As the New Year was approaching, each room had already started dusting, and most of the maids and servants from Wanxiangju were helping in Jiashutang, so the yard was very quiet and there was no sound.
Zhou Chujin was holding a letter in his hand, pacing back and forth in the study with a frown on his face, looking a little impatient.
Zhou Shaojin's heart skipped a beat as he looked at her. He quickly winked at Shi Xiang, signaling her to leave. Then he walked into the study room in two steps and said with a smile, "Sister, I heard that there's news from Ma Ci..."
But before she could finish her words, Zhou Chujin turned around after hearing the noise.
"Shaojin!" She was filled with joy, dragging her sister to the east, "You are finally back."
Zhou Chujin and Zhou Shaojin sat down in the study, their eyes and eyebrows couldn't help but rise: "The Ma Ci you recommended to me is really good! Not only did he find out Xinlan's whereabouts, he also pretended to be a cotton merchant in Jingzhou, and tricked Xinlan and her husband to come to Nanjing." As she said, she spread out the letter for Zhou Shaojin to see, "Look! Ma Ci said in the letter that he reported to Li's Satin Shop in Daishi Street, and asked us to find a way to meet them at Jiangdong Bridgehead, so as not to reveal our tracks!"
Zhou Shaojin was surprised and delighted. While asking "What on earth is going on", he took the letter from his sister's hand and read it quickly.
Zhou Chujin sighed, "Family disgrace should not be made public. Regardless of whether what Lanting said was true or false, I could not tell Ma Ci directly. But I was afraid that Ma Ci would rush in without knowing what was going on and alert the enemy, causing Xinlan to run away and never be found again. So I just told Ma Ci that Xinlan was an old servant of our family, and that there was a theft case in the family recently, which might be related to Xinlan, and asked him to find out Xinlan's whereabouts. I was also afraid that Ma Ci would act rashly and alarm Xinlan. Ma Ci, a foreigner, was unfamiliar with the place and was held hostage by Xinlan. I also gave Zhang's father's name card to Ma Ci, telling him that if he was desperate, he could take his father's name card to the government office for help.
"I didn't expect him to be so smart. As soon as he arrived in Wuchang Prefecture, he claimed that he came from Nanjing to Jingzhou Prefecture to collect cotton. He hired two experienced people in this business as guides, bought some good clothes, and went to Jingzhou Prefecture.
"Xinlan's husband has been doing this business for a long time. He went to Jingzhou Prefecture and found out Xinlan's whereabouts by just asking around.
"It turned out that within two years of Xinlan's return from Jinling City, there was a flood. Both of her sons drowned, and her husband contracted tuberculosis after choking on water. He could not do heavy work, and the family's financial situation gradually declined. In the past few years, they have even reached the point where they can't even afford to eat. They rely on Xinlan to help other people wash clothes and make a little money.
"Although Ma Ci didn't know about the feud between Xinlan and our family, he suspected that Xinlan's story was not simple because he thought that Xinlan had married to Jingzhou Prefecture and we had sent people to secretly inquire about her. He simply pretended to be the young master of Li's Silk Shop in Daishi Street. Because he was playful and ignorant, he was sent by his family to Jingzhou Prefecture to collect cotton. He asked Xinlan and her husband to help escort the cotton to Jinling.
“Xinlan refused.
"But Xinlan's husband coveted the twenty taels of silver reward that Ma Cixu had promised. Not only did he agree, he also urged Xinlan to go back to the Zhou family. He said that after all, she was released by the Zhou family. Although the madam was gone, we sisters were still here. For the sake of the former madam, we sisters must reward her with dozens of taels of silver. With these dozens of taels of silver and the support of the Zhou family, he can make a comeback. He also said that in the past, she wanted to go back but had no money. Now, not only can she go back to Jinling without spending any money, but she can also earn twenty taels of silver. If she dares not agree, he will sell her to Li Pozi on the street to work as a half-door maid.
"Xinlan refused at first, but her husband beat her up severely, and she finally agreed to come to Jinling.
"Because I didn't give much silver, Ma Ci was afraid that Xinlan and her husband would find out, so he used his father's name card to ask the governor of Jingzhou to help him buy cotton worth more than 200 taels of silver on credit, and lied that he had to continue buying cotton, so he asked Xinlan and her husband to take Jinhua back to Jinling City first.
"According to the date, Xinlan and her husband will be here in the next two days. I called you here just to discuss with you how to deal with this matter."
"Me?" Zhou Shaojin asked curiously.
She thought her sister already had a solution.
"Hmm!" Zhou Chujin said, "I think Ma Fushan has to take action in this matter. He should tell Li's Silk Shop and ask them to help collect the cotton. When Xinlan and her husband go to the accounting office to settle the bill, he can tie them up and let Lanting and Xinlan confront each other. If what Lanting said is true, he can write a letter to my father. Then he can take my father's name card and sue the government, and let the government try them."
Zhou Shaojin hesitated and said, "If the government were to try us, wouldn't that make it known to everyone?"
"My father is an official. He can ask the government not to hold a public trial." Zhou Chujin said, "I think Lord Wu will agree."
Zhou Shaojin nodded.
Zhou Chujin said: "Then remember to write a letter to your father afterwards. I have asked someone to call Ma Fushan. He should be here soon. Also ask a few reliable people to hide at the door of the account office of Li's Silk Shop..."
There's a lot to do.
Zhou Shaojin hurriedly said, "Don't worry, sister. Leave the letter writing to me."
Zhou Chujin smiled with relief and went to the hall to wait for Ma Fushan.
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but sigh.
It seems that her sister has also overspent... Should she remind her sister
In the afternoon, Zhou Chujin and Ma Fushan's family went to the Zhou family's ancestral home on Pingqiao Street, and Zhou Shaojin went to Hanbi Shanfang to copy scriptures.
Mrs. Guo seemed to be in a good mood.
Zhou Shaojin quietly asked Biyu: "Is there anything happy?"
Biyu smiled and said, "Master has sent me a letter."
Cheng Xu left on October 6th.
He and Min Hangqiang went to the capital.
Zhou Shaojin said "Oh".
Biyu smiled and said, "Master said that he arrived in Beijing safely and met the first master, the second master and the second old master. The second old master and the two masters asked him to say hello to the old lady. They also said that the second old master was in good spirits and the two masters were in good health. The first master, the second master and the second old master all asked you to spend the New Year in Beijing. They also visited Min Xingjian and Min Xiuzhuan and asked Min Xiuzhuan to read his articles and crafts. Min Xiuzhuan was very enthusiastic and gave Master a lot of suggestions, which benefited Master a lot. Min Xiuzhuan The old lady was very happy to read it and asked me to write a letter to the old man. She asked the old man to listen to the teachings of the second old master and the two masters and stay in the capital for the New Year. He should go to the Min Mansion often, study hard, and make more friends with like-minded people. "At this point, Biyu smiled and whispered to Zhou Shaojin, "The old lady also asked the messenger to bring a thousand taels of silver notes to the old man."
The eldest son is really rich!
Zhou Shaojin sighed and thought of Cheng Chi again.
Is Cheng Chi’s business doing well or badly this year
She decided to take some time to ask Jiying.
However, the most urgent thing is to tell my sister about myself and Jiying, and invite Jiying to Wanxiangju to drink Laba porridge.
Zhou Shaojin came out of Hanbi Mountain House and went back to Wanxiangju first.
Zhou Chujin hasn't come back yet.
Zhou Shaojin was a little worried, so he asked Shi Xiang to wait for Zhou Chujin at the door, and he went to greet Mrs. Guan alone.
Old Lady Guan waved at her, stuffed a big red brocade purse with the words "Year after Year of Abundance" in it into her hand, and said with a smile, "The New Year is coming soon, and you girls are always thinking about buying this and that. Take this and buy yourself some little toys you like."
Zhou Shaojin blushed slightly, knowing that this was a subsidy given to her privately by her grandmother.
She hurriedly thanked him.
When I returned to Wanxiangju, I saw that it was a silver note for twenty taels.
Ten taels more than in previous years.
She put the twenty taels of silver notes in the box and became less and less willing to exchange them for silver ingots and gold beans.
But if she doesn't exchange those silver ingots and gold beans, how can she fill this loophole
I definitely can’t say anything about my sister.
How about borrowing three hundred taels from my father and paying it back slowly later
However, my father will definitely not ask her to pay it back!
Zhou Shaojin was lost in thought when his sister came back.
She hurried over to meet him.
Winter nights are cold.
Zhou Shaojin helped his sister take off her cloak and made a cup of hot tea.
Zhou Chujin drank a sip of tea to warm himself up, then smiled at Zhou Shaojin: "It's done! Li's side agreed to help. There's no need to ask outsiders, just the guys in their shop who usually help carry cloth."
Zhou Shaojin breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Do you want to prepare some drinks to reward those guys?"
"I actually forgot about this." Zhou Chujin was a little surprised and said, "You can't use a noble person cheaply. I'll tell Ma Fushan to book two tables in the restaurant tomorrow and invite those guys who helped out to have a meal." Then he smiled and asked her, "How do you know this?"
Zhou Shaojin chuckled.
In the past, when the farm workers planted crops in spring and harvested crops in autumn, the owners would prepare delicious food to reward the helpers.
She took the opportunity to say that she wanted to invite Jiying to her home to eat Laba porridge.
Zhou Chujin felt that Jiying was serving Cheng Chi, so he should be polite to her, so he readily agreed and asked, "Do you think you should invite cousin Ju as well?"
Since the classes started in Jing'an Zhai, Jiang has been more strict with Cheng Ji, and Cheng Ji hasn't been to Wanxiangju for some time.
Zhou Shaojin happily agreed and asked Shi Xiang to tell Cheng Ji.
Who would have thought that when Shi Xiang came back, she looked a little strange, and whispered to Zhou Shaojin: "Miss Jia had an argument with Madam Lu. When I went there, Ruyixuan was in a mess, so I didn't mention asking Miss Jia to come over."
I don’t know why
Zhou Shaojin sighed and said, "Then go over and tell me tomorrow!"
Shi Xiang responded and helped Zhou Shaojin wash and dress.
The next day, Zhu Kun, the prince of Duke Liang, intended to marry Cheng Ji as his concubine, but Cheng Ji refused to agree and kept making a fuss to Cheng Lu. The matter was not settled until Cheng Lu said that anyone who dared to suggest that his daughter be a concubine would be immediately kicked out of the house.
It was like a stone in mid-air finally falling down.
Zhou Shaojin then took a long breath and said to his sister, "Cousin Jia should be filial to Uncle Lu in the future."
"You little fool!" Zhou Chujin pinched his sister's cheek and said with a smile, "If Aunt Lu doesn't make a scene like this, where will the reputation of the Duke of Liang's Mansion be?"
Zhou Shaojin laughed dryly.
She is really not suitable for living in a big family.
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Today's update, sisters.
O(∩_∩)O~
The update for Mengxian66 will be a little late, so everyone should get up tomorrow and read it!
PS: Please give me a pink vote!
※(To be continued)