve Li here. But Li was a stepmother, a merchant, and so young, only a few years older than Zhou Chujin. She raised Zhou Chujin and Zhou Shaojin in her arms, and she really couldn't bear to let the dignified and generous Zhou Chujin and the delicate Zhou Shaojin bow down in front of Li.
Fortunately, Mrs. Li was smart and said with a smile, "Then the eldest and second young ladies should go and rest as well. I have Madam Li to serve me here." She asked Mrs. Mian, "Will the eldest and second young ladies come with me to visit the old ladies, wives and grandmothers in each room later?"
Mrs. Miao had no intention of letting Zhou Chujin and Zhou Shaojin serve Li, but Mrs. Guan had said before that this was a matter of etiquette, and that they should not be neglected to allow others to take advantage of them. She had no choice but to say, "You have to go with me, so I can help you recognize people."
Li smiled and said, "I think I can go by myself. You have been accompanying me at noon, and there is a dinner to prepare in the evening. The eldest wife may also need help!"
Her tactfulness made Mrs. Mian smile even more cordially: "Then I'll let the sisters stay here!"
Zhou Shaojin had other plans after hearing this. She smiled and said, "But we can't let mother go alone. I think sister should stay, and I will accompany mother to pay respects to each room."
Will Zhou Zhen feel that the fourth branch is partial to one family
Mrs. Miao was still a little hesitant.
Li smiled and said, "Well, please ask the Second Miss to accompany me to pay respects to each room."
Seeing that his aunt was not very willing, Zhou Shaojin simply smiled and said, "I am the youngest. If I don't run errands, who will? Sister, you should stay at home. I will follow my aunt and mother to pay respects to the elders in each room." He added, "I want to eat fried lotus root balls. Sister, remember to ask the kitchen to make me one portion."
He looks like a little kid who wants to go out and play with his elders.
Everyone laughed.
Zhou Chujin assured: "Don't worry, even if I forget anything, I won't forget the fried lotus root balls you ordered."
After they talked for a while, Zhou Chujin followed Mrs. Miao to the upper room, while Zhou Shaojin rested next to Mrs. Li.
Madam Li brought the food over very attentively: "This is Qiyun's sour jujube cake, a specialty of Jiangnan. Madam made it as a snack on the road. It tastes very good. Madam specially asked me to bring some for Second Miss to taste. If it tastes good, Madam will ask the family to bring some for you. Second Miss can also give some to the ladies of each room."
Li is from Nanchang.
Zhou Shaojin thanked her with a smile, but felt that Mother Li was a little too enthusiastic towards her. However, she did not take it to heart. She saw Mother Li off, took a nap, and met with Mrs. Li, Mrs. Mian, Zhou Zhen, and Cheng Mian.
Zhou Zhen was quite surprised to see Zhou Shaojin.
Li looked like she was afraid Zhou Zhen might misunderstand her, and hurriedly said, "The eldest young lady has been learning housekeeping from the eldest mistress, and now she can handle it on her own. The eldest mistress will be accompanying me later, so please ask the eldest young lady to stay and host the family dinner tonight."
Zhou Zhen was relieved, nodded happily, and asked Zhou Shaojin: "Where do you want to go later?"
It seemed as if she followed Li just to visit each room.
Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, "Dad, what you said is very strange. I will naturally follow my aunt and mother!"
Zhou Zhen then realized that he had said the wrong thing. He chuckled and went to the main room first.
The eldest and second masters of the eldest house, and even Cheng Xu were not at home, so it was Cheng Chi who received Zhou Zhen.
Zhou Shaojin didn't know what the scene was like when the two met. She went to Yuan's place first with Mrs. Mian and her stepmother.
Yuan praised her highly and then took them to Hanbi Mountain House.
As we approached the yard, Xiao Tan, who was playing shuttlecock with a few maids, left her companions and ran over.
"Madam, Second Miss!" Her face was flushed, with a happy light shining on her face, and she bent her knees to salute Yuan and others.
Zhou Shaojin smiled and nodded to her.
Jadeite and Jasper had received the message and came to greet them.
"Madam, Second Miss, Madam Mian." The two greeted them with a smile and served them into the main room.
Old Madam Guo was wearing a navy blue burnt cloth vest, her gray hair was neatly tied into a bun, and she only wore two jade hairpins.
After they exchanged greetings, Mrs. Guo invited them to sit down and have tea.
Mrs. Miao and Mrs. Li both ordered Longjing before the Qingming Festival, Mrs. Yuan ordered Lu'an Guapian, and Zhou Shaojin ordered Laojunmei. When the fruit plate was served, the little maid smiled at Zhou Shaojin and deliberately placed the side with the melon next to Zhou Shaojin.
Zhou Shaojin smiled at the little maid.
Mrs. Guo and Li exchanged pleasantries, and Li mentioned the current Jiangxi teacher, who was from Jinling and had a good relationship with Zhou Zhen. Mrs. Guo asked who he was, and Li talked about his resume. Mrs. Guo thought about it and realized that he was an acquaintance: "… My brother's student. He was a juren, so I remember him."
Old Madam Guo had only one younger brother, who was a juren. After his father passed away, he took over his father's private school. Most of the students enrolled in the school were from poor families. Although those who passed the juren and jinshi examinations were rare, many people were admitted because family background was not important. This was the private school with the most students in Jinling City. It was not like the Gu family's academy, which only accepted students who were scholars, nor was it like the Cheng family's clan school, which only accepted students recommended by Cheng's relatives, friends, and students. Therefore, it enjoyed a high reputation among the people of Jinling City.
Li took the opportunity to start a conversation with Mrs. Guo.
Mrs. Guo intended to flatter her and listened to her talk about the Jiangxi officialdom with a smile.
Halfway through listening, she pushed the fruit plate in front of her away.
Biyu understood and tiptoed out, bringing a small plate of melon and placing it in front of Zhou Shaojin.
Zhou Shaojin felt ashamed and embarrassed.
She was really bored, so she watched her aunt eat an orange without any hesitation, and she also forked a few pieces of melon to eat. Unexpectedly, Mrs. Guo actually looked at her and asked Biyu to bring her another small dish. She looked up and saw that Mrs. Guo was talking to Li. She didn't know what to say, so she had to lower her head and twist the toothpick in her hand.
Before Li came, Zhou Zhen had told her about the Cheng family in Jiuru Lane. She was in awe of the old lady in the eldest house who gave birth to three Jinshi in the imperial examinations. After entering the house, she naturally listened to everything and watched everything. She was secretly surprised to see with her own eyes how much Madam Guo doted on Zhou Shaojin. When she returned to Zhou's house, she couldn't wait to tell Madam Li about how Madam Guo treated Zhou Shaojin while changing her clothes, and asked, "What have you found out?"
Mother Li was also a little surprised and said, "I only heard that the second young lady was favored by Mrs. Guo from the eldest house and helped Mrs. Guo copy scriptures, but I didn't know that Mrs. Guo liked the second young lady so much."
Li's expression was a little dazed.
She remembered going to the second room.
Unlike the relaxed feeling in the main room, Zhou Shaojin seemed a little nervous.
Not only did she look at the second wife carefully, but she was also polite but a little distant to the second wife's grandmother. Different from her silence in the third wife and her indifference in the fifth wife, she seemed to be trying to get close to the second wife.
The Cheng family in Jiuru Lane and the two Zhou sisters are much more complicated than one could imagine!
She held the comb with such force that her fingertips turned white.
Mother Li then quietly reminded Li: "Look, do you want to ask the maid to bring some desserts to the eldest and second young ladies for a midnight snack?"
After having dinner at the Cheng family, Zhou Shaojin and her sister followed them back to the Zhou family on Pingqiao Street. However, Zhou Zhen gave up the upper room to Zhou Shaojin and her sister to rest, and she and Zhou Zhen rested in the study.
It was obvious that Zhou Shaojin and her sister were very surprised by this arrangement, but Li understood that this was where Zhuang had lived, and her husband wanted to keep it... So she not only did not show any dissatisfaction, but also obediently advised Zhou's sister: "Since your father is back, he will have to get together with his classmates and friends. It will be more convenient for your father and I to live in the study."
Although he didn't know why, Zhou Chujin liked this arrangement from the bottom of his heart.
This is where she, Zhuang and her sister lived. The furnishings in the house are kept the same as when Zhuang was there. She still remembers that when Zhuang first fell ill, her father rested in the study, and she and her sister stayed here to accompany her mother. Her father made such an arrangement, as if her mother was still alive, but was just stuck for something, and she wanted to take her sister to rest first.
She smiled and said good night to her father and Li, then took Zhou Shaojin to the upper courtyard and directed the maids and servants to open the boxes and arrange the furnishings.
Zhou Zhen smiled and shook his head. When he looked at Li again, his eyes were a little gentler than usual. He said softly, "You have been working hard these past few days. Rest early. I will come over after talking to Ma Fushan and Li Changgui."
Li said "yes" with a quiet and virtuous smile, and was helped to the study by her mother.
Mother Li felt sorry for her young lady, but she didn't dare to show it at all.
When Zhou Zhen married into the Zhou family, he said that he was married before, and he wanted to marry for the sake of having children and to treat his two daughters well. At that time, his master and his wife both agreed, and they were even ready to take the two daughters of the Zhou family to serve as his concubines. However, the Cheng family refused to let them go, so his daughter became a mother before she even entered the family. However, if Zhou Zhen's previous wife had left two sons, or if one of them was a son, I'm afraid his master and his wife would not have been so willing to marry the daughters.
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Today's update, sisters.
O(∩_∩)O~
※(To be continued)