Zhou Shaojin was sweating.
Cheng Ji leaned on their shoulders and mocked Gu Shiqigu with a "tsk tsk tsk" sound: "You only care about appearance!"
"A person with a wealth of knowledge will be naturally elegant." Gu Shiqi retorted, "Isn't appearance determined by the inner qualities?"
The two were bickering there, but Zhou Shaojin felt that Cheng Chi seemed to glance over here.
She couldn't help but look with her eyes wide open.
Cheng Chi was as graceful as a pine tree, and he walked into the main room without looking around as Biyu helped him lift the curtain.
Zhou Shaojin breathed a sigh of relief.
Maybe I saw it wrong
Cheng Ji said, "It's time to celebrate the birthday, right? Should we go to the side room and wait?"
Gu Shiqi said, "Let's wait until Fourth Uncle Cheng and Cheng Jiashan leave before we go out, so as to avoid running into them."
Zhou Shaojin agreed very much and said, "Biyu also said before that Uncle Chi and the others would come to us after they had celebrated the birthday."
The three men were waiting behind the bamboo forest.
Two little girls came out from the side room. They were both about fifteen or sixteen years old. One wore a lake green silk jacket, had twin buns and wore pearl flowers; the other wore a bean green silk jacket, had twin buns and wore a red gold lilac hairpin. They had eyebrows like distant mountains and eyes like autumn water, and they looked a bit similar and very beautiful.
Cheng Ji asked, "Who is this?"
Zhou Shaojin had no impression either.
Gu Shiqi thought for a moment and said, "It seems that they are the niece's granddaughter of Mrs. Sun, the Minister's wife. I don't remember their names. When my sixteenth sister got engaged last time, Mrs. Sun brought them to the wedding. They are sisters from Huzhou. Their grandfather was just promoted to the Minister of Justice."
There were a lot of Gu family members there that day, and Zhou Shaojin couldn’t remember whether he had met them all.
As they were talking, the maid on duty outside the wing room walked up to them. After a whisper, the maid led them towards the official quarters.
Zhou Shaojin asked: "Why didn't you see Miss Lin?"
Gu Shiqi smiled and said, "How come you don't know? Miss Sun is engaged to the seventh son of the Liu family in the Mei Mansion. I'm afraid she is being kept at home to learn the rules."
Cheng Ji muttered, "Learning rules is so annoying. When I get married, I must find a mother-in-law who loves her daughter-in-law, so that she doesn't have to set rules."
Gu Shiqigu covered her mouth and laughed.
Another person came out from the wing room.
This time, a young woman and a little girl of about fifteen or sixteen years old came out. The woman was talking to the little girl in a low voice as she walked towards Zhou Shaojin and the others.
Zhou Shaojin and others were all stunned.
The woman and the little girl came closer and closer.
Only then did Zhou Shaojin realize that the young woman was actually the wife of Liu Mingju, the magistrate of Jiangning County.
She didn't recognize the little girl. She was wearing a pink jacket, her eyebrows were like crescent moons, her face was like peach blossoms, she was delicate and soft, like a flower, and her appearance was very outstanding.
Zhou Shaojin was very surprised.
Madam Liu...what are you doing
Do they want to go out and say hello
Zhou Shaojin looked at Gu Shiqigu and Cheng Ji.
The two of them also looked confused.
While they were hesitating, Madam Liu and the little girl approached, and they heard Madam Liu say to the little girl: "… Since you followed your sister-in-law out, your sister-in-law will make the decision for you. Even if you go to Old An's house, your sister-in-law will also help you. What does it have to do with you!" Before she finished speaking, Madam Liu had already circled around, her eyes fell on the three of them, and she showed a look of astonishment, and her voice stopped abruptly.
The three of them hurried forward and saluted Mrs. Liu.
Mrs. Liu came back to her senses after a while. She smiled somewhat unnaturally and introduced the girl next to them: "This is my sister-in-law, the ninth daughter in the family." Then she introduced Zhou Shaojin and others to Miss Liu Jiu.
Several little girls greeted him.
Madam Liu said with a smile, "You are not in the wing room, what are you doing standing here? I was startled just now."
She looked generous and friendly, but for some reason, Zhou Shaojin always felt that her body was a little tense.
Could it be that there is something mysterious in what she said to Miss Liu Jiu just now
As Zhou Shaojin was thinking, Gu Shiqigu came forward with a smile and said, "We were talking in the yard before, and then Fourth Uncle Cheng and his men came over. We couldn't avoid them for a while, so we hid here."
"Really?" Mrs. Liu smiled, with a hint of confusion in her eyes.
But Miss Liu Jiu lowered her head, looking very shy.
Cheng Ji whispered in her ear: "Look at the ninth young lady of the Liu family. Does she look like you?"
Zhou Shaojin took a closer look but couldn't tell how they were similar.
"The ninth young lady of the Liu family is very beautiful." She whispered.
"Not as pretty as you." Cheng Ji whispered, "But she's just as shy as you used to be."
Zhou Shaojin was speechless.
Gu Shiqigu has already started chatting with Madam Liu: "… Have you met our eldest wife? Last time you came to our house for a wedding banquet, you didn't stay long before leaving. Our eldest wife still complains to this day, saying that you are always so polite, but we haven't been able to entertain you well. I don't know when you will be free. When the chrysanthemums at home are in bloom, I would like to invite you over for a drink and listen to a few opera pieces!"
Mrs. Liu smiled and said, "I was just talking about this with your eldest wife. I want to go to your house on September 16th to drink wine, appreciate flowers and listen to opera..."
The two of them were chatting with each other there, and there was never a dull moment.
This is a master who is good at dealing with people!
Zhou Shaojin looked at Gu Shiqigu with great admiration.
The ninth young lady of the Liu family stood quietly beside Madam Liu, glancing at Zhou Shaojin from time to time.
Zhou Shaojin smiled at her kindly.
The ninth young lady of the Liu family lowered her head with a blushing face.
Zhou Shaojin, Cheng Ji, and Miss Liu Jiu were standing there listening to Madam Liu and Gu Shiqigu greeting each other when a sound came from the main room.
Several people looked over there.
The door curtain swayed, and Cheng Chi and Cheng Xu walked out.
Cheng Chi still had a calm expression, but Cheng Xu smiled a little more than before, making him look more handsome.
Just as the two of them walked down the stairs, two nieces of Minister Sun's wife happened to come out from the path leading to the official residence.
The two groups of people met each other.
The two young ladies blushed and knelt down to salute. One of them said something in a whisper. Cheng Chi glanced at the two girls, nodded slightly, and walked straight ahead with a blank expression. Cheng Xu followed behind Cheng Chi, brushed past the two young ladies and couldn't help but look back. By chance, his eyes met with the young girl in the bean green Hangzhou silk jacket.
The little girl smiled at Cheng Xu.
A brilliant smile is as bright and charming as a flower blooming in summer.
Cheng Xu was surprised, paused slightly, nodded at the little girl, and hurriedly followed Cheng Chi.
What is going on
Zhou Shaojin, Cheng Ji and Gu Shiqigu looked at each other.
But what surprised them even more was that Mrs. Liu smiled softly when she saw this, and said to the ninth girl of the Liu family, "I didn't expect your fourth brother Cheng to come. Come with me and greet him!" Then she smiled at Zhou Shaojin and the others, "Would you like to follow me and say hello?"
The three of them shook their heads in unison, looking bewildered and helpless.
When did this Miss Liu become a generation older than them
Or are they simply a generation older than them
Zhou Shaojin's mind was a little confused, watching Madam Liu and the ninth daughter of the Liu family smilingly greet Cheng Chi and Cheng Xu, watching Cheng Chi greet Madam Liu with a slightly happy expression, watching the ninth daughter of the Liu family shyly bow to Cheng Chi and Cheng Xu... It was not until Madam Liu led the ninth daughter of the Liu family into the main room and Cheng Ji nudged her with her elbow that she came back to her senses. But when she came back to her senses, she saw Gu Shiqigu covering her mouth and laughing silently.
"What, what happened?" she asked in confusion.
"Laughing, I am dying of laughter!" Gu Shiqigu laughed so hard that tears came out of her eyes, and she said with a choked breath, "Cheng Jiashan was actually blocked by girls... I dare to bet with you that when he was in the main room, there must have been more girls staring at him... If the wife of Minister Sun does not bring her two nieces to visit Madam Yuan tomorrow, she will definitely come the day after tomorrow..."
Zhou Shaojin and Cheng Ji suddenly understood.
Cheng Ji even jumped up and said, "Isn't Madam Sun always righteous and stern when she talks about others? How could her own niece do such a thing? I don't know if she knows about it? If she knows, I wonder if she will send her two nieces home overnight?"
Gu Shiqi finally stopped laughing. She wiped her eyes with a handkerchief and said, "She must have known! Maybe she came up with the idea herself! I was wondering why she didn't bring Miss Three out. Maybe she was afraid that people would find out and ruin Miss Three's reputation. These two girls are so stupid. Why did they just let Madam Sun tell them to go east or west?"
Zhou Shaojin hesitated to speak.
Cheng Ji was displeased when she saw this and said, "I hate you being like this the most! We are sisters, just say what you want to say! Even if you said something wrong, it doesn't matter!"
"That's not the case." Zhou Shaojin looked at Gu Shiqi and said thoughtfully, "Then, is Miss Liu Jiu here to block Uncle Chi?"
"Most likely." Gu Shiqigu's mood was calmer than before, and she smiled, "Otherwise why would Madam Liu sit in the side room? With her status and position, she should sit in the main room. Didn't you see her go to the main room with the ninth young lady of the Liu family just now?" She guessed, "Most likely there are too many girls in the main room, and in order to leave an impression on Fourth Uncle Cheng, she deliberately brought the ninth young lady of the Liu family to 'coincidentally' meet Fourth Uncle Cheng."
"But Miss Liu's ninth daughter is about the same age as us," Zhou Shaojin said in confusion, "If Uncle Chi wants to find someone, he should find someone older, right?"
"He's definitely a ready-made son-in-law who has passed the imperial examination. Even if he's twenty years older than her, what's the big deal?" Gu Shiqi said with a smile, "Besides, Fourth Uncle Cheng is getting married for the first time. At least they'll be married to each other, which is better than being someone's concubine, right?"
"That's right!" Zhou Shaojin said, "But why hasn't Uncle Chi gotten married yet?"
"Yes, yes!" Cheng Ji said excitedly, "Why hasn't Uncle Chi gotten married yet?"
Gu Shiqigu, who was talking eloquently, was stuck for a moment, and said after a while: "I, I don't know either! I have never heard the elders talk about it!"
The three of them looked in the direction Cheng Chi left.
The lush branches on both sides danced gracefully.
Cheng Chi had long disappeared.
A maid came over and asked them, "The auspicious time is almost here, ladies, please go back to your rooms and have some refreshments!"
※
Extra update for janeuoo.
O(∩_∩)O~
PS: I solemnly inform everyone: starting from tomorrow, the update time will be changed to around 2 pm.
I update at 12 noon. The pressure is too great, and sometimes I can’t do it, so I have to take a day off, which affects everyone’s mood…
※(To be continued)