Jiying did not comment.
Zhou Shaojin opened his eyes wide in surprise.
Is it not possible to write a letter
Wouldn't that be detention
Why did Uncle Chi treat the Jiying people like this
She felt that this answer might affect her friendship with Jiying, so she changed the subject and said, "I brewed a few jars of osmanthus wine, which can be opened after the ninth day of the first lunar month. Can you take some back? Bury it under the tree. It's best to drink it while eating crabs."
Jiying didn't hesitate and took two jars and left.
Zhou Shaojin and Jiying chatted about all sorts of things, and their mood became much lighter. When they arrived at Hanbi Mountain House, they saw Biyu instructing several daughters-in-law and mothers-in-law to change the furnishings of the main room, so she ran over to take a look.
The original hanging ornament of "The Immortal Pointing the Way" in the central hall was replaced with "Magu Offering Longevity", the asparagus fern originally placed on the flower table was replaced with an evergreen, and the original cushions with auspicious cloud patterns were replaced with five bats holding longevity... In short, all the furnishings became related to "longevity".
Zhou Shaojin asked Biyu with a smile: "Will you come here to celebrate the old lady's birthday?"
"Yeah!" Biyu smiled, "The old lady said that she is old, and the coming and going is not only a hassle for her but also for those who come to celebrate her birthday. She said that it is a birthday party, and she will not invite the old master's disciples and old friends who are still alive, but only invite a few female relatives who are close to her on weekdays. After the younger generations kowtow to her here, they will go to Yunzhen Hall to drink, listen to opera, play cards and play, and only a few old sisters-in-law will stay here to accompany her and talk."
"It's that simple!" Zhou Shaojin said with a smile.
Even the birthday celebration of Old Lady Guan from the fourth room would be more lively than this.
Biyu said tactfully, "In her early years, the old lady had entered the palace to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager and the Empress. No matter how grand the ceremony is, it can never compare to the ceremony in the palace."
Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, "When you climb Mount Tai, all other mountains become small?"
"That's exactly the truth!" Biyu talked to her and laughed. Several maids and wives came over with Yuan.
"Shao Jin!" From a distance, Yuan greeted her with a smile.
Because of the distance, Yuan sent someone to take Cheng Xiao's baby's third-day baptism ceremony to Tongxiang as early as mid-August, just waiting for Cheng Xiao's baby to be born. This morning she received a letter from the nanny, saying that the swaddling cloth embroidered for Cheng Xiao's baby using Zhou Shaojin's pattern not only won the praise of the women of the Yuan family, but also that Cheng Xiao's mother-in-law personally chose the swaddling cloth to wrap the baby during the baby's third-day baptism ceremony, making the things sent by the Cheng family stand out.
Yuan felt very proud.
She went to hold Zhou Shaojin's hand.
Zhou Shaojin stroked his hair.
Yuan didn't care. She smiled and told her the situation, saying, "Thanks to you this time, your cousin Xiao has been honored. Your cousin Xiao even wrote a letter to me to thank you. She also said that she asked the maid who went to deliver the third-day baptism ceremony to bring you some small things, and asked you not to be polite."
No need for gifts, just don't bother me to design anything for you.
Zhou Shaojin smiled slightly, making her tender and beautiful face look a little shy.
Yuan laughed and wanted to take her to see Mrs. Guo.
Biyu hurriedly said, "The old lady went to the fourth master's place and will be back in a while. Madam, please go into the house and have a cup of tea!"
Yuan smiled and nodded.
Zhou Shaojin took the opportunity to say goodbye to Yuan and returned to the Buddhist temple.
She asked Xiao Tan: "Do you know why the old lady suddenly went to Xiaoshan Congguiyuan?"
"Because the old lady is going to celebrate her birthday!" Xiao Tan said with a smile, "The first and second masters are not at home. The old lady is celebrating her birthday, so she naturally hopes that the fourth master can come to participate!"
"Does the Fourth Master never attend the Old Madam's birthday parties?" Zhou Shaojin was shocked.
"I heard from Sister Biyu and the others that he didn't show up in the past few years." Xiao Tan said, "It was said that something happened at Yutai Bank. The old lady was unhappy in those years. Because of this, on the old lady's birthday one year, the eldest master even came back from the capital, but he couldn't make the old lady happy... It was only after the old lady went to Xiaoshan Conggui Courtyard in person that the fourth master came to pay her birthday greetings. The old lady would go to see the fourth master every time she celebrated her birthday in the past two years."
This, this is too weird!
Zhou Shaojin didn't dare to comment. When she went to say goodbye to Madam Guo, she carefully observed her expression. Unfortunately, Madam Guo looked solemn and she didn't see anything.
The next day she asked Jiying, "Will Uncle Chi attend the old lady's birthday party?"
"I don't know about the birthday banquet," Jiying said, "but I will definitely go to celebrate the birthday."
Zhou Shaojin hesitated for a long time and said, "Don't you find it strange?"
"What's so strange about this?" Ji Ying wondered, "There are a whole room of women, and he's a man. After paying his respects to his wife, is he still staying there to play cards with his sisters-in-law and aunts?"
This is too sharp.
Zhou Shaojin decided to ask Jiying less questions like this in the future.
※
On the ninth day of the first lunar month, Zhou Shaojin followed Old Madam Guan, Madam Mian, and Zhou Chujin to Hanbi Villa early in the morning.
I never thought there were people who came earlier than them.
An old lady, with two women in their forties, four young women in their prime, and seven or eight girls aged seventeen or eighteen to twelve or thirteen. Judging from their demeanor, they seemed steady and reserved, definitely not from an ordinary family. But judging from their clothes and appearance, they were very simple and did not look like the women of a powerful family.
Zhou Shaojin had never seen any of them before, but she knew Old Lady Guan and Mrs. Mian, so she smiled and went forward to greet them. Only then did she realize that these people were the women of the Guo family in Shitou Lane, the mother's family of Old Lady Guo.
The old lady was the sister-in-law of Mrs. Guo, but she looked a few years older than Mrs. Guo. She had a kind smile and elegant conversation. One could tell she was a literate woman. When the old lady spoke, the other women in the Guo family all smiled and listened, and were very well behaved.
After Zhou Shaojin and the others arrived were the women of the Gu family.
There were seventeen or eighteen of them. Old Gu An didn't come, but the leader was the eldest wife of the Gu family, and Grandma Gu Qi and Aunt Gu Shiqi were also in the crowd.
The women of the Gu family were very familiar with the Guo family. After the greetings, they started to greet each other.
Grandma Gu Qi smiled and nodded at Zhou Shaojin and Chujin, while Aunt Gu Shiqi ran over and greeted Zhou Shaojin and Zhou Chujin with a smile.
As the three were talking, someone from the third room came over.
There was laughter in the room again.
Cheng Ji saw Zhou Shaojin and Gu Shiqigu at a glance. After paying respect to the elders, she ran to Zhou Shaojin's side.
"Seventeenth Aunt, when did you arrive?" She enthusiastically took Gu Seventeenth Aunt's arm, "Let's sit together when we have dinner later."
"Okay!" Gu Shiqigu responded happily.
Someone else is coming.
The room began to feel crowded.
The housekeeper smiled and invited the ladies to go to the next room for tea, leaving the old ladies to chat with Mrs. Guo.
Cheng Ji was talking to Zhou Shaojin and the others in the courtyard: "More people will come later, and our waists will ache from all the greetings."
Gu Shiqigu covered her mouth and smiled, saying, "I am a guest and I follow the host's wishes."
Zhou Shaojin had never been fond of socializing, so he not only had no objection, but also pointed to a clump of bamboo in the yard and said, "Let's go there to talk—there's a long stone bench behind the bamboo clump."
Zhou Chujin couldn't leave Madam Miao alone in the side room, so he said with a smile, "Just talk there, but don't run around, or we won't be able to find you when the birthday party comes." Thinking that Cheng Ji was unreliable, he said to Gu Shiqigu, "I'll leave Shaojin to you."
Zhou Shaojin blushed, and Gu Shiqigu repeatedly assured him, "Definitely, definitely."
Only then did Zhou Chujin go to the side room with peace of mind.
The three of them went behind the bamboo bushes with smiles on their faces.
That was where Biyu and the others were cooling off, and the stone benches were very clean. But before Zhou Shaojin and the others could take out their towels to wipe them, Chixiang came running over breathlessly with a few cushions in his arms: "Second Miss, the eldest lady asked me to bring these over. She said that the weather has turned cooler, and it's not as good as summer, so it's better to sit on cushions."
All three were surprised.
Zhou Shaojin felt as if a warm current flowed through his heart and he quickly took the cushion.
Cheng Ji shouted, "Sister Chu Jin is still the best!"
Gu Shiqigu repeatedly asked Chixiang to thank Zhou Chujin on her behalf.
He held the incense and nodded, then left with a smile.
Cheng Ji and Gu Shiqi talked about Zhou Chujin's gentleness and thoughtfulness, and the topic gradually shifted to Ah Zhu, who had released river lanterns with them last time, and then from Ah Zhu to the Duke of Liang's Mansion... The topic went further and further, and finally talked about the story of the eldest aunt of the Liu family in the Mei Mansion on Guanjie, who divorced and moved back to her natal family with her two children: "It is said that the eldest brother-in-law of the Liu family favored his concubine and neglected his wife, and the eldest aunt of the Liu family did not want to live with him. Several masters of the Liu family brought people to beat the eldest brother-in-law of the Liu family severely, and the eldest brother-in-law of the Liu family almost lost half his life. Not only did he spit out all the dowry of the eldest aunt, but he also paid several thousand taels of silver. Only then did the eldest aunt of the Liu family sign the divorce letter."
There is such a thing!
Zhou Shaojin listened with great interest.
Suddenly, a high-pitched voice of a woman came from outside: "The fourth master and the eldest master are coming!"
There was a noise in the yard.
I guess the women were anxious to avoid it.
Zhou Shaojin thought that besides them, there were some female relatives standing in the verandas and courtyards in groups of three or four, talking.
Soon, the yard became quiet.
Zhou Shaojin turned his head and saw Cheng Chi and Cheng Xu walking in through the bamboo forest.
Cheng Chi looked a little taller than Cheng Xu. He wore a royal blue plain silk gown and a dark blue belt around his waist. On his left side hung an indigo blue plain purse and on his right hung a small square seal. He walked in with one hand behind his waist, his posture as firm as a pine tree but his expression indifferent.
Cheng Xu lagged behind him by a few steps. He was wearing a purple-red robe with a calamus pattern and a purple sash tied around his waist. He looked around with a lively expression, which made his face look like a jade crown and his hair look like a cut sword.
Gu Shiqigu looked at him with a rather surprised “Ah” and said, “Cheng Jiashan is getting more and more beautiful.”
Zhou Shaojin's gaze fell on Cheng Chi.
Uncle Chi didn’t even wear a Taoist robe... It showed that he didn’t take Mrs. Guo’s birthday lightly as Xiao Tan and the others said.
Cheng Ji snorted and lay on their shoulders, saying, "What's so good about it! It's just two eyes and a nose, isn't it?"
Gu Shiqigu stared at Cheng Xu and said, "Two eyes and one nose are different! Cheng Jiashan's eyes and nose are just prettier than others."
※
Today's update, sisters.
O(∩_∩)o
PS: The update for janeuoo will be a little late, so everyone should get up tomorrow and read it!
Keep calling for pink tickets... one is worth two...
※(To be continued)